Giving Yourself Over to Trust

As children we take trusting others for granted. We rely on our families to feed and protect us, religious leaders and teachers to educate and guide us, friends to comfort and accompany us. However, as we get older, we learn along the way that not everything we hear or are taught is completely true. It's one side to a vast world of stories, cultures, needs and beliefs. We learn that our families may not have known the best path to take in every situation, that what may have seemed like solid fact is more based in belief, that educators don't always know more than their students, that friends sometimes say one thing but end up doing another.

And as we get older still, rather than learning to resent that unreliability, we see in ourselves those same flaws. We realize being older does not always grant wisdom, that we're not always sure what the difference is between the right path and the easy path. And we see ourselves making the same mistakes that we previously could not understand in others. To avoid making mistakes, we retreat into what is safe, or even punish ourselves for past decisions.

To protect against this disillusionment, we each turn to different things. Maybe it's getting lost in a faith or a political belief, because knowing one thing has a clear right and wrong helps everything that doesn't make sense fall into place. Maybe we turn to physical comforts, like food, alcohol, or sitting in front of the TV for hours. Some may get lost in another person like children or a significant other to define their life. Some get lost in their work, so that they don't have to go home and think about their problems, or even think that being productive or successful will make everything else easier.

Whether a person has a strong religion, works hard or loves food, it isn't these habits themselves that define a person or that cause problems. It is whether we approach the things we do every day with fear or love. Fear can sometimes be healthy. It can protect us from dangerous situations, help us to plan ahead and drive us to make stronger choices for our future. But fear can also close us off, cause us to drop or miss connections and opportunities, cause us to hate without reason, prevent us from learning something new, and even prevent us from finding peace, gratitude and love in our lives.

Our intention, in everything we do, can completely change our lives. Try waking each morning and meditating on your intention to let go of your fear and open your heart to opportunity, possibility, and what other people can offer you. Instead of worrying about what may happen or thinking about the bad things that have happened in the past, live in the moment you are in. You may be surprised about the new people you meet, the adventures you find and the things you discover about yourself.

Until next time, keep it clean!

Fall Into Heathly Routines

   Depending on where you are in the country, fall is well underway. With the cooling temperatures, comes a sense of change and newness. Fall is a time of transformation, the temperature drops and the leaves start to turn color, before ascending to the ground below. With this seasonal shift, however, it is important to remain grounded to ensure you get the most out of this time of change.

   Ayurveda is the ancient "science of life" that defines and separates people into three main categories, called doshas. The dosha most prevalent in the fall is vata. This dosha corresponds with the elements air and space, and is associated with the nervous system. Therefore, if a vata imbalance is to occur, it can greatly affect your mental state - that is why it is so important to stay grounded! Here are a few ways to help keep your vata balanced this season:

Yoga

   Yoga is recommended for each type of dosha, but especially when a vata balance is at stake. During this season, you want to choose asanas that focus on the lungs and large intestine. Also, you'll want to keep a routine and try to do yoga for the same amount of time (at the same time) each day. A few poses that are very beneficial this season are: Twists (twisted sage pose), Side Stretches (head-to-knee forward bend), Backbends (camel pose), Warrior poses, and Sun Salutations (to keep your body warm)!

Diet

   During the fall, you want to focus on warming foods to keep vata balanced. Hot teas and warm soups are extremely beneficial during these cooling months. Avoid raw, uncooked food as it has a tendency to cause vata imbalance. Eat foods that are warm, moist, and cooked in oil, butter, or ghee. Eating root vegetables helps to ground and connects you to the earth, so focus on these in your stews and soups. Keep in mind that salty, sweet, and sour tastes are calming to vata, so plan your meals accordingly.

Lifestyle

   Routines are always helpful, but more so when vata is present. You'll want to keep strict on your waking and sleeping schedules, aim to be in bed before midnight if you can. It is recommended you be asleep by 10pm, which some might be able to do but with most people's work/life schedules I think it's a bit unlikely these days. Regardless, you want to make sure you get the minimum 6 hours of sleep to ensure proper rest. Aim to meditate for at least 10 minutes upon waking and just before going to sleep. I like to YouTube guided meditations like this one. During the colder months, you want to use body oils to keep the skin moist and supple. This also reduces the vata emotions of anxiety, depression, fear, and nervousness.

   These are just a few of the beneficial practices you can use to keep yourself grounded and balanced this season.  I hope you have learned something new and encourage you to look further into Ayurvedic living. Think warm, happy thoughts and have a wonderful fall day! :)
   
   

Under Pressure!!

Aside from being an AWESOME Queen and David Bowie song, being "under pressure" is a drag and, unfortunately, it's part of everyone's life at some time. Pressures at home, work and school can have a detrimental effect on your health. Luckily, there are ways to manage the stress in your life (because, let's face it, there is ALWAYS going to be SOME stress no matter how hard we try to eliminate it). The best place to start is at the beginning - what is causing your stress?
Once you figure that out, you will be able to learn healthy ways to reduce and alleviate stress.
Sometimes it's pretty clear where stress is coming from. Major life changes (the death of a loved one, marriage, the arrival of a new baby) can bring on stress and tension. Prolonged stress can wreak havoc on your body causing rapid heartbeats, headaches, stiff neck/shoulders, back pain, stomach upset and may lead to a weakened immune system, high blood pressure and a list of other detrimental health problems. We all know the signs of being stressed out but do you know how to manage or relieve your stress? Here are a few ways that I personally have found to be effective:

• Keep a journal. Write down those negative thoughts to get them out of your head! Imagine the stress traveling from your mind, down your arm and through your pen onto the paper. Once it's on the paper, let the stressful thoughts go and do your best to not revisit them.
• Exercise regularly. Even taking a quick 20 minute walk around your neighborhood can do WONDERS for improving your overall sense of well-being. Give this one a try - it's quick, easy and really helps.
• Do something you enjoy. Doing volunteer work, gardening, painting, coloring in a coloring book or partaking in any hobby that makes you smile is a great way to reduce stress.
• Let the feelings out! Talk, laugh or cry with someone you trust.
• Ask for help. Sometimes we take on too many things and don't like to say no to people and this causes us to feel overwhelmed and stressed. If you have too much on your plate, ask for help.
  
• Speak up. Not talking about your concerns and/or needs creates stress. Learn to express yourself in a thoughtful manner so that those concerns are released instead of keeping them bottled up.
  
• Learn to relax. Activities like yoga, tai chi and meditation are known to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Can't hurt to try, right?
• And lastly, when all else fails......LAUGH!!! In the end, sweating over the small things just bogs us down. Why not laugh them away? Put on a silly movie, get a friend to tell you a funny joke or remember a time when you did something sooooo silly that you can't help but laugh. Laughter IS the best medicine!

Hope you will give these pointers a try next time you are feeling some tension in your world. Until next time, keep it clean and don't forget to LAUGH!