Starting Your Morning On The Right Foot

The way that I start my morning influences the rest of my day. During yoga teacher training, the swamis talked about the tamasic energy that builds up during the night while we sleep. Although tamas allows us to relax, if it manifests, we continue to feel sluggish, heavy, and negative as the day moves on. Showering in the morning and other simple practices help to reduce the tamasic energy in your body. The three gunas of yogic philosophy are tamas (inertia), rajas (activity), and sattva (purity). These energies are always present, but one is usually stronger than the others depending on our diet, lifestyle, and state of mind.

Here is my recipe for getting up on the right side of the bed:

As soon as you rise...

(1) Dry Brush entire body (small counter clockwise circles from the bottoms of your feet to your shoulders with a natural bristle body brush)
-if you have extra time, put on an all-natural organic face mask before you dry brush (its like a mini-spa treatment!)
(2) Shower (try to be in the moment and enjoy the shower, focus on your breath, try to set a positive intention for the day)
(3) After showering, moisturize your whole body with organic, cold pressed coconut oil (run container under warm water to liquefy)
(4) Floss, brush teeth, and gargle
(5) Make some Green Juice!

Beginning my day by taking care of myself, rather than laying on the couch and watching t.v., helps me to live the rest of my day consciously. Otherwise, I get stuck in a lazy, ho-hum mood and it becomes more difficult to break that state of mind. It only takes me an extra 30 minutes to do these steps.

Is there anything that helps you start your day in a positive way?

Groggy? No More!

If you've been reading this blog for more than a few weeks, you know that I was struggling with the morning blues. I had to peel myself out of bed in the morning (kicking and screaming in my head). Lately, I wake up naturally, around 7:00 or 7:30 am. Mostly, I credit my diet (and juice!). I've been faithful to juicing each morning, cutting out refined sugars and flour, and eating lots of greens. Plus, I've added a B12 vitamin. I have even resisted my late-night sugar cravings (which does get easier). These are not easy modifications, but necessary to my long-term health and happiness (inside and out).

There are a few wonderful resources that I attribute these changes:

Kris Carr and the Crazy Sexy Crew. The Crazy Sexy Life Forum is up and running and it will change your life if you open your heart and mind to it! Whether or not you are a cancer survivor, this is a place for anyone wanting to nourish their body, mind, spirit, and the planet. It is packed with priceless knowledge and positive people from all over the world!

YOGA! Traditional Hatha Yoga (Sivananda Lineage) guides my practice, but there are hundreds of styles to choose from:)

BOOKS! Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, T. Colin Campbell's The China Study, Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips...much more on my nightstand:), including Fast Food Nation.

BLOGS! Allie's Answers (helps me learn about how I can care for the planet and protect my family from harmful chemicals, etc.), We Like It Raw has taught me about raw food living, Radical Radiance has taught me about juicing, and Kris Carr's blog-need I say more about Kris?

VEGAN! I've cut out all meat and dairy from my diet and it feels great!

Also, dancing, journaling, and nice long baths have helped to reduce stress:) When you have a toolkit filled with these positive habits you are never alone or lost. Try adopting one new healthy habit a week and soon you'll see and feel the difference. The sky is the limit:)

What healthy habits have you incorporated into your life that have made a difference?

Rested

*Sigh of relief*
Well, I listened to my own advice yesterday by doing the following simple things:

• Juiced!
• Danced
  
• Yoga:)
• Meditation (ten minutes is better than zero!)
  
• Light and satisfying meals (smoothie, salads, quinoa, baked sweet potato, nuts)
• NO computer after 9pm
• Wound down for a half hour before turning out the lights (reading a novel in bed)

It all paid off. Eight wonderful, restful hours of sleep. I woke up naturally this morning and finished some writing projects before 9am! Plus, I didn't carry that negative energy with me to bed. Yes, there are dishes in the sink right now, but I feel great! It wasn't a problem fitting these things into my day even though I taught four yoga classes and worked for four hours.

This blog is a huge motivator. It keeps me on track and records my progress. I highly recommend starting a journal or a blog if you want to make healthy changes in your life or stay on track with the changes you've already made.

Sleep

Rather than getting bent out of shape that I had a horrible night of sleep and today is my busiest day (working 7am-8:30pm), I am going to learn from WHY it happened and move on with the day. First mistake, I ate sugar minutes before hitting the hay. Although it was natural sugar, I should know better! Second mistake, zero "down time" before turning out the lights. My hubby and I were watching a movie until 11pm and the whole time I was multi-tasking. Third, I jumped on the computer and dealt with some email that I knew was going to make me upset just before going to bed. The odds were stacked against me as I tried to catch as many z's as possible before my most hectic day of the week.

The good thing about days like today are that I learn the most about myself when faced with a little challenge. How can I use the tools that I've picked up over the past year to make today a good one? First, eat healthy and just enough so that I am nourished and satisfied. Second, take at least 10 minutes to meditate. Third, do some yoga (shouldn't be difficult, I teach four classes today!). Fourth, computer stays off after 9pm. Fifth, take at least 30 minutes to wind down before turning off the lights tonight. Now that I have my plan for the day, I think I'll start things off with a little boogie.

xoxo,
Sundari

Day 4

I was surprisingly rested this morning when my alarm went off at 6am. Usually it is a struggle. I didn't get to sleep until midnight, which is something I want to work on. I would like to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. I think that I do best on 8 hours, but thats not realistic most of the time. I have had two cups of herbal tea this morning and I'll be juicing some "Green Lemonade" soon. Green Lemonade is described in my last post. Yesterday I juiced twice, snacked on raw almonds and a Lara Bar, and had a BIG salad for dinner with homemade salad dressing. Today, I plan to juice this morning, pack some raw almonds, a Lara Bar, and a piece of fruit, juice again in the late afternoon and have a salad for dinner again. We'll see how it goes!

Overall, I have noticed that my mood is improving since adopting this diet. I don't have severe ups and downs and I feel more optimistic. I also feel more clear-headed and mellow. I am committed to following this diet for as long as possible and I don't see the end coming soon!