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

Have Fun

People who know me probably scoff at the thought of my advising others to "have fun". I've had trouble with this simple yet priceless part of life. Sometimes its easier to make excuses to not have fun, like "I have too much work to do", "I don't have enough money", "I'm too stressed out", and the list goes on. Lately, I'm very conscious of my tendency to make these excuses and I think that becoming aware is the first step toward letting go and just goofing off. The sky won't fall, the world won't come to an end, and no one is going to die if I decide to wait until tomorrow to do the dishes or finish a writing project. Instead of thinking up ways to fill time with preparations for the next day, an errand, or a phone call, do something that is purely for the sake of enjoyment. I find that when I do indulge in some simple pleasures (and I'm not talking about chocolate cake), the "work" stuff is ten times more enjoyable! And again, through writing this blog, I've decided that the best thing to do is crank up the tunes and dance:)

BREATHE

Knowledge is power, but it is also a pain in the butt sometimes. The more I learn about health, ego, spirituality, nutrition, the environment, and the list goes on, the more I am aware of the thoughts and actions working against these things (or resisting them). There was a time that I would have thrown up my hands and given up after making a mistake, but I've learned to be more gentle with myself. Now, I breathe. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but incorporating deep abdominal breathing and anuloma viloma (alternate nostril breathing-which by the way is also great for quiting smoking) are priceless tools that can be used anytime, anywhere.

First of all, let you belly relax. For the first twenty-four years of my life, I took shallow, short breaths and held in my stomach. This breathing pattern effects your entire body and mind. Shoulders tense, heart races, chest is tight, hands clenched, and again the list goes on. This chain reaction will reverse if you relax your belly and breathe deeply into your abdomen. I usually count "om one, om two, on three" (as I inhale) and then "om one, om two, on three" (as I exhale). In the morning, try taking ten deep breaths like this before your feet touch the floor:)

Anuloma Viloma (alternate nostril breathing) takes a little more practice, but I can say that it has changed my life. The directions in this article are fantastic. Even though other drivers probably think I'm cuckoo, I sometimes do this exercise in the car. This breathing exercise is helpful when you feel overwhelmed, anxious, confused, worried, or stressed. If I need to relax or find clarity, the simple exercise of conscious breathing helps me get there. I hope it helps you too!

Food Dehydrator

My new food dehydrator arrived in the mail yesterday! I have good and bad news. Good news is, the apple-cinnamon-almond-agave cookies are pretty good. Bad news is, after twelve hours of working its magic, the dehydrator started smelling funny. Nothing was burning, but a weird plastic and unnatural smell wafting from the machine. It took a few hours to get rid of the smell (with the aid of incense) and now I feel like the cookies are tainted with fumes. There is a lot of talk lately about toxic chemicals released from plastics, so I am a little wary. I should have sprung for the Cadillac of dehydrators, but I had a gift certificate to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they only offer this model. I'll give it another spin this week and see how things pan out.

The more I experiment with my diet and peel away layers of unhealthy eating habits, the more I have to face what is truly good for my body and let go of life long (comforting) dietary habits. It has become a personal science experiment. Even natural sugars are giving me the jitters now. I'm going to start increasing my greens and decreasing my fruits. Also, my cravings for regular cookies, baked goods, and chocolate are back to zero after only a week of abstaining from these sugary treats. They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, so we'll see how I feel come March.

I keep adding books to my reading list. At the moment, I am reading The China Study, In Defense of Food, My Antonia, and the most recent addition: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison. All excellent.

I've done a lot of cooking this weekend. Yesterday, I made "Wheat" Balls, whole wheat angel hair pasta, and a carrot-red pepper marinara sauce. Tonight, I made Falafel and salad. Usually, I try to go raw all day except for dinner. I also watched Becoming Jane and The Motorcycle Diaries this evening with my husband. Both also excellent. Last night, we watched Michael Clayton. I guess we're getting ready for the Oscars.

xoxo,
Sundari

Humane Society Video

Words cannot describe how shocking, sickening, and saddening this video (secretly filmed by the Humane Society) is, so watch at your own risk. Background on the beef recall can be found here. I was deeply disturbed by the footage, but at the same time, where did I think hamburgers came from? Baltimore Sun reporter, Rob Kasper, said it best when he wrote:

Longtime vegetarians are, Cunningham said, "somewhat bemused" by the reaction of surprise to the video. "As a friend of mine said, 'What did people think happened at a slaughterhouse? Did they think the animals got tickled to death?' "

This video shows the reality of food sitting on most American's kitchen tables. If I wasn't already a vegetarian, I think seeing this video would make it difficult to take another bite of meat. We don't need to eat meat to be healthy. Its becoming more and more evident that animal-based protein is not the best source of protein and it is actually harmful to our health. So why do so many people eat it? I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the more I face the facts, the more I realize that the government and "food" corporations have brainwashed Americans to think that vitamin-infused Coke, hormone-injected meat and dairy, and calcium-fortified cereal will make us strong and healthy. Have you seen commercials for Special K Protein water???

All of this information is obviously not spontaneously entering my brain. Currently, I am reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, and today I picked up The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. The China Study is fantastic. Its easy to understand and based on decades of research. Over the past six months, I've been scouring the web for information on vegetarianism, raw foods, organic foods, ayurvedic nutrition, and macrobiotics. Kris Carr has also offered a wealth of information and resources. I guess what I'm saying is, educate yourself before putting packaged and processed foods into your body! I have just skimmed the surface of understanding these concepts, but the changes that I have made (i.e. vegetarianism, raw foods, juicing, organic produce, food combining) has made a huge impact on my mental and physical health. More later on all the fascinating and relevant things I am learning from Pollan and Campbell.

Rise and Shine

I felt so good this morning (waking up at 6am) that I wanted to spread the positive energy here. Three days in a row of waking up refreshed and ready for the day! There must be a connection between my mood and refined/processed sugar detox. Hooray!

Its amazing how remarkable the difference is in my feelings about the rest of the day, my perspective on work, and general happiness. I hope that this keeps up! I'll be noting my progress here:)