Hello World!
Juicing Menu:
Monday:
1/2 quart celery, beet and dandelion greens, apple, coconut oil and cayenne
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon bee pollen
2 1/2 pints mustard greens, dill, carrot, cabbage, lime, coconut oil, cayenne, Himalayan sea salt
1 teaspoon honey
1 quart plus 2 1/2 pints beet, celery, carrot, avocado, dandelion greens, cilantro, with cayenne and Himalayan sea salt
2 teaspoons bee pollen
Total: 2 quarts, 24 oz. juice
Yesterday:
1 quart apple, orange, carrot, cucumber with coconut oil
1 teaspoon bee pollen
15 minutes energized rebounding
1 quart apple, orange, carrot, cucumber with coconut oil
1 teaspoon bee pollen
2 quarts mustard and dandelion greens, beets and orange with coconut oil
Total: 1 gallon
Whoo hoo! I rebounded yesterday, rather than run, for the first time in awhile, and my energy was really high! I did 15 minutes on the rebounder to start (mini trampoline, also know as a lymphosizer), not my usual 25, as I wanted to see where my body was at. My energy was soaring and my jumping so concentrated. I was really focused and exhilirated with powerful breathing.
So, I do think there is a difference between the muscles detoxing and the energy flowing. We can be going through skeletal detox and fatigue, when the digestive energy is now being put towards the organ system and blood, while still soaring from our energy centers. I found that walking up two set of long stairs at the library winds me in my muscles and climbing ability, but I could probably powerfully rebound for 45 minutes straight with a whole routine. Interesting, these bodies of ours!
How did I eat 6 teaspoons of honey on Saturday? I must have really needed its nutrients, as now, eating just 1 (ok, maybe 2 :) is so intense, thick and sweet that I couldn't imagine going further. I do have to share something amazing, though; this Wedderspoon honey is chewable. It is so "live" and thick that I am actually chewing it! I have never experienced that before. Maybe it's because I am juice feasting, so I ask some of you to buy some and try it. Let me know what your experience is.
Yes, I did learn that when drinking as much juice as I am to always combine my mustard greens with extra fruit or they are way too intensely strong for me right now!
Yesterday was such a gift for me. I got to have a session with my client on the beach. What a way to counsel. The expansion that occurs for each of us in our process is profound. Just pair the sun, sky,water, air and trees with the opening of the body and soul and you get it. I used to say that I felt psychotherapy should be paired with massage therapy; if first the person received a massage, their somatic self would be completely open to expand to a higher level of consciousness in therapy. The beach counseling is similar. If you counsel from a holistic bent, there are many tools one can use therapeutically with a client; hiking, drumming, singing, drawing and much more to expand the psyche. This simultaneously expands the consciousness of the therapist as well. On another note, there were children swimming in the water, so I guess it's warm already! The sun on my face was a wonderful support to my juicing. I'm sure my body can absorb the vitamin D on a much higher level with a clear digestive system.
I also find that I am filled with a tremendous amount of love for humanity and for those in my inner circle. I feel no different than anyone else; their strengths are mine and their fragilities mine as well. I feel deep compassion for each person's journey.
I want to end this post with quoting Jane Fonda, who at 74, is one of the most extraordinary women around. She says: "Get to know your enemies, and always be willing to listen to them," and also, "Make friends with your fear." Thank you, Jane, for being a role model for our highest potential.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
5 Girls Juicing Days 6 & 7 Juice Feast - one week!
Good Morning!
Juicing and cleansing over the weekend:
Saturday:
1 quart: cucumber, red chard, navel orange, coconut oil and water
1 teaspoon delicious honey
2 quarts: chia "milk" with honey, coconut oil, mesquite, shilajit, vanilla bean powder and water
2 teaspoons honey with chlorella tabs - YUM!
30 tabs chlorella
1 quart: cucumber, red chard, navel orange, coconut oil and water
12 teaspoons bee pollen!
Total: 1 gallon
Sunday:
1 1/2 quarts: celery, beet greens, dandelion greens, apple, coconut oil, cayenne and water
1 quart: mustard greens, dill, carrot, cabbage, lime, coconut oil, cayenne, Himalayan sea salt
3 tablespoons bee pollen
sauna 35 minutes
25 tabs chlorella
Total: 2 1/2 quarts
I felt a major shift yesterday. My energy was so high level and I felt really powerful! Today, too, I am feeling full of life force. It's a physical/cellular feeling coursing through me, so it will be interesting to see how my muscles are doing in comparison when I go running tomorrow. I feel like my muscles are kind of separate from this energy, and one does not necessarily reflect the other. My energy reflects a body cleaning by letting go of digestive energy and even more so, an energy connected to the frequency of eating all juiced organic plant-based food. When I was 100% raw, I used to feel that feeling after a complex raw meal. As for running, I've taken a couple of days off to rest and honor my body's message. I do know that the achy muscle detox feeling I had early last week only lasted for two to three days.
I am incredibly grateful for this "rest to digest," as I call it. Giving my digestive system a break feels so right. I can see myself, after completing the juice feast, juicing one day a week going forward. It's something I've thought about the last few years but haven't yet tried.
It's amazing. I am not hungry at all. Once I drink, I am sated. My only food cravings are emotional; when something else is going on that is bringing up emotion or intensity, I might suddenly feel a pull to eat solid food and have one of those, "I don't know why I'm doing this juicing" moments. But once it passes, which it does pretty quickly if I let it just move through and acknowledge it, I am fine and re-remember all the reasons for my juice feasting.
Saturday was amazing, being with some of the "5 Girls." Earlier in the day, Karita came over and I turned her onto the honey. When I brought my chlorella tabs out, she took a teaspoon of honey and put two tabs in it; voila! we have a new snack! Irina brought bee pollen, so we all indulged in that. I ended up having six teaspoons of honey and 12 teaspoons of bee pollen! It was fabulous. Everyone seems to be doing great and there's alot of gratitude happening. It was meaningful to share our lives with one another.
I feel so blessed to be in this community. I go on our Facebook page multiple times during the day just to feel the energy of everyone participating in their own way. I even feel the energy of those who are watching and juicing from the sidelines; you make a difference! I see it spreading and spreading, expanding farther and farther and I envision us connected to people juicing all over the world. If each person just brings one juice a day into their life, transformation will take place upon the planet in our relationship to our bodies, to one another, to our environment and to the world. So be it.
Juicing and cleansing over the weekend:
Saturday:
1 quart: cucumber, red chard, navel orange, coconut oil and water
1 teaspoon delicious honey
2 quarts: chia "milk" with honey, coconut oil, mesquite, shilajit, vanilla bean powder and water
2 teaspoons honey with chlorella tabs - YUM!
30 tabs chlorella
1 quart: cucumber, red chard, navel orange, coconut oil and water
12 teaspoons bee pollen!
Total: 1 gallon
Sunday:
1 1/2 quarts: celery, beet greens, dandelion greens, apple, coconut oil, cayenne and water
1 quart: mustard greens, dill, carrot, cabbage, lime, coconut oil, cayenne, Himalayan sea salt
3 tablespoons bee pollen
sauna 35 minutes
25 tabs chlorella
Total: 2 1/2 quarts
I felt a major shift yesterday. My energy was so high level and I felt really powerful! Today, too, I am feeling full of life force. It's a physical/cellular feeling coursing through me, so it will be interesting to see how my muscles are doing in comparison when I go running tomorrow. I feel like my muscles are kind of separate from this energy, and one does not necessarily reflect the other. My energy reflects a body cleaning by letting go of digestive energy and even more so, an energy connected to the frequency of eating all juiced organic plant-based food. When I was 100% raw, I used to feel that feeling after a complex raw meal. As for running, I've taken a couple of days off to rest and honor my body's message. I do know that the achy muscle detox feeling I had early last week only lasted for two to three days.
I am incredibly grateful for this "rest to digest," as I call it. Giving my digestive system a break feels so right. I can see myself, after completing the juice feast, juicing one day a week going forward. It's something I've thought about the last few years but haven't yet tried.
It's amazing. I am not hungry at all. Once I drink, I am sated. My only food cravings are emotional; when something else is going on that is bringing up emotion or intensity, I might suddenly feel a pull to eat solid food and have one of those, "I don't know why I'm doing this juicing" moments. But once it passes, which it does pretty quickly if I let it just move through and acknowledge it, I am fine and re-remember all the reasons for my juice feasting.
Saturday was amazing, being with some of the "5 Girls." Earlier in the day, Karita came over and I turned her onto the honey. When I brought my chlorella tabs out, she took a teaspoon of honey and put two tabs in it; voila! we have a new snack! Irina brought bee pollen, so we all indulged in that. I ended up having six teaspoons of honey and 12 teaspoons of bee pollen! It was fabulous. Everyone seems to be doing great and there's alot of gratitude happening. It was meaningful to share our lives with one another.
I feel so blessed to be in this community. I go on our Facebook page multiple times during the day just to feel the energy of everyone participating in their own way. I even feel the energy of those who are watching and juicing from the sidelines; you make a difference! I see it spreading and spreading, expanding farther and farther and I envision us connected to people juicing all over the world. If each person just brings one juice a day into their life, transformation will take place upon the planet in our relationship to our bodies, to one another, to our environment and to the world. So be it.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
5 Girls Juicing Day 5 Juice Feast
Good Morning World!
I am done with enemas for awhile. I decided to see how it would be if I did it in the morning rather than at night. My body is definitely telling me it is not aligned or necessary for me right now...maybe in a week. Five was plenty!
Yesterday's juicing:
2 quarts: 1/4 cup chia seeds soaked overnight, in Vitamix filled with water and chia water, 1/2 apple, scoop of mesquite powder, 1/4 teaspon shilajit powder, 1 teaspoon unheated, raw honey and vanilla powder
1 1/4 quarts: dandelion greens, celery, beet and coconut water
Total: 3 1/4 quarts
30 tabs of chlorella
Orthorexia :) I learned about that when I went was in school becoming a health counselor. It's when we become so rigid in our health that it becomes obsessive; we constrict, rather than expand.
We want to get it "just perfect," but we zap the joy and life force out of ourselves this way.
No need to be the perfect girl, here; just have fun, observe and honor the body as a temple.
So, I decided to have "chia milk" in the Vitamix, but hadn't really thought it through.
I tossed in 1/2 apple, thinking I would juice the mix. Then when I blended it up and started juicing, I said, "What am I doing?...That defeats the whole point of having the chias, which are so packed with energy and protein.. Then I was like, "But I have to juice it, 'cause there's half an apple in there, and I don't want the fiber." And it was like, "Why did I put the apple in and not think about it?" Then it became, "I wonder if other juice feasters juice the chia when having it?" I actually stood in my kitchen with all these punitive and perfection questions of "getting it right" running through my head = orthorexia! Then, the observer in me finally saw what I was doing and laughed with compassion. I shifted into, "What do you know for sure and what is your body telling you?" The answer was immediate: This is a perfect batch of high-level blended chia mik; ENJOY! And I did, and it was amazing, especially with the mesquite and honey.
I got some even more extraordinary honey last night and am looking forward to trying it. I've been eyeing this honey for a few months in Whole Foods. It's Wedderspoon 100% raw organic Beechwood honey from New Zealand. It's extracted by the bees from the Beechwood trees and contains oligosaccharides, and is known to multiply friendly bacteria in the stomach, good for digestive and intestinal flora; perfect!
I spent three hours in the afternoon on the beach with a dear friend talking and sunning, and today, I am so excited that the "5 Girls Juicing" will be together on the beach sharing about our first week of juice feasting! Sun is my eleixir. I might rebound this morning but my body is clear that it's not going running.
Last night was a fascinating experience around juicing and cravings.
I decided that I was full/content and had no desire to drink my last quart of juice, though I had made it and it looked good. I was also experiencing a little bit of gas, so my body was telling me to rest and not consume. On my way to do errands, I started missing food! I had a whole conversation going on in my head, and it went like this: "Exactly why am I juice feasting? What's the purpose? What a ridiculous idea to set myself up in building a community that keeps me too accountable for thirty day of this stuff! What would be wrong with eating food? I could achieve the same thing with what I know about clean eating. I really want to eat something yummy and feel the sensation." The wild part was that before this conversation began I was not hungry at all. In fact, I wasn't hungry during the conversation; it was my emotions talking. I wanted to be filled up, loved up and made love to by food! Of course, counseling on this every day, I know that food is only the metaphor for what I'm wanting in my soul.
Eventually, as I just sat with the experience as both the participant and the observer, it shifted, and what came in after that was that my life is amazing and perfect as it is. All the gratitude flooded back.
I have to say, I did practice some DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) by replacing the longing thoughts as they occurred.
I crawled into bed and read a captivating book, that filled me with all the parts for which I was longing.
This morning, when I awoke, I felt wonderful.
What a journey this is....
Please write in with comments on your own longings and juicing journies...
I am done with enemas for awhile. I decided to see how it would be if I did it in the morning rather than at night. My body is definitely telling me it is not aligned or necessary for me right now...maybe in a week. Five was plenty!
Yesterday's juicing:
2 quarts: 1/4 cup chia seeds soaked overnight, in Vitamix filled with water and chia water, 1/2 apple, scoop of mesquite powder, 1/4 teaspon shilajit powder, 1 teaspoon unheated, raw honey and vanilla powder
1 1/4 quarts: dandelion greens, celery, beet and coconut water
Total: 3 1/4 quarts
30 tabs of chlorella
Orthorexia :) I learned about that when I went was in school becoming a health counselor. It's when we become so rigid in our health that it becomes obsessive; we constrict, rather than expand.
We want to get it "just perfect," but we zap the joy and life force out of ourselves this way.
No need to be the perfect girl, here; just have fun, observe and honor the body as a temple.
So, I decided to have "chia milk" in the Vitamix, but hadn't really thought it through.
I tossed in 1/2 apple, thinking I would juice the mix. Then when I blended it up and started juicing, I said, "What am I doing?...That defeats the whole point of having the chias, which are so packed with energy and protein.. Then I was like, "But I have to juice it, 'cause there's half an apple in there, and I don't want the fiber." And it was like, "Why did I put the apple in and not think about it?" Then it became, "I wonder if other juice feasters juice the chia when having it?" I actually stood in my kitchen with all these punitive and perfection questions of "getting it right" running through my head = orthorexia! Then, the observer in me finally saw what I was doing and laughed with compassion. I shifted into, "What do you know for sure and what is your body telling you?" The answer was immediate: This is a perfect batch of high-level blended chia mik; ENJOY! And I did, and it was amazing, especially with the mesquite and honey.
I got some even more extraordinary honey last night and am looking forward to trying it. I've been eyeing this honey for a few months in Whole Foods. It's Wedderspoon 100% raw organic Beechwood honey from New Zealand. It's extracted by the bees from the Beechwood trees and contains oligosaccharides, and is known to multiply friendly bacteria in the stomach, good for digestive and intestinal flora; perfect!
I spent three hours in the afternoon on the beach with a dear friend talking and sunning, and today, I am so excited that the "5 Girls Juicing" will be together on the beach sharing about our first week of juice feasting! Sun is my eleixir. I might rebound this morning but my body is clear that it's not going running.
Last night was a fascinating experience around juicing and cravings.
I decided that I was full/content and had no desire to drink my last quart of juice, though I had made it and it looked good. I was also experiencing a little bit of gas, so my body was telling me to rest and not consume. On my way to do errands, I started missing food! I had a whole conversation going on in my head, and it went like this: "Exactly why am I juice feasting? What's the purpose? What a ridiculous idea to set myself up in building a community that keeps me too accountable for thirty day of this stuff! What would be wrong with eating food? I could achieve the same thing with what I know about clean eating. I really want to eat something yummy and feel the sensation." The wild part was that before this conversation began I was not hungry at all. In fact, I wasn't hungry during the conversation; it was my emotions talking. I wanted to be filled up, loved up and made love to by food! Of course, counseling on this every day, I know that food is only the metaphor for what I'm wanting in my soul.
Eventually, as I just sat with the experience as both the participant and the observer, it shifted, and what came in after that was that my life is amazing and perfect as it is. All the gratitude flooded back.
I have to say, I did practice some DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) by replacing the longing thoughts as they occurred.
I crawled into bed and read a captivating book, that filled me with all the parts for which I was longing.
This morning, when I awoke, I felt wonderful.
What a journey this is....
Please write in with comments on your own longings and juicing journies...
Friday, April 13, 2012
5 Girls Juicing Day 4 Juice Feast
Good Morning World!
I am excited to be alive.
Yesterday's Juicing:
1 1/2 quarts of romaine lettuce, celery, cabbage, cilantro, coconut oil, nori seaweed shake, cayenne, tumeric, tandoori masala spice, Himalaya sea salt
2 quarts of mango, carrot, apple and celery with mesquite powder and shilajit powder - with water
Total 3 1/2 quarts
30 tabs of chlorella
Well, the juicing is going great. I am experiencing the feeling of being in another world; the world of transformation. I am here but also a little outside of myself.
Yesterday I ran 2.1 miles. Just so you get an idea, my typical morning runs are 3.2 miles with lots of energy. Right before the feast I ran 4 miles with ease. Now I am running 2.1 miles with fatigue and muscle ache the whole way; it's fantastic!
Ok, so you might think I'm nuts for saying that, but really, I am so powerfully in my experience. I spent years in my earlier life battling and suffering over changes, and thinking things like, "Why is this happening?", or "how could I be feeling like this today when yesterday I was able to...". It wasn't until I was fully able to embrace my body (physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually) on all levels and receive its messages as gifts, that I had a major shift.
Is it hard to run all achy and tired? yes...
Would I love to be whipping up and down the hills? sure...
but Really? No, not really, because I am filled with gratitude for every minute of this cleansing process. I am grateful that I can still get out the door and shuffle a couple of miles in the sunshine by the water and that my body is receiving exactly what it needs.
I love myself and honor this body and psyche that I live within.
This life that we are given is a fantastic journey of self development, and the most powerful part is to look at our own accountability in our lives and stop blaming the world. We get to witness our own self-development! We get to be pioneers and choose our lives every day, no matter what the circumstances. We get to decide how we will walk through each day and how we will be with every single moment. And, we also get to see our own humanity and allow for gentleness and love. To me, that's as powerful as it gets!
By the way, the enemas are still feeling really vulnerable and depleting, and I'm just staying with them.
Wishing you all a magical day of your own!
I am excited to be alive.
Yesterday's Juicing:
1 1/2 quarts of romaine lettuce, celery, cabbage, cilantro, coconut oil, nori seaweed shake, cayenne, tumeric, tandoori masala spice, Himalaya sea salt
2 quarts of mango, carrot, apple and celery with mesquite powder and shilajit powder - with water
Total 3 1/2 quarts
30 tabs of chlorella
Well, the juicing is going great. I am experiencing the feeling of being in another world; the world of transformation. I am here but also a little outside of myself.
Yesterday I ran 2.1 miles. Just so you get an idea, my typical morning runs are 3.2 miles with lots of energy. Right before the feast I ran 4 miles with ease. Now I am running 2.1 miles with fatigue and muscle ache the whole way; it's fantastic!
Ok, so you might think I'm nuts for saying that, but really, I am so powerfully in my experience. I spent years in my earlier life battling and suffering over changes, and thinking things like, "Why is this happening?", or "how could I be feeling like this today when yesterday I was able to...". It wasn't until I was fully able to embrace my body (physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually) on all levels and receive its messages as gifts, that I had a major shift.
Is it hard to run all achy and tired? yes...
Would I love to be whipping up and down the hills? sure...
but Really? No, not really, because I am filled with gratitude for every minute of this cleansing process. I am grateful that I can still get out the door and shuffle a couple of miles in the sunshine by the water and that my body is receiving exactly what it needs.
I love myself and honor this body and psyche that I live within.
This life that we are given is a fantastic journey of self development, and the most powerful part is to look at our own accountability in our lives and stop blaming the world. We get to witness our own self-development! We get to be pioneers and choose our lives every day, no matter what the circumstances. We get to decide how we will walk through each day and how we will be with every single moment. And, we also get to see our own humanity and allow for gentleness and love. To me, that's as powerful as it gets!
By the way, the enemas are still feeling really vulnerable and depleting, and I'm just staying with them.
Wishing you all a magical day of your own!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
5 Girls Juicing Day 3
Juices:
1 quart cabbage, celery, cilantro, with lots of cayenne, nori seaweed shake, Himalayan sea salt lemon, poured into a soup bowl
2 1/2 pints of morning juice
1 1/2 quarts of bi-colored chard, dandelion greens, parsley, cilantro, navel oranges, carrot, apple and cocnut oil, with water
10 oz. lemon water
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 2 3/4 quarts
I am fascinated by the process of detox/cleansing. My enemas are getting better, but emotionally, they (I) feel very vulnerable to me. I'm trying to get in touch with what that's about, as I never felt that with colonics. It feels like I'm invading my inner sanctum, where all my secrets lie, and leaves me feeling a little tired with a desire to be held. Still lots coming out!
I was focused for counseling and other aspects of my practice yesterday. I skipped exercise and gave my body a rest. This is so strange as I usually bound outside to run. Honoring my body right now is number one.
I was supposed to go over to Irina's for sauna and juicing in the late afternoon, but as I contemplated going, I was gripped with an unknown fear and no desire to leave my home. I called Irina and told her I was going to take a nap and would call her when I awoke. As soon as I lay down, I thought about the fact that each day of juice feasting brings the body and psyche back 120 days. That is why you can re-experience aspects of where you were physically and emotionally at at various times in your life. You might smell something from the past or feel a sensation or symptom in your body from another time. Trust that this is part of the detox process and an amazing opportunity for core healing on a cellular level. As I was sharing this with a client in session yesterday, I said, "It's really another way to rewire trauma." So we get to go back there and heal deeper yet being kept safe with high health at the same time. If you are familiar with EMDR, it does this in a different way, using eye movement. Well, in my assessment, this type of detox can do this as well; heal the trauma on a cellular level.
So, back to my bed. As soon as I lay down, I realized that it was Day 3, which would be 360 days back, which would have made it April 16th of last year. This is when I had just gotten to Sedona and would be going to the Moab desert in Utah as well. I actually had debated going on that trip, even though I was excited, because of some things going on in my life which were bringing up fear. And even though the trip was remarkable and life changing, it was a journey that called upon all of my inner strength at times to walk through. Fear was definitely present for me on a core level in a way I hadn't experienced in many years. As soon as I realized this while laying in bed, I was completely fine. I understood the source of my fear.
I took a three hour nap to cleanse, and when I awoke, I felt great and filled with energy. I went over to Irina's, where we took a forty-five minute sauna together and sweated like crazy. Then we juiced for an hour, the whole time (sauna and juicing) talking and sharing about our lives. After watching a movie I left, feeling energized and alive!
It is extraordinary to be living in these houses we call our bodies and experience the miracles they bestow upon us each day if we only stay present to the process. I am enormously grateful.
1 quart cabbage, celery, cilantro, with lots of cayenne, nori seaweed shake, Himalayan sea salt lemon, poured into a soup bowl
2 1/2 pints of morning juice
1 1/2 quarts of bi-colored chard, dandelion greens, parsley, cilantro, navel oranges, carrot, apple and cocnut oil, with water
10 oz. lemon water
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 2 3/4 quarts
I am fascinated by the process of detox/cleansing. My enemas are getting better, but emotionally, they (I) feel very vulnerable to me. I'm trying to get in touch with what that's about, as I never felt that with colonics. It feels like I'm invading my inner sanctum, where all my secrets lie, and leaves me feeling a little tired with a desire to be held. Still lots coming out!
I was focused for counseling and other aspects of my practice yesterday. I skipped exercise and gave my body a rest. This is so strange as I usually bound outside to run. Honoring my body right now is number one.
I was supposed to go over to Irina's for sauna and juicing in the late afternoon, but as I contemplated going, I was gripped with an unknown fear and no desire to leave my home. I called Irina and told her I was going to take a nap and would call her when I awoke. As soon as I lay down, I thought about the fact that each day of juice feasting brings the body and psyche back 120 days. That is why you can re-experience aspects of where you were physically and emotionally at at various times in your life. You might smell something from the past or feel a sensation or symptom in your body from another time. Trust that this is part of the detox process and an amazing opportunity for core healing on a cellular level. As I was sharing this with a client in session yesterday, I said, "It's really another way to rewire trauma." So we get to go back there and heal deeper yet being kept safe with high health at the same time. If you are familiar with EMDR, it does this in a different way, using eye movement. Well, in my assessment, this type of detox can do this as well; heal the trauma on a cellular level.
So, back to my bed. As soon as I lay down, I realized that it was Day 3, which would be 360 days back, which would have made it April 16th of last year. This is when I had just gotten to Sedona and would be going to the Moab desert in Utah as well. I actually had debated going on that trip, even though I was excited, because of some things going on in my life which were bringing up fear. And even though the trip was remarkable and life changing, it was a journey that called upon all of my inner strength at times to walk through. Fear was definitely present for me on a core level in a way I hadn't experienced in many years. As soon as I realized this while laying in bed, I was completely fine. I understood the source of my fear.
I took a three hour nap to cleanse, and when I awoke, I felt great and filled with energy. I went over to Irina's, where we took a forty-five minute sauna together and sweated like crazy. Then we juiced for an hour, the whole time (sauna and juicing) talking and sharing about our lives. After watching a movie I left, feeling energized and alive!
It is extraordinary to be living in these houses we call our bodies and experience the miracles they bestow upon us each day if we only stay present to the process. I am enormously grateful.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
5 Girls Juicing!
"5 Girls Juicing"
The Holistic Empire
Welcome!
It's been a few months since I've written. I took a Winter break to hibernate and enjoyed every minute of my introspective time. Now I'm excited to blog once again, and there's lots going on!
Yesterday gave birth to the start of "5 Girls Juicing," A Community Juice Feast, from April 9th to May 9th! If you click on the link for it (above) you can join (no cost) and be inspired to add some juicing into your life and have the support of over 100 people who are partcipating and growing our community of health. There you will find all of our posts, pictures and videos on our personal juicing experiences. Whether you juice every day or have no idea what a juicer even looks like, it's an opportunity to go a little greener this Spring and cleanse your body with daily support.
Below are my Facebook blog-posts from today.
If you click on The Holistic Empire page and "Like" it, you will also get to read and see of videos, of "Ask the Holistic Health Counselor," with health tools and tips to support your well being. You are welcome to write in there with a question or comment, or connect with others on either Facebook page.
Here's what I drank for the past 2 days:
April 9th Day 1:
1 quart Lacinato Kale, dandelion greens and celery juice with unrefined, unheated coconut oil, lemon and cayenne
1 quart Lacinato Kale, dandelion greens and celery juice with unrefined, unheated coconut oil, lemon and cayenne
1 quart red chard, bok choi, parsley, apple and carrot
1 quart grapefruit, navel orange and carrot
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 1 gallon
April 10th Day 2:
2 quarts celery, red leaf lettuce, cilantro, carrot, lemon, coconut oil and cayenne
1 quart strawberries and red chard
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 3/4 gallon
Part I:
Yesterday I drank a gallon of juice and had 2 pounds of leafy greens, celery and also fruits. My juice was 1 bunch Lacinato (dinosaur) kale, 1 large bunch dandelion greens, 1 large head of celery, 1 teaspoon coconut oil (...unrefined, unheated, organic) and some cayenne to move my blood. I went running at 5:30 AM and felt filled with energy. After drinking all my greens, which were 1/2 gallon, I had incredible focus, energy and clarity. I counseled and completed my taxes. I then went too long without drinking; 4 hours instead of 2, so I could really feel hunger, fatigue and a little spaciness, which picked right up when I drank my next quart, which was red chard, parsley, bok choi, apple and carrot. After my final quart of mostly fruit (I'm still playing to see how my body responds to different combos), which was a delicious, grapefruit, navel orange and carrot, I waited a while and then went to enema. While I have had many colonics and loved them, I really haven't utilized enemas. I already see the value just from one! I followed Irina's guidance to lay on the floor on my right side, so that the water would reach and flush my descending colon, then after all the water was in me, to move onto my back, draw my legs up to my chest and rock back and forth to swoosh the water around. When I finally eliminated everything, it was intense and went on for quite awhile. The thing is, I am normally super regular in my eliminations; meal in, meal out, as much as four or five times a day. So it came as a real surprise that it kept coming out, along with some abdominal pain, which I never experience anymore. Because I knew it was detox, I just trusted my body to move through it, and after awhile, it did. Interesting, I was left completely exhausted, feeling like I had been on a journey. This morning, I decided to sleep in a little. When I woke up to prepare my juices and for counseling, I was really wiped! I thought I would run after session, but I was exhausted and decided to juice and drink instead and let go of my run for the day. I made a half gallon of red leaf lettuce (1 large head), cilantro (1/2 bunch), celery (1 large head), carrot (1/2 large one), lemon (1/2), coconut oil (1 teaspoon) and cayenne (some shakes) and drank it all, while sitting on my porch and talking to a friend. As soon as I drank, energy started soaring, my whole energy system (chakras) opened up big time, and here I am about to go for my run! And I'm feeling a bit sexy in my lower chakras :) I'm still detoxing in my eliminations, but I feel great! All in the life of a juice feaster...
Part II:
The Holistic Empire
Welcome!
It's been a few months since I've written. I took a Winter break to hibernate and enjoyed every minute of my introspective time. Now I'm excited to blog once again, and there's lots going on!
Yesterday gave birth to the start of "5 Girls Juicing," A Community Juice Feast, from April 9th to May 9th! If you click on the link for it (above) you can join (no cost) and be inspired to add some juicing into your life and have the support of over 100 people who are partcipating and growing our community of health. There you will find all of our posts, pictures and videos on our personal juicing experiences. Whether you juice every day or have no idea what a juicer even looks like, it's an opportunity to go a little greener this Spring and cleanse your body with daily support.
Below are my Facebook blog-posts from today.
If you click on The Holistic Empire page and "Like" it, you will also get to read and see of videos, of "Ask the Holistic Health Counselor," with health tools and tips to support your well being. You are welcome to write in there with a question or comment, or connect with others on either Facebook page.
Here's what I drank for the past 2 days:
April 9th Day 1:
1 quart Lacinato Kale, dandelion greens and celery juice with unrefined, unheated coconut oil, lemon and cayenne
1 quart Lacinato Kale, dandelion greens and celery juice with unrefined, unheated coconut oil, lemon and cayenne
1 quart red chard, bok choi, parsley, apple and carrot
1 quart grapefruit, navel orange and carrot
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 1 gallon
April 10th Day 2:
2 quarts celery, red leaf lettuce, cilantro, carrot, lemon, coconut oil and cayenne
1 quart strawberries and red chard
30 chlorella tabs
Total: 3/4 gallon
Part I:
Yesterday I drank a gallon of juice and had 2 pounds of leafy greens, celery and also fruits. My juice was 1 bunch Lacinato (dinosaur) kale, 1 large bunch dandelion greens, 1 large head of celery, 1 teaspoon coconut oil (...unrefined, unheated, organic) and some cayenne to move my blood. I went running at 5:30 AM and felt filled with energy. After drinking all my greens, which were 1/2 gallon, I had incredible focus, energy and clarity. I counseled and completed my taxes. I then went too long without drinking; 4 hours instead of 2, so I could really feel hunger, fatigue and a little spaciness, which picked right up when I drank my next quart, which was red chard, parsley, bok choi, apple and carrot. After my final quart of mostly fruit (I'm still playing to see how my body responds to different combos), which was a delicious, grapefruit, navel orange and carrot, I waited a while and then went to enema. While I have had many colonics and loved them, I really haven't utilized enemas. I already see the value just from one! I followed Irina's guidance to lay on the floor on my right side, so that the water would reach and flush my descending colon, then after all the water was in me, to move onto my back, draw my legs up to my chest and rock back and forth to swoosh the water around. When I finally eliminated everything, it was intense and went on for quite awhile. The thing is, I am normally super regular in my eliminations; meal in, meal out, as much as four or five times a day. So it came as a real surprise that it kept coming out, along with some abdominal pain, which I never experience anymore. Because I knew it was detox, I just trusted my body to move through it, and after awhile, it did. Interesting, I was left completely exhausted, feeling like I had been on a journey. This morning, I decided to sleep in a little. When I woke up to prepare my juices and for counseling, I was really wiped! I thought I would run after session, but I was exhausted and decided to juice and drink instead and let go of my run for the day. I made a half gallon of red leaf lettuce (1 large head), cilantro (1/2 bunch), celery (1 large head), carrot (1/2 large one), lemon (1/2), coconut oil (1 teaspoon) and cayenne (some shakes) and drank it all, while sitting on my porch and talking to a friend. As soon as I drank, energy started soaring, my whole energy system (chakras) opened up big time, and here I am about to go for my run! And I'm feeling a bit sexy in my lower chakras :) I'm still detoxing in my eliminations, but I feel great! All in the life of a juice feaster...
Part II:
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
A Gift for You! 10 Tools to Take You Through the Holidays
Here's a little gift for all my readers, supporters, friends, family and loved ones...that's you!!! It's from my
soon-to-be-completed book, "Ecstatic Eating!" The tools are from a talk I used to give each year during this time. I hope you enjoy them and that they help you in eating ecstatically and feeling amazing now, into the New Year and beyond!
With Immense Gratitude to Each of You for Being in My life,
Hope
10 Tools to Take You Through the Holidays
1. Take a Breath; Pause between bites:
Notice how much more important the food has become than the connection and conversation.
Know you can have more to eat, and take a breath to engage in conversation.
Introduce yourself to someone you may not know or connect with a dear relative without the clutter of food thoughts taking up space in your brain.
If you are by yourself, take five minutes to do some deep inhales and exhales before going back for more food.
2. Balance your holiday meals with your typical way of eating.
Have at least one meal a day that supports your body with balancing and energizing foods. Have this meal be a meal like the one you would normally eat the other three hundred and sixty four days of the year. If possible, sit quietly by yourself when eating this meal, and really tap into yourself. If you are with others, chew your food slowly and engage in an "active meditation."
3. Surround and honor yourself with some of your Core Foods.
If you are going away for the holidays, bring along a cooler with a few of your "balancing" foods. If you normally eat steel cut oats for breakfast, bring a bag with you. Go to the market the first day you are there, and pick up a few foods that support your normal way of eating.
This does not set you apart from others; in fact, by taking really good care of yourself, it allows for you to truly appreciate the holiday foods that you eat and know they are cooked with love; so eat them and enjoy.
Others may see you eating leafy greens and want to try; let them into your world, too, but don‟t have expectations. This is about taking good care of you.
4. Never skip a meal.
Meals are usually skipped because we are "punishing" ourselves for being "bad" with food; now we must deprive ourselves to pay the piper.
Deprivation promotes unhealthy eating, and ultimately, weight gain and mood imbalance. We want to stay consistent in our eating during this time of year; consistency creates balance.
We are never "bad." We just make choices each day. Honor that whatever food choice you make is the right choice and enjoy your next meal without guilt.
If you are too full to eat your next meal, take a break or eat a smaller portion.
5. Drink water each day.
Increase the amount now. It will both help satiate your hunger and move all the holiday foods through your digestive system.
Notice the difference it makes in your level of energy versus fatigue.
Notice any other changes with mood, desire to eat less and becoming full more quickly. Make a note of these differences in your holiday journal.
6. Engage in one calming, relaxing, balancing practice each day.
Yoga, meditation and deep breathing are a few options. Taking a run, journaling or getting a massage is great, too. Even if you are very busy with holiday shopping, cooking and entertaining, take five to ten minutes early in the morning or at night before bed to just "be" with you.
Do a breathwork/meditation, with some nice, deep inhales and exhales. Get in touch with how your body feels when you allow it to slow down and get "core connected." Notice the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe in deeply; then let it all go. Visualize your favorite place of relaxation; the perfect beach where you vacationed; the top of a mountain or maybe just a special room in your home. Picture yourself standing, sitting or laying down with complete peace in this place. Breathe in and out as you see the image.
You can take this "feeling" and bring it into the rest of your day or night.
The more you give yourself the gift of breath and meditation, the more you will have the energy and focus for the rest of your day.
7. Exercise for thirty minutes each day.
Our bodies were not designed to be sedentary; this is why we have legs!
Exercise this time of year is even more valuable in its ability to balance the mood, as we get our heart rates up and endorphins are released. It facilitates healthy digestion and elimination and balances the new foods
we might be eating. And, it feels good! We are taking care of ourselves and accomplishing something in the process.
If you have an exercise you do regularly, continue with it. If you are out of town and not near your gym, see if you can use a family member‟s guest pass.
Try some winter holiday exercises, like ice skating, snow shoeing or taking a run or cross country ski with someone you haven‟t seen in awhile. If you are in warm climate, go over to the beach and walk or swim, hike in the early morning or tuck a jump rope in your suitcase and do twenty jumps outside.
When you start to hesitate about getting out for your workout and turn to head for the kitchen, put your fleece and sneakers on and head out the door!
8. Make a list of things you‟ve accomplished this year.
As the year closes, we tend to look to resolutions for the New Year. These are all about what we feel we haven‟t done well and want to alter.
Why not stop to see all the wonderful, powerful ways in which we have made forward movement in our lives?
Run through the past year in your mind; what actions, conversations and decisions brought you even a little bit closer to your goals and dreams? Write them down.
Where did you make a difference in another person‟s life?
What did you let go of that allowed you to move forward?
Where did you walk through your fear and venture ahead?
Write down even the smallest of actions…they count just as much!
9. Make a Gratitude list.
What are you grateful for this year?
Who are you grateful for this year?
How has that helped shape your life?
Sometimes even acknowledging a special sunrise or the movement of the trees outside your window can connect you to being present.
10. Language your thoughts positively. I cannot say enough about how our self-talk creates our world.
We are so quick to speak and think negatively about ourselves; this affects how we process our lives and our ability to move forward and move through obstacles.
Instead of saying, "I am bad. I am wrong." try saying, "I made this choice."
Believe it or not, even a simple change in how we speak or think about ourselves can alter the way we feel.
When we say, "I am ugly. I am fat," we are telling our body to process who we are as ugly and fat. The body responds accordingly.
When we allow ourselves to speak with self-love about ourselves and our bodies, we now create a space for change.
Find something you love about your body and say it out loud to yourself.
Remember: There is no "good or bad"; there is only the choice you make at this moment. You can make another one next time.
Bonus Holiday Tools: 11. Get together with one person who knows you, „gets you‟ and appreciates your magnificence!
Have a "sharing" time where you say everything going on for you and hold nothing back, and allow them to do the same. Let yourselves cry, laugh and connect deeply with one another. If you cannot do this in person, call this person on the phone (once a day, if you need to) and let it all out. Then ask them to remind you who you are. A support system is vital. When holiday time thrusts us into a-typical relationship environments, having someone who knows you completely, honors your greatness, loves you without judgment and is your champion for growth and well being is a powerful "grounding" tool for remembering who you are in the rest of your life.
12. Lighten your expectations of others.
This is harder said than done, but is the root of much unneeded suffering throughout the holidays.
If we can "meet people where they are at," we can be present to the quality of spending time with them.
Holiday time is not the time to bring up or "work through" old wounds and deep-rooted conflicts with a family member or friend. It is a time to stay as centered and grounded as possible so that you can feel the gift of connection rather than the painful alienation of emotional separation.
Emotions run high this time of year for everyone. There is plenty of time the rest of the year to engage in those tender familial conversations. If you are struggling, choose someone else close to you to listen and save the deep processing conversations for after the holidays.
Notice how you feel with whatever comes up, and just allow yourself to observe it. Journal on it or share it with your friend. Once you have some distance, you can address it from response, rather than reaction.
Holidays are also a time to be present to love, gratitude and joy. If you can meet your mother, brother or friend "where they are" right now, it will allow you to receive the connection of just being with them.
Remember: They are still who they are; don‟t expect them to be otherwise. It is you who is evolving, which is a gift.
13. Ask for what you need.
This might be a hug, some quiet time, the space to cook one meal of your choosing or anything else that doesn‟t leave you wanting. As Esther and Jerry Hicks say through Abraham, "Ask and it is Given." The more we stuff down our needs, the more the body responds accordingly with food, weight and ill-health.
14. Honor your choices.
Choose powerfully for yourself. Feel joyous about whatever you choose.
Any choice that will leave you tired and depleted, or filled with shame, sadness or anger is not a healthy choice, so choose from your core and with self-love.
Then embrace whatever you choose, and know that it is exactly the right choice at this moment!
soon-to-be-completed book, "Ecstatic Eating!" The tools are from a talk I used to give each year during this time. I hope you enjoy them and that they help you in eating ecstatically and feeling amazing now, into the New Year and beyond!
With Immense Gratitude to Each of You for Being in My life,
Hope
10 Tools to Take You Through the Holidays
1. Take a Breath; Pause between bites:
Notice how much more important the food has become than the connection and conversation.
Know you can have more to eat, and take a breath to engage in conversation.
Introduce yourself to someone you may not know or connect with a dear relative without the clutter of food thoughts taking up space in your brain.
If you are by yourself, take five minutes to do some deep inhales and exhales before going back for more food.
2. Balance your holiday meals with your typical way of eating.
Have at least one meal a day that supports your body with balancing and energizing foods. Have this meal be a meal like the one you would normally eat the other three hundred and sixty four days of the year. If possible, sit quietly by yourself when eating this meal, and really tap into yourself. If you are with others, chew your food slowly and engage in an "active meditation."
3. Surround and honor yourself with some of your Core Foods.
If you are going away for the holidays, bring along a cooler with a few of your "balancing" foods. If you normally eat steel cut oats for breakfast, bring a bag with you. Go to the market the first day you are there, and pick up a few foods that support your normal way of eating.
This does not set you apart from others; in fact, by taking really good care of yourself, it allows for you to truly appreciate the holiday foods that you eat and know they are cooked with love; so eat them and enjoy.
Others may see you eating leafy greens and want to try; let them into your world, too, but don‟t have expectations. This is about taking good care of you.
4. Never skip a meal.
Meals are usually skipped because we are "punishing" ourselves for being "bad" with food; now we must deprive ourselves to pay the piper.
Deprivation promotes unhealthy eating, and ultimately, weight gain and mood imbalance. We want to stay consistent in our eating during this time of year; consistency creates balance.
We are never "bad." We just make choices each day. Honor that whatever food choice you make is the right choice and enjoy your next meal without guilt.
If you are too full to eat your next meal, take a break or eat a smaller portion.
5. Drink water each day.
Increase the amount now. It will both help satiate your hunger and move all the holiday foods through your digestive system.
Notice the difference it makes in your level of energy versus fatigue.
Notice any other changes with mood, desire to eat less and becoming full more quickly. Make a note of these differences in your holiday journal.
6. Engage in one calming, relaxing, balancing practice each day.
Yoga, meditation and deep breathing are a few options. Taking a run, journaling or getting a massage is great, too. Even if you are very busy with holiday shopping, cooking and entertaining, take five to ten minutes early in the morning or at night before bed to just "be" with you.
Do a breathwork/meditation, with some nice, deep inhales and exhales. Get in touch with how your body feels when you allow it to slow down and get "core connected." Notice the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe in deeply; then let it all go. Visualize your favorite place of relaxation; the perfect beach where you vacationed; the top of a mountain or maybe just a special room in your home. Picture yourself standing, sitting or laying down with complete peace in this place. Breathe in and out as you see the image.
You can take this "feeling" and bring it into the rest of your day or night.
The more you give yourself the gift of breath and meditation, the more you will have the energy and focus for the rest of your day.
7. Exercise for thirty minutes each day.
Our bodies were not designed to be sedentary; this is why we have legs!
Exercise this time of year is even more valuable in its ability to balance the mood, as we get our heart rates up and endorphins are released. It facilitates healthy digestion and elimination and balances the new foods
we might be eating. And, it feels good! We are taking care of ourselves and accomplishing something in the process.
If you have an exercise you do regularly, continue with it. If you are out of town and not near your gym, see if you can use a family member‟s guest pass.
Try some winter holiday exercises, like ice skating, snow shoeing or taking a run or cross country ski with someone you haven‟t seen in awhile. If you are in warm climate, go over to the beach and walk or swim, hike in the early morning or tuck a jump rope in your suitcase and do twenty jumps outside.
When you start to hesitate about getting out for your workout and turn to head for the kitchen, put your fleece and sneakers on and head out the door!
8. Make a list of things you‟ve accomplished this year.
As the year closes, we tend to look to resolutions for the New Year. These are all about what we feel we haven‟t done well and want to alter.
Why not stop to see all the wonderful, powerful ways in which we have made forward movement in our lives?
Run through the past year in your mind; what actions, conversations and decisions brought you even a little bit closer to your goals and dreams? Write them down.
Where did you make a difference in another person‟s life?
What did you let go of that allowed you to move forward?
Where did you walk through your fear and venture ahead?
Write down even the smallest of actions…they count just as much!
9. Make a Gratitude list.
What are you grateful for this year?
Who are you grateful for this year?
How has that helped shape your life?
Sometimes even acknowledging a special sunrise or the movement of the trees outside your window can connect you to being present.
10. Language your thoughts positively. I cannot say enough about how our self-talk creates our world.
We are so quick to speak and think negatively about ourselves; this affects how we process our lives and our ability to move forward and move through obstacles.
Instead of saying, "I am bad. I am wrong." try saying, "I made this choice."
Believe it or not, even a simple change in how we speak or think about ourselves can alter the way we feel.
When we say, "I am ugly. I am fat," we are telling our body to process who we are as ugly and fat. The body responds accordingly.
When we allow ourselves to speak with self-love about ourselves and our bodies, we now create a space for change.
Find something you love about your body and say it out loud to yourself.
Remember: There is no "good or bad"; there is only the choice you make at this moment. You can make another one next time.
Bonus Holiday Tools: 11. Get together with one person who knows you, „gets you‟ and appreciates your magnificence!
Have a "sharing" time where you say everything going on for you and hold nothing back, and allow them to do the same. Let yourselves cry, laugh and connect deeply with one another. If you cannot do this in person, call this person on the phone (once a day, if you need to) and let it all out. Then ask them to remind you who you are. A support system is vital. When holiday time thrusts us into a-typical relationship environments, having someone who knows you completely, honors your greatness, loves you without judgment and is your champion for growth and well being is a powerful "grounding" tool for remembering who you are in the rest of your life.
12. Lighten your expectations of others.
This is harder said than done, but is the root of much unneeded suffering throughout the holidays.
If we can "meet people where they are at," we can be present to the quality of spending time with them.
Holiday time is not the time to bring up or "work through" old wounds and deep-rooted conflicts with a family member or friend. It is a time to stay as centered and grounded as possible so that you can feel the gift of connection rather than the painful alienation of emotional separation.
Emotions run high this time of year for everyone. There is plenty of time the rest of the year to engage in those tender familial conversations. If you are struggling, choose someone else close to you to listen and save the deep processing conversations for after the holidays.
Notice how you feel with whatever comes up, and just allow yourself to observe it. Journal on it or share it with your friend. Once you have some distance, you can address it from response, rather than reaction.
Holidays are also a time to be present to love, gratitude and joy. If you can meet your mother, brother or friend "where they are" right now, it will allow you to receive the connection of just being with them.
Remember: They are still who they are; don‟t expect them to be otherwise. It is you who is evolving, which is a gift.
13. Ask for what you need.
This might be a hug, some quiet time, the space to cook one meal of your choosing or anything else that doesn‟t leave you wanting. As Esther and Jerry Hicks say through Abraham, "Ask and it is Given." The more we stuff down our needs, the more the body responds accordingly with food, weight and ill-health.
14. Honor your choices.
Choose powerfully for yourself. Feel joyous about whatever you choose.
Any choice that will leave you tired and depleted, or filled with shame, sadness or anger is not a healthy choice, so choose from your core and with self-love.
Then embrace whatever you choose, and know that it is exactly the right choice at this moment!
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