Spinach and Yoga

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There are so many “health experts”, gurus, and celebrity trainers pitching their diet and fitness advice that we as a society should be fit and healthy by now. But for some reason we are not. I think it is partially because most of the health advice is based on personal experiences and while valid for some people doesn’t apply to others.

It brings me to a difficult but at the same time very empowering realization. Nobody can tell me what to do to be well and to stay healthy, I need to figure it out myself. And you do, too!

Learning how to listen to an internal health expert, your body, is one of the 1st steps in finding your personalized wellness strategy. Your body offers an amazing source of wisdom if you are willing to explore it. It can guide you in anything starting from what and when to eat, how and how much to exercise, and even what to do with your life and how to find true happiness. We have that knowledge, it is a matter of tapping into it.

Learning to Listen and Understand the Teacher

• Learning how to listen to your body is important.
• Learning the language in which your body communicates is crucial if you want to decipher it’s message.
• What is even more important is acting based on what your internal voice tells you.

There is a difference between listening to the body and actually responding to that internal voice. It is the same difference as knowing the rules and acting according to them. For me it proved to be a lot more challenging than I expected.

One of the reasons that it was so difficult is because things that my internal teacher was whispering went against my logical beliefs. They were against what I read and what experts said. It was scary to follow the advice coming from inside not from someone with a big name and recognition. It was also difficult because it required letting go of my beliefs and changing my routine.

Welcome Change!

Often we get attached to our routine. There is something very comforting about predictability and doing things the way we are used to. Unfortunately, attachment makes us less flexible and less open to new things, even things that might be better for us than what we currently do.

As Seth Godin put it in his book ‘Linchpin‘: It is human nature to defend our worldview, to construct a narrative that protects us from uncomfortable confessions (truth).

How many times have you seen someone justify drinking coffee or alcohol because they find studies that show that it can be good? I see people who hurt themselves based on their old beliefs that something is good for them even though their body is telling otherwise. For someone it can be excessive exercise that breaks down joints and depletes muscles, for others – continuous grazing that causes bloating. In our day and age, one can find studies supporting almost anything. Contradictory studies can help you justify eating grains or refusing them, having fruits or cutting them out, drinking coffee or staying away from it, taking supplements or throwing them out, treating yourself to daily chocolates or putting a ban on cacao. Whatever you want, science got your back!

Still, most of us choose to trust some professor rather than our own body! We trust industry-sponsored questionable studies more than our body’s internal voice.

Nothing Is Written In Stone

Circumstances change, we change, our needs change. Keeping an open mind and not getting attached too much to the ideas, routines, or beliefs will allow you to see the world more clearly.

Our body changes continuously and its needs change along the way, we have to listen and adapt. There is nothing wrong with changing your beliefs as your understanding deepens. Victoria Boutenko is one of the people who was not afraid to publicly  recognize that her understanding of nutrition and health has changed over the years. After years of promoting all raw diet and blaming cooked food for cravings, Victoria noticed that her body felt better with some cooked foods present in the diet. While it caused some people to judge her, others appreciated her honesty.

Ask Your Body What it Needs

One of the easiest ways to start learning from your body is to ask for feedback. I often go through this exercise with my students and everyone seems to really enjoy it. First read through the steps and then give it a try!

• Lay down or sit in a very comfortable supported position
• Close your eyes
• Take a few deep breaths and mentally say to yourself “I am relaxing, my body is fully relaxed with every exhale”.
• Keep your breath at natural slow rhythm. Deep and slow.
• Do a mental scan of your body and release any tension that you find.
• Start by saying “hi” to your body. ‘Hi body! How are you doing today?”
• Listen to what your body communicates to your in feelings, sensations, or thoughts that arise.
• Ask your body: ‘What can I do to make you feel better today?’
• Listen and act it on it!

One day your body might ask for a nap, another day for a run, and a green juice or chocolate. As long as you are listening to your body and don’t let your mind interfere, it will be a clear and authentic message that will bring good results if you follow!

F*ck the ‘no pain, no gain’ thingy!

One of the most powerful lessons that I learned from my body is that being fit and strong does not have to involve pain and struggle. It can be pretty easy, fun, and joyful. Surprised? I was, too!

Another cool thing that I learned from my internal teacher is that a six pack is not the only determinant of a fit body. A fit body is a body that wakes up full of energy, can run up the subway stairs without feeling fatigued in the quads, will dance all night without being tired the next day, hike all day, and digest food efficiently. (Yes, workouts and digestion are quite connected. Too much or too little will make your belly unhappy!)

• You can create a beautiful, strong, fit body by moderate exercise, meditation, stretching, relaxation, visualization, and mindful clean eating.

• If you prefer a harder and more painful way, then you can create a fit body by intense exercise, timed eating, supplements, and lots of will power to keep doing it.

The Choice Is Yours!

My body is telling me to go with the 1st one and that’s what I am working on:). In a Saturday I will tell you why I had to move from the will power and super intense workouts. Stay tuned by subscribing on the top right and please check out Spinach and Yoga page on facebook!

For now: Have you tried to listen to your body? Did you ever feel torn about following your body’s feedback when it was contradictory to what your mind was telling you to do?

Listen and you will hear!

PS: If you are new to relaxation or guided meditation and would like some help learning to listen to you body, schedule a consultation with me and I will be happy to work with you on that. You can also come by to Strala on Tue for a 7pm yoga class and we can chat before!

Nadya

Back on Track Guide

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Last night on the way back from quiet restful weekend in Miami, we were surrounded with barely awake, hangover, sunbunt folks who tried to hide from the bright cabin light and restlessly tried to find the most comfortable position in uncomfortable airplane seat to pass out (probably for the 1st time in 3 days). The victims of a long party weekend! Throbbing headache, foggy mind, uneasy stomach, nausea, fatigue – my compassion goes your way, people!

Hopefully you feel light, energized and excited to start the week after a restful long weekend! If yes, then have a great week and pass this article to one of you co-workers or friends who is feeling tired, hangover, and miserable. This article is for those who had a super fun but rough weekend partying, eating not-so-healthy food, and pushing liver’s boundaries with alcohol and probably smth else. It is for you, my friends returning from Vegas and the opening weekend in the Hamptons

We all know that it is best to eat whole fresh foods, to minimize alcohol, to exercise regularly, to take time to relax effectively, and to go to bed at regular hours. Going out late, drinking alcohol, eating late dinners, and listening to loud music with bright lights is on the ‘try to avoid’ list, if you want to be at the best state of well-being. (Sorry, but this is the way it is!)

If you try to follow a healthy lifestyle most of the time but not ready to break up with old party friends or completely give up your party habits, you need to learn to re-balance yourself after those occasional parties.

A Difficult Choice

As a beginning wellness warrior, you face a difficult choice: your health and balance vs your relationship with old friends. Long weekends when most people get together to celebrate, relax and ‘have fun’ can be particularly challenging. You don’t want to seem ‘boring’ and ‘weird’. You want to feel a part of the group, relax, and have fun, too. Most of your friends may still be not sold on all the aspects of a healthy lifestyle, consider early dinners an entertainment for grandpas and love to dance into the wee hours.  If you had to make this difficult choice this weekend and as a result feel a little of tilt, this post will give you helpful guidelines to quickly get back on track.

The good thing is that if you know how to re-balance yourself, you will recover a lot quicker.

Those of you who think that being healthy is too boring and overrated and fear missing the next big DJ a lot more than damaging your liver, you might pick up a few useful tips from this article, too. If you fall into this category, you probably feel a bit (or a lot) hangover after 3 days of partying nonstop. You will learn how to minimize the time spent hating your life and get back to feeling more energy. Trust me, you don’t need to turn into a health nut right away but being kinder to your body a few days a week will make your off party days so much happier.

Clean Body = Sensitive Body

It feels amazing to live in a clean, healthy body that has a lot of energy and mind clarity. Once experienced, this state is not something one would want to give up easily!

Sadly, clean body reacts a lot stronger to pollutants like alcohol or drugs. It becomes more sensitive. As a result, I often hear from my clients that after not drinking any alcohol for a month, they feel sick after 1 glass of wine. I experienced it myself and it is not pleasant. It makes perfect sense, however. How would a kid feel if you give him alcohol? Probably pretty sick, too. Once your body is clean, it doesn’t tolerate toxic substances and has a healthy reaction of wanting to eliminate the toxins as fast a possible.

Peer pressure, and lack of desire to be the ‘weird’ one, and to completely break away from an old group of friends usually lead to giving up some of the daily health rules for a night or two. Not ideal but not the end of the world!

If you feel crappy, tired, less inspired than usual the next day, there are a few things that you can do to restore balance. We’ll focus of physical and mental/emotional aspects equally. You are a whole being and you need to balance out all aspects.

Physical ER

Being out really late, in a loud place, surrounded by a lot of people, drinking, smoking, doing any kind of drugs creates a major imbalance in a lot of systems. Hormones get effected, your blood chemistry, stomach lining, water levels, digestion, liver, kidney, pancreas (alcohol is a highly concentrated sugar), nervous system – your entire body and mind become slightly or majorly out of whack.

There are many common sense practices that help to restore physical body back to balance. To find out what will work the best for your body, ask what it needs to recover. If you are attentive enough, you will know intuitively what to do. Most likely, your body needs a combination of hydrating drinks, sleep, gentle stretching, and nourishing food. Stretching and easy to digest food are crucial to restore energy and to break up stiff points of tension. Here is what worked for me and a few of my friends in the past really well:

• Drink a glass or 2 of warm water with lemon first think in the morning
• Drink coconut water before breakfast or lunch. Alcohol, smoking, greasy/heavy food, and dancing until the morning creates a lot of heat in the body. Cool coconut helps to calm it down while rehydrating your thirsty body. Potassium and electrolytes help!
• Eat mono-meals throughout the day. To restore energy and let your liver recuperate, use fewer ingredients and let simplicity rule. This will ensure that your meals are easy to digest (less likelihood of bad food combinations) and won’t overtax your digestive system. Kicheri is a great choice if you are up for cooking. If you are eating out or ordering in, try vegetable soups, a light curry, stir fries, congee, or plain quinoa.
• Do a yoga nidra. Deep restorative rest for the entire system helps to get back to normal level of energy a lot faster than just melting in front of the TV.
• Go for a walk outside. Breaking up the routine and going to sleep at the same time that you usually get up is a big stress for the body whether you realize it or not. To regulate natural cycles and get back to the routine, sunlight and fresh air are great helpers. Take a short walk during your lunch time or after work.

Mental and Emotional ER

You need to know and believe that the REAL YOU is still happy, perfect, and full of light. It is your body and your mind that feels tired and depressed. Once you realize that you are unchangeable, constant, and always happy, it is a lot easier to deal with the body and mind that are experiencing the consequences of a weekend long abuse.

The goal of the below guidelines is to create a positive state of mind and get out of a low depressing mood.

• Let go of the guilt. What’s done is done, no point to fuss over it. Focus on what you can do to make yourself feel better in the present instead of thinking what you should’ve done differently yesterday. Now is the only thing that matters. Learning to let go will save you a lot of negative emotions.
• Say 5-10 Positive Affirmations. Whatever we focus on grows. Instead of complaining how crappy you feel, imagine that you feel good. If you can’t imagine, remember the last time you felt good and focus on that good feeling. Your thoughts make up your reality. Either reality determines how you feel or you choose your feelings and they in turn effect your  reality.
• List things you are grateful for and that are still going great even though you feel crappy. Keep doing it throughout the day, especially when an overwhelming desire to complain and to feel sorry for yourself appears.
• Visualize energy coming in and fatigue and toxins going out with every breath. Close your eyes and play with your imagination.
• Smile, listen to good music, call happy friends, do whatever you need to do to get out from a negative state and create positive happy thoughts. Remember that the outside is just a reflection of what’s inside.

How do you get back on track after breaking some of your “health’ rules? What helps you to restore the balance? Please share!

To receive FREE health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga!

Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

Interview with Carla Tara. Part 1

Carla Tara. Photography by www.http://www.wix.com/katerinagubina

A week ago, on a beautiful sunny afternoon, I had a privilege to interview an amazing woman, who spent the last 20 years teaching men and women how to love and be loved using the ancient art of Tantra.

With a fresh rosy glow, graceful as a dancer, and with a strong but calm energy, Carla makes an impression of a woman who is very happy and comfortable in her life and in her body. At 69 years old, Carla attributes her young looks and flexibility to dance, long walks, regular exercise, and a fulfilling sex life.

Here is the first part of our long chat about sex, love, passion, and wellness:

Nadya: Tell us about yourself and your work?
Carla:  I’m a teacher of tantra and a intimacy coach. I teach women how to love themselves and men how to make love to women so they can achieve multiple orgasms. I also work with couples a lot to help them build better communication practices. Most couples do not communicate openly. Unexpressed feelings get in a way of a healthy loving relationship and a passionate love-making. Open and honest communication clears the emotional space.

Nadya: If you could teach one thing to all women out there, what would that be?
Carla: Ocean breath. It helps to get in touch with the core of your being, with the essence of who you are. From there we have the power to change. To do the Ocean Breath or Love Making Breath, as I like to call it, lay down in a comfortable position, bend your knees so that your lower back is settled and put your hands on your belly. Inhale deeply and when you exhale concentrate on relaxing stomach. Think of softening in and letting go of all the tension from the lower part of your body. Relax your mouth and exhale out through slightly parted lips, going ‘ahhhh’. Let the breath come down to the pubic bone and then let go. Do it for at least 10 breaths. The key to love making is to stop thinking and this breath helps to stop the annoying mind chatter.

Nadya: Why is relaxing the belly is so important?
Carla: As a nation, we are very ‘belly afraid’. Flat strong abs is an object of desire and a round protruding belly is frowned upon. As a result, we always suck it in, keep it tight, and never let it be free and relaxed. While it is good to keep your belly engaged when working out, it is not a good thing when making love. 

Nadya: What about women who don’t have a partner? Can they practice Tantra on their own?
Carla: Yes! You need to know how to make love to yourself first of all. Otherwise how can you tell a man what you want. Women should dance with themselves, say loving affirmations to their body, and learn what turns them on. It’s very important, love yourself first – learn how to make love to yourself.

Nadya: What if a woman never looked at herself in the mirror lovingly and feels a lot of resistance saying affirmations to her own body? How can she make love to herself? Where does one start?
Carla: You can start by saying to yourself: “I’m open to the possibility that I could love this body.” Start by talking to your body with compassion. Instead of saying “I hate how you look!” or “I am going to get you in shape!”, make friends with your body. Try saying “I’m learning to love my breasts” not “I love my breasts” in the beginning. Instead of “I love my body,” if it doesn’t come from the heart, say, “Wow, I’m looking at my body and it’s my friend. I can’t live without my body. I am willing to accept, to start accepting as it is, exactly as it is because it’s a consequence of my actions or my beliefs, and I can change my beliefs and I can change my actions and in consequence, I can change my body and still love how I am right now.”

Nadya: So it is better to start slow and enjoy the process?
Carla: Yes, just be willing to open up and see what happens when you start loving your body. Think of how you would treat a good old friend when thinking about your relationship with your body? Would you starve it or would you feed it with delicious healthy food? Your relationship with your body should be all about Pleasure. The same way as with your partner. If you’re on a strict diet and want a piece of cake one day, you do it and enjoy it. Make it a feast, chew each bite 32 times, one for each tooth. And then you feel your body, pay attention to what it says to you.

Nadya: How often do you think a woman should talk to herself.
Carla: Every day. Do it as soon as you get up in the morning. As soon as you open your eyes and say, “Good morning, body! I’m really happy that I fell asleep. I’m really glad I have you, and I love you unconditionally right now, and I’m sorry that blah, blah, blah,” If something happened to the body that was not the way you wanted. “I take the responsibility to treat you well because I love you.” God has created only good stuff and your body is not a piece of shit. You are God’s creation, and your body is divine and deserves to be treated well.

Nadya:  For how long?
Carla:  Start with one minute, and then go to two minutes next week and increase to perhaps five minutes. Five minutes is good.

Nadya: What is the next step after affirmations? How do you learn what your body needs when it comes to love making?
Carla:  You have to experiment and learn from your body. At the beginning I didn’t like pleasuring myself. I was thinking, I want a man to do it, why do I have to do it myself? And that’s where most of us, women, start. It is a normal reaction. You have to understand, however, that if you can’t give yourself pleasure, it is difficult to explain to your man how to do it. Men do not know to make love to a woman, men do not have a woman’s body. You need to find out what your body needs.  Around 45% of women have never had orgasms, 80% of women never have orgasms with intercourse. The reason is that they do not know the position that works for them and men go to the position that they like. You need to learn from your body to fully enjoy sex.

Nadya: Are there any rituals or practices that couples should do on a regular basis to keep the connection strong?
Carla:  Showing gratitude is a big one. Taking time to be with each other without the distraction is very important. You can sit facing each other, hold hands, and look into each others left eye to really connect after a day at work. Hugging and holding the hug for 4-5 breaths is another great practice that creates a strong bond. Hold each other for at least 4 breaths, heart to heart, belly to belly.

Nadya: What is your message to the women reading this interview?
Carla: Love yourself, enjoy food, chew it long and enjoy it so much so you don’t need big quantities. Be feminine and graceful in everything you do. Men love when you are communicating what you want without going around the bush. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want without being demanding. If a man says no, accept it gracefully but have the courage to ask. Relax your belly and do the Ocean Breath every day.

Nadya: Where can interested readers find you?
Carla: My website is  www.1tantra.com and www.carlatara.com I do private sessions for men, women and couples and I love couples the most because then I can guide them through all the love making steps including Kama Sutra positions. They really enjoy that. I just enjoy the transformation that happens. I do work at changing beliefs very fast. And by changing belief like touching, goes right into the core. I also teach workshops at the Open Center in NYC.

In the 2nd part of the interview, Tara will share her secrets on re-igniting passion in relationships, talk about a perfect workout for women, and teach women how to become desired and attractive. Stay tuned!

To receive FREE health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga!

Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

Dealing With Information Overload and Attention Scarcity

There are lots of health and fitness related articles out there. If our grandparents and parents had to put in effort to find health-related resources, we have to put in the effort to protect ourselves from the health-related information overload.

You would think that having so much information at hand would turn us into the healthiest nation ever but it is far from it! Quite the opposite: we are fatter than ever and suffering from chronic disease and autoimmune malfunction.

The reason behind this strange trend is that it doesn’t matter what you know. What matters is what you do, day in, day out!

The ‘more is better‘ approach that is ruling our day to day choices doesn’t always work when it comes to health and wellness information. “The more is better” things rarely works at all. We get caught up and think that more information is better, more superfoods is better, the more articles the better, the more exercise the better…

Do you notice the trends: we over-do things: we over-eat, we over-browse, we over-research, and it leads to over-weight and over-stressed society.

Interestingly, the wealth of information leads to scarcity of attention and the lack of action.

Overwhelming amount of information on health and wellness can lead to anxiety and lack of motivation to follow on any of the often conflicting advice. How are you supposed to choose which advice to follow if you want to increase your energy?  Someone is telling you to go raw, another expert is banning the sugar and coffee, someone else offers energy-boosting exercise, but you also read that some exercise depletes energy and that our body needs sugars and that raw foods are harder to digest… It can get pretty confusing, to say the least!

Just as eating in a rush without chewing would lead to indigestion and a bloated belly, skimming through a ton of articles without taking time to process and absorb information will lead to misunderstanding and a bloated head.

A Cure for an Overwhelmed Health-Seeking Warrior

Here are a few guidelines that might help to navigate over-abundance of health and wellness information and to start your own health transformation without over-stressing:

Remember: You already know more than you realize! Trust your inner expert!

You don't want your brain to feel like this!

• Before google, ask yourself. A good chance is that you already know the answer to your question. For example if you are wondering how to reduce bloating or increase energy. What has worked for you in the past? Close your eyes and ask the question to your body. Listen to what your body has to say. An answer to increasing energy might be very simple like: dude, put me to sleep! Or let’s go for a walk. Or I would really appreciate some stretches now. Ask yourself first! If there is no good answer, google:)
• What would you tell a friend with a similar question? Often we give amazing advice to other people. We show up as kind, considerate, and resourceful advisers when it comes to solving others’ problems. What if you step back and look at your situation from a 3rd person perspective. What would you advise a friend in your situation?
• Limit research to 2-3 articles and give yourself time to digest and assimilate information. You know that you can’t rush digestion in your belly without creating indigestion, so why would you want to rush digestion in your brain? You skim through the articles without pausing to think and to see how this information applies to your life. Let it sink in, simmer, become a part of you, and then when it is fully assimilated, you can use it to build up to desired outcomes.
• Choose just 1 thing to change at a time. Experiments are effective when you keep variables to a minimum and observe the true ’cause and effect’ in action. Don’t try to revamp your entire lifestyle in one week. Slow down and enjoy the ride. Listen to body’s feedback and allow time and space for constant evolution
• Talk it through with a friend or with a coach. Write or talk about the benefits and disadvantages of changing your habits. Find out what worked for your friends and why. Get a perspective from a human being not just internet. Brainstorm and play with new ideas.

Avoid information pollution and be picky about what you let in. Put on your information spam filter

Do you ever feel that your attention is too spread out and you are not sure where to focus your efforts in terms of creating consistent change in health and wellness? How do you manage that?

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga!

Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

What You Need to Know About Smoothies

All smoothies are NOT created equal. In fact, some are so loaded with sugar and fat that they’re very similar to McDonald’s milkshakes, nutritionally. Other recipes are so horribly combined that you’re likely to experience bloating.

For a quick introductory guide to belly-friendly smoothies, check out my new article on Mind Body Green. It got almost 500 likes and lots of shares! The article includes a Simple Fail Proof Smoothie Formula and a few recipes of my favorite smoothies!

Enter to Win a FREE Wellness Coaching Session with Me

A friend of mine and a great gal behind the wisdom of Vixi, the virtual ashram, recently posted an interview with me on her blog. You might remember Ashley from her amazing guest post that she wrote for Spinach and Yoga last week on Spring Detox and a Detox Smoothie. If you haven’t had a chance, yet, you can read her informational article here.

We both like to interact with our readers and we decide that it would be great to give YOU, readers,  a PRESENT:)

I know that not everyone who needs and wants a Wellness Coach can afford one. As a part of my efforts to make Wellness Coaching available, I am leading 40 Day Program to Bliss and now doing a FREE Wellness Coaching Giveaway!!!

To Enter the competition, head over to Vixi and submit a comment for this article. The comment should contain your reason as to WHY YOU WANT A WELLNESS COACHING SESSION with me.

For extra bonus points, Like Vixi, the Digital Ashram, and Spinach and Yoga facebook pages.

Tweet about it: I entered a contest at @ashleylpitman website to win a free Wellness Coaching Session with @realyoganyc

The winner will be notified on facebook and over email on May 17th at 9am EST

What are you waiting for? I want to hear from you over at Vixi’s!

If you want to learn more effective ways to boost your nutrition without spending a lot of $$$ and time, join me for the 40 Day Journey to Bliss. Your belly will thank you!

For more details about the program, read here or email nadyaand @ gmail dot com

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga!

Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

A Super Easy Way to Boost Nutrition Density of Your Salad

Have you seen an old Coffee Crisp commercial with 2 old ladies making jokes while playing cards? My boyfriend recently told me about it and even though it took me a while to get it (my Russian brain used to Russian jokes), I find it very cute and funny now:) Check it out: Old Coffee Crisp Commercial

It goes something like this:

Sprouted seeds and greens salad booster

- So how do you like you coffee?
- I like my coffee crisp.
- You like your coffee crisp?
- I like my Coffee Crisp

If it’s not funny in words, watch the commercial!

I don’t drink coffee but I like a few things to be crispy and crunchy: salads, carrots, apples, raw bread sticks, sprouted nuts and sunflower seeds…. Crisp, crisp!

If you like your salads crunchy, too, and if you are one of those people who is always in a rush and busy even in the kitchen, you will LOVE what you are about to get!

May I present to you a Crunchy Superfood Salad Booster!!!

It has so many amazing sprouted seeds, spices, and sea plants that it will turn any salad into a nutrient rich power house. It is also a great source of fiber, healthy fats, and Omega 3′s thanks to chia seeds, and chlorophyll. The best thing is that you don’t have to scout through all the kitchen shelves for spices and seasonings every time you make a salad. Basically it will save you a good 10-15 min every time you make a salad. If you make it every night, you’ll save over HOUR and a HALF of precious time a week! Just enough to squeeze in a yoga class or do a short yoga nidra pre-dinner every night! Your belly appreciates good quality relaxation just as much as the salad!

Excited for this new time-saving recipe? Let’s get cooking!

Crunchy Superfood Salad Booster

Superfood Salad Booster (just look at these amazing colors!)

You will need:

• 1 cup sprouted sunflower seeds (or 1/2 sunflower and 1/2 pumpkin seeds)
• 1/3 cup hemp seeds
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1/3 cup mixed black and white sesame seeds
• 3 tbs ground up flax seeds
• 3 tbs dulse flakes
• 2-3 tbsp chlorella powder (it has a strong smell so start small and slowly increase once you get used to it)
• 2-3 tbs spirulina powder
• 1 tbsp ground up lemon rind (optional but nice)
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 1 tsp Cumin
•  2 tsp Turmeric
• Sea salt if necessary. Dulse makes it a bit salty already so I didn’t feel like I needed salt.

Mix together, cover and store in an air-tight container. Sprinkle over any salad for a special boost or gift to health-seeking friends as a DIY present! Who wouldn’t like a nutrient-dense sprouted seeds boost to their salads?!

You can also take it with you when you travel! It is an easy way to keep highly nutritious superfoods in your diet while away from a well-stocked kitchen.

It goes great on sunflower sprouts, avocado, and baked sweet potato salad:

Boosted Sunflower Sprouts Salad

Or just plain baby spinach leaves. I also tried in a green blended soup and roasted veggies. This mineral dense, nutrient rich sprouted booster is a keeper in my kitchen!

Healthy cooking doesn’t have to take a lot of time! How do you save time in the kitchen?

If you want to learn more effective ways to boost your nutrition without spending a lot of $$$ and time, join me for the 40 Day Journey to Bliss. Your belly will thank you!

For more details about the program, read here or email nadyaand @ gmail dot com

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga!

Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

Let’s Talk About Poop

You can still get your own throne toilet:)

Usually, only boys discuss poop with each other and make a big deal out of being constipated. Girls are not supposed to get involved into the dirty boys’ talk. Well, I will break this rule for today.

Our modesty around bowel habits is a relatively recent development. In the 1600s King Louis XIII had a toilet bowl built directly into his throne, says Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, and coauthor of IBS Cookbook for Dummies (Wiley, 2009). She also notes that “because we don’t talk about bowel movements, a lot of people don’t know what’s normal and what’s not.”

According to western doctors going to the bathroom once in 3 days is considered ‘normal’. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda disagree. According to the naturopaths the Western pooping norm is abnormal. Ayurveda and TCM claim that digestion is a cornerstone of health. They say that you got to cleanse your pipes at least once a day to maintain good health.

Constipated Society

The reason that I want to talk about this hush-hush subject is because by some estimates anywhere between 30-70% of the US population is constipated. The statistic is even worse for women and elderly.

Americans spend over $725 million is spent on laxatives each year. Plus add in endless fiber supplements, herbal colon cleanses and other digestive aids and you have a booming billion industry!

If you want to check on the gravity of the situation, ask your coworkers or friends if they went to the bathroom this morning. There is a very good chance that a person sitting next to you (especially if it is a female) is literally full of shit!

If you are not making a perfectly shaped banana every morning, something is not working right. Rock hard candies and soft serve is not what supposed to come out.

If you think that your digestion is perfectly healthy because you go to the bathroom after your morning coffee or strong tea, wrong! Caffeine irritates colon and makes you go but it does not mean that your elimination process is working well! It has to happen on its own and not be dependent on caffeine.

Why Should You Care About Your Poop?

Constipation can be scary!

We are used to hearing that ‘We are what we eat” but in reality “We are what you assimilate and eliminate“. If you can’t assimilate nutrients from food and eliminate leftover materials, no matter what you eat, you can’t be healthy. A healthy digestion is a corner stone of health and happiness.

Being constipated can lead to an array of problems: bad breath, weight gain, allergies, bloating, poor nutrient assimilation, fatigue, migraine, breakouts, heart burn, lower back pain and sadly, the list goes on, then you need to clean up your act and fast before disease sets in!

Healthy efficient digestion leads to:

• Clear mind and no foggy feeling
• Glowing skin (your skin is the reflection of your digestive system)
• Good energy
• Better self-image (since there is no bloated belly to worry about)
• Great sex (sex organs and elimination organs are really close and interconnected)
• Happy positive mood (good poop makes everyone happy!)
• Better health and stronger immune system (since there are less toxins in the body
• No bad breath

How to Restore Regularity

I wrote an extensive article on restoring regularity for Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Life a few months back: How to Put Your Stomach on a Regular Schedule. It got quite a few comments and a good discussion going. If you have irregular elimination habits, check it out!

Here are some more ideas for restoring regular elimination:

• Stop fighting with your body, start cooperating: Do not ignore the urge. Sure you’re busy, but it’s important to respect your body’s rhythms and answer its calls to action. If you ignore those urges too often, or delay responding to them for too long, you can wind up desensitizing your body. As a result, it will be less likely to cooperate or respond to your cues when you finally decide it’s “a good time” to go.
• Stop constant snacking: Don’t eat until the previous meal is digested. Do a quick check in with your belly before and after eating.
• Stop eating non-food items: Packaged, processed foods that have an extremely long shelf life do not deserve to be on your plate.
• Simplify your meals: The fewer ingredients, the easier it is to digest. Avoid bad food combinations
• Stop eating dry shit!: One of the reasons you get constipated is because you are dehydrated. When your body is dehydrated, your colon is the first to suffer. A healthy colon has a very high % of moisture/liquid and in extreme situations like dehydration, your body takes liquid from colon to support other bodily organs.
• Surprising dry foods. You might be eating way more drying foods than you realize:
• Nuts
• Sandwiches
• Beans
• Chips
• Bars
• Cookies
• Fiber cereal and bars. Fiber is great but it needs liquid to move along – Hydrate your colon
• Help everything to move along
• Exercise – Being sedentary compounds constipation, while exercise increases the gut’s blood flow and improves gastrointestinal motility. Taking a short walk is often all it takes to convince your body it’s time to go. Certain yoga asanas are helpful in nudging sluggish systems into gear.
• Abdominal massage – Agnisar kriya is a great option for self-massage. Ayurvedic massage therapists or holistically trained digestive specialists can be of wonderful help.
• Breathe deeply (especially when stressed)

What It Comes Down To

The name of today’s post ‘Poop Big or Go Home‘ is catchy but does not fully reflect the idea I was trying to convey. It would be better to say ‘Poop Big and Regularly To Go Home‘.

Our body is our Home. It is a place that should feel comfortable and cozy for us to live in. When we fail to maintain our Home in a clean condition, it is impossible to be comfortable living in it. It becomes anything but cozy and welcoming!

When our body is clean and light, we feel ‘at home’ living in it. To find this amazing feeling of being ‘at home’ in your own body, you need to keep its systems functioning well! You need to take care of your body and clean the sewage system if it gets plugged up!

If you have been ignoring your digestive issues and feel like it’s about time you fix your digestion but not sure where and how to begin, sign up for the 40 Day Journey to Bliss. Your belly will thank you!

For more details about the program, read here or email nadyaand @ gmail dot com

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga! Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

NOTE: big thanks Gerry for a great title:)

To Your Happy Clean Belly!

Guest Post from Ashley Pitman, the founder of the virtual ashram Vixi

There are a few blog that I read on a regular basis and a few people in the holistic wellness and ayurveda field that inspire me. Ashley is one of them. Her website is full of ayurvedically-inspired recipes, seasonal detox tips, and effective health strategies. Ashley herself is a picture of health! In today’s guest post, Ashley shares her tips on staying balanced in the Spring and shedding off Winter pounds that some of us might still be dragging along from the holidays. Read and Learn!

Spring – The Natural Detox Season

Ashley's Ayurvedic recipes

If you’re feeling an urge to detox and get rid of any heaviness and stagnation from winter, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re on the right track according to Ayurveda.

Spring is Mother Nature’s detox season. You’ll notice that bitter roots, sprouts, greens and berries come into abundance. These pungent (spicy), bitter and astringent foods help us naturally detox any excess fats and proteins out of our system.

This is really important for obvious reasons like disease prevention and immunity boosting. But it’s even more important for subtle reasons like being able to listen to your body, following your intuition and your ability to show up fully in life.

Seasonal foods + our bodies create quite a magical combination because they need each other to thrive. Our bodies, by themselves, have an innate intelligence that enables health. BUT, when our diet and lifestyles are impeded by things like overeating, processed foods, foods out of sync with the season, stress, pharmaceutical drug toxicity, etc., the body suffers. Likewise, plant food has an innate intelligence that enables health, but when it’s put into a poorly functioning body it can’t do it’s thing either. The truth is we need to collaborate with nature in order to live into our full, vibrant capacity.

Now you might be curious about what to specifically eat during the spring, so here’s a quick rundown:

• Eat more foods that are Pungent (Spicy), Bitter, Astringent / Light, Dry, Warm
• Eat less foods that are Sweet, Sour, Salty / Heavy, Cold, Oily
• Schedule a deeper cleanse to fully detox, like a juice cleanse or a plant-based cleanse

One of my favorite morning rituals this time of year is the Spring Detox Smoothie. Here’s my recipe:

Sweet and Spicy Kapha-Balancing Detox Smoothie

Ingredients

Spring Detox Smoothie

• 1⁄2 cup spicy sprouts
• 1 tbsp ginger root
• 1 cup turnip greens (or arugula or dandelion greens)
• 2 lacinato kale leaves
• 1 pear
• 1 apple
• 1/2 lemon (juice from)
• 2 pinches of cayenne
• 1 tsp raw honey (optional for extra sweetness)
• 1 1⁄2 – 4 cups filtered water

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Here’s a quick rundown of why these ingredients are excellent choices for detoxing your body during the spring:

• DARK LEAFY GREENS like kale, collards, nettles, dandelion greens and turnip greens have a bitter and astringent taste. This stimulates the action of scraping and squeezing, respectively. Used to scrape excess waste and toxins on a cellular level, greens create lightness with their high nutrient portfolio. Greens are rich in chlorophyll which oxygenates and alkalizes your blood. Greens detox your lymph, blood and fat cells.
• LEMONS + LIMES have sour taste, which gently stimulates digestion. They stimulate the release of enzymes and help convert toxins into a water-soluble form that can be easily excreted from the body. Lemons and limes also detox your liver. Funny enough, even though these fruits are acidic outside of the body, on the inside they’re extremely alkaline-forming (this is why drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning is important). 
• SPROUTS are a super potent phase of plant growth because more nutrients are packed into a smaller space. They help build muscle tissue and contribute to sustained energy levels.
• SPICES  such as turmeric, ginger, cayenne, cinnamon and fennel improve circulation, aid detoxification, and stimulate the digestion of toxins both in the digestive tract and on a cellular level. Spices detoxify your lymph, blood, kidneys and bowels.
• SWEET FRUITS are high in fiber, and some, like apples, are high in pectin, which serves an intestinal broom to clear out the toxins. Juicy fruits contain the purest, most absorbable form of water for our cells, giving your body energy to detox in pace with modern life.

And guys, I just want to forewarn you that this smoothie is a little intense, but for good reason. Choosing meals that help you live into a higher vibration isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it!

Do you feel better when you eat with the seasons? Do you have a favorite spring smoothie recipe that you’d like to share?

Bio: As a Wellness Educator, Cleanse Specialist + crusader for whole-body nourishment, Ashley Pitman supports thousands of people in achieving a hot body and radiant beauty with a blend of raw food education, Ayurvedic inspiration, guided detoxes + courses, and lots of loving encouragement. All the action takes place at Vixi.com, a digital ashram for wellness-inspired people looking to use food as medicine and health as a spiritual practice. Stay devoted to your radiance and well-being by joining the free weekly newsletter with health and lifestyle tips that work. Click here to join & claim your free gift.

Twitter: @ashleylpitman Facebook: Vixi’s Page

Type A, Over-Achiever, Busy Mom, or Gymaholic? – I Have Something For you!

Some of you know that recently I started my journey to become a wellness consultant with Wellcoaches and recently successfully passed my exams! The idea behind getting this certification was to get necessary tools and to practice my coaching skills to help those who are looking to create a better state of wellness. These tools include vision creation, goal setting, creating strategies, and overcoming barriers on the way to holistic (whole) wellness. Since the definition of wellness is different for everyone, this program focused on providing us with tools to create customized personal programs where the client takes the reigns and guides the process.

While working on the certification, I got a clear picture of how and where I want to use my new coaching skills, combined with yoga, psychology, and my personal health and PCOS experience. Dear girls, I want to focus on your health and wellness:) Specifically, over-achievers, type A’s who tend to push through body’s signals asking for rest, who knows no time-off, who feels tired, stressed out from ‘work till you drop’ attitude but can’t ask for help. You are your worst critic. Your to-do list is endless. You are working on multiple projects at once, while taking care of your family, making time for intense workouts, hosting dinner parties, and taking self-development courses. You also find time to help your friends and co-workers, to support your siblings, and to make breakfast for your boyfriend or husband. I know exactly how you feel and I want to help you to slow down and learn how to rest and rejuvenate in a very efficient manner.

Here are a few reasons why YOU are my focus:

If that's how you feel, join me for a Wellness Reboot!

• I am one of you and I understand how you feel
• I pushed my body past its limit and learned the hard way how to let it rest and re-balance
• I know that you get tired and burnt out just like everyone else but don’t want to recognize it
• I know that our bodies also need support and compassion but it is harder for us to make ourselves a priority
• We think we can push through things but in reality there is an easier and a happier way
• There is a way to keep doing what you need and what you want but at the same time feel balanced, grounded, and inspired !

By over-achivers I don’t mean only those of use who spent 80 hours a week at the office. We all have different fields of over-achieving. Whether it is being a perfect mom and a wife, a successful worker, an obsessive ‘gymaholic’ or a straight A student, anything can lead to a burnout. It all depends on the attitude, effort, and ways we handle stress. Someone can get an anxiety attack from being late to an appointment while another woman can work at an all-male hedge fund company during an economy crisis and not blink an eye. We are all different and yoga and ayurveda have taught me to respect that.

My goal is to keep learn everything I can about women’s body and psychology, the way we work, what gives us the most rest, what balances our hormones, and what makes us happy. There are a lot of components to the puzzle that’s why I chose to focus. Since childhood I read in the books of Pushkin and Molière that it is better to master one topic than to be familiar with many subjects on the surface.

So far I learned many interesting things that I can use while working with women who need help in restoring their body and quieting the mind.

• Special needs of women’s body in yoga
• Meditation for women
• Positive Imagery and Visualization techniques
• Weight loss strategies for women’s body that create balance not depletion
• Hormone-balancing foods and practices (Specifically adrenal fatigue, pcos, menopause)
• Coaching strategies for creating an effective wellness plan and achieving the goals

Join Me For A Spring Wellness Reboot

I will be sharing everything I know about wellness and health during an upcoming 6 week program – 40 Day Journey to Bliss.  The goal of this program, created by two women (May and me) is to help other young women. We are like you. We share the same problems and issues in life. We can understand each other and learn from each other.

My Indian teacher said that it is a sin not to share the knowledge that you have. After successfully resolving my PCOS and digestive issues, finding so much inspiration and happiness in my life, I can’t wait to share all the instruments that helped me along the way. I truly believe that these 40 days will be transformational for you if you decide to join in.

We will TALK and SHARE.

Exchange IDEAS and BRAINSTORM.

We will work in groups and I will work with you ONE on ONE.

There will be lots of resources, worksheets, inspirational and educational articles and even a super sexy boudoir photoshoot with infamous Katerina.

You will feel RECHARGED, LIT UP, REJUVENATED and SEXY!

You will create lasting friendships and meet like-minded souls!

However, any change takes commitment and time. I can’t change you and no one else can. You can do it, though. Only you. May and I will be there to encourage, help, support, listen, brainstorm, and push when needed. Let us help you!

The 40 Day Journey to Bliss program is limited to 15 people because we want to make sure that everyone gets plenty of attention.

We will be holding a Free Info Session on Mon, Apr 30th at 6-7pm. Vegan treats and herbal tea will be served.

For details about the program, read here or email nadyaand @ gmail dot com

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga! Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

Saturday Information and Inspiration:

Healthy & tasty recipes, interesting and thought-provoking articles, inspirational videos and fun workout ideas. I will share at least one of each every Saturday!

Read:

1. Do you often overplan and don’t do half of what you planned to accomplish? Leo at Zen Habits talks about why we overplan and what to do about it:

Learn to act fluidly. If your day is mostly wide open, how do you fill it? Flexibly. You don’t have plans or goals, but know how to pick your priorities fluidly, in the moment. At this moment, what is the thing you’re most excited about? What is the most important thing you can do? What can you do that will change your life the most? This is a skill that you learn by practice, but planning ahead what you should do makes no sense when the landscape is changing constantly.

Life is more like the sea, ever changing with no fixed paths or destinations, with swells and currents and waves that change everything at every moment. The ultimate skill, then, isn’t setting a destination (goal) or a path (plan), but surfing. In surfing, you take whatever waves come, learn to judge the waves as they come, learn to ride the wave as it changes, not as you planned. It’s going with the flow (literally), and changing what you do depending on how the flow changes. Life changes things, and it’s when we cling to our goals and plans that we are unhappy or stressed — when we learn to surf the wave as it comes, we can be very happy, no matter what comes.

2. The ‘Sound of Silence’. According to Himalayan Institute’s senior yoga teacher Shari Friedrichsen:

“A lot of people who study yoga think that there are good sides to themselves and bad.” But by holding space for ourselves outside of yoga-approved activities, she says, we can more readily notice, without judgment, all our everyday emotions and physical reactions—the skillful ones and not-so-skillful.

Cook:

1. Simple treat for breakfast from Dishes and Dishes: Spelt Banana Bread with No Added Sugar or Oil

2. 3 Cool creative uses for Almond Pulp from Gena at Choosing Raw from bread to hummus to a high protein dessert!

4. 11 Ways to Use Lemons for Glowing Skin. Yay for DIY cosmetics from Angela at Oh She Glows!

Watch:

1. Interview with a legendary ayurvedic doctor Vasant Lad. Inspirational and Interesting at its best!

Workout:

1. Sexy Core and Upper Body Workout from the amazing Bex at BexLife.com. This sexy mama of 4 will whip you up in shape in no time! Bex calls herself a crusader for fitness, family nutrition, and urban organic farming on the internet. If you haven’t seen her videos, check it out today!

2. Follow it up with a 25 min Butt Blaster from Bex’s friend Cassey Ho!

What did you find interesting or thought-provoking this week? Any article, videos, or workouts that the world must know about?

To receive more health tips, ayurvedically-inspired recipes and to just stay in touch subscribe to Spinach and Yoga! Please Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook and follow health and yoga tips on twitter @realyoganyc.

If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!