Today I want to introduce you to a very special person who helped me shift from a restrictive frame of mind to a soft, feminine, and colorful. Please meet Dr. Deanna Minich is an internationally-recognized teacher, author, scientist, speaker, and artist. She has more than 20 years of diverse, well-rounded experience in the fields of nutrition and functional medicine, including clinical practice, research, product formulation, writing, and education. She has authored five books on health and wellness and over fifteen scientific publications. Currently, she is Faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine and the University of Western States. She has developed an online certification program for health professionals so that they can apply the color-coded 7 Systems of Full-Spectrum Health in their practice. Her lectures are heard by patients and practitioners throughout the world. Dr. Minich’s passion is teaching a whole-self approach to nourishment and bridging the gaps between science, spirituality, and art in medicine.
Recently, after a few conversations with my clients, I realized how significantly my attitude towards my body and scale shifted over the past years. Freedom and neutrality are at the top of my desired feelings list. So my relationship with food, body, and scale evolved in a way that honors my desired feelings. If you crave to more freedom, ease, and neutrality in your life, I hope this article is helpful.
I don’t believe in perfection when it comes to health. I think it is more about reading the signs that your body is communication about its state and then knowing what to do to bring it back into balance. It is also a matter of staying in integrity with what you know serves and supports you.
These unconventional tips are pulled from several of my favorite disciplines: Ayurveda – an ancient Indian science of life and health, Mindfulness – a practice of awareness that is extremely helpful in getting to know one’s body, emotions, and triggers on a much deeper level, and psychology.
Many of you have asked me how I am staying in shape, keeping my digestion regular and overall maintaining balance while traveling for 9 months. Among many things that I do, a regular morning routine is at the core of my self-care. I use morning to set the tone for the day, optimize digestion and elimination pathways, move my body, and calm the mind. I get all of this done in two hours 6-8am or lately 530-730am.
You can live you life trying to prevent downward movement: trying to prevent feeling bad, sick, depressed, or fat. Most likely it will involve trying to figure out what you can get away with without the unpleasant consequences. So if you are trying to avoid feeling bloated, you will try to figure out what you can get away with without feeling bloated. Or if you are trying not to gain weight, you will try to pin point what you can get away with without extra pounds adding up.
A few days ago, I emailed you an article with my reflection of freedom and discipline in regards to food. This question even though it may seem just philosophical, touches our lives on a daily basis. Do you discipline yourself in regards to food or not? Do you create boundaries for yourself with alcohol, work, time spent online or can you trust yourself to live without forced boundaries. What about disciplining your children, people who work for you, and even your pets? What is better?
Most of us consider willpower and discipline when it comes to healthy eating a must. How can you be without it? If you let yourself eat as much as you want and what you want, and not exercise you might end up as a fat lazy slob on the couch watching show reruns. Or would you? What if taking out our desire to control, to discipline ourselves, we start living a more in-tune and aligned life with our body and our internal wisdom?
Yesterday while lounging outside with interesting books my husband asked me: “Did you know that only 4% of the universe is covered with matter that we understand and the rest is dark matter?”