SIX HEALING VIRTUES FROM BALI

I’ve spent the past few days settling back in at home after a beautiful and healing retreat week in Bali.

I needed this retreat as much as my guests this year, and I declared a very clear and much needed retreat intention before I left. 

To do some deep inner healing within my nervous system.

This spring, I have been holding a lot of tension in my body. I could feel it deep in my cells and embedded in my nervous system. The state of the world combined with the ups and downs of being a human had left me with some residual stress and intense nervous system holding patterns that I was not resolving as well as usual.

To be totally transparent, I was having a really hard time relaxing and sleeping.

While I am still sorting out exactly what converged for me in Bali, I am more certain than ever that the land of Bali is one of the most healing places I've ever been –– for me and for my guests.

🌺 The Bali magic is palpable!

I am happy to say, over my 10 day stay, I experienced some very deep relief, stress resolution, restful sleep, and found myself coming home with a much deeper well of joy and happiness than I have felt in a very long long time.

Just last night Jason affirmed to me that I seem much lighter than before I left.

To that end, and in celebration of the SATIATE YOUR SOUL ~ BALI 2023 dates opening for registration today (with limited space!), I wanted to share some of the healing virtues of Bali that inspire me most, and keep me returning year after year.



SIX HEALING VIRTUES FROM BALI:

• RITUAL: If you know me, you know I like to ritualize my daily tasks whenever possible. Within Balinese Hinduism there are many daily, monthly, and seasonal rituals that underscore the spirituality of the Balinese. From how they set the table for a meal, to creating elaborate flower mandalas, to their monthly full moon ceremonies (pictured below), mindful nature-based ritual plays an integral part in the daily life on Bali.

• BEAUTY: Within the Balinese ritual and daily living is the practice of beautification. The flowery aroma and decor, the intricate wood carved doors, the ancient stone temples, and the household stunning Hindu statues are very unique to Bali. Even the Balinese Governor announced a beautification project this past year to beautify resident houses, roadsides, and the airport. The locals celebrate many time-honored beautification traditions every day.

• FLOW: To truly learn the meaning flow, all one needs to do is accompany a Balinese driver on the local roads. While the traffic can seem overwhelming for a newcomer at first glance, the Balinese are masterful at being peaceful, swift, smooth, kind, and considerate of the greater good even while driving in traffic. Gentle honks let fellow drivers know when one is approaching, and the whole road ecosystem (scooters included) moves like an intricate school of fish in the sea.

• REVERENCE: Daily tasks such as cooking, eating, cleaning, and praying are infused with reverence. I love to watch the Balinese make their daily flower offerings, or listen to the sound of the handmade brooms as the locals sweep flower petals off of the sidewalks.

• ANCIENT MEDICINE: From ancient to modern healing, you can find it all in Bali. You've got to love a place where massage is considered one of life's staples. Deep restorative body work, vast spiritual practices and healers, flower petal baths, reflexology, facial massage, whole food based cooking, and essential oil therapies are some of the many options to explore. The best part is these healing practices are so affordable and accessible.

• SOULFULNESS: Soulfulness is palpable in Bali. The people are smiling. They are kind. They are gentle. I often consider how busy we think we are here in North America. The Balinese have the same demands of work, family, household chores, and taking care of their children. They are busy too, yet they prioritize living with soulfulness –– and it shows.

Tiny micro-shifts in how we move through our days can make a big impact on the quality of them.  

My hope is that some of these healing virtues will provide inspiration for you, as they've surely done for me.

As always, may this be of service,

 

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Interested In Joining the SATIATE YOUR SOUL ~ BALI 2023 retreat? Learn about all of the details HERE (limited space!)

FIVE FALL FOODS FULL OF FLAVOR

FIVE FALL FOODS FULL OF FLAVOR

"BREAD, THAT THIS HOUSE MAY NEVER KNOW HUNGER. SALT, THAT LIFE MAY ALWAYS HAVE FLAVOR. AND WINE, THAT JOY AND PROSPERITY MAY REIGN FOREVER"

DONNA REID

Photo Credit: @myberryforest

Originally Posted on Chopra.com

I am just back from a quick trip into the golden Aspen trees in Southern Colorado where I was joined by a group of heartwarming and beautiful women on our Colorado fall (mini) retreat.


I loved being in the mountains all weekend –– looking into the vast starry skies, taking walks in the leaves and enjoying nourishing food, women's workshops and yoga.


I feel so well fed and nourished.


Notably, there are endless foods and flavors of fall to explore—each with a unique nuance to entice your palate.

Have you heard of the five flavors? Each flavor is known in traditional medicing (TCM) for different qualities and elements. Each of the five flavors has its own unique medicinal properties that can be honed and fine-tuned within your eating. Often known as the taste of satiation, the combination and balance of all six flavors are said to give you the feeling of not only being satiated but being satiated well.

More About the Five Flavors

Before diving into some delicious fall foods full of flavor, here is a peek into deeper descriptions of the six Ayurvedic flavors:

• Sweet: Sweetness is considered a nourishing flavor—from homemade desserts to foods that turn into sugar such as rice or bread. When used wisely, sweetness soothes the body and heart.

• Salty: Salt maintains the electrolyte balance in your cells. The salty flavor is said to amplify and harmonize the other flavors bringing out the best flavors of a meal.

• Pungent: Foods such as hot peppers, garlic, and ginger are considered pungent (or spicy) in flavor (also known as spicy). Pungent flavors are said to clear the sinuses, improve circulation and boost energy and metabolism.

• Bitter: Bitter is experienced in foods like kale, turnips, and chocolate. Bitter foods detoxify the body.

• Sour: Citrus, green grapes, and fermented foods such as vinegars and pickles are known for their sour flavor. Sour foods support a strong and healthy digestion. The sour flavor is also known to invigorate one’s appetite.

Now is the perfect time to visit any of your local farmers’ markets to pick up fresh, seasonal produce that you will fall in love with. Let’s take a peek into these five fall foods full of different varieties of these flavors.

1. Ginger

Flavors: Pungent/Sweet

Ginger’s warming quality makes it a perfect addition to many of your fall recipes for this year’s harvest time. Ginger is a potent root vegetable that is chock full of medicinal properties. Ginger is used worldwide for its full flavor and healing properties. Along with its high level of antioxidants and antimicrobial properties, eating more ginger has been linked to health benefits such as reducing arthritis and inflammatory conditions, soothing digestion and combatting diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

One study looked at the various healing properties of ginger and found antimicrobial properties strong enough to fight E. coli and salmonella. Ginger contains several elements that have antibacterial and antifungal effects.

Notably, this makes ginger a wonderful food and flavor to include in your fall meals—especially to keep your immune system strong and vital as the weather changes into fall.

How to enjoy: Try grating ginger and gently boiling in water for 15 minutes to create a medicinal tea. Simply add some lemon and honey for an immune-boosting tonic. Throw a lightly chopped piece into your morning smoothie or juicer. Try adding some ginger into your favorite stir-fry or soups.

Sesame Ginger Stir-Fry with Quinoa

Try this delicious and warming bowl of goodness for dinner, with plenty of room for your favorite vegetables, hearty quinoa, and protein of choice. The ginger (and sriracha) add just enough heat to tantalize your taste buds while also boosting your immunity for the fall. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1-inch grated ginger

• 3 cloves garlic

• 4 cups of chopped stir-fry vegetables (such as broccoli, snap peas, cauliflower, red or green peppers, and carrots)

• 2 cups of leafy greens of choice (such as kale, spinach, mustard greens, swiss chard)

• 2 cups protein of choice (organic chicken or tofu recommended)

• 1 tablespoon avocado or coconut oil (for cooking)

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons tamari

• 2 pinches of sea salt

• 3 cups cooked quinoa

• 1 tablespoon of sriracha (optional for spicy flavor)

• 2 tablespoons of black sesame seeds

Directions:

Chop your desired protein into bite-sized pieces and sauté with your cooking oil and a pinch of salt.

Stir in a pan or wok over high until cooked. Place cooked protein off to the side.

Using the same pan, add a bit more oil and sauté garlic and ginger for about one minute. Add your vegetables of choice with a pinch of salt and sauté until tender (3–4 minutes). If the pan dries out, add a touch more oil or a splash of water.

Once the dense vegetables are cooked, shut off the heat and mix in your leafy greens for just a minute until they wilt.

Combine your protein, vegetables, and cooked quinoa into a bowl. Toss with sesame oil, tamari, sriracha, and sesame seeds. Serve warm.

Serves 2

2. Turnip

Flavors: Bitter/Pungent/Sweet

Turnips are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, grown in moderate climates around the world. Turnips are a root vegetable, with earthy delightful flavors that get sweeter with cooking. Turnip greens can also be eaten; prepare similar to any other green.

Turnips are a good source of vitamin C making them a great immune booster for you this fall.

How to enjoy: Try turnips cooked into your favorite dinner soups or hearty stews. Roast them until golden brown (recipe below) or simply enjoy grated raw over your favorite salad.

Simple Autumn Roasted Turnips

The delightful mingling of the flavors of roasted turnips is a sure way to celebrate the fall season. Roasting turnips brings out the sweetness and softens the bitterness at the same time. Try as a substitute for roasted potatoes to change things up this fall. Gluten-free, paleo, and vegan.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized turnips

• 4 tablespoons of avocado oil or ghee

• 2 teaspoons of sea salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 2 sprigs of chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Chop your turnips into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.

Pour in avocado oil or melted ghee, sea salt, pepper, and thyme. Roll gently in the bowl until the turnips evenly coated.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the turnips onto a baking pan and leave excess oil in a bowl (if the turnips are coated well).

Roast for approximately 30 minutes. Add extra sea salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

3. Apples

Flavors: Sour/Sweet

Have you tried a seasonal local apple recently? The combination of flavors—sour and sweet—makes for a delightful palate explosion. With an array of health benefits that include heart health, cancer prevention, and stabilized blood sugar levels, apples are a tasty and versatile fruit that you’re sure to love this fall.

How to enjoy: The best thing about apples is that they taste great as is. Likewise, apples make a great on-the-go snack, especially along with a handful of nuts. Honeycrisp apples are tasty lightly cooked to top off a warm bowl of steel-cut oats, with a dash of ghee and cinnamon, for a soothing fall breakfast. Bake into a delicious crisp combined with other fall flavors (recipe below) such as cinnamon and ginger.

Grain-Free Apple Ginger Crisp

Nothing says autumn more than apple season. This delicious and guilt-free dessert is a wonderful way to enjoy your favorite varieties of apples. The warming flavors of ginger and cinnamon are just right to add even more fall flair to this tasty sweet treat.

Ingredients for Fruit Filling:

• 4 ripe apples

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour

Ingredients for Crisp Topping:

• 1 cup almond flour

• 2/3 cup desiccated coconut

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, butter, or ghee

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice apples evenly, about a quarter-inch thick, and add to a baking dish (approximately 8" in diameter if circular or 8"x8" if square). Toss with spices and one tablespoon of arrowroot flour.

Prepare the crisp topping by combining all ingredients together using a fork.

Bake for 40 minutes; let cool before serving to allow the fruit to thicken.

4. Cinnamon

Flavors: Pungent/Bitter/Sweet

Do you like the popular sweet and spicy spice cinnamon? Cinnamon is used in many dishes in cultures far and wide. Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a variety of trees that belong to the genus Cinnamomum.

Cinnamon is a powerhouse ingredient that boosts the chromium levels in your blood, an important nutrient that helps with blood sugar regulation and stability.

How to enjoy: Cinnamon is an easy (and forgiving) spice to cook with as it is delightfully sweet and warming. Cinnamon goes well with homemade pies, smoothies, teas, warm cereals, and baking.

Spicy Chai Green Smoothie

Try the Spicy Chai Green Smoothie below as a nice way to enhance your morning smoothie with warming flavors of fall.

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls of baby spinach

• 1/2 avocado

• 2 cups room temperature or lightly chilled, unsweetened ginger and cinnamon rich chai tea (brewed or concentrate)

• 12 oz. non-dairy milk

• 1 teaspoon raw honey

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder

• Extra fresh cinnamon or ginger to taste

Directions:

Add these goods into your blender and blend for 30 seconds until smooth.

Serves 2

5. Kale

Flavors: Bitter

Kale is known as a superfood because of its incredibly high antioxidant levels and outstanding ORAC value (oxygen reactive absorbance capacity)—the scale that measures the antioxidant capacity of a food.

Kale is versatile and easy to cook. If you want to power up your plate this fall, explore the many ways to include kale in your diet.

How to enjoy: Try adding baby kale to your green smoothie. Roast it in the oven into delicious kale chips (recipe below) or add it to your favorite soup or stew right before serving as to gently wilt it, preserving its brilliant bright green color.

Roasted Kale Chips

Do you crave salty and crunchy snacks? If so, give yourself a snack-shapeshift with these simple and fun kale chips. Packed with nutrients, yet perfectly crunchy and salty. Use as a side dish to any meal or eat as a snack for on-the-go days.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 2 tablespoons tamari

• 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

De-stem the kale and rip into bite-sized pieces. Place the leaves on a cookie sheet and coat the leaves in warmed coconut oil (liquid) and tamari, and then place in the oven on broil. Watch carefully as they can crisp up quickly, depending on your oven.

After approximately 2 minutes, toss. Then leave in until desired crispness (usually about 2 more minutes).

When it’s done you will have crisp tasty kale chips—a great addition to any meal or a snack!

Serves 4

There are endless foods and flavors of fall to explore—each food and flavor with a unique nuance to entice your palate. Enjoy savoring the many fall flavors, refining your senses, and elevating your eating this season.

Related Articles:

DO YOU NEED A METABOLIC MAKEOVER

Do You Need a Metabolic Makeover?

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON CHOPRA.COM

Your metabolism keeps you energized and moving. If it slows, you are likely to feel its effects on your sleep, in your mood, and on your diet. Five metabolic factors can be maximized for your well-being.

Your metabolism keeps you energized and moving. If it slows, you are likely to feel its effects on your sleep, in your mood, and on your diet. Five metabolic factors can be maximized for your well-being.

Why Commercial Diets Aren’t the Answer

Are you in a constant conversation with your bathroom scale that can either uplift or depress how you feel each day?

There is ample scientific evidence that commercial weight loss programs don’t work. Studies show that restricting what you eat can often lead to binge eating. Notably, most diets require high levels of willpower and internal change to keep up rather than creating long-term sustainable habits and behaviors there is a lower chance of success. Furthermore, while more research is needed, weight loss does not always equal more health—people can be healthy or unhealthy at varying weights.

Maybe it’s time to stop trolling for the newest diet, put the bathroom scale away, and try something a little different—something sustainable, healthful, and results-based.

What Is Metabolism?

Introducing your metabolism: the source of your energy, vitality, body composition, and health. Studies show the underlying cause of many of the current health issues in the world today is an imbalance in the metabolism. Your metabolism is deeply embedded in your blood sugar, your biochemistry, your cellular system, your autonomic nervous system, and how you nourish yourself each day—body, mind, and soul.

Explore these metabolic principles for an improved body composition, deeper sleep, curbed cravings, an elevated mood, clear focus, and optimal energy—and create long-term sustainable changes in your health.

Bio-Individuality 

Studies on metabolic individuality show that over many thousands of years, with the evolution of people in various parts of the world, individuals have developed specific nutritional needs based on many important factors and variables, including climate, genetic lineage, environmental stressors, and daily life rhythms. Examples of metabolic individuality include differences in ideal macronutrient ratios (protein, fat, and carbohydrates).

While one person may thrive eating a diet that is high in tropical fruits and fish, another person may feel more nourished with a diet higher in heavier proteins, berries, and nuts. These telltale pieces of your individuality are needed to understand the differences for customized ingredients to feed your energy, vitality, and metabolic requirements. 

Essentially, what works for you may not work for others. Instead of looking for a one-way approach to health, consider looking for your way. While this may sound more complicated than signing up for the latest diet trend, with a little time and practice you can learn to be the detective in your own body and the governor of your health.

Try this:

• Employ a mindfulness practice, such as meditation, in your life and practice being the witness in your body and in your life.

• Track how different kinds of foods in different ratios affect your mood, energy, sleep, and cravings after meals.

• Avoid the one-way approaches to weight loss that ignores your unique bio-individuality, history, and genetic lineage. In some cases, genetic and/or ancestral testing could be informative and useful.

Balance

Creating balance in your body, and specifically in your blood sugar, is a relief to your metabolism. This cannot happen if your blood sugar is on a roller coaster. Science shows that when insulin spikes too high or dips too low, it tells your body to hold onto body fat. Conversely, one study found that suppressing insulin secretion in non-diabetic obese adults was associated with weight loss and decreased body mass.

Try this:

• Eat protein, fat, and whole carbohydrates at each meal.

• Avoid high-glycemic foods, especially eaten by themselves. High-glycemic foods are foods that turn to sugar quickly in your blood, such as sugar or white flour. 

• Don’t be afraid of adding good fats to each meal—such as coconut oil, nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado, and/or pasture-fed butter—which will keep your blood sugar balanced, your body satiated longer, and your energy more even and consistent.

Satiety

You will know you are on track when you are satiated—to feel satisfied without excess—after a balanced meal. Your cravings will no longer get the best of you, and your energy will be even and sustained. Even if you are known to emotionally eat, stress eat, or boredom eat, you will notice an improvement with these habits when you are aware of how to eat for your satiation at each meal.

Studies show that the quality of your carbohydrates affects your cravings (especially for sugar). When you eat more processed and refined carbohydrates, they will create more blood-sugar imbalance. One study showed that when men eat low-glycemic carbohydrates in their whole forms, such as brown rice, sweet potato, steel-cut oats, quinoa, or a tart apple, those carbs were more stabilizing to their blood sugar. This suggests that eating low-glycemic whole carbs will leave you feeling more satiated and cravings begin to melt away.

 Try this:

• Choose whole carbohydrates—whole grains, low-glycemic fruit, and starchy vegetables.

• Eat regular meals and don’t let yourself get too hungry. When you wait too long between meals, you usually end up becoming “hangry” (a mix of anger and hunger) and making impulsive choices. Eating regular, balanced meals keeps your blood sugar stable and keeps your metabolism working for you.

• Track your cravings as they change. An improvement in your cravings indicates an improvement in your metabolism.

Healing

When you continue to focus on the number on the scale, rather than healing your metabolism, you most often perpetuate feeling deprived, restricted, hungry, and uninspired. Even if you have the willpower to keep up with a rigorous diet, your body needs a strong metabolism to feel energized, and be healthy and strong. 

Here are the four primary stages that your metabolic healing will go through:

1. Your starting point—your current metabolism.

2. The healing phase—replenishing your body through food, restoration, insulin balancing, and rebuilding your energy and vitality.

3. Fat-burning and the metabolic makeover phase––you begin to notice changes in your mood, energy, cravings, body composition, and sleep.

4. A healed state—you achieve balance in your hormones (starting with insulin). This may translate into weight loss, more sustained energy throughout the day, improved brain chemistry, more satiation, improved sex drive, better night's sleep, and more focus and clarity.

Try this:

• Cultivate patience as you move through the various metabolic healing phases at a slow-and-steady pace.

• Acknowledge your progress as you go. Tracking changes and celebrating your successes (big and small) will continue to inspire your health and healing –– track your cravings, sleep, energy, focus and mood.

• Share your results with others in your life. Sharing the progress you are making may lead to greater success on your journey.

Sustainability

It is common to start on a health and healing journey relying on your willpower to keep you on track. What you may not realize is that your willpower is inconsistent. This variable of how you move through your day changes based on a few key ingredients: stress, sleep quality, and blood sugar.

In its report, “What You Need to Know About Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control,” the American Psychological Association states, “A growing body of research shows that resisting repeated temptations takes a mental toll. Some experts liken willpower to a muscle that can get fatigued from overuse.”

To create a sustainable path to health and healing, you must turn toward something more reliable. Research shows a more reliable approach is a shift toward habit forming and automatic behaviors. While you likely don’t have trouble finding time to take a shower or brush your teeth each day, it is because these acts of self-care have become automatic.

When behavior becomes automatic, you are not relying on the irregularity of your willpower. This is true with eating, exercising, meditation, sleep routines, and even your internal dialogue.

Try this:

• Consider picking one small new health behavior to add in through habit-forming and automatic behavior.

• Start slow and build your momentum strong and steady.

• Set a reasonable timeframe to work within (such as 30 days) and anchor your new behavior with time and practice.

Try these tried-and-true steps that heal your metabolism—from the inside out—for a long-lasting and sustainable transformation in your health and beyond.

Need a little support? Feel free to check out all of the ways I work with folks HERE.

WE ARE HITTIN' THE ROAD...

"GO WHERE YOU FEEL THE MOST ALIVE" 


 

I grew up road tripping in a Country Squire Ford Station Wagon.



My father, still king of the road at almost 80 years old, loved going on family adventures on the open Canandian roads.  My parents would put down the back seats, fill the 'very back' of the wagon with pillows and blankets and off we would drive, with Willie Nelson playing on the 8-track. (I know, I just dated myself)



I used to love my turn in the front seat, with the best view of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the freedom and adventure I felt as I stared (for hours) at the open road ahead.




When I look back now, especially at photos like the one I shared above (obviously I am the one on the left), I see where I still carry this early part of childhood in my DNA.  




Travelling, adventuring, and exploring many parts of the world (not limited to road trips) is still a big part of my life and my passion.  




So when the inspiration came to take Boulder Nutrition on the road, it felt like a resounding YES and perfect timing!!!  




A lot of things have changed in my life over the past few years:
 

• Elijah, my older son moved out on his own.
• My business has become almost 50% online and still growing.
• I have begun leading retreats SOLO most of the time, which was a new and scary endeavor.
• I have been able to, and loved to travel both with my amazing partner and often times, all of our kids.
• My Boulder Nutrition Retreat schedule is full of exciting upcoming trips to beautiful places.
• I feel ready and thrilled to spread Boulder Nutrition love to a further reach.

My life is always my teacher and the biggest inspiration for my writing and my work. 
 

Traveling and teaching on a larger scale has been a big dream of mine for many years.  So, I have been planning some travel and adventure while I share my work around the country (and world) and I am thrilled that Ari (my son) will be joining me most of the time. While I couldn't be more excited about the 'open road', I am also intent on savoring these last couple of years with him still at home–my high schooler who loves to road trip with me.



Soooooo, I wanted to let you know we will be heading out on the road (or occasionally by plane) to share my work and my message with as many folks as I can and to share some great adventures together. I will still be working in my beloved North Boulder office most weeks, but fitting in our travel schedule on weekends with the occasional longer stints.
 

Will I see you?  
 

Check out locations and dates below and let's talk about meeting up.  If your home town is not on the list, feel free to join me on one of the amazing Boulder Nutrition Retreats coming up – I would love to hang with you!!

Want to see what we are up to?  You can check us out on instagram for daily stories and updates (along with lots of free resources and recipes):

 

 

Click the icon below to follow our road trip on Instagram here:

Be sure to peruse all the details for this fall's exciting Boulder Nutrition Road Trip and Retreat schedule (local and international options available).  



PS. If you want to host me in your town, let me know!!

Take a well deserved break, share in the sisterhood, thrive through the practices of yoga, meditation, inspired living, experiential cooking, personal transformation, healing foods and self-care.

**Limited space in each workshop and retreat. Be sure to message me if you are interested. Spaces sold on a first come first serve basis.

 

" When going away is the first step towards coming home..."

 

Self Care is the New Healthcare

  The early morning sun peeks through my purple curtains these days with a certain kind of spring morning hue.

With the sound of the dawn chorus chirping outside my window, I stir, sensing the break of a new day. The intoxicating fragrances of spring stoke my senses, and the lush green foothills of Boulder are beckoning me to come and play.

For me spring brings busy weeks of parenting teens through final exams, travel planning, family dinners, school performances, creek festivals, memorial day picnics, graduations, work and friends.

It’s full, it’s dynamic, and the weeks can fly by faster then ever.

Do you make time for everyone else, but you?

Self care – the art of listening to our body’s needs and wants from a deep soul knowledge of the self – is simple yet complex.

Self care is simple because it is applicable to humans across all times and necessary to our fundamental human needs.

Self care is complex because in today’s world, we are most often overwhelmed by getting everything done in our days, to then fall into our beds at the end of the day exhausted.

Spring brings fresh energy, possibility and the chance to begin anew. Now is your time to cultivate and create all that you need to THRIVE in your life.

You will know you’ve recognized what you need when you feel the flame of excitement, inspiration and passion growing in your heart and maybe you will even feel a sigh of relief.

Think of having an afternoon nap, taking a warm bath, having time to read your favorite book, a walk in nature, or sipping tea with a friend in the garden. Self care doesn’t have to take up much time, but even just 5-15 minutes a day will change everything for you.

5 things that happen when you practice self care DAILY

1. You start to prioritize yourself (halleluiah)

Just like any other habit, once you get your self care rolling you gain momentum.

For the next week, what would happen if you made it a point to prioritize yourself every day?

I know this can sound edgy, especially if you have small children, you do service work, or your friends and family really NEED you.

The thing to remember (and this has helped me a lot) is that we aren’t much good when our “CUP” is empty. Try filling up your own cup first, and watch how giving back to your circle of life becomes easier.

2. You feel more energized

When we take better care of ourselves, we nourish ourselves better, and this creates a surge of energy in our often tired, overwhelmed, and busy lives.

Exercise is energizing. Naps are energizing. Relaxation and down time are energizing. Gardening and nature are energizing. The sky is the limit on how YOUR self care looks.

I promise you that dedicating 5-15 minutes a day (or more) to self care will improve your quality of life and your energy throughout the day.

3. You get sick less

When we practice self care daily, our immune systems are less taxed, we are more rested, and we attune to what we need to stay healthier.  Your daily self care has a direct impact on your health today, and also  on the future of your health.

Simply Psychology states “When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.”

Try thinking of self care as your essential “Vitamin S”

4. Your relationships improve

Not only will your relationship to yourself improve, but also, when you are feeling more connected and balanced in yourself, your relationship with others flows more smoothly.

We are better listeners, better mothers, better lovers and better friends when we are well resourced, rested, and harmonious with our day-to-day life.

If you have a hard time doing it for you, do it for the others in your life 

5. You fine tune your intuition

The art of listening to yourself gets easier and easier with practice.

Your body is always your ally.

When we move through life so fast, always trying to take care of everyone else, we loose the connection to our inner voice of intuition and wisdom.

Don’t worry –YOU are still there.

Tuning into what we need is an important practice for health and well-being – body, mind and spirit.

Eventually, this inner voice of wisdom will guide us gracefully to knowing exactly what we need to be in balance. We begin to trust. We take better care of our beautiful selves, and our quality of life escalates to new levels.

Self care is an act of SELF-LOVE

5 SCIENCE BASED REASONS TO TAKE A BREAK

5 SCIENCE BASED REASONS TO TAKE A BREAK

I was exhausted. 

Life had handed us some big challenges.  I had to discover a whole new kind of parenting, that I was not ready for (or so I thought). All I could do is keep on holding the space and taking care of everyone, but truthfully, I really had little left for myself.

It’s not that I wasn’t doing what I could with self-care each day – evening baths, shutting myself in my room with a good book, of course spending time with close girlfriends – but I knew what I was going through was intense, and I was needed – my 100% was needed.  

Last summer (June 2013), my son lost his best friend in a Boulder tragedy – one that made the front page of the newspaper multiple times, and one that left us all completely traumatized, broken hearted and lost.  

We have had a lot of support, a lot of time at home, and a lot of time to go through the various stages of grieving in a sacred and loving way.  At times, the personal needs of our families get even more all-consuming and full.  Nearly eight months later, we are just beginning to come up for air.  

It happens this way sometimes in life. Often, parenting, working, school, living, and taking care of everything that needs to happen for our lives to run somewhat smoothly can be very overwhelming - especially amidst particularly challenging times.

I knew my time (Sue time) was coming. I could see it on the horizon, and it helped get me through. It did...

 

 time i needed to breath, restore, pause, and reflect on one of the toughest years of my life.

I looked over my packing list multiple times this particular morning. I checked that I had my passport probably seven or eight times (a habit I have), made sure I had a couple important things in my carry on bag – journal, headphones, novel, essential oil, snacks, and of course my tooth brush (I like to brush on long flights).

I got all of my travel goodies to the front porch just in time for my ride to the airport.

Each year I take a group of women to somewhere exotic for a pilgrimage of deep relaxation, personal inquiry, space, rejuvenation, connection and time to unwind.  

If you are like most of these women, you might understand their overwhelm in the business of the day-to-day.  I sure do. Tired, stressed, burnt out.  This seems to be one of the big reasons women decide to come along on our annual retreat. With all we hold in our lives, it is so therapeutic to take a break, reset, assess, and give ourselves some time just for us.

We make excuses, avoid change, get stuck in our outdated habits, and resist putting ourselves first, but is that really how you want to live?

This week I am going to share with you some very specific health benefits that happen when we give ourselves a break. They are important to know about, part of an important conversation for women, and something most of us could work on, as we are often the last ones on our own priority list.

5 Science Based Reasons Why You Should Take a Break

1.. Sleep more deeply

For most of us who are holding a lot in our days, it is a challenge to “let it all go” at night.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 48% of Americans report a sleep disorder (most commonly, insomnia) and women are 1.3 times more likely to report a sleep disorder than men. The biggest contributors to sleep issues are stress, anxiety, depression or poor sleep habits. 

When we take a break, we retrain our sleep cycles and studies show these new habits most often continue even after we return home.

I recently learned from a master teacher that the best way to release stress, trauma, and pent up emotions in our nervous system is to rest.  It sounds so simple, and yet many of us find it so hard to make the time to rest.

2. Gain perspective

Underneath a lot of our suffering are our outdated old habits, the way we sabotage our happiness, and the age-old way that women forget to take care of themselves.

Our inner voice that tells us to listen, to slow down, to nap, to take some downtime – most often get overridden with turbo gear, muscling through, and our fast paced world.

Something has to change.

I spent years silencing that voice. Then one day, that voice said, "I can't do this anymore."

The pain of staying the same became greater than the pain of change and I dove into spending time on giving myself a break and creating downtime.   It was time to break out of old patterns and into a life where I felt free, connected and could become my own priority.

3. Lower your body mass index

Yes, it’s true. The stress hormone, cortisol, does no good for your waistline. High cortisol levels lead to higher insulin levels. Both of these sneaky hormones store body fat when they are out of balance.

When you give yourself time to slow down, rest, and release your stress and overwhelm, you biochemically tell your body to release excess weight around your mid-section.

Not only is this pleasing to most women, but it also creates a healthier body composition for the long term.

4. Balance your hormones.

According to the Chopra Institute, doing fifteen minutes of deep belly breathing twice daily has been shown in several clinical trials to increase balance of the female hormones, as well as improve a woman’s sense of well-being. 

Learning a mind-quieting technique such as meditation or yoga, will help decrease stress hormones and allow the body to function more efficiently.

Imagine how much time you have to breathe deeply, meditate, and rejuvenate on vacation or retreat.

5. Improve your longevity

"It is important to engage in multiple leisure activities, both as a way to enjoy life more, but also to potentially have a benefit on increasing long-term health and decreasing long-term stress" University of Pittsburgh's Mind-Body Center.

Your long-term health will thank you.

Understanding that stress, fatigue, and burnout are responsible for most degenerative disease, often helps us to take our prescription for peacefulness a little more seriously.