Defining a Food Philosophy

Here we go…. The food topics are almost always guaranteed to get emotions going. Why? Because the chemical compounds in food react with the chemical compounds of our bodies and minds and we feel them as emotions. Yes, chocolate can make us “feel” elation, alcohol can make us feel more relaxed, caffeine can make us feel more alert, and so on. In more ways than one we are what we eat. Although, what we eat doesn’t necessarily make us “who” we are it certainly makes us “what” we are. We are made up of our body’s reactions to the components we consume. For this reason I think it’s very important for us to be eating what we “want” to eat rather than what we “feel” like eating. Because often what we want to eat is merely out of habit or addiction to the feelings that certain foods evoke. Notice the difference in the way you answer the two following questions:

1. I feel like eating ______________.
2. I want to feed myself _______________.

I really believe each one of us has an incredible amount wisdom inside of us that is just waiting for us to tap into. When we want to improve the quality of our life and health it’s very useful to take a step back out of the emotions of food and view our habits more objectively. Defining a food philosophy can be helpful for you to make healthy and empowering food choices. It can act as guide when you make food choices to help you stay on the track you want to be on rather than just satisfying a temporary and fleeting feeling.

The philosophy I use now has come out of years of my own struggles with food. I finally feel good about how and what I eat and I know that it also makes me feel better. (Feel free to visit my other blog  www.kateeo.blogspot.com for my personal story which I’ll be posting in a few days.) In a nutshell my personal philosophy is to eat as much natural and “primitive” food as possible. This means I try to think about the basic needs of my body in each season. If I lived before modern conveniences, which is what my body was designed for, what would I be eating? Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of items I indulge in and enjoy fully but I do work hard to eat and feed my family in a way that supports our bodies and minds so that we feel healthy and happy.

When you define your personal food philosophy, you might consider your own relationship with food. Is it a healthy one? Is your diet empowering you or is the majority of the food you eat merely satisfying hunger or cravings. There are so many factors that come into diet choices: time, convenience, taste, health needs, ethics, and more. You might ask yourself what factors are motivating your food choices. Do you feel good about what you are feeding yourself and your family or are there some little shifts you might like to make to nourish your body, heart and mind better. What do you want to feed yourself today and beyond? What are the small shifts can you might make to feed yourself better and how can you begin to implement them? Small changes over time have lasting effects. Having a personal food philosophy can help you navigate all the food advice that is out there in so many great books and websites. If you are looking for a place to start or some fresh ideas check out some of my recommendations listed below. I hope you eat well this week. Take care!

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Although I’m sure my mom takes credit for teaching me to cook and she certainly got me off to a good start, I really learned to enjoy cooking by watching The Food Network while nursing my daughter! Some of my favorite cooks on the network and website are Giada DeLaurntis, Robin Miller and Rachael Ray.

www.foodnetwork.com

www.rachaelray.com

www.wholeliving.com website and magazine

www.everydayfood.com website and magazine

I also am a big fan of the cookbook section of the library. I always have a few food philosophy and cookbooks checked out. I think the best diet plan book I’ve read in a long time is…

The Core Balance Diet by Marcelle Pick (not for vegetarians!)

Here’s Marcelle’s website.

http://www.womentowomen.com/programs/weightloss/howitworks.aspx?id=1&campaignno=womentowomen&adgroup=ag10corebalance&keywords=core+balance 

I also think Ayurveda is an amazing lifestyle strategy and you’ll hear more about that in the months to come. This one takes a little investigation to get going but once you understand some basic concepts it is a remarkable system for bolstering health. As I was typing this article based on Ayurveda came into my e-mailbox, check it out… http://life.gaiam.com/article/spring-detox-foods-shopping-list?utm_source=bluetext&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Life&RMID=2011_02_17_Glife_DetoxFoods_20PctBackCare&RRID=11851664

Want Love??? Be Love!

We're all looking for more love, aren't we? We're looking for love from the significant people in our lives, (some are looking for love from everyone they meet); we're looking for love in our work, in our hobbies and likely in every aspect of our lives. But where does that love come from and why do we expect others or outside experiences to supply it for us? Certainly we all deserve to be loved but if we want more love in our lives we have to be willing to give it out too.

As I contemplated "Love" for today's Valentine’s Day post, I seemed to hone in on altering Gandhi's great quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world" to "be the love you want to feel in the world." It seems to me, that our society is so focused on being "in love" that we forget that love really comes from within us. It's true that someone or something can spark the sensation of love within us but the source is still inside  — not outside. So if we feel that we're not being loved the way we're meant to be or if we don't feel like we are in love with our jobs, maybe it's up to us to tap into the love within and bring it out more fully. 

A large part of the Anusara-inspired yoga style that I teach is concerned with cultivating certain heart qualities like love, peace and vitality. During a yoga class or practice, we focus on a particular quality that we would like to feel more of. By contemplating on this quality and practicing with it, we can build more of it and increase our insight of how we can cultivate it in our every day lives. Self-love is an extremely important heart quality to cultivate. I think loving yourself sometimes gets a bad rap because I'm not sure that many people are really comfortable with loving themselves. Does it seem selfish? Does it seem elitist? I'm not really sure what the problem is but I do know that not loving yourself is a problem. When we don't love ourselves, we don't feel whole, satisfied or complete. When we go looking for something outside ourselves to fill that hole, we end up with dysfunctions, addictions and just as dangerous dissatisfaction and distress. The truth is no one person and no one thing outside yourself can complete you. So on this Valentines Day, I hope you'll take a moment to consider how you might be more loving to yourself. 

As much as love is a noun it's also a verb. Here's a few ways to be more loving to yourself: feed yourself nourishing food, drink plenty of water, breathe more deeply and easily, take care of your living environment, exercise, stretch, challenge yourself to remember what is special and unique about yourself, and I think most important of all is to do something that makes you sparkle. If you don't know what that is anymore make a commitment to find out. I also realize there is a point in life for many that doing what makes you really happy just isn’t possible anymore. I hope that if and when that happens to me I’ll remember that I still have the choice to rejoice in the happiness of others. Once your plugged into the source of love within, you open up a stream to send that love out into the world. When you give your love away, you’ll no doubt open yourself up to receiving love in return.

MC Yogi sings one of my favorite love songs and he’s giving it away for free download. Check it out here…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpVUih5nY9g&sns=fb

Why do Yoga?

Why not?!?

OK, so really why Yoga?...  Yoga for a million and one reasons! I came to Yoga when two separate paths converged at one transformational space. I found myself unexpectedly teaching yoga before I really knew what it was (more on that another day) and practicing yoga myself for pain relief. Yoga changed my life in so many positive ways.  I truly believe everyone can benefit from some type of yoga because it is such a diverse, empowering, and harmonizing field of insight. You'll hear a lot more on this along the way if you stay tuned to this blog but what you should know is that for as many personalities as there are in the world there are just as many "personalities" of yoga practice. Some are fast and flowing, others are precise and challenging, and still others are easy and relaxing. What I wanted to offer today is the most basic form of yoga I can think of. I'm attaching a link to the "Inspirations" page of my website. If you scroll down, you can click on the link "Anyone - Anywhere Yoga Chart."  http://www.flourishunlimited.com/inspirations.html

This chart has just a few very easy and basic yoga-inspired stretches designed to help you combat the less than ideal postures and habits we all experience most days. Because we spend so much time in a modified fetal position throughout the day, our bodies suffer effects from poor posture. By sitting at our desks, in couches and in the car for extended periods of time, we end up tightening the muscles of our hips, chests, shoulders and necks. As these muscle groups get tight, the core muscles of our trunks get weak. This combination often leads to back, neck and shoulder pain. Just a few movements done with self-awareness can help you bring your body, mind and heart back into better alignment. Yoga is fast and effective and I hope you'll try this short, easy routine.

New Moon Wishes and Goals

Happy Chinese (lunar) New Year! Today marks the first new moon of the new year. For a few weeks now, I've been talking about this time of year being a great time to either re-invigorate or to start work on small changes that might bring about increased vitality and harmony. I first became interested in using the Chinese New Year as a goal setting tool when I read an article by Katie Weber. Katie Weber is a Feng Shui constultant and writes a fantastic e-newsletter called The Red Lotus Letter. I tried to find that original article but wasn't able to. You might check out her website though which is full of cool insight and inspiration for increasing your life energy flow. www.redlotusletter.com She also has lots of fun info about the Chinese New Year.

In that article Katie recommended making wishes or setting new goals with each new moon throughout the year. In many traditions the new moon marks a period of re-birth, increasing energy and growth. On the other hand the period of time between the full moon to the next new moon phase is recognized as a period of release, surrender, letting go and increased sensitivity and receptivity.

The added bonus of coordinating your New Year's resolutions, goals, intentions or wishes with the cycle of the moon is that you can use it throughout the year. Each new moon can act as a reminder of this years goals and intentions. You can also use it as a "pump" to keep the energy flowing to your intentions throughout the year. As the moon grows from new to full, you might work on the action oriented aspects of your new moon intentions. What can you actively do to promote positive changes for yourself? Let this two- week phase be a time of increasing action and energy. This is the planting, changing, growing, manifesting phase of the process of change. As the energy of the moon, wanes from full to new again, you might focus on surrendering a bit. Allowing life to lead the way in a sense. What can you let go of? Where can you surrender and soften to allow energy to flow. Make sure that you also focus on appreciating the small changes you have made. Make sure you take time to appreciate the positive changes you've made. True gratitude is one of the most empowering force in the universe.

The pulsation between action and surrender is essential for all growth! Everything in you, and everything in nature pulses with life. Our hearts beat with a steady rhythm of contraction and expansion which moves life energy through our bodies. Our days pulse between night and day and between winter and summer so that all things can sustain themselves through growth and with deep rest. We can only live by alternately breathing in and breathing out. When making life changes I think it's just as important to pulse between actively pursuing your goals and allowing yourself time to be more gentle with yourself and appreciate not only your progress but the way that life also has a way of helping you out when you really commit to change.

Here's to your new moon wishes. May this year be full of blessings, loving connections, and personal joy.