Know Thyself, Listen to Thyself, Care for Thyself

I had my first real bicycle ride of the season this morning.  I hadn’t planned on riding the twenty mile loop, but that’s what I ended up doing.  While it felt great to be out in the cool morning air with a ride and my muscles moving, the distance was a bit hefty for my entrance back onto my bike.  And I am feeling the results now.

Luckily, I know what to do now because I understand the three pillars that form the foundation of self-care:

• Know Thyself: which means understand your core tendencies, needs and the just of who you are so you can work with the flow of natural energy rather than against it.
• Listen to Thyself: you are constantly getting messages from your body-mind-spirit and if you tune into the messages and heed them, you will be much better served.
• Care for Thyself:  this is the step that follows up on the information from the first two pillars and is what tools and techniques you use to provide self-care.

In terms of my ride this morning, knowing myself I knew I would be better with a shorter first ride.  So I told my cycling partner that I didn’t want to do a long ride.  Our plan had been to split off at a certain point so I would do the shorter fifteen mile loop and she could do the twenty plus loop she wanted.  Somehow this didn’t quite work out as we ended up together for the whole twenty miles.  This is partly because another part of my personality is that sometimes I push myself too much, like feeling that I needed to ride faster to keep her pace initially and not cutting back and shaving a extra couple miles off the loop.

That said, despite my best intentions getting derailed by the competitive impulse, part way through the ride I got very clear messages from my body that I needed to slow down and back off the pace a bit.  This is part two above – listen to thyself.  And I did listen to my body and let my partner ride ahead and went at my own pace.  Maybe a little late, but better than never.

Returning home, I did feel tired.  My muscles were a bit fatigued but not too sore.  I felt lacking energy in core energy which means I went a bit beyond my capacity in the moment and tapped into my reserves.  So here I am now at pillar number three – taking care of thyself.  For me this meant taking the time to stretch, popping some arnica pellets (and taking the bottle to work with me for two additional doses throughout the day), a protein and grain breakfast to boost my energy, and not diving into more busy activities before heading to the office.  It may be enough…or not.  Time will tell and then I can take the next set of action.

Life is full of choices, actions, and the results that come from the whole sequence.  You will stay in better balance and health if you know how to apply the three pillars to your life. 

Need help understanding and using these three pillars and getting your self-care foundation clear and strong?  Then make sure to register for my upcoming group program on “Building Your Self -Care Toolkit.”  The six weeks of classes start in the fall but are registering now and space is limited.  Take action today – I guarantee you’ll like these results!

Easing Sore Muscles

Late spring is the season when we come out of the winter cocoon and dive in to outdoor activities again.  This includes fun sports like tennis and golf.   And it also includes the fun household jobs such as lawn mowing, weeding, mulching, and gardening.

And along with the re-awakening of these outdoor activities comes the re-awakening of muscles long dormant.  Even if you exercise regularly over the winter, there are activities that use specific muscle groups that only come into play when doing them. I know first hand as I weeded and gardened over the last two weeks and some of my inner thigh muscles made their presence known in a very loud way!

Have the yard or house projects left you with sore muscles?  Try these SORE MUSCLE TIPS…

#1: Start with ice. The cold slows the blood flow and helps counter painful inflammation. After exercising or working on a project, apply ice for 20 minutes, every 2 hours if severe. Compression, rest and elevation will also help with the anti-inflammation process. Note: this is the same process for an acute injury!

#2: Pull out the remedies, creams and salts. Address the symptoms on all levels by using creams such as Biofreeze or China Gel for lowering inflammation and providing an initial analgesic effect; use homeopathic arnica to work on the joints and deep muscle healing; and use Epsom salts to relax the muscles and pull out the toxins (follow the bath by a big glass of H20).

#3: After the acute period, usually a day or two following the big project, switch from ice to heat. At this point the inflammation should be down and heat will increase the blood flow to the areas bringing healing through the oxygen and blood. Use as needed or every few hours for 20-30 minutes if severe. Moist heat (packs with grains that when heated naturally create moisture) work best because the heat penetrates more deeply into the tissues than dry heat.

#4: Roll out the aches and pains with tennis balls in a sock or foam rollers. These act a bit like a DIY massage by creating compression release. Initially as you roll your body parts across these surfaces, you will feel discomfort as the muscles will be tight. But the more you use the tools, the more accustomed your body will be as the muscles relax, release and become healthier. If you hit a painful spot, stop on that point, try relaxing into it and breathe.

#5: Stretch. This does not have to be an hour of yoga or a professional routine but if you used your muscles, they will be happier if you take a small amount of time to stretch them back to their normal resting length. Remember, something is better than nothing. Five to ten minutes will go a long way, especially if you do it regularly.

#6: Get the professional touch. If you try all your home care techniques and you are still having problems or you left the situation too long and triggered a muscles spasm, now is the time to get professional assistance. Find a good deep tissue massage therapist and have the knots worked out. Often one session will be enough to downgrade the crisis mode then you can follow-up with more self-care.

Take self-care action by following these measures and you will not only reduce your muscles soreness, you will improve your muscular health, allowing you to continue enjoying those outdoor activities.

Like these tips and want to learn more self-care tools?  Check out your options at http://www.discoverhealingandharmony.com

Fun Tips & Tools

I love tools that aid me in living healthy and bring greater ease to my life so I thought I would share a few of my favorites that are fun, helpful and sometimes a bit wacky.

For those times you are cooking something that needs an even layer of powdered sugar, cocoa powder or any fine substance, try using a tea strainer as a duster.  Simply fill the mesh basket and tap to sift it onto your dish.  Smaller and easier to control than a regular sifter or colander though those will also work in a pinch.

An easy way to “pour” pancake batter is to put the batter in a clean, old ketchup bottle.  It squeezes out perfect circles without batter blobs on the counter.

Toothbrushes are great for scouring grout, getting into edges and even can be used to take off the corn silks on those wonderful ears of corn due to arrive this summer.  A bit like brushing before the meal!

Remove the seeds in a tomato in a flash with a melon ball scooper to remove them .

Put soy sauce in a spray bottle then use it to control this salty condiment on your rice, your stir fry or even your popcorn ( a new twist on salty seasoned corn).

Don’t give your stale bread to the birds.  Simply throw it in the food processor and make bread crumbs.

Need to measure out something sticky?  Spray the measuring cup or spoon first with oil and it will slide out with ease.

Tape or a damp sponge are great from removing excess lint and even pet hair.

What’s your favorite interesting tip or tool?  Let me know.

Get Your Motivation From The Core

I found myself over the last couple weeks feeling unmotivated.  For me, this is more a state of mind than a drastic change in action in my life.  Because the reality is that I am a high achiever when it comes to getting things done.  And while I was feeling comfortable with doing less than I used to and was still getting plenty of things done, both for home and business, I was also feeling an inner blah, a lethargy, a lack of internal spark or motivation.

To shift this energy, I went straight to the core – the third chakra that is.  The third chakra, Manipura in Sanskrit, is located at the navel point and its essence is about stamina, willpower and well-being.  It is connected to the element of fire and repressents our inner fire, the vitality of our engine, the get up and go.

The third chakra is also the center of personal power and is oriented to the ego identity.  It is about the power of commitment and balances the polarities of the self: inner/outer, left brain/right brain, feminine/masculine and comes together as a unity within the core.

There are many ways to tap into this power- breath exercises or pranayama, meditation on the third chakra, specific mantras, and yoga postures.  For myself, I chose to do a Kundalini Yoga Kriya called “Strengthening the Abdominals”.  Done half time, it only takes twenty minutes but boy does it pack a powerful punch through the fifteen exercises in the set.  I’ve been doing the set off and on for the past week and what a difference it has made!

The difference isn’t necessarily in getting more things done, since my higher goal is about balance and not excess.  The difference is about the awakening my inner verve.   I feel more vibrant, alive, and powerful – and it feels wonderful!

So whether you’re looking for more motivation to accomplish outer tasks or to expand your inner will, try out some third chakra work today.

Need help gathering your third chakra tools?  Call 262-782-1616 to set up a coaching session and we’ll get your moving on the right path.

Born To Run

I just finished an incredible book called “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. 

Although this book is about ultra running and barefoot running, it is also about so much more – like life, spirit, community, human evolution, and inherent human skills all but forgotten.   Not to mention that it is a book that meets my top criteria of being entertaining, inspiring, and thought provoking and was a page turner that I couldn’t put down.

Aside from simply recommending a great book, I chose to blog about this particular book for the take-aways – those inspiring thoughts or life lessons one walks away with from an experience. 

My biggest take-away from this book is the idea that if I’m working too hard, something isn’t right.  In the book, this lesson is primarily referenced in learning how to run in a fashion to give stamina for long endurance runs that are also filled with joy instead of the drudgery of a simple goal or task.  It is a concept that on a larger scale mirrors our run through life.

To have the stamina and joy of the Tarahumara runners, the author is taught two main lessons.

The first lesson is “don’t fight the trail.  Take what it gives you.” 

When we fight the inherent nature of ourselves or our surroundings, all we get is pain, frustration and effort.  None of which fits into my personal values of ease, flow and balance nor are experiences many of us want.

The second lesson is “think easy, light, smooth and fast.  You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad.  Then work on light.  Make it effortless, like you don’t  give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go.  When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooth.  You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.”

For me the fast in this example translates from the running example into life as success.  My job is not to focus on success or harmony or happiness.  Rather, I simply need to approach life first from a place of ease, then lightness, then smooth and the rest will take care of itself.

While both of these are lessons I know from yoga, it was nice to be reminded of them again.  And to help me stay connected to these ideas, I have posted the two lessons in quotes from the book above my desk – the place I seem to end up working the hardest when I really don’t want or need to!

If you read or have read the book, I’d love to hear your take-aways so feel free to share.

Re-Connecting With The Unlimited Possibilities Within Yoga

Over the past couple weeks I had been having trouble with my right hip and low back.  Despite a chiropractic adjustment, an acupuncture session, posture modification, and regular stretching, I was still being bothered by pain and discomfort.  Feeling frustrated, I took the problem to my inner guidance during Corpse Pose.  I relaxed my body and mind, threw the question out to the universe, and literally laid back waiting for the answer.

And the answer I received was “go back to the Asthanga standing pose series”.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Asthanga yoga tradition, the standing series is comprised of 18 poses with sun salutations done in between each of the poses.  It is a very strengthening and aerobic series but also increases flexibility and opens up much of the legs, hips and back. 

For the past six months, I have been doing more quieting yoga poses and longer meditation – which apparently haven’t been enough to support the time I’m spending at the computer and my other daily activities which tighten me up.  So I decided to go back to my roots, as I started my yoga practice with the Ashtanga tradition, and re-ground myself with this fabulous series.

And after just two days, my hip pain was gone!  However, I also noticed in doing the series just how tight I was in some areas and how weak my balance seemed to be.  Yikes!  It was a wake-up call that I need to pay this old yoga friend a more regular visit just to make sure I keep things open and flowing, strong and balanced.  That said, I’ve decided to do the series once a week and blend it in with my other days of gentle stretching and longer meditation and some days of specific Kundalini yoga sets.

And this is what I LOVE about yoga – there are so many ways to support myself on all levels of body, mind and spirit.  It’s simply knowing and remembering what tools to pull out of my tool kit at the different times.  And it was a great reminder that there is no right or wrong, no better or worse when it comes to the different yoga styles and traditions.  Rather each style has its own unique gifts which serve us at different times.

So thank you hip pain for re-connecting me with all that yoga is and thank you to all the teachers who have shared with me the possibilities so that I can support myself at any time.

Woman in High Gear

After a lovely five days of vacation, I am back home and am a woman in high gear.  My inner batteries are re-charged and the vacation days of relaxation have left me ready to roll.  My first day back I whipped out two loads of laundry, cleaned out the refrigerator, unpacked, sorted mail and emails, and cleaned the house and my office piles.  By day two, I was a busy bee in my office taking care of both home and business projects.  Gone was my lethargy, the project fatigue, and the dullness.  And I am once again reminded that to fuel my cycles of high activities, I need to make time for the flip side of renewal. 

This is the power of rejuvenation.  And we all need some time to get it.  But too often in this busy, fast-paced modern life, we don’t make time to let go, to recharge, to rejuvenate, to renew.  And instead, we end up with more fatigue, tension and stress, and chronic conditions of imbalance.  Our health statistics reflect this with 1 out of 2 Americans having at least one chronic health condition and 2/3 of Americans being on some form of regular medicine.

Remember not to set yourself up for failure with unrealistic expectations such as a long vacation, or a full week off, or feeling the need to have to spend money.  No matter what your time or financial circumstances, there are ways to create the space for recharging your batteries.  If you have the time, great.  If not, shorter breaks can also be effective.

Here’s a few ideas to get things started for recharging options.  Remember to find the outlets that fit your personal needs for renewal.

• An afternoon off with a favorite book or a movie matinee
• An half or whole day in nature
• Mini home spa day
• A day or weekend visiting friends – just getting out of your home environments without all the demands is incredibly refreshing
• Home exchanges – there are very good, safe options that make vacations more affordable.  My favorite is Home Exchange

As always, it nurturing your health doesn’t have to be big or expensive – but you do need to do it!

I’d love to hear what helps you recharge – so send me an email or note to share your experiences.

How Knowing My Dosha Bodytype Has Helped My Life

About a year ago I started working wpitith an Ayurvedic Practitioner.  As I was training in Ayurveda myself, I wanted the practical experience of seeing what it was like to be treated Ayurvedically.  I also had some mild yet annoying symptoms that I thought were connected with food but was unsure of the exact nature of the problem and how to proceed.  In knowing my Prakriti Dosha or Constitutional Bodytype I was able to understand my symptoms in terms of my unique needs of my body system.  And from that understanding, I learned how to make changes in my diet and my life to not only ease the symptoms but to correct the underlying imbalance.

I admit that I am a person that likes to see the big picture.  I don’t just want something to work, I need to know why it works.  I think this understanding then helps me carry out the self-care action more effectively.  Because if I understand why something works, I am more likely to do it!

By learning what my constitutional nature is, so many pieces of my behavior and habits made sense in a whole new way.  Knowing my nature allowed me to quit fighting some of my inherent tendencies and instead focus on making those tendencies balanced.  Let me give you an example.

There are three Doshas or life-forces – Vata, Pitta, Kapha- and a person can be dominant in one, have two in close balance, or even be balanced among all three though this is less common.  Each life force has certain physical and mental characteristics.  I am what is called in Ayurveda a Pitta-Kapha.  Pitta is dominated by the fire element and has a lot to do with digestion not only of food but also of ideas.  As a result, Pittas tend to be good analyzers and processors as well as goal oriented.  That sums up a large part of my nature and is a part of myself I value.  But that fire energy that allows me to get so much done can also burn me out if unbalanced.  Knowing that this is a strong part of who I am, I can work with my fire energy and at the same time make sure I am allowing cooling down and quiet time so that I don’t over-do and wipe myself out.

My Kapha nature shows up more in my physical body.  In my case, I created an excess of this energy through my eating patterns over a period of some twenty plus years.  Because not only do our bodies have these life-forces but so do foods and even climates and weather.  For me, the beginning of an imbalance began when I became a vegetarian and started to eat more and more carbohydrates, specifically wheat oriented carbohydrates like pastas, crackers, and breads.  I also had a strong sweet tooth and ate baked goods which combined wheat, dairy and sugar all of which are Kaphic in energy. 

Over the course of many years I unconsciously filled my body with an excess of Kapha which led to symptomssuch as mucous in my sinuses and throat, a heaviness in my body which sometimes permeated over into my life, off and on high levels of fatigue, and bloating.   All of these are signs, I later learned, of excess Kapha.  At the time, I attributed the issue to a sensitivity to dairy.  While this was partly correct, I was only seeing a small piece of the picture and thus my attempts to reduce my symptoms by not eating dairy didn’t solve my problem.

Once I learned about the Doshas and identified my bodytype,I was able to see the whole big picture of how my eating habits had led to my symptoms and by reducing the foods which had more Kapha in them for a period of time, I have been able to get rid of the symptoms and rarely have issues unless I eat too much of certain foods.  No longer am I a helpless victim wondering why I have symptoms.  Now I am empowered to do what the causative factors are in my symptoms AND I know how to make better choices for myself!

And the real silver lining in all of this for meis that as I have eaten more for my bodytype, I no longer have food cravings – specifically sugar cravings.  Those foods which I initially struggled to stop eating because I knew they weren’t healthy for me and had in fact led to my current imbalance, I simply no longer desire.  No, this doesn’t mean I never eat wheat, dairy or sugar because I do.  But I am quite content with small amounts infrequently.  And it’s easy to not eat them – there is no effort.  And I like this effortless aspect in life!

Knowing more about myself and my needs helped me make conscious choices at a whole new level.  And those daily choices in alignment with my core, create a healthy, happy me.

Lessons In Patience

As I sat waiting for a concert to start last week, I realized that lately I have had many situations pop up in my life that seem to be directing me toward lessons in patience.  My take when an issue or situation shows up repeatedly is that there is something I need to look at, adjust or learn.

So as my husband stewed next to me about the concert starting 45 minutes late, thus reducing our listening time since we had told the kids we would be back home around 10 pm,  I took some deep breaths and tried to look at the situation as an outside observer. 

In many ways, I am a very patient, easy-going person.  But there are times when my patience seems to get frazzled along the edges.  I was curious what was different in these times than the other times when I seem to be able to tap into an endless reservoir of calm.  As I probed, I discovered that the times when my patience is thin has two main contributing factors to it: the state of my mind and what comes after in my life that is being affected.  A side factor is that if I have something to do in the waiting times that I find of value, I am also less likely to slip into impatience.

The factor concerning my state of mind isn’t a surprise.  The more centered and calm I am, naturally the better I respond to external stress.  And doing regular yoga and meditation helps ground me in general for life.  And if I have enough presence of mind, I can even use breathing in the moment to connect me into that calm space.  Which I did the night of the concert and this allowed me to be keep my frustration at a minimal level.

The second factor regarding what follows the current situation is also not a surprise.  If the consequence of being late or not having something happen is significant, then my patience levels are weaker.  The night of the concert my main concern was my kids.  They are old enough to not want or need a sitter yet they also have trouble falling asleep when we’re out late.  So a concert on Monday night wasn’t ideal.  I knew that my daughter would be lying in bed, watching the clock, and feeling stressed.  I had also felt a little guilty because we had forgotten to tell the kids about the concert ahead of time and they hate last minute notices.

What I realized was that worry and impatience do not help but taking action for myself does.  The situation was what it was and decisions simply needed to be made.  It is the sense of feeling powerless that leaves me impatient or frustrated so if I re-claim my power in the form of a choice, I change the situation. 

In regards to the concert, I had no power over when the musicians would start.  But connecting back into what I did have power over helped center me.  I did have power over how long I would stay.  Yes, we would miss part of the concert by leaving at a time that felt comfortable to support the kids at home.  And I could have chosen to be irritated about that.  Instead I chose to enjoy the time I had there and release the rest.  I had also brought a book to study so that I felt that the waiting time had value for me.

And lastly I can learn from the situation so it feels more positive.  I learned that weekday concerts that are likely to run late do require a babysitter for our family so that everyone has the best experience with peace of mind.  Knowing this and taking action next time will further help avoid the frustration and keep me in a better state of patience with whatever crops up that I can’t control.

And naturally, I will always bring a book!

Weekend Retreat Brings New Tools & Awareness

I was at a retreat on “Making Choices – Moving Forward” last weekend where I discovered some great new tools to clear blocks and gain clarity and bumped up my awareness another notch – all while having fun and taking a pause from regular life.  What a gift!

Although I was a presenter as well as a participant during this retreat, I went in with the intention that there would be nuggets of treasure for me personally and professionally.  I try to set an intention before events, even if  it is the general intention that something positive will happen.  The intention helps me step into the space of receiving even if the event is around topics I already know.  Because even though the topic might be familiar, every person will talk about it differently and there are always deeper layers to be explored.

And receive and explore I did!

Here are some of my nuggets:

• The game Satori – this game comes from Colin Tipping and his Radical Forgiveness programs.  It is a board game where you pick up a current belief and storyline and gather blocks and other information along the way to help you transform your belief and create a new story line for your life.  Make note that while this is a “game”, what shows up is absolutely real and provides a great structure to process something that is holding you back.  I already ordered my copy and am trying to decide who I can invite to my first Satori game night.
• Scott Kalechstein- a funny, amazingly gifted modern day troubadour and inspirational speaker.  He has many CD’s with songs that use humor and conscious wording to support growth.  He uses wit, words, and wisdom to share his powerful messages about life and the Law of Attraction.
• The awareness that Yoga/Ayurveda and Law of Attraction may speak a different language and use different techniques but underneath there is a whole lot in common as far as universal laws of truth and the power of living consciously go.
• A fun roommate who shares a first name and a passion for whole health.

The retreat was sponsored by Elementals Living and took place at the beautiful Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, WI.   And considering how affordable the retreat was, less than $200 for all three days of speakers and events plus room and board, I was surprised by the small gathering.  So I’m inviting all of you to put your radars up for events in your areas or even for next year’s Elementals event that you find the places and spaces to take your “Expansion Pause” and discover your own nuggets of treasure.  Give yourself the gift of inspiration, exploration, and time away.   I promise, the rewards will be great!