Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Detox tea. It sounds so scary! Like the tea is going to taste terrible and leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. And do a number on your digestive system. But this one won't. It's a gentle detoxifier - great for counteracting a late night out, food splurges, detox cleanses, or upset tummies. Or even just drink it because it's tasty and good for you.

What if the true key to your health was not counting calories, stressing over carbs, or exercising for hours each day? What if the true key to your health was a simple as knowing your body type and how it affects your digestion?

Have you ever had an encounter with someone who tries to make you feel small? Someone who belittles you? Or do you ever find that you are in fact the person who does this to yourself? I had an encounter with this a while back. Someone made me feel small, and tried to get in my head. I felt small. I felt caved in. And THEN it transferred over into my yoga practice. I tried to do a headstand and BOOM, hit a wall (literally). Couldn't stick the pose. And then I thought - what if instead, I focus on being BIG? And I lifted up with a little more ease.

There are moments in life when, out of nowhere, you are thrown for a loop. You lose your job unexpectedly. You significant other leaves. You lose a family member or friend. Your world can be turned upside down in an instant and you may not know what to do next. Suddenly, the whole world seems to be crumbling at your feet.

Sometimes, my energy feels zapped. I know it’s in there, but I just can’t seem to find it. Sometimes it occurs as a foggy head. Other times I feel tired. And sometimes I just want to sit and watch a marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (love it). But I know that deep down, my energy is waiting, stuck somewhere, looking to be released.

Growing up, I would get the flu/cold/bronchitis/upper respiratory infection/etc, every year and be out of commission for a week or two. As an adult, it wasn’t as bad, but I would usually catch a nasty cold at least once a year, and it would linger for awhile. Until last year. In 2012, I was sick for exactly 2 days and then I was right back to my healthy self, with no lingering side-effects. I contribute this to boost in immunity to juicing every day and eating a plant-based diet, and also some herbal remedies that seem to keep the symptoms mild and the progression low.

Though I try to remain positive in my yoga classes and in my writing, there are times when, honestly, I just feel out of whack and a bit grumpy or down in the dumps. Sometimes it's stress, sometimes it's current events, and sometimes it’s the energy of the people I encounter during the day. When I get sad, I like to curl up and throw myself a pity party or stew about it for awhile. But this is not beneficial, not for more than about two minutes, and then it just becomes a bad or stuck habit. For me, one of the very best things I can do to change my perspective or sort through a difficult situation is come to yoga with an intention to detox (aka - work through the crap), and send it out (figuratively and literally). At the beginning, I can often feel very uninspired. In the middle, I start to feel myself opening up. And by the end, I feel that I have renewed myself and become a bit more authentic again.

As we start the holiday season, it’s easy to start to feel bogged down and affected by all that life throws at your – even more so than before. There are parties, shopping, spending, cooking, on top of your everyday busy lives. It can leave us stressed out and more than a little grumpy, rather than blissful and full of holiday cheer. Because of this, I have decided to partake in a 21-day meditation challenge (along with several members and teachers at a local studio), held by Deepak Chopra and the Chopra Center for Meditation. The theme for this challenge is “Creating Abundance”. Abundance means whatever you need it to – anything positive you wish to bring to your life.