CLEANSING 101

Skin breakouts, constipation, headaches, aches and pains, low immunity, allergies, food sensitivities…..these can be common symptoms of toxicity in the body. Spring is the perfect time to rid yourself of toxic buildup and junk in the trunk – and an opportune time to liberate things from your closets, cupboards, and life that are getting in the way of your experience of radiant health and energy.


Many of my clients decide they want to “do a cleanse” and get all fired up to drink lemon water with cayenne pepper (and a few other ingredients) for a month straight in order to lose weight and feel better. I am not a huge fan of intense cleanses myself, unless they are supervised by a professional and you are in a supportive environment that allows you the freedom to experience the symptoms, emotions, and potential healing crisis that can occur as a result.

Some people love the high they get when they shift from their daily SAD (Standard American Diet) to a hard core cleanse, which may include fasting, herbs, and juices. If this type of process works for you, fabulous! However, if you are looking for more than a quick “tune -up,” and want to establish long term, healthier patterns based on a knowledge of what specific foods work for your body, then a more gradual method may suit you better.

I encourage a gentle and mindful approach broken down into stages, so that the body doesn’t freak out from too many changes all at once. First, begin to eliminate major toxic culprits and start “eating clean”. Take as much time as you need to remove or greatly reduce the following: Refined grains and sugar (the white stuff), alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or other chemicals, and processed foods. This is a great time to rid your pantry and fridge of items that aren’t in line with your goals. If junk food is not immediately accessible it will be less likely to end up on your plate.

Add regular exercise to your routine. The lymphatic system (which defends the body against disease) relies on your movement to help rid the system of toxins. Even a brisk walk will help if you are short on time. Get outdoors for fresh air and breathe deeply; five minutes breathing mindfully and connecting with nature can give you stress reducing perspective on life and positively impact the food choices you make for the remainder of the day! In addition to cleaning up your diet and adding or increasing physical exercise, you will benefit from observing your current habits. An important part of learning what foods work for you is to journal what you eat. Take note of everything, including beverages and supplements. Note the following: What, When, Why (this is to note emotional triggers to behavior), and How. (How did you feel afterward, physically, mentally, emotionally?) You might even consider journaling what you eat for a week before you make any changes at all so you have an experience of the difference.

Once you are acclimated to these dietary and behavioral adjustments, you can take it to the next stage if you wish. This could involve fasting and/or detoxifying your organs with herbs and specific recipes and juices. I strongly recommend that you do some research and check in with a qualified health care professional to rule out any health issues before you embark on a detoxifying or fasting program.

Pay attention to the process - you will notice that as you cleanse the temple of your body, other important areas of your life start to de-clutter as well. Either because you are feeling more energetic and inspired or because the new lifestyle causes you to let go of certain people or behaviors that no longer serve your highest good. It’s all connected, so be ready!

Which brings me to the point of the importance of community –  I witness more transformation and success when people come together with a shared goal in mind and a plan to hold each other accountable. So get a few friends together to join you on this clean eating/pre-detoxifying program and enjoy the feeling of supporting others and being supported! Set yourself up for success.

So Phase One in a nutshell:

• Out with the old and nasty

• In with the new and clean

• Move your body

• Breathe fresh air

• Journal your process

• Engage in community support

Starting with these steps can take several weeks, but will be well worth it if what you want is sustainable change and long term health and vitality.

For more information on clean eating:

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/minisite/ce_index.htm

Eat Clean Diet for Men, by Tosca Reno

Click HERE for an article on food journaling:

Namaste!
Kendra

A Healthy Heart from the Inside Out!

February is  American Heart month-so let’s explore the organ AND spirit of it.

Your precious, beating heart has been at your service since you came into being. It’s committed! Day in and day out it keeps you alive and provides you the gift of expressing who you are in the world. Have you ever closed your eyes and placed a hand over your heart to feel this miracle in action? We take our hearts for granted because we can’t see them. It comes naturally to pay attention to the aesthetic aspects of our lives, doesn’t it? When our skin breaks out we get a facial. When we start looking like a walking hairball we get waxed. But without our hearts we wouldn’t even be around to beautify for the people in our lives. Giving our heart theTLC it needs requires a commitment that is more than skin deep.

I suspect you don’t need the statistics. I could relay scary numbers about heart disease and its rampage on western society but let’s face it; you already know it’s a problem. I know MY eyes glaze over when I start reading percentages and too much clinical information. I prefer the bottom line-the practical information I can put into action right away. But you are resourceful…you have your iPhone apps and other means of unlimited access to a world of information that will tell you what to eat and what to do to keep your heart pumping strong. So I’d like to start with the question of WHY. Why be healthy? We go through life talking about all the things we need to do; “I need to exercise, I need to lose weight, I need to eat more vegetables.” But why? Besides the obvious reason of wanting to live longer, think about those you love, with whom you want to share the joys of life. Your family, a beloved partner, the children you have or will one day adopt…What would having a strong and vital heart allow you to do in life? Ten, twenty, even thirty years from now, how will the quality of your life be affected if instead of being on blood thinners and paying hospital bills you are participating in a triathlon, sailing around the world, or proudly witnessing your child (or grandchild) graduate from college?

Many of you hot, young folks out there probably feel like this subject isn’t relevant for you. Perhaps you are more focused on preventing STDs then on something you feel won’t strike till you are older. You have no symptoms and your lifestyle choices haven’t yet started showing up in the numbers during your checkups. Maybe you don’t even get checkups! Perhaps your cholesterol is only borderline high so you will deal with it later when it’s “an issue.” I would like to challenge you to start now. Sometimes it can be scary to see with honesty, but being educated and having a plan for self care and disease prevention will add quality years to your life that will be worth the unveiling of denial. Where can you start?

1) Be willing. Take a close look at the current risk factors in your life that include not only your lifestyle but your family history. This may include a checkup and some basic blood work so you have a baseline of information.

2) Be informed. At the end of this article you will find a few links to get you started in learning more about risk factors and creating heart health. Search for the support you need depending on your unique needs.

3) Be proactive. Once you are armed with the facts, decide what areas in your life need adjustments. Is it nutrition, physical activity, stress, smoking or other recreational habits?

4) Be holistic. What other areas in your life if nurtured would contribute to a satisfying, healthy existence? Explore meditation, hobbies, healthier relationships, spirituality, and personal values that support joyful, meaningful living.

5) Be connected. Ask your heart what it needs on a regular basis. Take a moment to breathe deeply, ask earnestly, and listen intently. The body is infinitely intelligent and will respond often with answers that your mind could not fathom. You may receive information like, “I need an apple, a hug, a run, a shot of wheatgrass, or I need to forgive.”

This miraculous heart of yours has more love to give, more life to live, more wisdom to share. It’s committed. Are you?



Click HERE for a heart health assessment by the AMA.

Other resource links:

 HEART HEALTH RESOURCES FOR WOMEN

HEART VITAMIN REVIEW SITE (just a place to start-I am not promoting any products)

Namaste,
Kendra

Eat The Rainbow!

In my last article we tackled the motivations behind your resolutions. For those of you who are still standing firm in your commitments, let’s take it to the realm of ACTION.


If you were to take note at the end of the day of all different colors you ingested, what would you come up with? Would those colors create a beautiful inspiring painting that you could hang on your wall? Would they be made up of neutral earth tones? Or would they be a collection of carnival colors, unnatural pinks, bright blues….you Slurpee drinkers, 7-11 snackers, and white rice-ers know what I’m talking about.

Have you ever heard this recommendation? Eat the rainbow!

There is a reason that Mother Nature created fruits and vegetables in rich and diverse colors, and why they are in season during different times of the year. We can TRUST nature to offer up the nutrition we need WHEN we need it. For example, orange and yellow foods tend to be high in Vitamin C and support circulation and immunity. During the fall and winter months we can most certainly benefit from the immune boosting, grounding, and warming properties of root vegetables like squash, pumpkin, and yams, which are plentiful during this time of year.

Green, red, orange, yellow, white, blue/purple…get ‘em all on your plate as often as possible. If you do this, your body will love you. Green foods like kale and broccoli are blood purifiers and contain calcium and magnesium which act as natural muscle relaxers! Instead of a cocktail to wind down, imagine having a green smoothie instead! All the benefits, no negative side effects. Red and purple foods like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and dark berries offer antioxidants and support heart health, memory, and reduce free radical damage. White foods like garlic, onion, and jicama help to reduce blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

My favorite way to meet the rainbow requirements is to make salads with LOTS of activity. Here is an example of one of my faves:

Start with 2 cups of leafy greens (multi-colored leaves are great)

Add at least one ingredient from each of the colors, for example, choose from:

Beets, cherry tomatoes, red or yellow peppers, jicama, onion, raw zucchini or squash, berries with deep color, beans like kidney or chickpea, seeds like pumpkin or sunflower, (raw, not roasted) raisins or dried cranberries, sprouts, a healthy fat source like olive oil or avocado. Add your favorite protein such as chicken, tofu, or extra beans.

The great things about eating salad: the possibilities are endless, you can change the ingredients according to your mood and what is in season, and they take awhile to eat. Ever notice how you can mindlessly stuff your face with a processed food-like substance and it pretty much slides down your throat with very little chewing necessary? Salads not only support variety, but the act of mindful eating. They require you to slow down and chew. You get to enjoy your meal and notice when you are starting to feel full. Colorful salads are NUTRIENT DENSE. Very little calories for the power boost they give your cells. Please do not make the mistake of eating an iceberg “wedge” with blue cheese dressing and bacon as a rainbow salad! (although these are one of my favorite indulgences I will admit)

Fill your pantry with some basic ingredients that will make for a colorful salad, and keep some mixed greens and fresh veggies on hand. Make sure to use as many organic ingredients as possible. Do not ruin the healthy benefits of your masterpiece with dressings that contain high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, or ingredients you are unable to pronounce. It is best to make your own dressing or buy a less processed dressing at a health food store. I personally have given up strongly flavored dressings because they diminish the robust flavors of my veggies.

I strongly suspect that if you add a daily salad to your diet you will feel more satisfied and energetic. If you have weight to lose, watch it start to melt away. Your bowels will move better, your skin will begin to radiate health, your eyes will sparkle, and people will stand in line to bask in the magnificence of your glow.



Recommended reading: Food Energetics: The spiritual, emotional, and nutritional power of what we eat, by Steve Gagne

Resolutions...Muddy Motivation?

I like to stir the pot from time to time. I could write something pithy and Polly Anna about seizing the moment to make a grandiose resolution and “have the life you’ve always dreamed of!” But instead, I invite you to seize this moment and question…look inward to the motivations beneath the process of making a resolution.


First, why? Why resolve to change at the beginning of the calendar year? My experience personally and in working with thousands of clients is that a resolution is only as effective as the AWARENESS with which you make it. Let’s use the examples of weight loss, smoking, or other addictions. It is important to ask, “Why now?” What makes your chance of long term success any greater by choosing January 1st to start?

Another question to ask: “Why THIS particular resolution?” It is one thing to know intellectually that you need lose 10 lbs or quit smoking, or to respond to the pleas of your family or partner to take action. However, it is infinitely more powerful to make a commitment from a place of self-awareness and a felt experience of the consequences of your current actions. From this presence comes the possibility of lasting change. True transformation comes from an internal reference point of self love, self awareness, and ideally, compassion for the self, rather than from a place of beating yourself into submission.

The reason our resolutions lose steam after a month or even a week is that they are lacking the fuel of compassion and curiosity! Commit to really looking at the suffering that your condition or actions are creating in your life. Then feel the suffering fully. How does it feel to inhale smoke all day long? Notice all the pieces of the experience, the pleasant and not so pleasant. The relief of the first puff or bite, the shame that may follow after. How does it feel to eat too much sugar? Before, during, after? How does the extra weight or smoking affect your body, your moods, your dreams and goals?

This practice is called “conscious, compassionate awareness.” When you become fully present to your life and the suffering you may be creating it becomes natural to do something about it in the present moment as well. If you are of the mindset that you will continue to abuse your body or choose suffering “until a certain date” at which time you will suddenly stop-I urge you to consider that you may not be ready to make that particular change. And you know what? That’s okay. Because when you are truly ready, the change will be for good.

Getting curious and asking deeper questions-tilling the soil of your being- can be uncomfortable and messy, downright crappy feeling. But discovering what motivates you and what calls you to action is a gift worth working towards.

And from the fertile ground of presence and compassionate awareness, you can plant seeds that grow into the life you want for yourself.

Recommended reading: There is Nothing Wrong With You, by Cheri Huber

Holiday Survival Tips!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, “Christmakah,” Kwanzaa, or any other holiday this time of year, no doubt the hustle and bustle of the season can take its toll on you. Body, psyche, spirit, and pocketbook, all are affected. Eating different foods than you usually do, often forced connections with family members for the sake of tradition, social events, and the financial stress of buying gifts can all contribute to frazzled nerves and often a little extra “not so jolly” jiggle in the midsection or on the hips.


Here are some thought provoking tips to help bust you out of the “holiday season” box, so that you can start celebrating from a place of possibility and freedom:

Instead of getting caught up in the consumerism of the holidays, think of ways to express your appreciation for loved ones that saves you income, trees and precious time. Here are some ideas:

Put a love letter in your partner’s stocking (on a recycled card)

Donate to a cause that is meaningful to your loved one.

Give the gift of your focused presence. Make a date and most importantly, keep it!



Let your values play a role in how you express yourself-a love for service could mean volunteering. If you enjoy community, you could host a potluck “no gift” party and get creative with the food or a fun theme.

Create your own traditions. Gazing at lights, going to a play, ice skating, cooking a healthy version of a favorite dish, anything at all that brings you deep joy, a sense of peace, and time to breathe.

On that note, never estimate the power of breathing. This one skill if done consciously can make or break your experience. If you are faced with a tension-filled family environment, stay in touch with your body and the present moment. Feel your feet on the ground. Feel breath rising in your belly. Breathe into the NOW and realize that often your old issues are being triggered. Have a mantra or comforting reminder that you can say to yourself to bring you back to the present moment. For example, imagine the inhale filling every cell of your body with peace. As you exhale, you could say, “It’s not personal.” You could also keep repeating it out-loud in the presence of your most obnoxious relative, but I think that is material for a different article! Before you even show up at your destination, have this Breath/Mantra resource in place, so you aren’t scrambling to find inner peace.

What I am about to say now may sound radical, impossible even, but nevertheless I will introduce the possibility to those of you who are game. Why are we sabotaging ourselves for a month or more before New Year’s day only to convince ourselves we will start fresh on January 1st? I say, let’s start caring for our bodies now, so that we dive into the new year with energy, inspiration, and a head start on what we are committed to creating. If you know that sugar is your enemy, or white pasta makes you BLOAT like a corpse out at sea (gross but effective imagery, no?) then why are you eating it? By all means, partake in moderation. But please don’t use the holidays as a free pass to gorge on things that actually rob you of energy-when this is the time of year that you could especially benefit from some extra veggies or complex carbohydrates to keep you satisfied. Some major holiday culprits that you may want to reign in: alcohol, white sugar, refined and processed foods and caffeine. Try reducing these items by crowding them out with healthier options: green or herbal teas, natural sweeteners like agave nectar or honey, and whole grain pastas. Drink less alcohol and stay hydrated by having a glass of water for every cocktail or glass of wine. Plus, you will have to pee so much you will be burning calories running to and from the bathroom.

My hope is that you have uncovered some new ways to express yourself, take care of yourself, and most importantly BE yourself, despite the social hypnosis of what we “should” be doing this time of year. Let’s move from surviving the holidays to thriving in the midst of them!

Namaste!

Kendra

Healthy PB & J!

I know peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a comfort food for many. They are also filling and offer a good source of protein and carbs (if you don't use Skippy or Jif on white bread with processed jelly)  Ohhhh, did I just take the fun out of it? Supermarket peanut butter has added sugar and almost always has hydrogenated fat-aka, POISON, in order to keep it's shelf life nice and long.  White bread fills your belly but  doesn't feed your cells with good nutrition.  Even many so called whole wheat breads have added high fructose corn syrup and preservatives.  When you buy wheat bread it must say 100% whole wheat and have that listed as the first ingredient.  If it says "made WITH whole wheat" you are being played. Jams and jellies usually have an immense amount of white sugar and food coloring added as well.  If you have kids, it's great to start them out on their pb & j careers with a taste for a more wholesome version of this favorite.

So, are you ready for my version? 

Instead of wheat bread or white bread, try a hardier, more sustaining bread made from spelt. Spelt is an ancient grain, older than wheat, good for those sensitive to wheat, which offers high protein and a good amount of fiber-plus it is important to have variety in the diet!  You can get spelt bread in the frozen department of a health food store (I like the sourdough version) -or buy "sprouted" grain breads that retain their vitamins and enzyme activity.

Use a NATURAL peanut butter, with no added sugars and just a hint of salt if you need it.  Health food stores sell it and even supermarkets are starting to offer healthier versions.  You could also try ALMOND or CASHEW butter for a change.  Almonds are an exceptional source of nutrition.

Buy jam or jelly that has no added food coloring and minimal sugars added.  I make my own and it takes literally 30 seconds.  Here is the recipe:

Handful of organic fresh raspberries
 A SQUIRT of agave nectar (great sweetener that is easy on your blood sugar, similar to honey)
Mash this up with a fork and spread it on!

Remember, just because something says its NATURAL doesn't mean it is.  Take the time to read the ingredients on the back and decide for yourself.

There you go-I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it!  Your body will thank you.

namaste,
kendra

Tasty Avocado Toast Recipe!

This recipe was completely inspired by one of my favorite restaurants-Carmel Belle, of Carmel, CA.  I took the liberty of making some healthy changes to suit my needs and make it wheat free.

Toast a piece of sourdough flavored spelt bread (you can find this in the frozen section of health food store)
Top it with 1/2 a sliced avocado
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt

Spelt is an ancient grain that is a good source of protein and gluten free.  Adding sources of healthy fat like olive oil and avocado help to slow down digestion and keep you satisfied longer.

I eat this for breakfast or as a snack or side dish to a soup.


Enjoy!
Kendra