What does it mean to eat Clean?

 What does it mean to eat clean? 
There's a lot of talk these days about "eating clean." 6 different things come to mind (This is not an all-inclusive list) that we can consider when choosing our food:

1. Where and how is the food handled?
How far away did the food travel from? How was it caught or grown?

2. Was the food prepared with love?
Happy cook = Happy food

3. Is it food that supports my needs (nutrients, allergies, etc.)?
Is my body cannot digest milk, it is not good for me. If your body can digest milk, then you want to choose milk from cows that have been treated well, without the use of hormones and drugs.

4. How processed is the food? 
Potatoes contain more nutrients than potato chips. Remember though that not all processing is bad.

5. Does it have additives? Hormones, GMOs, artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors, preservatives.

6. Is the packaging safe and environmentally friendly? Is it stored in a plastic that seeps into the food?

What are cleaner foods we can eat?
Fresh, local and in season fruits and vegetables
Nuts, seeds, beans, cold-pressed organic oils
Unrefined grains, 
wild-caught fish, hormone-free dairy and meats

Why is eating clean important? There is a lot of controversy over what we should and should eat. Most of the research supports eating as close to nature as possible with lots of vegetables, some fruit and grain, and healthy protein and fat.

If you've been eating a lot of processed food as well as putting toxic things (think cleansers, air pollution, drugs, items used on your skin) into, around, and on your body, maybe it's time to do a whole foods cleanse. I will be leading one for the month of March. Register Here.
What are some of the benefits of regular cleansing with whole foods? Sleep better, feel better, brighter, clearer skin, lose weight, think more clearly and so much more.

What makes mine a bit different from some of the others? You have access to me through email, you'll receive daily tips and encouragement, lots of yummy recipes, a self-care and how to cleanse guide, an accountability buddy and more.
I'd love to hear about your experiences with eating clean and/or cleansing.

Food, healing and yoga--Oh My!

As I continue to research yoga and diet, I find that yogis continually discuss diet, our behavior, how we take care of our bodies and minds, and so much more than just doing yoga postures. The physical is only the beginning. We cannot go much deeper if we cannot control our body.
 
So what exactly are whole foods? And, what do they have to do with healing and yoga?

Whole food: food that is processed or refined as little as possible and is free from additives and other artificial substances. Google

Healing: the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again; therapeutic. Google

Yoga: to unite, body, breathe, and spirit.

Yoga promotes healing if done in a way that supports who and what we are and remember that there are 8 limbs to yoga- 

1. yamas (which I recently discussed-ethical standards), 
2. niyamas (self-discipline), 
3. asana (postures), 
4. pranayama (breathing practices), 
5. pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), 
6. dharana (concentration-the beginning of meditation), 
7. dhyana (meditation) and 
8. samadhi (unending bliss).

You are what we eat, a blog I wrote last Spring, discusses the connection between what we eat and how we feel.  
Our body can eliminate many of the pollutants we take in, yet sometimes it needs help with this process. One of the things we can do to help with this process is to promote cleansing. We can do this through a variety of ways:

• sweating through exercise or heat
• eating until you are only 2/3 full
• eating all your food in an 8-hour period so the rest of the time the body can digest
• eating well balanced, whole, organic foods
• eating a clean, mono diet of a health-promoting and detoxing affect for a short period of time 
• practicing particular asanas (yoga postures) such as halasana (plough) and malasana (squat)
• pranayama (breathing practices), breathing deeply and consciously, bringing in more prana (life force)
• kriyas (yogic cleansing practices) such as nauli, which should be taught by a trained instructor
• drinking plenty of fresh water
• promoting regular bowels

These are just some of the things you can begin to do on your own to promote regular cleansing. 

You might also do an actual cleanse or detox or participate in a group cleanse. I will be offering an online, 27-day group cleanse. For more details check out my flyer. 

Bottom line, if you want to have plenty of energy, sleep well, think clearly, maintain your body weight, and so many other possibilities, you can do a regular yoga practice and eat well. 

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

4 Questions About Food Cleanses Answered

It seems that everywhere I look, online, magazines, blogs, people are talking about detoxes and cleanses. I am even offering one, Wake Up From Winter, for my students to do together. With so many questions, let's find some answers.

Would a cleanse be right for you? For someone who is living in a polluted environment, eating processed foods, drinking alcohol, fluoridated and chlorinated water, smoking, taking medication, and anything else that puts toxins into your body, you would benefit from doing a cleanse. If you have any health concerns, please check with your health care practitioner before starting a cleanse.  Also, please do not stop taking prescribed medications unless directed by your doctor to do so.

Which one is good? As I mentioned in an earlier blog, You are what you eat, whole foods are the best way to go. I don't believe in punishing ourselves and though I have a descent practice and have developed discipline, I am somewhat lacking when it comes to willpower. I need to feel nourished and like I'm doing some thing good for myself.  I really like the cleanse offered by Hale Sofia Schatz in, If Buddha Came to Dinner; it's healthy, safe, and based on a whole food diet. And, like with most things in life, it's better to do with a friend. There are so many books and cleanses available. Read through them. Make sure they are reasonably priced and based on whole foods.

How long should I cleanse? The length of a cleanse depends on you.  I started with a day and built myself up to 21 days.  My goal is to eat from my cleanse diet one day a week.

Are cleanses helpful?
My experience of trying many diets, fasts, detoxes and cleanses is this: I want to change my life not just lose some weight. My friends and family gave me the best feedback about how well the last cleanse I did worked. People told me that my skin glowed. I was filled with energy, lost some unwanted weight, and let go of my coffee addiction (still). Yes there are some withdrawal side effects, but the are worth it.
According to Woodson Merrell, M.D., there are at least 7 reasons we should do a cleanse or detox regularly:

• Reduce toxins in the body quickly
•  Lose weight
• Lowers risk of diabetes
• Makes your body efficient in creating energy
• Reduces the competition in how our body gets rid of toxins
• Helps repair our chronically overloaded digestive tract
• Helps you breathe better

To read more:
Why Starting a Detox Program Should Be a Top Health Priority for 2014 First the bad news: The evidence is now overwhelming that pollution contributes to chronic disease. Almost every system in the body can be disrupted by levels of exposure to toxins commonly found in the majority of Americans. (14) Many toxins target multiple systems and can set off cascades of inflammation that can topple a person's health like a perfect throw straight down the lane at Lucky Strike. And guess what: Your government is NOT protecting you enough from exposures that harm. 

Let me know what cleanses have worked for you. Feel free to ask questions too!
 

You ARE what you eat

reachingutopia.com photo credit

I'm not sure when I first heard the quote, 'You are what you eat,' but I have heard if often especially as of late. I'm also not sure that I believed it whole heartedly until recently. Last November I did a whole food cleanse that changed my life. I've done many cleanses and fasts over the last 20 years, and they were always a struggle. While I benefited from most of them in some way, they never changed my habits or me completely.

What made this last time different? Well, me and where I am emotionally was different. I was cleansing with a friend, yet I have done that before. The particular cleanse I was doing, again, I have done that before. So, we'll come back to this question.

Our diets have changed dramatically since our youth. I remember getting milk from the local farmer, my mother making spaghetti sauce, and fast food was a luxury that occurred once a year.

I don't need to describe how it is today--because we all know--it's almost impossible to find unpasteurized milk, homemade spaghetti sauce is a luxury and fast food for some is the norm.

 Our vegetables are be modified, sprayed with pesticides, chemicals are added to many foods to add to their shelf life, color, packaging with added chemicals, and the list goes on. How has this changed us? We have more allergies, addictions, obesity, chronic illness, emotional disorders, medicated children and adults than ever before.

So what can we do? We can change our eating (cook at home, grow your own food, slow down, eat mindfully) and buying habits (buy organic, eat locally grown food that's in season, read ingredients and don't buy anything that has ingredients that you can't pronounce or know what they are) just a couple suggestions. Does it have to be a total overhaul? We can start small and work our way to changing the aspects of our lives we want to be different--one bite at a time.

So, what was different this time? ME!! Where I'm at in my life, my practice, with my family and career, I see things from a clearer perspective and through my November cleanse, my eyes, tastes and body was changed. I was actually able to give up my worst addiction or habit (diet soda--I know I'm embarrassed to admit it) easily.  When I tried to drink some after the cleanse was over, I just couldn't. People from all parts of my life commented on my transformation. I had wished I had taken before and after pics, but I didn't.

I will be leading a group whole food cleanse starting on March 1st, 2014.  If you are interested, check out the flyer on my website, Wake Up From Winter. I will be blogging throughout the cleanse. Please feel free to share any experiences you have had with changing food habits (or any other appropriate ones) below. Bon appetite!