Start Your Morning Off Right

Its amazing what one can do when you take the time to put your mind to it. For me, working in the restaurant business had made a night owl out of me for the last I-don't-know-how-many-years. So, the prospect of getting up early to meditate or do some mild & gentle excercise, let alone earlier is a hard pill to swallow.

As a Reiki practitioner I always try to do a small meditation on the Usui principles for a few moments when I first wake up and right before bedtime. On a whim because I woke up unusually early I decided to lengthen that meditation and do some early morning yoga.

I don't know about you, but I'm too groggy first thing in the morning and drive half an hour to a yoga studio for an hour and a half class. Mornings are also super busy so to figure out how to squeeze all that extra time in your day can be stressful. I think this kind of defeats the purpose of Yoga. The point of morning yoga is to gradually awake the body and the mind. To center yourself and prepare for the day in a relaxing manner. So I started by doing some simple poses and streching for a half hour. Then I moved on to an organized program. Fit tv has a show called Namaste Yoga that does half hour mini sessions. I have started recording episodes on my DVR.
It truly is relaxing, yet energizing to start the morning off stretching, meditating and doing poses. Not to mention it takes very little time.

I find when I am finished I can start my day calmly and feeling refreshed. It makes an amazing difference. Give it a try.

Dirt: an easy way to recharge your batteries.

I know you probably read that title and are thinking "Whaaaaat?"
Bear with me, it will all make sense in a second. There was a song by Arrested Development back in the mid 90's (its name currently escapes me) but part of the chorus was "Dig your hands in the dirt. Children play with earth."

It popped up on my ipod the other day and got me to thinking. Yes, the point of the song was how disjointed we are from nature and are engulfed by the mass amount of technology in our lives. this is true. The song actually reminded me of something else though, how powerful and restorative finding a simple way to reconnect can be.

I spent Saturday morning at the Women's Weekend Away, a health & services fair for women in the Harrisburg area. I had volunteered my Reiki services for the morning. When I came home I was so exhausted. I felt rewarded for the people I introduced to Reiki & having helped a dozen or so relax, but I was very drained.

I thought about what would help me relax and was grateful to realize that spring had finally come and I could start working on my garden. This year its a container garden (a very large one) instead of a yard, but the benefits are the same. There is something very rewarding about putting your hands in a pile of earth. There is a reminder that you are connecting to this life force that binds us all and you are helping something else to connect & grow. I tend to take it a step farther and do reiki on my plants and seeds as I am sowing them. Then, come harvest time, I am nourishing myself with that same energy.

You don't have to have a green thumb to try this. Container gardening can be very easy, aloe is very forgiving (and pretty hard to kill) if you're just getting started. I usually find joy in growing culinary herbs, a few medicinal ones and I plant flowers as well. Getting to look out the porch or window and see bright flowers in pots is also away to cheer me up on those gloomy gray days.

So treat yourself and take a few minutes to escape the chaos of technology by planting something. Fun with dirt doesn't mean you have to be four years old, covered in it or make a mud pie. It can be as simple as finding some peace in your life by growing a small plant.

The Power of Food

I spent some time talking on the phone with a dear friend today who is experiencing some health problems. As a former chef with extensive knowledge about nutrition, I cannot express how important a balanced diet is to maintaining one's health. So I, of course, asked my friend about her eating habits. I will say she is better at the choices she makes than most. She does not eat a ton of fast food and junk food like most of the population. But she does not eat enough nutrient rich food. She also eats a lot of white flour based breads.

This is the main reason why my friend and most of the population are feeling so run down all the time. Large quantities of food can't give you energy if they are full of fat, salt & cholesterol that make your heart and the rest of your organs work overtime to process them. By the same token, you can eat pretty healthy but if you are not enough it won't matter. Also, make the switch to whole grain it will make a huge difference in your energy level (you won't burn through the natural sugars from the white flour so fast so you'll have more energy longer) and it will help with your digestion too.

With spring getting started, this is the perfect time of year to start having fun in the produce section of your local grocer or farmer's market. There are so many energy packed foods available this time of year through the next several months.....so please take advantage of it.

You'd be amazed at the power of adding more leafy greens and other vegetables to your daily routine. They can help not only give you more energy, but even put a little more zing back into your sex life. Cut back on fried foods and fire up the grill. ITs easy to do and even helps minimize the time you spend on dishes since there are no pots & pans to clean up. Use that time instead to enjoy the outdoors, such as going on a nature walk, with someone you care about.

You'll feel better, have more energy and will find you're a lot more relaxed at the end of the day when you head for bed.

Need recipe ideas? I promise a recipe post each week. In the meantime, here is an easy way to get started:

Grab a bottle of your favorite balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Use it as a marinade on some chicken breasts, throw in some zucchini slices or asparagus spears. I suggest marinating no less than an hour. Then fire up the grill. You'll have a healthy dinner with no stress involved preparing it or cleaning up afterward.