Lift Yourself Up With Music!

We all find ourselves down from time to time.  You know the feeling--blue, down in the dumps, glum.  This is totally normal!

Oftentimes, though, when we find ourselves in these types of states, we turn to music as a sort of therapy.  It's comforting to listen to those sad tunes--Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2U, George Harrison's I Live For You, Bruce Springsteen's The River, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5--and I say EMBRACE them!  Listen to them, cry if need be, sulk, and release all those sad/negative/what-have-you emotions.

Use music as therapy and allow it to transport you!

Allow whatever it is you're listening to, though, to eventually shift you over to peppier, more upbeat songs [eventually].  Get the "sad songs" out of your system, even if it takes a whole month, but allow that music to transport you to a happier state.  In time, you will naturally want to listen to Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!

Without realizing it, the music we are listening to reflects our current mental-spiritual state.

Reflect on the current soundtrack YOU are listening to.  What kind of music comprises it?  Have you been drawn to a specific type of music lately?  Take inventory on the music you've been listening to might be reflecting your overall spirit or how your overall spirit might be impacting your choice of music!

In short, music is some pretty powerful stuff.  Use it for the amazing tool that it is.  And if, by chance, you do happen to be feeling down, might I recommend this to add just a bit of brightness to your current life soundtrack?

With love, light and happiness,

Brief Hiatus

Hi All!

Thank you for being such loyal readers.  I wanted to let you know I will be taking a brief hiatus from my blog.  I will be back though with even MORE advice to offer you all and even greater wisdom.  For now I simply cannot commit as regularly as you all deserve.

As always, with love, light and happiness,

Heed Your Own Advice

Ok.  I'll admit it.  This post is selfish.  I wrote it for me.

Actually, truth be told, I write all of my posts for me.  I, of course, hope that they will help you but yup.  They're for me.  Selfish.

Anyway, what inspired the subject of this post was the truly wonderful conversation I had with my mom earlier this evening.  We talked about the the usual "stuff" going on in our respective lives--work, weather, family members--but we also got into some more personal stuff, most of which was about me.

Ever since I can remember, I've been so hard on myself.  I really don't like that about myself but it is what it is.  Try as I might to change it, I have a really hard time!  I fear that it's going to be an eternal struggle but I know it doesn't have to be and that I can change.

During our conversation, my mom offered me some great advice and that was to listen to my own words, aka my blog posts!  As I mentioned, I write them for you all but they come from my heart and soul.  The posts I share are what I'm feeling in the moment but I hope that those feelings will resonate with you all as well.  The advice, guidance, whatever you want to call it, that I offer is sincere.  That is to say, I firmly stand behind what I offer--I just need to start listening to myself!

To conclude this short post, I encourage you all to heed your own advice.  Pay attention to your own wise words.  You have more knowledge and compassion for yourselves than you realize.  Tune into it and listen to your inner voice.

I will do the same.

With love, light and happiness,

Get Out There To Expand Your Knowledge!

I'm going to format this post a little differently by telling you a story.

The other day, on my lunch hour, I popped into a little wine shop near my work. I was looking to buy a bottle of wine to go with my dinner for that night and, as someone who loves absolutely everything about wine--its body, its texture, its juiciness, its color, its fragrance, et cetera, et cetera--I decided to strike up a conversation with the store's wine buyer to see if he could recommend a bottle to me. I told him what I was looking for (sort of) as well as certain flavor profiles I didn't care for (oaky Chardonnays?  NO THANKS!). In addition to receiving his own personal recommendations, I also came away with so much knowledge. I drank it up--no pun intended! 

I learned about Tokaj, a Hungarian wine that is orange in color. I learned that it cannot be called "Tokaj" here in the United States due to Hungarian licensing laws but can be called "Jakot," the backwards spelling of "Tokaj." Flavor-wise, it's a little nutty, with subtle undertones of spices like cumin and coriander and is very dry with a short finish. 

I also learned about this type of sherry, Menzanilla, made only in Spain. The way this sherry is made is different from others in that there is a "flor," which is kind of like a fungus, that sits atop the sherry in the oaken barrels and eats the yeast. It's aged for a year and then bottled. There is also "Fino" sherry, which is created in the same way as the Menzanilla. The only difference is the region in which the two sherries are made. One is closer to the water, which results in a much more humid inward wind and the other, farther from the water, resulting in a drier wind.  These climate factors affect the final taste of the sherry.  What is that taste? Well, while discernibly "sherry," the Menzanilla tastes nothing like Harvey's Bristol Cream. It's dry and crisp and has just a complex flavor, much like a wine!  

I entered the shop wanting just a single bottle of wine and came away with that, a bottle of pretty darned good sherry, and newly acquired knowledge!

So why am I dedicating the better part of this post to writing about wine and sherry? It's because I'm so passionate about wine.  I learn what I can from drinking it but that can only teach me so much. There's a much larger world of knowledge out there just waiting for me! I need only ask the right people--and the same goes for you and inquiring into your passions!!

Yes, you can read Wikipedia or Google permutations of various search terms relating to your interests but I invite you to get out there! Do a little research (okay, you can use gGoogle for that) and see whom you might be able to go and talk to about what it is you're passionate! It doesn't even need to be a formal event. Maybe it's something as little as talking to the farmer at your local farmers market about different zucchini (your favorite vegetable) varietals, or maybe it's asking the guy who draws your blood how he came to have that job since you've always been interested in becoming a medical assistant. Whatever your passion or interest, learn more about it by getting out there and connecting with other, like-minded individuals.

In conclusion, please let me know what your passions are.  What are YOU doing to get out there and expand your knowledge?  I can't wait to read your comments--they just might inspire others too!

With love, light and happiness,

Eat Better to Feel Better (With Recipe!)

It's no mystery that the better you eat, the better you feel!  So if you find yourself in a slump, maybe you're anxious, tired, depressed, even, think about what you're eating.  The feelings you're experiencing are likely being triggered by your food intake.

It might not even be that you're eating "unhealthfully," per se, but maybe something you are having regularly just ain't serving you!

While I don't have all the answers for you and your individual self (although if you'd like to work with me and schedule a free health consultation, click here!), I am offering a recipe for a green smoothie that might help kickstart things for you and turn your mood--and energy levels--around!

Green smoothies are such a wonderful way to get in healthy fruits and vegetables because they taste AMAZING! Or they can, at least.  Rest assured, this one does!

I will mention that you should stick to this exact recipe when you're getting started--and maybe even if you're not!  Why?  There are SO many smoothie recipes out there with everything but the kitchen sink in them--banana, flax, chia, shredded coconut, almond mylk, spirulina, wheat grass, pea protein, blueberries, pineapple, parsley, cucumber, hemp hearts, avocado.

You get the idea.

The more ingredients you put into a smoothie, even if they're "healthy" ingredients, the more work your body is going to have to do to digest everything and this can be a lot of work for the body, even though it's essentially a liquid so K.I.S.S.

Oh!  And make sure and "chew" your smoothie.

Enjoy!

Banana-Berry Green Smoothie

Serves 1

(Add in this order)

1 c. filtered water
1 T. ground flax seed
2 kale leaves, stalks removed (similarly, you can use one cup of tightly packed spinach)
1 banana, cut in halves for easier blending
1/2 cup berries, heaping (here's where you can be creative and decide which berries to use!)
Small knob ginger

Blend everything and enjoy!  Warning:  this smoothie is tasty so you'll want to chug it down but please resist the urge to do so!  You want to S-A-V-O-R it and chew ;)

With love, light and happiness,

Your Version of Health

Choose kale!

Make it to your mat!

Nix that coffee!

Phrases like these--or derivatives thereof--are floating all over health cyberspace, as well as in print right now.  Kale is the new romaine.  Yoga is the best form of physical activity and should be practiced daily.  Coffee is bad news--swap it for green tea.  The phrases are well intended, encouraged to motivate people towards health, but they might not be healthy for every person.

While by no means untrue, claims like these do not apply to everyone...and certainly not all of the time!  Being healthy is about listening to your unique self and what it needs in that moment.  By honoring that, you are being healthy!

Let's begin with the kale.  Sure, it's a nutrient-rich food.  When eaten raw, in particular, it has the potential to provide the body loads of enzymes that help make the body strong and healthy.  If one has a fragile digestive system, however, he or she may not be able to break down that kale and reap from it all of its nutritious benefits.  The inability to break down the kale may lead to stomach upset, including gas and bloating.  Doesn't sound very "healthy" to me!  Some easier-to-digest romaine might be a better option for that person!  (If this is you, by the way, when selecting romaine, try to search out the greener heads--the lighter-colored ones or more lacking in nutrients).

Let's look next at the yoga example.  There is no doubt that yoga is an excellent practice for improving one's mental and physical health.  However, if a person is exhausted at the end of an especially long work day, and isn't feeling all that well, practicing yoga after work might not be the "healthiest" option.  He or she might benefit more from a nap and reap from it greater health benefits!

Lastly:  coffee.  There are certainly valid arguments for giving it up but there are also a lot of arguments for drinking it so figure out what's "healthy" for you!  If coffee is something you truly enjoy and gives you energy in the morning, then drink a cup and know you're getting some valuable antioxidants!  If you're drinking upwards of five cups a day, and getting headaches with any fewer, then maybe you need to assess your "healthful" relationship with coffee.

Bottom line?  What is "healthy" for some is not healthy for all.  Honor yourself and make healthy choices that serve you, now...and be sure and share those choices with me!

With love, light and happiness,

Love the You of Now

 

It is human nature to compare.  We compare what this summer is like, relative to last.  We compare this season of our favorite TV show to the previous.  We compare the spaghetti our mother-in-law makes to what our own mother makes (hers is better).

But we also compare ourselves--not just to others but to our past selves, particularly our past selves.

However, we're not the same person we were a year ago, or yesterday, for that matter, so to compare any part of ourselves--our physical bodies, our level of confidence, our careers, our amount of free time, our motivation to cook--to that person just isn't fair.  To try and compare these two people, essentially, would be like trying to compare Stanley Kubrick's The Shining to the 1997 remake.  You just can't do it!

We are constantly evolving and, as such, becoming a different person each and every moment.  This 'new' person may manifest herself over a long period of time or maybe just a little while, but this new person is incredible!  It's exciting to be a new person today!

So you used to have hair the color of roasted chestnuts that's now streaked with gray?  Call that gray silver and look at each strand with delight.  View the strands as obstacles you overcame in your life that made you the strong, vibrant person you are now!  

So you used to have the energy to wake up at 4:30 am before work to exercise but now would rather sleep?  Honor your present body and mind and focus on the good you're doing for it by allowing yourself sleep.  Think about how what you need in your life right now--that is, what your present self needs--is rest and not intense, 4:30-am cardio.  It doesn't matter that the you of "then" needed it, the you of "now" doesn't, so don't waste your time thinking about her!

I'd love to know who you all are now!  What are the amazing qualities that make up your present selves?  Do you fully embrace these qualities or do you let comparative thoughts to your past selves bring you down?  Please, if you do currently compare yourself, stop it now and begin to focus on the AMAZING you of present, and share with me who that person is!  Hopefully by sharing, you'll be able to focus on that truly special person too and begin to cultivate even greater self love.

With love, light and happiness,