"A Journey into Health" Web Site Release!

I'm pleased to announce the official release of my new A Journey into Health web site at http://www.ajourneyintohealth.com. After several weeks of hard work, I now have a dedicated site for my gentle yoga, meditation, and Reiki offerings!

Stay tuned for more updates in the near future, and feel free to shoot me any comments or suggestions. Also, please feel free to forward this along to friends, family, and colleagues who may be interested in these services in the Boston, MA area.

Another Green Smoothie Recipe

I was recently asked by a few folks for the (latest) green smoothie recipe I'm enjoying, so I thought I'd share it more publicly. I believe this one originally came from Yoga Journal:

(Ingredients are in the best order I've found for putting them into the Vitamix.)

• 1c water
• 1 apple, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, coarsely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1c kale
• 1c some other leafy green, like chard, spinach, dandelion greens
• 1/4c parsley
• 1/4c frozen or fresh fruit such as blueberries, cherries, raspberries

Blend it up and drink.

Depending on what you put in, sometimes the smoothie will be greener or browner. The brown doesn't look all that great, but it usually tastes fine.

Remember to use ingredients YOU like, or else you won't like the smoothie! For example, if you hate apples, try a pear instead. If you don't like parsley, omit it and put more of some other green that's a similar texture. For example, I don't usually put celery in my smoothies, because I don't like it and it flavors the whole thing. This really is a base, and yours to play with, so don't be scared to experiment. And if you come up with some new concoction you like, please share it!

Here's a link to some other recipes I posted in the past:
http://ajourneyintohealth.blogspot.com/2012/05/green-smoothie-recipes.html

Enjoy!

June Meditation Series

Do you want to meditate but find it challenging?

Come join me for a weekly meditation series where we share our experiences, work through our challenges, and practice different meditation techniques. There's one for everyone!

$10 drop in or $50 for the 6 week session, starting June 3, 2013.

The group will meet from 7:30-8:30 pm at a central location in Waltham, MA.

Please send me a note if you'd like to attend!

Day 7 of My Spring Cleanse--the Slowest Loser

My night was filled with even more wacky dreams. But when these happen now, I remember that it's just me "detoxing". I distinctly remember having a snake chasing me, and feeling afraid. My pals over at dreammoods.com tell me that:

If you are afraid of the snake, then it signifies your fears of sex, intimacy or commitment. The snake may also refer to a person around you who is callous, ruthless, and can't be trusted. As a positive symbol, snakes represent healing, transformation, knowledge and wisdom. It is indicative of self-renewal and positive change.

Of course my acupuncturist says its the Kundalini rising.

I was worried slightly about the Ayuvedic workshop I was supposed to teach, not because of doing it but because I've heard nothing from the studio owner yet. Luckily it's not too far, so if I show up and it's off, it won't be a big deal.

Weigh in is 113.6. Great direction. Not fast enough! The cleanse stated more like 10 lbs in 7 days. That's 2.4 for me folks. And I'm not even having the fruit two nights a week as "dessert" which you can have. Though I admit to having 5 strawberries before bed last night because I was hungry. And I'm still working out.  I skipped my bath the night before because I ran out of time in the day, and I had someone coming to look at it today so hopefully I'll have a better experience when the tub actually holds water. I'm was also supposed to do a sushi dinner this night. I wasn't worried about that -- I was worried about temptation to get an alcoholic beverage!

At the gym I decided that yes, I'm doing this for at least another 7 days. Why? A bunch of reasons:

• I remember it takes my body about 3 weeks to react to things like this. So, one isn't enough time.
• I like the routine, and the food. I don't have to think about it so much, which is nice given my busy schedule.
• I am noticing some changes in my body that I'm liking, and looking good for a trip to Austin in a few weeks, where the weather will likely be lovely and I'll want to fit into more of my clothes, is something that's motivating.
• I am losing weight, and I do feel better. My skin has improved (except for matching pimples at my temples as of late--coincidence of where the toxins are trying to escape? LOL).
• Honestly, I like the excuse of "being on a cleanse" for avoiding things, even if it's just me fighting with myself. "Ooh, Starbucks." "Nope, cleanse!" "Oh right, OK!"
• Some of the rings that haven't been fitting me do now. I had started feeling puffy a few months ago, and thought it coincided with new medication I was taking, but I think now it was more the caffeine and alcohol I got myself back to drinking. This cleanse is targeted at removing toxins and inflammation, so in that sense, perhaps it's working.

I tried a different smoothie recipe in the morning, this one with silken tofu and soy milk instead of rice protein powder. I can't say I like it as much, though it was pink from all the strawberries I put in! However, it wasn't a fair comparison. I skipped the tablespoon of nut butter since I had 10 almonds before going to the gym. Figured I had been nutty enough.

At 10:30 I had decided to treat myself to a massage, from a guy my neighbor knows. I had no idea what to expect, but that hour was AMAZING and I am totally doing it again. I can't speak highly enough of Jeff Neer. 

The workshop turned out to be great. 5 people--one engineer and a medical doctor! It was interesting for me to get challenging questions and to hear what they (and the others) had to say. They told me I looked like I was "glowing" (from the cleanse). My hip felt like it stayed in place since my session with Jeff too. I really felt physically balanced. I left feeling so good emotionally too. What an amazing day!

After that I was turned onto an easy solution for my leaky tub drain. Yay! A quick run to Home Depot also allowed me to get some keys copied, which was on my list of things to do. The worker who ended up copying them for me was hysterical. He had me laughing the whole time we interacted.

Then I was off for my sushi dinner at Basho in Boston. Ooops, it was game night, but only after circling for a bit parking was located at the Landmark. I ended up splitting a Mowa Kowa unfiltered sake (hey, it's organic) and got a decent amount of food. Then I split a chocolate lava cake / ice cream. Oh well.

Oh, but then my favorite bartender made me a crazy mixed drink at home, and I downed 2 1/2 glasses. No bath, minus 1 broth, plus a ton of alcohol and a moderate amount of chocolate. But, it WAS flourless. Oh well! I guess the cleanse is officially over.

Day 6 of My Spring Cleanse - Can't Believe I've Made it This Far!

I woke up nicely at 5 am, did my routine...planned that night's yoga class, did TurboFire abs. One thing that always bothers me about ab workouts is that I can't do the roll ups. There's just something about the way I'm built (or some still, unaddressed muscle weakness) that prevents me from doing that, and it's frustrating. I need to ask my new chiropractor/massage guy about fixing that. It would be a real accomplishment. But I digress.... I also got a survey out about my web site to help me redesign it better, and posted another day of this blog. Yay for productivity! And I wasn't tired. I had a full day at work but hoped to relax and watch the Samsara movie in the evening as my reward.

My lunch didn't feel particularly fulfilling--but I think that's because I like having the protein at lunch rather than at dinner, which is what I had been doing the last few days. This day I went back to the rice/veggies-only lunch. And I had my morning broth snack with lunch because I hadn't been hungry for it earlier (and had no time to get it, to be honest).

At 2 pm I headed for a gym break and I didn't last very long--I started having hypoglycemic symptoms, no! Shaky, dizzy. I haven't felt those in a LONG time. I came back and slammed down a protein shake and seriously considered downing my dinner at 3 pm. I only got halfway through my elliptical workout I think, something like 260 calories when normally it's 400.

I did end up eating dinner early, then teaching a private yoga session that totally energized me when I was feeling kind of tired. A trip to Whole Foods for more broth and veggies afterwards. I thought to myself, "I hate the chicken, I just do". I can't eat chicken. It's SO blah to me. Forever it's been that way, no matter what I do to it. So fish it is for next week, yay! I can eat fish every day and not get tired of it. Between that and loving heat and humidity I really think I was born in the wrong climate or had some interesting previous life history.

I was wiped when I got home but started working on some stuff anyway instead of watching the movie. It was partly because I also realized I'd not have enough time before bed to fit it in. Got to bed at 10 pm but couldn't get warm, so I futzed around until I had enough layers on.

Day 5 of My Spring Cleanse--A Bit Disappointed

This morning the scale said 114.0. I was hoping more like 113.6, to keep in line with the earlier drop. However, I suppose it's still progress. I wonder whether it's because of the eating out on Tuesday, although I did well with the cleanse-friendly salad. Alternatively, I haven't felt like I needed the second shake in the afternoon, yet I've had it as a "treat". I think today I'll try going without. I also don't have serious workout plans today so I think that's a safe bet. My skin still looks good, and the other great thing is that one of my favorite rings that hasn't fit me in awhile because my fingers had puffed up for some reason is back on!

In the afternoon I went too long without drinking broth and ended up really hungry around 4. I experienced some tiredness and a bit of a headache, but it's a duller one now.

While making the shake (this time with strawberries that were going to go bad) I still made two, thinking I wouldn't drink the second one if I didn't need it. But subbing a 6 pm class in Marlboro made me realize I was glad I had it. I drank it with dinner around 4:30 and then headed out; barely made it there in time. I ended up teaching 4 lovely students and then filling in for a meditation class with 8. It was awesome!

I came home and drank one more cup of broth, but overall I was minus one for the day. The improved bath was better--I started filling the tub via the shower, holding my contraption over the drain and then switching to tub once there was some water in it.

That might I had some really wacky dreams -- one of the directors at work and I kept running into each other at different stores, like Target, each carrying notebooks of stuff we had to do/get. Every time we'd see each other we'd smile or make an understanding comment (she had her husband in tow and I was alone). Then she ended up buying our management team little wacky tubes of toothpaste (all different). I didn't like the one I got so I traded with one of the other managers. Try that one on, dreammoods.com!

Day 4 of My Spring Cleanse -- Steady as She Goes!

I woke up well rested and did everything I wanted to in the morning, including getting up at 5 am again (hooray!), yoga, meditation, gym. I also ran to CVS to handle a prescription while it was early and less annoying. (I hate them, but that's another story for another time.)

I have making my morning shake down to a science. On the drive into work I noticed that the line for Dunkin Donuts was backed up all the way onto Route 9--and I think to myself, "once I'm at my ideal weight a morning coffee will be the first thing I will add back in". Really!? I dreaded my meeting marathon work day but managed through it.

When I got home, and--here's how efficient I am--I put the rice on the stove (which takes 45 minutes) and while it was cooking I did my TurboFire 40 workout, so when it was finished  so was I! I also sautéed up the chard and spinach that were left over from my green smoothies with some ginger and garlic, and tossed in the rest of the baby carrots for dinner, since I had chicken in my lunch today. For some reason I'm loving the brown rice with lots of salt.

I'm excited and optimistic for myself if I keep this up. And I decided to weigh in after another two full days, which would be tomorrow. Fingers crossed for more progress!