August Juice Cleanse Diaries

Day 1: Wednesday July 30, 2014

Day 2: Thursday July 31, 2014

Days 3 & 4: Friday August 1 & Saturday August 2, 2014

How NOT to Just Say F**k It: 5 Strategies for Getting Back on Track

Let's be real.

Those of us who have goals around health and wellness aren't perfect. (That's OK, by the way!) From time to time, we'll make decisions that are contrary to the promises we make to ourselves. Some examples of goals we might have include:

• Limiting sugar | caffeine | alcohol | chocolate intake
• Exercising | moving more
• Going to bed or getting up earlier
• Reducing time spent watching TV | playing on Facebook

You get the idea.

So what happens to the day or the week when, for example, you have more than the amount of <whatever> you said you'd have; you fail to exercise, to get to bed / wake earlier, or to limit your technology usage? I'm sure some of you can relate to the feeling of, "oh f**k it, since I did / didn't do X I might as well (either do more X or do Y too)...". It's almost like there's a rebel that comes up inside us, pointing out that we haven't been perfect so "why not just toss the whole stupid idea out the window!" It can be very tempting, especially when that part says, "you can just start over tomorrow / next week".

That voice prevents us from starting over in the present moment. In other words, right NOW.

Here are 5 strategies to help you get back on track, in the moment. Have others? Let me know!

1. Discover the teaching and use it to create a new strategy: Write down why you did / didn't do what you wanted, how it felt at the time and/or how it feels now. Coming from the perspective that you did exactly what you needed to do at the time, explore what you could learn from the experience. What might you do differently if that situation arises again? For example: "I ate the brownie because really I was dehydrated and needed more water. The next time I have a brownie craving, I'll have a glass of water first."
   
   
2. Stop making specific promises altogether: Instead, bring more mindfulness to your daily activities, pay closer attention to how you feel, and honor the higher goal of "progress"--getting a little healthier each day. Let go of "measuring" every detail and allow yourself to be more intuitive about what is good for you and what isn't. In other words, focus on the big picture rather than the details.
   
   
3. Put it in perspective: Someone passed along to me a great quote from Jillian Michaels, which was along the lines of "so you messed up and didn't stick to the plan -- so what? You didn't ruin anything. If you have one flat tire do you then slash the other three?" One or two or even five of anything doesn't mean the rest of your day or week is done for.
   
   
4. Move to a different environment: Just eat an entire bag of chips after sitting at your desk for hours? Go for a walk outside. Sometimes change happens from the inside out. Other times, it can happen from the outside in. Maybe next time you think about having chips, you'll realize you just need a break, and take the walk instead!
   
   
5. Create appointments with yourself (and set reminders): Schedule the time you'll spend online, the time you'll exercise, or even the time you'd like to go to bed. When your timer goes off, stop, and do what your reminder tells you! Have trouble stopping and taking a lunch break? Put it on your calendar with a note to yourself. Here's one of mine: "Lunch: GET UP & TAKE A BREAK!" Maybe at 9 pm, you set a reminder on your phone that says, "Charge me, shut me off and go read your book in bed!" If it's scheduled, honor your commitment as you would attending a doctor's appointment, or going to a beloved friend's wedding.

Ring ring ring, the Universe is calling!

Last weekend, my boyfriend's Aunt mentioned she was doing yoga therapy and told me she heard that yoga was about more than just physical postures. I was horrified when I realized I could no longer rattle off all 8 limbs of yoga. This motivated me to go back to my yoga philosophy and study. (I was relieved to find that I just blanked on some and OF COURSE I still incorporate many into my teachings and my practice. Still, it's good to refresh!) As part of reviewing my Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training notes, I found a little blue index card on which I'd written: "SIGN FROM ABOVE see/hear 3x".

Universe: "Bring more of your study back to yoga."(1)

The next day I was asked to take over a yoga class at a new facility because their best instructor had to give it up. I took this instructor's class the following day and she was AMAZING, incorporating all things yoga in a fun and energetic way. I learned in talking with her that the class would be another large group of dedicated students who are all physically active and fit, which is not the audience I've typically served. While hot power yoga is and has been more my personal practice and style, the idea of taking over for this instructor was (and is) terrifying. 

Universe: "I'm challenging you to become a stronger, more confident yoga instructor." (2)

The day after that, I got a request to sub a yoga class at a nearby gym for every Wednesday night in July and a couple nights in August, which was originally in conflict with my "6 weeks to relaxation" offering. 

Universe: "Share more and more yoga."(3)

Now, all this local, in-person yoga teaching isn't directly in line with my "plan" of building a virtual client base for yoga, meditation, and eating psychology. However, I feel like these opportunities are banging down my door, and that perhaps the Universe is calling me to re-focus on yoga. I decided to continue my studies, and am enjoying going back through my Kripalu yoga training materials and reading a book about Swami Kripalu's life; I am going forward with the new teaching gig, although I'm still working through some of the fear. I decided I'd regret not trying more than I'd regret trying and failing. And, I moved the time of my relaxation program back 30 minutes so I can still offer that while subbing more classes. 

I've noticed more over the past few years that whether it's the beginning or ending of a relationship or a job, there are often 3 things I see or hear that can serve as guidance for me when I don't override my intuition with "clever" thoughts. I'm going to dance with the energy that's coming into my life this time. What's the worst that could happen?

Can you think of a time when the Universe was calling (or warning) you? Did you notice? Did you listen? I'd love to hear your story!

"6 Weeks to Relaxation" Coming in July!

Holy cow, it's going to be July soon! Need new relaxation techniques to sooth body, mind, and spirit? Join my "6 weeks to relaxation" series starting July 2. 

Series or drop-in possible; virtual attendance available too!

Juiceland Juice Cleanse: Day 3 Finally Brings Dedication?

Update: I'm doing another 3 day starting 6/26. I'm actually very excited about it. Since this cleanse I've gotten very into juices, and I've found that I missed them! I even ended up purchasing several in between. :-) So we'll see how round 2 goes!

---

OK, so on day 3 I'm acutely aware of the fact that I've "cheated" for 2 out of 3 of my juice cleanse days. But the honest the truth is, I'm OK with that. To remind us all, "cheating" entailed a handful of pistachios, some crystallized ginger, and a bag of frozen peas (defrosted and cooked, with a little salt, of course)!

Still, day 3 brought new dedication to stay just on juice and tea and water. How did it go? Well, I DEFINITELY felt the need to eat food, especially around lunchtime, which was always the time I ended up snacking on real food. I made it past that milestone, yay!

I also managed to do some Ashtanga yoga, though not the entire thing. I made it to asana #5 in the seated sequence, which isn't bad given my limited caloric intake. In fact, it felt really good. I felt like I was able to engage my lower bandhas in a way I hadn't before.

Other things I noticed today (also yesterday, though I'm not sure I mentioned them):

• My nose is occasionally runny, and I've been sneezing a bit. 
• I'm SO COLD! It's about 90 degrees here in Austin, and it feels hotter if you're in the sun or a car. Yet whenever I'm in the apartment, a store, or any place where there's any breeze or AC, I'm cold. (Great idea do to a hockey game last night, wasn't it? LOL.)
• The taking of an herbal laxative on day one has kept me loose for days 2 and 3, no more required!
• More water between juices helps with hunger (duh).
• My primary craving (every day!) was for a banana.

When I picked up my juices this morning, I wanted a pick-me-up, as I was missing my coffee and feeling sluggish. The girl at the counter was friendly, helping me decide how to make yerba matte less yucky. She was on her way to make me a lovely sounding version with pineapple and cayenne, when I changed my request to the yerba matte latte that grossed me out last week. My thought was I'd try it without the agave--no luck though, I drank 1/2 of it and was nauseous. I don't think yerba matte is for me, else the hemp milk is just too much. (I've never been a "drink milk in a significant quantity" type of person--of any milk, even the alternatives--although I use them often for smoothies and baking.)

Anyway, I ended up going to Whole Foods to have food on hand for tomorrow. It wasn't so bad, and I even found myself looking at what juices they have. I plan to do a smoothie in the morning, unless of course I'm craving the organic omega-3 eggs, the smoked salmon, the organic cauliflower, avocados, or bananas, blackberries, blueberries, apple, and pear that I bought! :-) I plan to have a salad with those ingredients for lunch, and a light halibut with bok choy for dinner.

Around 5 pm I felt really wiped, but I'd also gone to the chiropractor who put my body back in alignment after I'd done a great job knocking it out, sitting in front of my laptop with bad posture for too long, putting together my upcoming workshop content (see http://ajourneyintohealth.blogspot.com/2014/05/upcoming-workshop-announcement.html). I was so sluggish that at 6:30pm, before teaching a Hatha class, I caved and had a banana! Oh well.

I do like the idea of doing this once a month. My hypothesis is that it should be easier to break poor habits by cleansing more regularly. At least 3 days out of the month, my body would get a break from the toxins I love: coffee, chocolate, and alcohol! Speaking of which, I'm not sure when those will get re-introduced, but my guess is that a nice dark chocolate will be the first on the list--it was last time!

JuiceLand Juice Cleanse Day 2: Body Hate & Bad Hockey

Update: I'm doing another 3 day starting 6/26. I'm actually very excited about it. Since this cleanse I've gotten very into juices, and I've found that I missed them! I even ended up purchasing several in between. :-) So we'll see how round 2 goes!

---

Well with no celery and more variety of juices, there isn't much to say about Day 2.  The juices were fine; it was me who wasn't.

I cheated again with the crystallized ginger and handful of pistachios, and then had a bag of frozen peas (cooked of course). Sigh. Around lunch time I just really wanted to eat FOOD! I then ended up in a funk about how much weight I'd gained over the past few years, but decided that I was going to don a bathing suit and go to the pool to get some sun ANYWAY. That was all fine until a gang of kids came and started making comments about "the lady's bootie". Fortunately I was enthralled with Bruce H. Lipton's Biology of Belief and was able to ignore most of it before I left at my usual time.

I tried to do some exercise too--I decided to pull out my difficult Bar Method DVD because I didn't make it to a class, but then I found I really couldn't do much. I desperately need another chiropractic adjustment, so everything just feels off , and that has nothing to do with juice.

Overall I felt disappointed in myself, which led to old familiar feelings of hating my body. But as I rode to the Cedar Park Center to watch the Texas Stars get their butts whipped in game 6 of the AHL Western Conference Finals, I decided that I could spend those three hours beating myself up with automatic negative thoughts, or I could go and have fun. I decided on the latter.

It was somewhat more difficult than usual to smell things and not want all the nasty food stuffs there. One smell that stood out in particular for me was ketchup (which I never eat, weird!)

I slept mostly OK, but woke up to a nightmare about discovering that my juice was ground up body parts--likely due to a comment made yesterday by a yoga student's husband, who said that in the 60s or 70s there was a movie like that, though I can't find any reference to it.

More than yesterday, I am thinking this would be a good once-a-month "clean house" kind of thing. Although I will admit to getting excited about eating food. Honestly, what I really have been craving is a banana.

JuiceLand Juice Cleanse: The Celery Madness of Day 1

Update: I'm doing another 3 day starting 6/26. I'm actually very excited about it. Since this cleanse I've gotten very into juices, and I've found that I missed them! I even ended up purchasing several in between. :-) So we'll see how round 2 goes!

---

A few weeks ago I got a wild hair to try another juice cleanse. (In fact, I thought it might be a good idea to do a little mini-cleanse at the start of each month.) I played around on JuiceLand's web site and decided to go hard core, for the "Purify" package. Here's what happened on Day 1.

Because I was teaching Sunday morning it was best to pick up my juice Saturday night. That was totally convenient; I was excited, until I got home and realized how many of my juices were green. This turned out to be the correct instinct: I HATE celery. I don't tend to eat celery, and I should have known because I can always overtaste it in veggie stock. Of course celery was in EVERY green juice, as well as the one other juice that wasn't green (that was better). I was totally relieved it wasn't in my Green Hemp Milk, which I added on for more calories.

The other thing I learned is that I need variety. Having 2 of the same juices (2 Cold Pressed Green) two times (also 2 Cocolillys) just wasn't working for me. Fortunately, I sent email to every address they had for cleanses, and they agreed that they'd allow me to customize my order for an extra $8 (worth it!) and leave the celery out of the next day's batch. When I got to the store however, there was a mix up with the customization, and so we ended up taking some bottles out of the cooler to get the order right. (Apparently the cleanse juices aren't made at that particular site.) Whew!

I had a pounding headache pretty much all day long, but I hadn't slept well the prior two nights due to nightmares and general restlessness, so I attributed it to that. When I still had the headache after a nap though, I started wondering whether it was that + my love of coffee. (I had been better though--only drinking it before noon!)

I did cheat a little bit: I felt nauseous after drinking yet.another.green...I noticed this when flipping over onto my belly outside by the pool. I came inside and had a few pieces of crystallized ginger and a handful of pistachios because I was feeling desperate.

Another thing that I'm re-learning: I like to chew my food! It's just not as satisfying to me to be drinking everything. It must be that cephalic phase digestive response, and I'm wondering whether not deriving as much pleasure from my food offsets any nutrient absorption I'm getting from the fact that it's somewhat pre-digested for me. I ended up skimming through the online screening of "Super Juice Me"(it seemed relevant), and all I could think was "BUT I LIKE BROCCOLI!!!" (the narrator mentions that juicing has been beneficial for him because he hates vegetables like broccoli). I enjoy eating healthy fruits and vegetables--I could do it all day long!

I also found myself pretty hungry later in the evening, and wishing I hadn't used up my last lemon in my water, because I WANTED to make a Master Cleanse lemonade drink. (I had tried this cleanse--for experimental purposes of course--back in May, and lasted 8 out of the 10 days with little hunger.) I'm not sure why I could drink the same thing all day long, and not feel hungry, while on the Master Cleanse yet not feel this way drinking different flavors of vegetable and fruit juice. Hmmm....

And one really rare occurrence, before I pack this up for Day 2: I ended up sleeping through my 5am alarm this morning. I have a Zen alarm clock, one that chimes more frequently and intensely the longer you ignore it. It took me a LONG WHILE to figure out it was going off. I decided not to go to Barre class this morning, and to sleep in until 7:30. So yay, I slept well! On to Day 2.

Upcoming Workshop Announcement!

Mind-Body Nutrition for Busy People:
Explore 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Food & Your Body

When: Sunday, June 8, 2014 1-4 pm

Where: Broadstone Crossing Apartments (Common Room)
12430 Metric Blvd, Austin TX 78758

• Spend too much time & energy on what's wrong with your body?
• Tried everything when it comes to losing weight & keeping it off?
• Know what you should eat, but just can't find the time?
• Challenged by unwanted, emotionally-based eating habits?

. . .Or, just curious about what mind-body nutrition can do for you?


Join Kali Patrick as she leads you through an informative journey into 5 new, practical, & time-saving approaches to help you improve your eating habits, reduce your stress, make peace with your body, and become more of the person you were truly meant to be!

In this interactive workshop, you'll learn:

• The physiological effects of stress on metabolism & calorie burning
• How to naturally modulate your appetite through eating rhythm
• The profound impact of the cephalic phase digestive response
• Ways to overcome toxic beliefs about food & body that limit weight loss potential
• Mind-body techniques for overcoming body image challenges

You'll also receive informative handouts & recommendations for further reading.


Cost: $30 pre-registration*, $40 at the door

Call 617.699.2389 or email info (at) ajourneyintohealth (dot) com to reserve your space.
*Due to the interactive nature of the workshop, space is limited to 12 & pre-registration is recommended.


About Kali Patrick, Mind-body Wellness Consultant at A Journey Into Health:

Kali integrates eating psychology, nutrition, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda & Reiki to help busy people improve their overall health & wellness. Her prior experience working in high-tech corporations taught her not only how to facilitate informative & fun group discussions, but also helped her understand how our fast-paced, stress-based culture makes it easy to develop unwanted eating habits & difficult to make time to care for ourselves, even when we want to.

For more information about Kali, visit www.ajourneyintohealth.com.

Does the number on your bathroom scale wreak havoc on your mood?

Mine used to.

Isabelle Tierney's recent post, titled "God in Facebook Form" got me thinking about another way many of us end up seeking validation: seeing a particular number on the bathroom scale.

During a particularly difficult time in my life (when I was under a lot of stress and feeling pretty trapped), I developed a pretty serious obsession with my weight. My rationale was that in 8th grade I was 5 feet tall and 100 lbs. Going on birth control at 16 gained me 3 pounds, but I was OK with that. Fast forward 20+ years later, and you'd find me incredibly focused on getting back down to that specific number of 103 (since obviously I wasn't getting any taller). I think I was around 110 lbs when all that started. When I hit rock bottom, I'd gotten myself up to 120 lbs--all by trying ridiculously hard to get the long and lean body I envied, weighing myself every day (sometimes more than once). That extra weight wasn't muscle either: it was from the binging and overeating caused by how the number on the scale contributed to my already fragile mood.

When I started studying to become an Eating Psychology Coach, one of the first things that Marc David, the founder and primary teacher in the training said, was that we should get rid of the scale. In addition to the fact that there are normal fluctuations in body weight, he alluded to the psychological impact that seeing a particular number can have on us. In my case, if I weighed less than I had previously, or I was closer to my goal weight, stepping on the scale would have a positive effect on my mood. I'd find myself smiling, and being happy and confident in my body until my next weigh in. If I weighed more or hadn't made any progress, I'd feel terrible. I'd go through my day thinking I was "fat and disgusting" (and I can't count how many times I said that phrase aloud, further putting it "out there" into the Universe and making it seem more real)!

At first I found myself very reluctant to give up this mood-altering ritual. But eventually, the scale went into the closet. I pulled it out once a week instead of stepping on it every day, but I found that even the decreased frequency seemed to have the same effect on my mood. Weight down, mood up. Weight up, mood down. So back in the closet it went, and as I started to really internalize that I could love my body as it is (yet still exercise and eat well to be strong, flexible, and healthy),

I'm happy to report that it's been over a month since the difference between a number in my brain and the one on a little square device has had any power over my mood, my confidence, or my life. Do I still think about weighing myself sometimes? Of course. Do I do it? Nope. Instead I remind myself that I can give my gifts to the world because of what is inside of me; and if that doesn't work, I do something I know will make me feel good, like yoga. (And oftentimes, those self-care activities are exactly what I need to be as healthy as I can be! Funny how that works.)

Is fear driving your behavior? (and what you can do about it!)

I see more and more people these days--and I count myself among these folks--whose behaviors are being driven from deep-seated, underlying fears.

Here are some of the ways I think fear manifests itself in our behaviors:

• The "I know I shoulds": Do you ever know what you should or shouldn't do, but you still don't act in accordance with that logical thought? (Some examples: "I know I should exercise because it's good for me", "I know that if I want to eat healthy, I shouldn't eat processed foods.")
  
• Overreacting: Do you ever respond emotionally to something, in a somewhat dramatic way, and you can't rationally understand why? (For example, even though I'd done something like this before and was fine, I ended up in tears the other night at "Painting with a Twist" because my painting was terrible. I knew it didn't matter, that the point was to have fun, but I left sobbing anyhow.)
• Endless procrastinating: Are you unsure of which direction to head in your relationship, your business, or your life? Because you don't know with 100% certainty what the right path is, do you stay stuck where you are? Do you find yourself complaining to friends and family about the same-old-things, while doing nothing or starting things you don't ever finish?
• Pushing through: Do you keep pushing yourself to work harder, faster, more efficiently at all costs? Do you find your sleep, weight, or overall health suffering, but feel like you just absolutely cannot take time for yourself because everything will fall apart? (Often stated as: "I know I should slow down and take more time for myself." :-) )
• Refusing to set boundaries: Are you often silent around parents, siblings, children, or bosses, coworkers, friends and significant others when you're feeling resentful (e.g. about obligations), angry, intruded upon, taken advantage of, unappreciated, overworked, or just plain "done" with a relationship? Do you think that standing up for yourself will just create conflict or rock the boat, so you hold your feelings inside?
• Not taking time to experience pleasure: All work and no play? Not eating that piece of chocolate or having that glass of wine because it will "make me fat and undesirable?" Multi-tasking during your pedicure? (see also Pushing through.)

Recognize yourself or someone you know in any of these? ;-)

OK, so what can we do about it? Here are my ideas:

• Acknowledge that fear is driving your behavior. You may be inclined to skip this, but as they say, recognizing you have a problem is the first step to moving through it. It can feel vulnerable to admit you are afraid, even to yourself, so it's not always easy! (If you happen to be a man or a professional woman, culture makes it worse, telling you this isn't desirable.)
  
• Accept that fear may not be rational. A dear friend and I used to call some reactions / behaviors we'd have "IFs" (for "irrational fears"). You can logically and rationally think through something, but fear isn't likely to respond to those tactics, so accepting that can be freeing. (I can't tell you how many times I listed all the practical reasons why I shouldn't binge, as I was raiding the pantry and downing a box of cookies.)
• Dive deep into fear. Yeah, I mean it. What are you really afraid of? That you'll end up homeless? Alone? Die? That no one will love you? That you'll lose your mind? That you're unlovable? Defective? That you'll cry forever and ever and never stop? Identify the real fears, and then either:
  • Imagine that your worst fear is really true. Totally counterintuitive, but see if you can FEEL into the fear on an emotional level, rather than trying to push it away with logic (that we know doesn't work). Be scared! Cry. Break a plate somewhere safe. Allow the fears to feel heard, listened to, seen. Breathe, and try your best to relax and surrender into it. Give it your full attention. When you emerge (which you will!) you may find that it's not as scary as all that, realize you'd ultimately be OK even if things went that way, discover that some things are truly beyond your control so you can release them, or that there are other choices you do have. Be open to the possibilities that letting go can show you!
  • Use "the work" to challenge the fear. Ever since I read "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie, I'm loving her four questions: 1) "Is it true? 2) Can you absolutely know that it's true? 3) How do you react, what happens when you believe that thought? 4) Who would you be without the thought?" Katie goes on to show us how to "turn the thought around", so if you're interested, check out her site. I found that when I started doing this with my (vast amount of) automatic negative thoughts (many of which were IFs), I couldn't end up getting past questions 1 or 2 (because the answer is either absolutely, unequivocally "yes" or "no", and it was never realistically 100% "yes".
• Do it anyway. Do what? Whatever it is you're afraid of. Let yourself cry and throw a tantrum, even if you fear never stopping. Finish that report or presentation, even if it's scary to think you might actually be successful. Slow down and take time for you, even if it means someone else may temporarily get upset with you for being "selfish". Tell your significant other that you need him to step up and help with the housework, or with the kids, even if it means having a discussion. Savor that glass of wine, rolling it around in your mouth as if your job was as a taster or critic. Fake it until you make it. Smile. Live today as if you had no fear.

Other ideas? Please share your comments!

Copyright: zigf / 123RF Stock Photo

Reiki, Meditation & Yoga: Integrative Support for Mind-Body Nutrition

In this 10 minute video, I describe some ways that Reiki, meditation, and yoga can help you achieve your nutrition and weight loss goals.

Meditating Your Way to Healthy Digestion

In my previous post, I described 4 ways that yoga can support your nutrition and weight loss goals. Here, I'll offer some advice about how a mindful meal meditation might move you along in these endeavors as well.

About Meditation & Mindfulness

Meditation is essentially a practice in training one's mind, so it can be done anywhere, using anything as a point of focus. Applying meditative techniques when moving throughout one's day can be thought of as mindfulness. Since we eat at least 2-3 times a day, meal times are a natural opportunity for meditation, using food as our focus.

A Mindful Mealtime Meditation to Try

Light some candles, dim the lights, maybe put on some relaxing background music. Ensure there are no potential distractions, nothing within reach to multitask with. Then, sit down at a table in front of your plate, and take a moment to connect with your meal. Look down at your food, noticing the different colors and textures, as well as the arrangement of the food. You might like to use a simple statement, like, "I eat this food to be healthy and happy, to care for and nourish my body." This prepares your body for a relaxed eating experience.

Take only enough food as will comfortably fit on your utensil. Notice the first contact of the food with your tongue. See if you can identify the flavors: sour, salty, sweet, bitter, and so on. Notice how the food changes form as you chew it slowly. To help you focus on this, it may be helpful for you to place your utensils (or food, if it's hand-held) back down on your plate between bites. If you get distracted or find yourself hurrying, simply notice, take a deep breath and start again.

When your plate is empty, observe that. Bring your attention to your belly, and notice that you are nourished and satisfied.

Note: A nice book for bringing meditation into your daily life is Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh, from which some of these concepts were adapted.

Why This Matters

In Inside Tract, Mullen et al. state that “mindful eating is one of the most important techniques you can use [to improve your frame of mind and prepare yourself for excellent digestion].” In Digestive Wellness, Lipski posits that "focus[ing]...awareness of the favors in each bite...can dramatically enhance [people's] total digestive function more completely than can enzymes, bitters, or other digestive supplements."

Why? Because eating mindfully and with presence not only activates the relaxation response, but also initiates the first phase in the digestive process, called the cephalic phase. Cephalic means "of the head", and it's how the brain registers that the body is about to receive a meal. It's how the brain knows to "turn on" digestion by doing things like releasing enzymes and activating stomach acids, as two examples. When we don't pay attention to our food as we eat it, we bypass this phase, meaning:

• our digestive capacity (i.e. ability to break down, process, and assimilate nutrients from the food) is hampered by 40-60%
• we are more likely to overeat because we are not aware that we are full
• our digestive system has to work harder overall, which can result in issues like gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and over time, more serious ones like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Note: Why Being Mindful Matters is a nice, readable article on this topic.

4 Simple Ways Yoga Can Support Your Nutrition & Weight Loss Goals

Here are 4 ways that taking up even a basic yoga practice can support your nutrition and weight loss goals:

1. Deeper breathing. One of the fundamental concepts in any practice of yoga is its focus on coordinating breath with movement.
   
   Try this: sit or stand with your spine tall and long. Close your eyes and observe how you feel physically and mentally. When you feel ready, inhale as you reach your arms out to your sides with your palms up, through shoulder height and then up to the sky, where the palms turn to face each other. Then flip your palms out and exhale as you reverse the movement, bringing the arms and hands back down to your sides. How was it to coordinate your breath with the movement of your arms? Just notice. Repeat this a few times, seeing if you can slow the movements of your arms, thereby lengthening your breath.
   
   Why this matters: Slowing down the breath helps to calm the body, reducing the effects of chronic stress and inducing a relaxation response. When the body is in relaxation response, digestion improves, nutrients are better assimilated, and toxins are more easily released. Bringing this deep breathing off the yoga mat and into our daily lives helps us become more present to what is happening now, so we learn to pay closer attention to our food as we're eating. In other words, we become aware of the colors, textures, tastes and sensations that naturally encourage our bodies to metabolize food as part of the cephalic phase, leading to natural appetite regulation (not to mention, actual enjoyment of our food!).
   
   
2. Increased body awareness. How were you able to "notice your breath" in point one? Well, there's a part of you called the "wisdom body" or "witness consciousness" in yoga, which has the ability to observe what you're doing, thinking and feeling. In the practice of yoga postures (asanas), instructors encourage their students to "listen" to their bodies--for example, to notice areas of tightness, where there may be more space to move, how to improve their alignment by feeling the body, etc.
   
   Try this: For one day, set an alarm to alert you every 30 or 60 minutes. (Here's a chime I like, if you happen to work at a computer.) When you hear the alarm, pause what you are doing, close your eyes and pick a word to describe how you're feeling emotionally (e.g.: happy, sad, overwhelmed, frustrated, confused, etc.) Don't think too hard about it, just go with your first, best guess. Then, scan your body for sensations, starting at the crown of your head. Move your focused attention all around your face. Notice the areas around the eyes, the jaw. Feel your neck and shoulders. Scan down your arms to your wrists and hands. Observe the body all around the torso, front and back, along the spine, up and down. Connect your mind to your hips, moving your attention down your legs to your toes, first one side and then the other. Where are you tightening your muscles? Are there any places that feel "uneven" between the right and left sides? Is anything pinchy? Repeat the scan, this time making small adjustments--see if you can relax the tight areas, balance the uneven ones, or tweak your posture to feel better. When you're finished, call to mind a word describe your emotional state. Maybe it's the same one as before, or perhaps a new one. Whatever comes up is perfectly OK. Now continue with what you were doing until the next alarm, when you will repeat this process. See if you can discover places in the body you favor, or whether new areas of your body grab your attention.
   
   Why this matters: Increasing body awareness has many benefits for nutrition and weight loss. Much like the breath, our body does a lot for us without our needing to attend to it. But in today's busy world, we often "dis-embody"--meaning we tune out important signals, such as when we're hungry, when we're tired, when we're feeling full, when we're holding a shape that's causing muscular stress (e.g. sitting with poor posture), and when we're feeling upset. Dis-embodiment often lead us to overeat and binge eat, since both are "unconscious" activities that are really serving as distractions from difficult emotions and inducing relaxation (which we might find in other methods more supportive of our weight loss goals). By receiving our bodies' signals about when we're naturally hungry, we improve our eating rhythm (i.e. have more regular times of day when we nourish ourselves with food). This reduces the likelihood of us getting ravenous, eating too fast and too much. We also benefit from better regulation of blood sugar and energy throughout the day.
   
   
3. Yoga postures help improve digestion. Arranging the physical body in different shapes offers your internal organs a gentle massage, including the ones involved in digestion and metabolism regulation.
   
   Try these: Seated forward fold, wide-legged standing forward fold with twist, half lord of the fishes pose, cobra pose, bridge pose (or supported bridge). See also Best Yoga Poses for Digestion.
   
   Why it matters: Yoga postures (asanas) help improve blood and oxygen flow to the digestive organs, are stimulating to the digestive tract, and help to regulate the thyroid gland² "which is important for not only digestive function, but also the nervous system, reproductive system, respiratory system and metabolism regulation.³"Yoga has also been known to help with chronic digestive issues like constipation and diarrhea, bloating and gas⁴. A healthy, optimally working digestive tract is critical to meeting any nutritional and weight loss goals. If your system isn't working properly, your efforts will be in vain.
   
   
4. More compassion and self acceptance. Yoga isn't just about physical postures and breathing. It's "a progressive process of replacing our unconscious thought patterns and behavior with new, more beneficial patterns that are helpful towards a better life¹." Yoga provides a way for students to experiment with different class styles and instructors until we find some that suit us. It invites us into a safe space where we can explore letting go of our egos, going only as far in a posture as we can in that moment, regardless of what we may have done before or what we hoped we could do. Yoga encourages us to surrender competition with self and others, and to accept that this body is what we have to work with right now.
   
   Try this: Wearing something form fitting that allows you to really see your body, strike a simple yoga pose in front of a mirror. (Mountain pose is the easiest one to start.) With your eyes open, notice what comes up for you as you sustain the pose for a comfortable time. Are you holding your breath? What are you thinking? Are you worried about doing it perfectly? Are you involved in an internal dialog about a part of your body that you wish looked different? Are you comparing yourself to a photo of someone else in the posture? Do you want to look away? See if you can simply notice these thoughts as they pop up in your mind. Practice accepting whatever comes up for you. If it's helpful, you can imagine putting the thought into a "thought bubble" (like you see in cartoons) and allowing it to float away.
   
   Why this matters: Finding a style of yoga that you enjoy can replace the punishing exercise that you may do solely for the sake of calorie burning. (Note that over-exercise and exercise one doesn't like can contribute to the stress response, therefore defeating our best intentions at improved metabolism and weight loss.) Yoga's focus on acceptance and self-love can also help improve body image issues for those of us who struggle here. As Marc David says, "acceptance moves energy". Meaning, when we become more aware of our self-criticisms, self-judgements, and ways we habitually cause "self-induced hate stress", we can figuratively and then literally "lighten up". If you're someone who constantly beats yourself up over losing that last 5-10 pounds, or feel impatient at your progress if you have a lot of weight to lose, this refined view of the situation may be just what you need to not just let go of body weight or fat, but also toxic beliefs about yourself and the importance of these things in the grander context of your life.

Notice that I've said nothing about what food you actually eat. ;-)

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!

Day 3 of Spring Cleanse -- Stabilizing?

Day 3 I got up, did my Netti pot (yay!) and meditated. Even did a little bit of yoga, then crawled right back into bed until the very latest that I could. Arrgh!! No TurboFire and if I don't fit it in somehow tonight before bed, I've officially "missed" a day--which would be the first one in 5 weeks of doing the program. It can't happen! Anyway, I noticed my skin seems to be improving...a pleasant side effect I've noticed from every cleanse I've done. Something possessed me to get on the scale: 114.8. I smiled, got more motivated, and started calculating how long it would take me to be back at my normal weight with that progress continuing.

My breakfast shake with blueberries was divine. I went out to eat for a lunch meeting and fortunately one of my favorite salads (John Harvards' lentil and hummus salad) was pretty cleanse friendly--I got it sans pita bread, feta, tomatoes, and added grilled shrimp (though in retrospect I'm not sure that was technically allowed; just fish and chicken). I did some time on the elliptical and ran for 1.5 on the treadmill. (I've gotten out of my running habit lately, especially with TurboFire being so fun and running being so dull--sorry fellow runners.) I've had a ton of water today and don't feel hungry, though I suppose I should have my second cup of broth soon, else I'm really running into my dinner serving, and there's only so much broth a person can drink at once. :-)

I got a headache again around 5 pm. And although I'm wasn't necessarily hungry for it, I ate the remaining half of my avocado with dinner, because it was clearly not making it to the next day. I also seemed to be a bit dehydrated though I drank enough water to fill a small pond.

That evening I taught what one student said was an "awesome [yoga] class". Then I decided to pick up my prescription refill on way to/from the gym in the morning (thinking maybe it would make me go back to a real gym--vs. the one at work). I did my 30 min TurboFire (yes!), took my bath with a rigged drain stop (saran wrap and a suction cup hook that fits perfectly over it)--which worked for the last part anyway, and got to bed shortly after 10 pm. I'm hoping to finally have a relaxing bath tomorrow (of course a bath pillow would be helpful too, but now I'm really pushing it!)

Spring Cleanse: Day 2

Ugh. Kinda rough!
 
I was up too late last night, so I couldn't wake up when I'd planned. Thus no Netti pot (which I need to start doing again since I'm starting to sneeze, and I don't want my allergies / asthma to come back!), no yoga, no TurboFire. Although I did manage to squeeze in a 15 minute meditation.

The shake for breakfast was yummy, this time with pears and some raspberries. The recipe is really making me re-evaluate the Rainbow Light Chocolate Rice powder I have hated in the past. When I got to work I had some water, and then most of a cup of green tea, as I started feeling tired around 10 am and that's allowed (though I really don't like green tea). I had my broth around 11, but I had a massive headache and felt really tired. I thought maybe lunch would help.

Oh, and while walking into work this morning down the garage stairs, my Achilles injury really tweaked. Not sure if it's the cute shoes I tried wearing since it's a big springy out today, or my body is just tired of exercising. I still plan to go to the gym but I'll need to stay careful. My neighbor posted pictures of me on Facebook from our Friday night outing--I hated them all. If I didn't look massively fat, I looked stupid, or old. That didn't do much for my mood, especially as she keeps telling me I'm awesome. I think she's great too but I still hate the photos and wish I looked different, but then again I've never been very photogenic.

In the afternoon I had a meeting go poorly, which put me in a sour mood. But, in the past I might have turned to one of the two bowls of chocolate candies that always seems to get refilled; instead I went to the gym and worked it off on the Precor EFX while listening to a Pimsleur Spanish lesson. (I'm hoping to go to Spain later this year.) That seemed like such a better solution! Of course I still felt the effects of the exchange into the evening, but hey, I didn't allow it to send me over the edge with food, so that's progress. I drank my second shake (as reward for working out) and then my broth. Worked until 6, then ate my dinner of cod with the same rice and veggies in the pic from day 1. I didn't much want the third cup of broth.

I got home too late to do TurboFire but decided that was OK. My bath was somewhat better than yesterday. I managed to keep more water in the tub with a wash cloth covered by a glass dish--still not ideal I know. But calling the landlord isn't going to do me much good. I need to search online for a DIY fix or contraption.  I got to bed at a somewhat reasonable time (10:30pm).

Spring Cleanse: Days -1 to 1

Here's a pretty uncensored diary of what happened to me early on.

The days before I began
I'm already starting off annoyed. Although my emotional eating binges have been under better control as of late (happening 1 day a week instead of a chain of days, and generally not as bad quantity-wise when they do), Friday ended up being a "bad" food day. Rather than getting angry with myself, I decided to look at it with curiosity and ask why. I determined that it was because I felt socially awkward in a number of situations.

On Saturday I "made up" for Friday--I went most of the day without eating (mostly from being busy). Had a nice quiche from Cafe on the Common around 1:30 pm, and then a lovely salmon dinner with veggies and wine with a friend for dinner. After dinner, however, a voice in my head told me, "you're going to be deprived for 7 days--go get yourself some chocolate cake." (Of course this wasn't true, given my cleanse criteria.) I was actually worried the stores would be closed, so I looked up Hannaford's hours, and I will shamefully admit that at 10:30 pm I drove myself there, went right to the bakery, and grabbed a familiar friend: "chocolate overload cake". Actually it's TWO pieces of chocolate cake, surrounded by the best grocery store icing I've ever had. I suppose it's progress that I made it home and got a fork before eating it (as there have been times I shoved it down in the car with my fingers probably as recently as 6 months ago), and that I took my time trying to find something on the TV. The whole time the voice in my head that said, "don't do this, you don't need this, you'll regret this" was overridden by a primal urge to do it anyway. Sigh. After eating almost all of it, I felt so sick I actually tried to throw up. (That never works for me, by the way. I seem to have a rock solid stomach no matter what I do to it.) And yes folks, the health and fitness nut has been struggling with an eating disorder. So yay, if it wasn't clear, it is now. I'm officially out of the closet. It's actually not my only issue (I've had a rough few years) but it's the only one I'll admit to now, and that's hard enough. For the record, I hope that this experience will help me better coach others in the future. I always say I like to experience something before I tell other people about it, so hey, I suppose it's part of my journey.

Day 1: a new start
This morning I didn't want to get out of bed, but I wanted to "weigh in" at the start of this cleanse at the time when I normally would weigh myself. OK, 116. The most I've ever weighed in my life--and after improving on the binging and getting back on a good workout program for at least a month, it's depressing because I've gained a pound. And before you start rolling your eyes, I'll just remind you that I'm 5 feet tall, have a stomach hanging out where my incredible abs used to be, and don't fit into so many of the clothes in my closet that I had to actually go buy "fat pants"--plus I wear yoga pants way too often these days (for that reason, and because I teach so much). It's all relative people, so before you tell me I'm crazy, think about that. My goal was to lose 3-5 in this 7 days, and this makes me really want to stick to it and lose the 5. However, I'm feeling much like I started yesterday--I don't want to eat because I want to somehow "make up" for last night's binge. And I know that's not the right thing to do. So I've taken my herbs and had my lemon water (something I do anyway, so no big deal)...now it's onto green tea (yuck) and making this protein shake thing I don't really want to have because I keep thinking it will be a ton of calories. But I suppose if I want to have energy to exercise, I need to "eat", and I want to do this program by the book so I can accurately report out.

I'm not constipated yet, yay. The shake finally allowed me to use up this Rainbow Light rice protein powder I haven't much liked--the other ingredients in it actually make it sort of tolerable, though I had to add in extra water to liquify it more, and I already miss the green smoothies I was doing in the mornings. If I do lose 5 lbs, I wonder if this is safe enough to do for 2 weeks and lose 10? After looking it up, it seems as though I can do it up to 3 months if I like! I'm aiming to do it for 2 and a half weeks now, to see if I can feel better about myself before my trip to Austin.

The broth is fine to drink (I bought mine instead of making it from fresh vegetables--it wasn't the work; I just couldn't bring myself to discard all of the veggies afterwards!). I went on a cooking spree this afternoon, making kale with ginger/garlic/olive oil, cod, brown rice (to which I added 1 tsp tumeric as it was simmering), and garlic/rosemary chicken on the George Foreman grill. I ended up with a lot more food than I expected, but I need more lemons. At lunch I added 1/4 avocado because I bought one, it's allowed, and it's going to go bad if I don't eat it over the next day or so. I was totally satisfied by the amount, and it reminded me of the Buddha cleanse. And I love the organic purple cauliflower I found--it's SO pretty!

I did my TurboFire HIIT 25 (from yesterday, admittedly) and am about to do Fire 40 (for today). I'd hoped to go to the gym too but I just can't fit it in, and that might be just a wee bit too much, even for me. I'm looking forward to my bath tonight, because I haven't taken one in awhile, and with getting my hair colored yesterday, it's easier than avoiding getting it wet in the shower. Plus, I stink!

OK, around 4 pm when I had my second cup of broth, it made me hungry. So I made a second shake and took it with me to my yoga class. After drinking it and as I neared the class, I felt very tired and didn't feel at all like being social, much less teaching a class. At that moment I noticed all my cravings rushing in: that chocolate cake I had last night, alcohol, Starbucks (or hell, even Dunkin Donuts--yeah, I've become a coffee snob). I thought that was an interesting association. No one showed up because after all, it was Easter. But I stayed in the room and practiced a trickier part of my flow, then laid in a restorative posture given that I had all the available props. Wow, was that nice. I think I was only doing it for 20 minutes or so but ahhhh....

I went home to have dinner (a LOT of food it seemed, especially with the broth too but I wasn't feeling stuffed), then to take my soak. I discovered a spider as I was filling the tub. Or rather, TRYING to fill the tub, which in my new apartment apparently doesn't hold water very well. I ended up laying in a few inches of water for the 20 minutes, pondering how to rectify the problem tomorrow. Stayed up an hour past my bedtime when I swore I'd be using this cleanse to get better rest. Sigh.