February, 2022
My home yoga practice still continues to go beyond the physical in many ways. As I move through my practice, I’m guided to flow and to follow my intuition, I continue to be curious, I continue to learn something new about myself all the time.
A few years back, I found myself dealing with a whole host of different alignments in my body and health issues. I knew I needed more for myself. I had seen doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist, and had tests after tests, including two MRI’s. Then I met my acupuncturist. She started off by just listening, then ultimately becoming a mentor, in a way… a health coach. Stress. Stress was one of the top reasons for my physical pain. So much so, that the pain would come and go then linger in my body for months. Seeing her weekly, helped to lower my stress hormones, and helped reduce my anxiety. Her acupuncture techniques provided a drug-free pain relief to my lower back and sciatic nerve, all while reducing swelling and inflammation I had all over my body. This was particularly due to the lack of self care I was giving myself. This helped treat my headaches that I had been experiencing almost everyday. Every time I left a session with her, I found myself feeling a sense of euphoria and deep, deep relaxation. She help guide me in fighting off pathogens in my body by teaching me ways to boost my immune system, but most importantly she helped me learn how to regulate my digestive system by helping me heal my gut and feeding it the right types of foods. Gradually she helped me feel more balanced and I felt my emotional and mental well-being improve as well. It was my acupuncturist who ultimately made me quiet my mind enough to feel the effects of self-care and to see how desperately my body and mind needed it on a regular basis not just once in a while.
Yoga! It is a major stress relief for me, and as I connect my breathe to my body and spirit, I am starting to get a sense of what it is that my body truly needs and now more than ever, I am feeling the connection between yoga and nutrition.
While there is no specific “yogic diet” to follow, there are many ways we can use yoga and nutrition to support our health and wellbeing, especially during the time we are in. Just follow your intuition like I have been. Notice, be aware, be conscious of different foods and how they really make you feel. Do you feel nourished, full without being uncomfortable, energized? OR do you feel heavy, lazy, or just having a feeling of fatigue and of “blah”? For myself, the more I practice yoga each day, the more I am aware, and conscious of the foods I fuel my body with and this is where my presence off the mat shows, and this is helping me feel healthier, happier, more energized and focused.
It is a practice for sure, a daily one. I have been more mindful to use yoga and nutrition to nourish my body and my mind and now that I have a sense of what MY body needs, I can connect my nutrition philosophy and practice. I continue to dive deeper and explore my yoga practice ( I will always be a yoga student. )
Over the past few months I have gone back into one of my assigned yoga books, The Yamas & the Niyamas… exploring yoga’s ethical practice. The Yamas and Niyamas may be thought of as guidelines. They can also be thought of as a map or jewels, because the author likes to think of them as rare gems of wisdom that can help lead you in a direction to a more joyful, well-lived life. In the yogic philosophy, the Yamas & the Niyamas sit as the first two limbs of the 8-fold path. One jewel in particular that I have been focusing on is the jewel of Saucha, the jewel of Purity. Saucha can carry two meanings. Firstly, Saucha invites us all to purify our thoughts, our words, and our bodies. This helps because as we purify ourselves physically and mentally, we then feel less heavy and less cluttered. Of course, taking steps to cleanse and purify ourselves will look different for each one of us. For myself cleansing has taken many forms, in increasing my yoga practice, increased water intake, more days of clean eating, incorporating more plants into my families diet, and even days of decluttering my closets and vanities. Whatever form purification takes for you, it should always begin with an intention to ultimately “lighten” the load we carry on ourselves.
At this moment my true intention remains on purifying my body. We only have ONE body and it’s OUR job to take care of it.
I am trying to be more mindful of clean eating. Focusing more on Whole Foods and plant based meals. When I eat this way, I feel less sluggish, more energized. I started by experiencing with lunches. I love learning and creating more ways to incorporate protein that is derived from plants…and I absolutely love how pretty my plate looks when it’s complete. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sweets, hamburgers and French fries 😋 But, there is something to be said about cleaning up your diet after a long weekend of eating and drinking or a week of vacation filled with alcohol and ice-cream. After a few days of this type of eating I defiantly feel the heaviness within my body and my mind.
This reminder of purity helps me to move into ease and just do what I have to to get rid of that heaviness. “Clean your body, clean you mind”.
My goal as a mom is strive and lead by example, and to teach my kids about healthy eating. My hubby and I continue to model healthy choices as much as we can and try to remain active physically. I am very grateful to have kids who are good eaters…meaning kids who love to eat. I want them to grow up in a health conscious household. They watch me garden, they continue to have an open mind about our Meatless Mondays, they are even beginning to look forward to how I re-create some of their favorite foods using more veggies and grains. Here are a few of their favorites… Quinoa Lentil Tacos, Vegetarian Spinach Pumpkin Lasagna, Red Lentil Chili, Mexican Quinoa, and Sweet & Sour Cauliflower over jasmine or brown rice. So yummy, these are to name a few. I have many more on my Pinterest page that I have tried and that we all love.
My goal/my prayer is that this environment I am setting for my kids creates a lifelong choice of healthy habits that they can keep with them into adulthood. Again, just like myself… enjoying my favorites… they do too. They are still the kids who love their Mac & Cheese, chicken strips, chips, cookies and all the “junk” foods, I just make certain they have a balance between those and healthy Whole Foods everyday! 80/20 is our household goal. It’s a win, win for this mamma.
Focusing on the Jewel of Saucha, starting with my diet and cleanliness has been so rewarding and this is truly helping me feel the effects of yoga and nutrition everyday.
I can feel the holistic effects of some of the most nutrient-rich foods that nourish me.
Please let me remind you, all my thoughts and opinions are my own and I only speak from my heart and how I am feeling.
Thank you for your continued support in reading my posts 🙂 Maybe there can be a little inspiration along the way 🤷🏻♀️
I do hope to inspire you to find a happy love for life, food and a peaceful balance within your own mind, body, & soul.
Here within my journaling pages from a few weeks back is my non-diet nutritional insight. I would love for you to re-discover a joyful love of food too.
Always remember….Love Yourself First and You are ENOUGH!!!
Sending you Love & Light from my heart to yours, Stacey xoxo ❤️
