Category: Calm

Forget The New Year Resolutions

1/10/2015

We are already ten days into 2015. Flying by already! So often the first day of a new year can bring reflection on the past year and looking forward to a new one. All sorts of strict resolutions get made: Losing weight, work out regime, finding love...the resolutions are endless and ones that are usually external ones. They can often be based on what we think will make us happy or more fulfilled in life. What if it was actually these things that were holding you back from happiness or feeling nourished and fulfilled?

What if making resolutions was something you committed yourself to every single day. For example, striving to love yourself just as you are, or being conscientious to listening more than speaking, or looking in the mirror and saying one kind thing about yourself every day. Resolutions are commitments we make to ourselves. When we strive to better ourselves and our life there is a ripple effect. We serve as examples and teachers and mentors for others. Being kind to yourself can suddenly make it feel easier to be kind to others. When you love yourself even on your hardest days, it is that much easier to find compassion and empathy for others.

This year make a different kind of resolution, one that lifts you up not weighs you down. Commit to your personal internal self growth on a moment to moment basis. There is no need to create resolutions in your mind that becomes a small black box that traps you into perhaps feeling guilt or fear or failure. Commit to yourself and strive to stay present and embodied as much as you can no matter what happens externally or what turmoils arise internally. Whenever the internal mind chatter arises come back to your breath, come back to the present moment, describe objectively what is going on around you. This can help to cultivate awareness that when you are living in the actual present moment nothing is ever truly that bad but perhaps even peaceful. I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

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A Thanksgiving Love Note

11/27/2014

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To all you eaters out there a love note from me to you:

Happy Thanksgiving!! I am grateful for each and everyone one of you. I hope that this day is filled with gratitude and love. I hope that you love every morsel of food that goes into your mouth. I hope you eat with pleasure, joy, and contentment. May you be nourished not only by your food but also by the people around you and the environment.

I hope that you remember that your self worth is not dependent on the size of your thighs. You are beautiful, exactly the way that you are no matter much or how little you eat today. If any negative voices should arise today come back to the moment, come back to your breath, come back to love, and with all your might replace those negative thoughts with ones of loving kindness. You are gorgeous and beautiful and handsome. No matter what you eat or how your body changes, it doesn't change who you are and your strong, resilient, wonderful soul.

I hope that you have an amazing Thanksgiving Day! Love your food up and it will love you right back. Eat slowly, taste the flavors, take deep belly breaths, chew, chew, chew your food. Close your eyes and take in the moment. Have a sensual eating experience that brings you into your body and facilitates an explosive amount of joy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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5 Digestive Tips to the Rescue!

9/7/2014

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Dealing with years of digestive pain, I definitely found tricks and tips of how to soothe an upset tummy. And while I am no longer in constant pain now, I find that when I want to feel adventurous or test out a food on my digestive tract, these tricks still come in handy.

So when you first feel a twinge of pain, ate too much, ate something you know your sensitive to but just couldn't resist (it happens!) here are some tricks you can try to bring your tummy back into balance.

1. Digestive Enzymes- I don't always suggest digestive enzymes as I have seen a lot of individuals dealing with digestive troubles begin to rely on them and get hooked on them. This leads the body to think that it doesn't have to work so hard producing digestive enzymes so getting off of them can be difficult if you're eating multiple at every meal. But, this handy supplement can support a troubled digestive tract for a short amount of time or an evening. When you find you have eaten a large amount of food or something just isn't sitting quite right, digestive enzymes can be an aid to boost your digestive power to break something down in your stomach that is having a hard time digesting.

2. Apple cider vinegar- ACV really just is a cure all for so many ailments. I have read so many articles recently on just how wonderful ACV truly is for our body. Often times, acid reflux or difficulties digesting a high protein meal can actually mean that you need more acid in your stomach to break down your food (not less, throw out those Tums!). Putting a 1 tsp-tbsp. of ACV diluted in a glass of water and sipping it before or after a meal can add some acid power to your stomach to help break down a meal and diminish any pain. You can even add a few drops of liquid stevia to it to make a refreshing drink. Yum!

3. Ginger- Ginger tea, ginger root, ginger capsules, ginger syrup. There are many ways to get your ginger in. Ginger stimulates the digestive system to produce more enzymes to facilitate digestion. It also helps stimulate more bile production, which can aid in making any digestive pain go away by increasing your ability to break down your food. When I travel abroad I take ginger capsules with me and they work fairly quickly in helping with a digestive woe. You can also make sure you have some ginger tea with you or if you're home break out some ginger root and start chewing. I would just suggest to stay away from ginger chews with the added sugar; the sugar takes away from the benefits of the ginger.

4. Deep breathing- Much of the time digestive pains can be due to trapped gas from possibly eating too fast. When I was going through the worst of my digestive troubles, you could often find me face down, lying on the carpet breathing into my belly. Deep belly breathing can begin to relax the muscles of your stomach switching your whole body into a relaxation response, which is what is needed to turn on digestion. When you're going through any kind of digestive upset, try to remember to breath through it. The added thoughts of "Ow, this hurts, I wish this would go away, why is this happening" causes the body to tighten even more which can in turn worsen the pain. Try lying on the ground, placing your hands on your belly, and just focusing on watching the rise and fall of your belly and feeling the support of the floor beneath you. This too shall pass.

5. Activated Charcoal- Speaking of trapped gas....activated charcoal will be your little miracle worker. It will bind and absorb to any chemicals or gas or whatever it is that is upsetting your stomach thus diminishing the stress being put on your digestive tract and decreasing pain. Just make sure that if you're taking any medications to take this away from your medications as it will decrease the efficiency of your medications being absorbed as well. Its powerful stuff!

Just remember to add in some extra self love when you're going through any digestive pain. Loving yourself up through the process of learning what does and does not work for your body will help you to move forward from any digestive and eating experience with so much compassion and patience for your unique journey living in a body.

I would love to hear from you! What have you found has worked to help you when you're having a digestive upset?

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Everybody Poops

8/17/2014

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Ah, one of my favorite topics in the world. Poop. I get far too excited in my initial intakes with my clients talking about how their bowel movements are doing.

Honestly, poop is one of the best indicators for how your insides are doing and how clean your digestive tract is. Dr. Ken Heaton created the Bristol Stool Chart as a tool to measure the transit time of the colon. Take the chart with a grain of salt but many practitioners still use it today as a way for individuals to talk about what their stool looks like.

We typically want stool that is soft, well formed, and easy to pass. This means that food is not staying in your digestive tract too long and fermenting or not transiting too fast and thus increasing the likelihood of not absorbing the nutrients in your food.

Your bowel movements can change from day to day, month to month depending upon what you're eating, your physical activity, your stress levels, even how much you're chewing your food. Use your stool as information and an opportunity to reflect on your eating habits and stress levels. Through healing my digestive tract, I have seen the health of my own bowel movements improve. So don't fear how your elimination is going now, it can and will change.

If you find you're having too many hard bowel movements or stool coming out too easily try incorporating more vegetables into your diet, sip on a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water with meals, take some probiotics (especially those with Saccharomyces boulardii), try some digestive enzymes for a short period of time to assist with the digestion and elimination process, and add some fermented vegetables like Kimchee or sauerkraut to your meals (just make sure there is no added sugar!).

Additionally, your bowel movements are such a wonderfully unique way, that rarely gets talked about in my opinion, of how to check in with yourself and come into the present moment. Your stool can tell you a lot about how you're doing emotionally not just physically. What might you be holding on to? Or where are you not creating appropriate boundaries for yourself? Are you holding on to past experiences or fights or grudges and having a difficult time letting go? Do you share everything that is on your mind and always say yes to everything and having a hard time nourishing your soul and identifying what it is that you need?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with your own poop and what you have learned from your ability or difficulty with elimination.

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Robin Williams Passing and My Own Journey with Depression

8/13/2014

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I have taken Robin Williams death pretty hard. I have definitely cried more than once.
I felt like I grew up with this man, that he was a part of my family, and brought my family together through his movies (I have seen Birdcage more times than I care to admit). Here is a man who brought so much joy to the world and who secretly struggled with bringing that same joy into his own life. I relate to that on so many levels.

Part of being a counselor is about showing up. I have tried to show up more authentically in this past year in particular because I also hide behind a wall, a facade of put together, confident, happy, and thriving. When I was in Grad School in therapy, my therapist actually asked me to draw that wall. What did it look like? What was it made out of?

To my surprise the wall I drew was made out of glass. She responded when I was done that it was interesting my wall was made out glass because then couldn't people see me? I hide yet I want to be seen. I want to see and observe life but I fear participating. I have dealt with depression most of my life. I have seen members in my family deal with depression most of their life. I have gone to the depths of my soul mucked around, lied on the carpet of my room in my mother's house for two weeks straight before, and I always come back .

I have experienced how depression takes you away from other people, it puts you in a tiny black box where perspective is hard to be seen. I am lucky enough to have a few close individuals and a mother who were always there for long phone calls, crying, and telling me it is time to get out of bed. I have had to come to terms that the hole of depression never really goes away. Some try to fill that hole with medication, some use supplements, or food, or drugs, but it is still always there.

As part of being a nutritional counselor, I know I can use my experience with depression as a strength. I can sit with my clients in the muck, in the dark, in the depth of their soul and see the beauty and wisdom that is there. I see often in my work how so many are tying to fill this void, this hole with food. It unfortunately can't be filled with food, trust me I have also tried.

I share my experience with depression and that it still hovers around me from time to time to connect with you my reader. You are not alone in your struggles. I believe so many, including myself, were shocked about Robin William's death because we just had no idea the struggles and the depth of depression he went through on a daily basis. I believe it was a triumph that he lived for as long as he could with a secret dark cloud hanging over his head and a smile on his face.

I may not know you, but I welcome anyone to reach out. I have always found the thing that brings me out of my own darkness and into the light is connecting with others and lifting our spirits together.

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How Are You Eating Your Food?

8/6/2014

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I have learned over the years that it doesn't matter how healthy I am eating, that if I am eating quickly or when I am stressed, I have a difficult time digesting my meals.

Check out this video that it is not just what we are eating that contributes to healthy digestion but also how we are eating.

Please comment below: Have you noticed a difference in your ability to assimilate a meal when you are eating when you are relaxed or stressed? I would love to hear from you!

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Your Body Digests Your Words

7/23/2014

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Sometimes when my digestion starts to act up, I have to take a look at the things I am telling myself internally and not necessarily the food I am eating. When my internal critic speaks up (and sometimes it can be really loud), I know that my whole body goes into a stress response, my gut cramps, digestion shuts down, and my ability to digest food and my life diminishes.

Meals that I could digest fine when my thoughts are kind and peaceful are suddenly not assimilating as well. Our body reacts and responds to the words and the statements we are creating internally. So if we are telling ourselves harsh words, putting ourselves down, judging ourselves, we are digesting those thoughts and those words along with the food we are eating.

Often I talk about what digests and assimilates well in terms of food, but for a moment think about how the word hate would digest in your body. Or what about the word ugly. How would the statement I am not good enough digest in your system? I know that even as I am typing these specific words I can feel my body tense up.

When we think loving thoughts, let go of expectations, and just show up as we are in the moment, our body will go into a relaxation response and your ability to assimilate your food and your experiences will increase. I know that I have had moments where I made a conscious decision to shift my internal thoughts to ones of love and appreciation for myself and then heard my stomach gurgle. I took that as a thank you from my gut. Thank you for feeding me love, thank you for nourishing me with appreciation, thank you for these thoughts so I can do my job properly.

I would love to hear from you! Have you noticed a difference in your body's ability to function when your thoughts are positive? Have you experienced your digestion change when you under a lot of stress and thinking stressful thoughts?

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Why bacteria are so important.

6/11/2014

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I will start by saying that I am jumping out of my skin in excitement. I just posted this article on my facebook page. "Enter psychobiotics: a live organism that, when ingested in adequate amounts, produces a health benefit in patients suffering from psychiatric illness."

I am trying to calm my enthusiasm for a minute to truly connect with why these findings and the continued findings of how important our gut microbiome is for me. I spent years in digestive pain. I ate poorly because I didn't know that eating something else would help me. I became complacent with the pain and the bloating. I thought this was what life was like for me and that I would never know anything different.

When the pain got worse in undergrad so did my anxiety and I began experiencing panic attacks. I had no clue at the time that all these symptoms were connected. There have been a lot of things that have helped healed my gut over time (and trust me when I got motivated and aware that I could heal, I tried everything). But, one of the factors that I believe helped me the most was working on changing the microflora in my gut.

I grew up eating my emotions. I loved sugar, I loved fatty meals, I loved gluten. When my parents divorced, food came in to numb that pain. I had no idea that how I was treating my body as a kid over time would destroy my gut, destroy the healthy balance of good to bad bacteria, and leave me in pain and confusion as to how I got there.

Gut bacteria can:

Help with digestion
Protect the intestinal barrier
Direct microbial-produced neurochemical production (like GABA a neurotransmitter for relaxation)
Help to prevent stress induced alterations
Direct activation of neural pathways between gut and brain
Improve absorption of nutrients from food
Limit small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (which many individuals with digestive pain have and have yet to be diagnosed)
Reduce anxiety
Decrease cortisol production
Influences neural development, brain chemistry, emotional behavior, pain perception, and how the stress system responds in adulthood
Play a role in manufacturing the body’s supply of serotonin, which influences mood and GI activity

I could go on and on. There is even research being done right now on what would happen to our body and our self expression if we entirely changed the bacteria in our gut. Basically, what if we are just large bacterias walking around. Is bacteria running the show? Is bacteria really the "soul" we talk about on the inside?

I wrote my thesis on how to cultivate a relationship to the gut brain to teach to therapists about how their clients are eating and treating their body will help facilitate progress across time and in sessions. The fact that more research continues to come out about the connection between the health of our gut and our mental health fascinates and excites me. What if someone dealing with severe depression could one day take a prescribed dose of specific strains of probiotics instead of prozac to help them heal their gut and their mind.

If there is anything that you take away from this today it is start feeding your gut some healthy bacteria every day! Eat some fermented vegetables, kimchee, sauerkraut, take a refrigerated probiotic. And then notice how you feel, notice how it affects your mood, your digestion, your ability to focus. And if you are experiencing digestive pain, give your body time to heal. When you set up the best internal environment it will heal.

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Are you nourished by conversation?

6/6/2014

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I get really excited about things. Ethan, my boyfriend, often compares me to a dog when I get really excited because I can't contain myself. I want to pounce on the opportunity, the conversation, the situation. I get so wrapped up in the moment that I can forget about waiting my turn to speak and being patient with my surroundings.

Furthermore, I grew up in a family where I am the youngest of 3 and the only girl. So I constantly felt like I had to interrupt to be heard over two very entertaining and loud brothers. This continues to show up in my life now.

I try to be kind and compassionate with myself when I notice I am getting super excited and want to speak when it is not my turn or feeling the urge to interrupt someone else to make sure I get my point across. I'll admit, this is a constant practice for me, both to pause and take a breath and to be kind and compassionate toward myself. But, something that has helped (besides talking to myself to either calm myself down or tell my inner child that they will be heard eventually) is to start to focus on what the other person is saying.

I teach my clients that we are not just nourished by what we are eating but also by our surroundings and environment. A conversation can satiate you just the same way a meal can when you are really hungry. When we slow down, not just with our meals, but with our friends and family we get the chance to enjoy their company and truly listen to what they are saying. When we sit and listen to what someone else has to say we can then process that information easier and digest that experience thoroughly because we were truly present and not in our heads thinking about the next things that we want to say.

Greek Philosopher Epictetus said: We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

When I am able to listen with both my ears, my excitement does not diminish but it gets contained; it becomes more manageable in the moment so that I can stay present with myself and those around me. This feels more nourishing in the end. When we are able to be nourished and satiated by our conversation with others, we feel connected to our surroundings and thus more connected to ourselves.

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Nourishment for your email:

Forget The New Year Resolutions

A Thanksgiving Love Note

5 Digestive Tips to the Rescue!

Everybody Poops

Robin Williams Passing and My Own Journey with Depression

How Are You Eating Your Food?

Your Body Digests Your Words

Why bacteria are so important.

Are you nourished by conversation?

Stephanie Mara Pollock

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