Mindfulness and Your Perfect Weight

Check out my latest blog post on truebodymindsoul.com!

Whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain weight, or simply enjoy your food more, Mindfulness can help!

http://truebodymindsoul.com/mindfulness-and-your-perfect-weight/

A New Home for TrueBodyMindSoul!!

 

Hello friends and followers!!

I am excited to announce a new home for True Body Mind Soul!

I have purchased the domain, and started a new blog (well, a continuation of this blog!) at truebodymindsoul.com

I hope you will come check out my new site for posts about yoga, meditation, mindfulness, health and happiness.

Here is one post, for example, that you should definitely read : )

http://truebodymindsoul.com/ten-tips-for-starting-hot-yoga/

Hope to see you soon!

Best,

True Soul
(Amber)

365 Challenge Day 314 – More Jars

Okay, I know I’m getting a little too excited about my jars, but they just work SO WELL!!  I’m tempted to throw away all my plastic tupperware, but I’m not quite there yet.

This week I made my own homemade almond milk and cashew milk.  It’s much yummier than the store bought brand because they add so much water.  Nuts are expensive but I’m prettier sure mine ends up being a lot cheaper.  The only downside is it doesn’t keep long, I can only make a couple of days worth at a time because it spoils.  I wish I could make up a whole batch on the weekend for the week.  Oh, I just thought of a good plan.  I can make almond milk on the weekend because it requires slightly more work (straining the fiber through a nut bag) while the cashew milk is super easy, no straining required, so if I have to replenish mid-week on a work night, I’ll make that.

And yes, as pictured below, I’m back on coffee : )  And yes, I’m drinking it out of a jar!

365 Challenge Day 306 – Caffeine

More than two weeks without coffee!!! Just green tea (lots and lots of green tea.)  I did splurge on my last day in Costa Rica and got an almond milk latte with real espresso.  Okay, I admit it, I had two that day.  But other than that I’ve been really good : )

365 Challenge Day 305 – Yoga + Music?

At Core Power yoga studios they play music in their classes.  I have to say I’m not a huge fan.  But I think most people like it.  I guess I consider yoga more of a moving meditation than an exercise, and I don’t listen to music when I meditate either…  although I’m sure some people do.

I think the music they played in the class was pretty tasteful.  Some mellow kirtan chanting, which I wasn’t crazy about but it was fairly benign.  Some songs that were probably Deep Forest, and that I actually enjoyed : )

So it was okay, kind of different.  It will be interesting to see how I feel about it after 5 weeks of unlimited classes here.  Will I get so used to it that the silence will be challenging?

But one thing I feel strongly about, they really should have turned it off during Savasana.  IMO.

365 Challenge Day 277 – Decluttering

Today a friend of mine asked me about the scanner I bought last year.  Wow, I don’t know how she knew, maybe I posted something on Facebook, or maybe I happened to mention it to her.  She’s going to buy the same one and try to reduce her stacks of papers.  She’s got 5 kids, so I can’t even imagine!!

Anyway, I haven’t scanned anything in a while, so my stacks have grown again.  At the end of my vacation I have a few days when the kids will be back in school and I’ll be home.  I’m going to try to use those days to do some serious decluttering, including major scanning and recycling!!!

365 Challenge Day 276 – Decluttering

I started packing for my vacation, and when I pulled out my box of summer clothes I could see all the skirts and dresses that I haven’t worn in years.  For example, I have at least 3 skirts that were tailor made for me when I lived in Senegal, and well, that was more than 20 years ago.  I never wear them.  They actually still fit, and the fabric is beautiful, but the styles have changed a lot and when I think about it now I realize how dated they are.  I’ve always had trouble letting them go, but when I saw them this time my immediate reaction was, Why am I keeping these? Get rid of them!

I’m excited to lighten up.  I also have some work clothes that I think I’m ready to pass along.  And some extra shoes.  I have a pair of sandals that had a velcro strap and the velcro ripped off.  This seemed like a fairly easy repair so I held on to them.  But then when it came time to pack for my vacation I quickly ordered a new pair so they’d arrive in time.  Oh well, I’m not really the kind of person that sews and repairs things, I have to admit.  So replace, and recycle.  I’ll keep you posted!

365 Challenge Day 275 – Soy

I know there is a lot of controversy around soy products, like how they can mimic estrogen and affect our hormone levels, but I’ve never been worried about that. In fact I have always suspected that the soy controversy was instigated by the dairy industry. I love soy, it’s so rich and creamy and delicious, and unlike most other non-dairy milks, soy milk has a lot of protein in it.

However, I do have a problem. I’m allergic. When I was having some serious health problems about 10 years ago I got a full panel of allergy tests, and soy came up as a mild allergy. At first I eliminated all allergens. My health improved immensely. But eventually I added soy back in because the allergy was mild (some were really high, like eggs and dairy) and I didn’t feel like I was having much of a reaction.

Well, when I gave up coffee I also gave up soy, and I have to say I do feel better. It’s hard to tease it out since I gave them both up around the same time, but I’m going to try to stick with it and see how it goes. Plus, I probably cut several hundred calories out of my day by switching from big soy lattes throughout the day to plain green tea.

365 Challenge Day 274 – Soft Tissue

Over the years of knowing several yoga teachers, I’ve heard the term “fascia” used quite a bit, but never really understood what was meant.  This is still a new area for me, but my teacher said something that really made sense.  We were doing half pigeon pose, and she said that the pose was not meant to get at the “soft tissue”, but that relaxed animal pose could (yes, there is a pose called relaxed animal : )

Here is how she explained it.  If you are in a posture where there is any tension or resistance, then your muscles are working and they kind of tighten up because they are trying to protect the joints.  But if you can set up a posture in which all the muscles are supported and relaxed, then you have a chance to get to the soft tissue.  Okay, I need to do more research about why this is a good thing!

365 Challenge Day 273 – Acceptance

I’ve spoken before about my “spiritual crisis” of feeling like I couldn’t connect to the Buddhist community, possibly the Buddhist practice, and needing to explore other practices. There were several things that made it feel like a “crisis”. I didn’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what would come next, and I felt a certain amount of resentment that the community was not what I wanted it to be.

But recently I’ve begun to feel a big shift, an acceptance.  I don’t feel that resentment anymore.  I feel like I got a lot out of that practice and that community, and now it’s time to move on.  I can look back at those years with gratitude, not resentment.  I can even imagine going back there again someday, at least to meditate, but not to try to build community.

I’m even finding my way a bit back to the practice.  The teachings all still resonate with me, but I need to apply them in a different way.  A way that’s more integrated into life, not about retreating from life.