A Must See

Today I watched the documentary "Hungry for Change". You may have heard about it as they have done some REALLY good marketing to promote the film, especially across facebook. It is made by the same team as the doco Food Matters and features interviews from many highly regarded health and nutrition people.

If you are looking to make a change or inspire yourself to become more aware of what you choose in your life I recommend tuning in to watch the film - as always, you will only take out of it what you are ready to hear. Don't force yourself and spend the 90mins fighting with the people on the screen as then you are only creating a negative response in yourself. Remember that everyone has their opinions and you don't always need to agree but recognise that there is truth in all and that the issues they raise in this doco are very real and scientifically valid and supported.

The best part about watching these type of films is that they plant the seed of change within you - maybe that change will take 3 days to take root, maybe 3 years, but subconsciously you are opening up to more possibilities by doing yourself the favour of seeking out this knowledge. As the film finished I found myself immediately going out to savour a fresh green vege juice and galloping through the supermarket with a basket full of fresh vegies to whip up for dinner =) And the best part is - it wasn't a 'chore' to eat the 'good' stuff, my mind and body made that decision for me and I was actually craving all those yummy wholefoods!

One of my favourite parts of the film was when they spoke about diets not working - this is something I feel so strongly about. I strongly dislike the use of the word diet and prefer 'way of living' or 'lifestyle choice'. Because a diet implies starvation, it conjures up failure, short term goals, and worst of all it makes you feel you are depriving yourself. I like to think that if I told myself I was going on a chocolate diet and I was in no way allowed to eat anything but I would feel deprived because of the use of the word CAN'T and even though I was eating a 'naughty' food like chocolate the treat of it would lose all meaning and instead the focus would go onto everything else you are not allowed. You need to discover the reasons behind WHY you make the choices you do, and make those choices holistically so that you involving all parts of your life being mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual and then the changes will stick. Our mind plays a much greater role than we realise - I believe everything starts with a thought and all physical matters manifest from our thoughts and emotions. So if we can shift our awareness and start opening up to new thoughts and positive beliefs about ourselves it becomes so much easier to create and live a life you want to live.

I think it is so important for everyone to ask questions. We take so much for granted as we are spoonfed so much in our culture. Spoonfed what to watch, listen to, look like, eat like... And then when we go to the supermarket shelves we simply take items off the shelves without knowing what we are actually eating! We take medication from the doctor without knowing where it came from or what it is actually doing to us! We try to lose weight not for our own health and wellbeing but because other people and magazines say we should!

It's time for everyone to stop and take stock. Start loving yourself, start asking yourself what you can do to bring the best to this life and how you can educate yourself to help others around you as well.

If you have the time (and if you don't then you might need to reassess your priorities in life hehe) please watch this film. It is available free to watch online until the end of March. Here is the link: http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

Much love to you all and happy discoveries!

It's the way we get there...

For a few weeks now I have been talking to my Ma about how I just didn't feel excited about my yoga practice. It wasn't that I didn't want to be there, I was perfectly inspired to be practicing but it was more like I didn't want to be in that exact room, taking THAT class. I would mentally fight the teacher and every direction they were giving and I felt like a sooky teenager sometimes! I kept saying I missed yoga back in Australia, but I couldn't pinpoint my finger on exactly what it was I missing...

I just knew 'something' was a miss. 

And then as the Universe would have it, a chain of events led me to take a trial class at a new studio... BAM! REALIGNMENT!

From the moment I started that 90mins of one loooooong exhalation for my body I knew this was it, it wasn't that I was fighting yoga, it was that I was fighting myself and the fact that I needed to make a change and seek something new.
After just 2 days at this new studio I realised what it was I was searching for- heart. You see for me yoga is not purely physical and that is why certain styles appeal to me more than others. I will always remember the feeling of walking out of a rocking practice and noticing that the colours of the sky and the trees are actually brighter than they were before! And feeling so much love for everyone and everything around me I might burst! That is a rounded yoga practice and for the last few months although my strength has been building and I have certainly learnt and discovered many new and awesome things in my classes, that was no longer enough. I needed heart.

And of course when I got to this new studio my ego piped in with a seemingly friendly "well if you had just chosen this studio in the first place you could have had this all along" - WRONG!
The fact is that I didn't choose this studio to practice at 3 months ago, I chose another one and as with everything on this Earth, I chose it for a reason. I needed to go through that exploration and that time to understand what is truly important to me and to be able to articulate it.
And if I had gone to the studio with classes I was comfortable with straight away, I would never have tried and embraced all the different and varying styles available to me by being out of my home country and safety zone. I am glad it happened the way it did and I don't think I have lost out anything this way. If anything I appreciate the classes more now and am super amped to make the most out of my last 6 weeks here.


So, I have used yoga as my speaking ground but I truly believe there is an underlying tone that you can all apply to many aspects of your life - find your own 'yoga' and see how it works for you. We often tend to focus on the destination, the arrival point, the peak, but isn't it the things along the way that you remember? The destination may only last a few minutes before it becomes habit and melds into everything else in your life, and when you look back you remember the scenery of your life on the journey. The people, the view, the food you tasted along the way.


And speaking of food - here is a recipe for you to taste along the way! As many of you know, I'm all about fresh, organic, unprocessed food to nourish and nurture our bodies =)


Lately I have been craving Italian flavours and this is my go-to sauce - use it on greens, grains, or my personal favourite - raw zucchini noodles/ribbons mmm....


Marinara Magic
6 sundried tomato halves, drained
1 small red capsicum
6 cherry or mini roma tomatoes
1 tbsp tahini (makes it a bit creamy)
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried italian mixed herbs
1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp nutritional yeast (optional, only if you have it)
a big handful of fresh herbs (I use basil, rosemary, oregano, but pretty much anything goes!)


Chop all the ingredients and then chuck everything except the fresh herbs into the blender. Blend til almost smooth, should not take long, and add a tbsp or two of water if you need to  help it mix. 
Put the herbs in and briefly blend only until herbs are incorporated and evenly mixed. No need to cook - keep it fresh and savour the goodness in its natural state!
You can store this in the fridge for a few days in a sealed container.


MUCH LOVE!!!!!

Green!

Today I visited MacRitchie Reservoir here in Singapore, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting this fair city. It's only 15min out of the city but for those few hours walking through its trails you are transported light years away from the chaos and bustle of the city. There are times when you look up and can only see glimpses of the sky and sun peeking through the rainforest canopy, when all you can hear are the cicadas singing to their mates, and all you feel is the physical act of walking. Meditative =)

I've got to give it to Singapore - even though the streets are busy and people are walking around attached to each and every piece of technology available, it is certainly green! The climate is perfect for lush tropical plants and all you need to do is escape to one of the many parks scattered throughout the island to reconnect and ground once more.


And as I was walking along staring at the leaves littered among the ground it occurred to me that the brown "dead" leaves lie right alongside the green grass and plants all around them. In fact, they add compost and help create moist and fertile ground for new plants to shoot through. So all the parts of ourselves we consider "waste" and "old" have such an important function - paving the way for the bright, tender, new shoots to burst through! The leaves are just as living as we are and if their purposes are so cyclical and intrinsically connected, as too are ours. It is so necessary for us to shed the thoughts, mentalities, and habits that no longer serve us well so we have the space to see the sunshine and allow it to shine on our beautiful new parts. It can be a literal or a physical journey of release - writing down all that you wish to release and maybe burning the paper, or going for a swim in the cleansing ocean and letting go of old ways through the water washing them away, or walking through the rainforest and with each step letting go and walking forward into the new. But then we must recognise that those parts we are releasing have served us a wonderful purpose and although we must now let them go, they were created because we needed them at the time. Rather than an ending being sad or angry, it is beautiful as it means we have grown and progressed to a new place and we are ready to continue further on our journey. It is a celebration of self and all you have achieved simply by living on this planet.


You know, before I sat down to write this blog I spoke to one of my friends in the dressing room about how I didn't have an inspiration... And as soon as I sat down at the keyboard the words simply flowed and it appears I do have an inspiration! Maybe we always have inspiration and we just need to give ourselves the opportunity and the space to let it be seen! 

Surrender

I often use the word 'Surrender' as a kind of mantra for myself - it reminds me to be present in the moment, to lay aside all expectation and judgement of how things are 'supposed' to be and simply live for whatever and whoever I am right now. It especially helps me in yoga, when often I arrive on my mat with a gazillion thoughts zipping around my head and if I tell them to kindly buzz off that only makes the buzzing louder =)

However, it occurred to me today how the word Surrender has so many different meanings and connotations in our society. Historically, the word surrender can actually seem quite negative -as in an army surrendering and giving up to the other side, or a surrender to the defeat against a stronger force.
So often, we walk around with the idea of surrendering being a last resort, something we arrive at after we have pushed and exhausted all our other options.

What a tough expectation and burden to hang over our shoulders! It's quite sad really to think of how many beautiful people out there are fighting to keep a job, a home, a relationship, a lifestyle, even though they are unhappy because the idea of surrendering to their true feelings or to the uncertainty of life is seen as the ultimate failure and defeat!


I have come to see the word surrender as much more than that. Rather than the ultimate defeat, it is the ultimate act of courage! It takes alot to actually let go and accept what life is going to bring you, especially when we have no idea of what that could be! When we are at a crossroads and have difficulty making a decision, sometimes the most courageous and liberating thing we can do is simply surrender to what is. Just surrender to this one day, to only what is right in front of you, and let the rest go.

I guess surrendering is all about letting go of control isn't it? If we let go of the need to control, we allow the world to work its magic =)

And most of the time, it is remembering to surrender to the little things - to surrender to the moment of a person holding up the queue, to surrender to getting caught in the rain, to surrender to not being occupied every second of every minute - because maybe in that moment of surrender and in-between I will witness a smile on the face of a child or catch a laugh with a stranger - something I would have missed by being caught in my own head!

One of my fav songs by the one and only India Arie xxx

Heartbeat

I stumbled across a very interesting fact the other day about something science calls the "Schumann Resonance"...

Apparently the sound of the Earth resonates within the 100km sonic concentric tunnel that encircles and is a part of the Earth - commonly known as the atmosphere, it being the space before "space" technically begins. The caverns beneath the Earth's surface also amplify this beat and it is broadcast around the Earth from those resonating cavities. 

The interesting part is that without this beat we become ill, disorientated, and we eventually die! This has been fully researched and even NASA fits each spacecraft with a Schumann simulator which exposes astronauts to the 7.8 hertz heartbeat that we feel at all times, therefore keeping them well!

The Schumann resonance is like a tuning fork for the Earth, meaning it has natural frequencies for electromagnetic radiation, and as it turns out the human brain has exactly the SAME natural frequencies! Wow...

There is alot of scientific research about the Schumann resonance as it has a direct correlation to lightening storms and also the transmission of radio waves and the like, which you are welcome to investigate further if it interests you, however for me the curiosity lies more in the underlying fact that the Earth has a heartbeat that is constantly pulsing and keeping us connected and alive! AMAZING!

What is disturbing though is the thought that we could possibly be altering this natural rhythm by using electronic devices that disturb the frequencies we live in... Many people get headaches from using computers and mobile phones and with the number of electronic devices in one room in the average household I'm not surprised that we are affected eventually! My Mum always brought us up to switch off appliances at the powerpoint if we were not using them and although this was for an energy saving purpose I also think it is a good idea to reduce the amount of electronic 'clutter'. I now also switch off all powerpoints before I go to sleep at well as it disrupts your sleep having electric currents and radiation constantly flowing around you.

So I guess the things to take home are that ultimately from the moment we arrived on this Earth our own bodies synced in with the Earth's natural rhythms and continue to do so of their own accord! So be kinder to Mother Earth - she is keeping you alive and well =) 

Taste the flavour sensations!

How often do you actually, really, taste a mouthful of food? Have you ever stopped and actually TASTED every single flavour rolling around your mouth?
Often that is a bit impossible as there is so much going on flavour wise in our foods that we just chew and swallow and get the overall gist.
We cover every part of our meal with something else - salad is drenched in a creamy dressing, stir fries in a shiny glaze, even fruit has added sweeteners such as ice cream and choc syrups...


I challenge you to take your food back to simplicity, even if it's just one meal.



Instead of reaching for that caesar dressing, add a little olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice and let the sweetness of the vegies shine and that crisp fresh texture roll around your mouth.





Look around the supermarket for some of Mother Nature's most treasured gifts like a juicy mango, ripe pineapple, sweet papaya, or red strawberry. Take them home, cut them up and present it beautifully on your plate. Take you time to make your food look appealing and appetising and then you don't need to add anything else because it already looks beautiful!
Take your plate outside or sit by the window and bite into each piece of fruit and let the flavour fill you. Find the subtle differences between each fruit and bite. Tell your brain to please be quiet and stop judging and just let yourself enjoy it.


Or even better - go back to the freedom of childhood and throw away all airs and graces... and cutlery =) Take that mango, cut in halves, lean over the sink, and eat it with your hands! Let the juice drip down your chin and make sure you suck the pip dry baby!!!!


We have so much in life to be grateful for, and near the top of the list is the beautiful bounty we have been provided for by the Earth beneath our feet. Try thanking your food before you eat it, it doesn't have to be out loud if you feel silly hehe, just acknowledge internally that you give thanks for the abundance in your life that allows you to have the choice of what to eat, and that the choice you have is as varied and creative as you want it to be. 


Slow down, and take note of what you are feeding your body. Because chances are, if you are feeding your body foods that are less than, you are also feeding your body thoughts that are less than...


EMBRACE THE FLAVOUR SENSATIONS OF REAL FOOD!!!!!!!

Our helpers

There are people in life who just know you. People who offer you that little gold nugget of wisdom while you have just searched the entire backgarden in vain. People who open your eyes to see the rainbow behind the storm you are stuck in. They know exactly what to say with honesty and truth, no fluffing up your ego, no roundabout undercurrents. They are few and far between but in those times of crisis and trouble they show their faces and you realise their true worth.

I call these people soulmates. 

I use the term soulmate not in a romantic sense (although of course I don't discount the romantic soulmates either!), but more in an altruistic/platonic way. I have several close friends both male and female who I consider soulmates - I know that our friendship stretches over time and distance. Our paths are destined to keep crossing for eternity, ours is a friendship for life. And even though our paths lead us often in opposite directions around the world and we may lose contact for a while, I know we will always find our way back. 


And in those moments when you are down, they are there. With all the right words and a hug and without realising it they lift a little of that burden off your shoulders. 


And the best part of this friendship is that you know it is give and take. There are no agendas. They are there for you and you are there for them. Beautifully complex in its simplicity =) 


Because life can seem too much at times. We are so fully involved in creating that it is hard to step back and see the bigger picture. We are very adept at working ourselves into the cracks and crevices of our minds and analysing every twist and turn. Our soulmates prod us back into the right direction, remind us to let go and trust our choices again. And they remind us that hey, we are doing ok! 


Thankyou to everyone in my life, for extending that hand when I have lost my footing, it has not gone unnoticed... 
xxx