We live in a world that is unfortunately, full of hidden toxins. Even before this load of unknown chemicals and pollutants, our ancestors knew that supporting our bodies regular cleansing mechanisms created a strong foundation for overall health and vitality. There are many ways to cleanse and detox. Learn what is right for you.
Did you know this is the best time of year to get the heaviness of winter moving again? Right now in the northern hemisphere its spring. New green leaves are popping up around us and everywhere there’s new growth. During the spring there is a gradual moving up and out. Spring is a time when we move from the internal focus of winter to the expansiveness of summer.
In the Chinese system this is the time of the wood element - its a time to find clarity around our direction and vision. A time when we can invite more creativity into our lives, and a time we can release stuck emotional patterns.
One of my very favourite rituals I like to share with clients and students this time of year is the practice of self-massage. Autumn is such a great time of year to develop this habit because this is the time of year when the energetic quality of vata increases. This practice is also helpful if you spend a lot of time flying, traveling, or you feel you don't have much routine or regularity in your life.
Spring is finally here! Yea!
As the seasons change and more local produce becomes available, I love to bring more salads into my diet. The combinations of salad ingredients are virtually endless. Add this to how many different salad dressings we can easily make with just a few more ingredients, and it's easy to eat a unique and delicious salad every day.
Here are some salad dressing recipes that I've been experimenting with lately. Enjoy!
This past weekend here in Canada it was Thanksgiving. I was actually in Colorado on the weekend celebrating a friends wedding which was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on all that I am grateful for!
I love celebrating by taking the time to give thanks and enjoy the abundant harvest of early fall. There are so many things I love about this time of year - here in my cabin in the woods I've been enjoying stoking the wood fire stove first thing in the morning as I sit down to write, the particular color of light as it plays against the changing leaves, and the warmth of making delicious meals from a new yummy cookbook I recently found (look out for recipes coming soon!).
I LOVE juicing. To be clear - I'm not talking about conventional store bought fruit juice which is often full of processed sugar, colors, and preservatives. I'm talking about homemade rich green veggie juice. Veggie juicing enlivens you, and your cells, and gives you an instant shot of nourishing energy and nutrition.
It's that time of year again! As we wind down from the holiday season many of us begin to set those new year resolutions...During this time of year (especially after a season full of sweet treats) we can look at our lives and our habits and decide that we may be ready to let go of (or at least greatly reduce) SUGAR.
White sugar is extremely processed from its original state. The sugar cane is stripped of its healthy minerals and put through processing that renders it pretty much void of healthy nutrition.
The secret to super powerful health is in the pH of your body. Your beautiful body operates optimally if it has a slightly alkaline pH. In fact it is designed to function within a very narrow pH range. Even small changes to your bodies pH can create havoc. Our bodies are constantly dealing with acidity from various processes including respiration and cellular breakdown but its when we add to this acidic condition with stress and a bad diet that we start to encounter problems.
Regularly using seaweeds or sea vegetables in your diet is a wonderful way to increase the nutrition profile and healing potential of your meal. There are so many reasons to eat more seaweeds!
Did you know that seaweed (is):
Traditional cultural and spiritual practices and the ancient healing arts such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) tell us that cleansing the body, mind and heart helps to kickstart our health. I find regular cleansing is a wonderful opportunity to reassess my life addressing any areas that might be out of balance. But…. there are so many cleanses out there. How can we be sure that we are getting the most benefit out of our cleanse? Is there a way to incorporate other techniques into our daily life that will help our cleansing work?
Copyright © 2019 Jennifer Raye
Incorporating nettles into your diet this time of year is a wonderful way to eat in season and eat local.
Nettles contain high levels of iron, minerals, silicon, vitamins C and A and they’re a great blood purifier by primarily targeting the liver and kidneys. The combination of these benefits makes it a wonderful food for chronic skin problems and general detoxification.