Tips for a healthy spring

These simple practices nurture and support the uprising of energy of Spring (called pran). They also support the liver, which is needing some TLC in the spring, and balances any sluggishness (Kapha) that might be accumulating in the body.

Spring is the time of rebirth.  After a long, quiet, cold winter, spring is the time we feel our inner stirrings, our inner enthusiasm start to rise.  If you don't feel it in yourself, just look at all of the twitterpatting wildlife all around! They are overflowing with it.

Just like the tiny buds and sprouts emerging, we want to encourage and ease our own transition into spring time so that we too can be twitterpatting with life too.  To do that, we support ourselves through diet, herbs and exercise.  

Here are some helpful spring time tips to stay in harmony with the season.:

• Eat lighter to help stimulate the digestive system,
• Add fresh, bright, bitter greens to your smoothies, salads and daily diet,
• Exercise – find a new daily routine that gets you excited.  Some ideas include jogging, tennis, team sports, jump roping and dancing,
• Wake up earlier, 
• Incorporate backbends into your morning stretching/yoga routine,
•  Get outside and enjoy the sun (but protect yourself from the wind), and
• Get creative – springtime is a great time to let your creative juices flow.

Because we want to support our body, brain and heart and NOT just our looks, I also recommend avoiding any magazine, email, or facebook post promising a bikini body or any different body in 21 days. After all we are so much more than just the vehicle of this physical form, which can't be photoshopped like all of those magazines.  Instead, remember you body is beautiful as it is, even as you may be working towards a specific goal.

We live in a world of modern convenience, mostly disconnected from the natural world.  Yet our bodies evolved in that natural world and continue to be most healthy when we stay in harmony with it.  So go back to your roots, eat some wild greens, get out in the sunshine and do some creative work, welcome this exciting rebirth of spring into your home, heart and life.  And enjoy all of the delights of spring.

Jackie Dobrinska is a nutritional coach, yoga instructor and herbalist.  She writes for SE Wise Women and Red Moon Herbs.  Find out more at www.TheAlchemyofTransformation.com 

Celebrating the Earth

Happy Earth Day.  Many of us take this day or week to celebrate with festivals, drinks, bands and maybe some attention to environmental movements.  But it is more than a celebration, it is a day of honor.  A day when we kneel to the ground, touch the earth and give thanks to the beauty of this green world.  For without her, there is no way we could exist.

She is a marvel in every way.  Just the right distance to the sun - not too close, not too far.  Enough water.  Proper mixture of molecules in the air.  Rich soils.  All of this supports life...and her cycles of death and rebirth keep everything in harmony.  

A few decades ago most of mainstream America was oblivious to environmental concerns. We were slurping lead gas, dumping raw sewage and waste into our waterways, and air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of "prosperity".  Underneath this there was an emerging consciousness - for example Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" had made the NY times best seller list.  After a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, Sentor Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin decided he wanted to help put environmental concerns front and center stage, so in 1970 channeling the anti-vietnam war protest energy of the day, the first earth day was born.  

It became a national movement almost immediately.  Twenty years later, it became a worldwide movement.  Today, 43 years later while we are still having massive oil spills, and are probably not as far along as many of us would like to be, we've come a long way baby.

We have biodiesel, electric car stations, the Clean Water Management Act, Land Conservation initiatives, Farmer's Markets, Slow Food Culture and the permaculture movement, which is more about being regenerative rather than merely sustainable.  Yes, we also have Monsanto and Exxon, a new state of garbage floating in the ocean, and fracking, but as Voltaire one said "Perfection is the enemy of good."  We're hopefully making progress.

So as we honor the many, many small and large steps we as individuals and a culture have taken to become more earth aware, we also ask for you to make this day more than a mere celebration.  We ask you to make a commitment to this mother that feeds, nurtures, and takes care of us and our wastes the best she can, even as we treat her as a thing rather than a being.  

Commit to regeneration.  Commit to taking radical acts on her behalf.  Commit to taking responsibility for our use of her.  

The Earth Day Network, which also calling for women to be equal partners of leaders in the new green economy, is calling for 2 billion green acts.  I wonder, what will yours be?

Chickweed Love

Last fall, after most of the lush greens had died back, I was researching some of my favorite plant allies.  Tucked away in some obscure website was the briefest of sentences that caught my attention.  It said that the Greeks washed with Chickweed juice to "remove spots.".   What did that mean!?  Where they removing age spots?  Freckles?  Cancer spots?  I HAD to find out.

So this spring, when the lush leggy "weed" was in full ripeness, I harvest bag loads of her sweetness, and proceeded to take her home to juice.  It took hours for my little juicer to process, and as I stood over my sink, counter strewn with green carnage, I decided to shoot a little of the fresh green juice back.

I took off.

It was like drinking high-octane, rocket fuel, but of the very natural kind.  My fire was lit.  My energy revitalized.  I felt the best I'd felt in months...maybe even years.

Apparently this wasn't unusual.  A little more research shows that Chickweed is a brilliant little plant eaten by wisdom keepers for decades (centuries even) to treat:
~ exhaustion
~ disorders of the blood
~ kidney disorders, as well as
~ itchy eyes
~ skin issues
~ and much much more.

Perhaps it helps with exhaustion because it is so packed full of nutrition.  It contains some hard to get nutrients - like selenium and niacin, and for vegetarians iron.  It has magnesium (of which 1 in 4 Americans is deficient) as well as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, Vitamin A, B-1, B-2 and C

Needless to say, the "wash" got side tracked and I've incorporated chickweed into my morning routine, stepping down my mined, industrialzed multivitamin for this natural friend at my feet. This leafy "weed" is found in your lawn, garden, even the cracks of sidewalks (though I suggest harvesting from a cleaner source!).  Since it is most lush in spring and fall, I'm freezing my juice to keep me well supplied and on Fire throughout the year.

So keep an eye out for chickweed. You may find her everywhere, waiting at your feet to give you a rocket boost too!

Helpful things to cultivate....

“Transformation isn’t a Google download.” – Lisa Nichols Most of us want to improve our lives—laugh more, stress less, follow our bliss—but the *how* of transformation can feel overwhelming. Here are 11 practices you can start weaving into your life in helpful ways to live a deeper and more authentic you. 1. Let your imagination run wild Close your eyes and imagine your dream life. What does it look like? Where are you? What does it feel like? While sometimes we can get discouraged because what is here is different from the dream...but energy follows thought.  So think it, feel it, hold it in your awareness, trust it, connect to it...and the movement towards it will happen with more effortless effort. 2. Practice gratitude This one practice can change everything.  When we're mad, sad, or feeling discouraged, just think of three things you can be grateful for RIGHT NOW.  Sometimes this practice requires a little bit of Tapas - inner fire - but it is well worth it.  It has the power to change brain chemistry...and your whole day! 3. Pay attention By noticing what is in front of us, we enjoy ourselves more.  Start paying more attention to your daily routine. Listen to the wind, the birds chirping, the sound of your own breath.  Enjoy the smell of your freshly brewed coffee, your food, your arms.  Feel the cozy, softness of your bed, your seat and your body.  Relish the sights, smells, sounds, and feelings of your daily life. 4. Be real We all wear masks—pretending and posturing our way through dinner parties and interviews and cocktail hours. But releasing all that phoniness and asserting your authentic self will feel like a breath of fresh air. And watch out, it’s infectious: when you’re real, you’ll notice those around you get real, too. 5. Surround yourself with positive people You may have heard that you’re a product of the people with which you spend the most time. So pick the right crowd. Stick with the upbeat, optimistic people in your life; their company will nourish you. Avoid those that drain your energy, leaving you exhausted and unhappy. 6. Embrace change Change is the only constant, so it’s time to start welcoming it. Stop dreading it, avoiding it, denying it, or fearing it. Start seeing change for the possibility, fun, inspiration, and growth it can bring.  Embrace the spiral of change and transformation! 7. Trust your gut Your intuition knows what’s best for you and it will encourage you to live your right life. Your job is to honor that inner voice—you’ll be happier for it. 8. Enjoy joy What do you love to do? What makes you laugh? What makes your heart swell with happiness? Give yourself permission to do that, often. 9. Be gentle No one’s perfect, we all make mistakes. Go easy on yourself.  I say it again...go easy on yourself.  Develop your inner cheerleader, and make your mind your own best friend. 10. Get enough sleep In a culture that seems to celebrate those that pull all nighters and work until they drop, it’s sometimes hard to value rest. Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. 11. Find your own success Contrary to popular belief, success isn’t a corner office or a fat paycheck. Real success won’t just look good, it’ll feel good too. Chase your own success.

Tips for a Healthy Fall

This weekend we celebrated the autumnal equinox.  The time when the Earth's axis is turned neither towards or away from the center of the sun.  It is that ephemeral instant of time when we hang in balance, neither moving toward or away from anything.  And after that suspended second, we continue on our path towards the dark phase of the year.

As we transition, it is important to shift our diet and lifestyles to stay in harmony with these changes - to stay in our own unique point of balance for longer than that short, suspended instance.  It's easy to do if we create a little bit of mindfulness and set our systems in place.

BACKGROUND
During the fall, temperatures vary dramatically.  Here in the mountains, the days can start in the 40's and go up into the 80's.  One day it is hot, the next cool.  In Wisconsin, they just got snow...on the green grass!!  If we can say one thing about this season, it's that it is unpredictable.

In Ayurveda, this is considered Vata time - the element of air and ether.  When you think about it, this makes sense, Air is mobile, changeable, fast, cool, and dry.  If Vata takes root, we'll start to feel worried, anxious, scattered, and ungrounded.  Colds & flus also often come from Vata Season.   So, to stay balanced, it is important to incorporate stable, warm and soothing qualities into our diets and lifestyles.

Here are a few things to consider to stay in better health this season:

BREAKFAST:  Start the day with  warm whole-grains.  Congee is a preferred option.  Cook soaked grains - either brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth or other grains of your choice alone or in combination - with an abundance of water in a crock pot overnight (1 cup grain to 6 cups water).  Spice with cinnamon, fruits or nuts, and sweeten with honey or maple syrup as you wish. Enjoy an easy, grounding, wholesome morning meal. 

OIL:  Keep the skin well lubricated to balance the drying winds.  RAW seasame oil, applied liberally to the skin either 5 minutes prior to, or immediately after a shower, will do wonders to soothe both body and mind. (Avoid toasted oil or you'll end up smelling like a restaurant...a rather unpleasant experience!)

REST: Make sure you take time to nourish yourself with soothing activities - baths, books, yoga nidra/relaxation techniques or anything that brings a slower focus and enjoyment to your day will keep your system in balance.

STAY WARM:  In Chinese Medicine, they say that an ill wind (i.e. certain sicknesses) can enter through the back of the neck this time of year.  As the days start to cool off, make sure you wear layers of clothes to keep you warm and protected from the Vata Winds.  You may even consider heeding the advice of the ancient Chinese healers and wear a scarf!

HERBS:  Now is the time to add certain immune building herbs to your diet.  Astragalus and elderberry are great alleys this time of year, and both can be added to your morning Congee or taken as a tincture. Another great immune builder, though probably not as appetizing for breakfast, is garlic elixer. It has been used for centuries to ward off viruses as well as vampires and taken daily will build the immune system.  

DINNER: Warm stocks and stews made with seasonal vegetables such as squash and potatoes will help keep the earth element alive balancing out the fall season.  There is wisdom to eating locally, as what is in season is often the food that balances the ill effects of the season. Stews are warming and their long cooking times creates easy digestion.

YOGA:  Either upon waking or before going to bed, hold a few  forward folds for at least 2 minutes each.  Combine with a breath where the exhale that is twice as long as the inhale.  This will have a grounding and calming effect that soothes and calms the chaotic nature of the fall season.  Some poses to consider include seated forward fold (pashimottanasana), child's pose (balasana), standing forward fold (uttanasana), head-to-knee pose (janu sirsasana), Cobbler's pose (baddhakonasana) or any other forward folds you prefer (see below).

The Key is to stay grounded.  Incorporate these or other easy, small changes into your day, and see how these small measures of daily self-care will add up to keep you well nourished and moving through the season with health and vitality.

***


Yoga Poses
Note: Below are a couple of Forward Folds for Vata Season.  Please be steady and stable in the posture, allowing it to feel nourishing and relaxing even while engaged.  Always seek the wisdom of a certified yoga instructor if the pose does not feel good in your body.  To find out more contact Jacquleyn at www.TheAlchemyofTransformation.com

Life Wisdom 1.2 - controlling the mind

I love yoga.  Yet, I don't want to tell people I'm a yoga teacher.  

Strange, I know.  It has to do with the word.  When I say "yoga", to most people it conveys an idea that has come to dominate the American understanding of the word - a group of people in a class doing crazy things with their body. That is not what I do, not because I can't but because that is not the point. The point is to become more self-realized.  To live a life more in harmony with ourselves. Knowing how to get your legs behind your head won't necessarily get you there.  But yoga will.

Patanjali's yoga Sutra states: Yoga is the control of the fluctuations of the mind field. (Sutra 1.2)

Have you ever experienced those fluctuations?  One day you are absolutely in love with a person, and the next your find them annoying. One moment you're feeling svelt, beautiful, smart and engaging and the next you're unattractive and boring.  One moment, you're competent and the next totally incapable.  One moment you want to write, dance, photograph, save orphaned children, create a beautiful garden, (insert desire here) and the next it's not even on your radar. Any of this sound familiar?

These are the fluctuations of the mind. 

Yoga helps us learn to see through these fluctuations to something deeper and more consistent.

The key to finding this is something they call  nirodhah.  We often translate it as "control", this is misleading to a culture bent on control, and kind of making a mess of it.  Just look at the some of the unexpected results from trying to control our environment, our partnerships, and our lives.

When we control things, we usually mess it up.  Either that or things start to get little funky.  Perhaps this is because when we try to control, we take a powerful, beautiful spirit of something - like a horse, mother nature, our partners or our minds - and we unconsciously suppress, cajole, deny or otherwise subtly manipulate it - trying to break it to our will into what we think it should be. But should is not the point.  Should is just a form of conditioning that is limited and limiting. 
Our minds are so much greater than we could possibly imagine.  

Perhaps all of those support groups across the world - from alcohol to codependency - are on to something.  One of the first steps in any group is to surrender our control to something greater.  Perhaps this groups work because they know that applying control from our limited, ego-based selves ends up making our lives unmanageable.  They are unmanageable because  we have tried to box in the essential beauty and powerful wildness of the thing that we wanted to connect with in the first place.  When we do that, we suffer.

Nirodhah has other translations that are a bit more helpful.  It also means mastery, coordination, channeling, integration.  We take the fluctuations and instead of breaking them, we learn to join up with them in a way as to be helpful and help us see the bigger picture.  We learn to ride the mind like a rider on a mustang, letting the horse have it's own medicine, while we simply direct it in to the place we wish to go.

With this understanding we see that through the practice of yoga we learn to harmonize and work with the tremendous power and capacity of the mind, not changing it or denying it but rather channeling it so that our whole being can be more integrated.  We work with yoga so that we can see more of our wholeness, the wholeness that is so much greater and grander than the limited perspective of the ego-driven, controlling aspect of the self.  We learn to drive from this bigger Self and let the smaller self take its appropriate place.  

Yoga then becomes about learning to work with where you are to discover who you truly are.  This is not different from who you are now, simply deeper and more nuanced...more whole.  
As a yoga teacher, this is my purpose.  Flexibility, strength and suppleness of the body is secondary. Ut is the flexibility, strength and suppleness of the mind and soul that is the primary goal.  Hopefully someday, when I say the word "yoga" this is what it will convey. 

Fear Close to Home

Dear Sisters and beautiful brothers,

Last night, I learned that a woman was violently and torturously raped a few weeks ago on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville.  She had gone to the woods…her temple… at sunset…to meditate. 

How many of us have done this?  Been inspired by the beauty of the day or needed a place to unwind and de-stress, and have hopped onto the parkway to go for a walk, hike or to sit in the beautiful heart of these mountains that surround us?  Often near dusk or even into evening.

Countless times. Hundreds if not thousands of times between all of us.  In fact, two nights ago I walked down from Shining Rock Wilderness in the dark…alone.  I stumbled upon a group of very tall, strong, quiet men, and for an instant, the message my mother so skillfully instilled in me…that I could possibly be raped and there was not a thing I could do about…came into my mind.  Just for a moment I felt fear…and then my friendly and intuitive nature bubbled forth.

As a woman, this sister's recent rape could have easily been mine.  Could have easily been any of ours.

Hearing about her horrific experience so close to home, both literally and figuratively, struck a chord living in the very depths of my soul.  It is the chord of all-encompassing, terrifying fear.  It is ancestral.  It is lifetimes old.  And, until last night, one that  I was not aware was so alive in me.

It struck so deep that I found myself not wanting to come home alone to my dark house deep in the woods, and so asked a  dear friend, who was empathic and generous enough, to spend the night so I could feel safe.  I now find myself concerned about the way I  live my life so freely, especially about my almost daily hikes in the woods - sometimes along the parkway - alone.  I wonder how I can continue to do what I like and still be safe.  The old heroic paradigm of "loving and lighting" it away feels hollow.  And mundane plans, like always bringing another girlfriend to walk,  doesn't seem like enough.

I feel constricted.  I feel less free.  It is like I was pulled from my cocoon of home and reminded that the world  is not necessarily safe to me…simply because I am a woman and, while a pretty strong one, can be overpowered by almost any man, especially one with a weapon.

Women around the world live intimately with this all-consuming fear.  It is a part of their daily nourishment.  It is often conceptual to me, an american living in relatively safety.  While these women are a part of my regular prayers,  this morning, I feel their fear in a very visceral way…it resonates physically and I find myself wanting to vomit.  

So, this energy becomes mine to deal with too…more than just in prayers.  So what do I do.  How do I live in a world with such violence and such fear? 

As much physical, emotional, and spiritual pain that this Asheville woman - who was simply meditating on the parkway - is now in, the man and the many like him, must have an equal measure of pain inside of them.  What sort of world grows a person who can become so distorted and dead inside as to have the capacity to brutally take the humanity from one of his fellow human beings… just because he could…just because she had the right parts to make it more available?  Who can hate so much to take something so intimate, so subtle, so tied to our heart and soul?  To take our sense of safety, our sense of being an equal human… all in the name of some violent, collective power struggle.

I ask, again, how do we live in such a world?

One in six women have been sexually assaulted.  When I walk into a potluck of friends, statistically several of the women in that room have had an experience like this - perhaps not so creatively horrific - but horrific none-the-less.  When I walk through a festival, there may very well be a man or two who has done such a thing, or had it done to them.  It's all around us, in the shadows.  And I am now consciously afraid of it.
 
I DO NOT want to be driven by this fear.  I DO NOT want to give up my daily walks along the parkway.  I DO NOT want to shut myself down to other people because there is a potential, and a statistic, that tells me they might hurt me in one of the deepest ways possible.  Yet, I also DO NOT want to leave myself vulnerable to the the possibility of attack either.

I hesitate tell my other sisters and brother about this recent rape on the parkway, because I DO NOT want to spread the seeds of fear.  Yet, I do so anyway, because to not share it may in a very real way put other sisters in jeopardy.

So once again, I ask, HOW do we live in such a world?

Do I ignore this shadow of our culture and say things like "I won't manifest such things, because I'm a trusting human being and so will only draw good things to me?"  This woman was in her woodland, pagan temple….meditating!  ONE IN SIX women is sexually violated!  I don't think ANY of them were asking for it or doing anything to manifest it.  You say my fear may manifest it?  Sister, this fear is collective.

Do I learn better ways to protect myself so I will live in less fear?  Perhaps I should take a self-defense class  or maybe go really extreme and buy bear mace or even another kind of self-defense weapon?   Yet, that won't breed a deep sense of safety in me…what if I forgot the mace on a walk, or shot myself or a friend…what if I'm still not strong enough.  In part, this tactic only breeds more fear.

Do I get angry.  I'm already angry. Angry that I live in a world where this happens.  Angry that I can't just go on believing that it's all "love and light" as long as I simply believe so.  Angry that my beloved home no longer feels as safe as it did 24 hours ago.  Angry that I'm afraid to be home alone.  Angry that I have to think about walking in the woods. Angry that my god/goddess allows such injustices. Angry, angry, angry.  I could let this anger build and wage a war on the men waging war on women.  Yet, this tactic simply creates more violence.

AGAIN, HOW DO WE LIVE IN THIS WORLD? 

In this moment, I really don't know.  I just know I don't like my options. 

Yet, one twinkle of hope comes to mind.  It is a quote attributed to Ghandiji…
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." 

Perhaps this is my answer.  Perhaps I need to engage my fear.  I need to feel it. I need to grieve the pain of my sisters, both now and from the past, and allow it to move through me like water from a stream that feeds the wildflowers.  I need to feel it to clear it.

I need to learn to acknowledge and embrace the hate and violence that lives in my own shadow - the subtle fear and hate of men and of women,  the violence done to others through my own ignorance, the rape I  perpetrate on this earth simply by living and taking.  I need to acknowledge it and learn to forgive it.  And then learn to live in a more conscious way.  After all - one definition of the evil is simply a lack of awareness…a lack of awareness of the sacred.  And haven't we all done that in some way, shape or form?    Perhaps by engaging my own shadow, I will make a dent in the collective shadow of our culture.

I need to acknowledge that there is a chance that I may very well be raped in my lifetime, and there is not much I can do about it except to deal with it if it comes.  I need to show up for those who have been raped, help take it out of the shame closet and allow these women (and men) to share and grieve their experience.  By doing this, I in now way mean to engage in a victim mentality. In this world of duality, where a person can do unfathomable things to another out of fear, hate and ignorance, the perpetrator/victim relationship really does exist.  It doesn't mean we have to live in victimhood, yet victimization happens.  Ask the women in Africa who are repeatedly raped in their own homes as a strategy of war.

I need to somehow engage my brothers…especially the ones who have not stepped foot onto the road of self-awareness and equality…and open my heart to them, understanding they too are victims of a twisted energy that has been perpetrated by our unbalanced culture.  I need to courageously open to both the fear and pain - no matter how it manifests and what it evokes in me - and hold in my hands the various degrees of distorted hearts and souls of my brothers, my sisters and myself.  For we need to be compassionately lead into a new understanding and relationship.  I call on the compassion of Quan Yin and the Fierceness of Sekmet to do this without recoiling…no matter how ugly.

I need to remember…remember the sacred…remember my place in the whole of things.  Remember to create the change for more peace.  I need to remember daily this prayer... "god/goddess, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (the outer world), the courage to change the things I can (my inner world) and the wisdom to know the difference."

In this endeavor…I ask for you, my a community, to take my and each other's hand and offer your own truth.  For I am only learning how to live in this THIS VERY REAL, CHAOTIC, WORLD OF LIGHT AND DARK…the one that contains blind rage, dark violence and unparalleled injustice.   My learning is to open my heart to both those that resonate and those that don't, and engage this conversation.  I ask you to take my hand and step into the shadows with me…to help create this change.

I am by no means an expert on how to do this…nor do I ever wish to become an expert by these means..the means of violence and rape. My deepest desire is that  no-one had to.  But they do…so let's talk about it.  Let's learn from it.  Lets walk towards something more whole.

I don't exactly know where to start…perhaps simply with this…a very authentic letter from my heart letting people know about this darkness that lives closer to us that we may have previously thought.   I hope that this letter brings more awareness…which from what I hear is the thing that negates evil. 

May we learn how to live here, in both the light and the dark, together…beautifully…authentically…and perhaps even fearlessly.

With much love and hope…as well as sadness and confusion…
Your friend,
Jacquelyn