By Guest Blogger on May 8, 2012
In the past couple of months I experienced an unprecedented bad case of eczema. What started off as an innocuous patch of dermatitis, contained on one of my fingers, spread angrily all over my chest and stomach and onto my back, and finally, to each of my four limbs.
It wasn’t pretty, and it eventually got me really down, which obviously did not help!
Since becoming an almost organic vegan, my diet has been more or less in first gear over the past few years, so I knew that the eczema was caused by the stress I was experiencing in my current living situation. So much so, that the only thing that finally cleared it up was taking a few weeks away from the environment. No amount of fresh green vegetable juice seemed to help clear this completely, affirming my theory that your mental health can manifest in your physical health.
While I tried to get my stress levels under control, a good friend told me about bathing in oatmeal to sooth inflamed skin. The porridge bath, as I now like call it, is cheap as chips and really easy!
There are just two easy steps:
1. Take the leg of an old pair of pantyhose, and fill it with about a cup of oatmeal.
2. Tie it off, and immerse it in a warm bath
Make sure that you keep the bath water warm, as lounging in hot water warms your blood, which, if you are prone to eczema or psoriasis, can further inflame the skin.
The water will become milky after a few minutes, and the ball of oatmeal will drip with a thick porridge between your fingers when you squeeze it.
The thick, syrupy-like oat milk feels amazing when massaged into your skin and (even if you don’t have eczema) is an excellent natural moisturizer in its own right. Plus, it’s cheap enough to regularly bathe in.
The Mind and Body Connection
In addition to your physical self, the bath is also beneficial for your mind. It’s the perfect time to meditate and let go of any stresses that may have caused unnecessary worry during your day or week. Visualize what happened to cause you to feel how you do, accept it and then try to let it go.
I have a few meditations that I have used to help relieve stress and ultimately my clear skin, but my favorite technique for letting go is the visualization technique. Unlike other meditations, the visualization technique requires you to envision what you want. Not only did I want peace of mind, but I also wanted clear skin.
I have three meditations that helped me to achieve this:
1. Visualize yourself breathing in grey matter, or the worried feeling you have, as you inhale through your nose. As you exhale through your mouth, visualize yourself releasing the worry, in the form of pink or golden sparkles.
2. Visualize your body as the color red, which represents the rash. Concentrate on watching the angry red slowly change to an alkalizing green color, which starts at your toes, and then slowly extends all over your body, until it finally creeps up to your head, where any red remains are released with each exhale.
3. Visualize the steam coming off the water as representative of your stresses, and watch it dissipate into the atmosphere. This is basic, but effective.
The scenarios are limitless!
I realize that to some people it might sound a little bit crazy, but it really does work!
This technique was inspired by a colleague with whom I used to work. She told me that when she had cancer, she would spend days meditating by visualizing her body as a real-life game of Pac Man. Her good cells were represented by a hungry Pac Man who would go around her body, slowly conquering all of the cancerous cells, until they had all been swallowed and destroyed.
Eventually, along with a few other fundamental life changes, she was declared cancer free.
Pretty impressive!
The mind can be as powerful a tool as we choose it to be. Just as we exercise our bodies, we also need to exercise our minds by way of meditation to create the lives we want: healthy, happy and stress-free.
Caitlyn Smith is a music- and veggie-loving wayfarer who discovered health and wellness after a cancer diagnosis in 2006. She lives on the north coast of Australia, and is committed to revolutionizing the way we approach food, health and our busy lives.
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By Guest Blogger on April 19, 2012
The world’s best yoga studio has no walls, an uneven surface and is void of stinky gym people. You don’t have to worry about fighting for good mat space and there is never a shortage of inspiration. Without question the best yoga studio offers a mind-body connection like no other. And most importantly, it is available to everyone on this planet. It is the great outdoors.
Yes, I know. Rain, wind and cold weather can all be distracting, to say the least. As a resident of Wisconsin I understand that it doesn’t quite work to practice outside every day. And yet dare I say that sometimes even less then desirable conditions motivate the practitioner to be even more focused and more present.
This morning I practiced outdoors on Madeline Island’s beachfront. The smell of the beachfront brushes and the sounds of the waves hitting the dock was my backdrop. There was no need to search for spiritual energy or tap into a deeper presence. It just unfolded before me.
Top five reasons to take your Om outside:
1. You can root into the earth. Not just metaphorically but really feel the surface beneath your feet. Even with a yoga mat between you and the ground cover, the concept of growing tall like a tree from the soles of your feet extending up through your spine makes so much more sense when you are barefoot outside.
2. It is OK to be less than perfect. Upon moving my hand down to the ground, my index finger rested upon an acorn resulting in a loss of balance and a step back. At home in the studio I would have cursed the distraction. There is a natural acceptance of living in harmony with the outside if you practice in it. This also aids us in letting go of our expectations. Nature is constantly changing things up on us. There is no guarantee that the surface that worked for Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon) on Friday will make itself available on Saturday. A light rain can change everything.
3. It’s memorable. I’ve done Natarajasana (dancer) in snow boots, balanced in crane on a tree trunk, done headstand on the shores of Lake Superior and meditated in the forest. I remember each of those unique moments. More than a hundred headstands in my life and I have no direct connection to the ones done against a studio wall. The one where I created a groove in the sand with the imprint of my skull is the one I remember. Why is that? Nature provides a mind-body connection like no other. For example, a drishti (gaze), which includes the twist of bark on a tree, reminds you to be present as well as focused vs. a small smudge on the mirror of a studio that honestly for me would create the desire to clean it.
4. No germ warfare. How many times have you shrunk on your mat as the practitioner to your left broke into a controllable coughing spasm during the cold and flu season? Perhaps she wanted to move toxins out of her body through yoga but it always left me feeling slightly resentful (not to mention grossed out) to follow behind her in handstand potentially placing our hands on the same surface. I feel not only more alive in my outside practice but much less vulnerable.
5. Hello stress relief. I can’t explain the magic but what yoga does for me in a studio is magnified 100 times outside. Perhaps it is the fact that breathing outdoor air just feels more natural, or maybe it’s the sounds of nature as my background music. Whatever. All I know is that after a few poses on the beach and I can feel the release of tension. It seems to be genetic trait too. I often take cues from my children who innocently follow their instinct without the manifestation of the fear we learn as adults. My daughters were playing on the beach and one flipped into a headstand. Moments later another settled herself at the water’s edge and folded into lotus (or crisscross applesauce). Simply being in that moment, surrounded by nature, following their heart.
Amy Annis, a crazy sexy cancer survivor, is a believer of the healing power of yoga. After teaching for over a decade she launched her yoga retreat business on beautiful Madeline Island, Wi for all levels of yoginis and adventurers.
Photo credit: Andrew Kalat
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By Kris Carr on June 11, 2010
Aloha Life Lovers,
Ta da! Check out my 2nd Vlog. This week’s topic is perfection and I sure hope it resonates with you. I also circled back to last week’s vlog on rest and highlighted a brilliant comment made on my Facebook fan page. I’ll be checking comments all weekend (in between some learning and healing at Omega and my juice and smoothie demos at CAS). Leave any thoughts, nuggets or ah-has, ’cause you know in your heart that you’re a genius and we can all benefit from your observations. Oh, and if you don’t know that you’re a genius then I’m telling you now. You’re a genius. Capiche?
One more thing, if you’re interested in having a phone consultation with yours truly, I’ll be available for a limited time in June and I would love to chat/brainstorm/guide and manifest health and happiness with you! Email consults@crazysexylife.com if you’re interested.
See ya next week…
Peace and vlog-a-delic delight,
Kris
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By Stefanie Sacks on March 30, 2010
Photo Credit: Eric Striffler Photography
My 4½-year-old son Jack has been complaining about his tummy hurting for some time now—about six months. At first I didn’t think much of it. We have a pooping family, and as I’ve come to realize, “my tummy hurts” for a 4½-year-old can be mistaken for hunger, eating too much, or needing to pee. Instead of being overly cautious (I definitely have neurotic tendencies), I watched for about six months. I might add that we are talking about a kid who has an above average healthy diet so I felt fairly okay with my choice. But once I started noticing soft, red-gray circles under Jack’s eyes, I knew I had to put on my detective’s hat!
Clue One: gas, frequent bowel movements
Clue Two: soft, red-gray circles under eyes
In instances like this, conventional medicine typically prescribes unnecessary poking and pills as the first course of action. But for me, it was clear that dietary action was a must! It was the only thing I could control. I wanted to tap into my resources before taking him to the doctor. I must say that I had a brief moment of panic realizing that there was probably a problem, albeit a manageable one, with my kid’s diet (or possibly something else). He’s my baby, he’s got the tummy blues, and I want to make it better… NOW!
The first step to solving the tummy blues was identifying the symptoms. Once identified, I created an elimination game plan. If necessary, seek immediate assistance from an integrative doctor (who will typically look at dietary change as the first course of action) or qualified nutritionist (another very wise choice). If I were not a culinary nutritionist, I would have done just that!
My elimination game plan:
1. Identify the possible culprit(s).
2. Explain to my child what’s going on and what I plan to do.
3. Remove the culprit(s) from the diet for 2-3 weeks.
4. Rebuild the gut with Aloe vera juice and probiotics (both healing and restorative) making sure to confirm supplemental gut support with a healthcare provider (in my case, a close colleague—and registered dietitian—who specializes in supplementation).
5. Keep a diary noting symptoms or hopefully lack thereof.
6. At the end of the removal period, add the culprit back into the diet and watch for the return of symptoms. If present, avoid that food. If not (and no other culprits are suspected), seek further advice from a healthcare provider. If more than one culprit exists, add one at a time (over a three-day period) and watch for symptoms. If none exist, start with next item (noting that first item is safe to eat). If symptoms do exist, remove the item again from the diet, wait five days, then add the next culprit. Repeat as necessary.
I decided that wheat was my culprit (although I keep a fairly gluten-free home, Jack does eat wheat in some form or another daily). Even though he’s 4½, I feel very strongly about talking to him about matters related to his life. One morning I pulled my little dude aside and said, “We want your tummy to feel better, right?” He gave me a nod. “And you know that I want to do whatever I can to help you feel better, right?” Another nod. “I think that foods that contain wheat, like breads, pasta, pretzels, cookies, and cakes are making your tummy hurt.” He said, “I don’t want to eat those foods anymore, Mom.” Of course he didn’t want to eat those foods anymore, but he would still want them. I continued, “This is the deal, you can still have all of those foods but they will be special foods that I will give you. Mommy will do it with you.” With a slight smile, Jack added, “It’s like our special adventure, right Mom?”
And that it was. I took him to Whole Foods to pick out all the wheat-free products that he wanted to try. Although challenging at times (what do you expect?), we left without too many breakdowns. I must add that my extreme side wanted to start with the removal of gluten, but my practical side said, “Stef, you may not need to go there, so start simple and if you need to take it a step further you can.” I find that talking to myself often helps, even if out loud in public places!
We started the wheat-free challenge, and for the first few days there was no change. In fact I felt as though things worsened a bit (usually the body detoxing). Then, there seemed to be some improvement over the course of the next two weeks; however, not enough for my liking.
The next step was to try a gluten-free diet. I was ready to go there, but there was reason for me to believe that he could have celiac disease, the inability to digest the protein (gluten) present in many grains. I contacted his doctor and she suggested we screen him with a series of blood tests before he went off gluten. When screening a person for celiac, the most common tests taken are antibody tests (IgA and IgG). If a person is already on a gluten-free diet and has their blood taken, the test will be negative for the antibodies.
Jack was a champ during the test, and luckily the results were negative. No celiac! But the tummy blues kept on singing, and I was determined to turn that music off! So, back to my game plan. This is where I am now: I have identified additional culprits and continue to forge ahead to make my baby better! We have yet to see what this journey holds. It is a process, something that I do day in and day out with others, and at this moment it is hitting home.
Obstacles are put in our way for a reason (although sometimes I am not totally convinced of that). The tummy blues are solvable and manageable. Just take a step back, create an elimination game plan with the help of a healthcare provider, and follow the plan. I would love to tell you it is easy, but it is not. Clear goals, objectives, communication, and support will help you get from A to Z as smoothly as possible.
I will leave you with this, I recently had a discussion with a pediatrician colleague of mine and he reminded me to look at the mind and gut as one, a very important component to solving and managing the tummy blues.
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