5 Ways To Have A Beautiful Morning

April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Hè, friend!

I have been busy perfecting my beautiful morning routine. It has become a part of me and a necessity to ensure I am elevated to my best self before my day and all the chaos evade. I start every day focused on me by scraping my tongue, neti pot my sinuses followed by oil, wash, tone, & oil my face while I gua sha my lymph nodes on my face and down my neck. Then I will go on a refreshing early morning walk with my dogs. I enjoy a 20-to-30-minute power yoga session followed by a cold shower and abhyanga massage. I will meditate by 6am and journal afterwards to get my thoughts or new thoughts in order. Bam! I have taken control of my morning routine and I’m set for what life has to throw at me.

Water is beautiful and able to enjoy the elements within its boundaries freely. I have the same fluidity expression and cleansing energies💖

Morning Self-Care

My morning self-care is crucial to me feeling ungunked and refreshed. First things first, I will empty my bladder and number 2 or eliminate. This took a good year to be able to eliminate without eating. I truly am empty until I eat which will be around 11am – 1pm typically. I find being empty helps me focus and feel light without burden. I enjoy feeling this lightness and I control how I absorb heavy foods or ideas. I prefer to take things slow and enjoy most of my morning, empty.

I then brush my teeth and scrape my tongue. I will look at my tongue to view how my digestion is going or how my body is absorbing nutrients. There are many different examples on the internet. I utilize my book, “Body Thrive” by Cate Stillman. Scraping off the ama (poison) from my tongue is ensuring my body is not ingesting the accumulation of trash from my body’s waste. I enjoy being cleansed and degunked. Scrape, scrape!

Next, is my neti pot I have filled with distilled water and sea salt, I follow that with my Banyan nasya oil. This is especially crucial during the sneezy, allergy season of spring. I feel flushed and moisturized inside and out. There are so many benefits from clearing out my sinuses and I feel clear and able to breathe fully.

Lastly, my face will get a good Trader Joe’s microdermabrasion scrub twice a week or I use my homemade eucalyptus lemon facial soap to get my morning clean. I follow that up with my homemade chamomile toner and my homemade lavender, rose, calendula, and linden flower facial oil. I will follow up with my knuckles to gently apply pressure on my facial points to drain my lymph. Ta-da! Time to move my body.

Morning Movement

Yes, I want to stay in bed too. I choose to better my health and my mindset every day. I find out how strong I am when I encounter my hesitancy. My compromise to myself is to walk. I even get to bring my best friends, Aiko and Alex. We have the best time walking in the dark and I will have about 5,000 steps before I get home.

I get on my mat as soon as I get my dogs out of their harness. I love to move intuitively with some beautiful Lauryn Hill in the morning and get my heart rate up and my body stretched and warmed up. I enjoy having freedom in my expressions, I chose how my heart pumps and I do what I enjoy. It’s my self-care routine and I include my circulatory system. I enjoy my body and all it has to offer me, it is time to pay it forward.

Body Care

My body is my temple. I get into my body routine with my soul. I have taken the time to skillfully shed the layers of my armor. I learned to be vulnerable and not feel victim to the world around me. I know how to set my mind to protect me, and I listen to my intuition. I find that me taking the care and attention to my body gives me power to trust myself. I know that I look forward to each day and I look forward to the lesson’s I will learn.

I gently dry brush my skin and I am mindful on where I am in my head and pay attention to my precious limbs. I usually wash my dry brush on Sunday’s with hot water on the bristles soaked in tea tree oil for 5-10 minutes. I then use my oil to rub into my body. Yes, this is still before I shower. LOL! I put on my robe and get ready for my meditation part.

Meditation

Oh, the brain power meditation gives me. I can focus and organize my thoughts into priority. I can also figure out issues I am going through. It’s a beautiful practice. I have been using a guided meditation, Hemi-Sync. I absolutely love it and it’s under $10 per month. I will meditate 30 – 60 minutes a day in the morning. I love a good prana nature meditation by the lake as well, but I usually save that for the weekends.

I can still smell this view, the air was crisp welcoming in winters breath. The crows were loud and powerful.

Cold Shower

I do not think I have to reiterate the amazing benefits of a cold shower. I feel so invigorated and awake during my shocking shower time. I started with my leg and arm only going into the water. I do my best to gain control of my breathing. This is total control. It is hard to not go into convulsions and turn blue. I am still investigating all the benefits to me, I love this part of my life when I get to understand what something does for me, personally.

Life is insane and there are so many options and information at our fingertips at every moment of every day. We have all our information for ourselves within ourselves and we have power to keep ourselves healthy or not. No one can define our “why”. We must figure out what we want in life and act on what we want. If you want something bad enough to change, you change, right? I evolved so much and I am so grateful for my life as it is. I hope you manifest a beautiful morning too!

Namaste!

Relearning to Reset

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Hè, friend!

I have been enjoying the new energy I have past 4pm. I used to crash so hard after work that I thought it was just my 40’s. That’s what everyone else says, right? Well, I found a holistic Dr that treats the whole body, mind included. After an hour meeting with my Dr, he ordered labs and I found out I was super-duper low in B12 and Folate. I got a B12 shot, I’ve been taking 2 methyl B Complex vitamins every day for 10 days now and I feel really good! Now that I’m in a better place to function (past 4pm), I’m relearning to reset my body and mind and find what works and what doesn’t. The only way to do that is to stop everything and see what happens.

Meditation:

My focus and mindset begin with my meditation. I stopped meditating for about a week, and I felt so ungrounded. I am a very grounded person naturally. I started meditating and BOOM! Order in the mind got me putting this bad boy on the daily 6am calendar, fo’ life! I have been meditating for 12 days now (so far, I only missed one day) and my brain fog is lifting. I just enjoy a clear brain! I know there are lots of benefits to meditating and I find myself doing this more than once a day. It’s a great reset, especially if I just released a lot of emotions.

Mindful Movement:

Yoga, yoga, yoga. Ok. So, I never went to a yoga class and went “I wish I didn’t go”. Ever! I love yoga and how it makes me feel! I am centered and empowered. Yoga is when I spend an hour loving my beautiful body in beautiful poses moving and lubricating my joints and organs, breathing mindfully, moving my eyeballs all around in different Drishti (eye focus points), and come to a Savasana quiet meditation. This is the magic. I went a week without, and my joints were stiff, my muscles were sore, I felt unmotivated and stuck. What a shitty feeling to be stuck. After my week, I ran to yoga. Yoga is where I go to digest my life experiences. I get to check in on my body and each part. My mind connects and I am whole. That give me all the happy tears because yoga gives me all I need inside and out.

Nature Calls:

Being outside in nature is my daily dessert. I find when I connect with life outside of myself and other humans, things begin to make sense. Follow the sun, when it wakes, I am too. The sun is highest at noon so is my digestion. When the sun sets, I will have already eaten and spend my evening winding down and getting my body ready for bed. I cannot quit this for a whole week. I have days where I did spend my time in artificial environments and not exposed to life outside. I lose connection with outside of me which is me. I don’t know if I’m making sense, but I am just as connected to earth and nature as I am my family. It’s the same thing to me. Without either, I would be sad and lifeless. Geez, just writing this makes me want to put my feet in the dirt.

Exercise:

Walking doesn’t require a whole lot of equipment or work. I can walk anywhere at any time without any direction. My only purpose is to walk, so why don’t I? I began my quest to find my walking shoes and get to pounding the pavement. I kind of love the way my thoughts process and get organized in my mind. I also get my focus on my tasks depending on the day so I don’t feel flustered and out of control. I stopped walking a week and found myself wanting sweets more. Oh fun, I’m not walking so why not eat empty calories? My favorite are peanut M&Ms. My thoughts began to be negative. I was moodier for sure! I’m sure my husband was happy I started walking again but not happy he was a part of my weekend walks too. LOL!

Massage:

Massage is so nourishing to my mind body connection. I have to hit every inch of my body though with my Banyan sesame oil blend (I make my own scented body oil) and use my hands to work out knots and tend to the sore spots. I get a monthly massage from a professional, as well. This massage gives me time to understand how each part feels now and become familiar with normal and not normal. I am so familiar with myself and each mole, that I trust me when something is not right. I don’t need anything or anyone outside of me to tell me something is wrong. I’ll know and go get trusted help. I went half a week without my self massage and I was out of sorts. I felt lost, like my brain was wondering where all its friends were, leg, arm, neck…no connection. Just like Covid, shut out of homes and left to yourself. I know I need to always be there to tend to myself and never lose myself again. Home 🙂

Hobbies:

Man, back when I was a kid, I played the piano, violin, loved exploring my area, bike riding, swimming, reading books, cooking, pretending and using my imagination! When did I stop to learn how to fly? When I grew up who told me I had to give up my loves? I really don’t remember this build up but I forgot when I had kids. They became my life and that was it. I watched them make their dreams and I took a back seat. The manifestor became the back seat driver. I found out I like a lot of things and they became important again. In fact, I get to enjoy my joys with my kids and that swells my heart with all the magic of being a mom, full circle. I really enjoy this crazy life learnings and this is what life is! Learn and learn, who says to stop? I find that my hobbies are a great balance in my life. I get my fix of my hobbies for me, and I can do what I need to as a wife and mom.

I am a proud mom, wife, daughter, sister, Auntie, niece, friend😍

I hope there are some nuggets you can manifest into your life from my blog. I have spent the last 2 years stripping old layers of decay off my plate. I don’t know why we don’t ask why more often. I never received any responses to my questions so I took that old way of thinking out of my way. It didn’t serve me. What doesn’t serve you? Can you go without it and find your truth? I hope you do and I hope you keep learning too!

Namaste & wanìshi!

Everything Has To Flow

April 5, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Hè, friend!

Did you feel insane last month? My March had me holding on for dear life! In retrospect, the ups and downs in my life seemed to mirror the weather outside. Cold, hot, warm, cool, windy, foggy, rainy, snowy, sunny. One thing I was able to manifest after a stagnant winter was walking every day. When I move my body, my thoughts digest, and I’m able to get in a stable headspace so I can focus. This is a great habit before work for me. If I stay too stagnant, my thoughts get stagnant, my body gets stagnant, and I find myself in a self-made prison. Everything has to flow. That’s my rhythm.

Catch me outside. That’s where you’ll find me.

I insist you learn all about you. I found out I knew nothing about myself outside of my family and busy worklife. It’s like one day I woke up and decided to get to know me. I spent hours by myself. Reading, paddle boarding, yoga, meditation, cooking, Ayurveyda. I found hobbies and met so many people, now friends! These things opened my comfort zone to new abundance. I was learning so much, and my heart opened. My anger subsided. I found this new phenomenon called inner peace.

One amazing morning ritual I can not skip is hot lemon water. The hot water helps release gunk clogging up our organs. How? Well, when I clean my floors, I love to use my steam mop. To me, the hot water steam gets deeper into the floor and scours stains and sticky spills. So I want that for me too! It’s deeply hydrating, and the lemon makes it delicious and other great benefits. Just try it for a week and see how you feel. I tell ya, you won’t be the same.

Hot lemon water or herbal teas are my #1

Getting outside in nature is one of my therapies. I listen. It’s beautiful. I watch the sun make its way up. The frogs. The moon fades into the brighter, bluer sky. Spring’s cool breeze flutters its warmer promises over my body. The breeze carries off yesterday’s burden. I feel lighter and purposeful. I love to journal in nature. My mind thrives in nature. I can not explain it. It’s magic.

I hope this plants a positive seed in your thinking. Manifest your flow. After all, you know you better than anyone else does. Make mistakes on your journey so you learn. If everything has to flow, what does it take to put you back on track after chaos?

Namastè & wanishi!

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.

Finding Inner Peace

March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Hè, yogi friend!

There is lots of growth happening outside right now. I have Creeping Charlie on the side of my house blooming. My yarrow is waking up and showing her beautiful leaves. I love feeling the squishy, cool mud between my toes as I have been trying to feel grounded these past few weeks. I have busted out my arsenal of tools to help me cope while I get through this. Sometimes feeling all the feels is the best medicine. Sometimes not having all the answers and ability to immediately fix the situation is the solution. How can I sit in peace when there is a whirlwind manifesting craziness in my head? I have to be okay with not being okay and find my inner peace in the chaos. Hold onto your yoga mat as we explore finding inner peace.

Movement

"I 1,000% know moving my body gets everything moving, thoughts, blood, energy, feelings, breakthroughs."

First things first, I enjoy a brisk walk whether it be on the sidewalk or in nature. Get me moving so these thoughts can get in order. I find myself able to feel clear-headed as my blood pumps. I love yoga and lately have been intuitively moving to music for 30 minutes. I feel organized and in control when I make the time for me. I am not the best at immediately getting up to go but this morning I worked out my back with my husband and earlier this week, I worked out with my daughter. I 1,000% know moving my body gets everything moving, thoughts, blood, energy, feelings, breakthroughs. When I feel out of control, I find something I can control.

Rain or shine, me and my doggos go for a walk🐶💝

Nature Bathing

Being out in nature is pure essence of all life force. I feel so safe and sound tucked away with the trees. I never bring headphones so I can intently listen to my surroundings. All the joy and love swirl within me. I can write for days about my experiences outside. First of all, it’s free! I will sit and listen. There are so many messages and soft whispers in these moments. I do not know how to express all of the gratitude I get from listening. It’s peaceful in my soul and fills me back up with Prana so I can enter my demanding world of giving.

Early morning walks in nature makes my soul soothed.

Meditation

Meditation is my time to quiet my active mind. A good 30-minute session gives me the impression my thoughts are just thoughts, and they cannot control me. I control me. I have been appreciating guided meditations. I use Hemi-Sync which is a paid app. It’s phenomenal! I do not use it daily, but I am highly intrigued to commit to doing 30 days and blogging about it. Let me know your thoughts if you’d like me to do this soon!

Meditating by finding peace with stillness💜

Fasting

I have been feeling better feeling empty. I have been skipping breakfast and feeling all the tummy grumbling. I do keep up on my hydration and feeling like my hot lemon water ritual is keeping all my cells squishy! Nothing feels better than feeling. I know a huge part of my alcoholism was covering up the feels. So, feeling good is the ultimate goal but how can I know what feeling good is if I don’t feel bad. I don’t think that slight hunger is bad, more like uncomfortable. How can I feel bad in my life and add hunger on top of that? I have a relationship with my food and take the time to eat. When I do eat, whatever it is, I know it will nourish me.

My nourishing hot honey salmon sushi bowl😍

Seek Community for Your Journey

I have the best community of women in my life. We all have problems, and when I talk, I know someone will listen and identify. We are all strong in ourselves, and a strong community brings power back to ourselves. I am not crazy; I am on top of my game! Making friends can be outside of your comfort zone, but if you sign up for something you like, maybe you’ll find someone just like you! Someone who quickly gets out of stranger status and becomes bestie status! Never say never. Everyone has a story and most love to share if someone will listen. Find your community💞

Namastè! Wanishi!

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.

Self-Care on Vacation

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / 2 Comments

Hello, Yogi Friend!

I have been amongst many strangers in the last few days on vacation in Phoenix. I am so very humbled by my experience and found my peace in a bustling city full of unknowns. My intention was to experience all I can muster each day and make sure I am taking time to tend to my needs as well.

I have been experimenting with my self-care routine for over a year now. I know what works best for my morning and night routine to keep me going and going and going. I just have a few requirements (even while on vacation), they are 7 hours of sleep and meditation, Abhyanga (self-massage), movement, hydration, and eating with intention. I was on vacation and stayed up late on a few nights and had to get used to a different time zone. I still made sure I got in my 7 hours of rest. I had my maps on my phone and I walked everywhere! I even did 22,000 steps in one day which plows my 5,500 step average! I made sure I tended to my sore legs and the rest of my body with a self-massage every night after my shower. I enjoyed journaling by the pool every morning with my cup of hot herbal tea to help keep me hydrated amongst lots of water daily. I didn’t eat the healthiest foods at every meal, but I did take my time and enjoyed every bite.

Sleep and Rest

I used to put my body through the wringer when I was on vacation. I would drink alcohol late into the night most nights and not have a great night’s sleep. I wouldn’t listen to my body for cues of dehydration and being overworked. Have you ever come back from vacation exhausted? I don’t like feeling drained if I can help it. I love to love me. I have the recipe to keep my body in check because I learned to listen to my body.

I found myself lounging by the pool after our morning hikes. It was a great place to journal and watch nature. I was able to meditate as well.

Self-Massage

I must tend to my sore body or my body won’t want to carry me around the next day. At least it won’t feel happy about it. I made sure to spend time massaging my sore legs and feet. I’m telling you that 5 minutes made a huge difference! I would pay attention to my toes and gently pull on each one front, back, left and right sides. I would knead my thumbs or knuckles into the bottom of my foot and up to my calves. I am someone who will pay for a good massage but knowing I can do the same for myself is priceless.

Movement

I experienced my first guided hike, and it was phenomenal! First, we met at the trailhead at 6 AM and we were led towards the peak. During our ascent I learned all about the flora and fauna of the land. I found myself challenged by the steep inclines and navigating in the early morning darkness. We finally got to our destination, and it was spectacular! I had a moment with the sunrise, and we began our descent. I loved moving my body in this way. I challenged my mind and body and didn’t get hurt.

I found multiple opportunities to walk in nature. I also walked downtown to most of my destinations. I would stay within a few miles our home rental. I really enjoyed walking and taking in the sights and smells. I loved walking by the orange trees and smelling the orange blossoms. I enjoyed some stretchy yoga poses by the pool as well to get me feeling juicy and restored.

Hydration

I used to not love water and it had to be seasoned to not taste like water for me to drink it. I am not her anymore. I love, love water! I know it is a necessity for my well-being. My body loves hydrating with warm lemon water. I didn’t think it would matter too much but I was drinking many bottles of water and my lips were dry requiring moisture. I was in the desert, but it didn’t feel 100% dry but I’m thinking next time I will carry hot water with me.

Eating with Intention

I love vacationing because I let myself splurge on either lunch or dinner. My husband loves to eat at places that don’t have a lot of veggie options, so this is my compromise. I can keep a healthy relationship with eating even if it’s not the best for my body. We ate burgers every day. I took my time to enjoy my experience enjoying my food. I had the best company, and it really satisfied my soul. I never had room for dessert, but I did my best to balance my choices.

The best sweet, salty, bitter, sour, pungent non-alcoholic drink!

I am currently writing and listening to the birds enjoy the spring morning. It’s beautiful being in my natural inner peace right in the heart of downtown Phoenix. I am in love with this place, and I witnessed a bird’s mating dance right above my head! I felt like “National Geographic” happening right before my eyes! My soul is overflowing with contentment, and I don’t want to leave it, but I must. I will just make sure I visit my favorite places that manifest heart searching soul work often!

I will put the AirBNB we stayed at and to meet Paul, our hiking guide, in the comments!

Namaste!

Spring Awakening

March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Hello, yogi friend!

Spring is in the air! Yes, there are lower temperatures in the coming days, but on my morning walk today I saw life. The plants are coming to life as their spring awakening comes right on time. As far as I go, I’m ready to wake up and clean out my old, partially digested leftovers living in my body. Not just food but bad thoughts I may have picked up, or bad habits. I also cannot forget to clean out my closets and clean out all the corners of my house of clutter. It’s spring cleaning so I mind as well add in green juices too. I am craving bitter greens and thoroughly enjoyed orange grapefruit ginger juice to help boost my immunity. We made this in my Ayurvedic class, along with veggie buddha bowls and dandelion greens. Oh, my favorite!

1st Things 1st — Movement

I have been enjoying my morning nature walks. Just waking up with a purpose to move my body is life changing. I find my thoughts move in my head faster versus my body in rest. I can lay down with my phone and have a great time researching every idea that crosses my mind. That puts too much information and no focus in my mind, I then have this overwhelming thought that I wasted my morning. There is my old pattern, negativity. I choose to get up and walk. I have power and I show up for myself every day because I know this works best for me. When I walk my thoughts become ideas and I can decide how I want to explore those possibilities. All that in a walk. Good morning to me!

If it’s raining outside and just not enjoyable at all, I will get my body and my thoughts on my mat. I have been enjoying moving intuitively lately to music but there are mornings where I don’t want to think about my next move so I will utilize my yoga studio’s recorded sessions. As long as I am moving, my thoughts are grooving in sync what you think? I think, I am enjoying the best balance I can ever manifest for my morning routine. Not everyone is up early enough to walk before work, I understand, the movement is the only purpose of this paragraph. Move.

Keep Them Thoughts Moving

I am admiring the swirling warm air (Vata) outside. I find these days help me figure out what I need to figure out. My thoughts are active and ready for solving, I find. What does this mean in Layman’s terms? So, we are all connected to nature whether we like bugs or not or enjoy a rainstorm or not. It isn’t all about likes and dislikes. We can’t tell the rain to not be so wet and when you begin to notice when you are gassy on a Tuesday (before tacos) and you also begin to notice it’s really windy outside. Hmmmm. Maybe we are intertwined. I find my thoughts surface on windy days, and I find time to get things in order! Kaphic people are earthy and watery, these are heavy, heavy grounding elements. I enjoy the elements of ether and air as I begin to focus on my seasonal awakening.

Rosemary tea is antimicrobial and is great in the morning when I need to focus 😃

Clean the Clutter, Save Your Mind

I cleaned out my closet about a month ago. Lifechanging! I can find my stuff! I let go of a lot of clothes. It also encourages me to design a better functioning closet for me. I am in the design process currently, so I moved my energy to the entry way closet, and it felt so good to let go of the things that no longer excite me. I started my donations box and I plan on getting my basement organized. We have a few things to get rid of and I plan on going through my holiday decorations. I am ready to let go of a lot of things. I feel my heart lighten and my mind doesn’t have to work as hard to find things. I have space! I have accomplished so much by doing so little. Try it, just a small study of one. My study has really helped me in my daily life.

I have decades of stuff in my house. I am not going to fret and feel like I need to do it all now. I am taking my time and not forcing myself to “let go” on days I need to “receive”. In Ayurveda, kaison is “small steps” and that’s how I will attack my clutter. A bit at a time to not overwhelm myself and these small steps ensure I’m always moving forward.

My flower agate to help me manifest my ideas❤️

Journal Your Truths

Writing down my thoughts and how I process my day is the best thing for me. I am able to see my thoughts on paper, but I get to experience it again by writing. Things come up in my meditations that I need to process outside of my head. The more I create a relationship with my thoughts the better outcome I get. I have been curious with how I perceive myself. Am I being my most authentic self to myself and others? If a thought of someone gives me a bad feeling, why? What is truth and what is made up in my head? I have played a whole scenario in my head of what I think is happening and be so off on a tangent that I fail to see that I’m headed into a wall. If I react, I would be in emotions only. Or only reacting with no true purpose. Until we know our truth then we are speaking someone else’s truth, right?

I have to be honest with myself how people or places affect me. I sometimes brush over small thoughts and concentrate on the bigger issues at the time. Well, over time small can get big and my journal is great to go back and see if it was mentioned before. My journal is my truths only. I cannot hide my true feelings all the time. They show up in my journal, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Greens, Greens, Greens!

My body is craving the scratchy fibrous greens and I am so glad we live in a day of unseasonal vegetables available all year round. I saw dandelion greens at my local co-op. I, of course, bought them and I have been eating them in my buddha bowls for lunch. I just prep and cook my food on Sunday and I have a whole week of meals. Dandelion greens are bitter and help to awaken my digestion. Nothing like digesting fibrous juicy greens for my organs. I also plan on buying a few fresh juices from my local juicery. I know a lot of juiceries combine veggies and fruit and I typically eat my fruit by itself. I will look for veggies only or just stick with good ‘ol celery juice.

I know it’s not quite Spring equinox yet, but my body is wanting to slowly begin my spring awakening. I find listening to my body gives me the best use out of my days. I have a phenomenal morning and evening routine that works so well to soothe my soul. I crave my routines and I give myself all the attention. I only need an hour in the morning, after my meditation, to get my mind right for the day. I hope you find inspiration to begin thinking about what you want in your Spring awakening.

Wanishi (Thank you — Lenape)

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.

Winter Solstice

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 / Self-Diagnosed Yogi / Leave a comment

Happy winter solstice, friends!

The snow is a comfort to my eyes. It’s memories of sledding with my brother and dad, snowball fights, snow angels and bravely looking up towards the gray abyss and catching fat snowflake clumps in my eyes and mouth. I dance in these memories. Nothing but pure joy on memories. I have many. This was my childhood. I need new memories in my 40s of winter. I’m planning on ringing in the new year in Colorado! I’m so excited to spend 6 days with my family in a beautiful cabin home. I will relish in these memories for years to come. Until then, I will bring some food comfort memories into the game!

I find myself skipping breakfast most days. I have been on a sweets kick for a few months now. It’s so annoying but I quit drinking alcohol so if I have a cookie or 2 a day it’s better than picking up a beer…or more, which usually is more than 1. So skipping breakfast is my balance. Some days, I’ll just have stewed apples. I’ll peel 2 small apples and cut them into chunks with filtered water and my chai seasoning spices. I’ll cook for 5-10 min and add more cinnamon before eating. I’ll save the hot spiced water to add to my morning herbal tea. I have been enjoying sipping on CCF (Cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds) tea throughout the day. I also, toast pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds and mix them in a jar. I will eat 1 tablespoon a day to help me thicken my hair. I’ve had covid once a year and the hair loss is sad 😔

Me and Mr. Baby like to be lazy together ❤️

So, if you know anything about Ayurveda then you should know your dosha. Doshas are based on elements of fire, water, earth, air, and space. I am Kapha – Pitta which affords me water & earth (Kapha) and fire & water (Pitta). I know I am missing space and air, so I can incorporate these into my eating habits. I create “space” by eliminating breakfast. I can add vata foods but since it’s winter, this is known as Vata season. I feel pretty balanced thus far. I make sure I check in every morning during my meditation to see where I’m out of balance. I can find myself feeling heavy if I don’t move and I feel too grounded and not connected to things that bring me joy, like yoga. Food can initiate pleasure as well, as long as it doesn’t create more kapha in me. Like fried foods, heavy meals late, sweets and buttery fats, geez typing this made me sweat. Lol!

I typically eat soups and stews but my corn soup needed a fry bread accompaniment 🥰

So, my lunch will be between 11 and noon. I break my fast with a well thought out meal. I typically like to meal prep a big pot of stew or soup for the week I can eat off of but this week is short for me so I’m having leftover arrabiata gluten free spaghetti with beef and a kale salad. Beef is sweet, arrabiatta is pungent with garlic, onions, red pepper, parmesan cheese is salty, tomatoes are sour, basil dried from my summer garden enhance astringent flavors, and a quick tossed kale salad to introduce bitterness to my fully balanced meal.

As long as love is included, all foods are good foods💖

After lunch, it’s important to let my body do its thing and digest. I will watch Youtube videos or read for a bit before beginning working. This is a sacred time for me to be with my thoughts and make sure I’m digesting my experiences as well. I won’t need to eat again until dinner. I used to be in a rush to eat before yoga but I feel an empty stomach gives me a better practice. I’m not sure why but instead of my body focusing on digesting, it can focus on my mind- body connection. I feel all the hallelujahs when I’m empty of food, not on love🤩

I have been enjoying dinner with my family. My daughter has been working on a 500-piece puzzle and I like to talk to her while she matches up pieces. I find eating the exact same thing my family eats at the same time gives me what I need in this season. It’s more 80/20 and I give myself leniency because I work for myself and not against myself. I find all the love in the season and take what I want to keep. I am not obligated to always be what I think I’m supposed to be. I’m evolving and taking my family for a ride on the crazy train! We love it cause we are together. We are a family that isn’t dripping in our perfections 24/7, I love them and they’re my perfect family🥹💞

For dinner, I enjoy a small plate of food with as much adherence to the 6 tastes as possible. I may have a cookie or 2 and a cup of cacao to settle me into my bed. Crumbs and all.

Namastè 🙏🏽

All pictures by Lenapè Spiritual Yogi Awakened.