Moving Day!

Hey!  I’ve moved my blog to a new address www.7layerliving.com  Check out the new site, its got a few more bells and whistles, and I am updating my content there!  Thanks!

Cooking up a Delicious Life

Delicious

What is delicious?  A dear friend, and a loyal blog reader now turned muse, advised me that I haven’t written much about making life or work delicious lately. Thank you for that wakeup call!  So let’s talk delicious!

For me, delicious living is like an orgasm for your soul.  What does that mean? It’s when I access that perfect point of satisfied stillness in the center of my being and couple it with an experience of great joy, beauty or gratitude and time ceases to exist – even for a moment.

Here are examples of some of my delicious moments:

Running outside on a clear crisp spring morning surrounded by gorgeous birds, pink and purple flowers and the smell of freshly cut grass;

Savoring a creamy cup of coffee at an outside café on a warm sunny day with a good friend, chatting and watching the world go by;

Burying my nose in a bunch of lilacs and breathing in the fragrance again and again, so beautiful and so fleeting;

Allowing myself to go back to bed when I’m tired;

A conversation with my son filled with truth and laughter;

Finding exactly the right word to cinch the meaning of the thought;

Damp sand squishing between my toes at the end of a long, hot day;

Curling up with a yummy book and a fleece in the late afternoon and dozing off; and

Helping a friend find a smile.

In short, delicious is a little bit of heaven on earth It seems to occur when I can tap into my “sensual” (sight, smell, taste, touch or hearing) experience of the world and allow that to touch me.  My list could go on and on, and hopefully, yours does too.  Just visualizing those scenarios allows me to touch a feeling of delicious satisfaction.

There have been times when this was not true for me. Yes, I’ve been burned out, stressed out, resentful, depressed, and had times when no joy seemed possible. And yet, each time, I have climbed out of the abyss.

How?  Usually by giving myself one tiny thing that felt good: breaking a routine: sleeping later and going to work a little later, challenging my perspective, taking a different route, listening  to music, trying a new exercise, eating  a cantaloupe melon, watching an old movie, whatever!  In short, I sat still long enough to imagine one thing that sounded even a little good and then found a way to gift it to myself.

Now I manifest at least one delicious moment a day.  Is that possible for you?  Maybe you are already leading a completely delicious life.  If so, FANTASTIC!  Share! Tell us your secret!  We want to know the details (as long as they’re legal and it doesn’t harm others)!

On the other hand, if you are really struggling, and face serious issues, like health problems, physical or emotional abuse or addiction, please seek professional help.  There are times when outside assistance is necessary to feel better.

Then again, if you find yourself unable to access delicious moments, and it seems to be good old-fashioned burn out and stress, or lack of self-care, see if you can identify how to get a glimmer of relief.  What might it be?  What are you sensing and experiencing in each moment?  What are you smelling, seeing, hearing, touching, tasting?

What is getting in the way? If, for example, you hate your job but you aren’t in a good position to quit, can you find ½ an hour a day to look for a new job?  Or, can you change one small thing that makes the situation more acceptable?  A fun example that I seem to recall  is that genius artist and director, Tim Burton  mentioned that he never felt quite right in his corporate job until he started wearing red and white striped socks to work.

What simple actions can you take to relieve a little pressure in your pain balloon and create space for some deliciousness?

Whatever it is, as long as it’s not unhealthy or hurtful, go for it.  You deserve joy.    For more ideas, try reading “The Joy Diet,” or “Finding Your North Star” by Martha Beck.  Beck’s  a pretty smart lady, and the architect of a rather delicious life.

Happy cooking!

BY THE WAY, I AM MOVING THE LOCATION OF THIS BLOG – SO IT IS MORE FUNCTIONAL.  CHECK IT OUT AT www.7layerliving.com

Best!

Simple Yoga Poses to Ease Nausea and Sleeplessness

Here’s a short tip written by fabulous yogi TeriLeigh.  She travels the country teaching yoga and doing chakra work!  If you are unsure about the poses, I’ve inserted some parenthetical guides and pictures from Yoga Journal and from TeriLeigh to help you out. Check it out and of course, check with your Doctor first if you have any concerns about exercise.  Enjoy!

TeriLeigh on Stress Induced Nausea : Too Much Fire!

Fire is our passion, and holds our desire and our drive to get things done.  When we get stressed by our ‘to do’ lists, too much fire builds up in our system and can often manifest in digestive discomfort coupled with difficulty sleeping.

A wide stance simple chair twist is a detoxifying pose that clears the excess fire in the system.

TeriLeigh demonstrates Chair Twist

 (This pose is also called Parvrtta Utkatasana…aka prayer twist) After a few breaths on each side, drink a few sips of lukewarm water and sink into child’s pose, a slight inversion.  The hinging at your hips will stimulate the second chakra of water. Coupled with the water you just drank, your firey insides will start to settle.

Child's Pose, courtesy Yoga Journal

Forward Fold, courtesy Yoga Journal

Then, as you are ready, come to a deeper inversion in ragdoll pose.

(Use this picture as a guide, but you don’t need to fold so deeply – in fact, in rag doll, you cross your arms instead of touching the ground.)  The grounding of your feet in ragdoll secures the root chakra and provides earth to your system, providing the nurturing you need to feel safe.

Ultimately, these three poses activate the para-sympathetic nervous system, slow the heart rate and lower the blood pressure.  The whole session lasts about 5 minutes, and the stomach grumblies will subside and allow you to sleep.

You might just wake up right as rain, more balanced with earth, water, and fire.

Thanks to TeriLeigh for her helpful tip!  Check her schedule page to see if she is coming to your town.

If you are new to yoga and have more questions in general, another good resource is http://yoga.about.com/od/typesofyoga/u/yogastyles.htm

Namaste!