Love For Others Begins With Self
Learning about yourself is an act of self-love
Thank you for joining me the past four weeks in the How to Achieve Healthy Digestion course and week four of the Discover Your CALM with Breath and Meditation. I have truly enjoyed our time together and the expanded awareness we have shared. I look forward to future engagement. In the meantime, may you continue to nurture affection and appreciation of yourself using this recipe as a guide.
Building Blocks for Healthy Digestion
The Foundation of Healthy Digestion is Awareness
Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system to calm
Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system to calm
Add these ten actions to your daily lifestyle to support your journey towards healthy digestion.
Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system to calm
Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system to calm
Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system to calm
See the photo gallery below for How to twist and legs up. Practice one or both twenty minutes prior to eating. Recall the breathwork practiced in class and practice one for 8 rounds to calm or cool yourself once seated at the table. Use your journal to let go of your day like a reporter without judgment, commentary or analysis, if you find the events of your day difficult to let go.
Eat in moderation
Practice Gratitude
Practice Gratitude
Moderation is the third building block for healthy digestion.
1. Plate your food on a 9 inch or smaller plate. Leave a one inch border on your plate for visual appeal.
2. Eat less than two cupped handfuls of food at one time.
3. Breathe, and eat slowly.
4. Chew your food until its unrecognizable, then swallow it.
5. Moderate your food choices by eating a variety of colors and textures.
6. Moderate your frequency of eating and consider this timeline: Breakfast by 8:30 AM, Lunch between 10 and 2PM. Make lunch your largest meal of the day. Eat dinner by 7PM. Make dinner a smaller meal or soup rich with vegetables.
NOTE:
Some biological constitutions or doshas with a lot of air and wind benefit from a light 4PM snack.
Practice Gratitude
Practice Gratitude
Practice Gratitude
The final building block for healthy digestion is appreciation. Engage in a gratitude meditation of silence prior to taking that first bite. Plate your food, sit at the table then practice appreciation. Give gratitude to all the hands engaged in bringing this nourishment to you. Be genuine and thoughtful. Include yourself as the food preparer, procurer and or provider. Thank the Earth, Sun, Air, Water and Space: the elements of all life and the food we eat. Be grateful for all the food on your plate.
How to "Supine Twist" for Healthy Digestion
How to "Legs Up" for Healthy Digestion
Legs Up to the Sky
Conscious Breathing Techniques
Benefits of a conscious breathing practice:
- Reduced anxiety and depression
- Lower/stabilized blood pressure
- Increased energy Levels
- Muscle relaxation
- Decreased feelings of stress and being overwhelmed
Breathe through the nose as described on the graphic.
Resonance breath balances our mindbody system.
Decreases anxiety and depression
Improves sleep
Strengthens immune function
Reduces inflammation
Increases resilience
This practice is recommended for all biological constitutions or doshas.
Every 1.5 to 3 hours the openness of your nostrils change; thus, allowing one nostril to dominate over the other. Discover your more open nostril by gently closing your left nostril and breathing. Then the right nostril. Which one seems more open. Begin this breath on the more open side.
Breathe through the nose for both your inhale and exhale
If desired, let the belly expand into the hands for a count of four; then hold your breath for four. Exhale, letting the belly gently draw in to a count of four. Then rest for four counts before repeating this rhythm. Repeat this pattern for another four times, about 2 minutes. As we have discussed, you can count backwards silently and slowly: Four…..Three…..Two….One….. Or repeat silently four tho
The Ujjayi breath, also known as victorious breath, is a gentle and rhythmic breath that produces a pleasant, soothing sound, similar to the sound of ocean waves.
This breath is known to energize, calm, and cool the body-mind.
When consciously and mindfully practiced for five to ten full rounds each day, you will notice it releases feelings of irritation or frustration.
Ujjayi also creates a stabiliz
Sitali Breath
- Effective to use when the body or mind feels overheated
- Lowers the body’s temperature
- Calms the nervous system
- Settles the mind
- Because of its cooling effect, it is especially beneficial for the Pitta dosha