Eat Dance Live

Today I wanted to talk about those things in life that we know we should  do but for some reason never actually end up following through with. Whether we use the "I'll start tomorrow" excuse or something similar, we always come up with all sorts of justifications as to why we shouldn't start now (none of them ever that valid). For example, how many times have I said that I should get back into yoga? Probably more than I've actually started up the practice again. Still, it's on been on my mind a lot lately. The yoga world has become such a huge thing these days (both for better and worse I'd say), but still there is such an appeal. For starters, when we think yoga, we always get inundated with these kinds of images:      Well, you often get these pictures too, but you get my point:    Pictures like those first ones show that there's suppose to be a magic to yoga, a je ne said quoi  about it that will do everything from make you a better pe...

I haven't posted two days in a row in a while, but I learned a whole bunch of neat things from my awesome new dentist today that I thought I'd share with you. A mouth with a low pH (aka. a more alkaline mouth) decreases your chances of getting cavities, so stick with those raw fruits and veggies As I recently mentioned, dried fruits kind of play the opposite role as they are of the perfect sticky yumminess for cavity gremlins to feed of off Starches as well as sugar creates acid when in contact with plaque, which results in tooth decay (so yesterday's post about sugar and starch sensitivities might not that be far off!) Gum sensitivity doesn't necessarily mean your oral hygiene is off, but can indicate that you have hormonal imbalances (who'da thunk?) Your mouth can give away how flexible you are. True story. After looking at my file (jaw measurements, how much I can open and close, etc.) my dentist asked if I was crazy flexible, which I am... weird. Grinding your...

First off, brace yourselves for a long and detailed post. It dawned on me today that I've now been a (mostly) raw vegan for 2 years and counting. 2 years? How did that time go by without my noticing? I don't have an exact "raw anniversary," but I know that it all began around May-June 2009. I know that by July 2009, I became committed, and by August I've officially been calling myself a raw foodist. I also realize that since that date, I've definitely had my ups and downs with that choice and I wanted to share them with you today. (Disclaimer: I do not blame my diet for any of these lows. Overall, my love for food and health have been higher than ever over the past few years. I only blame myself and the sub-optimal choices I've made leading to these lows.) For starters, I've never been a big proselytizer when it comes to dietary choices (okay, except when it comes to choosing organic and unprocessed foods). What I do want is to contrib...

(pic from here ) HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope your 2011 is filled with health, love, and happiness! I've gotta say, I've never been so uncertain about what an upcoming year will hold. 2010 has been exciting and crazy in so many ways, most of them pretty unexpected. Who knows what 2011 has in store for me? To recap 2010, perhaps I should have read predictions earlier this year using the Chinese Lunar Calendar because 2010 was "my" year... I'm born in the Year of the Tiger and 2010 was also a Tiger Year (specifically a Metal Tiger year). It's been a wild ride. Given the nature of Tigers, I assumed maybe just having a Tiger live through a Tiger year was just a little too much heat, but here's what I just read about the 2010 Year of the Tiger (which ends this February 2011): "This year is one of much activity, drama, change, crisis, and unpredictability. Tiger years are associated with instability and upheaval. Metal is particu...

For all those of you who spend a lot of time reading food blogs (read: me), you may or may not have been made aware of a recent Marie Claire article that's been creating quite the controversy amongst healthy food bloggers worldwide. While I encourage you to read the actual article rather just basing your opinion on what I have to say about it, in short, it talks about the fact that many female health food bloggers are now using their blogs as an outlet for unhealthy, often disordered behavior regarding both diet and exercise. These patterns of behavior and the "health tips" they share are then adopted by a whole slew of avid readers who then themselves fall into unhealthy attitudes towards themselves, their bodies, and their health. In many ways, I agree with this. There are plenty of blogs out there that are overly obsessed with monitoring their food intake, the amount of time they spend on a cardio machine, or that are fanatical about labels (whether it's fat-free,...

In our fast-paced society, we're always on the go whether physically or emotionally. It doesn't help when you are the kind of person that always needs to be active and doing (and when you have the kind of mind that is always thinking and analyzing and bouncing up and down). When you hear that your friend is opening up a yin yoga practice, that sounds great but the style itself is not necessarily something that you deem to "for you." That's exactly why I decided to go cheer on the awesome Devin Johnstone on tonight by attending his opening session. Yin yoga is named as such because it follows the Taoist concept of yin. If you had to compare it to another yoga style, it's of a similar (but slower) pace than hatha yoga. It often holds poses for five minutes or longer. It is a perfect complement to more yang style activities (like ashtanga or power yoga, or like the cardio sessions I usually do). It targets connective tissue, ligaments, and wants you to just be....

As I briefly mentioned last night, my first use of Irish Moss has proven an absolute success! To inaugurate my Irish Moss experience and to use up apples I bought on specials at the health food store, I settled on I am Grateful 's I am Home Apple Pie. (For more nutritional info on Irish Moss, check out an earlier post here .) I have to admit I was kind of scared of Irish Moss at first. How I was supposed to turn a translucent tree branch-looking plant into a yummy part of my pie? I had no idea! I started by very religiously following the instructions laid out by the recipe. I soaked the Irish Moss in water for about 24 hours, and it looked... exactly the same as when I put it in there. Hrm. But it sure does look funny: All I needed was an aquarium and some tropical fish... The recipe was a little more labor intensive than most of the other raw apple pies I've made, but it was definitely worth it because it brilliantly simulated the ooey-gooeyness of cooked apple pie. To make t...

A number of events over the past few days have given me the drive to rant again. While I often go on about food or fitness, today's topic is beauty. My first point: Beauty is not vanity if it is pursued with self-love and care . I've talked about skin and " beauty regimens " before, but I'll stress again that if I learned one lesson from my mom (though I promise I've learned many), it's that your skin is your biggest organ and because it's on the outside, it deserves a lot of care. The problem is that most of us believe that taking care of our skin is a vanity. We have equated getting a botox treatment or splurging on some wrinkle cream with getting a natural exfoliation treatment or putting organic lotion on every night. To me, the first is unhealthy, while the latter is totally healthy, and is just basic health and wellness care. I've been made to feel that going for a facial was like I was going to commit a crime, that I was being overly self-in...

It's Mansday again! Tune in today, for your weekly words of wisdom by my one and only: "My life is blessed in so many ways. This last weekend was my first time teaching a Reiki course. My mentor and friend David Gleekal allowed me to assist him in teaching his Level I Reiki course to a group of six wondrous individuals. Of course, professional ethics forestalls me giving any specific details, but let me just say that each of them went on an incredible journey; no one leaves one of David's classes as the same person who entered. I felt deeply honored to have been able to witness, facilitate and take part in those journeys. Both teaching and Reiki share a common aspect (other than "things Andrew intends to spend the rest of his life doing"). Reiki healing calls upon the practitioner to remove their ego from the equation. You're not making anyone well. Reiki energy flows to where it is most needed and it does the healing, you're just the conduit through w...

First off, I love that feeling when you first get info rmed that you have no school. I remember getting up in the morning as a kid, running downstairs to ask my dad if the news said we had school, waiting impatiently for the verdict. Whenever I knew a big storm was coming, I was the kind of kid who would run out on the deck and do a snow dance (okay... maybe I still kind of do them) just to increase my luck. I just got an email saying that we don't have classes for the second day in a row, and though I'm the first person who'll say I actually do love to go them, I'm as a giddy as a five year old right now! Yep, this is what we're getting hit by: Winter wonderland aside, I did promise that today I would be unveiling my super new 12 week workout/food program. So what am I doing exactly? Workout: Nothing very different from the usual actually, I just scoured some of my favourite workout books, old routines of mine and websites for ideas yesterday, and I've tried ...