Eat Dance Live

Did you all catch the gorgeous full moon tonight? We just came back from an evening walk during which we admired its glowing yellow luminescence, it was even perfectly framed by curly blue-gray clouds. It was worthy of a Chinese painting or, according to Andrew, the opening scene of Gargoyles. It seems a perfect end to my day focused on opening my throat chakra, the one which determines how I express my creativity and thoughts. The Throat Chakra, or Vishuddha, is about speaking one's truth. Obviously, Vishuddha is located at the base of our neck, and affects the proper functioning of our vocal cords and our thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is associated with hormone production that is key to physical growth and maturation. Spiritually, that growth is that of our consciousness and wisdom. The Throat Chakra incites us to live ideally, be surrounded by beauty, expressiveness, through our self-expression and ability to make our feeling and emotions our reality. It is the center of our...

Man, am I feeling good today! I don't know which of the many variables I've recently changed in my life is causing this (it might be all of them), but I'm truly feeling amazing. I'm happier than I've been in days, I'm awake, alert, and am finally finding some much needed inner peace. Because this is a longer post about today's Chakra, I'll simply say that herb-wise, I've taken all my Gaia Herbs as required and the taste doesn't affect me nearly as much as on Day 1: The heart Chakra (or Anahata in Sanskrit) is, well, associated with the heart but also with the thymus. The thymus keeps your immune system and more specifically your endocrine system functioning. In other words, it helps to fight against disease both physical and emotional. And your heart, well, it's kind of a big deal. The main work people usually do on their heart chakra is to heal from emotional hurt and to foster greater love and compassion from and for others. Today's ch...

Located between your navel and the base of your sternum, the Solar Plexus Chakra supports a good deal of your vital organs including your spleen, pancreas, liver, and stomach. Called Manipura in Sanskrit, its major emotional and spiritual focus is on the self, like our sense of power, our ego, and our desire for authority. Our capacity for discipline and self-control are also based here. My desire to go on this feast and my recently flagging self-confidence would indicate that this was something I definitely needed work on today. While an aligned Manipura is associated with self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, and a strong will, an imbalance is obvious through a lack of any of the previously mentioned traits, over-competitiveness, or a desire to manipulate others. Other issues may include fear, hate, indifference, and stress. Also residing in the solar plexus chakra are our "gut feelings" and intuition. Self-love and respect allow us to better understand our real and...

First off, have you entered Averie's latest nut butter giveaway ? Another go at a Sacral Chakra feast today focused on all things sweet. I started with my usual glass of lemon water and then it was time to start my cycle of powders and tinctures that I now have to take for 13 more days. After yesterday's nauseating experience , this one went much better. Instead of 2 heaping teaspoons of Rejuve Powder, I only took one and while it was still vile and did give me a little bit of the shakes, it went much more smoothly. Breakfast wasn't quite a juice but was more focused on balancing my chakra using sweetness, aka. a cherry banana whip (with spirulina of course!). A post-workout lunch (thanks again to Gina for an awesome start into her 2010 4-week Summer Shape-up ) were two Vitamix-ed oranges with a 1/2 C of kombucha. Then I descended into kale chip making madness. I'm working on two different recipes right now that I think they may be my best yet! Throughout the day, I to...

Day 1 of juice feast, my reaction is very mixed. I started my morning with a couple sun salutations and began my first day of my juice feast with hope. One glass of warm water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and my daily dose of MSM followed the salutations. About 15 minutes later I opened up my new toy for the next two weeks: Gaia Her bs 's Super Cleanse Kit. I have full faith in this company because of their ethics. I wanted to try out of one the detox kits they have at the Whole Foods, but didn't know which one to choose. I settled on Gaia Herbs because they are one of the only organic ones. On top of that, they are certified by Oregon Tilth , currently the most stringent organic certifier recognized by the USDA. They have a beautiful farm in NC and I really support their research and environmental efforts, so from the get go, the company got two thumbs up in my book. The cleanse is made up of 3 parts and lasts 2 weeks. There is a morning fiber powder, called the Rejuve Powder...

Where was I yesterday? I was getting ready: For the crowning moment of the past two years of my life: The day didn't happen without its share of toil and trouble: it all began with my big family grad dinner getting postponed because my mom and my grandmother are actually really sick. However, my mom is an amazing trooper and managed to make it out to my graduation ceremony despite not feeling well. After not being sure whether my mom would make it or not, I got off the phone just to get an email saying that my diploma was damaged by the printer and they didn't notice until the day of, meaning... no diploma for me. Really?! Who does that actually happen to? Me apparently, but better me that someone with worse coping mechanisms! And they're supposedly sending it to me by mail anyway. However, my amazing sister and her boyfriend saved the day. After the ceremony that both my parents and Andrew made it to, the two of them took us to dinner and to see Iron Man 2. Because my sis ...

In the spirit of my most recent physical/emotional/spiritual journey, I've decided to incorporate a weekly Chakra Juice Feast into my weekly rituals. The reasons behind this are as superficial as giving me fun motivation to have one day of juicing every week, and as complex as making sure my energy system is all properly aligned! To do this, I'll be juicing foods that are best suited to each chakra. Today, I'm starting with the base of it all, the Root Chakra or Muladhara in Sanskrit. Located at the base of the spine, the Root Chakra serves as the solid foundation of our whole energy system. It links us to the physical world, it keeps us grounded. When it is balanced, it allows us to bring solidarity and support to those around us. It allows us to feel grounded, secure, empowered, centered, and have high self-esteem. In doing so, it gives us physical energy, controls our fears, and maintains our overall health. This chakra stores all our learned or inherited beliefs, ou...