Social Workout

Elixirs

Juicy Green Pear Zinger for Yogis (And Wannabe Yogis Too!)

Hey all! I just got back from Wanderlust — yoga all day with stellar teachers, then live music, dance and tea lounge by night. It was epic to say the least. I'm filled with inspiration as a yoga teacher and plan on rocking out my classes hard this week! In the meantime, I want to share my favorite Wanderlust juice with you. I had this pear-ginger-blueberry-celery-lettuce elixir every morning it the Wanderlust "Food Coop," and it put my mind and body in just the right place. Everything in this drink is great for you and combined will help with digestion, lower blood pressure, calm the nerves while giving you energy, and flushing your system out like a liquid brush. Yes please. Plus it's easy to make at home! 

Elixirs

Get Your Gazpacho On!

With all the farmer's markets booming, it's the perfect time to get fresh, delicious, locally-grown produce. Salad is always a good beat-the-heat option. But if you're looking for a way to really let those veggies shine, this refreshing, mouth-watering soup delivers. When all's said and done, your gazpacho is only as good as your tomatoes, so be sure to pick the best. I love vine-ripened tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, but find out from your farmer which ones are at their peak right now and go for those! Also worth noting, tomatoes are loaded with vitamin A, C, B, and potassium, and they have high amounts of lycopene which is really great for skin care (you can even slice them up and put them right on your face for 10 minutes!) Here's what to do to serve 2.

Elixirs

Heal Yourself With Negative Ions

I'm still working on grounding and balancing my energy. To my barefoot walking, my rooting meditation, and my grounding sheets, I've added The Zapper. I first began to use this per my friend David Wolfe's recommendation when I was having some immunity imbalances. I was getting colds frequently, and he said my "viral load" was probably pretty high. Makes sense since I live in a bustling city. He also suggested I use the zapper on my low back which has pain off and on due to my earlier yoga days of absurd circus-style backbending. And it's worked wonders. I'm honestly just starting to understand the science behind it myself, but here's the gist...

Elixirs

Ground Yourself!

People talk about the need to be "grounded," and mostly they mean it metaphorically. Let's get literal. In the city we are fully plugged in, tethered to cell phones, computers, and TVs, bathed in fluorescent light, and cooled by air conditioners. The walls of our apartments are packed with cables, and our steel buildings rest on concrete tunnels of high voltage lines. We live in a flood of EMF waves, emanating from a billion charged particles. It's glorious in some ways, and worrying in others. Too much of all this concentrated urban electical energy can make one feel off-balance, anxious, drained, and perhaps tip our health issues over the edge.

Time to get grounded. That is, time to be electrically connected to the earth as well as to find our emotional and mental calm. Time to channel the static out of our bodies and back into the earth where it will be dealt with properly. How? Here are some basic and more advanced techniques....

Elixirs

Divine Watermelon Limeade

This one's a winner for sure. It turns out that beautiful watermelon and lime are also great immunity boosters. Watermelon helps to slow down the aging process with all its Vitamin C and A and is also high in the antioxidant Lycopene and B6 which helps us to feel balanced mentally and eases anxiety. Lime is also a winner in terms of Vitamin C, and it rejuvenates the skin, keeping it shiny, stimulates the digestive tract, plus the citric acid in lime is an excellent fat burner. Pretty great, huh? Here's the yummy recipe:

My followup and homemade "Nicko-raid"

I followed up this Friday meeting with the cardiologist in charge of my situation.  I was tested last week for Addison's disease...negative--which we predicted, but it was good to rule it out anyway.

Other Places

Elixirs

Fruit Salad with a Superfood Twist

If you've got kids, they'll love this, and if you don't, prepare for your inner child to be very happy! As the season changes I can also sense my cravings and hunger levels fluctuating. I'm beginning to invite in more fruit (tis the season!) and in some ways I feel like I'm re-learning my pallete and nutritional needs. This fruit, nut, seed, and spice salad is nice because it's pretty filling though not over the top, and you can make it quickly. The fruit is nourishing and satisfying to your sweet tooth, and I've written about the wonders of goji berries and chia seeds, two other ingredients, before.  So, roll up your sleeves, grab your knife and your favorite bowl and toss these top quality ingredients together to make a sweetly satisfying dish.

Elixirs

Chia Seed Oatmeal Feeds Your Brain and Your Heart

I'm having a new love affair with chia seeds — their texture is so filling, they help with my digestion, and they're super easy to make great puddings with. Plus, chia seeds have a terrific balance of both Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, an ideal combo for optimal brain function and emotional balance. Did I mention they're high in fiber, they absorb water to help keep your body hydrated, and because they expand (beware when making dishes/smoothies with them, you need less then you think) you feel fuller faster and are getting a power punch of nutrients and satisfaction in a single serving? This chia seed "oatmeal" makes an excellent breakfast, dessert, or snack. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Newslinks

You Can Live Forever If You Move to Iceland

Risk of death from volcanic ash inhalation aside, Iceland, it turns out, is the healthiest place in the world for men. For women, it's Cyprus. In a study published Friday in the medical journal Lancet, researchers examined forty years of data to calculate the risk of death for individuals 15 - 59. At 49th for women and 45th for men, the U.S. ranked behind all of Western Europe as well as Peru and Libya. If Iceland and Cyprus don't do it for you, other top ten countries include Greece, Sweden and Australia. 

Sexy is Healthy

Brazilian Cure for High Blood Pressure: Sex

This may or may not come as a surprise, but Brazil has high blood pressure. The solution? More cardiovascular exercise, advises Jose Temprano, the country's health minister, AND more sex,"with protection obviously." The HuffPo has the story of Mr. Temprano's pronouncements, noting that the incidence of high blood pressure in Brazil jumped to 24.4 percent in 2009. Where to go with this one? Well, how about simply noting that the incidence of high blood pressure in the U.S. actually hit 30.6% in 2009. Maybe if Americans had as much sex as Brazilians (and also learned the samba) our rate would drop six points? Don't expect to get the sex-as-cardio counsel from Kathleen Sebelius, current U.S. Secretary of Health, any time soon, however.