Happy New Year!! Get the Best 2019 Start with Ayurveda!

As we ring in 2019, I find myself obsessed with three things.

• Finding my word for 2019 (see below)

• Kapha-reducing Kitchari – just in time for winter

• Helping you optimize your digestion!

Obsessed = verb. “To preoccupy or fill the mind of someone continually, intrusively and to a troubling extent.”

Hmmm… it feels more positive than that! Either way, you’re going to be STOKED I share these things with you!

There’s a woman I follow online these days – Laura Belgray. She’s hilarious. She speaks the truth and has something witty to say about everything.

Before you roll your eyes at another New Year word-finding mission, let her do it for you!

“The bad news is that your inbox is clogged — like a Tijuana bar toilet — with blather about resolutions and goals and starting fresh and turning the page and clearing the slate and making the bed and living the dream and shedding the skin and peeling the banana and whatever else you can do to be a NEW YOU.

The good news is… You can change any day of the year. I’ve made huge changes in the last couple of years — from cutting out my nightly Haagen Dazs to taking more risks in my business — and none of them were a result of a New Year’s resolution. Or word of the year. Most of them were from hanging around the right people and copying what worked for them.

Personally, I’ve been looking forward to a FRESH start in 2019. And for me, that means finding my word for the year.

I love new beginnings. Even my favorite time of day is the earliest morning when life is still half asleep. When everything feels new and possible, I’m filled with energy for what’s to come.

But I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions. I learned long ago… Winter is nature’s time for us to rest, dream more and plant silent seeds. Spring is when they’re meant to sprout and grow. Not now.

Another one of my favorite online teachers, Susannah Conway, says it like this:

“New Year’s resolutions as a recipe for future guilt. You can’t “break” a word like you can break a resolution. Your word is your ally. [Finding your word] is a radical act of self-kindness…”

Finding your word for 2019

That’s why I’m obsessed with finding my word for 2019.

Your word is your INTENTION. I love that intention is so close to ATTENTION. Energy flows where attention goes…

Intention is an aim or a plan. Something to shoot for. The most basic definition is a thing intended, an aim or a plan.

Intention is something to shoot for. I’ve always committed myself to spiritual growth. But now that I’m 46, my ferocity for it has skyrocketed.

Another thing I love? Intention pertains to MEDICINE. Intention is the healing process of a wound. So powerful!

So… What’s YOUR intention for 2019?

• What do you need more of? What do you need less of?
• What’s definitely happening for you this year?
• What do you hope will happen? What dreams are you nurturing?
• What areas of life are asking to be supported in 2019? What qualities do you want to develop in yourself?

What does your heart need?

If you take a few deep breaths and sit down to journal for 10 minutes, you might be surprised by what you find. I love this process. Thank you to Susannah Conway for these brilliant and beautiful questions!

Kapha Reducing Kitchari!

If you’re not already feeling it… we’ve crossed the threshold from fall to winter!

The lightest, driest season of the year has given way to the dampest and darkest. In fact, the next six months are a balancing act. How do you nourish your body in winter? Without allowing slow, sluggish, heaviness to settle in your bones?

There’s a fine art to learning how to balance and manage the doshas.

Doshas are nature’s energetic forces that are always at play – internally and externally. You’ve got to LIVE Ayurveda to experience how to bring your body into balance – again and again and again.

If you could use support around nourishing your body and balancing your energy… Heads up!

My free Nourish Your Body With Ayurveda 5-Day Bootcamp is coming up on January 14th! Talk about bringing your body into balance! Click here to learn more and sign up today!

“If your belly feels sluggish after too many treats, Kitchari is an easy way to cleanse your digestion and restore freshness. It is a heartwarming synergy of mung beans, basmati rice, and digestive spices that is easy to prepare. This time tested formula, centuries old, is a complete protein, rich in fiber, cleansing to the digestive tract, and will act to bulk up stool for easier elimination.

 

To maximize the many benefits you’ll receive from kitchari, eat it for several meals in a row, such as lunch and dinner on the same day. Once you experience the benefits of kitchari, you’ll see how feeling good again is just a few steps away. Those who avoid beans because of digestive difficulties need not avoid kitchari. Mung beans are among the easiest to digest legumes. They are antacid, helping to soothe fiery digestive conditions, and won’t promote gas and bloating.” – Joyful Belly Ayurveda

Try this winter-specific, Kapha-reducing kitchari recipe!

Mung Dal Kitchari (Kapha Reducing)

VK-P+

Preparation Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes – plus soak time

Yield: Serves Four

* I adapted this recipe from Joyful Belly Ayurveda.

½ cup split mung beans
6 cups water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon asafetida or hing
10 cups water, divided
1 cup basmati rice, white or brown
1 strip kombu seaweed
½ teaspoon ground cumin seed
½ teaspoon asafetida or hing
3 bay leaves
1-inch fresh ginger root, minced
½-inch fresh turmeric root, minced – optional
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground clove
2 Tablespoons ghee or sesame oil
½ teaspoon good quality, mineral-rich salt

Soak the mung beans overnight (or all day long) in 6 cups water with the apple cider vinegar and asafetida. Drain and rinse until the water runs clear.

Put the soaked mung beans in a medium-large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add 6 cups fresh water, bring to a boil, and scoop off any foam that forms on the top. Drain and rinse the beans again.

Meanwhile, soak the rice in 2 cups of water with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.

Put the beans back in the pot with 4 cups fresh water, kombu, cumin, asafetida, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour.

In a small, separate bowl, combine the ginger, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Add a Tablespoon of water and mix it into a thick paste. Set it aside and let it sit for five minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee and add the spice mix “paste.” Sauté until the spices are aromatic. Add another 2 Tablespoons of water, give it a good stir, and add it to the mung beans.

Stir in the rice. Cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes, or until the grains are tender. Salt to taste.

Digestive System Optimization

Now, about optimizing that digestive system of yours…

I’m always busy – working hard to make a difference in people’s lives. I teach Ayurveda and self-care because it’s what I need to live myself! It feels so good to THRIVE.

When I first found Ayurveda, my digestive system was a mess!

I felt awful. I was bloated, heavy, depressed, thick… I couldn’t exercise enough to get to my ideal body weight and it was super frustrating!

But once I found Ayurveda and understood how to nourish MY body and eat the way that made me feel good, there was no looking back.

Recently, I created an Optimal Digestion Cheat Sheet for my RAD Cleansers. When I taught my seasonal RAD Cleanse (Radiance Ayurveda Detox) last fall, I promised my students an improvement in their digestion. And boy, did that program deliver!

But you know how it is. You can have the best intentions to change your diet and finally feel better. But unless you put what you know into the practice, healthy habits fall away. You stop doing the things that actually move you forward in the direction you want your health to go.  You feel like you’re back where you started. And then… what?

“Start expecting something from yourself again. Give yourself permission for higher ambition.” – Brendon Burchard

Optimizing your digestion is all about honoring your body and yourself. Just a few simple strategies each day can get you to feeling as good as you want to feel. Energized by your food. Proud of your choices. Going to bed and waking up feeling awesome.

Practical Ayurvedic tips to feel better in 2019

Here are a few strategies I shared with my RAD Cleansers. I hope they make a difference for you and help you feel your very best.

1) Fast Only When Your Body Wants You To

“There is no diet that will do what healthy eating does.”

Don’t fast before big meals. You might think you’re “making room” for more. But really it’s a setup that guarantees your eyes will be bigger than your stomach. Feeling ravenous will almost always make you overindulge and feel too full afterwards.

Fast when your body tells you it needs a break from working so hard. When you’re not hungry… trust that you don’t need food. Hunger will arrive again. You can trust that, too. Your body has all kinds of ways to let you know when it needs a reset. Listen.

2) Keep Simple Healthy Snacks With You

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.” – Michael Pollan

If you know you get low blood sugar, or you become irritable and hungry on an empty stomach, carry snacks with you. Get in the habit of keeping simple healthy snacks with you wherever you go.

Examples include healthy food bars, sprouted nuts, dehydrated snacks, and homemade trail mix. The most digestible bars will be moist and made from dates and raw nut or seed butters. Bonus points if the bar also contains healthy fat and spices!

I like Billy’s Infinity Bars, Macro Bars, Organic Food Bars, and paleo Epic Bars. Living Intentions brand makes sprouted nut and seed snacks that rock. Go Raw is a wonderful source for raw dehydrated snacks. You can make your own trail mix with simple dried fruit and cashews.

More great healthy snacks:

• Sprouties – delicious spiced and sprouted pumpkin seeds
• Medjool dates with raw nut butter packets
• Superfood trail mixes from Navitas or Essential Living Foods
• Kale chips, beet chips, etc.
• Gopal’s Nori Wrapped Energy Sticks
• Paleo Valley grass-fed beef sticks
• Healthforce Superfoods spirulina and chlorella tabs
• Dried local and seasonal fruit

At all times, keep 2 to 3 snacks handy. In your car, your purse, briefcase or backpack. Make it part of your weekly routine to re-stock snacks in all those places so you’re never out.

It’s easy to keep snacks around that prevent energy crashes. Or, emergency trips to the gas station convenience store!

Make it easy. Fill a plastic bag with sprouted pumpkin seeds and toasted sea palm. Keep spirulina tabs in your glove compartment. Invest in nourishing food bars that help you get from point A to point B with ease and no stress.

3) When You Want Sweet, Choose Raw Desserts

“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” – Emily Dickinson

If you love sweets and know it’s your weakness, learn to make your own. They’re quick, easy to prepare, and last a long time in the fridge or freezer.

Almost any recipe from my e-book, Guiltless Indulgence: 47 Dessert Recipes To Feel Great About Eating, will provide sweet satisfaction that satiates and energizes you.

Raw desserts are made from a combination of dried fruits (like dates and raisins), natural sweeteners (like coconut sugar, maple syrup and raw honey), nuts and seeds, coconut oil, cacao butter, oats, raw cacao and avocado.

What I love about raw desserts is that it’s real food. They can double as a protein bar or fat ball. For times when you need something small and nutritious to get you through the next couple hours of work. Or help you really push through your workout. Or give you something to snack on while you’re fixing dinner.

In Ayurveda, we love to eat dessert first. When you’re hungriest, your body breaks down sweets most readily. Sweets slow down your hunger and calm a fast metabolism. That’s why the taste of sweet nourishes both Vata and Pitta.

Curious about how to nourish YOUR body with Ayurveda?

My FREE Nourish Your Body With Ayurveda 5-Day Bootcamp starts January 14th!

Join me!

Click here to learn more and sign up!