learn your body

Your body is remarkable. Your body is what affords you this amazing experience here on earth. Your body is an extension of your mind and soul. We need to be grateful for it, to appreciate it, to nourish it. Of course body, mind and soul are inextricably linked.  But we don't always get it.

Your body talks to you, all the time, continuously. Well, not in English, but it communicates with you. It's a matter of learning not only to listen to it ("ouch, I just hurt myself"), but also to hear it ("gee, I just pulled a muscle"), and then to interpret it correctly ("I wonder where my thoughts were that I didn't take it easy, instead of overextending myself. I really need to get back into the Here and Now"). Use your body's feedback to give it what it needs.   Your body is in a major way a product of your mind. If you don't love it, find it beautiful, nurture it with the best quality food you can buy, and the kindest and most cooperative thoughts and beliefs, the consequences will show up eventually.

We tend to ignore the body, to brush it aside when it talks to us. But it can only go on for so long before showing you more strongly that it needs to be taken care of. When you notice a symptom STOP. Go within. What is your body telling you? Is a specific belief hurting you (maybe "I hate my legs," or "I am fat")? A headache tells you that your mind can't take any more, it needs time to rest and digest. Each ache and pain tells a story. Each malady you "catch" indicates a neglected need.

Instead of popping a pill, brushing over or ignoring a symptom, perhaps remaining entirely unaware of a specific negative belief, learn your body's language. It's a bit like learning Russian or how to communicate with animals. It's a new language. Some of that language can be very symbolical. I yawn a lot when I'm driving (must bore me a lot), and I sneeze when I have had enough after a long evening and just want my peace and quiet (go away, people). It can be more strongly symbolical as in interpreting the causes of heart disease (open it up), or breaking a limb ("I need a break"). The symptoms are always deeply personal and theoretically we should be the ones to decipher them and come up with a method of treatment accordingly.  I know it's not that easy.

Try to make friends with your body, cooperate with it, give it what it needs. You'll make friends with yourself in a much deeper way.

rest is best

....or about getting to know your body. It is invaluable  to listen to and understand your body, to learn to read its signals. While it is easy to pop a pill and not give a symptom a second thought, it is helpful and eye-opening to look at symptoms as an expression of something that is going on in your mind. After all, body and mind are inextricably linked.

A headache is something that can oftentimes easily be deciphered as lack of rest, or a cold (need for rest again), or a subconscious issue that bothers you, or a looming decision that's got you in a tizzy, or something stressful going on. Popping that headache pill will eliminate the symptom, at least temporarily, but it will not solve the actual problem. So it makes sense to tune in and go a little deeper to try to understand what caused the headache.

A pulled muscle's provenance is easy to identify and the treatment is straightforward. But, again, popping that pill helps to cover the pain, while it does nothing for actually giving that muscle the rest it needs to heal. Besides, why did you pull it? No time to warm up? Impatience? The answer may be to slow down. And the pulled muscle does that for you.

When something is not quite right in my diet my stomach makes itself known right away. Whether too much meat or carbs, not enough greens, too much sweet stuff - my stomach tells me.   Stress, too, shows up in my stomach.

Two questions to ask yourself about a symptom are: "What does this symptom prevent me from doing?" and "What does this symptom force me to do?"

Breaking a leg prevents you from running around, having a cold makes you rest, losing your voice forces you to be quiet. There can be a lot of symbolism between a symptom and your particular need at this point in time. Don't ignore that need. By simply suppressing that underlying emotional or physical need your body will show you in a different way what it needs.

So - tune in.

P.S.: I also invite you to reread an earlier related blog post "are accidents really accidents?"

no plastics for my food

I don't like to store my leftovers or homemade hummus, mayonnaise, apple sauce, or catfood in plastic containers. Plastics leach the chemicals BPA (bisphenol A), also used in the linings of canned foods, and phtalates into the foods and drinks that are stored in them. Moreover, heating or microwaving food in plastic seems to worsen the effect. Whether we are talking plastic food storage containers, or plastic water or soda bottles, it's all the same. I also try to avoid buying foods that are sold in plastic. Trader Joe's recently switched their organic peanut butter packaging from glass to plastic jars and I stopped buying it. Instead, I now buy organic peanut butter at my local supermarket that carries it in glass jars.

I also stopped buying seltzer and got a home soda making machine.  Not only do I no longer send all those plastic bottles to recycling, I also know that our own water is superior in quality and taste, as is of course the seltzer made from it (and who knows from what water source the commercial seltzer comes from).  Granted, the home seltzer bottles are made from plastic, albeit BPA free plastic (one hopes); in addition the home made seltzer is made to order and consumed immediately, while the store bought seltzer sits in a hot delivery truck in its plastic bottle for hours and perhaps days, and then on a supermarket shelf for more days, and weeks, and perhaps even months. 

Inert materials, such as glass, stainless steel, aluminum or porcelain are safest for food storage. Glass works best, though, because it is see-through. I save wide-mouth glass jars (they are more practical than the narrow-mouth ones) in all sizes from peanut butter, salsa, pickles and such,  and reuse them to store food. I also use Pyrex glass bowls with plastic lids (the lids don't touch the food) for leftovers.

Play it safe, play it glass.

enjoy your week-end, really

What is it always with this Thursday/Friday frenzy before a long week-end? The pace picks up frenetically, everyone seems to need something very urgently before close of business on Friday, nothing can wait until after the week-end - as if we were closing shop for the next three weeks.   But in light of the fact that we are back on Tuesday morning it's really quite absurd. Many things can wait, and how is a three-day week-end so different from the regular two-day week-end anyhow? In this country - and in Hong Kong, where I lived for a bit, as well - many people feel guilty about taking time off. Culturally, virtue is seen in working long hours (even if they are not all so productive), slaving (or looking as if) away for the bottom line, bowing to the Grand Poobah of profitability and money, and fearing job loss otherwise. Many European countries give between four and six weeks vacation (on top of the many religious holidays and sick leave), and their economies are doing just fine.

We need time off to clear our head, to sleep in, to get out of the métro-boulot-dodo routine (French for the never ending subway-work-sleep grind), pursue our hobbies, spend time with family and friends. Time off refreshes us, it balances us, it puts things into perspective. Lack of sleep and too much stress shorten our lifespan.  Without playtime life is dull and drudgery.

Time off is a necessity in order to perform optimally and creatively, it's not frivolous luxury. Enjoy your week-end and don't feel guilty about your time off.

how's your memory?

A few days ago I attended a brief seminar on memory improvement. Two interesting points, in common with Holistic Living, came up.

The first one was presented in the context of techniques for remembering names when meeting new people. Matthew Goerke, the speaker and an expert in memory development, explained what meditation teachers are always stressing, that the untrained mind is like a wild horse. It goes wherever it wants to - not necessarily where you or I want it to go. Without intent and focus a person's name basically goes into one ear and out your other because your mind is meanwhile chattering about your to-do list for the afternoon or that you'd really like a tuna fish sandwich for lunch. Key is to take control of your mind, to be in the Here and Now, to tune into the person you are meeting, to repeat her name with focus and intent while shaking hands. Chances are you'll remember her name again when your paths cross in the supermarket aisle, instead of remembering the face vaguely, but neither where you met nor her name.

The other point had to do with the beliefs we subconsciously hold about ourselves and how, in this case, they impact your memory.  You might say or think "I have a hard time remembering things," or "My memory is getting worse the older I get." This type of running internal commentary is like a mantra and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if repeated often enough.  Instead, begin to repeat how you'd actually like to be, even if you have to fake it before you truly believe it (our minds can't distinguish between the two, so "fake it 'til you make it" is good advice).  Better to keep saying to yourself and others "I have great memory," or "My memory is getting better every day."  If you repeat it often enough this, too, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

No need for ginkgo biloba. Instead, be mindful and focused (tell your mind where you want it, keep the reins tight), and think and speak what you do want (a great memory in this case), not what you don't want or fear (such as "I keep forgetting things," or "I can never remember names").

When Matthew Goerke asked us at the seminar "How's your memory?" we learned that our answer should be "Great."

move over fragrance free body products

As a Christmas present my daughter received a beautiful selection of body products from Germany, all made from organic ingredients  (and they don't cost an arm and a leg and are available in mainstream drugstores).  They smell sooooooo good!  There is a hand creme that smells of oranges (all essential oil fragrances), a body lotion that smells of roses, a shower gel that also smells of oranges, and a roll-on deodorant that smells of baby powder.  Every time she uses them I go "ahhhhhh"  and "mmhhhhhh."  Meanwhile, I am using a natural fragrance free face cream, a natural fragrance free body lotion, and a fragrance free crystal deodorant.

I am tired of the guilt ridden attitude - of puritanical origin in my mind - that it's better for you and your body if it's denuded of fragrance, and if it smells good it must be bad for you.  I am not advocating synthetic fragrances (I wrote a blog post on those), their smell is offensive and aggressive.  But I mixed rose essential oil into that puritanical face cream and will buy a different one next time.

The little pleasures in life add quality and depth, they make us feel alive.  It is good to indulge in them and feel good about yourself and the world - guilt be gone.    We always have a choice, and I am going for the (natural) fragrance next time I buy a body product.

on sauerkraut and kimchi

I love Sauerkraut and Kimchi.  Both are simple and cheap traditional cabbage based fermented foods, the first from northern Europe, the other from Korea.  Fermented foods in general are enormously healthy because they replenish your gut system with beneficial bacteria - and a healthy gut is prerequisite for a strong immune system (see an earlier post on fermented foods). While you can easily buy them both, beware of Sauerkraut (and pickles, for that matter) made with vinegar or the cooked canned version, and Kimchi with MSG (must read the labels!).   Sauerkraut and pickles in vinegar are not fermented and therefore do not have the beneficial bacteria we so need!  The sour taste of inauthentic mainstream Sauerkraut (or pickles) comes from the vinegar used for ease of manufacturing in an industrialized process.  And MSG is definitely not something you would want to eat - follow the link for more information if you don't know already.

So why not make both yourself?  It is so easy, quick, satisfying and fun (the pounding part of Sauerkraut especially).   I save large wide-mouth glass jars for storing them.

Sally Fallon's Sauerkraut has exactly three ingredients (cabbage, salt, whey), or four if you like caraway seeds in it.  I am a purist and prefer it without.  Saveur magazine dedicated a whole issue to Kimchi a few years ago since you can make Kimchi (like pickles) with just about any vegetable, and you can become more or less sophisticated with your ingredients.  But start nice and simple (follow the link to an easy recipe) and see whether you like the process and the result.

To the good bacteria!

are accidents really accidents?

Someone in my larger circle of acquaintances hated her job and "needed a break."  Guess what happened next?  She broke her ankle and was out on surgery, in a wheel chair, then physical therapy.  She really got her break.

So are accidents really "accidents?"  Do they rain down from the sky haphazardly to the unlucky, or is there more to it?  I realize that some people may be hard pressed to take full responsibility for what is happening to them and considering the possibility that they create their own experiences.  My pet peeve is the lawsuit against McDonald's a while back, when the company was sued by someone who suffered burns when spilling hot coffee all over herself.    Was it really McDonald's fault because the coffee was too hot?  Or was the woman perhaps clumsy or distracted?  So much in our culture is a reaction to avoid taking responsibility.

Henry Grayson, the psychologist who recently wrote Use Your Body to Heal Your Mind, recommends inspecting what an affliction (this word is more encompassing than "illness") either prevents you from doing or permits you to experience.  In the case of my acquaintance the ankle break permitted her to take needed time off from work.  A cold, flu or stomach bug gives your body and mind time to rest (remember - from all the people exposed to the same virus not all get that flu or stomach bug - mmmmhhhh, why is that?).  Also consider that any affliction lavishes you with other peoples' compassion, kind words and care - something we all love to experience, and some people sadly might perhaps only experience when they are sick.

What about other kinds of accidents?  Some accidents may prevent you from driving for several weeks, some may prevent you from using your hand for a while.  These consequences may have particular meaning to you if you ponder your circumstances.  Or they may not and might be karmic.

In the end we all have to come up with our own answers to these kinds of deep and big questions, and those answers are usually very personal.  But they are worthwhile pondering.

healthy cooking 101

You may have read food critic Michael Pollan's famous food slogans to  "eat food, not too much, mostly plants," and to eat only "what your great-grandmother would have recognized as food."  This excludes of course all the processed bad-for-you convenience foods, and basically recommends making your own out of a few good base ingredients.   Some people really don't like to cook, the way I don't really like to garden.   They don't connect with the creative act of manipulating raw ingredients and making magic out of it, although they may be creative elsewhere in life.

So for all of you who don't like to cook, here are some really simple tricks to make something delicious out of nothing much in mere minutes.    Some of the simplest and most wholesome homemade foods are of the dippy kind - the stuff you can scoop up with chips, raw or semi-cooked vegetables (crudités in French), a piece of toasted bread or pita or toasted tortilla.  They don't even require cooking.

• Hummus and bean dips - put cooked chickpeas or beans into your food processor  with some tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, garlic and salt, a bit of olive oil if you like, and some water for thinning.  Voilà - hummus, the Middle Eastern specialty.  You could omit the tahini and add rosemary or oven roasted garlic to cooked beans or lentils, you could add sun dried tomatoes or roasted peppers to the hummus, or anything else that strikes your creative fancy (perhaps herbs, cumin, or chili to add heat).

• Guacamole is mushed up ripe avocado with some lemon juice, salt and a bit of chopped tomato, nothing more. 

• Pesto is simply a whole lot of basil leaves processed in the food processor over a base of a bit of cheese (parmesan or pecorino), a few nuts (the traditional pine nuts are expensive; walnuts work fine, I often use sunflower seeds), a bit of garlic and salt, and then enough olive oil to bind it all together.  That's it.  Delicious on pasta, a sandwich, pizza, a slice of toasted bread, a raw sliced tomato, keep on dreaming.....

• Liptauer is an easy spread I remember from my German childhood.  It is simply Greek yogurt (now that it's so easily available) or fresh farmer cheese with some paprika (smoked is yummy), caraway seeds and salt folded in.  So easy.  Great as a spread on some crisp bread (quick and healthy snack), a dip for raw vegetables or chips, or just as is by the spoonful (for breakfast or snack).

the difference between cause and effect in healing

A headache is a cause of something deeper in your psyche, as is for example stress, low self esteem, depression or any number of symptoms we may experience on and off.  These symptoms have causes (try to analyze what happened before the onset of the headache -  too little sleep?  stress?  overwhelmed?)

Allopathy, as the Western healing system is called, treats the effect, the symptom your body puts out to signal that something is not right.  It does not heal the cause! A  medication is a chemical that alters your body chemistry by sheer force (and with more or less harmful side effects) without changing the cause of headache or depression or whatever.  In the same way surgery removes the effect by force without addressing the cause.   This type of treatment does not always work predictably (which is worth a whole other discussion).

Energy and alternative healing modalities, such as reiki, acupuncture, homeopathy and so forth gently realign your internal energy stream by removing blockages.  Once realigned you can feel what it is like not to have the symptom - ahhhhh.  These methods are gentle and have no harmful side effects.  However, even they still do not heal you on a soul level unless you shift the beliefs or thoughts that created your imbalance in the first place.  So, here too, the symptom may reappear in its former or another form.

The ultimate healing mechanism is an awareness on a consciousness level of what created the symptom, and then dissolving or shifting that belief.  While this is a simplified outline of the healing process, and there are also other causes of illnesses, it has been estimated that 85% are due to emotional issues.  You may also want to reread earlier posts on this: "healing is shifting," and "pill or self-heal."