![]() Many people have asked how I feel as the time is so close to my leap into a year of living an Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle. I can best describe these past couple of months with another somewhat similar experience. I’ve been feeling just like I did when I decided one day at a pool that I was going off the high dive for the first time. I started out with determination and excitement as I walked to the diving board with all the other “big kids”. I stood in line a little nervous but feeling good. As I climbed the ladder, the bottom section was really easy and I glided over the steps. The higher I got, my pace slowed a bit and I had to breathe deeply to fortify my nerve. And I kept going to the top. Once on the board, both elation, excitement and a “Whoa this is really high” set in. Right now, with less than a week before I leave to move out of the country for a year, I am feeling fully the enormity of this adventure and lifestyle change. It really is a HUGE LEAP for me! From the 5:30am rise each morning, to living in a simple accommodation with shared shower and toilet facilities, to the Ayurvedic and vegetarian foods, to the 'no tv', 'no alcohol', 'no takeout or late night food deliveries', to morning and evening silent meditation and lights out at 10:30 for the whole Ashram - definitely some big changes from my Chicago, city living lifestyle. Yet, when I looked back at the long way down the ladder and the others waiting for me to jump, I knew I wouldn't go backwards. When I looked in front of me at the end of the board and realized the board seems even higher on the top than it did from the ground, it gave me pause but I still kept moving forward. When I was a little girl, I jumped off with my eyes closed and screamed the whole way to the water! After I bobbed back up to the water's surface, I couldn't wait to get in line and go again:) With my heart beating a bit faster these days, and the flow of boxing for storage and packing to move out of the country in full swing - I FEEL SO ALIVE! It’s a GREAT FEELING, and I have sat in meditation that has affirmed I am meant to do this and am on a wonderful path for myself - and maybe I can help one or ten or even thousands of others who are interested to learn about Ayurveda and What is Possible? living a different lifestyle that focuses on a balanced mind, body and spirit. I am ready and nervous AND THAT”S OK and Great! I am confident of my guide, the highly esteemed KP Khalsa. I will be taking herbs from the well respected and best organic provider of herbs in the U.S., Banyan Botanicals. And last, but certainly not least, I will be immersed in the beautiful and spiritually rich Ayurvedic life that is lived at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Ashram in the Bahamas. I am grateful, blessed, excited and nervous as I inch my way forward to Friday, when I take the final leap. I won't have my eyes closed, and I will have my heart and mind open:) If you haven't signed up for the blog post updates, please do. I also welcome you to leave a comment below or post one on my BestYOU facebook page. Sharing your thoughts is a gift to all of us! If you know someone who may like to sign up for my blog posts, please share this link with them. Thanks! ![]() Last week I shared about the scalp cysts that I’ve been dealing with and the powerful impact of Ayurveda and Yoga on the cysts. Another powerful impact of Ayurveda and Yoga was highlighted this week, as Adam Grossi was my BestYOU Featured Guest. Adam has written a new book about mental illness and the impact of Ayurveda and yoga. Wind Through Quiet Tensions is a thoughtful and valuable book to read. Adam shares his experiences with psychosis, hospitalization, personal healing and rejuvenation. After going the route of powerful mood stabilizers and antipsychotic drugs for years that were prescribed by doctors to control his illness, Adam chose to regain some control through consistent yoga practice and Ayurveda lifestyle changes. In Adam’s words, “This book is not an account of beating bipolar disorder, but a documentation of a different way of working with it.” It has been more than 5 years since Adam took his last drug for his bipolar disorder. He shares that he has enjoyed soundness of mind and stability in his life during this time. He is now a yoga instructor, an artist and a writer. That’s how I met Adam. He is one of my regular outstanding yoga instructors at Tejas Yoga. He is a great guy besides being an impactful and thought provoking yoga teacher. In the case of my scalp cysts and the case of Adam’s bipolar disorder, it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause - genetics, stress, the environment and self abuse could all have contributed. The self abuse I am referring to is the little everyday choices and habits that we make that are not good for our bodies and stack up to eventually lead to disease. Ayurveda teaches that life is a constant flow of energy, information and awareness. It also teaches acceptance of self as an evolving being, rather than someone who is fixed. Making mistakes and accepting them, along with other shortcomings, as stepping stones along life’s path is a freeing concept. As I get ready to leave for my year of living an Ayurvedic - Yogic lifestyle, I am stepping into tomorrow without regrets about anything in the past. I accept that there have been some negative effects from many of my habits, especially food and drink habits. I also accept that there was enjoyment from these habits. This journey into Ayurveda and Yoga comes with an awareness that I am getting tired of the negative effects and am exploring another lifestyle with the intention of healing, rebuilding and strengthening my body, mind and spirit. I hope that you will want to follow the journey. I am so excited for the adventure to begin and see What is Possible! As I prepare for this journey, I am very grateful for the support of KP Khalsa, Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Banyan Botanicals. I encourage you to leave a comment below or post one on my BestYOU facebook page. Sharing your thoughts is a gift to all of us! If you know someone who may like to sign up for my blog posts, please share this link with them. Thanks! My Scalp Cyst Story and the impact of Ayurveda: Below is a list from a U. S. dermatology point of view regarding Pilar or Sebaceous Cysts
Much of what is on the list I can verify as accurate. Since incorporating some Ayurvedic changes in my lifestyle and diet, the two highlighted points above, I now question. Scalp cysts run in my family, and I have had several removed over the course of my adult life. Luckily, they have all been benign. Cysts are not something I’ve ever discussed with friends. They’re kind of gross and ugly in appearance, and an ‘unmentionable’ from my past way of thinking. I had two cysts removed about 15 years ago. In my follow up visit to the dermatologist, I mentioned that I had yet another cyst right behind my left ear that I noticed was growing some, and I asked him how soon I should schedule to have it removed. The doctor noted that the cyst was right on the bone and in a rather delicate area to mess with. So, as long as the cyst was covered by my hair and ear, he suggested I let it alone for awhile. I was glad to not have another pending surgery. At that time, it was about the diameter of a nickel. Over time, the cyst had grown to about the size of a quarter. Each time I had a new hair stylist work on my hair, they’d point it out and ask if I realized I had it. My most recent stylist change was just about a year ago. When I started doing my slow transition of Ayurvedic dietary changes and more consistent yoga, plus incorporating some meditation in my life, I had no idea what would really happen with my body. I also hadn’t paid much attention in the past to the connection of breathing or my state of mind to my body. To begin my work with KP Khalsa, just as with any doctor, I had a lengthy consultation and filled out quite a few intake forms for him to review. I also had lab test results sent to him from the past and present year’s annual physical done here in Chicago. When filling out one of the many forms, I started writing down the scalp cysts as a physical health issue/condition and reached behind my ear to see if the cyst had gotten any bigger. IT WAS GONE - NO SCALP CYST! I must have rechecked the area ten times, not believing it myself. I even checked the whole rest of my scalp for any tiny cysts, which I sometimes had a few at a time. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! NO CYSTS!! Before I started writing this blog, I checked again to make sure it hadn’t somehow reappeared. It is still so amazing to me! Anyone reading this that has a history of these cysts knows how I amazed I am. They've never disappeared before. Yet, when I asked KP Khalsa about the cyst, he wasn’t surprised at all to hear of its disappearance. He said it was common for cysts to dissolve with changes in diet and lifestyle. Perhaps western medicine doesn’t have all the answers for our health? He further indicated that everything contributed, from the combination of more consistent yoga, with a focus on breathing, meditation and balance. Plus gradually eliminating many processed foods and changing my eating and drinking habits, based on my Ayurvedic constitution and imbalances had impact. Everything working together MADE THE CYST DISAPPEAR! I hope that you will want to follow the journey. I am so excited for the adventure to begin and see What is Possible! As I prepare for this journey, I am very grateful for the support of KP Khalsa, Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Banyan Botanicals. I encourage you to leave a comment below or post one on my BestYOU facebook page. Sharing your thoughts is a gift to all of us! If you know someone who may like to sign up for my blog posts, please share this link with them. Thanks! Well, this week I watched my coffee pot, humidifier and waffle maker go out the door.
I’m selling most of my belongings as I prepare for my year of living Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle, guided by KP Khalsa, in the Bahamas. It felt strange and exciting at the same time. I’m not sure why I want to clear out most of my belongings, but I have a very strong urge to do so. I’m going with what feels right, and each step toward fewer belongings feels great and freeing somehow. I donated another 6 garden sized bags and a couple of big boxes of books and ‘stuff’. Plus I tossed out 6 huge bags of paper, magazines and folders. Reading Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up helped me part with things more easily, especially the books. I can’t recall who told me about the Tidying Up book, but somehow it appeared on my radar, and I read it. I love books and found those very difficult to let go - and yet now that they are gone - not having them is ok. Marie’s thoughts on parting with books were a big help. Pretty Good Progress, right? Well, there is also the interesting setback I had last week, that resulted in a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. As I’ve been gradually incorporating Ayurveda food and lifestyle changes, my sugar cravings have lessened considerably. I still have occasional lapses of staying up late and overeating in the evening. So, definitely not all smooth sailing in making these changes. Even before Ayurveda, I didn’t eat dairy, and ice cream has been off my food list for some time. I generally don’t crave it either. So, this Ben and Jerry’s binge was unusual for me. I’ve learned enough about digestion and my Ayurveda constitution to know that eating that whole pint of Cherry Garcia that evening would make me miserable all night and even the next morning. Yet, I did it anyway. The sugar addiction lurking inside me was rearing its ugly head. It was reminding me that I’ve had lots and lots of sugar throughout my lifetime. Did you know that on average, Americans eat 1/2 pound of sugar EVERY DAY? And it’s not in the form of table sugar or even candy, but we are eating it throughout the day, in nearly every processed food from cereal to chips to ketchup to bread and even meats, like ham and smoked turkey. Ayurveda and a different approach to eating and lifestyle are still in transition and new for me. So, setbacks are going to happen. The fun part for me to see was that instead of that binge leading to another binge, as it would have pre Ayurveda, it didn’t. And I must be more balanced than I was, because I did not have my typically unbalanced Pitta reaction, fretting for days and beating myself up about the setback and over-analyzing why or what caused the binge. I would have also had to use great willpower in the past to stop the binging that would have gone on for at least a few days if not a week. I spent time at my son and daughter in law’s home over the weekend, and there was a homemade cake that everyone was raving about, and that I am sure was quite delicious. Yet, it wasn’t hard to not have any. I wasn’t holding myself back. I had no urge for it at all. Even the fabulous Easter brunch pastries were not ‘calling to me’ as they would have in the past. I chose an apple cobbler that likely had sugar in it, and it was tasty but I was satisfied with the mini portion. In prior years, I would have had a plate full of mini sweets. My body seems to have happily returned to eating more balancing foods, and it doesn’t matter what triggered the sugar binge. It happened. It’s over. And today is a new day:) For me, that easy going reaction is also great progress. So even in our setbacks, there can be progress. I hope that you will want to follow the journey. I am so excited for the adventure to begin! As I prepare for this journey, I am very grateful for the support of KP Khalsa, Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Banyan Botanicals. I encourage you to leave a comment below or post one on my BestYOU facebook page. Sharing your thoughts is a gift to all of us! If you know someone who may like to sign up for my blog posts, please share this link with them. Thanks! |
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