Tags
acne aging anti-aging beauty detox diet exercise fasting healing health healthy lifestyle healthy living healthy recipes inspiration juicing Living la Vida Raw meditation mindfulness Move Your Body Natural Beauty natural cures Natural Cures natural remedies nutrition nutritionist parasites raw raw food Raw Food for Thought raw foods raw girl Raw News raw recipes Raw Spirit Recipes skin spirulina stress vegan vegan lifestyle vegan recipes vegetarian Veggie Love wellness yogaNewsletter Sign-up
Author Archives: rawgirl
Kick Your Smoking Habit, Naturally…
In this toxic world, unfortunately many of us have conquered healthy diet, but have resorted to polluting our body temple by other means. When it comes to smoking, it doesn’t help that movies and other advertisements continue to verbally promote that smoking is “cool.” Its too bad we never get to see the after effects in these films, because seeing James Dean struggle with lung cancer is definitely not cool.
Unfortunately often times these addictions are then addressed by prescribing stimulants or drugs, that may contribute to the damage in the long-run. Below is an interview with Dr. Yew of Yew360 Wholistic Health & Wellness, discussing how one can overcome nicotine addition the natural way. He has started a support program for those in the DMV interested in kicking their smoking habit naturally. If you or someone you know could benefit from this please see his contact info at the end of this post. -XoXo Raw Girl
What are some of the adverse affects that smoking can have from a holistic perspective?
Smoking on a physical level pollutes the body, congests the liver and lungs with tar, mucous, and a host of known cancer-causing substances. Smoking is linked to approximately 90% of lung cancer incidents and resulting deaths. It can either have an overstimulatory and/or depressant effect on the mind, causing increasing dependency on lighting up to feel good, and in some cases, to even function normally. It also ultimately lowers the spirit, which is reflected in the lapse of willpower a lot of people have with quitting. It’s used as a spiritual crutch, and if you eventually want those legs to get stronger, you have to do some therapeutic work and let those crutches go.
A lot of smokers try a range of things from patches to prescription drugs to break their habits. What are your thoughts on this?
The drugs (including the patches) are designed to lower the physical urges of cigarette smoking by stepping down the level of nicotine or nicotine-like substances smokers would normally take in. Many find these methods to be ineffective because your body is still being supplied with some type of drug or potentially addictive substance, whether it’s still nicotine or a replacement, which is further stored by the body, contributing to its toxicity and congestion, which can have a negative effect on the nervous system. On a correlated note, smoking is primarily caused by psychological and spiritual dis-ease, so if those aspects are not dealt with, relapses are subject to occur.
Have you had any clients successful kick their nicotine addiction naturally? How long can a process like that take?
It’s always a challenge dealing with clients who have a substance abuse addiction, especially with cigarettes, because nicotine can be more addictive than heroin. So just as if I’m dealing with a heroin addict, if the treatment and counseling approach is not very consistent and hands-on, I’ve found that my clients have had trouble with applying the recommendations and following the regimens given. Often, what we need most to make and stick with positive changes in our lives, besides a great practical plan, is motivation and a good support system – something many smokers lack in this stressful and individualistic society. This is one of the reasons I’m starting this 30-Day Smoking Detox program, which will be a group effort. It’s a new venture for me, so I don’t have any success stories to share as of yet, but I’ve been taught by some of the best who do have plenty of successful experiences, so I’m looking forward to some excellent results in making this difference.
What types of foods or lifestyle changes best support efforts to quit smoking?
Partnering with someone who has the same goal is a great start. This way, you can exchange ideas to form a solid and practical approach to quitting, and you can be each other’s support system. Making the effort to start with more easily applicable short-term goals is another way to keep things moving. It helps to drop the discouragement factor by not overwhelming yourself, and therefore helps to build confidence and motivation on this mission – two of your best allies. Highly caffeinated and sugary foods and beverages can be very disruptive agents when your agenda is disposing of addictive substances, so I would recommend avoiding them whenever possible. Some of my clients have found licorice sticks (commonly referred to as chew sticks) to be beneficial in reducing cravings and agitation, while increasing calming and cooling foods such as fresh green lettuces, chards, and cauliflower can work in your favor too by strengthening your body’s natural resistance to stressors.
What types of foods or lifestyle changes best support efforts to quit smoking?
Partnering with someone who has the same goal is a great start. This way, you can exchange ideas to form a solid and practical approach to quitting, and you can be each other’s support system. Making the effort to start with more easily applicable short-term goals is another way to keep things moving. It helps to drop the discouragement factor by not overwhelming yourself, and therefore helps to build confidence and motivation on this mission – two of your best allies. Highly caffeinated and sugary foods and beverages can be very disruptive agents when your agenda is disposing of addictive substances, so I would recommend avoiding them whenever possible. Some of my clients have found licorice sticks (commonly referred to as chew sticks) to be beneficial in reducing cravings and agitation, while increasing calming and cooling foods such as fresh green lettuces, chards, and cauliflower can work in your favor too by strengthening your body’s natural resistance to stressors.
After one has successful quit, are there any foods or herbs that can assist with regenerating the lungs and clearing up any damage done?
There are plenty of foods and herbs that can help to regenerate the lungs. Vitamins A, C, & E, which are abundant in papayas, mangoes, watercress, parsley, and green leafy vegetables across the board are essential to this process. They synergistically help to hunt down free radicals that damage the body, fortify the immune system, and facilitate tissue repair. There are also other herbs such as lungwort and fenugreek, which can tone the lungs and/or work towards removing mucous plaque and tar buildup.
Dr. Yew is looking for approximately five individuals who want to quit smoking here in the DMV to form a support group and complete a 30-day detoxification program with discounted natural products and services. If you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please contact him ASAP. Email is contact@yew360.com and phone # is (202) 413-4581. Sign ups for this group ends January 27th. For more info about his practice visit www.yew360.com
A Raw Vegan Workout Junkie’s Guide to Protein
One of my New Year’s resolutions, especially now that my back injury is healed, is to get fit. My ongoing joke is that I want to be like Janet Jackson back in the day when you could bounce a quarter off her abs fit. In between sessions with a personal trainer to build strength and lower my body fat percentage, I am staying limber and releasing toxins regularly by slowly but surely easing my way back into a regular hot yoga practice and getting a dance class in here and there. If you can’t tell, I love working out! The only thing I don’t love is not being able to move my limbs normally after an intense workout. The question that always arises when people discover that I am vegan and interested in building muscle: where do you get your protein?
I am a big proponent of everyone figuring out what works for their body. My body in particular, cannot handle animal protein sources at all. So I get all my protein from plant sources. People assume that because you are raw or vegan that you cannot build muscle. I have actually seen a lot of evidence to the contrary. Time and time again, I have noticed that my diet actually makes my body even more receptive to exercise. Within my first week of strength training, only one day in that week, and eating my regular highly raw diet, my body fat percentage decreased by about 5%. I have been training for a month now, and my body fat percentage has decreased from 33% (unhealthy for my age) to 26%! I am now aiming for the optimal body fat percentage of 22-25%, and I am sure I will get there very soon with more training sessions.
It is assumed that by default, plant protein is inferior to animal protein, but actually, raw plant protein is the highest quality, most digestible protein for humans. When we eat cooked meat or animal protein the body tries to break it down in to amino acids. If the body gets enough of its required amino acids, our protein requirement is fulfilled. The point that many raw foodists make in this argument is that HEAT damages amino acids making it harder for the body to utilize. In an interview Stephen Arlin, raw body builder and author of “Raw Power!” said that raw food eaters building muscle have “an immeasurable advantage” over cooked food eaters because: “Building a body with cooked-food nutrition is similar to blowing up a balloon; sooner or later the balloon will deflate. Muscles blown up with cooked food and other unnatural substances will eventually atrophy and deflate. Most fitness experts and body-builders atrophy and wear down pre-maturely. Muscles built on raw-food nutrition last much longer, because they are naturally built. I compare building your body with cooked food to building a brick wall without any mortar. There’s no foundation there.”
Now that I am focusing on strength training, I am taking care to add in adequate amounts of protein in my diet and want to share a long list of great non-animal protein sources for anyone worried about getting enough to build muscle. Our culture tends to be a bit protein crazed, probably to an extreme, so make sure you are listening to your body and not overloading. Most times, people who overload on excessive amounts of animal protein, whey, etc. are not actually healthy, and cannot sustain optimal health longterm. We need not just large amounts of protein but high quality nutrients and minerals to achieve optimal wellness.
As I continue to workout, I am doing more research on what raw body builders and vegan athletes are saying about building muscle and achieving optimal workouts. From several sources I heard that fruit is a great pre-workout meal that gives the body fuel, and that blended smoothies with vegan protein sources are good ways to recover (which I was already doing). The more I sweat, the more I will learn and share. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to get your veggie loving but in the gym as well. Happy sweating! – XoXo Raw Girl
Heres a partial list from one of my favorite books, David Wolfe’s “Eating for Beauty” of what he calls the “Best Protein Foods”:
- Almonds
- Bee Pollen
- Brewer’s Yeast
- Chlorella
- E3 Live (algae)
- Goji Berries
- Grass Powders
- Green leafy vegetables
- Hemp Protein (30 grams of protein per tablespoon!)
- Hemp Seeds
- Maca (can buy in powder blends or by itself)
- Olives
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Spirulina
- Sprouts (of all types)
- Sprouted grains
- Sprouted wild rice
- Vegetable powders (dehydrated and powdered greens)
Ban on Traditional Medicines in Europe!
It’s starting my friends. Our freedom to achieve optimal health is slowly but surely being eroded as laws are going into effect that will limit our access to organic foods, high quality supplementation, and natural medicines. This year, beginning in April, many traditional medicines will no longer be available in Europe. The more I read, the more outraged I become.
The FDA in cohorts with major corporations, and individuals/entities concerned with GREED and the control of the worldwide population is not going to stop jeopardizing our freedoms. Products and foods that are natural are being attacked in a real, mafia-like way. Why? Because they are POWERFUL. The more we take our own health in our hands, avoid using pharmaceutical drugs, and become independent beings who consume foods full of life force, the more power we have to exercise our minds and bodies, to create, and to consider opposing a power paradigm that is intent on us becoming dull, lifeless, disease-ridden, and drug dependent puppets for the system. Please read more about this ban, and about CODEX in the links below, and visit the Alliance for Natural Health site to take action on their petitions or donate. If you think we don’t got next, please think again! CODEX guidelines that regulate our food supply and are expected to be implemented in 2012. This may be the last year to stock up on all things herbal, or at the very least learn how to grow them ourselves before the veggie indefinitely hits the fan. -XoXo Raw Girl
To read more about this ban visit:
http://www.anh-usa.org/traditional-medicines-to-become-illegal-in-europe/
To read more about CODEX, visit:
5 Reasons to Drink Green Juice
1. A Large Dose of Chlorophyll. You are what you eat, and chlorophyll is the building block of our bodies. More of it means more oxygen flowing, more vitality, and more energy!
2. Trace Minerals & Enzymes. Boost your digestion, encourage detoxification, and give your body the minerals its been missing out on!
3.More Veggie Bang for Your Buck. Juicing allows you to consume a wider variety of vegetables in larger quantities, and the nutrients are absorbed easily in juice form.
4. It’ll Make You Happy. Green juice and fasting help our bodies and spirits get through the icky stuff and clear the way for divine connection and inner peace. So basically, you’ll get a free dose of Zen with each glass of greens.
5. Keep Your Body Alkaline. Green juice consumption will help you ward off health problems, and fight any imbalances in the body. Disease can only live in an acidic state, and drinking green juice regularly will help to keep your body alkaline.
-XoXo Raw Girl
Anti-Aging SHE-RO #8
My next Anti-Aging She-ro is supermodel Carol Alt. Despite being at the height of her career in her thirties, Carol found herself lethargic, depressed and looking for a road to optimal health. She found raw foods and never turned back. Having a modeling career that has spanned 27 years, and branching out to authoring books, acting and even directing, this raw renaissance woman has manage to retain her vitality and beauty at the age of 50.
Carol is not a vegan, as she does eat animal products, but her diet is raw. Most raw followers avoid meat and dairy, but Carol apparently eats sashimi (raw seafood), carpaccio (thinly sliced raw beef, veal, or tuna), and raw milk cheeses. I think she’s a great example that different bodies require different diets. Incorporating raw foods does promise vitality, but how one goes about it is a unique journey. Carol said in an interview published online that she found out through a holistic doctor, what her “type” was and ate accordingly.
Carol’s venture into the raw lifestyle caused her to branch out with authoring several Raw Food books including: Eating in the Raw and The Raw 50, and most recently launching Raw Essentials, a line of raw skin care products made with absolutely no chemicals (I am definitely going to test out this product). At the age of 48, she posed nude in Playboy, which she called a platform to show how raw foods have kept her body young. In the article she was quoted: “I believe God wants me to speak about this like I’m a born-again Christian…and I needed a platform, which is why I’m in Playboy. Nobody loves the female form like Playboy, and there’s no better way to show women you don’t have to live with getting old.”
In another interview she discussed that her doctor told her that her skin was too thin to ever get a face lift, and since then she’s been committed to keeping her skin youthful naturally. I’ll pass on a bare-it-all shoot in Playboy, but I am definitely down for NEVER going under a knife, so more power to her for being living proof in this age of Botox-fixes-it-all that youthfulness can be achieved at any age through the raw lifestyle. – XoXo Raw Girl
For more about Carol visit her site:
For more about her skin care line, Raw Essentials, visit:
Dear Raw Girl: Fighting Lupus?
Hello Raw Girl! I came across your site after searching for vegan and dermatomyositis…I was diagnosed with Lupus about a year ago…they put me on meds and the symptoms didn’t improve and I got even more sick. By the grace of God I came across Jill Harrington’s Lupus Recovery Diet and became vegan. My symptoms improved and I thought I was *cured*…so I then began eating whatever I wanted. BIG surprise (not) my eyes are swollen and itchy. Turns out, I have this thing…so now I’m in the middle of a fast to get my body back on a fresh start and then STAY on the vegan diet. I’ve even started feeding my kids a more vegetarian diet. Wondering from your opinion…do you think my symptoms will improve again? Or is it too late? – Brittany Clarke
Dear Brittany:
Thank you for sharing this with me and trusting my opinion. First off, I want to say, whatever I express in this post is just that, an OPINION. Not fact, not necessarily the be all end all, just my own biased point of view. I am not a doctor so I cannot give you a specific medical opinion based on your body, but I can share with you my thoughts. Unfortunately there are many doctors with opinions, who speak into people’s lives, and their word is taken as truth. Time and time again, patients with terminal diseases have proven doctors wrong, and have far outlived their diagnosis just based on the power of will and positivity. That said, how bad do you want it? You made yourself well once before, so you clearly have what it takes to do it again if you visualize wellness and stick to your guns. I think you can do it.
I did some research through several natural cures books about Lupus, and diet is definitely key in keeping you well long term and reducing inflammation. They say no one knows the exact cause and conventional medicine usually treats issues that may lead to flare-ups such as medications, birth control pills, any pre-existing viral illnesses, or extreme stress. Attacking your condition from the holistic perspective you need to find out if you have any particular food allergies (apparently some food allergies can mimic lupus or worsen conditions), watch anything that may cause hormonal imbalances, assure that your digestion is optimal, make sure you address any potential nutritional deficiencies, and also that you avoid intake of more toxins and detox from heavy metals. So its important not only that you go vegan, you need to avoid the sugars and carbs that promote an internal acidic environment and inflammation, you also need to focus on really giving your body OPTIMAL nutrition. Here’s some ideas based on my research that may help you.
- Juice Fasting. The juice fast plan is great, 3 days is a good length on green juices, and you can even throw in their some organic herbal teas to help promote detoxification. Try once a month if more seems too much to start.
- Buy organic whole foods. Avoid conventional veggies if possible so you don’t take in more toxins via pesticides etc. Thoroughly wash your veggies.
- Vitamin E . For this you can include wheat germ, watercress (which has three times the amount of Vitamin E in lettuce) and all other leafy greens, nuts and seeds.
- Essential Fatty Acids in ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil will help you reduce inflammation. You can add these to a salad. Or make a yogurt out of fruit and sprinkle ground flaxseeds on top.
- Foods high in sulfur will help repair damage that flareups do to your joint cartilage. Foods such as: onions, garlic, asparagus, arugula, blue green algea (E3 Live would be great), bee pollen, broccoli, kale, maca, spirulina, watercress, cauliflower, and pumpkin seeds are contain a nice amount of sulfur.
- Incorporate a supergreen supplement in your diet, some of which were mention in the sulfur food list above: spirulina, chlorella (which also helps body detoxify from heavy metals), and/or E3 Live (liquid blue green algae supplement).
- Make sure your water is clean! Tap water may expose you to toxins and microorganisms which won’t help because your body is already in a compromised state.
- Probiotics will help with digestion and maintain a healthy digestive environment.
- Natural Pain Relievers. Evening primrose oil and black currant oil can help to reduce joint inflammation. White willow bark is a natural alternative that can be used for join pain. (I can vouch for this one, when I had my accident I took this and valerian root to help ease the pain.)
All that said, the gist of it is that I believe, YOU CAN DO IT. Make sure to listen to your body, seek medical supervision holistic or regular if you need it just to see where you are. Consider going to a holistic practitioner and testing for any food allergies and nutritional deficiencies you may have, and try to organize your life in a way that minimizes your daily stress. I sincerely wish you the health you deserve, and because you did it once before, you should know, you most definitely can do it again! This next time, though, make sure to stick with it. -XoXo Raw Girl
For tips on how to have a stress free fast, check out this previous post:
http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2009/11/18/tips-for-a-stress-free-fast/
Have a question for the Dear Raw Girl segment?
Email rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com and your answer will be posted on the blog!
Dear Raw Girl: Flouride in Water?
Dear Raw Girl,
I have just come across your site whilst searching for alternatives to toxins pesticides and all the rubbish there forcing upon us. Your write ups are very interesting and just wondered what your thoughts on fluoride in water are? Thank you for your inspiration!
– Miss S May
Dear Miss S May:
Thank you for your question! 🙂 I stopped messing with fluoride a long time ago, I don’t even buy toothpaste with fluoride. At the end of the day despite what a lot of sources purport, fluoride is a poison. Once I stopped brushing with fluoride, my teeth actually got stronger and were less prone to cavities. That said, if I am not willing to brush with it, I am definitely not willing to ingest it. Unfortunately, coming across clean drinking water nowadays takes a miracle or at least some real effort. In fact, the only way to ensure you are getting high quality water is to install a high quality filtration system or buy an ionizer which filters your water and adds extra oxygen to the water, making it superior for your health.
As soon as I started on the raw path, I started to avoid tap water completely, and most brands of bottled water. For the past couple years, I have been primarily drinking reverse osmosis water, which is free from chemicals, chlorine, etc. but is also stripped of some minerals that may be beneficial to the body. There are systems however, that re-mineralize the water after its been filtered through the reverse osmosis process. This month I am taking my next step and buying an ionizer! This water is truly healing and invigorating, and has helped tons of people recover from terminal illnesses, lose weight, heal minor aches and pains, clear skin, and improve digestion to name a few. If you can, I highly recommend you invest in an ionizer, if not, make sure to filter your water with the best system you can find. Check out the links below for more info.-XoXo Raw Girl
Here are 50 reasons to oppose fluoridation:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/50-reasons.htm
For more about water options, check out my article “Finding Pure Energized Water Amidst the Scarcity”:
http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/02/24/new-article-fi…t-the-scarcity/
Have a question for the Dear Raw Girl segment?
Email rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com and your answer will be posted on the blog!
Raw Foodist 109 Years Old & Still Kickin’
Tomorrow, Wednesday January 25th 2012 @ 5pm EST, tune in to hear my interview with Bernando on Newd Radio! Just to refresh your memory, I thought I would repost this entry that features a video on Bernando. Anyone can listen via www.newdradio.com. It is a pre-recorded show, so any comments or questions can be directed to the Raw Girl Facebook page or to rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com. My show Healthy Living in a Toxic World will only be airing for the next five weeks, so catch it while you can! -XoXo Raw Girl
Can you imagine turning one hundred and nine, and still functioning better than some people in their sixties and seventies? For Bernando LaPallo this is reality. Today I stumbled across several videos and the Fox News interview of him, just after his birthday and was astounded. The man not only still has his health and vigor in tact, (he has never had any terminal diseases or sicknesses that plague our aging population) he is also pursuing goals of authoring additional books and opening a restaurant.
Apparently he has been on a primarily raw diet since before it was even a fad, and continues to maintain a highly raw diet, only eating meat once a year. That, he says has been the key to his longevity. I found some videos of him on you tube showing his morning “superfood” smoothie that consisted of fruit, Echinacea extract, a superfood powder that he helped formulate with essential nutrients, and garlic. If this isn’t proof of how natural foods can enhance the quality of life, I don’t know what is. Check out Bernando’s interview below, it might give you some fuel to jump on the raw bandwagon. As for me, I’m on board for life. -XoXo Raw Girl
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDIWxKs7nc]
For more on Bernando LaPallo and a link to his book, “Age Less, Live More” check out his blog:
The Benefits of Hot Yoga
In this technological maelstrom of fast food and even quicker fixes, the growing practice of yoga continues to offer shelter from the constant barrage of hustle and bustle. Even those who don’t practice yoga, have at least heard that it may be good for them; whether or not they have the energy or believe enough to commit to laying on a mat once a week is a whole seperate matter. Our Western medicine, has yet to fully incorporate yoga and other alternative therapies for that matter including pilates, acupuncture, aromatherapy etc. and the beliefs in treating the symptom rather than the human being and popping pills as a cure-all continues to prevail. Despite this there have been studies conducted that have affirmed the viability of yoga as a healing mechanism that can assist with terminal diseases, psychological issues, depression, anxiety, reducing blood pressure, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fatigue, cholesterol, maintaining blood sugar levels, insomnia, increasing muscle strength and respiratory endurance, and the list goes on.
Some of these studies were chronicled in a Time Magazine article I stumbled upon “The Power of Yoga”:
- 2009 a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health studied a group of adolescent girls, some with bulimia and others with anorexia; one group had regular treatment, and the other treatment and regular yoga. The findings showed that the girls not in the yoga group were more likely to have symptoms return at the end of the treatment period.
- 1998 Dr. Ralph Schumacher at UPENN School of Medicine along with yoga instructor Marian Garfield published their findings on the study of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome in the Journal of American Medical Association basically summing up that ” a yoga regimen is more effective than wrist splinting or no treatment in relieving signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.”
- 1990 patients with heart disease were prescribed a vegetarian low fat diet and yoga regimen. At the completion of the study it was found that their cholesterol levels were about the same as if they had taken cholesterol lowering drugs. A follow up report was published in 1998 in the American Journal of Cardiology showing that 80% of the patients were able to avoid bypass by maintaining their prescribed lifestyle changes.
As much as the Western medical world tends to avoid prescription of yoga, for now the testimonies of regular practitioners continue to point to yoga as a viable option. Tonya Zavasta, one of my Anti-aging Sheroes has two titanium hips and through the regular practice of hot yoga and consumption of raw foods, she not only healed herself, she’s also more flexible than the average person with hip bones in tact.
Hot yoga has a long list of benefits, many of which perfectly compliment a raw or vegan lifestyle, because of course all true “yogis” are vegetarians and observe nonviolence and incorporate all five principles of yoga into their lifestyle including proper diet. Some of these benefits include:
- Release of built up bodily toxins. Yoga practice stimulates and promotes the drainage of our lymphatic system which carries the waste from cellular activities.
- Improvement of flexibility and range of motion.
- Increased weight loss and muscle toning. (One of the only workouts that makes me believe attaining Michelle Obama arms is possible.)
- Builds up the immune system and reduces the symptoms of chronic illness.
- Improves blood circulation.
- Promotes healing through relaxing and centering of the mind or mental chatter. As our heart beat slows, and we breathe at a slower rate, our blood pressure also drops, and the body literally goes into healing mode. Not to mention it’s also easier to be warriors in our daily lives when our minds aren’t going helter-skelter.
So why isn’t the use of yoga as a healing modality studied more or prescribed for that matter? There’s no money in it. At least not for the insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry that usually profits from studies that confirm viable use of a range of medications. These days, it is up to us, the consumers, to take ownership of our health before we become a part of the machine that continues to feed the greed of capitalists who have no concern for America’s well being.
Last year I took on the regular practice of hot yoga in a big way, and then unfortunately I was in a car accident that led me to go through physical therapy pretty much the last half of the year. To my dismay, part of my prescription was absolutely no yoga, because it could aggravate the healing of my neck and back. With the help of ongoing pilates classes and physical therapy sessions, raindrop therapy sessions, and advice from holistic practitioners for natural alternatives to taking my prescribed blood thinning medications (ew), I am ecstatic to say that my back is finally healed! During that time I did visit my doctor, but when I mentioned some of the alternative therapies to him, I remember him actually chuckling to himself and saying some version of “Yea, whatever…” and then handing me a prescription for a high dose of pain killers. Thank heavens, I stuck to my guns and followed my instincts.
To celebrate, on New Years Day, I got down and got sweaty with two hours of Hot Yoga, and seriously felt like new money afterwards. For all of you that cringe at the thought of stretching in a sauna-like room, I feel you. I tried Bikram at one point and I used to want to run out of the room screaming. Bikram is however, an entirely different practice. It was founded in 1974 by Bikram Choudhury and classes incorporate specialized breath exercises. Hot yoga is practiced in a heated room, with the temperature set anywhere from 80-105 degrees. Some versions of hot yoga are practiced in the hatha style of yoga, my studio teaches the vinyasa flow style of yoga (my favorite) in a heated room. When I started to practice Hot Yoga, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the room was a little cooler and more manageable for me than Bikram. The temperature was hot enough to get a deeper stretch, but not so hot that you might hurl. Whether you choose to get down with the down dog in a hot room, in your bedroom, or in a quiet studio, the time is now. Everyone can benefit from a little asana in their lives and I hope you will find what works with you and get moving. Namaste. -XoXo Raw Girl
For more on the 5 Principles of Yoga, check out this previous post:
http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/05/19/5-principles-of-yoga-living-the-life-of-a-yoga-warrior/
Get a Vitamin C Boost with Blackberries
When I shop for berries, I usually go for the popular varieties: strawberries, blueberries, and sometimes raspberries. The other day while making my rounds for fruit, there was a special on blackberries and I decided to give them a try. To my delight not only were they great in my smoothie, I discovered that they offer an awesome amount of nutrition.
Most notably blackberries, which are not true “berries” but are actually an aggregate fruit – a cluster of tiny fruits, are packed with Vitamin C. Just one cup contains somewhere in the neighborhood of half of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C, which can help to boost the immune system. In addition these “berries” have a nice amount of manganese, soluble fiber to assist in maintaining a healthy digestive system, and are extremely high in antioxidants which fight free radicals that could lead to cancer. Apparently in Germany, blackberries were recommended to treat mouth infections, sore throats, and even hemorrhoids because they are an astringent due to their high tannin content. These antiseptic properties also make blackberries a good source to tighten tissues and deal with minor bleeding. Some even go as far to claim that a dose of blackberries every now and then may decrease signs of aging, but then again we know raw food in general will do that! Below is a recipe for the concoction I created with my new batch of blackberries, Raw Blackberry Yogurt that can be eaten for breakfast or dessert. Feel free to try them raw, throw them in a smoothie, or sample my yummy yogurt concoction. – XoXo Raw Girl
Raw Blackberry Yogurt
Ingredients
1 small container of blackberries, 1/2 cup of fresh coconut water, 2 ripe bananas, 2-3 dates, 1/2-3/4 cup shredded coconut
Blend all ingredients together and add more coconut water if necessary, but take care to not add too much. It should blend into a creamy consistency. Pour in bowl and sprinkle coconut on top. Yum!