How to Drink Water

Many americans are dehydrated. I see people drinking things all the time but they are drinking the wrong kinds of fluids in order to keep the body hydrated. Sugary drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, soda, vitamin water, coffee drinks of all kinds, smoothies, shakes and even some teas deplete the body of water. Water is what will rehydrate you, and proper rehydration does good for the entire body! Water at the right time of the day is particularly important. It will help with hydrating the skin, hair, eyes, internal organs AND (here is a big surprise) can help with weight loss.
Follow these guidelines and feel and see the difference:

• Drink a big glass of warm water with lemon upon waking up in the morning
• Drink a glass of warm water 30-60 minutes BEFORE a meal
• Only drink about 4 oz of room temp or hot water WITH a meal (sip throughout meal)
• Do NOT drink water DIRECTLY AFTER a meal
• Do not drink up to 1 hour after eating a meal (if you need a couple sips that is fine. no gulping)
• Do not drink ice water, Iced tea or BigGulps....... 
• If you feel very dehydrated sip on hot water every 10-15 minutes throughout an entire day. Be diligent about this. If you still feel like you could chug water at the end of the day then repeat for 2 weeks. This should properly hydrate the body in a way that your body can use and absorb the water it has been lacking. After 2 weeks go to drinking water in a way that is recommended above.
• If your child has regular tummy aches try the water sipping though out the day or the big glass 15-30 minutes before meals. Many times this symptom in children is linked to dehydration. 

According to Ayurveda, drinking water to help with weight loss is not because of what common mainstream articles state; about filling up on water instead of food. That advise is actually killing your digestion, dimming your digestive fire and diluting the digestive enzymes, causing your stomach to have a hard time breaking things down, leading to digestive issues and weight GAIN. Drinking water 15-30 minutes before a meal hydrates the stomach and helps with the buffer zone that is made up of H20 around the stomach, which actually signals to the stomach that it is ok to turn on the stomach acid to full force so that it can break down the food. When you can break down the food you can produce more bile, which helps break down fat. Water drank in this way allows the body to break down and metabolize what you put in, leading to better digestion and if need be, weight LOSS.

CHEERS! 

Oil Pulling Leads to Total Body Detox

I have been seeing a lot of chatter about oil pulling on social media and have been seeing it pop up on the web as an alternative health suggestion for many health issues. It is something that I tried a few years back but then discontinued because my morning routine was growing to large, to fast. But I have recently picked it up again because a few of my clients have been asking about it and I want to be able to speak from experience as I regurgitate information from ayurvedic and medical texts.

Oil pulling is an ancient ayurvedic method of healing for the gums and teeth, as well as detoxifying the entire body.
The benefits of this practice are quite expansive and worth the 20 minutes of your time in the morning. You may do it while you focus on other things like cleaning the house, washing dishes, folding laundry, taking the dog for a walk, or my favorite, getting some morning reading in before my day gets crazy.

What it Does:

• Brightens and whitens teeth, reduced plaque and bad breath
• Reduces stiffness and pain in joints 
• Relieves nasal and sinus congestion
• May help with migraine headaches
• Regulates menstrual cycle and provides relief from PMS
• Helps with clearing skin
• Boosts energy
• Benifits the throat, voice and eyes
• Improves the lymphatic system
• May help to alleviate allergies
• Boosts the immune system
• Helps with insomnia
• Possible remedy for jaw soreness and TMJ

How it is Done:

• Wake up
• Splash your face with cool water and rinse out your eyes
• Drink a large glass of warm water
• Try for your morning evacuation 
• Before you brush your teeth and on an empty stomach, take 1/2 up to 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, sesame oil or sunflower oil and swish it in your mouth for 10-20 minutes. Ultimately you are going for 1 tablespoon of oil for 20 minutes, but if you need to work up to that, start with less oil for less amount of time and give yourself a few days to get used to it.
• Make sure to move the oil around slowly in the mouth and swish it through the teeth. Try to get the oil in all the nooks of the mouth. Lightly, lightly gargle a few times before you spit it out. 
• DO NOT SWALLOW any of the oil, it is absorbing and pulling toxins from your body that you do not want to reabsorb. 
• When your 20 minutes is up spit out the oil in your toilet or trash, you do not want to spit it into the sinks, as it will clog your pipes. 
• Rinse out your mouth with warm water and then brush your teeth and scrape your tongue.

NOTE: Do not do this for more or less than 20 minutes (after you have worked up to your 20 minutes). More than 20 gives chance to reabsorbing the toxins through the mouth that you are trying to get rid of. Less than 20 is not nearly as effective. Definitely brush your teeth afterwards. It takes about 15-20 days of doing it every day, to see results. If every day is not possible try for every other day, shoot for at least 4 days a week, which is better than not doing it at all!

How You Eat Is Just As Important As What You Eat

Here are 11 healthful tips on how to eat so that you may digest your food optimally. If you have digestive issues and/or feel super tiered after you eat, these tips will help your digestive system come back into balance. How you eat is just as important as what you eat.

1. Eat in a quiet, settled atmosphere
2. Offer some sort of blessing or thought of gratitude towards your food before you eat
3. Only eat when you are hungry
4. Wait until previous meal is digested before you put anything else in your mouth (besides water). Usually give your stomach 4-5 hours in between meals 
5. Chew your food thoroughly and eat at a moderate pace
6. Sip 4-6 oz of warm water with a meal. Stay away from iced and carbonated beverages with your meal
7. Eat to a point of comfort. Eat to satisfaction, not full. 
8. Postpose eating if you are upset 
9. Always sit down to eat (sitting in the car does NOT count) 
10. Eat around the same time every day
11. Rest for a few minutes after each meal, laying on your left side will also help with digestion after a meal.

Try a handful of these recommendations until they become habit and then layer on a few more. Your digestion should get better and stronger by following these tips.  

Cheers!

Serve Yourself a Bowl of Health

Making your own food is not only an act of labor, it is an act of deep love, for you and those you are cooking for. Yes, it can be time consuming sometimes, but in the end the act of creating can bring to you more than you expect. 

Here is a quick recipe that is packed with all kinds of great warming spices, cooling coconut, grounding root vegetables, protein packed lentils and chickpeas and digestive kraut. 

Recipe:

1/2 cup lentils (soak in warm water in the morning so they are ready to use when you get home from work) 

1/2 cup dry chickpeas or 1 cup canned (if using dry, soak in warm water in the morning as well)

1 large sweet potato, chopped into 1 inch chunks and roasted

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1/3 cup diced onion

2 inches fresh minced ginger

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons garam masala powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (if you want/like more spice)

2 teaspoon cumin seed

4 small -medium carrots

1 cup broccoli

3 cups vegetable broth or water

1 cup full fat coconut cream or thick coconut milk

2 cups spinach or kale

kraut of choice

Fresh lime cut into quarters

Instructions:

Soak your lentils and chickpeas in the morning. Set aside in a bowl. When you get home and are ready to cook, rinse the lentils and chickpeas separately, and then put them in separate sauce pans. Cover both with 2 inches of water, typically 2-3 cups. Add a sprinkle of ginger powder and black pepper to the water, this will help with the bloating feeling that some people get from these two foods. Turn on medium high and bring to boil, then bring to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until tender. 

While the beans and lentils are cooking, clean and chop your sweet potato. Toss it in olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a dutch-oven or large soup pot melt coconut oil and then add in the onion, stir for about 2 minutes then add the garlic and ginger, sauté for about 1 minute all together. Then add the spices and cumin seeds, mix well until fragrant. Add the carrots and broccoli and stir until they are coated in the spices. 

Pour in the broth/water and coconut cream/milk, bring mix to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

Toss in the sweet potatoes, lentils (with their cooking water if any is left) and chickpeas (drain if using canned, if using freshly cooked, add the cooking water too). Then toss in the kale or spinach. Stir and simmer for 5 more minutes. 

Serve alone or over rice or quinoa. Top off with your favorite kraut and a squeeze of lime juice. Share with those that you love!

Sync Up With Your Body's Internal Clock

Ayurveda looks at diet, lifestyle, seasons and time, to help heal the body, mind and spirit. One main way of healing ourselves in this day and age is to de-stress, reduce anxiety and use the hours of the day to our advantage.

Looking at the day and dividing it into 3 sections (6-10am/pm, 10-2pm/am 2-6pm/am), can help support the body in what it naturally is programmed to do.

• ·      6am – 10am this is the best time for working out to overcome the heaviness of sleep and to re-set the metabolism. Your brain power is strong.
• ·      10am – 2pm your digestive fire is the strongest, between 11 and 1pm so this is the best time to eat your largest meal of the day, lunch! A 15 -20 minute rest after lunch helps the body focus on digestion and assimilation.
• ·      2pm – 6pm, this is second wind time, where your brain power is able to sustain before winding down for the evening.
• ·      6pm – 10pm your start to get heavy and your body starts to slow down. It is time for a light dinner (between 5-7pm) and then you should start tapering off your activity. Bed time between 9-10pm.
• ·      10pm – 2am your body is in deep sleep and is detoxifying and resetting for the next day.
• ·      2am – 6am – movement starts to happen between 4am – 6am you should wake in order to make the most of your brain stimulation. It is the “magical” time of the day, great for meditation and yoga.

   See what happens if you get up a little earlier in order to start your day with meditation. It may just set you off to a great start! Or try getting to bed a little earlier and see if that effects your energy level the next day.