Gratitude

“Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose non-judgmentally in the present moment as if your life depended on it.”  -Jon Kabat-Zinn

My life definitely depends on living mindfully.  I have a wonderful monkey mind that swings back and forth trying to distract me, however bringing my awareness back to the moment and breathing deeply liberates me from the chaos.  I can always tell when life is getting away from me; my body aches more, headaches creep in, my shoulders move up towards my ears, and I feel rushed.  Noticing these cues I bring myself back into the breath and back into balance.   Having a mindfulness practice that helps you centered and coming back to yourself keeps the stress of life rolling off your shoulders rather than hanging on.   Do you have a mindfulness practice that is part of your daily routine?  Is it watching the sunrise or sunset, journaling, prayer, meditation?  Whatever it is, may your relationship continue to deepen.

I was able to reignite my yoga practice this weekend at Yoga Union in Portland with teachers Sianna Sherman and Sally Kempton.  We spent the weekend diving deeply into the physical practice of yoga as well as the philosophy of opening the heart and welcoming the energies of the divine feminine into our lives.  I love yoga because it simultaneously tones and purifies the body while igniting love and compassion in the heart. 

It feels so good to be starting off this year, 2013, focusing on my health and vitality in such a gracious way.  When I first started this project I thought I would be hitting the gym at 5 am and taking spinning classes.  Instead, I now have a puppy that requires wonderfully exquisite morning walks, and I started committing more to yoga and qi gong.  We all have to find our path to health.  For some, the gym keeps them engaged, motivated, and part of community.  For others, its videos at home and group exercise outdoors that inspires vitality.   What keeps you inspired?  Is it dance, hula hooping, running, kayaking or some other dynamic activity that gets the body moving?

After this weekend of intense study and pushing myself to the limit physically, mentally, and spiritually I find myself asking, “what do I really want?”  It’s a simple question, but when I ask it there is silence.  Perhaps silence is the perfect answer, for it brings me deeper into contemplation.   Have you asked yourself that question lately?

At the close of a beautiful weekend, I cannot help but feel gratitude for the abundance of love and blessings in my life.  I give thanks for all the wonderful clients, family, friends, and strangers that have brought grace into my life.  May your week be full of gratitude and love………………

Ps.  Drink ginger tea to stay warm on these chilly Oregon nights, add some raw honey for a little treat.  

Above the Clouds

The last week has been amazing.  In town, the trees have been covered in frost and the roads have been frozen.  At my house, which is 13 miles out of town, the sun has been shining and its clear blue skies!  Almost every morning, I go walking to clear my mind and give myself time to contemplate life and all its intricacies.  The weather has inspired me during these walks.  I see sun rays dancing through clouds and the earth waking up.  Living above the clouds for the past week and then driving down into the mist and frozen land has shown me some things about myself and this time of changing old patterns.  The "get fit challenge" is also getting me mentally and spiritually fit and changing me in ways I didn't expect.    

In life, especially during times of great change and transformation, there is always a shift in perception.  How we look at the world, our families, and our life situations can change if we are open to seeing things in a new light.  Over  the past week I would talk to people about the weather in town, and a lot of people were "over it."  I would tell them drive up out of town five miles and you will see the sun!  This is such a great representation of how I feel sometimes.  I will be stuck in a mindset or over think an issue without realizing there is a solution or at least a change in viewpoint if I would just sit back, breathe, and be open to releasing my own agenda.

I had set some goals for myself in regard to my fitness last week, and well...........they didn't all happen like I wanted.  I was able to work qi gong in to my routine quite easily.  However, increasing my yoga to four times a week has not happened yet.  It's ok though, I know I'm on the road.  This week my goal is to do yoga twice, woohoo!  I'm also signed up for a yoga workshop this weekend, which I'm really looking forward to.  I'm hoping it sparks my practice back into gear.

My diet has been really strong.  I started juicing over the last week (add ginger and tumeric for warmth), and I'm feeling strong boosts of energy.  My digestion has felt great.  I've had a few days of fatigue from detoxing, but I just take a detox bath and my energy returns.  I cannot emphasize enough how important deep abdominal breathing is when changing diet, exercise, and life style.  The breath will take you all the way home to yourself!

If your making changes, stay strong and be compassionate with yourself!  Feel free to comment below if you like.  I love hearing from you!  Our website, www.twosistershealing.com, is always a resource for more information.   Invest in yourself- eat healthy, exercise, and think gratitude.

Taking the Plunge

By Katie Rablin  (Bev says she will blog soon)
The "get fit challenge" has begun!  It's mid-Janruary (not the 1st) but there is never a bad time to start.

I had my appointment with Cindy at Peak Performance, and it went great.  She had me write down some health goals before we started that included goal weight and ideal body fat.  Guess what?  I've already reached my goal of being 22% body fat!  Ok, 22% was my goal but what I didn't realize is that I'm already 22%.  I had no idea.  In my mind I feel like I'm 30%!  To test the body fat Cindy uses a dunk tank, and I had to go under the water and hold my breath while she did the reading.  It's pretty simple and straight forward, and she is super patient.  I took the plunge and came out realizing I'm healthier than I thought I was.  It's amazing how the mind can play tricks on us, and I really liked seeing  the data from the testing, it's motivating.

I also did my basic metabolic rate, which was good.  I burn 1900 cal a day on average just doing my thing, which shows my metabolism is cooking (thank goodness).  It makes me realize that deep breathing, stretching, qi gong, yoga, and a healthy diet have helped my body stay in balance.  If I want to lose some pounds I just have to crank up the exercise a little bit.

Lastly, I did the sub VO2 max.  This included running on a treadmill with a tube attached to my face via a mask.  This was the most surprising test for me.  I ended up being in the "superior" category, which both Cindy and I were shocked at because I don't do any technical "cardio" workouts.  I do qi gong and yoga, with a mild jog a few times a month.  The lesson for me is that yoga and qi gong are powerful tools to keep the heart and lungs in shape.  I study with the Ling Gui Qi Gong School based in Portland, Oregon.  Qi Gong reduces stress and promotes deep abdominal breathing.  It's fantastic!  I'm hoping to start teaching Qi Gong classes in Silverton soon.

Altogether, the testing with Cindy showed me that I'm healthier than I thought I was, especially after coming out of four years of graduate school.  I still want to feel stronger and be more flexible.  My health goals for the next 3 months are:

#1  Do yoga 3-4 times a week for at least an hour
#2  Do Qi Gong 4 times a week for at least an hour
#3  Maintain my GAPS diet
#4  Contemplate full-time gym membership?

I did a two week trial at Silverton Fitness which was great.  I took a wonderful pilates class from Rita, and I felt muscles I haven't felt in a long time.  I tried the yoga class.  The instructor was great, but the room was freezing cold, to cold for me to do yoga in (people had gloves on at the end of class).  I haven't tried the boot camp yet, and the boxing looked kind of fun!  I'm contemplating joining the gym full-time if I can work some more of the classes into my schedule, which is what I seem to enjoy most.  I'm told the zumba is super fun.

My challenges:
#1  I got a new puppy, Trillium, and she is taking up a lot of time!  My sister, Beverly, has a five year old daughter, Ariah, so I guess I shouldn't complain ( :
#2  Fitting gym classes into my work schedule is hard.  I asked one of the trainers at the gym, Rita, how she gets up to teach 5 o'clock classes, and her response "you just do it."  Well, I prefer a yoga session at home on my own or with a DVD.  I'm just not into the 5 am classes yet, yikes.
#3  My puppy likes to chew on me while doing yoga.............hmmmm

I've been sugar, caffeine, grain, and processed anything free for the last week.  I'm back on my GAPS diet full on, and I'm feeling great.  I've had a few headaches coming off the sugar, but a good detox bath of kelp, apple cider vinegar, or epsom salts works wonders.  My skin is clearing up (I've had eczema for years) and I love being free from the itchiness of eczema.  The GAPS diet has been a true life saver for me in regards to healing food sensitivities and chronic skin problems.  My eczema is about 90% better after going on the diet last year.  I can hardly wait for you all to hear about Beverly starting the diet, she detoxifies rather intensely and is completely addicted to sugar.  The other day I got a phone call from her and she says, "I have to confess something, I let 3 chocolate chips melt in my mouth today and they tasted so good!"  I was laughing pretty good.  It's nice to have someone to check in with and laugh through the cravings, moodiness, etc that comes when taking all the "junk" out of the body.  I don't think Bev's 3 chocolate chips set her back,  she is hanging tough with me.  I know from experience that it gets easier with time.  The body calms down and finds a rhythm.  We are changing patterns.  Bev and I had a pattern of eating dark rich chocolate chips together.  Now, we taste each others fermented foods.  After some time on the diet we will try and introduce organic dark cacao with coconut butter/oil, honey, and some mint.  Chocolate is medicine, we just need to leave out all the sugar.

If you started a new health regimen at the New Year, keep going.  If your considering it, jump on the wagon with us!

Take care and be well!