Eating Healthy: A Commitment to Better Living

I came from an incredibly active and healthy family. My parents were both athletes and they directly translated their love for the outdoors into raising my sister and I. Growing up we had a fire engine red, diesel Suburban...super intense. But having nature-dork parents and a huge car just meant that you could pack more camping gear and food for days in the back of the car. As much as I was exposed to the outdoors and parents who cooked dinner every single night, I still struggled with eating nutritious foods up until college, and if we are being honest, after college. I get it, really I do, veggies, proteins, less sugar, it’s all good for you. But all I wanted was candy and carbs :) Literally, fajita night at my house was amazing, and somehow my plate ended up being a tortilla with butter and cheese...because why would you ever need to put anything else in it? I was blessed with a high metabolism that allowed me to eat a lot of sugar, but it doesn’t matter what your size, it is ALWAYS better to eat clean. 

I used to go to yoga with my mom here and there in high school, and then every so often in college, but it wasn’t until I graduated and moved back home to Baltimore that I really got into a daily practice at a Baptiste inspired studio. I got hooked right away to the hot yoga, and made a commitment to go regularly. Conveniently, next door was a a smoothie bar that used healthy ingredients in their drinks, and my friend, Erica, and I, would stop in their together after sweating out all the yuck, and feed our bodies with nutritious goodness. I played tennis, rowed crew competitively, rock climbed, and so many other sports...but yoga is the one form of exercise that got me to want a healthy lifestyle...to want change, internally and externally, and to feel good all the time. I am now entering my first week at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified Health Coach. Nutrition, yoga, thai massage, and well-being, are my calling, so here starts the journey to spreading the word of healthy living to everybody. Teaching yoga allows me to share all my knowledge and all my gifts, just as everybody should, because as Amy Ippoliti says, “If you are not sharing your gifts, you are doing a disservice to everybody around you.” All of my contributions are gifts to you...and each post and each recipe are tools for you to use and share. The following is one of my favorite recipes for starting the morning...get into the habit of drinking smoothies for breakfast and see what it can do for your energy, your mind, and your body. 

Kale Smoothie:1 Banana1/2 Apple (I use Gala)3 large leaves of KaleHandful of Almonds1/4 cup Chia Seeds2 cups Almond MilkBlend until fine

Getting Prepared

So as many of you know I am readily preparing for Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am so excited, it's beyond words. I have been reading and cooking and playing with new recipes and finding out so much about myself! So I have to give a lot of credit to my new best friend, Gwyneth Paltrow... yes, I said it, Gwyneth. She has helped me on my new health extravaganza in so many ways due to her new cookbook It's All Good. I was told by others that this book did not get great reviews, that apparently Oprah didn't like it.... whatever. I love it! It's all clean eating, teaching you basic kitchen skills, ingredients I have never used before, and it has pretty pictures. I have avoided dairy for the most part for a year and a half. I am alwasy playing with food and finding the best alternative to fit my lifestyle and most of all, my digestive system. It's not just about eating in moderation, but more about creating an awareness around what foods make you feel a certain way. Anyway, the following is what I ate today :) Maybe it will provide a little inspiration for you as well!

Breakfast: Creamy Avocado and Cacao Smoothie (credit to Gwyneth)
1 whole Avocado
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1 cup coconut water
1 cup almond milk
blend and drink!

Lunch: Veggie Dumplings (from yesterday, also credit to Gwyneth)
Refer to It's All Good or email me at clareandrsn@gmail.com for this recipe, however I HIGHLY recommend buying the cookbook :)

Dinner: Garden Salad with Tofu
Leafy greens- kale, green, and a third of your choice
Chopped basil
Sliced yellow pear tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
3 thinly sliced pieces of tofu- fry in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until golden brown
Thinly sliced red onion- sautee in extra virgin olive oil until crispy
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to top

Yummy after-dinner smoothie:
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1.5 cups almond milk
blend and drink!

It's All Good.

I signed into my blog the other day and saw that March was the last time I had written. I stopped to think about why I hadn't written anything, and why I had made this commitment to write if it wasn't going to happen. I have a tendency to hold onto guilt when I have broken a commitment. I think that's pretty common, but it's a tough one to let go of. I am actually dealing with that at this very moment pertaining to an entirely different situation. Isn't yoga supposed to teach you to "let go"? Well, it isn't working. Turns out there is a fair amount of conscious work put into letting go and creating change.

Over the past few months I have quit a job to be a full time yoga instructor and massage therapist, realized I didn't JUST want to do those two things, started a relationship, picked up a new boutique job, and enrolled in nutrition school. Wow. I have known for a long time that my life is alwasy shifting and that I am always making new decisions. And it gets pretty tiresome at times.... like I don't know what I want, or I can't commit to something. But really that isn't it. I realized that yoga has given me one thing that I overlooked. Presence. I make decisions and do things that I feel are right in the present moment... and later is when I find out if it worked. Alot of times it does, and many it doesn't. The question I try to ask myself is, "is this a healthy decision for me?" And if the answer is yes then I do it. The kicker is that you don't know if it's healthy until later...

So why is letting go so difficult? I wonder how many articles and conversations people have had about this very topic. It's not like you say, "I want to be done with this," and then you are done. There are steps.

1. Ask yourself why you want to let go of this thing.
2. Ask yourself what unhealthy component it is bringing into your life.
3. Explore what this thing does to you.
4. Why do you feel the way you feel when you are holding onto this thing.
5. Is the feeling you have a habit... aka does this happen often.
6. Recongize the cycle.
7. Make the decision to break the cycle and free yourself from the feeling.

This is usually what I do when I am having a hard time releasing stress, pain, anxiety, sadness, fear, etc. What I have realized is that when I am not letting go of something it's because I do not have a clear mind and I am not focusing enough energy on my own needs.

I take on a lot of projects every day. I decide new things quickly, and I am over old things quickly. Since this is my nature, I tend to get overwhelmed and at that point must stop and create balance once again. When you are balanced is when life makes sense and you can speak your truth.

As I am writing this post I am also reading Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook It's All Good, and at the end of her introduction she says this (even though it's food related I'm taking it to mean something more. "Falling off your plan is part of it, not a reason to beat yourself up. It takes time to make these changes. It's all good." Thanks Gwyneth. But isn't true? It is always all good, and if it's not, it will be.

This is exactly why I am going to nutrition school to become a Health Coach. Because the emotional habits we have in our lives affect everything. And the way we eat affects everything. Eliminate, cleanse, your mind, your body, and find what works, and what doesn't work. Because that's all you can do if you are looking to make a healthy shift.

Kale//Smoothies//Yum

After having quite the indulgant weekend, I decided to listen to my advice from last week and focus on nutrition. If you are like me and you are hungry ALL the time but also have issues with blood sugar, this will be good for you. I LOVE oats and oatmeal and granola and cereal and all that good stuff. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, for many reasons, I usually try and eat some form of oats every morning. There is a downfall however, of eating that food group on its own. They say oatmeal is good because it has a low glycemic index, but ironically it spikes my blood sugar like none other and sends me into a quick hypoglycemic episode within twenty minutes. I have tried adding forms of protein, taking away added sugar, and even lowering my portion of oatmeal and piling it with chopped nuts. Still though it doesn't do the trick. I only have bad blood sugar issues in the morning so I decided it was time to play with options and still get my oats :) So that's where kale and a blender become your best friend. The following are my list of recipes for the week. They have completely changed the way I feel and think during the day....it's pretty awesome. Not only does my blood sugar remain balanced, but I also stay full longer and don't have cravings for pastries!!

Monday:

1 Banana, half an apple, half cup oats, 3 leaves of kale, part almond milk, part water.

Tuesday:

Half an avocado, 3 leaves of kale, 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup almond meal, 1 Tbsp raw honey, almond milk.

Wednesday:

Half an avocado, 3 leaves of kale, 1/4 quinoa, 1Tbsp raw honey, 1/2 cup blueberries, almond milk.

Thurdsay:

Ran out of Kale and made this guy. Half an avocado, raw cacao, handful of walnuts, 1/4 pepitas, 1 Tbsp raw honey, 1/4 coconut flakes, almond milk.

Friday:

1/2 cup raw oats, 1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds), 1/4 coconut flakes, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 an avocado, dash of cinnamon, almond milk.

Many people have asked how I blend it, and I just use a Kitchen Aid blender that has a "liquify" button on it. Super yummy! Please post comments if you have any questions! You can also email me at lionheartwholeliving@gmail.com.

Clare's Top 5 Components of Leading a Healthy Life

Lately I have been working on myself a lot to move towards what I think is a healthy life. Obviously "health" is relative, but there are definitely some constants to that are applicable to all. The end goal of what is healthy is also quite unclear, but I suppose the journey to getting there is all about figuring out what works and does not work for you. I've found that there some components of leading a more fulfilling life are superficial and not so challenging, and then the some that are so hard it makes you want to say "fuck it." The following list are things that work, naturally, weeding out those that don't. The most challenging one I'll leave for the end...


1. Nutrition. Eating healthy is always the best way to go. Over the past year and a half nutrition has become a huge part of my life. I cut out dairy for various reasons aside from "it's for babies," and moreso because it makes me feel disgusting. I have decreased the amount of sugar that I eat, and most recently, try to stick to nonprocessed sugars such as raw honey, raw almond butter, coconut oil, and dark chocolate. It's easier than I thought, but I still have froyo cravings :) I eat meat almost daily, because for my as a climber and yogi I need the animal proteins, but I try and stay to leaner meats and fish. And most of all, KALE SMOOTHIES and tons of fruits and veggies. A must, trust me. (Also, ps, pepitas are my new favorite ingredient so chop them up in a chopper/grinder and you can throw them in anything! Salads, protein pancakes, oatmeal, etc).

2. Exercise. So the one thing that I have noticed, is that when I am single I exercise WAY MORE than I usually do. Regardless of my relationship status I work out daily, but now I stack different methods of exercising to twice a day sometimes and then have a pampering rest day. I am a Thai Massage therapist, a very useful tool for trade ;) So I sat down yesterday and realized that I have SIX active memberships. Here it goes... The Dailey Method, The Denver Bouldering Club, Root Yoga, The Yoga Mat, Kindness Yoga, and Core Power Yoga... who needs that?! Certainly nobody, but when you are in a funk and trying to work through deeply rooted things in your life, it is really nice to have options. My suggestion is always going to be choose something that you like to do. If you don't like doing it you won't do it... that's what I learned from being a personal trainer. So my week now consists of climbing 4x a week, Dailey Method 2x, Yoga 3x, and if I'm feeling up for it then maybe a little cardio.... maybe. But it's cold outside... So if anybody wants to try rock climbing hit me up because most exercise is a total snooze fest and this is actually fun and kicks your ass.

3. Cleanliness. This might seem like a weird one, but it is so important. When I say cleanliness, yes I am definitely talking about hygiene, but I am also talking about your freaking apartment! When you keep things clean and tidy, even down to your floors and bathroom, your mental sanity becomes even. I think we can all agree that cleaning is a great distraction from being a productive human being, but that's not the point. You want to be able to maintain everything in your life, so making sure your apartment is clean and the clothes are folded means you will get things done on your to-do list!

4. Surround Yourself with Goodness. Weeding out people that are "no longer serving you" (as the yogis say), is so so important, but it is not just people that one needs to eliminate in times of personal reflection and growth, but also environments. Humans these days have a tendency to get into the same routine on a daily or weekly basis to the point where it almost becomes numb. I understand that this is a huge generalization, but to some degree we all do it. When the numbess of our jobs, friends, relationships starts to hit, that means reevaluating is in order. Numbess to me is a negative thing, an uninspiring place to be in your life. This year I had to get rid of a lot of relationships that were having a negative cause and effect syndrome. They started out interesting and quickly went stale. The stale factor is the worse because it makes you feel stuck. So get rid of it. I find that if you are in a position to be single than you should absorb every ounce of it because it's the best time to discover who you are and what you like and don't like. I think that in the midst of a relationship is when discovering your fullest potential is the most challenging, so as a single gal I'm soaking it up. Part of surrounding yourself with goodness is finding the ability to say "no." No to friendships, no to dating, no to extra shifts at your job, no to the same old shit. Start saying no and see how it can create a really honest way of speaking. My life has started to shift just because of the fact that I choose carefully very inspiring relationships. If you are not bringing anything to the table, I'm not interested. #sorrynotsorry (just for you Griff).

5. Break Patterns. I think this has been the most challenging component of leading a healthy life for me. Singledome has allowed me to be really aware of my habits that haven't really served me well in the past. Breaking patterns is hard because it makes for a really vulnerable state in your life where everything just seems generally heavier and harder. The past few months have felt really hard for me but I have recently gotten out of my "fuck you" funk and feeling much lighter. You know when you are seeing the effects of breaking a cycle when you move past the dark phase and things because light. At a young age you are cultured to be a certain way and then as you get older it's almost like you are reversing a lot of habits that were instilled so long ago. Choosing to operate at a different caliber requires being present at every moment. Being present to your actions and behaviors creates awareness. That is when change starts to occur. The biggest thing I have noticed about the particular changes I have made and patterns I have broken is that it has brought me a lot of happiness. I had a friend tell me recently that your life becomes complete and truthful when you think inside the realm of, "is this decision going to bring my happiness?" If the answer is yes, then that's your path. Coming into a new way of thinking that will bring you happiness will directly enhance the desire to break patterns... at least that's what I think :) #speakyourtruth

The Forrest Experience: Two

Saturday February 2nd: Forrest Yoga 10-12 @ Root Yoga. The follow-up to experience number one.

As I said in post one about meditation and spirituality, it's all still pretty new to me. In class yesterday Cheryl wanted to start with a few minutes of meditation. I wasn't scared or threatened by this, but I also didn't know what it really meant. "As you sit tall in your sit and close your eyes, I just want you to be with whatever thoughts come into your mind. Try and avoid labeling those thoughts with 'good,' 'bad,' or anything like that, just start to notice what appears." Cool, I can do that.

As I sat there on my block listening to my thoughts, the first thing I started to do was judge them. I got frustrated for a brief moment, and then realized what I was doing, stopped, and just let them be what they were, whether I was labeling them negative or postitive. I just said, "that's ok." After a few minutes of silence, Cheryl begins speaking. "Yoga is sacred movement." It was those words that made me know class was going to be awesome.

"Yoga is sacred movement."

The theme around sacred movement: Befriending Your Body.

Cheryl has a way of speaking that has an incredibly calming affect, and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what her theme meant until the end of class and we were in head to ankle pose. But I'll get to that later. My first thought when listening to what we were going to do to befriend our bodies was that it brought me back to the very beginning of Ana Forrest's Book Fierce Medicine, which I have written about before. In that first section she advices you feel what's happening in your body instead of feeling wrong about it, like we are cultured to feel. So in class, whatever came up for me through my asana practice I decided none of it was wrong. All the bullshit that we deal with in our every day lives with friends, lovers, school, work, whatever, starts to store in our bodies and makes it a hell of a lot harder to deal with later if we allow it to build. So I made the conscious decision to start clearing out all the stuff that was weighing me down. First step, along with being open, was to not feel wrong for my emotions.

Yoga does a lot for our bodies. It clears the mind of emotional junk, opens up space for something new, and physically rids the body of pain and suffering. Cheryl made a clear distinction in class that for me, helped me understand how to connect mind body and spirit. She said, "Yoga is different from exercise in the way that it connects with the mind, which is very different from the brain." That distinction is what cleared up the link between mind and body for me.

So back to yoga as sacred movement and befriending the body. Two very grounding concepts. As class was themed in the beginning, I wasn't sure how this was going to be accomplished, because I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. Cheryl cued the breath a lot throughout class as a way to befriend the body, but it wasn't until head to ankle pose that it made sense. Obviously I know how to breathe and get deep into poses, but it was more than that. It took a challenging and frustrating pose for me to realize that there was a lot of stuff I was holding on to. That pose was a direct reflection of what was going on in my personal life with my break up. I had been dumped and left in great confusion and heart ache. I've spent a lot of time being angry and frustrated with the situation, and even MORE time trying to figure out why. That is head to ankle pose for me. So I'm in this pose, and Cheryl says, "let your breathe facilitate communication with your body." Communication... that word was so strong. Communicate between your thoughts and your asana. I stopped struggling through the pose and I softened my mind, strengthened my breathe, and not only did the pose stop being frustrating, but I released a lot of anger that I had brought in off the mat. Essentially, I surrendered.

So I have decided that that will be my theme from here on out...

Surrender.

The moment you can surrender to what is happening in your mind, your practice, and in your life, you can start the let go and create space for something not only new, but serving.

At this point I have decided to be free of my last relationship, made a conscious decision to heal, and move forward with all the good things I have set out to do in my life.

Yoga helps me stay connected with what is present and true in my life, and Forrest Yoga gives me the tools to do that. I have a good friend, Brit, who is recently into Kriya Yoga and meditation and so it's something I am going to incorporate into my life... for the first time ever.

The Forrest Experience: One

Saturdays have started to look really similar week after week, not in the boring routine kind of way, but in the most interactive way a Saturday could be. I wake up, make my coffee, eat my protein pancakes (yum), and prepare for Forrest Yoga with Cheryl Deer from 10-12. They call it Yogi Playground. Sometimes if I am feeling ambitious I will take Lucinda's 8am at Core Power Yoga beforehand... on a good day. This past Saturday was an especially good yoga day. I'm trying to think back to my mood before I went into class and I cannot for the life of me remember how I was feeling. Your mindset always effects the quality of your practice. That is the very reason why I enjoy Forrest Yoga so much. The healing qualities of Forrest allow for an easy change to your mindset. To be completely honest about what is currently happening in my life, I recently lost somebody that I really cared about. You guessed it, a break up. When two people break up, a lot of negative emotions typically arise. Self-doubt, fear, sadness, shame, what have you. In this particular situation however, it has given me a lot of  strength to see my own true nature, and the true nature of other people. What I will put up with, what I won't, and the complete understanding that healing is a choice.


If you are somebody working on personal growth, or making the conscious decision to heal, the first step is to be open. Cheryl's class taught me so much about myself that I didn't know was possible. I have always rejected meditation as a way to connect with the mind, because I always just said, "it's not for me." Well, that actually doesn't make any sense. Meditation is available to everybody, if you want it. We started the practice last saturday with pranayama, breathing. It was a style of pranayama I had never done before. It's called bhramari breathing, or the humming yoga breath. The physical purpose of bhramari breathing is to reduce stress or fight/flight response. In the spiritual sense it clears the chakras in order to return to a balanced state. The word Bhramari comes from the sanskrit word bhramar or Humming Black Bee. Starting at the crown chakra, close your eyes, sip in air to the top, and then hum as you exhale. As you breathe in this exercise, focus your breathe to each chakra all the way down to your root chakra. It's a really calming pranayama and set the mood perfectly for class.

Last week Cheryl themed about connecting with spirit. As we breathe through our asana practice, and clear our energy, the more we can visualize our spirit and create wholeness. Let me just start by saying that spirituality is new to me. I say that because it is always something that has been there, but never really resonated with me... I am now understanding that it's because I haven't found something to resonate with. I grew up Episcopalian and went to church every week, and although it's something that my parents have chosen for themselves, it's not something that I have ever truly connected with. There is no bad or good in that, it's just personal. I have taken many Forrest classes with Cheryl, but this first introduction to connecting with spirit is what jumpstarted my own transformation to personal growth. I left that two hour class with this sense of deeper understanding for myself...almost like I really knew who I was and what I wanted/needed in life. I by no means think I am enlightened, but by allowing myself to be open to this new method, I can now work towards feeling whole and grounded. I can't take this blog post home yet and have it make sense to how I'm dealing with this break up until I write post number 2 of The Forrest Experience...being written....now.