Coconut Oil: Moisturizing + Better Stir-fry

We know that the additives and preservatives, added to our food and cosmetics to give them a longer shelf-life, are if not out-right toxic, unhealthy and unnecessary. We don't want to ingest or absorb toxins and so sometimes we are motivated and patient enough to read the ingredients at the supermarket or drug store. Then comes the inevitable moment when you are on your third tube of hand cream and you still find at least three or four words you have never heard of and couldn't even begin to pronounce. AND those were sadly the 'natural' brands. Hey, it's not their fault... to give these manufacturers the benefit of a doubt, they are shipping these products hundreds of miles to sit on a store shelf for days or weeks or months and want to make sure you get a fresh product. But, hey, this isn't working.

Like many others, I like finding simple, pure alternatives and luckily there are loads of websites out their offering tips and recipes for pretty much any kind of concoction you are interested in making. Because it's summer and because I have skin that tends to be dry I have been very much interested in finding a natural moisturizer. For the last three years or so I have used jojoba oil, which is wonderful because it is easily absorbed by your skin (i.e. you won't look like a body builder), it washes out of clothes and you can even use it sparingly on your hair.

All was well, but then I found a new concoction, Shea Body Butter, that I have every intention of making. It looks and sounds delicious and I kind of want to eat it, but who knows when I will actually get around to making it. A friend then suggested that I just buy some coconut oil and use that instead. She could say from experience that it was really good moisturizer. So, I bought some cooking coconut oil and have since used it for both moisurizing and cooking. The cooking coconut oil is by the way cheaper than the stuff intended for the skin even though both should be 100% coconut oil.

The result is that my stir-fry is tastier and my skin softer. Aside from the fact that I want to eat my arm when I put it on I can see no downsides. The jar was about 3,50/4 euros and looks like it will last a long-time in the fridge. Chilled coconut oil will melt in your hand as you rub it in and it seems to be a little thicker than jojoba oil and better for drier skin. And in case I haven't emphasized this enough... it's delicious!

Rapunzel Kokosöl is the brand I bought (I live in Germany).
  

Getting Back on the Horse

Its not Monday and you are still having a tough time getting out of bed. You are tired even though you think you are getting enough sleep. You are eating right and exercising consistently, but something isn't exactly right.

I have had the opportunity to take yoga classes with some teachers that I respect a great deal both as teachers and as yogis. These teachers have trained for years in not only Hatha yoga, or the postures and movement we commonly know as yoga, but also in exercises of the breath and the mind including self-restraint and meditation. They radiate peace and contentment and serve as sources of inspiration for their students.

As students we tend to see these yogis as perfect, as the end game. However they all seem to agree on the fact that even at an advanced state of their practice they are not left in an unwavering state of peace, and that they sometimes still 'fall off the horse' or go through difficult periods in their lives. The difference that years of yoga has made is that it just doesn't take them as long 'to get back on.' The world will still throw us off our horse. We will still experience pain, loss and suffering but we do yoga in order to have the mental and spiritual resiliency to come back to a place of contentment quicker and with fewer bruises.

So, we cannot expect to be free of low points. We just have to learn how to be present with these moments and patient with ourselves. Our yoga practice (or whatever it is you do to exercise your mind, body and spirit) is there to leave us better equipped to handle all kinds of challenges.

P.S. I realized that this post started out sounding like a Prozac commercial... woops... my real intention couldn't be farther from that.

Releasing Tension in the Upper Back

We sit sometimes for 8 hours straight without taking even a few minutes to take a walk or stretch the arms and legs. We know that this is unhealthy and even though we are really aware of it when we are on an airplane, we totally ignore this unhealthy lack of movement while in the office. Ok, your office is not at 20,000 ft but still, you need to get your blood moving and you need to somehow counter any tension that is due to stress and/or just plain bad posture. By bad posture I mean while sitting in front of your computer your upper back is rounded, shoulders hunched, neck extended and chin jutting out (your body looks like a 'c'). I know this posture from experience and it will leave some aches and pains.

So get up. Take off your high heels or loafers and place your feet parallel and hip distance apart. Make sure you have a wall close behind you so as to shield yourself from any unflattering or unprofessional displays of your backside. Then bend your knees slightly and fold over your legs so that your arms and head are hanging loosely. It is important to make sure that your head and arms are heavy (shake your head 'yes' and 'no' to make sure your neck is loose) so that you can  relax the place between your shoulder blades and feel a wonderful release of tension. You can hang here for about 30 seconds or as long as it feels comfortable and then slowly roll your body up into a standing position. You can repeat this calming stretch throughout the day.

The standing forward bend as described above (known as Uttanasana in Yoga) is great for releasing tension in the back especially in the upper back, shoulders and neck. Keep the knees bent if your fingers do not reach the floor or straighten the legs if your fingers do reach the floor and the lower back is able to release. If straightening the legs is not comfortable for the lower back, keep the knees bent.

This is just one of many stretches that will help to improve your work day. More to come.... and always remember to breath!

For more information on Uttanasana click here. FYI this is a yoga website and those in the picture are usually abnormally flexible.    

What the Hell is a Burnout?

Living in Germany, I get the opportunity to learn some new English vocabulary. Crazy, right? I have not just learned English words I have never heard before ('handy' as a noun), I have learned new definitions for words that I thought I knew ('shitstorm').Whether or not this should or shouldn't take place is irrelevant, as I am sure this is taking place all over the world as we speak. In any case it is a 'mind-fuck,' as I personally like to call it, for any native English speaker.

'Burnout' is one of these words that I started to hear a lot that didn't sit right with me. Of course I am not the ultimate authority on English but where I am from we almost always used this in reference to sports. When a player has played a sport too often and no longer enjoys playing, he or she is burned out. I suppose it could also be used in reference to work but with the same underlying meaning. In Germany I have found that the definition has expanded significantly. It can encompass sleep disruption, depression, dizziness, depression and anxiety among other symptoms. As far as I gather it is a relatively new concept and it includes a variety of symptoms with the cause most often being the job. 

This was really interesting to me because a burnout, though of course undesirable, is seen as an acceptable condition that must be treated. It does not mean that someone is then forever labelled as crazy. It is actually a legitimate reason for someone to take time off of work to improve their mental health and then later return as a rejuvenated and healthy person. 

The best translation I can think of for this is a mental break-down. However a break-down is not something that you can easily come back from. You have crossed a line that may label you forever as an unstable person. Thus the options are limited for an American experiencing anxiety and depression. If we absolutely must take time off of work to treat these things, it is shameful so we would never tell our co-workers or boss. So we are forced to continue on with our everyday lives, often abstaining from treatment that might make us healthier happier and better workers/partners/friends etc. 

The reason for this disparity is of course not the vocabulary, but rather different cultural perceptions of mental health. I think that Americans in general are not totally on board with whole body health. We often ignore the mental factor completely, which is unfortunate because I believe that this keeps us from contentment. Thankfully there have been quite a few health movements in the USA recently and with traditions like yoga that focus on whole-body health, I think more people will start to pay more attention to their own mental health.

  

Detox with Lemon Water

Remember when ordering lemon wedges in your water indicated to all other diners that they were in the presence of sophistication? Well, maybe we were on to something. Of course it adds a nice dash of flavour to your otherwise tasteless glass of water, but it's not just that. Lemon water is detoxifying and has numerous health benefits according to a wealth of different sources, both ancient and current.

According to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian health science, lemons are particularly healthy and even healing because they help to stimulate digestion. It is suggested to drink water with a little lemon juice and some honey (optional) daily to clean out any deposits caused by improperly digested food. Ayurveda texts make a point to highlight the fact that the lemons should be fresh and tree-ripened (lemons don't ripen after picked) to receive the full effects. Otherwise lemons are sprayed with harmful chemicals to make sure they look like we think they should.

More current sources on the health-giving properties of lemons almost all agree that lemons are antibacterial and antiviral, cleansing for the liver and aid in losing weight. It is recommended to drink a glass of lemon water the very first thing in the morning. Click here for an article on 15 health benefits of lemons.

For the last few months I have been trying to drink a glass of lemon water every morning and though I have no evidence that my liver is any happier or that I am healthier for it, but still I love it. It tastes great and I do feel better after drinking my morning lemon water. It is refreshing and if it is a placebo than it is a damn good one.  

Growing Things

If you can remember back to second grade when you grew a bean sprout in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel, maybe you can remember the sheer amazement of seeing the white head poke out of the bean. You found it so magical that you checked it multiple times a day. Growing Seeds in a Bag and More

As an adult I still get that feeling, but living in the city with only a balcony as immediate access to the outside world and  'nature,' my growing possibilities are limited. However I am absolutely satisfied with my indoor plants (a banana tree and its offspring) and my indoor/outdoor potted herbs. 

I love to stick my nose in the herbs, take a big whiff and think, "wow, that smells just like basil!" It is pretty silly but I was only introduced to fresh herbs in my adult years and am still amazed that these things exist in nature and were not concocted in some factory. Anyway, I love to cook with the herbs and use them for tea all while knowing how healthy and organic they are. In addition to that, the fact that I grew something brings me a feeling of accomplishment and responsibility. I even get worried when my plants don't seem to be getting the right amount of sunlight or water. 

Maybe those are some nurturing mother instincts in me or maybe someday you will see me, the grumpy old woman shouting at little kids to stop playing ball on her lawn. In any case, growing things makes me feel good and I'm gonna keep doing it.

Lay Off the Jalapeños - Giving Your Body the Diet It Wants

I love food. I love talking about it. I love learning about it and I love tasting it. Over the last few years I have also learned to value it in a way that I hadn't before. I want to know how food makes me feel and what kind of lasting effects it has on my body.

As a yoga teacher I have trained myself to be attuned to the mental and physical fluctuations of my personal health and to become my own little mad scientist. I have an experimental spirit so it comes easy to me to play with food combinations and observe my physical reactions to them. Plus, there are some things that I already know about myself that I have known for a long time, like No Jalapeños! However sometimes, I still ignore my own hard-won knowledge and have a second cup of coffee or add a couple dashes of hot sauce. The thought is so exciting it is irresistible, but inevitably it is a Bad Idea.

This kind of close attention to your body can get you pretty far in terms of learning what your body needs and what it only begrudgingly digests. But you are not on your own. There are plenty of sources of wisdom to guide you including your doctor, Ayurveda (the ancient Indian health science), innumerable websites and your aunt Sally. Much of the time these sources all happily agree and sometimes they totally don't, which is why the first step is to get to know yourself first so that you can follow your internal compass and lay off the jalapeños!