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5 Tips for Cleansing without losing your mind

February 13, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Cleansing is awesome.

There is a sense of freedom and lightness that comes from letting go of habits that aren’t helping you, extra weight, and helping your body get rid of toxins.

As a busy mom, wife and entrepreneur, I find that going at a gentle pace with my cleansing serves me better than doing something radical.  At the end of the day, I still need to make dinner for my kids, make sure they have clean clothes to wear, and not be so run-down that I can’t be present and nurturing for them.

So, if you are in the same boat, I wanted to offer some simple tips for cleansing at a pace that will still allow you to be there for your family and your business.

  1. Make sure you are getting enough water throughout the day.  Adding some greens (either in a smoothie, or powdered greens) and squeezes of lemon with help up the cleansing properties of water for you.
  2. Move your body every day.  When we move, whether walking, dancing, doing yoga- whatever, we increase our circulation, which helps our bodies off-load toxins, and we nourish our organs with fresh nutrients and oxygen.  When move our bodies, we also tend to deepen our breath.  Breathing is an incredible tool for detoxification, make the most of it.  Plus, it helps us stay clear in our mind and keep a good attitude.
  3. Exfoliate.  Our skin is our largest organ of elimination (yes, your skin is an organ), so to help keep things moving along, it’s great to start each day- or ever one day a week- with a dry body brush.  You can find these at any health food store, and just take a few minutes before you shower in the morning to scrub your body with the dry brush.  Start at the hands and feet, and move toward your heart with circular strokes.
  4. Experiment with letting go of foods that can be problematic for people.  The biggest ones include; sugar, dairy, wheat, soy and eggs.  For me, creating a nutrition program that includes very little sugar is the best.  I notice such a big difference in my energy, my skin and my weight, that it has become a way of life.  Get really curious about this for yourself.  How does your body feel when you’re not eating lots of sugar?  What about letting go of dairy or wheat for a few days.  Experiment with this so you can notice the effects these foods have on YOU.
  5. Play with your awareness.  Your thoughts have a huge effect on your body chemistry.  Stressful or negative thoughts create toxic levels of stress hormones, and can ultimately create disease in the body.  This doesn’t mean that you should pretend that there are only butterflies and rainbows in the world- being delusional isn’t healthy either.  What you can do is create a mindfulness practice that lets you see your thoughts instead of be your thoughts.  There is a wonderful freedom that comes form being able to just notice that you’ve gone off on some dark tangent, but not get wrapped up in it, feeding it from the fuel of your imagination.  You can also incorporate practices that encourage positive mental states, which create healthy hormone levels and body chemistry that encourages health.

Play with doing some of these things.  Pick one or two if you are feeling pressured, or decide to spend a  few weeks incorporating them all.  Chances are, you’ll feel lighter and more energized by the end of it.

Join me for a 28 day empowerment cleanse that starts Feb 22, 2012 – I will be leading this empowerment and nourishing cleanse with my long-time mentor and friend, Joyanna Cotter -  There are three different levels you can choose to join at- the basic level is FREE!

Go Here for details… and to sign up.

Filed Under: Action, Curiosity, Inspiration, Monday Moment, weight loss

Will just doing what you can make a difference?

February 10, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

I’m not sure about you, but my to-do list gets a little long…

And by long, I mean Rapunzel’s braid long.  Kind of makes me want to throw it out the window like Rapunzel did with her braid :-D

Having a list like that can be overwhelming.

So can starting a hard-core diet, or an over the top exercise routine.

While going all-out can work for some things, ultimately, things get done when we take them one thing at a time.  Burning yourself out with hours of gym time every day just means you won’t get long-term results.  Most crash diets end up in more weight gained than was lost.

So, for today, what is one thing you can do to support and nourish your body.

Is it going for a 20 minute walk?  Or adding 10 push ups to your routine.

Maybe it’s as simple as starting the day with a big glass of water, and carrying water around with you the whole day.

Or perhaps it’s taking a few minutes every morning before jumping into the day to think about some of the gifts of your life.  Roll them around in your mind and notice any sensations that come up in your body.

Find your one thing, and do it every day, until it’s a habit.  Then find one more thing.  Repeat as needed.

When we add one thing, we create way less resistance and backlash within ourselves.  After all, who can’t do just one little thing?  Doesn’t have to be hard, or take a long time.  But that one thing, when it’s a habit, can make a hug difference in your energy level, and  it can boost your confidence because you see you can make changes in your life.  And they don’t have to happen all at once with drama and suffering.

What will your one thing be today?

Filed Under: Action, Energy, fitness, Get results, Inspiration Tagged With: , , ,

Get Fit for your Adventure

January 30, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Are you Ready for your Ride?

Last week brought beautiful waves, and a wind that allowed us to enjoy beautiful smooth rides.  As a surfer on Maui, it was about as good as it gets.

Whatever your sport is, are you keeping yourself in condition, so that when it all lines up, you can enjoy it?  I think of Life as a sport and an adventure- I know motherhood has been the wildest ride of my life so far.  I keep myself in condition for it when I am physically fit to run with my kids; emotionally fit so I can hold them when they cry and hold the space for a bigger perspective on the hurts and trials that are part of life.

I want to be quick to laugh, and slow to judge;

Ready to jump into the deep end with both feet and a ‘woop-woop’

Able to be patient enough to recognize the gifts that surround us all, even when they are wrapped in struggle;

For me, the ocean helps me remember all of these things, and so much more.

This video made me think about the power of Life and Nature, and how precious and delicate our lives are – and again to remember, you’ve got to be fit and strong for the adventure of life. Hang on and Enjoy the Ride!

Filed Under: Action, Energy, Inspiration

Multi-task much?

January 23, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

As moms, as women, as entrepreneurs, our lives are filled with demands.

Phone calls to make, laundry to wash, to-do lists to do, walks to take, it goes on and on…

We think it’s useful to be doing 5 things at once.  Of course we can make dinner, write an article, and answer the phone all at once; doing lunges all the while.  We think we’re getting ahead, making a dent in our list, but is it really working for us, for you?

Research shows that all this multi-tasking is actually NOT the way our brains were designed to operate.  Of course, because our bodies and brains are such exceptional specimens, our brains adapt to this frantic demand- sort of.  The reality is that we are meant to focus on one thing at a time! “What??” you cry?  How can I possibly get it all done- one-thing-at-a-time??  Well, the reality is that you will be more efficient and effective if you use your focus (your mind) like a flashlight, shining it on one task at a time.  In a new book co-written by my mentor, Margaret Moore, and Harvard Neuroscientist Paul Hammerness, Organize your Mind,  Organize your Life; the details of how to best use your mind are laid out.

Part of this work is learning how to focus.  In our fast-paced, multi-tasking world, focusing is not something we have practiced much. According to an article the authors wrote for the Harvard Business Review, three key elements to developing focus are:

1) Get your mind out of ‘fight or flight’.  You’ve got to learn how to cultivate positive emotions, while managing negative ones.  If your system is always fueled by adrenaline and ‘on the lookout’ for danger, it will be very hard to focus.  Bathe your system in the neurochemicals of positive emotions, and you’ll be much more able to focus.

2) Learn how to harness your awareness. We get pulled away from our focus, often without even realizing it.  Developing the ability to notice that you have become distracted, and then to choose whether to stay with your focus, or to shift it, is critical.

3) Ritualize a shift in focus. This involves deliberately choosing to stop one thing, letting your mind release that, and then move onto the next.  Moore and Hammerness  suggest using a short walk, some stretches or deep breathing as possible ways to create a ritual shift in attention.  These things can also serve to allow your brain a chance to integrate and access important information for future use.  You open the door to new insights and learning here.

I have put these practices in place during my work-day, and  been surprised at how effective they are.  I thought multi-tasking was helping me accomplish more, but really I was spinning my wheels.

Do you multi-task?  Try these tips, and let me know how they work for you!

Filed Under: Action, How-to, Learning

Are you feeling blah?

January 18, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

The daily grind.

Waking up, cooking breakfast, shuffling kids, making lunches, heading out for school after a brief  battle about whether or not a jacket is necessary.

Work, shopping, laundry, cooking, the list goes on…

Somewhere in there, are you squeezing in any time to feed yourself?  And I don’t mean just by eating the kid’s leftovers- I mean Feed yourself; nourish your spirit, enrich your mind, honor your body – (is that laughter I hear- I can feel it bubbling up inside of me).

Because in this day of super-speed, nourishment of self is considered a luxury.  Perhaps a few hours away once a year, or an evening out with the girls occasionally.

I’ve been playing with this idea of self-nourishment at a scale that mothers can attain.  For me, it includes:

  • adding bursts of higher intensity cardio to my 20 minute walk (love those endorphins!)
  • taking an extra 10 minutes to make myself a beautiful lunch, and actually sit an enjoy it
  • planning a night a week to luxuriate in a hot bath with candles, a good book, a nice cup of tea or wine
  • using lotion that smells divine – this is so fast and easy- anyone can try it
  • Keeping a bottle of Queen Bee Honey Rose facial toner nearby, spritz as desired : )

So, if you’re caught in your daily grind, and you’re wondering why you just feel so… blaah, take a few minutes to list some fast and easy ways to nourish yourself- and then do one, every day.

I’d love to know what your favorite fast fixes are- please share them below- you just may inspire someone today ;-)

Filed Under: Action, happiness, Inspiration, Learning

Are you a Runner? Or just want to Run…?

November 9, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

On the heels of running the Hana Relay this September, (The Hana Relay is a spectacular relay race, run along a 54 mile stretch of winding road, complete with waterfalls, scenic ocean and jungle views, valleys filled with ginger in full bloom, and surrounded by people dressed up, singing, and laughing – a LOT!), I got to thinking.  I used to run.  I used to love to run.  Correct that, I used to love the way I felt AFTER I had run.  Those endorphins can become an addiction, causing people to keep running, even though their doctors tell them that they MUST STOP!  It’s not unlike the heart attack patient who is told they must change their lifestyle, or they will die- Runners are told they will not be able to walk, and yet they keep running.

Okay, some of them keep running.

For me, it was after the birth of my first child that my running ended- or so I thought.  I experienced a debilitating back injury that kept me from doing much of anything, let alone running.  I could hardly walk, the pain was so bad.  Luckily, I had an amazing Physical Therapist who taught me how to bring myself back, first to normal, and then to a place where I felt even stronger and better in my body than I had felt before I had children.  This journey was part of what led me to the work I do now.  It’s an incredible thing to believe you are finished, that life will never hold the same level of activity and enjoyment for you, and then to go beyond that.

As much as I had recovered from back pain, I still didn’t think I would ever run more than a mile or so.  My comfort zone used to be in the 6-mile range, so it was quite a shock to not be able to go past that one mile mark.

But then, two years ago I was invited to run The Relay.  The Hana Relay had been elusive for me.  Interestingly enough, I connected my original back injury to 15 years earlier, training for the first Hana Relay I was going to run, I had been out in Hana, and was thrown off of a horse onto my hip.  Years later, this translated into my back pain- still having never run the relay.  I decided to go for it.  I was feeling strong again, had been a few years out of pain, and knew how to keep my core strong enough to maintain.

Ahhh, it felt good to run again- or rather, it felt good to be done after running again.  There was that feeling.  The rush of endorphins, the physical streamlining that only running brought to me.

So, this is my ode to running.  A man named Christopher McDougall has been studying how our bodies were meant to run.  The mechanics of how our bodies are meant to run.  It’s not just about ‘barefoot running’ but it’s a way of moving your body, and even a way of living a more fulfilling life.   He is articulate and has an interesting point of view.

 

Here is a link to the history of how we got so off course with our running – would you believe that our consumer society played a part?  Click here to go to the NY Times article

And here is a video connected to the article above that breaks down and shows how to re-train your body to run correctly- interestingly this comes from the 1800s – it’s called the 100-up. Click here to see the video

So, whether you feel like you were born to run, I invite you to explore your movement with a sense of playfulness, a sense of recognizing that our bodies were actually designed to move through space more than they were designed to sit at a desk or behind the wheel of a car.  I know, those things are sometimes a necessity in our lives, but the couch can wait, there is a whole big world out there, just waiting to be turned into a playground.  Have Fun!

Filed Under: Action, Curiosity, get in shape, How-to, Inspiration, wellness Tagged With: , ,

How to know when it’s time to shake it up

September 7, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

There you are, going about your routine.

You’ve got it down, run for 20 minutes, stretch, eat something…

It’s all gotten routine, and it’s been a while now.  The honeymoon is over, as they say.

Our bodies are incredible, adaptive organisms, that have a way of getting used to what we throw them.  Sometimes, it’s  a good thing, we can handle less sleep when we have newborns, because, to a certain extent, we get used to not sleeping.  Not that we could go on forever like that, but we do adapt.

However, we also adapt to a routine.  Our muscles stop being challenged when we do the same thing all the time.  We slip into auto-pilot when there is no variation to what we are doing.  Even practicing gratitude can become ineffective if it just becomes a mindless thing that we ‘check off our list’ at the end of the day.

So what’s a girl to do?

I say SHAKE IT UP!!

If you workout in a flat place; find a hill, add more intensity, stop every 5 minutes and do push ups or sit ups or jumping jacks.  If gratitude is something you do every day, change the way you do it- go outside, express your gratitude with a picture or a symbol, rather than writing it down.   You could also include some other positivity boosting exercises, such as tapping into your sense of awe and wonder, or searching out ways to laugh more.

If what you are doing feels dull and ineffective, even if those things are ‘good for you’, find a way to shake it up, add some spice and sizzle.  You will feel more alive, more inspired, and more likely to continue doing fabulous things for your mind, body and spirit.

Filed Under: Action, fitness, Get results, happiness, health, How-to, Inspiration Tagged With: , ,

Why more of this is NOT a good thing…

September 6, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

It’s everywhere.

We can’t escape it.

The amount of information that bombards us, promises us what we want, shocks us into reading more of it…

So right now, this moment,

Take a break.

Take a breath.

Put down the information- whatever form you are consuming it in.  And walk away.

Get in nature.  Dive in the ocean, sink  your hands into the earth, wiggle your toes in the sand or the dirt or the air above you. Turn on music and move your body to the beat. Bite into a sweet, juicy strawberry.

Get out of your head and into your senses.  Allow your thoughts to be what they are, and immerse yourself in the only reality that exists right now- saturate your senses with feeling alive.

There will never be a shortage of information.

If you miss it this round, (contrary to what they may tell you), if it’s good, it will come back around.  If it’s not worth hearing, than better not to waste your time with it.

Experience this moment.  Savor the juicy richness of what surrounds you.  Explore your world for what is alive in it.   Notice what feelings this inspires in you.  Is it joy, awe, love, peace, or something else?

It can take just a minute or two, but it can alter the course of your day.

Release the overwhelm and Enjoy!

Filed Under: Action, Curiosity, Energy, How-to, Inspiration, Mind, Monday Moment, Well-being Tagged With: , , ,

When you can’t seem to get to the surface…

August 19, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

You’ve had those days.  The ones where it just all seems so endless…

The laundry, the dishes, the bills, everyone else’s needs, everyone else’s wants…

WAIT! I want to yell, channeling my inner three year old- ‘what about ME?’

I know, I know, I’m the mom, I don’t have needs, I am here to serve, to make sure everyone’s lunch is packed, socks are clean (and match!), and on and on.  And it’s partly true; I do love to have clean matching socks for my sweet children as they head out the door with a balanced meal packed in their lunch boxes.

But it’s NOT true that I don’t have needs, or wants.  I really do.  And I recognize that when I give those wants a needs a moment, a breath, a sweet glimpse in the moment of my day, I am better for it.

Right now, I am training for the Hana Relay, a 54 mile relay run along the Northeast coast of Maui.  With a team of 6 women, we pass the baton along the coast, laughing as the ‘naked’ team runs along, followed by the ‘beauty queen’ team.  And at the end of it all, Hana.  Surrounded by beauty, the ocean, gentle passing showers, and a big house filled with incredible women, and three days of laughter, lounging, swimming and just being.

This is my want, my need.  And I am buoyed by knowing it is just around the corner…  It pulls me through my run in the park while my daughter is at piano, or squeezing in a run between teaching and the volunteer soccer coaches’ meeting.  It’s my carrot, hanging out there to draw me forward.

What is your want, your need?  What brings you to the surface?

Filed Under: Action, Energy, fitness, happiness, Inspiration, Stress Tagged With: , ,

How your body whispers

August 8, 2011 By Kalia 1 Comment

We all get complacent.

We go along our way, pushing ourselves, doing more, taking care of business, when suddenly, bam, seemingly out of the blue, our body demands that we STOP!

7 days ago, maybe it was just a hint of being tired, the faintest fogginess in the brain.

3 days ago, perhaps we woke up with a kink in our back, the pep in our step nowhere to be found.

We pushed through those signals, convinced that if we could just get through the next week, the next to-do list, the next mountain of paper or laundry or dishes…

But no, our body screams to us. When we didn’t listen to the whisper 7 days ago, or the yell 3 days ago, our body decided to get out the bullhorn and make sure we stop and listen.  Your screaming body may have symptoms all it’s own, but sometimes it’s a cold or a flu, perhaps a crippling headache or an impossible kink in your back or neck.

You know your bodies’ scream, we all do.

We just need to learn a little more about the way it whispers, or even how it yells.

My body whispers with a pinch between my shoulder blades, a slight tightness in my neck.  I also notice it gets harder to sleep at night, and I burp more, (sorry, TMI – my digestion has a voice too ; )

I’m certainly still learning this one.  When I feel healthy, I feel invincible, and when somethings not right, when my body is screaming at me, the only thing I can think about is how much I want to feel better.  “I’ll never take my health for granted” I think to myself… and then I feel better, the memory of my screaming body slowly fades.

“One who has health has a thousand wishes, one who does not, has but ONE ” ~ Anonymous

Do you know your bodies’ whisper?  I would love to know what it is- Will you share it below?

Make a list, right now, of how your body tells your things are OFF, that you need to tweak your habits, small choice by small choice.

And then notice when those things come up for you.

Listen to your body.  Sounds simple, but it sure isn’t always easy!

Filed Under: Action, Energy, health, How-to, Learning, Stress, wellness Tagged With: , ,
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