Nutrition Tip with Michelle: Turmeric for Winter and Health

By Michelle Brandon

The winter season is an appropriate time for grounding. Grounding is the process of bringing awareness to the body to connect with earth energy in order to prevent depleting your own body's energy. During the winter we need to make sure we are not just surviving but in fact we are thriving! One way to ground yourself is to nurture the body by incorporate plenty of root vegetables in your meals, including yogis favorite spice: Turmeric!

Turmeric is native to Southeast India and needs an abundance of rainfall for optimal growth. Curcumin is the concentrated,  active ingredient in turmeric and is also responsible for the strong orange pigment it contains. Turmeric has been known for its high antioxidant value eliminating free radicals in the body. Turmeric also promotes a healthy response to reducing inflammation in the body. Pain and arthritic conditions within the body often correlates with swelling and inflammation. If inflammation is reduced, pain may be reduced as well!

Turmeric is fat soluble, meaning in order to absorb into the body's system fat must be present. So it is a good idea to eat it along with a meal containing heart healthy fats such as coconut oil, olive oil, grape seed oil, safflower oil or even naturally occurring essential fatty acids from fish. Turmeric is a root with unique flavor, making it perfect for spicing up soups, casseroles, salads or even smoothies! There are two forms of turmeric, ground and fresh. Both work the same. It just depends on personal preference. I think fresh is best!

Never tasted turmeric in a smoothie before? Join me at Community Sanctuary (in Focus Yoga) this Saturday, January 17th at 12:30-2:30 for a Clarifying Cleanse Workshop. We will explore a 7-day plant based meal plan, providing delicious recipes, informative charts, taste testing and much more! Click here for more information. (click the "workshops" tab)

Five Essential to a Successful Meditation Practice

Contributed by meditation instructor Jaci McCarty

There is a lot of buzz right now around the topic of Meditation. It seems like every time I visit my Facebook page, or browse the internet, there is another article on the benefits of a regular meditation practice.  I surely love seeing and reading all these articles, and yet most people I know do not have a regular meditation practice.  Why?

I feel it takes a bit of knowledge and instruction before starting this very natural practice of meditating.  There are definitely misconceptions and a general feeling that it is "hard to stop thinking".  According to my meditation teacher Sarah McLean, there are five essentials to a successful meditation practice.  I thought it would be valuable to share them with you in hopes it will make the practice seem a little more accessible to you!  So here they are.....

Its okay to have thoughts while meditating.  There it is, plain and simple. We have up to 60,000 thoughts a day, they don't just magically stop because you close your eyes to meditate, and they are not supposed to.

Don't try too hard.  No effort is required; just a simple shift in attention.

Let go of expectations.  Don't place goals or labels on your practice: just do it. Just the experience of doing is enough.

Be kind to yourself.  I call this "compassionate awareness". Try not to put words around what you become aware of. Just notice it. 

Stick with it.  Stay for the time you have set for your practice. The only way to benefit from meditation is to do it.

I think these tips will help you when you set the intention to begin a meditation practice. It is such an important tool and the perfect anecdote to stress.

I will be teaching a beginning meditation class  on January 29th at 6:45 where I will expand on these and give more practical tips on how to meditate. Click here to register for this special class.

I wish you peace awareness and compassion,
Jaci