Dear Readers, Oct. 21, 2011

Although I've been living down here in beautiful, mild and sunny San Diego, the nights have become chilly and the days much shorter. The angle of the sun tells the deciduous trees to drop some leaves, and those marine-layer mornings are more frequent and last a little longer. All of this tells my body it is autumn. This is important, because our bodies follow the seasons like everything else in Nature.

I've been studying the Ayurvedic methodology lately, and one of my dear yoga teachers, Laura Plumb, has been a very informative source of information on the subject. She has a great blog worth following, called "Food: A Love Story". Here are her best tips for lifestyle changes to follow the fall season:

1. Rest & Nest ~ Do less. Breathe deep. Turn inward. Come evening, let yourself go gently into the night: Gaze at the Moon. Gaze at a candle. Gaze at the darkness. Dive into the quiet. Enjoy the stillness.
2. Hydrate ~ Start your day with lemon and water. Drink warm ginger tea with your meals. Sip Spicy Tea throughout the day.
3. Abhyanga ~ Give yourself a vigorous full-body, organic oil massage every morning before you shower. (Yes, oil BEFORE shower!). Massage your feet at night with warm oil and cover with cotton socks before bed.
4. Mineral Baths ~ Soak in a warm bath with Epsom Salts. Add lavender or your favorite essential oil. Do this often. Ahhhhhhh.
5. Yogic Power Nap ~ Lie down in Supported Viparita Karani Mudra (photo right) for 15-20 minutes, three times a week. Let time melt away. Feel the peace of relaxation. Allow your body and mind to be deeply nourished and restored.

Thank you, Laura!

Until next time...

In vibrant health,

Shay Arave, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Dear Readers, Oct. 3, 2011

Welcome to autumn! Up here in the Pacific Northwest we just never really got summer with cool and wet most of the time, so heading past the fall equinox just adds more night to what's already been going on. But, pumpkins abound, tomatoes are getting done, and the leaves are beginning to burst into color.

As daylight wanes and the night grows, many cultures prepared themselves for a journey into the darkness of the unknown--storing food, stacking wood for fires, and huddling together against the threatening cold. In many ways this is a great metaphor about discovering the power that lies locked up in our "dark side," or our unconscious, behind our greatest fears.

One of my favorite bloggers, Leo Babuata of Zen Habits, posted a great article, "Turning Fear Into Fuel," by Jonathan Fields. Whether it be a health challenge, financial worry, or relationship anxieties, the way to resolution is toward these fears, not away from them. Leo offers ways to pull this off, making confronting our fears more of an adventure than a death march.

First, reframe. Notice the negativity of your self-talk, and change the scenario. For example, instead of just asking "what if I fail?" and creating a doomsday scenario, you also ask "how will I recover, what if I do nothing and what if I succeed?" Then build new stories around those questions.

Another is to singletask. Multi-tasking is out. You really only do one thing at a time anyway, and to have your attention on something while you're doing that one thing lowers your efficiency and in some cases can be downright dangerous. One thing at a time is what the human brain does. Let it do it! The focus gained from this approach relieves you of fears and anxieties of not getting other things done. You'll get to them when you get to them.

Life really is an adventure--not a death march. In fact, when a sense of adventure is felt, it has been scientifically shown to immediately boost the immune system.

Until next time...

In vibrant health,

Shay Arave, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com
Vibrant Living Newsletter

The brilliant colors of Fall are starting to bloom. With Fall comes a variety of nourishing hearty fruits and vegetables including the great pumpkin. This is the best time to find fresh pumpkin so take advantage of it! Fresh fruits and vegetables will always provide you with the most nutrients and natural enzymes that the body can use more readily. Pumpkin and its seeds provide many important nutrients, on top of loads of fun for family and friends.

Nutritional Benefits of Pumpkins:

1.      Vitamins: Pumpkin and its seeds contain nutrients such as vitamin C, E, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, both beta & alpha carotenoids (anti-oxidants which help prevent cell damage), and lutein (support healthy eyes).

2.      Organ Health: The nutrients in pumpkin and its seeds help support the health of your kidney, bladder and prostate.

3.      Sickness Prevention: Helps with minimizing osteoporosis, increases digestive health by helping with parasites & tapeworms, and lowering cholesterol.

4.      Protein: Pumpkin seeds are high in protein.

5.      General Benefits: Pumpkin seeds help the body get rid of parasites and other unwelcomed digestive inhabitants, and they contain healthy essential fatty acid oils.

6.      Important Fact: Organic, raw pumpkin seeds will provide you with the most nutrients and enzymes.

Easy ways to incorporate pumpkin into your diet:

1.      A handful of raw pumpkin seeds as a snack or mixed with trail mix, on top of cereal

2.      Pumpkin seed butter spread on toast

3.      Pumpkin pie/desserts/pancakes/waffles

4.      Pumpkin baked or browned with spices in risotto, chili, rice, spaghetti

Dear Readers...

It seems that since I've landed in San Diego it's been one opportunity after another--some of them more flavorful and rich than others. I'm definitely on the path of the Healing Game (as the Van Morrison song goes).

I don't know how many of you knew that San Diego is a healing vortex. Thus, people like myself come here to heal, help others heal, and perhaps even discover undiscovered need for healing brought to light by the nature of this lovely coastal area.

It was with great joy that I was offered to co-partner with Rodney Schwan, the beginnings of a series of educational classes called "The Art of Sacred Wellness." Little did I know that in accepting that position I would be grafting my soul into the essence of this series of classes in the sacred art of wellness.

When I first arrived in San Diego I registered for Ayurvedic Deep Healing Yoga. That's due to begin the first weekend of October. I'm certain to be surrounded by like-minded people on a similar path as I continue the process of recovering from surgery. I am reasonably optimistic as my journey begins one step at a time.

I spent the last 10 years of my life nurturing a body of people I've in many cases, come to know very well--talked over the phone, shared emails, and in many cases became dear friends. Over these 10 years I've grown and learned along with all of you, and carved out a spot for myself in a position of global service. I want to thank all of you for allowing that possibility to grow over the years.

Shay Arave

Emotional Detoxification

(Involves gaining knowledge of the ways we get ourselves sick as well as the ways we can get ourselves well.)

Ways to Get Sick (if that's what you really want to do)

1. Don't pay attention to your body. Eat plenty of junk food, drink too much. If you are over-stressed and tired, ignore it and keep pushing yourself.

2. Cultivate the experience of your life as meaningless and of little value.

3. Do the things you don't like and avoid doing what you really want. Follow everyone else's opinion and advice, while seeing yourself as miserable and stuck.

4. Be resentful and hypercritical, especially toward yourself.

5. Fill your mind with dreadful pictures, and obsess over them. Worry most, if not all, of the time.

6. Avoid deep, lasting intimate relationships.

7. Blame other people for all of your problems.

8. Do not express your feelings openly or honestly.

9. Shun anything that resembles a sense of humor. Life is no laughing matter.

10. Avoid making any changes which would bring you greater satisfaction and joy.

Ways to Stay Well (or get better if you're not too well to begin with)

1. Do things that will bring you a sense of fulfillment, joy and purpose that validate your worth. See your life as your own creation, and strive to make it a positive one.

2. Pay close and loving attention to yourself, nourishing, supporting and encouraging yourself.

3. Release all negative emotions--resentment, envy, fear, sadness, anger. Express your feelings appropriately, don't hold on to them. Forgive yourself.

4. Hold positive images and goals in your mind, pictures of what you truly want in your life. When fearful images arise, refocus on images that evoke feelings of peace and joy.

5. Love yourself, and love others, too. Make loving the purpose of primary expression in your life.

6. Create fun, loving, honest, relationships, allowing for the expression and fulfillment of needs for intimacy and security. Try to heal any wounds in past relationships, as with  old loves and parents.

7. Make a commitment to health and well-being, and develop a belief in the possibility of total health. Develop your own healing program, drawing on the support and advice of experts without becoming enslaved to them.

(from Optimum Health Institute)

Breast Thermography

Mammograms are not what they are made out to be. Educate yourself on Thermography! ClinicalThermography.doc

Take care of those feetees...

Another great article for those suffering from plantar fasciitis by Carol Krucoff of Yoga Journal

Foot Notes

Summer is a good time to give your hardworking feet some extra love. If you’re outdoors doing vigorous activities, your feet may start to ache. Like the rest of your body, the joints of your feet need to be supported by strong, flexible muscles. "Vet they are often overlooked.”Feet have a big job; it’s really important that we take care of them," you must give your feet just as much attention as you give your hips and back.

When doing yoga, consciously stretch and engage your feet. Imagine them as "little cars with four wheels," Yoga can help you develop balanced alignment in your feet, which can pay off with better alignment throughout your body. It can also prevent and heal foot problems such as plantar fasciitis, bunions, and shin splints. Press firmly into each of the wheels: the base of the big toe, the base of the fifth toe, and the middle of the inner and outer heels.

In addition to yoga, try the following exercises to stretch and heal your feet:

Weaving helps relieve symptoms of bunions. Weave the fingers of one hand between each of the toes of your opposite foot. With a firm grip, stretch and massage the toes and the ball of the foot, encouraging mobility and opening space between the toes.

Towel Scrunches strengthens arches, eases plantar fasciitis. Sit with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent at 90 degrees, with a towel spread under your feet. Scrunch your toes to grab bits of the towel and pull it toward you, inch by inch, so it bunches into your arches.

Palm tree strengthens ankles and calves. Stand in Mountain Pose, lightly touching a wall with your hands for balance. Inhaling, lift your heels as high as possible; exhaling, bring them back to earth. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Squeeze and flex good for restoring flexibility, relieving bunions and ham¬mertoes. Sitting in a chair, rest your heels on the floor. Inhale and flex your toes so there is space between all of them.

Exhaling, squeeze your toes in to form a toe fist. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Feet are one of the hardest working parts of our body and if our feet are not fine we cannot stand, walk and run. Although, we need to take care of our feet, so always take care of your feet.