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Life offers many different experiences. We will have adventures that make our heart soar, encounters that make us giggle with delight, losses that are heartbreaking and setbacks that make us question who we are. We are forced to re-evaluate our goals, our actions and ourselves, time and again. We are inspired or perhaps, frightened into assuming new approaches and to find new ways to live to keep ourselves safe and sane. 

This is the human experience. All of life – in the animal kingdom, the plant world, and the human race – is subject to what is called: The life-death-life cycle. 

One moment we can be flying high and the next we are on a quick panicked downward tumble. Life presents us with lot of ups and downs and how we deal with all the turns and twists of life will determine our happiness and sense of well-being.

A yoga class is a metaphor for life. As we practice our asana, we may experience moments of feeling quite glorious and accomplished, only to feel completely humbled by the next posture. We work through the asanas and settle into Savansana at the end of class. As we lay there on the floor, most of us feel restless because “laying around and doing nothing” is seriously discouraged in our culture. In addition, when we lay around, awake and alert, we are left with our thoughts. For some of us, that does not feel like a safe place. For these reasons and others, Savasana can be one of the hardest of all postures.  However, if we can master Savasana, then it is said that we can gain more mastery over life. 

Savasana is Sankrit for corpse pose or dead man’s pose. The objective of the posture is in the name. Savasana is the practice of “dying” or letting go of our old self. To master Savasana, we must let go of the ego, our desire to control things and just be. Savasana is a sacred pause between our yoga practice and picking ourselves up and carrying on with our lives. 

In Savasana, we allow the benefits gained from the asana practice to trickle down deep into our cells. We allow the deep relaxation to bring forth the deep wisdom from the shadows of our mind to the forefront, from the subconscious to the conscious mind. We gently let go of the false roles we have assumed and allow ourselves to rise from our mat more aligned with who we truly are.  It is similar to life; we must let go of old experiences, emotions, and limitations to ascend to new heights. 

It is recommended that you allow 15-20 minutes for Savasana at the end of each yoga session. Allowing 15-20 minutes can be extremely challenging, so I encourage slowly lengthening your Savasana in your personal practice.

March is National Nutrition Month.

In my role as holistic lifestyle director at an integrative clinic, I felt I needed to learn more about nutrition since nutrition is a cornerstone of health.  In 2021, I completed an online Nutritional Science Course offered by Stanford Medicine. The program was a lot more intense than I had anticipated. It included a lot of chemistry, lots of scientific facts and research. I do not know what I was thinking. The word, “science” was right there in the title. I had to write weekly essays and multiple case studies with proper AMA citations for the first time in what felt like forever. I had inadvertently jumped into the deep end of the pool and felt like there was no retreat. I learned a lot not only about nutrition, but also about myself. :0)

I won’t bore you with all the nutritional details, but here is the conclusive lesson from the program: Eat more plants. 

Here are the fundamental nutritional guidelines from Stanford Medicine. 

What to Eat: 

1. Consume a variety of vegetables and fruits every day. Make half of each plate vegetables and fruit, mainly vegetables. Vegetables and fruit will ensure you are consuming fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals. 
2. Consume legumes regularly. Legumes such as beans, lentils, and peas are an excellent source of protein and fiber. 
3. Consume whole grains. Choose whole grains over refined grains as often as possible. Whole grains will provide fiber and all the valuable vitamins and minerals that have been stripped from refined grains.
4. Consume small amounts of dairy. Diary is an excellent source of calcium, potassium, and protein, but you only need small amounts. Choose fat free or low-fat dairy. 
5. Consume healthy proteins. Legumes, soy, nuts, fish, eggs, and poultry are excellent sources of protein. Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and tuna offer omega 3 fatty acids and are good for cardiovascular health. Lean red meats in small amounts can be a healthy source of protein. Incorporate plant protein into your diet regularly for it does not contain cholesterol and it has little to no saturated fat. 
6. Consume healthy fats and oils. Unsaturated fats such as fish, seeds, nuts, olive oil and avocado oil are better for you than saturated oils. 

What to Limit: 

• Added sugar: Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from added sugars. 
• Saturated Fats: Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats.
• Trans Fats: Keep trans fats to a minimum.
• Sodium: Limit sodium consumption to 2300mg per day.