Tag Archives: seasonal self care class

Summer Self Care Packages

Doesn’t it feel like sometimes we wait all year for the summer sunshine and before we know it, its over? These care packages were designed to support you for a healthy summer season.
Each package includes a Pink Salt Foot Soak, Relaxed and Energized Tea, Digestive Bitters and An after sun serum. Below I’ll go into a little detail about the benefits of each. When you purchase your self care package you will also get access to a special blog post just for you with the recipes for each item so you can make more on your own!

 

Pink Salt Foot Soak

contains: pink Himalayan salt, Epsom salt, baking soda and lavender flowers

Summer is the time when we are more active and often times NOT wearing the most supportive shoes. This foot soak replenishes the body with magnesium from the Epsom salts and over 84 minerals and elements from the pink salts. The combo of pink salt, Epsom salt and baking soda make it very similar to taking a dip in the ocean which is very replenishing for the whole body. Lavender can also be cooling and its considered to be an adaptogen herb. While its known to be calming it can also be energizing if that’s what your body needs as well. The foot soak is a great thing to do before bed for a good nights sleep as well. (You can recycle the foot soak water and use it to feed your plants or garden when you are done too)

Relaxed and Energized Tea

contains: chamomile, hibiscus and rosehips

The color of the summer season is Red and this delightful tea blend is perfect iced or hot for summer. The chamomile keeps the tea calming and the circulatory properties of the hibiscus and rose hips are great for a non-ca ffeinated pick me up during the afternoon slump.

Digestive Bitters

contains: brandy, citrus, cherries or strawberries and peppermint

The flavor of the summer season is bitter which is the most deficient flavor of US cuisine. These bitters boast the flavors and colors of summer and help support digestion. Take 20-30 minutes before a meal to prime digestion or after a meal if you’ve over indulged to aid fullness and gas. Mixed with sparkling water and fruit wedges its a perfect low alcoholic summer cocktail that benefits the body.

After Sun Serum

Contains: jojoba oil, avocado oil, elderflower, calendula, gree tea, rosemary extract and lavender

This after sun serum is infused by the sun much like a sun tea. The herbs are strained out before bottled. A little goes a long way to nourish the skin before an after prolonged sun exposure. Massage gently into skin.

 

If you would like to order a self care package they will be available at the Crystal Lake Yogapuncture this Friday at Bonnie’s house or next Saturday at OhmMother Yoga. I can also ship to you for an additional fee. The cost is $35.

Mango Kiwi Salsa

We’ve been having such an unusual “winter” this year. I hope you’ve been enjoying the mild weather and sun shine as much as I have. This salsa was inspired by the season of transition from winter to spring. The flavor of winter and the kidney system is salt, the flavor of the spleen system and transitions is sweet, and the flavor of spring and the liver system is sour. This salsa has a little bit of each flavor and its quite tasty and easy to make. You can enjoy it all through the spring time too as the sour flavors and cilantro have a gentle detoxifying effect on the body. We enjoyed it yesterday at a very special Yogapuncture for Balance with couples, hosted by Jill Eggert at Malooley Chiropractic in Cary.

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What you need:

2 Mangos, cubed (spleen)

3 Kiwis, cubed (Liver)

1 punch of cilantro chopped (Liver)

Juice of one Lime, or more to taste as you desire (Liver)

A pinch of salt to taste (Kidney)

Corn Tortilla Chips (Spleen/Kidney)

What you do:

Mix everything together and let stand. Eat at room temperature. Refrigerate to retain freshness, eat in 1-3 days. Enjoy!

Preparing for Spring, Seasonal Self Care Class Sneak Peak

We do yogapuncture with the seasons but there is always something happening in the body and our environment. If you’ve been curious about what yogapuncture is (a self care class!) read on and get a tiny peak in. If you’ve been coming to yogapuncture here is a tiny peak in what is going on as we look forward to spring. 🙂

February is the time of preparation for Spring! Even if it doesn’t feel like it. The energy that has been deep in the Kidneys all winter is starting to make its way back. The kidneys store our congenital qi or energy. This the energy given to us by our parents and could be considered the genetics of your body.

The Spleen/Stomach system which is active in periods of transition is continuously supplying the Kidney qi with new energy. Recall the old equation da qi + gu qi = zhen qi What this means is that the air we breathe and the food we eat gives us available energy to use. Any surplus is given to the kidneys for storage in times of need. Now is the time to fill the savings account so to speak so the body is prepared for the transition to spring. It is very common to get sick, worn down, allergies etc in spring because of depletion.

Ways to nourish the spleen: eating yellow foods, especially root veggies. Start to incorporate more veggies and meatless meals to give the spleen/stomach a break from the rich, heavy foods of winter.

Here is an almost perfect meal for the transition from winter to spring. Don’t worry it tastes pretty good too! Mung Bean Stew with Eggplant and Mushrooms

mungbean

Chinese Medicine believes that colds and other sickness can “attack” the body from wind, especially blowing on the back of the neck. It’s especially important to keep your neck protected while you sleep, so avoid fans blowing directly on you or sleeping with a window open when its windy out. Its tempting when the weather breaks (and it will!) to change from winter to spring clothes quickly. Make sure that if you do go out in an open shirt to wear a scarf to protect your neck.

Here is a fun way to wear a scarf. 

One way to strengthen your neck to keep the wind out is to practice this exercise throughout the day especially if you sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time or while driving. You can do it at each stop light as you get good at remembering.

In Chinese Medicine the kidneys control the bones and the spleen controls the muscles. A misconception is that muscles should do all the work. The foundation of proper health, movement etc is stacking the bones of the body first. Healthy muscles contract when working and relax at rest. When the bones are properly aligned the muscles simply hug the bones in support without effort.

To avoid injury don’t lengthen or strengthen muscles if the bones are not properly lined up.

Stay healthy friends and I’ll see you at the Spring Yogapuncture(s) in March!

Crystal Lake Bonnie Ricica March 3rd,

West Dundee OhmMother Yoga March 18th

Antioch Blu Rain Yoga March 25th!

 

 

What’s For Dinner?

Arg! Does panic arise for anyone else when you hear these words uttered? I know I do.

A few years ago we started making a weekly menu and only shopping for what we needed instead of buying odds and ends and making multiple trips to the store and always feeling like we didn’t have what we wanted/needed. It helped me become a pretty good cook, freed up some time and saved us some $$ and reduced some food wasting.

Because what we eat changes each season I thought it would be fun to share our weekly menus. I’m sure not everyone will like every recipe but most of them are kid and budget friendly and are geared towards supporting health in the season we are in. So if you’ve attended a winter yogapuncture class or are curious about how to be more in harmony with the season here is what is cooking in my kitchen.

I’ll share pictures on facebook and Instagram if you’d like to follow and post the recipes that aren’t already floating around on the blog.

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I had the rare opportunity to get to the grocery store on a Sunday instead of during the week and all by myself. What a treat! It felt so good to fill my cart with lots of nourishing food. Whole food makes me feel better even before I eat it. I grabbed a frozen orange chicken for dinner tonight and cooked up some quinoa in beef broth with sautéed broccoli and bok choy with some sliced avocado on top. Quick easy and a balance between naughty and nice.

Here it is, the weekly menu (in no particular order):

lentilbowl

Green Lentil Nourish Bowl

stew

Lentil Stew (Add a 1/2 cup of orzo to the soup to make it a hearty meal)

Rainbow Meatloaf

Marinated, roasted chicken with Brussel sprouts and rice (first try)

Spaghetti squash with meatballs in a cream sauce (first try)

So, I have to ask, what did you have for dinner? 😉

Seasonal Self Care Class for Winter Sneak Peak (January)

Here is a little sneak peak into what we will be talking about at Yogapuncture for Winter this Saturday.

January is traditionally a time for resolutions, by Febuary most are abandoned or forgotten. There are a couple of reasons why I think this happens. One, being that most resolutions are about health and our idea of health is usually weight loss and the winter isn’t the time for that. We need insulation in the winter to stay warm! The other being that most resolutions revolve around some form of marketing and its not really what we want but rather what we think/are told we want. Lastly our kidney energy is depleted making it hard to have strong resolve.

The Kidneys in Chinese Medicine house the will. It might be why in January we feel so inspired to start anew because winter is when the kidneys are most active. The kidney energy also controls the bones. In Yoga, alignment is of utmost importance for full benefit of postures as well as to prevent injury. My teacher would say, when bones are stacked properly there is no effort of the muscles, the muscles simply support the bones. When we find neutrality in our spine and our bodies are in alignment our bodies can take in more oxygen and are able to store more for available usable energy. On the flip side if our bodies are not in alignment it can compromise every system of the body.

Mountain Pose:, steady, strong, immovable

Mountain Pose:, steady, strong, immovable

 

In yogapuncture for Winter we will talk about the foundation of our yoga practice and how we can use this as a tool for the year. Through proper alignment the kidney energy can remain strong and keep the will focused. In our yoga practice we will work on foundation postures and build slowly from there. Movement in the winter should be slow and restorative but we are also every day closer to spring now that we have passed the winter solstice. Through these slow and restorative postures we are able to keep the kidneys nourished and keep our energetic savings account full.

This year already feels full of potential doesn’t it? The intention of class is to give you the tools you need to achieve your goals for 2017, lets enjoy the Winter season instead of “getting through it.”

The Shortest Day of the Year

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today is the shortest day of the year and to me that feels like really good news. It means that everyday will become just a little bit lighter.

Like we talked about in the winter yogapuncture winter is the time of going inward, when our energy is deep and we should be resting. This can be tricky to balance with the holiday season.

Today take some time ideally somewhere between 3-7 (its when the kidney/urinary bladder the organ system of the season is most active in the body) and come into constructive rest pose. Its deeply restorative for your body and if held for 10 minutes is the equivalent of 2 hours sleep.

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For more info and how to do constructive rest pose head over here to the archives! Breathe deep and enjoy!

Want to know more about thriving in the winter season? Join me Saturday Jan 14th at OhmMother Yoga for the next Seasonal Harmony: Yogapuncture for Winter. For more information and to register visit here.