New Years resolutions – intention in action

Wednesday, December 29, 2010  1:58 pm

source: didigetthingsdone.com

Dreaming and visioning, then capturing your intentions for the New Year is a wonderful way to spend some time during holiday week.

Wise life coach Marcia Goldberg once wrote, “Intention is the thread on which the pearls of our life experience are strung”. If we go through life without intention – without consciously knowing what we want to embody – we are more likely to have haphazard experiences in life. There’s a balance between going with the flow and setting the agenda. Finding that balance can be a fun and fascinating experience, if you also hold a sense of being open to the odd ironies of life that surround us.

As you vision your life unfolding over the next year, consider what you’d like to have more of in your life. Peace, abundance, fun, balance? How about taking some time to expand on that – breathe, relax and listen.

From there, you can set goals and ideas for the year that are grounded in intention. For me, this adds meaning to my planning and the daily things I choose to do to guide everyday. If I can take some time everyday reminding myself of my intention and goals, they do seem to get done.

Happy New Year, and thank you for checking in on this column from time to time. In 2011, I will be working to make this blog a community from which to explore integrative health, and particularly food as a means of supporting well-being.  More recipes on the way! Thank you for those of you who have commented, dugg, stumbled, twittered and otherwise reached out.

What is your wish or intention for the New Year?

My wish for you in 2011 is that you enjoy health, happiness, and the light of your truest self.

Annie

Feeding feeling good

Sunday, November 28, 2010  4:54 pm

One of the most interesting talks I heard at FNCE (Food & Nutrition Conference & Exhibition) earlier this month was by neurologist David Perlmutter.  If you wonder if the challenge of following a healthy lifestyle in our anything-but-healthy culture is worth it, Perlmutter may inspire you to try.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change as a result of one’s experience. It’s a fairly recent idea, but is good news for those in the middle or later years of life, as it suggests we can, to some extent, heal our brains from injury or lifetimes of poor choices and unhealthy lifestyles. It also suggests that we can take preventive measures against the neurodegeneration of the aging brain. Perlmutter says that neuroplasticity is currently  known to be influenced by three things:

• diet,
• physical activity and
• spirituality.

Perlmutter has a book coming out in Feb ‘11 co-authored with medical anthropologist and author Alberto Villoldo PhD called “Power Up Your Brain: the Neuroscience of Enlightenment”.  Should be a hot read.

No drug yet to expand or maintain neuroplasticity, though of course they’re working on it.  In the meantime, you can optimize your brain’s ability to map new neural pathways  by following the basics of a healthy lifestyle.  I’ll go deeper into the details of that in upcoming posts.

Have a fascinating week.

Annie

Women, Food & God

Saturday, June 12, 2010  2:27 pm

I’ve been a fan of Geneen Roth’s writing for some time – I love her humor and heart, and am glad that she’s continued the writing and teaching she has.

Check out  Dr. Susan Corso’s review of Ms. Roth’s new book. Roth will be doing a workshop around her new book at Kripalu in September.

Howard’s Healing Prayers

Tuesday, August 5, 2008  7:42 am

Last winter, Howard Wills did a number of healing ho-downs on the North Shore in Kauai. On Howard’s site, you can find a collection of prayers that he’s written and that he uses in his work. He says repeating the prayers creates a powerful positive mindset, and facilitates our physical and emotional healing.

I’ve used the prayers somewhat regularly over the past months, and who knows if I’m healthier for it. I do know that whenever I put in the 20 minutes or so to say the prayers, I feel happy. Give them a try and I’d love to hear if and how they impact your life.
Be healthy and happy,

Annie

A Promised Poem

Wednesday, October 31, 2007  7:25 am

Two beautiful workshops last weekend. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity and ability to do this work, and thanks to Janet Green Garrison of Yoga for Health in Gloucester, MA, and to Chip Hartranft of the Arlington Center for hosting me and gathering their communities.

I find the people I meet through this very sweet and very brave. To do the work of holding what’s uncomfortable up to the light and examining it without judgement, and with compassion is big stuff, and perhaps the very essence of developing conscious awareness. Thanks to all to came & participated, and I hope to continue to share your journey.

I did make a couple promises, and one was to share this writing from Swami Kripalvanandaji, the beloved spiritual leader of early Kripalu. Here it is:

My beloved child,

break your heart no longer.

Each time you judge yourself,

you break your own heart.

You stop feeding on the love

wheich is the wellspring of you vitality.

The time has come. Your time.

To live.

To celebrate.

And to see the goodness that you are.

You my child, are divine.

You are pure.

You are sublimely free.

You are God in disguise.

And you are always perfectly safe.

Do not fight the dark.

Just turn on the light.

Let go,

and breathe into the goodness that you are.

I’ve also promised to post my slides from the talk. Soon come.

Be well.

Annie

The Veggie Queen and other Inspirations for Great Vegan Cooking

Friday, April 27, 2007  10:15 am

I’ve been fortunate to have experienced lots of great vegetarian cookbooks this winter. The raw-foods movement has fascinated me, and there are flurry of beautiful books that inspire. I also love books by dietitians. RDs, in my opinion are well-educated and underappreciated, and while our professional organization tends to sell our collective souls too easily to the processed food industry and big pharma, please don’t let that detract from the wisdom you’ll often find among this crew – like anything, you need to find the good eggs. With RDs, they’re are lots of them.

One good egg I’ve been blessed with connecting with this winter is Jill Nussinow, MS RD, “The Veggie Queen”. She’s a California-based nutritionist, and I’ve found her cookbook an inspiring one for the everyday cook (which, for the most part, I am). Jill is a fan of mushrooms, as am I, and she’s into her pressure-cooker. The appeal of a 12-minute soup, or 5-minute mashed potatoes tell me that last year when someone left this cute little pressure-cooker in our house (long story) that I was right to keep it. Now I have some coaching about how to use it and why to pull it out from the back of that bottom kitchen drawer. Her cookbooks is lovely to hold, and features culinary tips as well as a view into her Farmer’s market lifestyle. Jill illustrates, I think, the degree to which sustainable eating really is a lifestyle.

Find out more about Jill and her book The Veggie Queen, at www.theveggiequeen.com.

Another recent entree in the vegan cookbook genre that I’ve been having a good time with this winter is Blossoming Lotus’ World Fusion Cookbook. This is another beautiful book – this one in full Technicolor, high production value loveliness. Healthy cats in Kauai know Blossoming Lotus well – and if you ever make it to the north shore here, a meal at the restaurant is a must. It’s a great place to bring your non-veggie friends to see just how delicious and refined vegan cuisine can be.

So I’ve been cooking from this book through the winter, and the one drawback for really wide appeal is that it’s very Hawaii-centric. Many ingredients just aren’t available or as good off-island. And, the secret to many BL dishes is pureed macadamia nuts! Heavy cream it isn’t, and I suppose if you are living the vegan lifestyle you can boost the healthy fat a bit, but for those who must be weight conscious, just know that you’ll need to be conscious of how much of those fab rich sauces you slather on you veggies.
Another small detraction is the cutesy recipe names. Now, just being in Hawaii tends to make the most hard-nosed Easterner a little whimsical. But I think the book would be stronger if it settled down in that area a bit.

Overall, it’s an inspiration. A beautiful book to hold, and some great ideas that really could be modified to accommodate the possibility that not everyone can live in paradise.

Find out more about the book and their very cool scene at www.blossominglotus.com/about_book.htm
Happy healthy eating.

Every Bite Is Divine: a Nautilus Book Awards Finalist

Wednesday, April 18, 2007  10:51 am

I’m happy to share that Every Bite Is Divine was selected as a finalist for the 2007 Nautilus Book Awards! I’m particularly excited about this one, because the Nautilus honors books that help people live consciously and promote positive social change. Since my mission is to help those struggling with weight and eating to release some of their suffering around these issues, I’m jazzed.