What's my Secret? Yoga

A week ago Friday, was International Yoga Day. I was too busy living my yoga to write about it then. Last Sunday I was a sub teacher for a yin yoga class at 5pm at Beloved Yoga Studio in Reston, Va and thought I would share a few thoughts.

Yoga is a philosophy. It's a roadmap for healthy living that includes rules for living, exercises to enable a closer relationship with self, and prepare you for meditation. I often share with my clients how the body follows the mind and the mind follows the breath. Due to early conditioning, most of us don't know how to fully breathe to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, (PNS). Through deep belly breathing, we can teach our bodies that it is safe to rest and repair, rest and digest, and mate and ovulate. This is the yin within the yin and the yang.

There is a yoga for everyone. You are never too sick or never too old to learn, or to begin. Even if you've been practicing on and off for decades as I have, it's important to always have a beginners mind. I believe this is true in business and in life too. In keeping a beginners mind, you cultivate discernment. You can practice moving from fear to curiosity. Notice when you feel challenged, breathe into the pose and relax. Notice any automatic negative thoughts or self limiting beliefs arising. Practice compassion and self love for your current limitations. Notice where you are holding tension. Visualize and breathe healing oxygen into the space.  With practice your body will begin to change. Your mind, your body and your spirit will open up.  One of my students in my Wednesday morning Carpe Diem Dance class (movement to music with yoga and breathwork) told me this week that before coming to the class she hadn't raised her hands over her head for decades! She risked stretching her comfort zone and is pleased with her results.

Speaking of stretching...It's easy to overstretch muscles and to pull a tendon or a ligament when moving mindlessly or too fast. The more you try to force a stretch, the tighter your ligaments and tendons work to protect you. This is an innate, self loving response. Remember the body is self loving, self healing, and self repairing. The way to stretch and nourish tendons and ligaments is through deep relaxation. Yin is a way to move into a pose just to the point of resistance and then to practice relaxing and letting go. This may seem counter intuitive. For those of us who are action oriented, this can be a challenge. Practice quieting your mind when it starts to breed old negative thoughts that no longer serve you.

This practice is not about what you look like or how far you can go into the pose. It's about connecting to how you feel. In this respect, it is a more advanced practice. It's a practice in discernment over effort and ease. It's a practice in self care. How challenging you make it is up to you. You choose whether you want to practice yin or relaxation, within every pose. Discover how each moment allows you the opportunity for choice and discernment.

This is how we cultivate the ability to find calm in the midst of chaos. 

You can easily see the value of taking these lessons off the mat and into your consciousness.
Modern living stress our nervous system. It's easy to stay stuck in the sympathetic nervous system. Yoga can teach you to use your breath, your body, and your mind to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system necessary for optimal health.

Currently, I am teaching a beginners yoga 7:30am Wednesday mornings at Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston. If that is too early for you, then join us at 10am for a yoga dance class @ Rise.

There are many styles of yoga now being offered. Explore this rich diversity and find a class that speaks to you. Better yet, see if you can add some diversity in your exercise routine for balance.  Better balance equates to overall peace.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN-P, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Healthy Living Strategies and Love Your Senior Day

Tomorrow at Beloved Yoga Studio is the 1st Annual Love Your Senior Day to celebrate wise seniors. There will be free classes, self care giveaways, raffles and wisdom talks. I will be there with a handout on healthy aging.

I suppose at 59 I am considered a senior. I titled my book, Savvy Secrets; savvy meaning "old and wise".  Did you know that there are some fabulous discounts once you hit 55? Some department stores have discounts on special days, movie discounts and more.

Hopefully as we age, comes wisdom. I've learned to be more mindful. When my eyesight starts to blur, or my night vision gets worse, I increase my intake of antioxidant rich food and support my detoxification. I consciously choose not to eat processed foods laden in sugar, chemicals. I've been able to reverse chronic disease previously labeled as incurable in myself and my clients. The body has the miraculous ability to heal from within; if we can stop self sabotaging ourselves!

As we age, we become more mindful with our bodies. I used to have scoliosis and a hiatal hernia. When I have a consistent yoga practice my scoliosis doesn't bother me. My hiatal hernia is imperceptible. I doubt that it still exists. Arm balancing poses keep the flabby arms at bay. Weight bearing exercises promote muscle, which burns fat for fuel. It's important to burn fat for fuel as this is optimal fuel for the brain. Discover the optimal diet for your unique metabolic type. Some people need more fat than others to thrive and to release unhealthy fat.

Here's one of my healthy aging strategies:

Work with a functional practitioner to understand if the diet you are choosing is optimal for your unique body. Address insulin resistance. Millions of people have subclinical insulin resistance and don't even know it. (Subclinical means before it shows up on standard lab tests). That's a BIG problem! This is the precursor to all chronic disease from diabetes to cardiovascular disease to cancers. As an RN, I didn't even know that sugar feeds cancer until after my daughter was diagnosed. The PET scan utilizes radioactive glucose (sugar) to diagnose cancer. This is because cancer cells have more glucose receptors. They thrive in an environment high in sugar and without oxygen. Like the process of pickling and fermentation. We can either choose to feed them and ferment or to starve cancer cells with our daily choices. 

Come see us tomorrow to discover more! Contact me if you would like a personalized prevention plan based on your unique body and functional testing.

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse. Her mission is to inspire, educate and empower individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her seven steps to optimal health.

When she is not coaching or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes that "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Self Care During the Holidays

How to we practice self care, especially over the holidays? How do we show up for ourselves when you want to show up for everyone else? How do I walk the walk?

Typically, the holidays revolve around my family. This Thanksgiving however, my husband and I decided to spend the holiday alone instead of with our family. We had the choice to drive 12 hours in the snow to Northern Michigan to visit my two daughters and grandchildren or go to sunny Cancun. We decided the latter. We were exhausted, my husband has had unprecedented stress with his business, and we realized we needed time for ourselves and each other.

But this decision didn’t come easily. It felt sacrilegious and selfish. I felt guilty at the idea of missing out on quality time with my quickly growing grandchildren. But one thing I’ve learned is the more we give, the more self care we need. You cannot give from an empty bucket and my bucket was close to empty.
So we chose Cancun.

Each day my daughters sent messages of what I was missing: Zydeco dancing with a live band! Making mini snowmen with my grandson! Hiking, cooking together, holiday music! This was a lot to miss.

But by choosing to miss out on these beautiful family memories, I was able to take the time for myself to recharge. To bask in the sun and do yoga on the beach. To reconnect with my husband, I even did a little Christmas shopping online. Now refreshed, I can truly enjoy the holidays without the stress and migraines I routinely had this time of the year.

By choosing my own self care, I am now ready to fully engage and be present with my family this Christmas and New Year’s. By showing up for myself and honoring my own needs, I can now show up for everyone else.

How are you showing up for yourself this holiday season? What small acts of self care can you give yourself?

For more self care, come see me Wednesday mornings at the Rise Well-Being Center, or stay tuned and plan to join us for our newest Intermittent Fasting Kickstart in January.

Carpe Diem and Happy Holidays!

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Transformational Tuesday

Fall always feels transformational to me; this Fall especially so. I took the past two weeks to literally go into the woods….by myself. I unwittingly went into my “closed for renovation” mode.

I planned to spend 2 weeks with my daughter and take a Yin Yoga teacher certification in upper Michigan. Family issues prevented me from staying with my daughter, so I made the bold move to ask a friends Father to stay with them. This was a good exercise for me.  I like many, find it easier to give help than to ask for help.

I preceded this with a weekend with a dear friend and fellow nutritionists and was labeled the “one most stressed and challenged”. By the time I drove the 14 hours, and after a brief visit with my son, daughters and grandchildren, I had 4 hours to sleep before class began.

Here’s why I made the journey:

In this beautiful little beach town in upper Michigan lays a remarkable yoga studio. This haven, Yoga4, is owned by a wonderful, creative and talented woman, Christen Landry. Our instructor, Sandra Carden, is a remarkable woman with 50 years of experience, mentoring and mentored with other top teachers around the world.

What was Sandra’s transformational message?

“We are constantly remodeling ourselves, so we might as well be conscious about it.”

Think about everyone you know who sits at a computer all day and has neck and back pain and/or hunched back and shoulders. Think of the athletes who have sculpted muscles but cannot sit on the floor, nor have the flexibility to easily bend over to pick up a fallen object. Our bodies are constantly remodeling from our minute-by-minute choices. It’s up to us whether we are conscious or not in our movements.

Since “sitting is the new smoking,” it is important to get up and move every hour or two. Opposite movements heal.

It’s easy to push ourselves and overdo, especially with a full practice when preparing to leave town. So it was with me. Two and a half to four hours of yoga a day allowed me to unwind. I planned to work the first week but found myself detoxifying with a resultant headache and congestion. The gift of dis-ease is that it forces you to stop. Instead of work, I slept, I meditated, I cried. The fact that it was damp and cold with rain and thunderstorms just added to my mood. In the end, it felt cleansing.

Through yoga, I’ve learned to weather and even honor these low periods. Through acceptance of our imperfections, allows self-discovery and growth that leads to transformation.

Often we fail to recognize how we store our “issues in our tissues”. Yin Yoga is a way to gently unwind and remodel the body from the inside out. It is the opposite of the yang Vinyasa style of yoga. It’s the necessary balance to the type A workaholic or the competitive athlete. It is complementary medicine at it’s best. I plan to teach a combination class in my studio one night a week this fall. Email me if you are interested in joining us, ljackson@carpediemwellness.org 

I also took my own 7-day Intermittent Fasting KickStart program and found it quite natural and an easy plan to do. I also felt great on it. My friend Margo came over yesterday and thought I looked like I had lost weight. I definitely remodeled myself from the inside out.

If you’d like to learn more about our new 7 day Intermittent Fasting Kickstart, join us for a free online webinar this Thursday evening at 5pm. Click HERE to Register for the Webinar  We are partnering with Tasty6 to offer amazing fresh raw juices and more, to support your optimal health. 

Here’s to your personal transformation! Carpe Diem.

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Love Your Body

Wow, what a week of powerful messages it has been for me. Tuesday was my oldest nephew's graduation from Lake Braddock HS.

Eddie with my proud Mother & Grandmother

I loved the speeches. First from a student,

"As one of 5,000 students, each of us with a unique experience...know that you are uniquely you. Go create something you are happy to share with the world."

Next, from Sarah Fraser, s successful media personality.  She was 5'3" and 190 pounds in college and wanted to become the white Oprah. She was told, "they don't put fat girls on television. She moved to DC and has been on TV every week since. Here's her advice:

1. Listen to the feeling in your gut, your inner voice. 

1. Get your mental house in order. We all have baggage. Put your oxygen mask on first. What you resist, persists. I (Sarah) lost my father when I was in HS and this emotional trauma kept showing up in drinking too much. Addiction is a big problem in the USA and robs people of everything. Be vulnerable and own that. When you get honest, then doors open up.

1. Work hard. Social media is not real. Don't compare yourself. I had to hustle for everything. Work on your magic. Each of us has our own magic, something no one else can do. People want to mimic who is popular. That doesn't work. Work on being you! 

Yesterday, our youngest daughter came over with two dogs and two children that she is nannying for. I'm in my office and hear a dog fight with screaming and crying. When I get outside, Stephanie is covered in mud and blood with deep puncture wounds to her right bicep. After calming down, cleaning her up, and a trip to urgent care, this is what she says:

"I guess the universe is telling me that I can't control everything." 

Steph was trying to protect her dog who was being aggressive when she tried to tend to the larger dog. Instead of blaming the dogs, she took personal responsibility for her part in the incident.  She refused to see herself as a victim and immediately took action to protect herself and her children from further harm. That morning her gut instinct was not to bring both dogs and children to the pool alone but she wanted to please everyone. She could be angry and bitter, but instead chose to hear a loving message. This is a sign of maturity and growth.

This morning, I cancelled my plans to take care of my own needs. Sometimes we just need to say no, risk disappointing others, to put our own oxygen mask on first.

Love Your Body Day @ RTC 2017 w Stephanie

Tomorrow is Love Your Body Day @ Reston Town Center. It is a charity event hosted by Beloved Yoga that draws up to 3,000 people every year. I'm proud to support the event with a booth and information on functional medicine and nutritional testing. We will also offer my book for purchase and signing, our signature chocolate pudding with strawberries, and turmeric tea for tasting. We will be sharing a booth with PtbyMarge and Nurtured Bones.

In addition to all day yoga for children and adults, some see what's being offered at Rise Wellbeing Center and  Neck Back & Beyond, grab the best fresh squeezed raw juice @ Tasty 6 and hear live music from a variety of artists including Woven Green.

What are you doing this weekend that is nourishing for your mind, body and soul?

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Stress Resilience Strategies

I rolled out of bed at 5:15am this morning full of aches and pains. My 6am class with Jafar Alexander at Beloved Yoga Studio, inspired this post. He reminded me that when we stress a muscle, we can gently find the sweet spot. The spot that needs extra attention; the knot that we’ve ignored. When we breathe into that sweet spot, when the muscle feels it’ safe, it relaxes and allows a stretch. Stretching comes only after recognizing the stress, holding and breathing into the stress, until it’s safe to release and let go.

Forcing a stretch will only lead to injury. Stretching comes after recognizing the stress, holding and breathing into the stretch to the point the muscle will relax and release.

How do we take this physical reality as a metaphor to create stress resiliency?

How do you look at stress, not as a negative, but as an opportunity?  An opportunity to stretch, to grow, and ultimately strengthen the body and the mind and spirit?

Isn’t it a lovely thought that to find optimal health does not involve the no pain, no gain” mentality? Rather, it’s about finding your flow. It’s not about swimming upstream or feeling like the waves are crashing all over you due to uncontrolled stress.

A savvy secret is to go with the flow. Find your natural rhythm. Find what your unique body is whispering (or sometimes screaming) to you.

We can gracefully grow and age without feeling the overwhelming effects of uncontrolled stress. We can create stress resilience at any age.

Three Stress Resilience Strategies:

·      Breathe, Relax and Stretch

·      Remember and practice the power of play. Allow yourself the freedom to fall and gain wisdom.

·      Move from ‘fear and overwhelm’ to curiosity. Come to yoga to reconnect with your physical body. Listen to the aches and pains. Ask yourself what message is being given to you. Ask what’s right with the body, not what’s wrong. Cultivate curiosity by breathing and relaxing into the space. This is a simple way to move from overwhelm to empowered. (Also step three from my Seven Steps to Optimal Health.)

Consider joining me Wednesdays @ Rise Wellbeing Center for the following classes:

1.     10am for Carpe Diem Dance, a fun joyful movement to music class where we practice play to stretch you in multiple ways.

2.     Or the 11:30am-12:00 Street Clothes Stretch Class. Come and stretch, then have lunch in the nature garden and feast off organic raw vegan prepared lunch. Rise has raw vegan healthy nutrient dense gluten free and dairy free sandwiches and salads. You can sit and enjoy lunch (Sign up now so you can be sure to have a spot and plenty of food).

3.     OR join me for a 45 minute vinyasa class at 12:15am- 1pm. This is a perfect amount of time for a practice, so you can return to work renewed, relaxed and refreshed. You can practice without sweating or if you like a more vigorous practice there are showers available. And if your body says, “Not today”, then consider a 20-minute nap on an organic bed in the napping room or practice meditation or breath work.

Carpe Diem!

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and function medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals to heal from within.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Grow Hope

I continue to be graced with awe and hope. Last night I was at a women's Goddess Gathering hosted by my good friend Rosalie Grazzini where she shared wisdom from her recent trip to the Himalayan Institute. She shared,

The main sources of motivation are  "Power, Pleasure, and Survival" all constitutes of the mind.  

In order to hear the healing motivations from the heart and soul, we have to quiet the mind and find a tranquil state. "The voice of the Divine, comes to us in a whisper." The tools of yoga and meditation, allow us time and space to hear this inner voice of wisdom.

Most of us spend so much time consumed with seeking personal power, pleasure and survival that we are disconnected from this powerful source of healing energy.

This week I sat down with Deanna Won who shared her journey from being a hospice patient with 1 month to live, to being a vibrant healthy and sought after speaker and health coach. When she was in her deepest moment, she prayed and then listened. She heard, "Ask to see the cytology report".  She didn't even know what a cytology report was. This wisdom, ended up giving her an opportunity to save her life.

Dr. Eben Alexander,  a highly trained neurosurgeon explained his own experience of meeting the Divine when he was in a coma. He explained it as feeling like he was stuck deep in the mud and then seeing and following the light.

This is similar to a baby in the womb, or the seed for this beautiful daffodil, and the lotus flower. All need time to incubate. All of us have the seed within us to become the full expression of ourselves.

This can be the gift of disease. This can be a wake up call and an opportunity to slow down. Like a snow day. A totally unexpectant deep wet blanket reminding us of the power of nature. One of my clients said, "Snow days make me feel like I'm in a safe cocoon."

We have a choice every minute of every day on how we not only spend our time, but how we react to the stressors presented.

Deanna also shared with me how, as a scientist, she looked at her diagnosis with curiosity. Why did she contract ovarian cancer? This is so important for two major reasons. First, it turns fear into curiosity. Fear keeps us stuck in "fight or flight" the sympathetic nervous system which is counterproductive to healing.

Second, it allows you to be the witness (and realize that you are not just your physical body) and to take personal responsibility for your healing. This is empowering! 

How do you get to this point? Here's a three part strategy:

1. Take time everyday for simple movement to music. Breathe and move into any areas of tension felt in the body. Emotions are just energy in motion and easily get stuck in the body. Do you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? Could this contribute to your headaches or digestive issues? Get in touch with the deep wisdom within your body. Start with your feet and work your way up.
2. After you've removed physical tension, sit quietly and develop a relationship with self. Start with a simple 5 minute meditation focusing on the breath. You may want to download a 20 minute guided meditation.
3. For 3 days, spend 20 minutes writing a narrative journal written in the third person. Describe the beginning of the dis-ease, the middle and the end. This is important for you to write, commit and visualize where you want to go. Otherwise, it's too easy to stay stuck in the mud. As an example, I might write about life for Lisa before hypertension and autoimmune disease, what it's like in the middle of the scariest times where Lisa realizes how close to a stroke or heart attack she was and what that would mean, then committing to and prioritizing self, and how Lisa becomes a stronger, healthier version.

To commit to yourself takes practice and it takes courage. 

Most of all, you must have hope. Hope and belief that you have the innate ability to heal from within.  Daffodils and Springtime is a great reminder of the cycle of life. When we forget that we are one with each other and with nature, we suffer.

Also this week, a dear friend and loved one described the passing of her soulmate, best friend and husband. As painful as it was for her, the ability to sit and be with him through his passing was both "beautiful and magical".  We all suffer, we all have pain. Remember and trust that beyond the pain is a light that is also beautiful and magical. The pain allows us to fully appreciate the love and joy that also surrounds us. 

May you find connection to self and others, nourishment, peace, joy, and love this holiday season. 

With Love,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and function medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals to heal from within.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."