Your emotions are taking a seat!

For those of you who can feel it, and for those of you who can conceptualize it, here is the short list of where your emotions are settling inside you.

Your lungs are the seat of grief.

Your liver is the seat of anger.

Your colon is the seat of nervousness.

Your kidneys are the seat of fear.

The thought of your negative emotions settling in your organs can be well, unsettling. But what about looking at it from a different perspective? Your healthy thoughts and processing of emotions will keep your organs as good as new!

Crave, craving, craved! What do our cravings tell us?

If you're with me, you might have rationalized that decadent treat by telling yourself that if your body craved it, you must need it! Your rationalization might not have been too far off, that is assuming that you can read your cravings.

Our body has intelligent cravings or craving that occur to keep us healthy. These occur when our body is, for the most part healthy, but may be experiencing a need for something to keep us healthy. This craving or desire is said to come straight from our tissues. But we also have imbalanced cravings or those cravings that are experienced once we are already in the state of imbalance and there is poor communication in our body. These cravings just further our current imbalanced state.

What? You don't have a craving meter to tell you whether it is right or wrong/intelligent or imbalanced? Know yourself and know how you are feeling. Listen to yourself and your body. The answers are there, even if it takes a little practice.

"The deepest principle in nature is the craving to be appreciated"--William James

Gotta love it...

The more you learn about Ayurveda, the more you wonder why we haven't been practicing this all along. It just makes sense.

And if all of the logic such as eating for your body and the seasons aren't enough, check out this simple quote from "The Yoga of Herbs" by Dr. Lad and Dr. Frawley: "Remedies produced with love, even when not "therapeutically sound", may work wonders. Love is the true healing force; herbs and other means are merely vehicles."

Gotta love Ayurved!

Turmeric, a magic herb!

There are a few herbs that are considered magical in the Ayurvedic tradition: ginger, black pepper and turmeric. Turmeric has risen in popularity as its anti-inflammatory effects begin to be published in peer reviewed journals. The herb is also known for its anti-bacterial properties and ability to act as an anti-coagulant. It has nearly zero contraindications unless it is used in extreme excess.

Right now I'm enjoying a cup of turmeric milk. Well, turmeric hemp milk. I've added 1/2 teaspoon of powdered organic turmeric to 12 oz. of organic vanilla hemp milk and brought it to a minimum boil. This is a great bedtime drink as the warm milk helps to relax you and aid sleep while the turmeric works its magic. Even the yellow color seems magical in some way. You can have yours with whole milk or occasionally with soy milk if you prefer. Almond and rice milk tend to be a little too thin. Try it for two weeks and see how you feel!

Never travel without it

A travel secret was revealed to me not long ago and I can affirm, right here and now, that I will never again travel without a spritzer of rose water and nasya oil. With these super powers on my side, I will fight dehydration successfully.

On land, nasya oil serves to hydrate and lubricate our sinuses post neti pot or nasal rinsing. It also works wonders on days when you have to do, or want to do, a lot of talking without losing your voice. It can even prevent or relieve headaches. While flying high, it serves the same purpose, but additionally changes your entire travel experience. I'm sure that some of our jet lag comes to us my means of being dehydrated. Translation: it will make you more pleasant once you arrive at your destination!

Bringing along a travel spray bottle filled with organic rose water is almost as liberating as merging with the divine. Pressurizing the cabin will no longer mean dry skin and wrinkles. Spritz as desired, especially if your seat mate seems to have traveled through his or her last shower. The smell is wondrous!

My ears are ringing, but not because someone is talking about me

Within days of a friend of mine telling me he had severe tinnitus from an illness several years ago, I awoke from an evening after a concert with ringing in my left ear.  At first I thought it was some kind of sympathy tinnitus.  I couldn't really have it, could I?  I tested it by sitting in silence, by plugging my ears, by tuning out, by tuning in... Yup.  It's there.  

I brushed up on my knowledge of tinnitus which is a ringing or buzzing sound in one or both ears.  It can be from an illness or from exposure to loud sounds.  It can be temporary or permanent.  The damage to the ear is always permanent.  Maybe it can't easily be prevented if caused by an illness, but we can often control the safety of our hearing when around loud noises.  A website from the American Tinnitus Association has easy to comprehend information about knowing when loud is too loud.  Read it.  Having healthy ears isn't something we always think about, but something we would certainly miss.  

Old sensation, new inspiration

Maybe it is some kind of inner rebel within, but my reaction is often the opposite of what it should when listening to motivational speakers.  Something about someone intending to motivate me with their lively actions and upbeat words is just too deliberate for me.  Perhaps I feel that if I willing go to something that is purposely supposed to motivate me, I am missing something within myself.  On the other hand, great stories of great people who did great things---acting purely from their heart to do the impossible--hook me in an instant.

Man on a Wire is a film about Phillippe Petit.  You know, the guy who simply just strung a wire from one Twin Tower to the next and danced across it for 45 minutes.  Actually, I hadn't heard of him, nor the event, and merely stumbled across the documentary on Netflix (amazing I get Netflix delivered under my rock).  Voila!  I am instantly obsessed.  Aside from the fact that he performed an incredible feat, the documentary details something even greater: his determination to do the impossible because it is his dream and it is what he loves to do.  

What is it in some people that fills every cell of their body with life and curiosity while others are satisfied doing what they are "supposed to do"?  What makes someone do something extraordinary when others are happy just living life by the rules?  I'm not sure the answer, but I'm looking for it.  And when I find it, don't expect to find me on a wire, but doing something similar.