Tuesday 11 December 2012

Fancy giving your body a brush and a good stretch?



 

Brush your hair?? (sometimes)
Brush your dog??? (love to brush a doggy!)
Brush your naughty bits (errrr.....wax much?)
Brush your Body??? YES ALL THE TIME!!

In Bodywork school right now we are learning about lympth and how we can get it moving to improve our health, strengthen our immunity and get rid of toxins out of the body.

A great way to be in touch with your body aswell as helping to eliminate toxins, is dry body brushing. Spend just a couple minutes each day, dry brushing your skin from the bottom upwards with a dry body brush (pick one up at London drugs or Finlandia), in a circular motion until the skin gets rosy, always have the brush strokes leading to the heart direction. You can do this right before you have a shower, not only does it get rid of dead dry skin and makes skin healthier and more radiant looking, it also encourages our lymph glands to clear out their toxins, and in effect it nourishes your organs as it all eliminates the crap from your body caused from pollution, junk food, sitting here in front of this computer! :) Plus what a great excuse to spend time with yourself, bring that connection back to you and your mind, body and spirit. if that doesn't convince you, I also believe it helps to reduce cellulite! Staying on pampering, using organic or chemical free bathing products are so much better for you, check your bottles and definitely stay away from anything that contains aluminum, or those really long words you don't have a clue what they are. They are all putting dangerous and harmful chemicals onto your skin, which gets absorbed into your body, do I need to say anymore?? They don't cost more than regular shampoo and you can buy them in health stores. Wouldn't you rather smell of natural sweet oranges or aloe oil, rather than chemically enhanced toxins?? Yes please :)

Beautiful inside and out!

 
 

Deep Tissue class got me thinking about what yoga stretches might reach those hip flexes and lengthen the quad's and hamstrings. A really great hip opener that I learned from Yoga school in Costa Rica from Sasha our instructor was 'rocking the baby'. If you really visualise your hip joint inside your body and rotate the hip outwards as you rock your baby, in this case its your arm which should be planted with flexed foot inside the elbow joining your hands around the front. Keep both feet flexed and sit up straight, and be as quick or slow as you like. The important thing is to remember that is focus on the hip, so rotate the hip outwards, not the knee, really isolate the joint, close your eyes and visualise a good oiling of the end of the femur bone meeting the hip!

Working with the hip flexors, the first stretch is from the Kit Laughlin book I mentioned in previous blogs, and is the 1st picture below, you really need to isolate the hamstring here and pull back with the foot, and forwards with the knee on the back leg, sinking your hips forward and lower to the ground. The 2nd picture, is a common yoga pose, lifting the back knee off the floor, straightening the leg onto the toes pushing the back heel back, and dropping the forearms to the inside of the bent leg, maybe taking the forehead to the floor. All great hip openers! (also helps with flexibilty for when you become the next bad bond girl and need experience in wrapping legs around Daniel Craigs neck)













Hope you enjoy the stretch and brushing (of all body parts!)
Namaste
The Raw Yogini



NB: This post is edited from a previous post I wrote last year.









Thursday 22 November 2012

Got a brain?

Just how does our brain and heart actually work and are they connected, to each other, to yourself, to other people? What does it mean when your yoga instructor says things like 'melt your heart to the floor' or when your mum says 'use your brain!'. In Bodywork school we are currently studying the Anatomy, which include looking at the nervous system, how the sensory and motor responses actually work. How is the brain and heart made? What exactly the functions are, and how they work. The brain is our control and command centre for our whole body, its the central nervous system and is located with the cranial cavity of the skull and consists of the cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon, brain stem structures, and cerebellum.

Here is what neuroscientist Paul MacLean describes The Triune Brain described here in wikipedia .He names the prefrontal cortex as the '4th brain', allowing for empathy, creativity, advanced intellect/genius, compassion & higher human qualities. This follows three earlier brain layers; the Neocortex (planning, cognition), the Limbic System (Old Mammalian brain home to emotion and learning), and the ancient Reptillian brain (R Complex in this picture, home to reflex/automatic action, survival). Each brain structure transcends the previous, utilizing its qualities rather than being controlled by its capacities.


 Ever felt like you were really in sync with another being, ever considered you were part of their vortex, within their cortex?? Ever been in tune with your real self, predicted things before they happened, made random thoughts and then POW they are happening in real life. Our brain is powerful, we were all born with this intelligence. TURN OFF THE TV AND USE IT. Get in my vortex and have a good swim about!

"All new patterns of nature are built out of creating old patterns in new ways.” Each structure of the human brain builds upon the previous one. Previous structures are not abandoned, rather they come to be utilized in a different, way. Transcendence is the ability to go beyond limitation and constraint". With spiritual intelligence/awareness, we can begin to use our creativity to integrate new ways of being, rather than bounding us up in a false sense of self, we are still evolving and we can evolve into BEING. 'A New Earth' is a great book by Tolle, highly recommend to read this if you are interested in awakening your brain and your BEING and LIVE!

Here is a cool animation animation (thanks Lene!) about how the left side of the brain, interacts with the right side.
"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe , a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty... We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive." - Albert Einstein


The heart functions as a double pump and is made of cardiac muscle. It contracts involuntary, the right heart is the pulmonary pump (right heart to lungs to left heart). The left heart is the systemic pump (left heart to body tissues to right heart), both pumping blood around the body filled with oxygen and nutrients.

In "The Biology of Transcendence" it describes how the heart's electromagnetic energy arcs out from and curves back to the heart, forming a torus shaped field that extends a number of feet away from the body

The picture here is a computer projection of this field. Using magnetic resonance imaging, in actuality, the arcs of ener
gy of a living human heart are not perfectly symmetrical like computer models project, but are constantly shifting, living forces.

Contemplating and feeling this energy field is awe-inspiring (((♥))) Know that nature's way is not the man-made ideal of perfection. Only the ego could hold such a rigid idea, such a fixed 'thing' of what it is to be 'perfect'. Start to connect to your heart, look outside the science box aswell as understanding. Start connecting with other hearts, send our your positive energy fields, go to a yoga class and feel that amazing energy bounce off every being in there into your field, return the goodwill :)



Feed your brain and your heart with love, knowledge, more love, creativity, even more love, learning, and good nutrition based on fresh, organic wholefoods. Eliminate processed foods from your diet, and try to eat more vegetables, nuts and grains. Read, be in nature, do yoga, connect with other beings, show kindness, meditate, sleep and LOVE, these are all ways in which we can look after our heart and brain.

Get sending those vibrational qualities out into the world and lets strive to evolve into a world less consumed by ego, less hate and less Paris Hilton.

The following set of Kundalini Yoga exercises opens, clears and balances the Heart Chakra (energy vortex), which is the 4th Chakra, of the Tantra Kundalini 7 Chakra System. This Chakra is called the Anahata Chakra, meaning "unstruck sound". It is located on the spinal cord directly in line with the center of the chest. The Heart Chakra governs the respiratory and circulatory organs and systems and is associated with the attributes of love, compassion and forgiveness.
This kriya activates the Heart Chakra and overall is excellent for improving and strengthening the heart and lungs. It promotes better circulation and helps detoxify the system. It also helps soften one’s character and makes one more loving and kind. Even though the yoga poses and exercises in this kriya are not complex, the set itself is not the easiest, so take more rest as required and Do Not Overdo it!

Chest Fly Kundalini


  • Sit up straight with your legs crossed (sukh asana).

  • Bring your arms out to the side with the palms facing forward. Arms are parallel to the ground.

  • As you exhale rotate your arms forward, keeping them straight almost to the point where the palms meet (but don’t clap). The pectoral chest muscles will contract.

  • Now rotate your arms back as you inhale thus expanding and stretching your chest area.

  • Start off slowly at first to stretch and warm up your shoulders, then find a good rhythm and continue at a comfortable pace, use breath of fire and continue for 3-5 minutes.


  • Always remember to take your rest and focus inside after yoga exercises, or take savasana.


    The question is that do you think with your heart or with your head? Or do you feel with your heart, think with your head? Think with your heart, feel with your head? Feel with your heart and head? What about the male form, do they think with their naughty bits???? How does the sensory to motor repsonse work then??


    I'm dizzy. My hair hurts. My skin feels tingly. My vortex is going crazy and my energy field is booming, don't you want to come? My motor responses tell me to...



    Just for today take a breath, and just BE.
    Notice if your decisions come from your head or your heart? (or willy)

    Namaste,
    The Raw Yogini





    NB: This piece was adapted from a piece I wrote last year.


    Friday 28 September 2012

    In LoVe with Fall food




     
     

    Butternut LoVe squash soup



    I love Autumn and the chance to get the big cast iron pot back out and start putting soups together with all of the amazing seasonal vegetables that we have available to us right now. Letting the soup simmer slowly, adding different spices and herbs as you go along. Sometimes the soup starting as one thing and by day 3 its had 3 different other flavours added to it. I would like to share some soup recipes starting with the delicious butternut squash, which can be used for many things like healthy chilli wedges!!! The thing is just make sure you pick a really phallus shaped one just so you can giggle and say things like 'thats just ridickulous' when you pay.


    See what ingredients you can get from your local farmers market or at least a local organic vegetable store, support your local farmers, we need them! Why on earth do we insist on buying food that's been shipped across the world, polluting the environment with endless distribution resulting in losing most of the foods nutritional value in the process. Just go local as much as possible at least, maybe you just try for local one meal per week my good friend Theresa suggests, which I think is an amazing idea. Try it, every single ingredient, for one meal only, all local within 100 miles max. 
     
    Back to what we need for the LoVe soup
     
    1 butternut squash
    cinnamon powder
    nutmeg powder
    1 sweet potato
    sprinkle of pine nuts
    grated sprinkle of almonds
    rock salt
    olive oil
     
    Chop up the squash into pieces, and cover with water in a cast iron pot, or another big pot is good (just not aluminium as it can leech toxicity into foods). After about 20 mins add your chopped up sweet potato and ensure all are covered, let it simmer in the pot add a sprinkle of rock salt and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon  and some nutmeg to taste too. Once cooked through, blend it all up in the food processor to a nice thick goodness, and then add some olive oil, and more cinnamon/nutmeg if desired. Lightly roast some pine nuts in a frying pan, giving them a shake and toss about, and add a sprinkle of them on top with some grated almonds to taste too. Makes for a good crunch!
    Cinnamon is great for blood sugar balance, and just adds that autumn spice to the sweet soup!
     

    I like to add a little crunch with soups, and if you aren't adding crunchy bits to the actual soup, whack in some kale chips. I made these ones, by tearing the leaves from the stems, rubbing in olive oil, and them rubbing cumin into each leaf making a sticky spicy paste. Blast for 15 minutes on 350 and hoooooowwwwwllllllllllll with delight when you eat :)
     
    Please be prepared for husbands and partners to be intimidated by Phallus Squash, comforting them by saying things like 'darling size doesn't matter' usually works. Then giggle. Then LoVe them by feeding them lots of nourishing LoVe soups, and getting that little bit closer on the couch as the cold nights set in, making for romantic hibernation time everywhere.
     
    Enjoy!
    Namaste 
     
    The Raw Yogini
     
     
     
     
     
    
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Tuesday 11 September 2012

    Calling all Cauli's!


     


     

    Looking for ways to spruce up your salads as we move from summer to slowly smelling a scent of sweet autumn? Try this warm spicy salad to give you that freshness a salad can deliver, but also the heartiness of some spice and cruciferous delights. The cruciferous veggies are well known for helping to aid a nice poop too, which always feels great, and it's good for you!
     
    
    I was inspired by a local restaurant called Nuba (on Broadway & Bayswater, or gastown Seymour & West Hastings) they are Lebanese tapas dishes mainly, and the menu is fantastic, a must try if you live in Vancouver. I've been chomping down their delicious Najibs special, which is cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt and some tahini, I think they over fry it a little, but its mouth wateringly fantastic and hard to share without scoffing to yourself. 
     
    I decided to create a warm Lebanese inspired salad using this mouth watering ingredient. Here's how I did it, using the ingredients below, as you can see I'm not really a gal for measuring, go with what tastes best and what you like best, listen to your body!
     
    Spinach, greens
    Carrots, beets
    Sweet potato
    Cauliflower
    Garlic
    Lemon
    Cumin
    Olive oil
     
     
    Simply chop up your carrots, beets into little cubes and smoother in olive oil, (you could also add a little honey after they have cooked if desired) and whack them in the oven at 350F in an oven proof dish (avoid aluminium where possible, its so much waste and not good for you) They should be done in around 60 minutes, sometimes the beets take a little longer, take the opportunity to sneak one in your hungry mouth to try. Chop the sweet potato into wedges and add to the oven for around 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of wedges, just check them by prodding with a fork (like you might do to your partner to stop loud snoring). Good. They need prodding. Maybe start to keep a fork under your pillow. Next the Cauliflower, separate the florets and then add some crushed garlic, olive oil, rock salt, cumin (or tumeric) and fresh lemon juice and then grate the lemon peel to the florets, coating each one ensuring a nice pasty oil is covering the whole floret for maximum flavour. Whack in the oven with the rest for 30 minutes. Finally, lightly steam your greens adding some fresh lemon juice again to the leaves to help with digestion and add a lovely zing to the sometimes bitter leaves. Once everything is cooked, mix together in a fancy wooden bowl (not necessary of course) drizzle some more olive oil, rock salt, maybe some more grated lemon peel and you could also add some balsamic vinegar if desired. Scoff outside alone with a cosy blanket or with prodded non snoring partner and watch the leaves start to change colours ever so slightly....autumn is coming and I personally cannot wait :)
     


     

    Cauliflowers have stacks of Vitamin C and K, and have been found to support digestion and cardiovascular systems, they also have anti cancer properties. For more amazing benefits of eating Cruciferous vegetables check out The Worlds Healthiest Foods here.  Fractal Cauliflowers are something else???? What an amazing world we live in!
     
    Enjoy dinner, and take advantage of the last of summer, welcoming the new season coming.
     
    Namaste,
    The Raw Yogini
     
    
     
     
     
     
    

    Thursday 30 August 2012

    How you can be more Environmentally Sexy

    So you want to help the Earth, and be more environmentally aware? But somehow the concept just seems so boring to you? Maybe you think to love Mother Earth a little more respectfully you need to grow dreadlocks, stop shaving your pits, and live in a tree only eating roots and seeds. Not the case my friends! There are tons of ways you can spice things up and help Mother Earth remain as beautiful as she is by simply spicing up your sensual side and getting a little sexy almost...

    Here a just a few ideas you can make those small changes to help the Earth, and yourself... we are all connected after all.

    1) Double up in the shower and save water! Ask your partner, a neighbour or a good friend, explore it? Doubling up in a candle lit bath is also great to get a good back wash saving water and saving energy. Be careful of excessive splashing.




    2) Practice acro yoga with your partner,or wing it with a hottie you've been eyeing up in the studio. You'll only need one mat, annnnnd the more people are encouraged to practice yoga, the more people start to open their mind and find their true connection to the source, Mother Earth. Accidentally on purpose slip in handstand wrapping your legs around their waist and pout innocently.

    3) Take your bike 'parking' and leave your car at home, save using fuel. Just take an extra blanket to keep warm and cover up rudey bits just in case the police come.

    4) Use coconut oil for EVERYTHING instead of nasty chemical based lubricants and massage oils. You can massage yourself (YES!) or get a willing partner to get tropical on you and trade a coconut massage.

    5) Order a large dish of gorgeous fresh and delicious food and share it with your partner or a friend, using one set of everything, one plate, one spoon, one glass, one bowl, one love. Its less washing up, mindful eating practise and less waste if sharing food on the go by reducing the need for wasteful packaging.
     
    6) Stop doing excessive laundry by wearing less clothes. Even better go nude as much as possible! You will be reducing consumerism therefore reducing the use of the Earths precious resources used in manufacturing, including tons of water for all that washing.




    7) Feeding your partner with your fingers instead of using plastic forks! Combine with number 4 and you are really getting down to serious foreplay. Combine with number 5 and leave the DO NOT DISTURB SIGN on your kitchen door. Say no to plastic anything, yes that includes the goody drawer too...


    8) Top up your tan, get rid of those white bits and visit a nudey beach, take a spare reusable bag with you and do a beach clean up on the sand and in the ocean. Be careful if you are lunging over to pick up any gross litter, you may want to have waxed first. You are really helping decrease pollution just by picking up one piece of litter, that's great!

    9) Try camping instead of hotels, and get resourceful. Swim in lakes, steam up your tent, eat worms (maybe not), make a fire with collected wood, watch the stars free from light pollution. Today Thursday 30th August is a Blue Moon, a perfect night to sit under the stars with your loved one or yourself. Turn off all the lights and just be, its kinda romantic and you are saving the Earths precious energy.

    10) Leave the heating off and hug and rub, especially in bed, you can hug and rub yourself or hug and rub your partner. Be careful not to get too relaxed, you may just let a 'love puff' out (fart) when your partner rubs you into a deeper relaxation.... but farting can still heat up the bed too.... it also makes you both laugh your heads off creating more heat! Come on, if its love its ok!

    Let me know what you do that's kinda sexy and environmentally aware, you too can be greener and sexier all at once.

    Nameste,
    The Raw Yogini

     

    You can also read this article here on Elephant Journal



    Monday 27 August 2012

    Pulp Fiction Cucumbers!

    What to do with the pulp after juicing???

     
     
    A really refreshing cooling juice is anything containing cucumber, it cleans your mouth and cools every part of your body with that freshness cucumbers have the ability to bring. Its over 95% water and so keeps the body hydrated whilst flushing toxins from the skin. Cucumbers have elements in them with a history connected to reducing cancers like breast, prostate and ovarian, they also can regulate blood pressure and aid digestion. Cucumbers also promote joint health, and relieve arthritis pain by lowering the uric acid levels. Because of its low calorie high water content, is ideal for those looking for weight loss. Cucumbers also make great batons to bonk your partner over the head with to go and make you a refreshing juice :)
     
    Try this refreshing juice to get some of these cool as cucumber benefits
     
    1 cucumber
    1 green apple
    4 stalks celery
    fresh mint leaves
     
    Juice up, and drink within 20 minutes to ensure you are receiving the amazing benefits of the live enzymes essential to the digestive process, and also have the ability to become metabolic enzymes.  Enzymes are proteins that break down foods into nutrients your body can readily digest. When you eat, your body releases digestive enzymes which  are released from your saliva glands sending signals to the stomach and small intestine in preparation for digestion, and further enzymes to be released. Metabolic enzymes speed up the chemical reaction within the cells for detoxification and energy production. They enable us to see, hear, feel, move and think. Every organ, every tissue, and all 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reaction of metabolic enzymes and their energy factor. The liver can store everything it doesn't use or need for that rainy day when your immune system is low for example. Pretty amazing hey :)
     
     
    Whats more, you don't have to waste your pulp! You can make some pretty amazing ice cubes that have a cool refreshing taste, stacked with fibre! Ideal if you are having trouble with constipation or wind. Simply collect your pulp, and load an ice cube tray topping with water, freeze up and then add to a refreshing glass of water, or simply suck on one when you need that clean feeling in your mouth. Staying hydrated throughout the day with plenty of fresh water is essential to your health, it will keep skin young and keep elimination moving. Drinking around 8-10 glasses per day is recommended, remember caffeine is a diuretic and so you will actually lose more water, so will need to consume even more fresh water to stay topped up.


     

    Try out the pulp ice cubes, enjoy juicing and share any new ideas for Pulp Fiction or juicing ideas here on The Raw Yogini.

     

     
    You can also read this article here on Elephant Journal

    Sunday 12 August 2012

    How to love a Caveman. Holistically.

    When you have this idea that you are going to meet that 'somebody', there are sometimes expectations of what that somebody 'should' be like, the perfect somebody. Sound familiar...I want a lover to be, to have, to do, to say, to think, to wear, to smell, to eat, to be....
    The thing is love doesn't have a shape, a form, a particular way it is meant to be. Love just is.
    Open to falling in love with a caveman?? Well there are a few rules.....



    1. He is going to want to smell you. Everywhere. And you have to let him smell you. Everywhere. Don't reach for those toxic freshners the TV has brainwashed you to buy, stay naturally clean, and let your love hormones radiate from your skin. Swim in the salty ocean or a freshwater lake. Use lemons for everything and all over, drip yourself in sweet orange essential oils. Go tropical with some coconut oil and smell like an amazon goddess, the wonders of coconut oil are endless. If he loves your scent his nose will forever be seeking you out, he will always find you, and then be buried deep under your armpit and into your skin with love. Just let go.
    2. Accept what he is. Primal and hairy but evolving. He is all man. Its ok, you can still be all woman with all of your woman liberating rights, but just let go to the option of being 'his' woman. Being his caveman bitch, to letting him know you need him, to telling your bra burning days you need him too, and that doesn't make you any weaker. Its ok to need somebody and its ok to let somebody IN. Let your caveman know he is needed, he is loved, you need a fire burning, you want a cave building, you like being carried in his big arms to his animal skins and rugs, you want him to protect you from other predators. Be grateful for your cavemans skills, and help him develop, concentrate on the things that he does have and can do, stop finding fault in the things he doesn't. Who cares if he doesn't bang bongoes or quote Buddha, your caveman is going to love your feminist fur patches no matter what, and he may just surprise you with a hulahoop.

    3. Know that he is going to put most things in his mouth. His hairy sexy animal mouth. Gently but firmly. Yes that includes all body parts, the mouth is always waiting for any opportunity. Food, skin, liquid, toys, mud, clothes, boobs, elbows, hair, meat, grunts, love, toes, more food....whatever is in close proximity to the animal mouth will definately be in danger or in luck of being consumed, and it will jump at you from every angle. Always offer seconds for your caveman, or learn self defence for your boobs.
    4. Don't try to change him. The tribal tattoos from his teenage days are part of him. His love for meat and PROTEIN can be embraced and developed into loving meals made with lentils, beans, grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Give him the inspiration and choice, show him that meals made with love don't always need meat in them to nourish and build. Be a caveman bitch and show him how you can get protein from other sources, or how he can eat quality meat, less, ethically, and sustainably. Guide your caveman into a world of protein meatless heaven. Accept he will fart. Accept that you will fart. Laugh. Love. Fart.

    'You are a goddess, and the fact that you fart means that you are not an illusion. It makes you real' -Caveman

    5. Meet him where he is at. Whether thats in the ocean on a surfboard going out for 'those' waves, on his bike doing wheelies looking at you for approval, hiking lost Tofino wilderness jumping logs and mud, skating the streets of Victoria on his longboard, tearing corners on his motorbike shamelessy too fast. He is what he is. Don't be his mother, its her job to worry about his safety. You are his caveman bitch, its your job to inspire him, evolve him, let him smell you, taste you, watch him show off his skills. Love him. Either join in the fun and embrace the same thrills, or embrace that he has a lust for life and these are his lusts. You want him to embrace your thrills and lusts of life, and be inspired, so do the same for his. Imagine the possibilities of new hobbies and skills to trade, share each others thrills!
     

    6. Do Yoga in front of him. All of the time. See what happens. Especially if you do it in your cavewoman hide with bed head cavewoman unbrushed hair. If you can keep a firm understanding that your Yoga practice cannot be interrupted for animal mouth or scent smelling, you will notice that suddenly you have another downward dog next to you, and this one is wagging his caveman tail. Be stocked up for treats for good downward dogs after practice. Yoga is for everyone, even the caveman, and whatever way they at first are inspired to try, embrace that. Yes it might have required some manipulation of the cavewoman form, but only for the greater good. Who knows the possibilites when you start meditating in front of him too...

    7.  You will have to learn a new language. Grunting. Cavemen like to grunt. The animal mouth would feel lost if it didn't grunt at least once a day. You can either nod or grunt back. Grunting and growling can actually be really exhilerating, if done in the right circumstance. The point is, just be ok with it! No point over-analysing for days 'Oh shit, my caveman grunted at me in this way last week, what does that mean, does he still love me, did he hear me fart after that bean stew I tricked him into eating instead of meat, has my orangey natural oil smell worn off, did I look crap surfing that wave, I can't ride down a tree trunk with no hands, holy f**k!!! I AM ENOUGH???' Who cares about all that little stuff. YOU ARE ENOUGH. You always have been! Communicate with your caveman, grunting, talking, loving, holding, sharing, CONNECTING in whatever language you know.
     
    8. Cavemen often have to travel for many days away from you gathering food, finding new homes, fighting predators, keeping you safe. As a caveman bitch, this could also mean you are busy finding new rocks to make essential utensils to cook with, to grind up cinammon and garlic to keep your caevman healthy and balanced. You might also be learning new skills in different lands away from your caveman, for the good of the tribe. This means you might need to send each other smoke signals to stay connected, to send out that energy that you cherish for each other. Love isn't just physical connection, we need to stay connected to the source emotionally, spiritually and to have belief in your connections. Staying connected to the source of all things, to life itself, to your tribe, to yourself, to your world, to nature, to your god of choice, to your caveman will be the most nourishing act you can give. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans says Lennon...so embrace your caveman connection.
    8. Cavemen don't value clothes. In fact they prefer to be naked most of the time. GOOD. Clothes are only for keeping warm. 'It takes four walls and a roof to make a house, but it is the space that you live inside' - Lao Tzu. It doesn't matter about what your caveman wears, its what he values and how he is able to love, not just you, but all things. This is what really matters in life. Know that if your caveman is naked, you are probably going to be naked too. Love your own skin. Be comfortable in your own skin. Afterall you are just a skeleton with organs, skin, and muscle. It's just a shell. Love who you are, and who you are isn't just a shell. If you are going to love your caveman, you must at first know how to love yourself. Love your mind body and spirit. Nude doesn't equal sex either (not all the time). Your caveman also wants to cherish you, and he will do that if you cherish yourself. It will show, and that isn't always in the pvc catsuit you've been saving for that special 'Im gonna blow his mind' moment. Sex isn't always the way to make your caveman love you. Neither are your clothes. Free yourself.
     

    'Grab hair, drag home, build fire, lay down, have way, hold close, sleep, wake, find food, keep safe, make love, cherish....repeat' - Caveman

    10. Love is like a big wave. You going to paddle for it everytime, even if you know the last wave you took absolutely pounded you head first into the sand, you couldn't breathe, you panicked, you kicked for the surface but it didn't come, and then finally you burst through the wash back onto the surface. You grab your board and reassess. Breathe. Look around. Your heart pounds hard. You are ok. Everything is ok. Yeah you are ready for life. You are ready for love. You are ready for another wave, even if it might make you scared, thats the adventure of love. Take risks on a caveman, forget the past waves you rode. They too were adventures and thrills and exciting...you just may have been thrown off your board a few too many times. Its ok. Thats all in the past. We all get thrown off the board. But get back on it, and paddle out to that big wave again, take the risk, everything will be ok. Because when you are able to stand, feeling the rush of adrenalin as you float down the face of the wave, and ride it, it feels like you were born to do it, and nothing else matters right in that present moment.
    Love is always worth the ride.
    Paddle paddle paddle!
    Love love love!
    Enjoy in the present moment.

    To all cavemen out there, YOU ARE LOVED. To all cavewomen bitches, YOU ARE LOVED.
    Love all species, Develop together, Evolve collectively , Connect with each other.

    The Raw Yogini (aka caveman bitch)

    You can also read this article here on Elephant Journal

    Wednesday 8 August 2012

    Films For Action

    Films worth watching, change your future, look after this planet, look after each other, look after yourself.

    http://www.filmsforaction.org/walloffilms/

    Wake up. Take action. Now.

    Share with others! Connect, inspire. Thanks for sharing and inspiring Theresa, I support you!

    Friends, the point is we can all do something about something, and it can start with just waking up.

                 All of your ideas and input are brilliant!!




    ....that could just mean opting for a 'film for action' rather than the next Wollyhood shockbooster starring Paris Hilton or the Queen.

    ....and not stuffing your face with fake whippy cheese chemical dip and cardboard gmo corn crackers. 

    Love your body and give it nutritional love, try homemade hummous with some cayenne pepper for a kick and carrot sticks to dunk into it, great source of Vitamin A for healthy skin.

    Need something sweeter to fill that emotional hunger? Take action and try bliss balls to help :)

    Bliss Balls are packed with good fats from the walnuts to feed your brain, take a look at them, they look like a brain, yep thats right, and the balls of bliss are full of fiber from the dates, which also provide energy-fueling carbohydrates and have more potassium than bananas.  Cacao nibs are high in antioxidants and are the purest chocolate you'll find.

    1.5 cup walnuts
    1/2 cup cacao nibs
    2 cup dates
    2 tsp coconut, plus more for rolling (optional)
    enough water to make it sticky

    Grind nuts in a food processor. Add in dates, cacao and coconut. Blend until mixed, lick spoon, then slowly add in water until the mixture is sticky but stays together. Roll into golf ball-sized balls, and cover with shredded coconut. Lick fingers and eat leftover sticky bits with gusto. Bliss balls remain fresh in an air-tight container for a week.  Disclaimer: not all balls of bliss can be put in air tight containers for a week.

    Enjoy the movies folks. Start with Food Inc!




    Tuesday 19 June 2012

    Do what you LOVE




    Are you doing what you love???

    What exactly is it that you love???

    Get a pen and piece of paper and write what it is that you love to do, love to see, love to BE.




    Everything is possible, trust in yourself and in the Universe.

    One of my nutrition clients loved climbing trees, yet she hadn't climbed a tree for over 10 years and forgot the inner child in her. Another loves coffee, but refuses to drink it and gets stressed out about it. A friend of mine wants to travel, but she sits at home on the couch unfufilled. A guy I know has some amazing inventions collecting dust in his cabinet, and is unhappy with his current job... so many of the amazing people around me all have a passion, all have a love, but aren't doing it....

    WHY DON'T WE DO WHAT WE LOVE?

    A caveman shared this beautiful 6min film with me capturing some of this beautiful world, and pointing out the most beautiful things are right here in front of our beautiful noses to enjoy.
    If you are passionate about something then do it, don't waste your life dreaming of a better one.
    You are enough. You can do it.

    http://vimeo.com/14074949

    SurfSwooonNnnnatureGasimmm.......See the beauty and the mystery in all things, even in dark and moody England... Everything is a gift, and everything is here to enjoy right now.

    The message is pretty clear... Do what you love! 

    Sunday 10 June 2012

    Dreams....


    Hello Healthy Beings,

    If you haven't already subscribed to these quick little gems, have a look at this short 3 minute film


    http://soulbiographies.com/dreams-come-true/

    Follow your dreams, well why wouldn't we? What's stopping you? Wanna be a surf pro hottie, start with swimming in the ocean and body surf some waves. Too cold?? Get yourself to a local pool and play in the water there. Or make some new rich friends who have a pool or a condo in Costa Rica. Even surf hotties had to start somewhere :)


    It could just be one small thing you can achieve at first, and just see what happens.
    What makes you smile???


    GO DO IT!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! :)


    Still haven't achieved handstand in your yoga practice??? Don't fret, practice with your lover and use some support and soft cushioning for any falls. The point is, just go and do what you want to do in this life. Don't hold back, follow your dreams, whatever they are, however big or small they are, one small step at a time will get you there, the Universe is listening to you.






    Ask that person out for a walk, apply for that job, read that book, eat those foods, take that course, travel to that country, leave things that don't serve you behind, get the puppy, buy that chocolate cake, tell them YOU LOVE THEM. Everything will be ok, it always will be.

     
    Enjoy!

    Wednesday 30 May 2012

    Pura Vida Costa Rica!


    I share a treehouse with a geko
    He runs across the wood
    Eating mozzies in the dark
    Protecting me from becoming food
    I share a treehouse with some ants
    They march across the stones
    Carrying huge leaves upon their backs
    For storing in big ant homes
    I share a treehouse with an iguana
    She slides across the roof
    Collar of scaly skin flaps around
    Colours change as she moves
    I share a treehouse with a horse
    Outside he chews the grass
    Chestnut brown and curious
    I share a treehouse with a geko
    He runs across the wood
    Eating mozzies in the dark
    Protecting me from becoming food
    I share a treehouse with some ants
    They march across the stones
    Carrying huge leaves upon their backs
    For storing in big ant homes
    I share a treehouse with an iguana
    She slides across the roof
    Collar of scaly skin flaps around
    Colours change as she moves
    I share a treehouse with a horse

    Whose coat is chestnut brown
    Outside he chews the grass

    Looks at me with eyes of black glass

    I share a treehouse with a grasshopper
    I think he feels a bit lonely
    Making noises with his legs
    Calling for his friends to come over
    I share a treehouse with four guys
    I think they're really cool
    We go for a surf in the ocean
    Or play and laugh in the tidal pool
    I share a treehouse with a monkey
    She howls up in the tree
    Swinging in branches looking down
    On our treehouse family.


    On the beach I sit alone waiting for a brand new day
    On the beach I sit alone grateful for this today
    On the beach alone I sit watching giant waves
    On the beach alone I sit peeking through heat haze
    On the beach I sit alone absorbing energy from the sun
    On the beach I sit alone this life has just begun
    On the beach alone I sit picking up the shells
    On the beach alone I sit mesmorised in giant swells
    On the beach I sit alone rolling in the sand
    On the beach I sit alone just where does the break land?
    I sit alone on the beach looking at the sky
    I sit alone on the beach feeling the most natural high.
    On the beach, alone.




    The hitchiking shorts still work!
    So easy to get a ride :)
    I pull on frayed denim over my ass
    And onto a bike I slide.
    Stick out your thumb
    Wear a big smile
    Wait for the sound of an engine.
    Its all in the bum
    Poking out of the denim,
    And Im off for another adventure.







    The place of Pura Vida!
    Can you feel it too?
    Find that place inside and make it feel brand new.
    Stillness in your being
    Being in your stillness
    Look without searching now breathe but really feeling.
    Clear your mind of chatter
    Thoughts that clog your mind
    None of it really matters, its yourself you have to find.
    Who you are today
    And who you are tomorrow
    Its the same but always different, but how exciting could be life?
    Jump in and go the distance.
    How does a place like this find this inner space
    It imbeds into your soul
    But maybe that is not the case?
    Wake up! Come on! Lets go!

    The roar of the ocean thunder on the sand, soft with power a yin yang wonderland, slicing through the water, twinkles in the sun, fishes swim below me, dont miss the starting gun. Rising falling peaks like melting white ice cream, paddle harder quicker GO, your muscles start to scream.

    Feelin kinda frisky in the blazing winter rays
    Sunshine surf and yoga fill these happy days
    Tantra is on my body feels open
    Sweet smells of ylang ylang in the air when the dust is broken
    Constant churn of ocean crawling up the sand
    Why is Costa Rica a tropical sexy magic land?

    All I want for xmas is a threesome
    Two hot surf dudes from California will do
    A gallon of vodka and a magerita
    Why have one when you can have two?
    Mageritas!

    Black eye bust lip seventeen bruises
    Whose counting?
    Surfs up!
    Bashed hip, swollen knee, cut foot, bumped chin
    Whose counting?
    Surfs up!
    Tumbled like a washing machine, body flips mid air
    Who cares?
    Surfs up!
    Handstands underwater, gasps for air
    Who cares?
    Surfs up!
    The perfect wave, comes peeling towards
    Paddles, stand up, ride it, its your wave!
    Surfs up its worth the journey!