Outreach Yoga Challenge - Day 17 Are you looking at my tits?

Ladies! How are your boobs?? Guys do you like boobs??

October is 'Healthy Breast Care Month'

Healthy breast care begins & ends with a healthy lymphatic system. The lymph does its job best when it is stimulated through breath & movement.
Remember! Your attitude counts for a lot…
Finding the good in life gives energy to every cell!

1. Breathing: deep breathing and breath of fire (see Day 9 Blog)
2. Yoga & exercise! Check in here daily for tips on poses, create your own sequence for home.
3. Massage breasts and armpit area (see boyfriend or a friendly stranger or Al Green and bath!)
4. Dry brush massage: from feet upward, also for circulation (see Day 6 Blog)
5. Hydrotherapy: Cold showers with massage or alternate hot (3 min) and cold (1 min) showers (get boyfriend to take cold shower also after helping with point 3)
6. Rebounder: jump, jog, dance, & move arms! Do this especially when going for a run and see how many friends you make!
7. Healthy Diet: organic & plant-based, including cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower)
8. Avoid toxic products: pesticides, aluminum in deodorants, environmental toxins.
9. Unrestrictive bras: avoid underwires, have some braless time each day! Release your hippy!
10. Meditate for emotional balance and positive attitude towards self. (see Day 10 blog)

Seriously, breast cancer is a killer, and we all need to look after the health of our boobs and check for lumps each month regularly. If you are unsure, there is a really helpful video from a UK series, don't be shy ladies, its our bodies, so lets take care of ourselves. Guys breast cancer isn't just diagnosed in women, men also are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, so look after your health and be aware of how to spot anything different. Stay connected with your MBS.  http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/video/how-to-check-yourself/how-to-check-your-breasts/


Learnt about Superfoods in school today, check out my classmates and the photobomber, nice work Erica :) After volunteering at the Feast of Flavor I'm much more interested in these holistic foods, and of course will share some great information on realistic superfoods you can incorporate into your life.

Acai berry: this blueberry size Amazonian fruit is loaded with antioxidants, it reduces growth of leukemia cells in a lab by upto 86%. Contains fiber, amino acids, oleic acid and a SUPERDOSE of antioxidants - more than most fruits including pomegrante.

Green Tea: Fights cancer by reducing tumor size and growth. Lower risk of mortality, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, contains antioxidants. A great brand on the market is called MATCHA, its the Emporer of Green Teas, 1 cup of Matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of normal green tea. It detoxifys your liver, increases concentration, physical energy and focus. Matcha uses the tips of leaves only and forced the plants Chlorophyll into the tips, its shade grown and steamed. You can buy from health food stores, and ditch the trip to Starbucks and embrace the Japanese art of tea drinking ceremonies and live a healthy longer life.

Red Wine: Like green tea and dark chocolate (see Day 13 blog) red wine contains falvonoids, aswell as some anti-cancer fighting properties, thanks to the natural antioxidant resveratrol, mainly found in red wine because it comes from grape skins. Drink organic wine only, it doesn't leave you with a hangover caused from the pesticides used in vineyards.

Spirulina: I first tried this on the organic farm I mention in the last blog Centre Hill. It was about 4 years ago and Ian the farmer gave me a green smoothie to which I turned my nose up at at first, GREEN smoothie???? Now I can't get enough of it. Its a significant source of protein, B and E vitamins and antioxidants. Fights fatigue, anixety and depression, promotes weight loss in a healthy way, and enhances immunity. You can buy in supplement form (power) and add to your own smoothies, and health food shops also sell smoothies based on spirulina. Its a descandant of the worlds first photosynthetic life form, blue-green algae, a rich source of nutrients indeed.

Raw Food: (see Day 12) If you try and incorporate some raw food into your life, you are maximising the nutrients gained from foods. They are many enzymes in raw foods that aid digestion, and these are mostly killed when cooking above 120 degrees. If anything thinking about raw food will definately help you incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
Raw Food isn't all about nibbling on a carrot all moody and alone drinking cold green tea, here is another recipe from my raw foods class for a great dessert YES thats right thats GOOD for you!
NY-Style Lemon Cheesecake! Crust:
2C Macadamia nuts
2 pinches of salt
1t vanilla bean (optional)
Method:Place all ingredients in the food processor and process until 70% combined.
Press the crust in to the bottom of three 4″ spring form pans.
Filling:
1+ 1/2 C Cashews (soaked for 24+ hours)
1C lemon juice
1/2C coconut sugar
1/4C coconut butter
2T lemon zest
2t lime juice

Method: Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth, aerating as necessary. Pour mixture into two 5" spring form pans. Freeze for 1 hour.
Serving: Remove the cake from the freezer 25 minutes prior to serving. For an extra creamy
texture this cake may be stored in the fridge.
Garnish: 1 cup of seasonal berries, frozen, then thawed. Spoon the berries on top of the cake.
Please note: Strawberries provide the most sweetness; balancing the lemon best. Agave nectar can also be added to the berries for sweetness. Enjoy!

This cake tastes just like the traditional cheese cakes made with "real" cheese.

Enjoy!

Todays yoga was Hatha with Cameron and his handsome tattoed arms, BUT to challenge myself I kept my eyes shut. NOOOOO not to stop myself from perving at Cameron, but to trust in my balance and core. Closing your eyes during yoga can really help stabilise you internally, and emotionally aswell as being just an all round physical work out. It creates focus from the inside, and you can really take your breath deep to those places within, visualising it running through your body like a light swirling around every cell and igniting you. Try smiling :)

It’s a bit of a yogic paradox: Closing your eyes can actually help you see better—at least from a metaphysical point of view. :) Balance isn’t just visual, its from our core, and when you shut out the distractions (especially Camerons handsome forearms), you’re able to listen to your body and breath. If you’re not keen on spending your whole practice in the dark, shutting your eyes periodically can be amazingly helpful, just try it and wobble and laugh. Falling is a part of learning, and learning is a part of laughing. It’s fun to let your ‘feeling mode’ take the lead over your ‘seeing mode'. It empowers you to feel your way into the movements without second-guessing whether you’re doing them right, I'm personally not constantly checking my big toe alignment with my right ear, or ensuring my hip is pulled to my chin and anything else that our eyes distract us to in a pose.  Loosen up, lose the ridgety of the pose and float, incorporate a little Tai Chi into how you sit in the pose. Feel the energy run to your finger tips and tingle! When you’re more connected with how you feel, you’ll naturally breathe deeper and feel calmer. Which can help you look at the world around you in a whole new way, so close your eyes anyway. Doesn't have to be in a yoga class, you could be on a bus, walking on the beach, in a busy restaurant, close your eyes and feel. Its amazing how we lose judgement once our we have our eyes wide shut.

Peace out man.

Open your eyes now and make a donation if you enjoyed the tips today, or just incorporate them into your daily life and start healing, and living, and finding more joy!

http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=14769