READ: Yoga Body Beautiful – Happy People, Healthy Food by Adrienne Kelly-Durys

Can healthy food make you happy? Or, can happy people make the foods we eat healthier?When I think about these questions in relation to the upcoming holiday season,it seems obvious that eating steamed veggies over brown rice, although healthy, wouldn’t be as festive as a big holiday dinner with all the fixings. But what if that same big holiday dinner, with all the potatoes and gravy, when prepared with love and positive intention could be just as nourishing?

On my recent retreat to Costa Rica, I had a huge “ah-ha” moment about food, people and celebration. We stayed at a beautiful yoga retreat centre where the majority of the foods were grown on the property and every dish was made from scratch and with love. The wonderful Marie, who cooked for more than 15 people every day, always had a smile on her face. Cooking for others and providing them with beautiful and delicious food seemed to give her such joy and true happiness. She apeared to be celebrating life and nourishment through her cooking. I couldn’t help but feel that the meals I was eating were filled with her positive energy and love. And without realizing it, I was saying YES to dessert more than I normally would.

The food was delicious and nourishing, and I set an intention to embrace that sense of happiness and positivity when I returned home to cook for myself and my family. And I have to admit I am not the best cook, nor is it one of my favorite things to do, however when I changed my perspective and gently reminded myself why I was preparing a meal – to nourish and sustain a healthy body – the finished product started to taste better, leaving me feeling full and satisfied.

So this holiday season when the stress of preparing meals in celebration seems like more hassle than reward, I invite you to set a new intention of health and happiness while when you prepare your holiday meals. Adding in fresh and locally grown produce doesn’t hurt either. Think of all the positive energy a local farmer puts in to growing food for your holiday table. Embrace all the positive aspects of preparing food for nourishment and happiness, and notice how much more tasty and filling your meals will be. And if you are looking for a quick fix in the kitchen, I’ve included a simple and healthy recipe for avocado vinaigrette to pour over fresh green salad or steamed veggies. It’s a household favorite that is super nutritious and delicious!

Avocado Vinaigrette

• 1 avocado
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 clove garlic
• Pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour over mixed greens or veggies.

Adrienne Kelly-Durys is a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, 500Hr RYT and lover of feeling good in mind and body. She teaches Yoga and wellness classes at Balanced Life Yoga and specializes in detoxing and nourishment. Classes include Power Hour Yoga, Core Yoga and Strength Therapy, Power Hour +Bonus and Holistic Nutritional Consulting.

Read more from VividLife.me bloggers:

Body Images and Our Relationships by Sarah Maria

Have you ever hid under the bed covers, not wanting your lover to see you? Or have you cringed at the thought of seeing yourself in the bathroom mirror? Were you competitive with your siblings or your parents about the size of your body? Has anyone you love, has anyone close to you, been judgmental about your body? Are you, or have you ever been, in a relationship where your lover didn’t like your body?

Using Your Mind to Help Heal Body, Heart and Soul by Sarah Maria

You probably know what it takes to live a healthy life, right?  Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, take vitamins – maybe add in some fish oil for cardiovascular health.  Make sure you get enough protein, carbohydrates, and lean fats.  Fortunately for many, healthy eating and exercise have become more and more a way of life.  You know the list of do’s and don’ts to keep your body strong and fit.

READ: Step Into the Unknown

Every action that humans undertake causes a similar action elsewhere and we are in the midst of a very important moment in history, that is a moment of waking up – a moment of deep inner transformation.

The externals of the world—if you believe that the externals are external—meaning what you see around you, will reflect that back to you. I call this a mirror, a beautiful mirror. You see, if we just look at the mirror and don’t really go deeper than the reflection of this picture that we’re seeing from the mirror and just watch the mirror, then it’s like a theatre. This is karma. The theatre carries on forever and ever and ever. The theatre doesn’t stop. The play keeps going because it’s fed by its own energy and so, the volcano happens and then the earthquake happens, and then other things happen.

I believe that all these things are of course happening on the outside so that we look deep into the mirror, we look deeper into the picture and ask, “What is really being reflected back at humanity?” Because of course we are one. Humanity is you and you are humanity.

What is being reflected back at me? We realise that the way we have lived, meaning the way we utilise our mind and our emotions, needs a radical shift. All those people, those religious leaders, economic leaders and manipulators, brainwashers, those greedy people, selfish people, don’t need to criticise themselves and feel guilty. They need to look deeper into the mirror and ask themselves, “What am I seeing here? What is being reflected back at me?” Wow . . .To do that is quite a revolution. It’s quite a big, big, step. It sounds very simple but it’s a very, very big step for most people because to step out of what we know is to step into what we don’t know and no-one wants to step into what they don’t know. We refrain from doing this and we remain in the chaos but the chaos around us will only accelerate.

I say this not to sound like some sort of person who’s talking about the doom and gloom that may happen in the future. I’m saying this just so that we can put things into perspective and we can understand how karma creates realities.

You—and I mean you who are listening today to what I’m saying, and people understanding the meaning of what I’m saying—have a choice. You have freedom.

You are not as brainwashed as you believe yourself to be. That picture is not as solid and permanent as you may feel or may think or may sense it to be. You are actually much more free at this moment than ever before. You can take that step into the unknown and that step requires trust, but it also requires you to be a little bit of a rebel. Then you can join me and I’m not feeling alone in my rebellious behaviour. You can join me and begin to question all those things that seem so solid and so permanent. Rather than get lost and distressed into the picture that is being reflected back at you, go deeper beyond and behind the picture that is being created. Go so that you can actually see the energy that is being put out so that it reflects back to you this picture that you believe to be reality.

Technorati Tags: 2012, awareness, love, Meditation, peace, Spirituality, Tony Samara, yoga

Ayurvedic Self Care Techniques

Neesha Zollinger introduces us to a few Ayurvedic self care practices to keep us feeling and looking our best.

Fleeting Light: The High Desert and the Geminid Meteor Shower

Fleeting Light: The High Desert and the Geminid Meteor Shower from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

A film shot in the High Desert of California — the Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierras, Mount Whitney, and Joshua Tree — during the Geminid Meteor Shower.

Give Yourself the Gift of LOVE

In 1998, a movement was born. A movement that taught us to be proud of our bodies: To honour the magnificent temple that we are privileged to be living inside; to cherish the vehicle through which we experience  the GIFT of  LIFE; to personalize our physique to our liking; and to embrace our personal transformations and milestones, and proudly share them as triumphs.That movement is BodyPROUD.

BodyPROUD by way of honouring the body, loving and enjoying it, respecting it and taking ownership of its care. This involves setting the intention to feel proud of our body, and then imagining exactly how we wish “our temple” to be: Its physical shape, what  it is capable of doing, its well being, and even how we wish to feel.  To be bodyPROUD means embracing this, our private personal vision, and allowing it to empower and inspire us; to ignite our sense of self-worth; to fuel self-love; to nurture our health; and to hone our physical abilities.

The “I AM BodyPROUD” mantra inspires us to keep going, to get started, and/or to exude pride in our successes.  It is a mindset that reminds us our life is what we make of it, and that we each have the ability to override actions that do not support our BodyPROUD desires.

Being bodyPROUD is also a state of mind that once achieved is beneficial regardless of starting point, past and/or current life situation, age, and gender.  It is empowering, enlightening, and motivating.  It is a state of mind that helps inspire us to take responsibility for our life, benefit our health, and enhance our well-being.  New attitudes are formed; confidence is built; mindsets are changed; and love, joy, and positive energy are exuded. Many of us even experience the “I Am BodyPROUD” mantra as a Fountain of Youth!

Simply loving our physical body and advancing its functional abilities, we are loving ourselves. And by loving ourselves, we benefit emotionally, mentally, physically, energetically.  In that sense, choosing to be bodyPROUD is a tool that brings awareness and inspiration to the fact that it is possible to feel more joy, love, and pride; and it’s a tool that empowers people to Live Alive and to feel bodyPROUD from head to toe, mind to heart, inside and out.

And THIS — you, we, us — is what helps to elevate social consciousness and raise positive vibrations within the world.  Yes, being BodyPROUD is an easy concept to understand, however actually implementing it requires DESIRE and something deep inside to shift…

So think about it.  Do you WANT it?  Do you want to experience new-found confidence, passion, pride in yourself and in your appearance, and do you want to appreciate the goodness life has to offer?  If so, set the intention NOW.  Choose to Live Alive and Be BodyPROUD.  It’s that simple.

Next, envision exactly what that means to you.  Let your imagination go wild, beyond what your “head” (ego) tells you is even possible.  For when you imagine it, and envision it with all your senses, you create a “memory” in your brain which stimulates a mind-muscle connection, and an intended direction.  Remind yourself of that vision and allow that to guide your decisions, and actions.

Get ready… You’re about to embark on a wild life enhancing self-loving adventure.

Love YOUR Body.  Be Body PROUD!

Technorati Tags: appearance, body, body image, bodyproud, conscious creation, healthy body image, Heart, inspiration, Inspire, love, mind body connection, Motivate, personal development, Personal Growth, self esteem, self help, self love, self-discovery, Spirit

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