Lately my eyes and lips have been dry and I have been feeling a little run down, so I decided to look to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda for some helpful tips on hydration. Drinking water is such an important part of keeping your mind and body healthy, and the amount of water we need may change from season to season. With the weather warming up, I wanted to focus on my water intake and check out techniques to keep cool and hydrated. Here are some basic Ayurveda tips for drinking your H2O:
1. Sit down to drink (just as you should sit down to eat).
2. Sip, don’t gulp.
3. Drink water throughout the day. If you swallow too much water at once, your body doesn’t actually absorb all of it.
4. Drink water at room temperature. Warm is even better. Cold and iced water should be avoided
5. Drink from a glass container, not plastic. Not only does this reduce plastic waste but also allows you to avoid toxins which can leach from the plastic into the water, especially when left sitting in hot surfaces.
Another great resource on this subject is Kameko Shibata, from Nadi Girl Ayurveda. She offers advice on how to stay hydrated and healthy, with the overall goal of balancing the elements in our bodies. Kameko also provides some interesting information on the importance of electrolytes and raw oils in our body hydration process.
Happy hydrating!
Celebrate Young Environmental Leaders - The Brower Youth Award
Do you know a 13 - 22 year old who wants to make the world a better place? Earth Island Institute would like to know about them too.
Every year Earth Island Institute’s New Leaders Initiative recognizes the leadership efforts of six young environmental activists from North America, ages 13 to 22, who are working for the protection of our shared planet. Earth Island Institute established The Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership in 2000 to honor renowned environmental advocate David Brower.
Youth environmentalists are encouraged to apply. The applications are open and the deadline for submission is May 16, 2016.
Each of the six recipients of the Brower Youth Awards will receive a $3,000 cash prize, a professionally produced short film about their work from an Emmy award winning film crew, and flight and lodging accommodations for a week long trip to the San Francisco Bay Area.
If you are or know of a young adult who should apply, hurry and get your applications in. Thanks to Earth Island for inspiring us all to be of service to our community and our planet.
Now to the Garden
Whether you have a window box in your city apartment or acres of land, May is a great time to get into gardening. The temperatures are finally warming up, and the soil is perfect for sowing seeds (warmer soil allow for faster germination and growth).
Planting flowers and bulbs can be meditative and healing for the soul. And, like mindfulness, gardening takes work. It begins with a commitment to care for the garden and provide it with what it needs to grow.
Stay in the moment as you enjoy the sunshine, the dirt in your hands, and the sounds of the birds and insects that inhabit your garden area. If you are in the city, think of the smiles your flower or veggie box will bring to passersby. And if you’re lucky enough to have your own plot of land, take some time step back when you finish planting or weeding and admire the fruits of your labor.
If you are interested in what to plant in May, check out the Urban Farmer site:
If you are interested in planting vegetables in your garden this year a helpful site visit Grow Veg.
Be mindful as you plant and nurture your seeds, take time to connect to Mother Earth, and enjoy your time in the garden!
Cutting Down Sugar!
For the last few years, I have been on a journey to live in a cleaner life. Recently, I have been thinking more about my diet and the meals I prepare each day for myself and my family. We rarely eat fast food, never drink soda, gave up adding sugar to my coffee. All a good start, but thought it was time to take a closer look at our modern diet.
A few days ago, I was on You Tube and stumbled upon “The Skinny on Obesity" with Dr. Lustig:. He speaks with passion about our sugar and carbohydrate obsession. Dr. Lustig believes sugar is the major culprit behind the country's obesity rates. He is not concerned about sugars in fruit, but rather the sugars that come in processed foods.
So, this week I thought I would try to cut down on sugar and processed food. Not only is too much sugar and processed food harmful to our bodies, but all that packing and plastic is not good for our planet either.
One site I have found helpful is 100 Days of Real Food. Lisa Leake, offers simple, affordable, family-friendly recipes and practical advice for eliminating processed foods from your family's diet. She, her husband, and their two daughters pledged to go 100 days without eating highly processed or refined foods—a challenge she opened to readers on her blog. 100 Days seems too intense for me, so I thought I would start with the 10 Day Real Food Pledge .
If you would like to make changes to your diet, but are not ready to give up all processed food at once, the site also offers ways to slowly cut out processed food and recipe ideas.
Spring Cleaning: Home
Along with the sunshine and spending more time outdoors, spring inspires me to de-clutter, clean and de-own.
Cleaning up my personal space increases my productivity and mental clarity. My family and I are getting ready to move (again!) this summer, and I find myself not just needing to de-clutter but actually get rid of a lot of the items we have accumulated over the years. With two kids, the stuff piles up quickly. Toys, clothes, sporting equipment, etc. I find that I spend much of my free time finding organizational tools to help store, stack and separate it all. We are getting ready to move into a smaller space and I have been looking for ways to minimize my stuff and spending. As I reorganize my space and toss out the things that are no longer useful or purposeful, I have been looking online for mindful inspiration in my Spring Cleaning process.
One of my favorite blogs on this subject is “Becoming Minimalist.” In 2008, Joshua Becker, founder of Becoming Mimimalist, decided to live with fewer possessions, and blogged about his journey. There is a lot of information on his blog, so I found it helpful to start here.
It’s time to spring clean at home and get more organized in life!
The View from Big Sur
It’s was spring break for my kids this week, and we decided to take a little road trip. Living in Northern CA there is plenty to see and do close to home, and the rains this year have made the hills green again and beautiful to look at during the drive.
This year our family decided to spend a couple days in Big Sur, CA, located about two hours south of San Francisco, on the coast of Central CA. I’ve been to Big Sur many times and have to say that it is one of my favorite places on this earth. Big Sur is relatively unspoiled. There are no urban areas, just a gas station, some restaurants and a few motels. Henry Miller spent time writng here in the 1940’s, and the Henry Miller Library is located in Big Sur as well as Esalan, the retreat center and hot springs. We did not take the kids to Esalan, but I want to go back to check out one of the amazing workshops on Mindfulnessor just enjoy the healing hot springs.
With the kids we spent most of your time hiking, checking out the waterfalls that are running full force, and hanging out at Pfieffer State beach. The sand is actually purple in spots, That’s right. Purple. Sand. Needless to say, that was a big hit with the kids. We had fun just driving up Highway 1 where you can pull over at a variety of Vistas and park your car. We even got a glimpse of a whale making its trip back north to Alaska during one stop. Big Sur has been a truly a spiritual experience where we surrounded ourselves with nature and, oh, those views.
Just for YOU
The resolutions we make are usually ambitious, not to mention difficult: eat healthier, start exercising, be more organized, lose weight…
YOU is a app that sends a reminder each day to make one small change. YOU breaks down your goals into “micro” actions, one each day. You might receive a reminder to drink more water, or make someone smile. The goal to create a healthier, happier life, one action at a time.
I like the experts YOU features who provide daily actions for health, mindfulness, movement and, of course, food. For example, Jamie Oliver dishes up food-related content it gives me inspiration in the kitchen. Each micro-action is an easy-to-complete task that will help you build a healthier, happier life. Try YOU and let me know what you think.
Eggzy - a mindful way to shop and sell eggs
Celebrating Easter this weekend with my family, we went through a lot of eggs! Between dying eggs and hiding eggs, I got to thinking about where eggs come from and how we consume them. There is a company I highlight on bemindful that focuses on eggs. Essentially, Eggzy is a marketplace where backyard chicken keepers can track their flock’s egg production, and people who are looking for local eggs can find them.
Flock owners enter information about their chickens and expenses into the system and then, each time they collect eggs, they enter the number of eggs into the system. Eggzy automatically calculates production rates and breakeven rates, simplifying pricing decisions.
Flock owners also create their own online “Egg Stand,” where they can tell their story in words, stats, and pictures and let friends and family know when and how many eggs are available.
Consumers can go to the Egg Stand listings and sort by zip code to find Egg Stands nearby. They can also subscribe to their favorite Egg Stands to be notified whenever eggs are available.
Eggzy’s tagline is "Eggzy is a movement to make our food system personal again," and it is a mindful way to do your egg shopping. Check it out Eggzy to find a flock near you.
Shedding the Weight, Mind, Body and Spirit with Oprah and Deepak
Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra
COURTESY OF OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK
Spring is here, and if you are looking to lose some winter weight and become more mindful at at the same time, check out the newest 21-Day meditation challenge from Deepak and Oprah. Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body and Spirit is the tenth meditation program from Oprah and Deepak and the 4th one in which I’ve participated. I like these programs because they are free, easy to use and provide such a wonderful source of inspiration for my meditation practice.
I started the 21 day challenge this week. I’ve been feeling a little run down from the time change and I thought meditating would give me more energy during my day. We are only on day 2, but I’m feeling better already. I try to meditate first thing in the morning before the kids are up and business of the day has started. I have to admit, waking up at 6am has not been easy, but once I am up and start the day with Oprah and Deepak, I am grateful for this mediation.
You can still sign up for the challenge here.
How I Got Here
How I got here...
Over 15 years ago, a colleague went to see environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill when he was living in Luna in the Redwood Forest of Northern CA. On her way to see Julia, he saw this sign.
This image is what inspired my purchase the url, bemindful.com. Right now, the site is a collection of other sites and apps that I have visited that have helped me to live mindfully. Moving forward, I hope to add both more original content and additional finds from other mindful sites, blogs, products, organizations, ideas, individuals and events.
Mindfulness is defined as full awareness, and is something I try to practice each day. I am not an expert by any means, but I am aware of its value and benefits.
I look to mindfulness to find inspiration, seeking calm and clarity in this crazy world of distractions. As a parent of two small children, life is busy. It can be a struggle just to get myself and my kids out the door each morning.. One simple thing I do each day with my kids is to set a daily intention. It can be as simple as saying "have a a great day," or " be happy ", as we pause by the front door of our house on the way to school in the morning. It is one simple way to connect as a family and bring a little mindfulness to the start of our day.
More coming on the be mindful blog soon!
In the mean time, if you would like to suggest mindful sites, you can email me at info@bemindful.com