Self-Denial = Over-Indulgence

Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recesses of your being.
Who knows but that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow?
Even your body knows its heritage and its rightful need and will not be deceived.
And your body is the harp of your soul,
And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.


~Kahlil Gibran



I love the words of Kahlil Gibran, he was a wise spiritual mystic, who understood the human psyche very well. Have you ever denied yourself something that you wanted so desperately and although you were able to suppress the urges and temptation to give in, eventually you succumbed and did something you regret? This could apply to just about anything in life from overeating to sex and everything in between. We human beings are not very balanced by nature and we are by nature creatures of habit, and unfortunately those habits are oftentimes the absolute worst for our well-being.

I am a firm believer that self-deprivation is not such a good thing. More times than not by complete denial of desires when we do give in we over-compensate and then out of guilt, we give in completely causing even more damage. We can be taught how to enjoy pleasures without becoming consumed by them. Something as simple as chocolate, there was a time when I could eat an entire bag of Reese's Cups in one sitting and boy did I suffer for it later...It was usually after I had denied myself any sweets at all due to dieting. I have learned how work with my ego, so to speak. Think of it like this, if you take something away from a child they will generally throw a temper tantrum. We are much the same way as adults. So the logical thing to do would be to replace the thing taken away with something else more appropriate. My husband's grandmother made a practice of this when he was a child and the grandchildren would come to her house. She never had a problem with the little ones touching things because she always made available to them things that they could play with and when a child did touch something off limits, she never yelled, but was patient and treated that child with gentleness.

We need to treat ourselves much the same way my husband's grandmother treated him. Self-nurturing is essential to real lasting change. Our desires must be met and dealt with with care if we are to overcome the compulsions to over-indulge, thus throwing us out of balance. So now when I want a piece of chocolate, instead of having a bag of Reese's Cups lying around tempting me, I allow myself to indulge in a piece of the most decadent Godiva dark chocolate, and as silly as it may sound, while eating it I sit quietly with my eyes closed and consciously suck until every bit of it is absorbed into my senses. Yes, I call it the mouthgasm...hahaha. The point is that desires are there for a reason, they cannot be ignored. No matter how hard we try to, they come around eventually again and again. The secret, always have something available to appease that desire and never completely deny it. By doing this, over time the desperation diminishes and we gain control over the desire instead of the urges controlling us.

May you enjoy the pleasures in all of life. We are sensual creatures by nature, but like all good things, there will always be the opposite effect. The balance will never be realized in complete deprivation. So stop depriving yourselves and you will learn to master your life.


Love&Light,
Nirvani

Nirvani's Chia Seed Protein Green Shake

Nirvani's Chia Seed Protein Green Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup                Plain Coconut Milk
1/2 cup             Plain Yogurt
1 scoop             Whey Protein
1 cup                 Whole Oatmeal
3/4 cup              Frozen Blueberries
1 cup                 Organic Baby Spinach
1/2                     Organic Banana
1 Tbsp               Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp               Raw Organic Honey
                         Crushed ice

Blend all ingredients in blender. 2 Servings. Freeze remaining shake.

Approx. 325 calories per serving. Approx. 17g of protein per serving.

Sidenote: If you wish to cut down on calories, use skim milk and low cal yogurt.

Motivation

“People always ask me
"Son what does it take
To reach out and touch your dreams?"
To them I always say

Are you hungry?
Are you thirsty?
Is it a fire that burns you up inside?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You've got to lay it all out on the line”

~Tim McGraw

Crock Pot Vegetarian Potato Soup

Crock Pot Vegetarian Potato Soup

Ingredients: 

6 medium potatoes, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 dashes salt
4 dashes pepper
4 tbsp. Light Smart Balance
1 qt. Light soy milk
2 cloves garlic

Cut up potatoes (with skins), onion and celery. Put all ingredients into crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. Serves 6

This soup is delish! 

Approx: 350 calories per serving

Weekly Challenge for Creating Good Habits

      Most of us are creatures of habit, unfortunately habits that stick the most are ones that do not necessarily benefit us healthwise. I have found that making small doable goals to create positive change are bound to stick rather than grandiose goals that last a week or two and then peter out.

For this weeks challenge I would like you to create a morning ritual. The reason I use the word ritual, is because it connotes something that is sacred or reverent. What you do everyday for your well being is of utmost importance. Exercising, cleaning, walking, driving...all of these activities should be approached with a mindful attitude. It helps us to become more aware of our daily actions, such as how much food we are stuffing our faces with:)

       So, create a morning ritual that can be done every morning without fail. Mine is to make my bed first, get ready to work out, and then I do 15 minutes of Kundalini Spinal Warmups (mentioned in an earlier post) I have been doing this now for well over a month and it is finally beginning to stick, although I am ever vigilant in my efforts. It can be something as simple as reading a quote from the Bible or Bhagavad Gita or a positive mantra. Whatever you choose to do, do it WITHOUT fail. Remember we are on a journey of self-transformation, we start by taking one step at a time, preferably baby steps!

Love&Light,

Nirvani

Weightloss vs. Hateloss

I was thinking about a blog post I read on a weightloss forum a few days ago...the young woman was talking about loving being fat and that she had no desire to be thinner, but did want to be healthy. She received both encouragement and negative response. I've been thinking about this for the last few days and how I feel about it and thought I would share my thoughts on being fat.

I can't say I am happy to be fat, as having excess body weight has added a slew of health issues for me. Such as high blood pressure, tiredness, pain on my joints and back, a thyroid issue, more fibromyalgia flare-ups...and these are to name just a few.

I've asked myself if I would be happier in a thinner body. From the health perspective probably yes, but it really is a matter of how you define happiness. Personally I think of happiness as a fleeting thing and no matter who fat or skinny I am I can never be happy all the time. There is always going to be times of sadness and discouragement in life. So if I base how I feel about myself on what the scale says it will always come up short.

I am not here to get skinny. I am here to transform my life. It does not matter how much weight I lose, if I am not happy with who I am on the inside I will never be quite satisfied with the outside. Unhappiness will follow me in a skinny body as well as a fat one. So I have decided to not be concerned with weightloss, or at least not gauge my success by how many pounds I lose each week, because frankly there are going to be times when no matter what I do the scale will not budge.

What I am concerned with is what am I doing to love myself more. I see eating healthy and exercising as a way of showing love to myself. You see, I can love myself no matter what size I am. I set goals not only for weighloss, but also for hateloss. That means letting go of all the crap in life that keeps me in a state of emotional unhappiness. Letting go of guilt, shame and self-loathing. Now don't get me wrong, it is much harder to loss self-hate than it is to lose weight. That is why you see so many unhappy thin people as well as fat.

My goals are based on what they can do for me not just in body, but in mind and spirit as well. Am I spending enough time alone by myself? Am I spending enough time with others? Am I spending enough time in Nature? Am I filling my days with uplifting and inspiring words and images? What am I filling my mind with, garbage and negativity (that includes what I tell myself on a daily basis) or am I filling my mind with things that will enhance my thoughts? Good books, music, art, culture...these are all things that add value to my life..am I serving others regularly? Am I taking time to pamper myself? Am I replacing negative self-analysis with positive mantras. Am I overindulging in things that can be harmful to me in mind, body and spirit. Hateloss as well as weightloss takes vigilance. We have to work at it every day, but we must always remember to be gentle with ourselves. Being gentle is part of loving ourselves. When I am gentle with me, I can allow myself to make mistakes and not just throw in the towel each time I do. Accepting that I will make mistakes makes not giving up much easier....this transformation is not a race...it is a journey...a long one at that. The key is finding happiness and joy in all the little successes along the way and forgetting about the end result. Losing weight is just a nice little perk. But losing self-hate is priceless.



Love&Light,

Nirvani

Happy Mother's Day!

   I am thoroughly enjoying my Mother's Day. Aside from my dear husband having to work, my children prepared a lovely breakfast for me, with lots of great perks...flowers, chocolate of course, a cute stuffed animal, silly cards and I should have expected the perpetual gag gifts I receive every year. I just have to share!

Yum! Poop and toilet bowl coffee...

My goofball children in cognito...

    I am very proud of myself today, almost lunchtime and I have not had one piece of chocolate yet! The best gift I could have received today is the one I gave myself. A 50-minute Goddess Belly Dance workout! I am going on Day 16 of my Goddess Workouts and am feeling fabulous! 

     I hope all of you beautiful Goddesses out there are pampering yourselves today. If you look at 

fitness and eating healthy as a gift to yourself it puts a whole new perspective on working out:)

Love&Light

Nirvani