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Getting sober in a pandemic: one year alcohol-free
2020 will be a year that goes down in history, a year that no doubt will be etched (scarred?) into our memories. The things we learned, the things we lost, and the way our lives changed will stay with us forever. But while the coronavirus pandemic took center stage, when I reflect on my own year, there was so much more than that. There were the little wins and losses and the growth spurts that happen in any year. And there was one big change: 2020 was not only the year of the pandemic, but my first year of sobriety. I had my last alcoholic drink on December 22nd, 2019,…
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Prepare for a healthy fall: 8 Ayurveda hacks you can practice right now
Ayurveda works most effectively when we use it as preventative medicine. This requires a shift in thinking for many of us. We are used to waiting until we get sick before we go to the doctor. Perhaps you typically experience good health during the summer, but find yourself at the doctor’s office every fall once you come down with a cold or flu. The doctor may send you home with some medicine to relieve your symptoms, but there’s not much they can do to cure the cold once you’ve contracted it. The same is usually true for Ayurvedic medicine. While I swear by my soothing Ayurvedic teas, herbal honeys and…
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What I learned from keeping a food journal for two weeks
One of our recent assignments in my Ayurvedic Health Counseling program was to keep a journal for two weeks tracking the state of our agni (digestion) and ama (toxins in the body). If you ever work with an Ayurvedic coach or practitioner, you may be asked to do something similar to help the practitioner understand what is causing your imbalances. I found the process helpful and it allowed me to make some changes in my eating habits that quickly had me feeling better. I want to share some tips for how you could keep your own food journal, some things to watch for, and some ways it might help you.…
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Recovering from perfectionism
“Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough.” – Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way On long summer days, is it easy for you to find time to relax and let the worries of the world melt away? Or do you find yourself working even longer hours at your computer, driving yourself to accomplish as much as possible? As the hot, sharp qualities of pitta rise in the summer, we may find ourselves getting more intense, judgmental, or critical of our own work. I’ve previously written about ways…
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Keep the channel open – five cleansing practices to support creativity
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to…
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Five ways to spark inspiration when you’re stuck at home
We are all living different lives right now due to COVID-19. We are trying to adjust to the new normal. There are ups and downs. Some days, I feel like I’ve cracked the code on this stay-at-home life, and other days, everything feels like it’s falling apart and I don’t know why. I have to remind myself – this is not normal life! I’ve been keeping myself to a pretty strict routine, scheduling my work/meals/exercise for each day, perhaps to make up for lack of external schedules that I am used to. It had been going well, but the past week I found myself feeling drained and uninspired. This shouldn’t…
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A new way to celebrate: a sober birthday in locked-down Los Angeles
I knew that I wanted this birthday to be different. I just didn’t know I would end up spending it in lockdown. A couple months ago I had the realization that I wanted to find a new way to celebrate my birthday this year. This would be the first birthday since I was a teenager that I wouldn’t be drinking alcohol, and I wanted to mark the occasion by doing something new. I started researching retreat centers and workshops. I saved up money and spent time obsessing over the best option. Then I found a songwriting retreat taking place in Ojai over my birthday weekend, and decided to put down…