Going Into the "Eye of The Storm" - A Practice in Decreasing Emotional Charge

Here's something potentially out of the ordinary: when you're feeling strong emotions around a particular event or just in general, how about delving RIGHT into them instead of trying to alleviate them? I think we have a tendency to want to make our feelings "better" when we're upset, angry, resistant or afraid. In the long run, does it really help to try and make those feelings go away? Won't they just come back again, possibly in different format and maybe even stronger than ever? The next time you find yourself wrapped up in intense emotion, try the following:

Contemplate the specific feeling you are experiencing and explore it in these ways (in other words, ask yourself these questions):

1. Where in your body does this feeling live? Try to pinpoint an exact physical place where your feelings reside, such as in the pit of your stomach, in your heart, etc.
2. At what proximity does this feeling reside? How shallow or deep inside is it?
3. What colour is the feeling?
4. What shape is the feeling?
5. What's the texture?
6. What temperature is the feeling?
7. Does it move or change?
8. How big is it?

Now...once you've established the answers to all those questions, try sitting right in "the eye" of that feeling...right in the very center...and just stay there...observing. Stay as long as you can and notice as much as you can. Maybe try to get even more clear about the details of the feeling. See what happens when you just stay there, without judgment. Does the physicality of the feeling change? Does it get bigger or smaller? Try asking the physical form of the feeling some questions such as: why are you here? What is your purpose? What would you like to show/teach me? Upon asking such questions, it's important to be open to the answers by listening to your gut reaction, the first thing that comes into your head...your intuition. Remember to always offer gratitude such as: I know you're here for a very good reason, so thank you for being here. Try this exercise until you notice some change in the feeling.

Everything is with us for a very good reason. Everything (especially the more intense things) occurs in order to impart some level of learning and growth. I don't suppose we can really enlighten ourselves as to the lessons that lie within each feeling and event if we don't explore them fully. I encourage you to do so. Further, it would be helpful to write your experiences down for the purpose of logging change and thereby imparting more learning and growth. So put on your emotional helmet and dive right in to the eye of the storm! Chances are there's something valuable in there just waiting to be uncovered.

If you would like help or guidance with this exercise, please call us or send us a message. We are eager to help you uncover anything that will lend itself to your growing and becoming a more fulfilled and healthy person.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Out with the Old!

Do you ever feel like you can't attract anything new or exciting into your life?

As an avid goal getter, let me ask a revealing question:

Is there any room in your life, your closet, or your head for new and exciting things?

 If you really want to create space for new and wonderful things in your life, you need to make room for them. Start eliminating draining tasks, memories and even clothes and other items to create a vacuum for which  brand new joys can fill.

A great place to start? Go through your closet, purge the clothes that are in great shape but that just don't inspire you anymore, and trade them in for "new to you" clothes this Saturday at the "Over the Top Fashion Swap" at the Winspear (go the the Over the Top Fashion Swap website here).  There will be fashion shows, spa samples, photographers, and a lot of fun, including us (yes, we will be there!). Come. Get a relaxing spa session (you get a free sample with your entry fee). Clear a closet. Make way for new things. Don't buy into the idea that there isn't enough, make room for the abundance that wants to enter. Start with your clothes, and who knows what will happen.

This was a very weak blog post.

Sorry. I'll do better next time!

Kristi Shmyr

So...Why Can't I Eat Cake? : The Problems With Refined Sugar and White Flour

Perhaps I'm a little late with this post considering our 30-day sugar cleanse is long past. Nevertheless, it's a great reminder as ever lingering, poor diet inclinations creep back up...

Yeah yeah, cake's delicious. I'm in total agreement. But here are a few facts about why refined sugar and white flour (both of which are abundant in cake and sugary treats) cause health complications over time:

- there's no nutritional value in either refined sugar or white flour
- they both add empty calories to the diet where more healthful foods could be such as protein, mineral-rich and vitamin-rich foods
- the milling of white flour removes iron, B vitamins and minerals
- it has been said that bleach is used to whiten white flour (yikes!)
- refining flour (thereby removing fibre, wheat germ and bran) causes the body to treat it like sugar, converting it to glucose and storing it as fat
- refined carbohydrates cause congestion and reduced immune function
- eating fatty foods at the same time as sugar and/or refined flour (as in cake) causes the body to store more fat than usual
- eating too much sugar and refined flour causes blood sugar imbalances and frequent 'crash' experiences

Now, I'm going to take this opportunity to repeat something that surely you've heard me say before: MODERATION IS KEY. The purpose of this post is not to say that you can't even eat cake! For God's sake, cake is awesome! Rather, the point is that cake on a daily basis or even every other day causes ill health over time. So, if you're going to eat cake, eat it once a week and enjoy it thoroughly!

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Happy Like a Dog

“Be alert as you watch a dog at play or at rest. Let the animal teach you to feel at home in the now, to celebrate life by being completely present. You just watch the tail...with some dogs you just look at them -- just a little look is enough -- and their tail goes...‘Life is good! Life is good!’ And they are not telling themselves a story of why life is good. It’s a direct realization.”  ~ Eckhart  Tolle

The beauty of dogs and small children is their ability to let go and be in the moment. They rarely hang onto the past. If they are upset, they don't wait for an "appropriate" amount of time to hang onto that upset - they go with what they feel in the moment. If that means they are crying one minute, and laughing the next (or cowering and then wagging, as the case may be), then so be it!

We could take a cue from our little friends. Change IS going to happen in all of our lives; the more we roll with it, the better. Read the quote from Eckhard Tolle again. Experiment with that kind of happiness and see what happens. Sure, you might get some odd looks trying to wag your "tail", but living in the pure joy of the moment, regardless of the events and stories that are present in that moment, is worth it!

Kristi Shmyr

Prana Holistic

Hilarious Hippie Names

Ok, don't get me wrong - there are a lot of "Hippie" ideals I embrace. I even refer to myself as the Corporate Hippie sometimes. But I care about the environment and embrace the spiritual and natural world, well... quietly. It's important to me because it's important, not because I want to prove something to others.

I find it amusing when people in my field change their name to gloriously hippie, flower-child names. I feel it often comes across as forced, manipulative and kind of phony. These seem to be the same people saying things like "she's just not ready yet" or something equally condescending (it implies that they know where the person should be, or that they are more fully evolved).

So in the spirit of irreverence and light, Roberta and I have taken it upon ourselves to change our names, and the names of our fellow teammates at Prana.

Introducing...

Kristi as Rose Quartz Patchouli Rainwater.

Roberta as Crystal Heaven MorningGlory.

Adam as Sweetgrass Apache Tears Macrame (imagine a haughty accent aigu on that last e).

Elizabeth as Citrine Angel's Trumpet MoonShimmer.

Jordan as Jade Shimmering Waters Chokurei.

Leila as Juniper Aura Sunbeam Alive.

Ryan as Opal Tiger Lily Sagebrush.

Sharon as Aquamarine Lavender Earth Mother.

And just like that, we are better healers. 

Kristi Shmyr,  AKA 
Rose Quartz Patchouli Rainwater
Prana Holistic

Kristi's No Sugar Experience

Heyo!

Check me out - this is my uber-professional picture, slightly distorted by this blog's image importing system. I had my hair and make-up done for my YWCA Women of Distinction nominee photo (in the category of entrepreneur) and am using it all overs the interweb so y'all can see me in my professional glory!

But I digress.

So, my 30-day Sugar-free month is over. (See Sugar is to Health what Tiger Woods is to Commitment for more on our Sugar-free month).

What did I learn?

1. I eat more sugar than I thought.
2.  My subconscious is adamant I maintain a certain sugar quota and barrages me with dreams of sugary sweets as punishment for not giving in to my cravings during the day, and yet;
3. During the day, I didn't find it nearly as hard as I thought I would to resist the sweet temptations.
4. Finally, when I resumed my sugar-eating, I broke out, got a yeast infection, and got a headache.

Lesson - I will now cut my sugar consumption to 2 treats a week, a fair trade for a brain that doesn't throb and clear skin, me thinks.

Now it's your turn to rock the sugar-free month. Try it and see - the Oreos and doughnuts will still exist in 30 days, and you get a chance to see what life would be like without sugar.

Kristi Shmyr

Prana Holistic

Post 30-Day Sugar Cleanse Success!

So...the 30-day sugar cleanse that Kristi and I embarked upon was completed a couple days ago. Results? I can only speak for myself, and this was my experience:

Cravings were pretty strong at times, though at other times, I found myself perfectly content avoiding baked goods like scones and muffins and heading to the produce department for some fresh fruit.

Previous to our 30 sugar-free days starting, I was quite aware that I wasn't eating very much. My appetite had become - sometimes alarmingly - small. I am a strong-bodied, active woman who has always had a hearty appetite, so this not being the case is something that stands out for me. One of the most noticeable and perhaps enjoyable results that I experienced while on the sugar cleanse was my increase in appetite. I found myself hungry quite regularly, surely due to the fact that I wasn't, at any time in my days, filling up on the empty calories typical of refined goods like baked things, breads and sugary treats. I craved protein more than anything, and being that protein nourishes my brain quite nicely while refined goods make me feel foggy, I was nicely focused and able to proceed with my days more efficiently and with a lighter physical feeling.

Kristi & I had spoken quite early on in the process about my having a day of grace seeing as my birthday fell right at the end of our 30 days, but before we were finished. I thought I might not need or want that day of grace, but birthday cake is, after all, not something to be missed out on, specifically when it's your own birthday cake. So I ate the birthday cake: a delicious triple chocolate layer cake. Surely based on the fact that I hadn't had processed sugar or white flour like that in quite some time, any piece of said cake might have been too big of a piece. Let me tell you: if you didn't know me, you might have thought I was pregnant!

I was pregnant with a cake baby! 

My belly was SO bloated, and there was nothing I could do to hold it in! Further, after my guests left, I felt strange and was unable to sleep for a while. When I did get to sleep, it was restless and anything but rejuvenating. In the morning I felt dull and was incredibly gassy. Yikes! Was it worth it? Hmmm...good question. A momentary sense of taste pleasure in exchange for an ongoing feeling of discomfort. In the big scheme of things, I'd say that no, it wasn't worth it.

My hope for the post 30-day sugar cleanse is that I will avoid 'falling off the wagon' and habitually indulging myself in refined goods only to forget the clear-headed, light feeling that accompanies eliminating these things from the diet. Eating something that contains sugar once a week is a fine and acceptable indulgence in my mind, and it doesn't always have to be cake or cookies. What about fruit flavoured yogurt instead of plain or a piece of whole grain toast with almond butter and apricot jam? Sounds like a much more sensible indulgence in my world.

I want to maintain the healthy feeling imparted to me by cutting out sugar - if you haven't ever tried it, I encourage you to do so. 

You won't regret it and I challenge you not to notice positive results.

Roberta Shepherd,
Prana Holistic