INNER PEACE - Week 7

This week we come to the final Chakra... the 7th Chakra.

This is our Crown Chakra - our ENERGY CENTER - at the skull.
Representing Spiritual Enlightenment and union with all living things. The Energy Center is associated with the colors of white and violet.

Signs of this chakra being blocked may include depression, lack of sense of spirituality or even swinging the pendulum the other direction - to a fascination with religion or occults - as we search for balance. We may feel a disconnect with life's flow. If you are an emotional eater you may see significant weight gain as you choose the comfort of food, isolating yourself from family and friends. We become loners because we feel we have nothing to offer.

With a balanced 7th Chakra you should experience a stronger connection to the universe. You are able to create and live the life you desire.

As I work out my shopping list for this week, these are things I need to include for a healthy, balanced 7th Chakra:

Fruits & Vegetables with white pigmented and/ or skins.

Bananas
Cauliflower
Chives
Garlic
Leeks
Mushrooms
Shallots
Parsnips
Turnips
(I'll pass on those last two... just can't bring myself to eat these!)

I had already planned on a couple of healthy snack cookie and muffin recipes for this weekend... including Morning Glory Muffins which contain bananas, zuchini and carrots.

Beginning next week we'll get back to our Exercise Tuesday posts as we discuss the different exercises best for the Chakras and sharing recipes on Wednesday that coordinate.

Here's to balanced chakras and a healthy journey!

INNER PEACE - Week 2

I think I did very well on the Root Chakra last week. I already notice a difference in that I don't have that 'out of whack' feeling any longer. Though my change wasn't huge, it didn't take much to change how I felt.

This week we move to the 2nd Chakra- The Sacral Chakra

The Sacral Chakra is represented by the color ORANGE. For the woman, this is located in the uterus. (Spleen for men). Known as the 'seat of creation', this is related to sexuality and conception and helps us to identify and process our emotions.

If the Sacral Chakra is out of balance, you may experience weight gain ( related to emotional eating), have a fear of intimacy and problems with infertility.

Okay.. so I'm wishing I'd known this about 30 years ago. I have PCOS... PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS comes with a full trunk of issues... including infertility. Maybe if I'd known about this sooner, PCOS may have been averted and I may have given birth to my own daughter. Though don't get me wrong. I am proud to have the daughter I chose and after seeing her give birth to both of my granddaughters, I'm not too upset at having missed that part LOL Women who go through child birth are my heros.

BUT... and here's the big one...

Knowing about it now might help alleviate some of the side effects of PCOS that I still deal with on a daily basis, such as high testosterone levels... which in turn forces me to shave more often than I like and in places as a woman I should never have to apply any kind of a razor to.

I can say I am NOT an emotional eater and I don't have intimacy issues... unless you count that I'm turning into a hermit more and more.

Water is also associated with the second Chakra. So making sure I drink lots of it is on my agenda. However, I am having to drink it in the form of decaf tea as while I can make multiple trips to the bathroom with tea (it's a natural diuretic), I find my body retains plain water. Which is sad because I'm one of those people who REALLY like water.

The FOOD LIST:
For this week I'm keeping up with all those yummy RED foods of the Root Chakra while adding ORANGE foods for the Sacral Chakra. Foods like:
Carrots
Peaches
Pumpkins
Sweet Potatoes
Oranges

There are others listed, such as Apricots, Mangos and Tangerines but I don't care for those. And though I love cantaloupe, good ones are hard to come by right now.

Carrots, sweet potatoes and oranges I can purchase. Pumpkins, while not in season are available in pumpkin puree - great for muffins or custard. Peaches, are also not in season but I have fresh ones I canned myself last fall. The next best thing to fresh.

And because the Sacral Chakra is associated with Water, fish and seafoods are also great choices.

So with these things in mind.. I am off to work on Week 2.
Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly

TIME FOR CHANGE - Week 2

Before I go into today's post I want to thank Karen and Amy for stopping in this week. I love having visitors. It does get lonely out here on the 25 acres of seclusion. Welcome ladies. I hope you'll stop in often.

Well, so far everything seems to be working the way it should be. I went 6 days without a cup of fluffy. That is a definite record for me. LOL I did have one Sunday morning just because it was Sunday and I'd been good throughout the week. So that will be my Sunday treat as long as I've stuck to program.

For the good news... I'm down 3 pounds from last week. I started last Monday at 186. I am now 183. So YAY! Now to see if I can repeat the process for this week. Bob and I have that 'whom ever loses the most in 3 weeks wins $50 thing. I could use an extra $50 for my trip to IL in April. I miss my favorite JoAnns Fabric and Crafts (the one in Springfield MO though nice just isn't up to the store I'm used to in Peoria) So while I'm up there I hope to get an awesome deal on the outdoor fabric for the furniture in my new gazebo.
Though we'll both benefit from the gazebo I'll use it tons more than Bob will so that makes the fabric a 'treat'.

Okay.. today is my last day on my Root Chakra. I don't have my book handy to see where we go from here. I'll have to wait and let that be a surprise tomorrow. :-)

Until then...
Enjoy the Journey!
Kelly
186/183/125-130

EXPLORING THE CHAKRAS as a Weight-loss Option

If you're like me, you've at least checked into every diet out there. Everyone seems to be an expert at something and have an opinion on what works.

A couple of years ago I purchased a book called The Inner Peace Diet. The heading claimed "Attain permanent weight loss and pure bliss in just 7 weeks".  Okay. It sounded like more of a spiritual take so I picked it up. Flipping through it I saw that the book dealt with healing the chakras. I figured even if I didn't lose weight, I'd learn more about my chakras so brought the book home.

Though it took me over two years to actually take the book off the shelf and get more in depth, I'm glad I did and wished I'd done it sooner. Enlightenment is POWER.

First off, the book takes you through the 7 chakras, explaining their location in the body and how they relate to your over-all health. Here's what the second paragraph under Chapter 1: Your Root Chakra had to share...
           "Your first chakra directly reflects your ability to flourish in your environment. When you have a balanced and thriving root chakra, you enjoy feelings of safety, security, stability and stillness. "

The fourth paragraph is the one that resonated with me the most.  Apparently a blocked first chakra explains my feeling of being uncomfortable in my own skin and out of touch. Or in my opinion - like a bloated whale!

So for Week 1 I am to 'stabilize the first chakra'. Through meditation, eating RED foods as well as foods from Mother Earth will help me become more grounded. The book suggests the following foods:
NUTS
SEEDS
LEAN MEATS

The Protein Power recommends eliminating seeds and beans during Phase I but everything else is good to go. So during my grocery shopping on Tuesday I came home with:

Spring Mix salad greens
Red sweet bell pepper
Red apples (Red Delicious and Gala)
Strawberries
Craisins
Roma tomatoes
 and lean meats such as lean sirloin for stir fry, lean pork loins.

I also have dried and frozen cherries.

Although the book suggests non-processed foods, I did buy smoked turkey and cured ham lunch meats. They were on sale and Bob and I like those just for snacking. Plus, there's a recipe under my FOODIES link on Pinterest I want to try the cured ham with.  I'm not a big breakfast person but I do require protein first thing in the day so I need to expand those options.

Please join me on this Journey as I discover how the Chakras affect over-all health.
Enjoy the Journey!