Entry #11 Final Blog Reflection

As a self-taught blogger on topics of health, travel and personal journeys I am very happy to say that I DID learn a great many things from our class projects. In combination with our written essays, videos and text books I have found tools to help capture my ideas and organize them in a way that is less journal-like and, hopefully, more interesting for others to read.

I am already putting my blogging skills to work on the GCC Fitness & Wellness website: 4 Reasons to Get Off the Mat. (Look to the Right). Stay tuned for more!

In addition to my work at GCC, I will also be expanding my personal/business yoga website to include a Wordpress blog that features topics like: yoga, spirituality, energy, food, marriage and partnership, sexuality, and personal adventures. I will, no doubt, grow and strengthen the voice as a writer and eventually author a book. In addition to writing the blog, I will be looking into ways to expand my audience and get followers so that when my book is finally written, someone might actually buy it.

Some of my favorite blogs from my classmates were personal stories that included pictures and interesting topics from: Bryce and Alex P.

My only wish is that more students would have interacted more in the blogging process. I was looking forward to reading blogs and learning from others, but did not find very many completed content by the due date. 

Whether or not I choose to blog on Facebook, Instagram or Wordpress the lessons I learned in our class will carry with me. I have already become more mindful in my posts on social media. I have reached for my smartphone more than once to post something, then thought, "who will care about this post". By leading with this thought, my posts have become less frequent, but "liked" more than before.

Thank you, Chris, for bringing in real-life lessons to our English 101 class. This was a great project that was relevant to today's culture. Which is exactly the experience I was hoping for when I returned to school 20-years later.

entry #10 Ayurveda: Why is makes sense

For over 5,000 years, cultures all over the world have practiced the "Science of Life" through Ayurveda. 

In Sanskrit, Ayurveda translates: 
Ayur = Life, Veda = Science or Knowledge.  

This is a teaching that recognizes humans are part of nature. The Chopra Center describes Ayuveda as:

"It offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vital while realizing their full human potential. Providing guidelines on ideal daily and seasonal routines, diet, behavior and the proper use of our senses, Ayurveda reminds us that health is the balanced and dynamic integration between our environment, body, mind, and spirit."

Historically, Western culture has scoffed the teachings of holistic health and wellness to "practice medicine". Western philosophy of medicine is to treat the problem AFTER it has happened. Eastern Medicine's philosophy, specifically Ayurveda, teaches that if you care for your body, you will reduce your chances for poor health and not need treatment of a problem. The whole person is considered in the teachings of Ayurveda: mind, body, spirit.

Ayurveda teaches that humans are one with the earth. That if we pay attention to our surroundings, the earth will provide what we need, seasonally. In the book Ayurvedic Healing, a "Seasonal Routine" is described as:

"We have seen how our biorhythms connect to the earth’s most obvious rhythm, its daily rotation. They connect also to another rhythm—the earth’s journey around the sun, the year. The year influences us most through the many factors, such as weather, length of day, and flora, that change with the seasons. Seasonal transitions challenge the body; they cause minor illnesses and contribute to larger ones. By adjusting the patient’s routine to the season, MAV aims to keep the body in balance, and thus reduce colds, sore throats, and other seasonal ailments, while maximizing strength and vitality.Modern science, which has been studying daily biological rhythms for years, is only beginning to consider annual rhythms. Researchers have found that the levels of certain key hormones vary with the seasons. Medicine also knows that some people become depressed in the winter, in what is called Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome. Ayurveda has discussed the seasons’ effects for thousands of years. Its knowledge is detailed and of immediate clinical value."

I believe there is a movement happening, not only in our classroom, but globally. We are waking up to the fact that we the more disconnected from nature we are, the more problems we have. For years our culture has pushed for more and bigger, while forgetting how to provide for ourselves and our family--the basics. The good news it there is so much more information at our finger tips on how to live a healthier, more balanced life that we can begin to make a change. We are finally realizing that maybe there really is something to the 5,000 + year old teaching of harmony with nature.

Ayurveda teaches that the location we live in should dictate how we eat. In other words, someone living in New York in the summertime should be eating differently than someone in Mexico in the summertime because nature provides all the nutrients for the body for that environment. The earth should provide the nutrition you need, taking you back to your ancestor roots of living from the earth. It just makes sense: eat local, organic, non-processed foods.

The science of Ayurveda is just that, a science. There are schools all over the world dedicated to teaching this practice. One of the first things Ayurveda teaches individuals to find for optimum health is their "Dosha". A Dosha is an individual's mix of mind/body and mental/physical characteristics you are born with. There are three Doshas: Vata (air), Pitta (Fire and Earth), Kapha (Earth and Water). Each Dosha has certain ways of eating and living for a balanced and harmonious life. Take the Dosha Quiz below and come back.

QUIZ: DOSHA

As for me, I am a Kapha. I know what foods I should be avoiding and which exercises are best for my body type. When I first began eating for my Dosha I was living in Costa Rica; I never felt happier and healthier. When I returned to the States, I maintained my Ayurvedic way of life for a while then slowly began slipping into my hold habits. Over the summer, I went to the dark side and slipped from everything I know is good for me. In the picture to the right you can see how an Ayurvedic lifestyle changed me physically in just one month. My skin, my body, and my overall happiness gave me a glow that was undeniable. I am looking back to getting my balance back!

I will be using the charts below to get me and my family back on track.  Honestly, I don't really need the charts because I could simply look around at my surroundings, visit the farmer's market and ask more questions about what is in season--you know, common sense. I invite you to also take a look at your overall health and ask yourself if there is room for improvement?

Entry #9 Food Perspective Video: Pink Slime

We could blame our government for not requiring beef producers to disclose their practice of using chemicals such as ammonia to "kill bacteria" in the ground beef product. We could blame billion-dollar chains like McDonalds for feeding 69 Million people per day products that contained this so-called "safe chemical" (ammonia). But the one who should actually get the "finger" is me AND you.

Sure it is easier to blame our government and greedy corporations for keeping us in the dark. But can we honestly say we wanted to know where our food really came from? Aren't we a society that wants instant gratification and is "too busy" to cook? If you missed it before, here it is again, 69 MILLION people PER DAY are fed by McDonalds. That does not include how many people visit other chains such as Wendy's, Jack-in-the-Box, Carl's Junior, etc. If nobody asks the questions, companies do not volunteer the information.

For 20+ years, "pink slime" has been used as a filler in ground beef  in order to sell more product by the pound at a lower price. The Huffington Post writes: "The product is made using a process in which butchered cow trimmings are heated, lean meat is separated from fat, and ammonia gas is applied to the meat to kill bacteria". The pink color comes from the blood. The USDA argues that since it ALL comes from the cow, it is a beef products, therefore, they do not need to disclose how the product is made. Additionally, the USDA argues that Ammonia is safe for human consumption. Watch here. 

Since ABC News first aired the "Pink Slime" story on March 8, 2012 the image to the right went viral on social media. People became outraged that this product was being sold to humans to consume. Although McDonalds admittedly denies that this image came from their factory, they did admit using USDA-approved beef filler in their burgers. Because of the negative press, McDonalds voluntarily changed the way they processed their beef and chicken, and shown in the video below:




Again, who is to blame? As a culture, we need to start asking questions and stop relying on food manufacturers to feed us. The affects of eating poorly-processed, nutritionally-barren food is nobody's fault but our own. Companies like McDonalds are merely providing a product that IS in demand (69 Million people a day). If there was no demand, there would be no McDonalds. For many people, we choose to turn our head and figure, "what we don't know won't kill us".  That statement simply isn't true. Other countries have actually BANNED American meat products because of our processing techniques. Doesn't that say something? It is time to wake up, get in your air conditioned car, drive to your local grocery store to shop for whole foods you can prepare yourself. MAKE THE TIME!

I realize McDonalds makes it almost irresistible to grab a $99 value meal you can inhale, while driving, to satisfy your hungry belly; but are you really saving money in the long-term? How much is your health worth to you? I am going to state right here and now that I am with Johnny Cash on this sentiment and say "screw you, USDA" my health is PRICELESS! #askquestions