Simple and Powerful Grounding Technique!

Have you ever noticed your hands and feet being cold, your heart racing, or that your inner critic is taking too much space?  I have. Sometimes it could be a reaction to something I ate (ex. sugar or a food intolerance) or a message from my subconscious that something wants more processing (ex. Is SF or Portland a better city?). Typically, practicing some type of mindfulness practice or breath work helps calm my nervous system so that I can feel more grounded and connected to the present moment. With this type of centering, I can get back to whatever I was doing with more ease. Sometimes this type of mindful breathing practice is not enough. If that is the case, please read my next blog post. Next time, I will talk about other grounding practices that I do when mindful breath work is not enough for me.  In the meantime, please check out my video on alternate nostril breathing!

Whole 30 And I

Yesterday, I attended a San Francisco signing for the New Whole 30 book. While attending this event, I contemplated on how much my relationship with food has changed since implementing Whole 30 as part of my Autoimmune Paleo Protocol (AIP). And how my new relationship with food has impacted my current health.  

Before starting Whole 30, I couldn’t sit at a cafe without endulging myself on some type of dessert or sweet pastry. After several Whole 30’s and working with an Integrative Doctor, I no longer get caught in this type of behaviorial pattern. Now, I can walk into a cafe, order some cupcakes, and give them as a gift to a friend without ‘taste trying’ them.  And when I do endulge, it is with full awareness.  Some people may call this building self-control. I would call it what Whole 30 folks label it - ‘Total Health and Food Freedom’.  

By going through several Whole 30’s while on AIP, I learned how foods - including different sugars - impacted my body, mind, and spirit.  Following this type of paleo based elimination diet and lifestyle wasn’t an easy task. It is why I repeated the program several times - a total of 5 times. Each time I got back on the Whole 30 path and fell off of it, I returned back with more strength and wisdom.  

I decided to first try Whole 30 due to their social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.  With their behavioral coaching messages and nutrient dense recipes, I got hooked to following their daily posts.   In addition, I loved how I rarely saw them post a sweet ‘treat’. Their zero tolerance - if you exclude Melissa’s Cadbury Eggs - for posting added sugars on social media was great for sugar sensitive folks like myself. 

This month may be my last Whole 30, since I feel pretty close to ‘food freedom’ and feeling as good as I can through the changes I have made while on the program. This doesn’t mean to say that I still don’t experience food or sugar cravings, but my old habit to give into unhealthy ones rarely pop up. I have replaced my endulgences with habits that support a diet and lifestyle appropriate for me.  And when I do eat added sugars or other foods that don’t nourish me, it is from a more conscious place with full awareness. 

Some Whole 30 non-scale victories I experienced.

Why Do Cooking Skills & Experimentation Matter on AIP?

If you don’t know already, I am following a diet and lifestyle protocol called the Autoimmune Paleo Approach (AIP) to heal from an autoimmune condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis.  In case the term AIP is not familiar with you, it is an elimination diet that is nutrient-dense focused, along with a lifestyle approach to support the process of healing for people with chronic conditions.

One of the popular questions I receive from folks is, "What CAN I eat on AIP when seeds, nuts, grains, egg whites, nightshades, additives, added sugar, and legumes are not included?" I normally answer back that I have plenty of choices of foods that I CAN eat - such as vegetables, herbs, starches, meats, seafood, berries, lemons (I don't do well with the other forms of citrus), sea salts, offal, and good fats.

The more appropriate question I would love to receive more often is, "Do I know how to cook and have the willingness to experiment with my food choices?"  Without my ability to cook and willingness to experiment, I would not have lasted long on AIP.  I would not have tried cooking nutrient-dense dishes that I now have on a weekly basis - such as liver pâté and bone broth. Ultimately, I would have gotten bored with my food choices and my past standard flavor combinations.  On top of that, I would have had to spend so much more money to eat this type of food at a San Francisco restaurant on a daily basis.  

Because it is much easier to track and control the type of food and its cost when I buy and cook it,  I encourage people following AIP to do the same and to learn how to cook in whatever way works for them. There are YouTube videos, books, workshops, friends, relatives, social media, and you experimenting (how we all learn) with food. For inspiration and proof it can be done, I have some pictures of dishes I have made while on my elimination diet. Do any of the dishes look deprived or lacking?  Geez, I hope not!

If you know of anyone who could benefit from following AIP, please share my story with them.  

Duck with Fried Oregano, Sweet Potato with Coconut Oil, Spinach and Bacon

Wild Salmon Topped with Seaweed and Wasabi; Plantains Covered in a Beet Reduction Sauce and Steamed Cabbage

Egg Yolks, Sautéed Cabbage, and Plantains

Chicken Breakfast Patty, Beets, Plantains, Thyme and Liver Pâté

Spring Salad with Chicken Breakfast Patties, Beets, and Citrus Dressing

Sweet Potatoes Stained with Beet Juice

My Trial With A Vibration Plate!

A couple of months ago, I sprained my neck due to choking on some fish bones. SCARY, I know! Since then, I have noticed a decrease in pain and an increase in ROM in my neck rotation whenever I engage in activities that help clear my lymphatic system (ex. manual lymphatic drainage and lymphatic breathing). After reading and hearing from colleagues that the vibration plate may help support the pumping of my lymphatic system, I was curious to explore if it could help me heal faster.

As part of my experiment, I decided to do 4 sets of squats in 30-second intervals at 30 Hz (the speed of vibration).  I used my iPhone to video record my neck rotation before and after each set. In the end, I produced 12 videos in total. You might be thinking that I could have used a more precise method of measuring my neck rotation, but this is what I had access at the time of my experiment. In the future, I may use a goniometer.  

After looking at my neck rotation on video, I measured a bit of improvement in my ROM from my first to my last session (I did a total of three sessions). Whether this progress was due to using the vibration plate or not, I cannot tell you. What I do know is that after every session from performing squats on the vibration plate, I felt more energy and less pain than the days that I did squats without the vibration plate. The increase in energy and decrease in sensation of pain would last, on average, for two hours. Then I would notice feeling more tired than normal at night on the days that I would use the vibration plate.

From my experience, I would probably use the vibration plate again for changing up my exercise routine and for possible benefits in lymphatic stimulation.

For more information on the lymphatic system, click here. 

To watch a video with Dave Asprey on why he uses a vibration plate, click here.  

To watch a great demonstration on how to perform a self-manual lymphatic drainage for congestion, click here to view the video.