How to Get More and Better Sleep

How to Get More and Better Sleep

Do you go to sleep easily? Sleep through the night? Wake up feeling rested? Sleep is a vital component of life. It directly affects our capacity to engage, enjoy and thrive on a daily basis. If your sleep is light, interrupted or you don't get enough of it you will find it very difficult to stay sharp, vital and creative when awake. Without adequate sleep you may suffer from fatigue, trouble concentrating and mood disturbance.

The One and Only Cause of Stress

The One and Only Cause of Stress

Stress wreaks havoc on our health. If not addressed, it will affect your body’s ability to regulate inflammation, promoting the development of heart disease, asthma, digestive and skin disorders, among others. Prolonged stress has also been shown to lower our immunity, and makes us vulnerable to frequent infections, allergies, and fatigue, to name a few.

To Juice or Not To Juice?

To Juice or Not To Juice?

A Juice Cleanse is your ticket to health! Or is it? Over the last few years juicing has become very popular. Everywhere you look someone is talking about the life-changing effects of juicing. Dr. Oz and Oprah have their favorite “green juice”, books on the subject abound, juice bars are popping up left and right and because many celebrities are caught “juice in hand” it’s got to be good for us too, right? Recently, I even received a 2 day juice cleanse deal on Living Social! I won’t name names but the company offering the deal advertises “lose 12 pounds in 2 days!” Now, come on. Does anyone still believe that? Cleansing is not to be confused with a weight loss approach. 

From Being Quiet to Experiencing Silence - Another Kind of Detox

From Being Quiet to Experiencing Silence - Another Kind of Detox

I'm back from my silent retreat and still feeling its calming effects a few weeks later. I loved Costa Rica! Once I got used to the lizards in my bedroom and driving 20 miles an hour on dirt roads, without seeing a soul or sign for miles! It was so refreshingly rugged. Wild nature, fresh organic food, the ocean and of course much silence...a deeply nourishing experience. 

Silence please. Pleaaaaaaaaase!

Silence please. Pleaaaaaaaaase!

If you live in New York or any other big city you know silence is a rare commodity there. Non-stop sirens, alarms and honking, buses, trucks loading and unloading, the screeching hellish sound of subway trains pulling into the station, all conspire to create a maddening environment. Even restaurants! You'd think respite could be found there, but no. They're as noisy as ever. 

You Are Not What You Eat

You Are Not What You Eat

You've probably come across the phrase "You are what you eat". Ayurveda tells us this is only partly true: we really are what we digest. Even if you eat the best diet of organic, local and seasonal food appropriate for your constitution, if you are not digesting all this great food efficiently then you're not getting all the nutrition in it. And that's not it.

From Effort to Ease: Living the Ayurvedic Lifestyle

From Effort to Ease: Living the Ayurvedic Lifestyle

Do you push, strive and struggle more often than not to get things done? And as a result find yourself exhausted? That is not fun and no way to live. Yet suffering in order to feel worthy and deserving is a belief (turned behavioral pattern) that got downloaded in many people's subconscious minds long ago from our families, friends, society, you name it. It could be karmic too. But who cares where those tendencies came from! What's important is to wake up. If you are unknowingly living your life by the "Work hard, play hard" motto don't expect things to get easier anytime soon

A Summer to Declutter! Part 3 (Create Even More Head Space!)

A Summer to Declutter! Part 3 (Create Even More Head Space!)

This is the last part of my series “A Summer to Declutter!”. Over the past few weeks we looked at ways to create more space in our head, lighten up, simplify and get stuff done. I am hoping by now you've implemented some of my recommendations and are enjoying greater clarity and focus as a result. Today I share with you my last few tips to keep your mind clutter-free. Obviously that list is not exhaustive. If you have a tip, technique or app perhaps, that's helped you big time to keep your head organized please share with all of us in the comment section.

A Summer to Declutter! Part 2 (Organize Your To-Do List & Get Stuff Done!)

A Summer to Declutter! Part 2 (Organize Your To-Do List & Get Stuff Done!)

In my previous post I began tackling the subject of mental clutter and how to open up more space in your mind (for, you know, things like creativity, intuition, bright solutions to come through..) When I came back from vacation early July, feeling nicely unplugged, it occurred to me that there were many things I was doing daily, in my very plugged-in NYC life, that generated more mental clutter than clarity.