When I’m really tired or stressed, I crave carbohydrates. Slice after slice of just-from-the-oven sourdough bread dipped in salted butter, washed down by red wine (often drunk straight from the bottle). And every bite tastes amazing. It feels great….until it doesn’t. The next morning, I’ll invariably have a bloated belly, a foggy head, and no energy whatsoever. So I try to let it go and get back into my normal routine of eating clean.
It recently occurred to me that I often allow my thoughts to run amok just like a food binge. Worry, stress, anxiety, guilt, shame, fear, and negative self-talk are the junk foods of our emotional lives. As satisfying as they may feel in the moment, their negative effects are just as toxic. Research has shown that about 95% of our thoughts are repetitive. And almost 80% of those thoughts at any one time are negative! This most likely comes from our survival instinct, which keeps us looking over our shoulder for threats.
The Sanskrit word yoga means “to yoke”, or to bring together body, mind, and soul. You cannot care for your body without also caring for your mind and soul.
Enter meditation. Our monkey mind, if allowed to run wild, pulls us into a world of our own creation: fears of the future, regrets from the past…everything filtered through our beliefs, keeping us from seeing what really is, right here and now.
Meditation reminds us that we are more than our thoughts, that between each thought is a moment of perfect peace and stillness. A mindfulness practice allows us to become more aware of our thoughts without labeling or judging them. When we are able to be still, and be anchored in the now, we notice our thoughts more clearly. And when we become aware of our thoughts, we’re able to begin challenging them.
Try This One Minute Meditation Right Now:
Sit comfortably and rest your hands on your knees with the palms up. Draw the awareness to the tip of the nose. Notice the breath as it enters and exits the body. Just allow the breath to come and go. Now, rather than focusing on the breath, shift the awareness gently to the space BETWEEN each breath. Slowly start to lengthen this little pause at the end of both the inhale and exhale. As you lengthen the space between each breath, you’ll also lengthen the space between your thoughts. When thoughts do come up, you’ll be grounded and less attached to them. So you can start to notice them for what they are (fears instead of facts, judgements instead of truths). Let each thought go and gently come back to the space between your breath.
Roasted Beet Salad
Ingredients
2 pounds beets, (5-6 medium)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or white-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide beets between 2 pieces of foil; bring edges together and crimp to make packets. Roast until the beets are just tender when pierced with the point of a knife, about 1 1/4 hours. Unwrap the beets and let cool.
Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make dressing.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Add celery, shallot and the dressing; toss to coat well. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
