Archives: anxiety

Say no to fear and yes to acceptance.

Lately my anxiety levels have been a tad high. I’m not exactly sure why but I think what’s making it worse is the fact that I keep trying to figure out why it’s happening. The same thing goes when I have a stomachache. I try to figure it out until I’m blue in the face – not literally but you get my drift.

Last night and this morning I tried a new ritual.

Before bed I said to myself:

It’s ok to feel anxious

It’s ok to have a stomachache

It’s ok to not always feel the best.

By accepting it and not pushing it away I’m able to feel what’s going on in my body instead of trying to change it.

This can certainly apply to you if you have a specific issue that you’re dealing with and can’t exactly figure out how to feel better about it. Start with acceptance and miracles will happen.

I woke up this morning feeling…. Different.

There’s something to this acceptance thing. Try it out! I dare you!

***With Thanksgiving here in 2 days I had to share a delicious recipe with ya’ll. It’s for gluten free stuffing!

Hazelnut Stuffing adapted from Terry Walters Clean Food Cookbook

Serves 6

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

5 stalks celery, diced

½ pound cremini mushrooms, diced

½ cup diced dried apples, no sugar added

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 cup hazelnuts

6 slices gluten free rice bread cut into ½ inch cubes and toasted

½ cup organic vegetable stock

¼ cup tamari

2 tablespoons mirin

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup toasted slivered almonds

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft. Add the celery, mushrooms, apples, rosemary and dried parsley and sauté 4 minutes. Fold in crushed hazelnuts and toasted bread cubes and remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together stock, tamari and mirin. Drizzle over stuffing mixture to evenly soak. Season with pepper to taste and gently fold to combine all ingredients. Place in a large casserole or stuff into a roasted winter squash and bake 25 minutes until top is lightly toasted.

Remove from oven then top with almonds and fresh parsley – serve.

Click me for a tutorial on Kapala Bati Breathing!

Kapala Bati Clip from The Fix Your Belly Blues Program

What is anxiety? I just left a very intense therapy session where we spoke primarily about my anxiety and the many ways it manifests itself. Not only is fear a big part of my anxiety but so is the unknown.

Wow… Heavy topic today.

I bring it up because I think many of us, whether New Yorkers or not, suffer from anxiety. I know I scare myself in many different ways and I wonder how you do too?

Today my therapist, who practices in the Gestalt modality, had me work not on the fears that my anxiety brings, but the anxiety itself. I placed it in a chair, figured out what it looked like, the color, and how it made me feel.

I realized that this thing I call anxiety is shaped in a blob like form that sticks to my insides. It’s the color brown and often times it gets stuck inside of me.

I’ve already found a way to help it escape with breathing exercises but today I added on an extra step that I’m really excited to share.

I know all of this might sound funny to you, but growing up in a household with two parents as Gestalt therapists, this stuff is totally normal!

So, my steps to help release anxiety are to practice Kapala Bati or breath of fire. As you practice, imagine your anxiety as a set of red handkerchiefs coming out one by one just like a magician! Once finished with this exercise take some all purpose cleaner, wipe up the floor and throw the anxiety away!

Let’s go, it’s time to get rid of this once and for all!

Are you with me??

Stop letting your anxiety get the best of you. Take a stance and be strong. Of course it’s a work in progress so don’t get upset if your anxiety comes back right away. Keep practicing this at least once a day and see what happens.

Watch the video above for a tutorial on how to practice breath of fire.

Good luck!

This morning I woke up all anxious – what a terrible way to start my day… As soon as I opened my eyes and even before, I had all these thoughts rolling through my head – I was obsessing about ridiculous things. These are the types of thoughts that kick my stomach down and make it super hard to pick myself back up. Well, I decided that I wasn’t going to start yet another day this way and I put an end to it. I walked up the stairs, took out my yoga mat and started practicing yoga, which I’ve learned from numerous teachers around NYC.

I figure you don’t need to be a yoga teacher to practice yoga in your own home.

You wouldn’t believe how much this helped me. For the 10 minutes that I was practicing, my breath began to get heavy and all of a sudden my muscles loosened up, my back felt great, and I was simply amazed.

It took 10 minutes from my morning routine and I made it work so that I wasn’t late for work. I’ve decided that this will become part of my daily routine and I recommend this for everyone.

If you’ve been to a few yoga classes then your all set, just try to remember at least 1-5 poses and you will be ready to practice on your own. If you’re not into doing the poses on your own, sit cross-legged with your hands resting on your legs and palms facing up – begin to focus on your breath – hear it, feel it, be it, live it, enjoy it.

Have a wonderful day,
Namaste