Archives: colitis

How do you know you’re in a flare up? Here are 5 signs that I know when I’m in a colitis flare. Read more »

Chia Pudding

We’ve finally figured out a healthy, easy, homemade and delicious snack – chia pudding. Have you tried it? It’s SO easy. You can add any topping of your choice. Here are some of my favorites: Read more »

IBD Meetup Group

Last week was my monthly IBD Meetup group. 5 of us came together to tell our stories, stretch, laugh, breathe, meditate and most importantly share knowledge together. I feel blessed that this group of people can come together each month and feel comfortable enough to talk about their bowels… that’s something that takes most people quite some time to open up about but not IBD folks! We’re ready, willing and able to talk about it any time of the day – in fact, we want you to ask us about our bowels, especially if it’s been a good day! We’re proud when it’s good – however when it’s a bad, flare up kind of day that’s not the time to be asking. A note to IBD significant others – make sure to be really excited for us when it’s a good bathroom day because they might not be so often and we need you to be happy for us! My next Meetup group is on March 26^th will I see you there? Class is limited to 6 students so please make sure to RSVP HERE if you’d like to join us.

Be well!

Start with your feet on the ground and stable

Stretch over the ball to release pressure and tension in the whole body

It’s important to move your body especially when you’re having a colitis or crohns flare up. Here’s a photo of an exercise that’s fantastic to get you moving. Use one of those large bouncy balls either at home or at the gym to stretch your entire body. Make sure you have something to hold onto behind you so that you don’t fall! The more you roll back, the more of an inversion you will get, the better it is for your belly and the more you will move your body. I mention another exercise in a previous post here that is also helpful when combating a flare up. The more tools in your toolbox, the better. It’s all about trial and error – see what works and stick to it. Enjoy!

Beautiful snow filled NYC trees

Last week was a stressful week for me and in my case that means my stomach gets off balance, which could potentially throw me into a colitis flare up. Yep, it sucks and it’s totally happening right now… Yuck!

Here’s what I’m NOT doing –

– Sitting around feeling sorry for myself

– Racking my brain trying to figure out exactly what threw me off

– Getting depressed

– Eating crap because I feel like crap

Here are the top 5 most important things that I AM doing for myself during this time:

1) Exercise. Get to the gym! if that’s not possible because you’re snowbound then do 100 jumping jacks right now to sweat and get your blood flowing. The worst thing you can do is sit or lie down all day.

– If you can get to the gym use that large ball in the stretching area to roll and stretch out your body – it also gives you an inversion, which is gentle, feels great and again gets the blood flowing. OR use the body foam roller and roll your whole body out. I’ll post pictures of both of these exercises in a future post – stay tuned.

2) Go to the steam room and sweat it out. I like steam especially in the winter  time since it’s so dry out. The steam brings moisture and helps open the pores – this is also another way to help you sweat.

3) Try a soft food cleanse. What does that mean? Any food that’s safe for a baby to eat is good for you to eat, ie: steamed or boiled golden beets, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, yam, carrot, etc. Eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for one whole day. This will help your system take a break and allows the body to heal.

*** While in a flare up watch everything that you put into your mouth. You should be eating cooked foods that are warming and easy to digest. Foods that are slow cooked are usually a great option, ie: soups and stews in a crock-pot that don’t have many spices – keep it plain and simple for now.

4) Take it easy and relax. If you can get yourself to a restorative yoga class try it. If you’re in NYC here’s a restorative yoga class that I absolutely LOVE! Her name is Laura Wooton and it’s Tuesday’s at 8:15pm at Pure Yoga West. Get there.

5) Practice breathing exercises such as alternate nostril breathing, shown in this clip below:

Click the photo to watch the video

BONUS) DE-STRESS! I’m not yelling here… I’m just trying to explain the urgency of this disease and if you don’t de-stress, let go, breathe, practice yoga, meditate, eat properly then there will be many negative consequences. Take care of yourself. When you feel it coming, (we all know the signs) then boost up your de-stressing techniques. Try this voice recording that I created below:

Click the photo to listen to voice recording

I know you know how to take care of yourself – but when you’re in a flare, or period of stress, the body feels it in a bad way. You MUST balance it out. Try acupuncture, meditation, qi gong – anything to take you out of your stressed state. The whole idea here is to break the pattern – if you can do that, then you’re golden.

Listen to your body – it absolutely, 100% knows what you need – just open your ears and listen carefully.

Just because I’m feeling crappy this week doesn’t mean I get to complain about it. Instead I’m taking action and being proactive – that’s what you should be doing too!

Rock on!

This quote keeps popping into my head out of nowhere…

My vision board. Notice the words, colors and photos. This = ME!

The power of words… it’s almost indescribable. I was at a workshop this past week for people who want to start a yoga studio. This is what I thought my path was at this moment in time. After sitting with myself and listening to the very inspirational words of wisdom and advice from Joan Dwyer and Janis Bowersox I’ve changed my current path. We spoke about strengths, vision boards, mission statements, visions, numbers (oh the numbers…!!) and much, much more. I’ve realized that since moving to Rockland county, I need to work on cultivating and creating my yoga community here. I need to dive into giving incredible workshops, teaching more and spreading my healing love to Rockland County and beyond. Then maybe, once I’ve done all of that, which may take me quite some time, I might possibly be ready to open a yoga studio. I realize that for me – baby steps, community and feeling ready is really important. I do commend all of you who dive into things head first, but for me I think the process of cultivating myself and branding myself as a yoga teacher is a really important step that I can’t skip over.

With that being said: in the near future you’ll be hearing about fun workshops that I’ll be teaching, retreats that I’ll be holding and new classes on my schedule. If you’re ready to find your true self, let go of disease, live healthfully, naturally and with peace – then look for my posts! I want you to be there! I can’t create community on my own – and I’m really looking forward to meeting all of the incredible yogis and yogis to be in Rockland County, Bergen County and maybe even Westchester County. Stay tuned for awesomeness coming your way.

By the way, I just created a Pinterest and it’s SO MUCH FUN! It’s like digital collaging. Find me, follow me and I’ll follow you back!

Find out more about Joan Dwyer HERE

Find out more about Janis Bowersox HERE

As promised, here’s the recipe for the grain free banana walnut muffins! Enjoy it – they are delicious!

Banana Walnut muffins adapted from Elana’s Pantry (www.elanaspantry.com)

2 cups almond flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup pitted dates

3 ripe bananas

3 eggs

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup raw walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon

In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil

Transfer mixture to a large bowl

Blend dry mixture into wet until thoroughly combined

Fold in walnuts

Spoon mixture into paper lined 12 cup muffin pan

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes

There are two types of people in this world: leaders and followers.  Please don’t be judgmental and try to figure out which one is better then the other.  They are equal, it’s just about what your true nature is.  Instead of judging, I’d rather you close your eyes and really think/feel what your true nature is: leader or follower? You already know which one you are, now go ahead and own it.

When I went to Guatemala a couple of years ago, I met with a Mayan shaman. He told me that one of my Mayan signs is the stick, which symbolizes leadership.

Ever since that moment, even though I think I’ve always known deep down what my true being is, my eyes have been opened. It took an outside force to really get through to me. It’s official, I’ve been put on this earth as a leader and if I don’t push through and lead the way in whatever it is I want to lead in, then I will be fighting up against my true nature and in turn will most likely be depressed and miserable.

I’ve been working on my career now for a while – fine tuning it and honing in on my particular skills. Up until now I’ve been dabbling in my leadership role but not taking it on full force. In the recent past I’ve struggled with bouts of very low energy, some depression and lack of motivation. You can see that because I haven’t committed full force to being the leader that I am that there are consequences. I have to ask myself this question: what’s better, finding my true nature and being happy? Or being a half leader and miserable?  Sometimes it really does take that outer voice of someone you don’t know at all, to help remind you of who you are and what you’re meant to do. Listen to your inner voice and be proud of who you are. You were put on this earth for a reason, now get out there and thrive!

Believe me, I’m taking my own advice now! It’s time to take things to the next level and make things happen. For those of you who prefer to follow as opposed to lead – mazel tov for standing up to it. Don’t fight up against it – let it be – you will soon realize that deep down there is a bit of leader inside you too.

Life’s too short to sit back and let it pass right by you. Grab it by the horns and roll!

Cheers to making things happen in a big, big way! Stay tuned.

Oasis Co-Counselors!

New Counselor Friends! That’s Alice on the Left!

After just returning home from a week at IBD camp I’m feeling so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such incredible people. I volunteered to be a counselor to 14, 15 year olds as well as teach some yoga classes – it was intense but absolutely amazing all at the same time. I was able to share my yoga knowledge with my campers by teaching them poses to do when their belly hurts, how they can relax fuller by using lavender oil and sleep better by doing very simple poses in bed. I feel as though I’ve touched their lives in a really special way and I know I’ll never forget it.

My hope is for everyone with IBD to give yoga a try, learn meditation, try breathing exercises – it’s changed my life immensely and I’m here to tell you that it can and will change yours too. Even if you don’t have crohns or colitis, yoga can help with pretty much everything. Find the right teacher and give up the fact that yoga has to be about getting a workout – that’s not what it’s for. Getting a workout may be a plus, but the goal in my eyes is to listen to your body, hear your breath, tune in to you and walk out of class feeling like a new person.

Cheers to all of you camp counselors out there – you are truly angels for helping these children find their confidence, speak up and make incredible memories that they will never forget.

Bright Sunshine Flower

This week someone asked me what my yogic philosophy is. I absolutely loved this question because my answer rolled off my tongue and I didn’t even have to think twice about it. I know it’s because I live, eat and breathe this stuff, but anyway – here it is:

Listen to your body and everything else will eventually fall into place. When you stop, listen and are aware of the breath and how the body feels – that’s when the magic happens. Stress releases, anxiety falls to the wayside and the only important thing is you and your body. How magical.

I hope you can take some time this weekend to check in, listen to your breath and find peace in your body.

I’ll be at camp for a week! Yep, that’s right, I’m a camp counselor for 1 week at Camp Oasis which is a special camp for kids with crohns and colitis. I’ll be doing lots of breathing and team work too!

Enjoy the sunshine!