05

Jul

The Metabolism of a Foodie

Woosh!!!! Did you know your subconscious mind has the power to stoke or burnout your metabolism perhaps just as much as what you eat???? I experimented with this insight last night, at a 4th of July party. I usually (99% of the time) make the choice to eat foods that come from the earth. No gluten, dairy and minimal sugar seems to be where it’s at when following a detox lifestyle (and how I tend to eat). Last night, I ate a hot dog and apple pie (American as can be, purely refined) and I TOLD MY BODY IT WAS GOING TO BE OK. I was fine. No side effects or symptoms. I feel awesome today and I am so thankful for not only the food, but the fun I had yesterday and having the willingness to try something new (even though my mind said it was not healthy at first, once I made the decision it was ok, I felt better than ok:).

What can we learn from this? That food does bear weight, especially if it gets stuck in our thoughts. Defining yourself as a foodie can be and is an enlightening purpose: a person having an enthusiastic interest in the preparation and consumption of good food. I am a self-proclaimed foodie. I run with foodies and I usually allow only foodies into my wheelhouse. The alternative is someone who does not care about food. Is this really true? Are there people who don’t care about food? Not really. Because you can be somewhere in between and at any given point waver between the two – hyper-concerned about what you eat, and the alternative: not at all conscious (which can cause stress, if you are unprepared…) does not mean one doesn’t care. We all care and we all have needs. Sometimes life gets going so quickly that you don’t have time to take out to put your care into food does not mean one doesn’t care. I have, for half of my life been in worry around food, or even more so if you consider the self-imposed (they usually are;) diet of grilled cheese and fruit I grew up on. I, a formerly obsessed foodie have been on super-restrictive diets and have learned more about life through food than food through life.

Where you want to dwell is somewhere in between. Where life fills in the dark spaces and food livens up your experience of connecting with friends and family over the breaking of crisp bread alongside warm soup on a winter’s night. Where food inspires you to wake up and smell a little more, see clearer and feel grateful for where you’ve been and where you are headed. Where life is so rich and delicious that food complements the beauty that abounds and each bite you take is filled with pleasure, simply because the act of eating is your birthright. No matter if it is brown rice or chocolate cake, you are infinitely grateful for being able to nourish your body. You feel more rooted in your body than ever before, that what you eat is no longer a bother and how you eat is more pleasurable than ever before. You are simply in love with all of life and food comes alongside you, reminding you of the precious present moment as you chew, taste, smile, laugh and feel at peace not because of what’s in front of you, but because of why, who and how you are becoming what you are. Where the art of eating, breathing, sleeping, playing and growing is delicious because your focus is on nourishing your heart in ways more than just food can provide.

  • What are ways that you currently think about food?
  • What needs to change – do you have fears that need overcoming? Try something new. Go out for a new cuisine, try out a new sport, take a vacation from a certain person or place, drive a new way to work.
  • How can you set the tone to have more ____(fill in the blank with an intention) in your life? Could you bless and thank the food and it’s source? Set a goal to eat with friends or alone a few meals a week? Take more time to prepare your meals? Plan more? Plan less? Whatever makes you think less and feel more.

Feel better now. Ask yourself powerful questions when it comes to your relationship with food. Check in: how could I improve? Am I being too rigid or do I need to loosen up on the rules? Is there food “noise” going on in your head: do what needs not undoing. Eat with pleasure, not guilt. Of course, optimum health comes through experience and we each have needs that are evolving, which is why even our metabolism needs to be stoked continuously and educating once in a while.

Keep coming back to create radiant health from the inside out…

329 days ago Short URL Comments

Food and Mood/Lifestyle/Recovery/Weight

26

Jun

Manifest Radiant Health

Dreams are necessary to life. -Anais Nin

I was listening to a podcast last night about flow dreaming (which is basically daydreaming) and the speaker mentioned weight loss and how you can lose weight, but if it keeps coming back, you are not losing the mental weight or cultivating the mindset that it takes to stay thin for life. At the same time, manifesting a better job, more romance, a new car, manifesting radiant health – and your perfect body weight – takes mental work.

Manifest:  clear or obvious to the eye or mind; be evidence of; prove.

So, in order to manifest, you must be clear about what exactly it is that you want. For example, you can say you want to lose weight, but is that really clear? To me it sounds vague and like you may not be fully committed. If you say: “I want to feel beautiful, long, lean, radiant and alive in my body, vibrating with positive attraction and wealth and well being”, that sounds a bit more like you mean it. Even further, “I am the possibility that exudes radiant well being and stands up longer and leaner with more health and vitality every day in every way”. Bam! Love that.

Along with weight loss, manifesting a relationship or a new orientation to a relationship takes mental work. A new exercise I found through Oprah.com is making a must have/can’t stand list. This list should evolve as you evolve, and hopefully if you are reading this, you have some if not lots of experience in the dating game. In fact, you may be so fully in love, and a part of you may not be committed, because you are replaying an old script and not letting yourself become aware of what’s holding you back.

In the same way, let’s translate this exercise (I do recommend checking it out by clicking on this link) to you creating your vision for radiant health. Now, there may be some lifestyle choices you make that are holding you back from achieving your best body. For instance, you may have friends who bring out the worst in you, who you like to go out drinking with or who drive you to the peanut butter jar. Making choices which go against an agreement you have with yourself (conscious or unconscious) cause you to fall out of alignment with your personal integrity. Fortunately, there is a solution and it lies not in beating yourself up, but in listening to your truth and following through on it. Here’s a story that might reveal something familiar to you:

I have a friend who is constantly in need of therapy. She is miserable in her relationship, her career is struggling and she drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes. She is beautiful and has a warm and loving heart, however, I feel awful after spending time with her. She was in town last week and I made a commitment (in my mind) every morning when I woke up that I would not see her that day. I ended up, on a few of those days, inviting she (and her boyfriend!) for dinner or to hang out, and thereafter wanting to crawl inside of a hole. I knew what the answer was, but I was not practicing it, and it took a toll (small one;) on my health. I was not sleeping, I was eating poorly, and craving things that did not take care of me. This was not because of her. There is nothing wrong with my friend. I understand she is in a transition and needs a lot of support right now. This was about breaking a commitment I had to myself that I would not be spending time with this friend and that I would focus on my work and life instead. Finally, after she left town, I wrote an email expressing my truth – that I would not be flying to LA for her birthday, and that I am doing a whole life detox right now. That, ladybug, recharged my batteries like you wouldn’t believe!! I found myself with boundless energy to clean my house, clear my space to welcome in only that which I love. I now feel much more clear and in line with what I love and what benefits me so I can benefits others.

The long of it is that health is multi-dimensional and involves more than just a focus on food and fitness. Inner radiance shines forth from having the power to say NO when something doesn’t feel right, from taking the time to get to know what you need (so you are not at the mercy of what shows up), being with yourself when you are going through a transition and not taking yourself too seriously, taking seriously what matters: and that is your needs – to set boundaries, to be aware, to fill your tank so that you may give to others in an authentic way, and no matter what, doing what needs not undoing (this one takes a little bit of work and ends up benefiting us more than almost any agreement).

Recommended exercises:

  • Journaling
  • Desire list (columns: PRIORITY (A-D), DESIRE, DONE, DATE, GRATITUDE)
  • Vision Board
  • Writing letters (to loved ones and people who you need out of your life – only send if appropriate)
Disclaimer: I am not intending to support you in checking out of life. I am recommending you to discern what makes you feel good and what is holding you back from your potential and say yes to the things that help you feel better and no to the things that cause you to feel bad; be responsible for being a radiant warrior! A wonderful book to read about aligning with your truth is A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel.
Visit my blog Recipes for Radiance for some more ways to glow from the inside out.

338 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/Weight

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23

Jun

Happiness in Simplicity

Lately, I’ve been highly attuned to feedback I am getting from friends and family. My family is telling me: have fun and do not worry about money. Do what makes you happy and the money will follow. What a gift to have this attitude in my blood!!I want to share with you some simple ways to be happy as you are, even though things may not be (ever) perfect.

Look around you at the world, what do you notice? Perhaps it looks like a rat race of people trying to get places, buy things, make more money, but are they really working on being the best they can be? Sure, dressing well and making lots of money can help us feel better. It can even help other people feel better when you dress better than you feel and when you have money you can be generous. At the same time, we can get caught up in comparing and despairing ourselves to the point of depression and anxiety. I have been there and I know what it feels like. I also know there are simple strategies to install a positive mindset that will have you believing, rather than resenting or envying what goes on in other people’s lives.
1- You spot it, you got it. Oh, that’s so cliche! But truly, if you see something that another person has, and it brings up something for you in the form of: Oh, how beautiful! Oh, I could never, or Oh, I wish! That is a sign that you can have it too.
2-Appreciate your way to what you want. Acknowledging yourself for what you are passionate about, thanking people for their presence, feeling gratitude for the simple things in life can keep them coming your way, as well as increase your ability (and willingness) to attract what you want.
3-The path of least resistance. This does not mean do not work towards your goals. This does mean relax into them! I notice a dramatic difference when I work on feeling my best, it becomes easier to reach goals, versus when I worry about where I will find clients, that I am too stressed out to see beyond myself. Ahem. Think it works to feel our best and expect good things. Can it really be that simple???
4-Become willing to let go. This is a hard one for me. Especially to let go of relationship patterns that are not serving me to show up fully as my best self. Once you make the decision to be free from stress, you may become sensitive to other people’s stress. This is for a reason. If we need help, there is support in the form you need  - coach, therapist, accountant, professional consultant. By complaining to our friends, we are taking their energy, while not making a full commitment to our recovery. Take responsibility for bettering yourself. Ask for help and be willing to make the investment in yourself. You are worth letting go of your stress!!!

341 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/Recovery

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31

May

Radiance as a Heart Opening Process

More and more each day, I see people and clients who are attracted to the possibility of being present, in their body, feeling better and connecting on a deeper level. Perhaps we have the financial or energy crisis to thank for this, or maybe it is even coming from a place in the earth, the stars the moon or the planetary alignment. Whatever it is, people get it more than they used to.

I started practicing yoga at 16 when I was terrified of being in my body. Until I discovered the limiting belief that was guiding my ship (I am not good enough/Their is something wrong with me) I could not practice yoga in peace. Now, I teach what I previously struggled to learn and absolutely must share, otherwise a part of me forgets what is true. So, here I am to share what works to embody your feelings, in the moment and to deeply connect with a purpose of existing here together in balance, being supported by earth and using our resources wisely.

1. Notice the conversations you are having with yourself.

2 .Own your stuff: I wish I could say there is a way to remind ourselves constantly of what is true or to be rigorously honest. Imagine what you are thinking when you express anger to someone in an inapropriate way. Perhaps you are aware of simply what is bugging you about how they are showing up. And then consider: what is my role?

3. Look within. If you are trying to make a decision, pushing yourself to move ahead in life or work, moving towards a moving target and consistently disappointed, you may check in with yourself and acknowledge your intentions. Something like: What am I trying to get out of this? What do I need to fill my tank?

4. Wake up to your life. Do whatever it takes to become happy. Celebrate yourself by trying something new. Do today in a whole new way by getting out of your comfort zone. You may drive to work in a new way or go to a new restaurant, reach out to make contact with someone who seems beyond you to connect with and do the work that it takes to make yourself visible!

5. There is so much more. All for now. I have to go now to do my homework for b-school! Check it out: have your heard of Marie Forleo or Laura Roeder? They are the bomb for inspiring you to come out now and use your gifts to wake up others.

Bye for now ;)

 

364 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/meditation/Recovery/Sexuality/Weight

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16

May

Feel Better Now: the Art of Creating Radiance

A recent poll was taken on the happiness of Americans, measured on a scale of 1-100. Most of the states in the US ranked in the 60-70 range. I live in Tennessee and we were ranked #40 in the nation. Despite Nashville being such a hip and progressive place, people here are still overweight and unemployed, and a mojority of them are not doing anything about it. I agree that may be a harsh criticism, but I see it daily in people on the streets and the research is there to support this theory. I also see a tremendous amount of activists in our community, working within organizations, starting their own mission, building awareness through classes, news, and coming together for a common cause. All of this is great, especially if you know what your mission is. What your heart is here to teach. None of this is possible, if you are not functioning at your best, and using your resources wisely, which includes reaching out for what you need to…feel better, help others, be radiant!

Imagine yourself as a sacred activist, teaching others what you have learned, walking your talk, being supported by a community who sees and hears you and encourages you to share from your heart. This could be in your job, through teaching yoga, in your family. In essence, activism is how you show up in your work, life, family, relationships. Are you a symbol for health and happiness? Do you help people feel better or are you taking more than you are giving? We all need help sometimes…

If you notice yourself at the opposite end of the spectrum than where you would prefer to be…ie in worry, fear, focusing on lack, here are some ways to feel better now

Notice the conversations you are having with yourself. Find the strength to implement ones that feel better. Example: I am fat and gross and miserable. Affirmation: I am fit, sexy, healthy, happy and wealthy. Feel better? It’s ok if you do not believe it. Fake it until you make it, even if it takes days, weeks, months. All of life is a practice, and a result of the work we put in…to our bodies, to our relationships, to our work. So, you do have the power to create your thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

Be the captain of your ship. Your conscious mind functions as a caption. Subconscious is like the crew, taking orders from the captain. If you think you want something, and get the opposite situation, the conscious mind may need to harness the power to create more positive pathways. You can implement affirmations to help soothe the connection and to create what you want. Example: overeating. You think you want to be thin, and you keep binging and feeling bad about yourself. Consciously, let yourself imagine being thin and beautiful. Surround yourself with pictures of being thin and beautiful – why you want to be, such as pictures of going to the beach. Do the work it takes to sustain your body as you dream it to be. This starts with a conscious intention and practices to build awareness of what you want in order to keep moving in that direction.

Take life in segments. When you sit down to eat, acknowledge you are eating only for the next segment of time. That you will be able to eat again, and that you can eat only what you need to be fed for the next little while. Also, know what your goals are, and also that they do not have to all happen at once. That way you are aware of where you are going, and by doing so, you invite your subconscious to stay attuned to what the next right action is.

Kaizen: one step at a time, moving forward in a positive way. Kaizen is japanese for “improvement” or change for the better”. There are days when we all want to stay on the couch. There are times when this is totally appropriate, to check into a movie or a good book and turn your mind away from life as it is as you allow yourself to journey into a story. This is healthy for the brain and increases your productivity factor as you take a break away from working hard or over focusing. Space is a good thing!!! And, when you are on, doing one thing at a time, with all of your attention and focus, is a way of efficiency and effectiveness. This mode of functioning will give you energy. It activates the change muscle, a healthy outlook and an ability to handle life as it comes (because you are not thinking about or doing too much at once:).

What do you need to feel better now? Some tools that can help you to identify where you are going, or what your next steps are to help you feel better, improve yourself and sprout a successful life are:

  • Vision Board
  • Setting realistic goals
  • Fear Inventory – acknowledge resistance regularly, replace with truth
  • Work with a coach on any or all of the above exercises – be witnessed and supported in achieving your goals
I am happy to speak with you about your goals. I would love it. I love sharing the tools that work for me and am available for free 30 minute coaching sessions. If you want to clarify yourt next steps, check into what’s holding you back, and invite yourself into the possibility of fully breaking through to a fit, sexy, healthy and wealthy body and life, let’s talk. Call me to book your appointment: 615.618.6556 or email waller@createradiance.com

Love,
Waller

379 days ago Short URL Comments

Food and Mood/Lifestyle/Recovery/Sexuality/Weight

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15

May

Sex=Radiant Health and Beauty

Woohoo!! So, if you haven’t gotten the secret yet, how you make love is your key to discovering your relationship to life. How you want to do it in the bathroom, in bed, upside down or not yet, please don’t, not now (or ever, this week/month or YEAR!), please don’t look at me that way, not ready, maybe never, YES PLEASE NOW!!! I get it. Women everywhere get it. We are walking aoound with this big secret and the cat has been let out of the big, fat bag! Women are sensual creatures by nature and how did we become so? Not by hiding in the closet. Not be staying alone on a cold night, or inside on a warm night, or out of control with something other than a man in the sack.

What inspired this conversation, you might ask? This one woman who is, must be and definitely MUST BE causing a revolution in how we women think about our bodies and how necessary it is to think about your body in order to be a woman. By doing so, by thinking about your body, how sexy it is (NO MATTER WHAT SUIZE YOU ARE, HOW IMPERFECT YOU ARE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU…ahem, the human condition!!) YOU ARE BEING A WOMAN! AND A WOMAN NEEDS TO BE IN HER BODY.

What is this being in your body? Inhabiting your body is your birthright, mission, it holds the key to accessing your vision, your beauty, your intuitive power to manifesting your deepest, darkest, dirtiest, most provocative DESIRES!

Make a DESIRE INVENTORY:

Rules: DON”T HOLD BACK, censor, think of your mother…DO think of every woman you have ever envied and what do you want that they have?

Hint: there are no rules!

Make a list of EVERYthing you want. Not a bucket list, a WHAT TURNS ME ON, what would I do if no one was looking and then everyone suddenly started following me (what am I doing;), what is the best thing that could happen to me? What is the best life I can imagine myself creating, and then, think bigger! What is the highest vision for my life, my sex life? Where would I make love on the best day of my life? Where am I when I am peaking at my potential? How much money will I make when I am accessing my potential, fulfilling my desires? What does it feel like in my closet when I get dressed? In my body when I am dancing? Making love? Who am I loving? What am I doing to create this life? Surfing, cooking, dancing, singing, praying? Who, what and where am I that is the best life I can live?

WRITE DOWN ALL OF YOUR DESIRES. 100 or more, without stopping to think about it. THEN list them in order. Top ones are the wishes and dreams that you cannot live without in this lifetime. The rest are a necessity to fulfill, and you will move towards them and they will blow your mind!

MAKE A DESIRE CONTRACT: Write a will to your self, include your name, the date, and the desires that you are becoming. Life is not about doing and having, but about being and becoming. We become what we think about…why not think about what you love?

Warmly,

Waller

PS–Challenge yourself to share your desires to powerfully acknowledge your inner beauty and the radiant life you are creating. You have the power!!!

Please share stories: waller@createradiance.com

381 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/Sexuality/Weight

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15

Jan

Flowers for the Living

Something compelled me to reach out to an old friend. In response, she happened to be in Maui with her husband and that day was walking down the beach. They walked passed a man who said: “If you are not careful, she will get pregnant again.” (Suzanne is 5 months pregnant) She exclaimed, “thank you.” He turned around and said, “for what?” She said, “I’m just simply grateful.” The man happened to be Wayne Dyer and he invited she and her husband to his condo. While there, he offered them 2 copies of a children’s book he had written (signed) and a copy of his movie, The Shift. He sent them off with the thought that there is no such thing as coincidence. Om shanti.

I shared the story with a beloved friend and artist Rachel Kice . She happened to be listening to a Tony Robbins cd the past few days and he has been interviewing Wayne Dyer. He was sharing stories about how he does things for others to lighten up the energy between them, not expecting anything in return. This reminds me of the other day when I was with my dad and we walked passed a young woman and my dad pointed at her and said, “beautiful eyes” I shunned. Dad. And then I thought how sweet it must be to hear that, and how kind it is to share what is on our hearts.

My mom calls this flowers for the living. When you share how good it feels to be alive and offer someone a comment just because. Not trying to get anything, sell yourself or receive in return, and naturally being grateful for the connections from the heart. What a gift it is to be able to appreciate each other, and especially to communicate this appreciation. In my next 30 years, I hope to do more loving, appreciating, communicating what I love and am thankful for and see that inspires me, and hope that my life impacts others simply because of the gratitude I feel for being alive and able to count my blessings.

What do you appreciate in your life?

What are some ways to can actively appreciate who and what is in your life?

What is something you can do today and tell no one, that is an act of good service?

These are the days that count. Today and every day. Live it well, be kind and generous of your heart. Live as if you love your life so much, that you want to share it with others.

Love and thanks~

Waller

500 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/Recovery

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02

Jan

True Beauty

I’ve been contemplating what makes a woman beautiful and how much of our lives is spent trying to get things that will make us feel so. The best car, biggest house, sexiest body, friends in high places and all that gives us the illusion of being better than. At the same time, these things are what we hope to gain when we are in alignment with our best selves. It’s not likely you would prefer to live under the bridge downtown rather than in that beautiful home with a nice yard, or in the condo in a great neighborhood. Having travelled to third world countries, lives out of a tent for nearly a year of my life, and now living in the most beautiful place I could imagine in process of creating my best life, I understand what it takes to make manifest our dreams.

Everything I have ever done has come to me from a place deep within. When there is something I really want, I often visualize it in the highest place possible. This means, I surrender the outcome and the control of the process to a higher place. I’m not exactly sure I know what this higher place is, however I know that it exists. It is a feeling I get, when I don’t know how to explain the blessings that I’ve been given in this lifetime, I know it is not my doing, but my participating in the belief in the possibilities I see. Here are some tools that I guarantee will help you gain the spiritual means to have a life of extraordinary beauty and success in the way that you deserve.

1. When you see someone who has what you want, own it baby! Rather than being envious of your neighbor’s car or friend’s body, see it as a symbol for what you too can have. Take a moment to take it in, feel yourself having it and go for it. Don’t take no for an answer. Or, take as many no’s as you can handle but don’t give up. If you can see it and believe in it, then you shall have it.

2. Patience. In the meantime, while you are moving towards your manifestation (which often feels sideways and like you are alone in the world of thinking positive when things are all out of control), get busy. What I mean is that if things aren’t going your way, get your mind off of them and into that which inspires you. Do what it takes to keep your mind and body in that positive place. In the feel good emotions – joy, knowledge, empowerment, freedom, love, appreciation, passion, enthusiasm, optimism and hopefulness and stay away from that which sucks your energy – pessimism, frustration, overwhelm, dissapointment, blame and discouragement. What helps me is cooking, exercise, jumping up and down, writing (but not if you are really stuck, because that can further the negative thought loop). Patience does not have to mean sitting still and waiting. While waiting, make it a party, a really juicy one!

3. Know what you want and that you undoubtedly deserve to have it. This oftentimes takes work. To see beyond that which is to that which you want, takes broadening your scope of what you can have. I’ve lived in places with no furniture and thought that was ok. I was depriving myself of comfort because I thought that I needed to be as holy as possibile (and invisible!!), so that maybe someone would love me. I was also anorexic, which my dad calls “Love deprivation syndrome”. While in that place, I was not giving and recieving to the natural flow of love or life and constantly felt like I needed to control what is to come. I now know that I need love to thrive and what I want I can have and that my most basic survival needs will always be met, but that I deserve more. I want a rich and inspired life so that I can inspire others, be of service and feel like a beautiful woman that I am. I know how to surpass self doubt, and this is a gift I’ve been given by growing beyond my confusion about who I am and what I want, getting clear about my life and going for it. All the way…

4. Surround yourself with people, places and things that feel amazing to you. You absolutely must clear out the junk for the light to shine through. The best way to do so, is to add in the things that make you feel good. If you are trying to lose weight or quit smoking, drink water, eat greens. If you are struggling in your intimate relationship, spend more time nurturing yourself and perhaps with good friends. If your work is not where you want it, be of service to others and trust that it will improve. The best way to access your strengths are to use them wisely and regularly to fill in the spaces where your insecurities have taken over. An exercise I like is planting karmic seeds. I strive to do 5 a day, good deeds simply because, not expecting anything in return and watch as the magic occurs between who I think I am (which is usually less than true) and what I can be (which feels better to consider – infinite possibilities).

How does all of this relate to beauty? In my 29th year, as I move towards turning 30 this year, my priority is to reclaim my natural beauty and feminine power. I notice there are places that go in my mind which lead me to act against myself and to treat myself with less respect than I deserve, leaving an echo of insecurity. On the other hand, there is a secret that I have that I know works to cultivate beauty, balance, health, wealth and love in all areas of life, and that is through our thoughts. I urge you to choose wisely what you think about yourself, how you treat yourself and others and recognize that the love you seek starts from within and this love is your birthright. As well as love is always available to you, beauty is also, and it is my wish, hope and deepest desire that we may all find the beauty that we are and live from this place in relationship to others, knowing that the better people we become, the more naturally beautiful we are and that our beauty, health and abundance is a symbol for the world to wake up and recognize the light within each other.

Love and beauty~

Waller

513 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Lifestyle/Recovery/Weight

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06

Oct

Gluten Free and Happy to Be

You may be reading this because you have gone gluten free due to a health condition, or a current trend in dietary theory led you to discovering the impact that going gluten free can have on your life. Any information you are reading here comes from personal experience, along with research I have done on gluten free living. I suffered with ill health for many years, and was in a healing crisis when I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. Besides that, I could not hold on to weight, my blood sugar was all over the place, I had severe anxiety followed by depression and finally had a series of seizures. All of this and I still did not get it, neither did doctors. I was told “anorexic”, after having no problem consuming as much food as possible. I spent an exorbitant amount of time and energy on trying to find foods that agreed with me, and I settled on soy and a grain based diet, only to discover I was allergic to soy, and many of the foods I was eating. No wonder for the strange health conditions which seemed to be popping up all over the place!

Then I ran into an ex-boyfriend, who, when we were together, liked his beer and hangovers, while I was a bulimic in action. Together, we suffered silently separately, but came together and thrived on the possibility of not having to be alone and miserable. He had been diagnosed celiac, and told me about his recovery process. At the time, I was severely underweight, and still trying to figure out the food. And then…I cut out gluten. My symptoms went away, my weight normalized, and I found a way of eating that worked for me.

Here is how I went gluten free.

1. I cut out gluten.
2. I felt better.
3. I felt much better.
4. I learned to cook without gluten.
5. I felt free around food, less moody and compulsive, grounded with a flow in my spine.
6. I continue to feel better following a gluten free lifestyle, which does not include restricting the delicious options available.

The rest is history. Every day, I create, convert and customize recipes that fit in with the gluten free living. Some work, some need work, but there is always room for more gluten free options in the world. I am currently offering a Chi Bar–a gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free energy bar that is spreading like wildfire. If you want to learn more, or order one or a dozen, email me @ waller@createradiance.com

Stay tuned for my new website, coming out in the next week, which will offer gluten free guides, guidance, recipes, relaxation techniques–a sort of healing reservoir for recovering your health from an addiction, stress condition, or life in general.

WIth love,
Waller

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966 days ago Short URL Comments

Food and Mood/Gluten Free/Lifestyle

05

Oct

Relax into Your Radiance

Step into the here and now. Every ounce of you is welcome here, especially the uncomfortable parts of you. If you are struggling with your weight, fighting an eating disorder or an addiction, stressed out by your work or relationship, it may seem like a chore to relax these days. I don’t blame you for not wanting to sit still, because the discomfort may seem so overwhelming that the idea of relaxing is not even in sight or on your mind. I can relate to this, indeed and experience a similiar sensation when I make an appointment to go have a massage when I really need it, and then the time comes and I am alright and at ease.

Relaxation is the key to optimal wellbeing. It is vital to spend your day in a state of relaxation for your body to heal, grow, develop, process, detoxify and regulate itself from the inside out. If you are not relaxing enough, you may be stressed out and feel like you are out of control. You may have more issues than you feel like you deserve, and at the same time be unable to shake off things that are bothering you. If any of this soudns familiar, I invite you to be with me here now and relax as you are, and take some of what you are learning here into your daily life.

Do you agree with me that you need to breathe in order to live? And that one breath leads to the next breath, and on and on, but that the deeper you breathe, the easier it is to relax? So, focusing on your breath is an exclellent way to relax in the here and now. The breath can guide you out of your mind, or stress and drop you down into a state of being.

Here is a breathing exercise to calm anxiety.

Four-Seven-Eight Breath

Best done sitting but can be done standing or lying down.

1. Sit with your back straight and your hands resting comfortably in your lap or on your thighs.

Look straight ahead, yet try not to fix your gaze on anything in particular. Slightly closing your eyes helps.

Try to focus internally on your breathing.

All inhalations are done through your NOSE; all exhalations through your MOUTH.

Throughout the exercises keep the tip of your tongue in contact with the top of your mouth, just behind your top teeth.

2. Commence inhaling slowly, smoothly and deeply to a mental count of 4 seconds. Fill your lower lungs first (by pushing out your abdomen), then your middle and upper lungs.

Hold your breath for a mental count of 7 seconds.

Slowly and smoothly exhale for a mental count of 8 seconds.

As you exhale, try to let go of all your anxiety, tension & stress.

That’s one round. Pause briefly without inhaling then start another round. This natural pauseis very therapeutic and relaxing.

Do 10-12 rounds to begin. Build up to 25-30 rounds several times a day AND whenever you feel anxious or nervous, etc.

Summary: Inhale for 4 seconds – Hold for 7 seconds – Exhale for 8 seconds – Pause briefly – Repeat.

Benefits

  • Calms your mind
  • Tones your nervous system
  • Regulates your breathing
  • Balances your emotions

Tips

  • Can be done anywhere – on a bus, in a line, at work, before a test
  • If you lose your breath, stop, breathe freely then try again
  • With practice your pauses between rounds will naturally get longer
  • Soothing music or ear plugs can help reduce external distractions

967 days ago Short URL Comments

Lifestyle/Recovery

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