Two things

1. I think I'm really gonna get serious about a gluten free diet, maybe even raw vegan

2.my iPhone stopped working, it won't come on. Surprisingly I am not worried or upset .

...let's elaborate

I have been really ignoring my gluten sensitivity. I'm paying for that right now, my stomach has been bloated to the point of pain for almost 3 days now. I'm considering trying a raw vegan diet or at least just fruits, veggies and whatever meat I can tolerate. I'm really sick of feeling like this, but I'm also sick of focusing so much on what to eat and what not to eat. I want to have smoothies for some meal replacements, but I love to actually chew lol. I want to give this change a real chance,but it's so hard. I know it takes weeks even months to really see the symptoms of gluten intolerance disappear,but I will never get there if I keep slipping.

 

The second thing, my phone just stopped working it will not power on. The other day I was thinking about how I kinda just stopped watching tv. Even my young n the restless I haven't watched in months. I just not desire it anymore. I was also thinking of a way to decrease my phone use. I'm constantly on Facebook, twitter, and instagram. I check my email constantly. What better way to fix this addiction than getting rid of the phone. Normally, I would be mad and going crazy wondering how I wk.l survive without a phone or worrying how soon I could get a replacement. I'm not worried at all. It's really weird. The only thing that's gonna suck is driving. I use my phone for music during my 1 hr work commute:(

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Working on those goals :)

I may have mentioned before that my most recent life/career goals include taking a yoga instructor course and obtaining certification as a holistic nurse.

Last week I contacted a yoga studio near my house. I had search tons of programs near my home and even up to an hour away. The problem was scheduling, every program meets Friday-Sunday. Unfortunately, I have to work 2 Fridays every month so that wasn't going to work for me. When I thought all was lost, I came across Tulaa Yoga Studio. This studio is 30 minutes from my house and meets every Thursday and every 3rd weekend. It will take 8 months to complete. I spoke with the studio owner who was kind enough to offer support and advice while I prepare for class next year :) I also learned that Tulaa's training program will include some theories and teachings from the Himalayan Institue

Finally, I discovered The Birchtree Center . I even spoke to the owner/operator. This center center provides training for nursing seeking holistic education/certification and more. The next training session isn't until spring and fall 2013. I also spoke to an instructor at my old nursing school, she is a graduate of the Birchtree Center and highly recommends the program. I love how everything is falling into place. I really hope and pray that things will continue to work itself out:) I don't know yet what I will do with this new education/certification, but it's on my heart so I must pursue it. Who knows where it may lead me!

Can you say EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!

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Maybe I won't be gluten free

I did pretty well last week, but this week I was horrible. The 3 days I worked I ate pretty well and avoided gluten all but one day. The 3rd day of work, I just decided to buy lunch and ate a sandwich on regular bread with feta cheese! I felt so bad about messing up, I just figured I would continue to do damage and ate a huge chocolate brownie cookie. Fast forward to the past two days, I am still bloated and I ate pizza today despite already having issues. Im sitting here feeling pregnant because thats how tight my stomach is. Im trying not to get too discouraged, because I know I can do this. Its just a little harder than I expected. Next week, I need to make sure I buy enough fruits/vegetables, and cook at least 3 meals/week. I also have to buckle down on my food diary Heres to next week....

Why Yoga?

There are so many reasons I started practicing yoga and even more reasons why I continue. My initial reason was to help repair my diastasis recti. As I learned about the ab separation I have and why its so, I decided I needed to focus on my body as a whole. I also wanted to do some cool asanas and not just those boring core postures lol. Core postures are so important though, I just get bored easily so I needed to explore movement within yoga. Thats when I learned about Vinyasa flow and so on. By no means am I even an intermediate level yogi, but some days I pretend to be lol

Ok, we are getting off track. I explained why I began yoga, now I will get into why I continue to practice. I am so ashamed to admit, but I have issues. I have moments of depression and low self esteem! Shocking, I know if you know me personally, but yes its true. I also have the problem of comparing myself to almost everyone else, and wondering if I need to change so many things about myself and my life. Even though I am truly blessed, I still would feel sad for no reason and just question if I am truly happy. This is when I decided I needed to be able to take time away from it all and just be. Just breathe, think, reflect, and feel that I am ok! I will never forget my first few yoga sessions, I instantly felt like a heavy weight was lifted. I was on an emotional high. I felt so good, and this was only after maybe 20 minutes or so lol. So, its very easy to see why I continue yoga... but there are so many more reasons~

My self esteem issues... smh, I can't believe I am going here. Don't get me wrong, I know Im not ugly and I know theres nothing "wrong" with me. But again, I would constantly worry about how I think I should look?!?!? Jarred tells me all the time I am beautiful just the way I am, and that I don't need to change a thing. He gets so upset when I share my body issues with him, because he just doesn't see me as I see myself. He sees a beautiful person inside and out, without flaws and I truly love him for that. He doesn't care that I have locs, he doesn't care about my flabby stomach, stretch marks, or skinny legs. These are all my issues. But with yoga, I am really learning to appreciate all my "flaws" they aren't even really flaws! My biggest insecurity right now is my stomach and sometimes flabby small appearing boobs lol ( hey child birth and breastfeeding did this ) The more I practice, the more I am loving my body just the way it is. I am becoming more concerned with my overall health, more so than my physical appearance. Being half naked in yoga outfits, has made me so much more confident. I always felt really skinny , like I had no shape lol. But the more I look at myself and feel my body moving and muscles working, I see that I'm not so bad after all lol.

I still have such a long way to go, but I feel so much better than I did months ago. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I know if I continue this journey I am on, I won't be disappointed. I encourage everyone to try yoga, theres something in it for everyone, mediation alone is powerful! Just taking a moment to breath and relax your mind and body,with just the sound of your breath is uplifting. How many times a day do we just consciously breathe? Of course we are breathing all day long, but to mindfully breath in and out for even just a few breaths will do wonders~! Give it a try, you will not be disappointed! Namaste :)

Holistic Health

Since practicing yoga and searching for a healthier lifestyle, I have almost become obsessed with learning how to deepen my practice and knowledge. I dream one day of being a yoga instructor and holistic health coach. Since I am a nurse, I naturally started my search on becoming a holistic practitioner with the http://www.ahna.org/. I got a little discouraged there, because in order to obtain certification you must already be a practitioner. I know there isn't many jobs out yet sooooo.... Im not sure I will be able to go that route. But, I am a big believer in nursing entrepreneurs and alternative nursing careers so I won't give up yet. I also found this site http://inursecoach.com/ This course cost about $4500 and requires four weekends thursday- sunday of training, I believe its based in NYC. The course I am most interested in is here http://www.wholehealtheducation.com/ this one is online, and provides enough hours to sit for certification. Its designed specifically for nurses. Cost is $5000.

With my new career goals, I just don't want to abandon being a nurse. After all, nursing was exactly what I wanted to do! But since making all of these lifestyle changes, I realize it only make since to incorporate them into a career if I can.

Another goal is taking a yoga teacher training course. Not just because I would like to be an instructor one day, but because I really want to know what I am doing lol. The cost is roughly $2500-3000 depending on where you go.

Decisions, decisions, I know anything is possible. I just have to decided what I want to do and how I would like to do it. Naturally, these ideas won't go into full affect until maybe 5-10 years from now :( But i do want to take either the nursing certification or yoga certification in the next couple years.

I have also been looking for yoga and holistic nursing/health conferences. I would love to attend one, this way I can meet people, and get information.

We will see what happens :)