Being a mermaid. Hanalei Bay, Kauaii
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Nothing like a pair of 5 1/2” platform heels to make you look like you lost five pounds and your jeans fit like an adult woman and not a six year old.
Two of my favorite things in the world. A strong man and a strong martini.
To all those tumblrs who have shared their tummy woes and the (insert adj here, i.e., yucky, expensive, annoying, exhausting) ways you have tried to improve. Thank you.
These are the important questions people!
(Source: nudelions, via bodhisattva-beauty)
Cute. Like an update of Flashdance.
(via ombredancer)
So bashful!
flowyogamag asked: Love your posts. Would you be interested in being featured and contributing at Flow?
I’d love too!
stagesofdrowning asked: I'm wishing I could come see and smell your yard right now! beautiful!
Seriously, if tumblr had scratch-n-sniff, I’d post it for you!
ausblick asked: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Likewise!
pinkiseverywhere asked: Hi! First of all, I love your blog. You seem to have exactly the life I want to have! Second, I was wondering if I could have some help. I have really tight hips. So much so that it affects my posture. I am working on different hip openers and I had a question about pigeon pose. I'm not sure I am doing it correctly. Could you tell me what exactly I'm supposed to feel working/ stretching while in this pose?
Thanks for waiting! You are sweet. You know how the internet can make everything seem like fuzzy puppies. I can tell you i’ve been through a lot and one lesson i’ve learned is to try to be happy with what you have and you will open the space to receive what you want. And what you want can change at a moments notice. But, thank you, I do feel grateful for what I have. I’m sure your life is pretty amazing, too.
So many things can affect your hips. Depending on where you are most flexible, you’ll feel different sensations in half pigeon. Mostly, though, the main areas that I feel it is in the outer hip and IT band of the bent leg, the hip flexor of the straight leg, and the lower back. You don’t want to feel any sharp pains anywhere, so if you do, back off a little bit. Keep the foot of your bent leg flexed to protect your knee (you should not feel any pulling around the kneecap). If you feel pain around your knee or have too much pressure on one side, draw the heel of your bent leg closer to your body. This helps keep the hips level. We tend to lean toward one side or the other. You can also square off your hips by looking behind the shoulder of the bent leg. This will guide the opposite hip forward.
If you find that you can seesaw side to side, try to find balance at center so you’re not favoring one side over the other. I used to sit into the hip of my bent leg so I could “go deeper” until one of my yoga teachers lifted my hips and placed them back to center. I had to ease up on my forward fold, but my weight was evenly distributed between both hips. If you want to move deeper, you can start to draw the shin of the bent leg parallel toward the top of the mat.
If you want extra support, you can tuck a blanket or block under the hip of the bent leg. Make sure your back leg is long and straight, either with the top of the foot on the floor and the foot pointed, or with the foot flexed and the toe tucked under. If you hip flexor on the straight leg is tight, keeping the toe tucked might help balance out the pressure. I usually have my toe tucked at first and then point and extend once I’ve loosened up a bit.
You can stay on your fingertips, or gradually lower to elbows or all the way down, chest draped over the front leg and forehead on the floor. Keep the lower back long. Lengthen your collarbone forward. As long as your hips stay square, don’t worry so much about bringing the lower body down. Just make sure that you are balanced on both hips first.
So what are the best things to remember?
Make sure hips are square (I usually lift my hips first to adjust and then settle in)
Protect the bent knee by flexing the foot.
Straighten the back leg.
Adjust the intensity by drawing your front heel in toward the body or increase by moving the heel away from you.
Rather than folding over right away, move in baby steps a little at a time. I like to move super slow. First stay on my fingertips, then palms down, lean forward bending the elbows, lower on to elbows, and only the start to crawl my hands forward, etc.
Breathe, breathe, breathe. :) And enjoy!
Um, okay.
… And now for an unrelated cute bunny post.
Can get so frustrating
So for over seven years, I’ve been dealing with chronic lower abdominal pain, bloating, back pain, chronic fatigue and weakness with IBS-A. I’ve had periods of little to no pain and times when I can feel almost normal. Other times, I’m pretty much on the floor ( because i wasn’t able to reach the bed.) I was tested positive for an ameoba and treated. Tested for food intolerances for wheat, corn, soy, milk, eggs and went on an elimination diet where I basically drank my food. I’ve tried all of the following with little, temporary success.
No alcohol/caffeine (sad)
No allergens including nuts
Sad diet- carbohydrate specific diet
Anti Candida diet
Medical food supplements/drinks
Ive taken the natural route, natropathic, chiropractic, acupuncture and Chinese herbs (currently), homeopathy, bach flower remedies, meditation, hypnotherapy, yoga (of course). Literally, thousands of dollars in vitamins and supplements.
I’ve had gastroenterologists, cardiologists, and an OBGYN do all the scopes, xray, ultrasounds, ct scan, EEG, got my girl equipment checked out, biopsies, blood tests with nothing conclusive other than my colon is twisty and I have early repolarization, an abnormal ECG found in athletes in training (results of ECG and stress test look like I’ve had a heart attack. I haven’t.) My obgyn gave me the ultrasound image of my right ovary as a souvenir. Looked into, IBD, CD, UC, SIBO, gastroparesis, for all those who are up on their GI disorders. I may have a ileocecal valve that spasms close.
I’ve been feeling all mixed up because I’ve been having to deal with my symptoms more often, despite the cocktail of meds and supplements that I take regularly. My diet is pretty clean, but not restrictive. Sometimes I just want to go into the hospital and tell them to just cut me open and take out whatever is causing the problem. (they’ve checked my appendix and gallbadder). Worst, I feel like there is a basket ball in my lower belly and can assume that I look like in my third trimester.
(my sweetie says I look cute with a pregnant belly, but that’s beside the point) The pressure and distension are horrible. Lower back pain. And it makes me not want to eat or drink. And the frustrating thing is that it can happen when I don’t eat anything. But when I do, it happens instantly, food or drink. I cook my food lightly, avoid, raw, hard to digest food, caffeine…
When it’s too painful, all I do is lay flat in bed and feel depressed and don’t even feel like doing yoga. At least it’s not my stomach, no ulcers, or GERD. It’s my lower digestive system that’s shot. It talks a lot, too. Because of the bloating and pressure, I hardly feel hunger, just weak and shaky. Puts me off of yoga.
After spending the last few days cruising the interweb, I’ve decided to round up my supplements and natural methods to see if I can really make some change.
Here’s what I’m doing,
(Aside from my meds)
Morning
Shot of coconut oil and fresh lemon
Shot of Aloe Vera gel
Stomach Ease Yogi Tea with fresh pressed ginger and lemon, honey
VSL 3 Probiotics w juice
Naturals Women’s Daily Vitamin
Women’s hormone support
1000 Ester C
L glutamine
amino acid powder
5HTP
Magnesium
Chinese herbs
Before meals
Hot lemon water with ginger and Apple Cider Vinegar
2 digestive enzyme capsules
2 HCL tablets
After meals
Shot of brewed fennel and caraway
Shot of ACV
Shot of AV
Chew on fresh mint leaves
Chew on a teaspoon of fennel/caraway seeds
Activated charcoal
Throughout the day
Aloe Vera Juice and gel
Kombucha
Mint tea with fresh mint
Yogi Stomach tea
Fresh pressed ginger/lemon tea w/honey
Hot water with lemon
Nibble on fresh or crystallized ginger
Evening, Mint or chamomile tea.
I’ve done all of these things at one point or another but not this combination.
I drink plenty of fluids. I eat VERY SLOWLY and chew my food thoroughly. I don’t have much stress (aside from this issue) My meals are small.
Has anyone ever tried aloe Vera, apple cider vinegar, caraway or fennel, for their lower belly? These are the only ones I haven’t tried before that I’m adding in. Has someone ever tried any of these things with success for bloating, lower abdominal pain, IBS, constipation, sluggish digestive system.