1/29/13- Day 9

Good morning! I just got done teaching two yoga classes at SLP, props to those who were there this am, and I hope I see more of you today later on. I teach today at SLP at 3:30, it's a new class for me, and I am also teaching at Uptown at. 5:45pm.  It is so good to get into yoga as much as you can. Try to get to a class today because it helps keep you centered.

I found a great quote yesterday about judgement. Remember, when we notice ourselves judging it is a cue we are not centered. You can always recenter by coming to you breath.  The quote goes like this..... When you judge someone you are not defining them, you are defining yourself.

If you are reading along in the book most of you will be on day 9 or so. Today is about examining your shadow. Take some time and meditate on those places of resistance in your mind, and when you take your yoga class, examine places in your body where there is resistance. Remember wherever there is a mental knot there will be a corresponding physical knot and vice versa. One of the greater reasons we are cleansing in the first place is to examine and get into these knots, or places of resistance.  Just stay with your breath and let go on the exhale if you wish to let go.

I'm so proud of you all. If you are off caffeine for the cleanse great job! I wanted to teach you about CCF Tea, or Cumin, Coriander and Fennel Tea. It will make staying off caffeine easier and it helps with digestion too. Let's take a moment to remember why we are not consuming caffeine for these 21 days.  Caffeine is a mood altering drug. It changes or perceptions, or mood and our behavior. To quote Kathy Freston, "One thing caffeine does is raise the levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which temporarily increases the feelings of pleasure."  She goes on to say that each time you need more and more to feel that good feeling. Caffeine negatively affects your sleep and can increase anxiety and restlessness. A few more things caffeine does is exhausts the body by overstimulation the adrenal glands which increases levels of cortisol in your body, which can cause belly flab. In conclusion, caffeine burns us out, it is not good for us.

So try some beautiful Ayurvedic CCF tea.   Take three equal parts Cumin, Coriander and Fennel seeds and steep them in hot water and enjoy! You can have it anytime, but I notice I like to take it after a meal or in place of an afternoon snack. You could also sweeten it with agave during the cleanse. Yum!