Are Your Nails Talking to You?

My friend Anne recently led me through a 2-week customized Ayurvedic cleanse. Anne is an Ayurvedic Practitioner,dear friend + the Campaign Manager for the Campaign For Confidence (doesn’t reading Campaign Manager just make you smile)! You can interact with her daily at the Campaign for Confidence Facebook page!

The goal was to re-balance and re-boot my digestive functioning. We talk all about it in this video!

As was discussed it the video, the cleanse included lots of warm, cooked foods made with healing spices and designed to be super-easy to digest. The cleanse also included the daily consumption of ghee, which is butter from which the milk fat solids and water have been removed. Ghee nourishes the body and feeds our tissues on every level, enhancing all three stages of the digestive process. Ghee is used in Ayurvedic cleansing because it bonds to fat-soluble toxins throughout the body and then carries them to the gastrointestinal tract where they can easily be eliminated.

About Ayurveda

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest medical systems that originated in India several thousand years ago and is defined as “knowledge of life.” This truly holistic healing system is the mother of many different healing modalities: nutritional therapy, herbalism, massage, aromatherapy and more.

Ayurveda is often referred to as the “science of self-healing”  because through its teachings we become deeply in touch with our mind, body and spirit and are often able to recognize imbalances well before they manifest as anything recognizable by the Western disease model.

There are many different diagnostic tools that Ayurveda provides us with, including feeling pulse and observing faces, tongues and nails. When Lacy recently noticed that she had longitudinal ridges on her nails, she knew that she was experiencing a deeper imbalance and enlisted me to help her resolve it.

What Are Your Nails Saying?

Our nails are a by-product of bone tissue development so the health of our bones can be reflected in the health of our nails. When our bone tissue is sufficiently nourished our nails will be healthy and grow quickly. When our bone tissue is lacking in nourishment, our nails will grow slowly and can develop other physical symptoms.  Typically, the bottom third of the nail (closest to the cuticle) will reflect our health within the last three months, the middle third of the nail reflects our health within the last six months, and the top third of the nail reflects the last twelve months, but of course this varies by our individual nail growth rate.

Moons

The moons (luna) are little whiter area often found at the base of our nails and are related to energy flow within our physical and mental body. When they are missing it can indicate a mental imbalance of some sort. When they are very small, it can indicate insufficient prana (life force energy). When they are very large, it can indicate hyper-metabolism and/or high pranic energy. If they are blue there may be an imbalance in the liver and if they are red there may be a cardiac disorder.

White Spots

Little white spots on the nails are often due to either a deficiency of calcium, magnesium or zinc or excess calcium in the organ associated with that finger (thumb = brain; index finger = lungs; middle Finger = intestines; ring finger = kidneys; pinky = heart).

Ridges

Both side-to-side and longitudinal ridges (from the base to the tip) indicate an imbalance in our digestive system that has led to the malabsorption of nutrients. As you know Lacy packs her body with tons healthy food but it doesn’t matter how many nutrients we are consuming if our body isn’t properly digesting, absorbing and assimilating the nutrients!

The Three Stages of Digestion

Digestion is the foundation of Ayurvedic medicine and the root cause of all disease is improper digestion. In order to be maximally healthy, each stage of the digestive process must be functioning correctly: 1) Hunger; 2) Digestion of Food & Assimilation of Nutrients and 3) Elimination of Waste Products. To learn more about these three stages, read Anne’s blogpost here.

Anne is leading a modified version of the cleanse that I did at the beginning of May. If this is resonating with you I'd love for you to join us. You can find out more here.

xo, Lacy

Ps. It feels important to note that I'm not getting paid to promote Anne or her cleanse. I believe in her + her work. She's been a tremendous gift in my life + health.

Your History Is Not Your Destiny - Food based fall cleanse!

Meet Anika! I am so excited to have her guest posting! We first met through MY health coach, Jennifer Moiles. It was Anika who taught me how to properly chop an onion and not my fingers. She taught me about nutritional yeast, about the power of dates, cashew cream and miso soup! Anika is filled with life. She's authentic and beautiful and a magic-maker in the kitchen! For her first guest post she's here to share her experience and recipes from a recent 3-day food based cleanse.

October is a perfect time for cleansing!  I suggest a 1 - 3 day cleanse at the change of seasons or anytime you feel like your body, mind and spirit need a break. I tend to do juice cleanses in spring and summer and food based cleanses in fall and winter. Feel free to ask questions in the comments, Anika and I will be happy to answer back!

To your health! Lacy

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Your History Is Not Your Destiny...

These are the words I heard from an inspiring yoga teacher that lead me down the path to do this cleanse. Although short, cleansing is no small feat, and I bow my very lowest and deepest bow to anyone that may even attempt it. So I challenge you, to do a three day cleanse- cuz heck, why not?

Before we dive into it, bit of back story on me; A couple of years ago I went to an incredible alternative ingredients culinary school, Bauman College. Their philosophy is insistent upon a plant based diet. There I learned how to prepare foods surrounding plants, and also learned the importance/ benefits of cleansing. Three years ago (around this time of year) I planned to do a raw food cleanse for a month. But it did not sit well with my body, and after 3 weeks, I decided to stop the cleanse and return to cooked foods. My body was incredibly grateful. Over the past few years, Iʼve been vegan, vegetarian, and now I eat pretty much anything, but stick to a regimen of mostly plants. When I eat meats I make sure they are grass fed, fresh, and in small quantity. After College, I started my own Private Chef business, and am now the proud owner of Garden Cuisine.

So, two nights ago, I got an incredible surge of energy pushing me to do a small cleanse; an intro cleanse if you will. And that night, I immediately went to the grocery store, filled my cart with strictly fruits and veggies and left with a huge smile on my face. I happily strolled out the door and into the adventure that life had ahead ------because isnʼt that what this life is all about? Keeping it fun, keeping it exciting, and whenever possible, exercising our capability to be spontaneous!

As I had outlined for myself, I was going to do 3 days, strictly fruits and veggies. Which means no: Meat Dairy Nuts Legumes Oils Flours COOKIES! (what?) Yup!

Day One Overview:

It took about 3 hours of the first day to make a couple juices, and two soups. I picked all of my favorite things to eat, and kinda through them in a pot and ran with it. No oil of course giving me my first challenge, because how does a chef caramelize onions without oil? Answer: She doesnʼt. She grits her teeth and settles with letting the onions clear over with a splash of veggie broth and moves on!

Needless to say, I made two soups; a pureed Tomato Soup and a pureed Butternut Squash Soup, and two juices; a fruit juice, and a veggie juice.

>>>>>Recipes and directions at the bottom<<<<<

I started my cleanse on my day off, and ate whatever I wanted, whenever I was hungry within the cleanse guidelines. I drank juice for breakfast, ate a bowl of soup mid morning, had a massive bowl of guacamole with veggie crudites for lunch (avocados never tasted so good!), more juice for an afternoon snack, and a different soup for dinner. I snacked on bites of fruit here and there, drank plenty of water, and finished the day off with a cup of naturally sweet apple cinnamon tea.

Overall I had tons of energy the first day; I woke up and did all the cooking, cleaned my whole kitchen, went for a long drive into the mountains, came home, went to TWO heated hour long yoga classes, and slept like a baby.

Downfalls of the first day were pretty limited, overall I felt yummy, except for this weird acid reflux that was happening, which I have never had issues with in the past. I deduced it to an over-consumption of acidic foods, and planned for a more alkalizing day to come and that was that. But then, later when I laid down to go to sleep, I got a little overwhelmed with anxiety, which I knew was a common side affect of cleansing. I reached for my most comforting item (aside from food) my heating pad. Turned it on, snuggled up, and with a few deep breaths reminded myself that I was okay, and that change is good. A yoga teacher recently said

“keep going, when it feels hard push through, and you might just find out whatʼs on the other side of resistance.”

I pushed though and slept great. It was so worth it.

Day 2 Overview:

On day two I was back at work. Woke up early to pack my juices and soup (I had made enough on day one for day two) and flew out the door. Energy all throughout my 8 hour work day was very high and I felt great! But at the end of my workday (3pm) I felt h u n g r y! Once home and treated myself to another large bowl of guacamole and veggies and a bowl of soup. At this point I realized two things;

1. I sat down for way too long and was O V E R W H E L M E D with exhaustion, and

2. I was so sick of the soups that I'd made the day before I couldnʼt bring myself to eat either one of them for dinner.

I literally dragged myself to the grocery store, eyes watering with severe exhaustion and red from rubbing them. I barely kept my eyes open between yawns. I picked up all the ingredients for my 3rd and favorite soup yet, Broccoli Potato! Turned on my heating pad (do you see a pattern starting?), snuggled up and fell into a deep deep sleep for two hours. I woke up around 7:30 pm, made soup, and ate two bowls! So incredible! Day two highlight: I ate a late night bite of an overly ripe banana (which I have NEVER appreciated in the past) and it was heaven! Things were getting better!

Day 3 Overview:

Day three was the easiest of them all! By then I had the meals down, was back to regular energy, and worked/worked out comfortably, however my guacamole snack was no longer satisfying (probably a good thing). With the days that followed I added in grains first, then cheese, and then a few days later I began to eat meats and breads and whatnot. Overall it was an incredible experience and I would love to do another cleanse soon!

Recipes:

Tomato Soup

Ingredients: 1 onion, medium dice 2 large carrots, rough chop 3 large stalks celery, rough chop 1c cabbage, rough chop 1 large yukon gold potato, large dice (about 1/2 inch pieces) 1c veggie stock 25 ounces organic tomato juice (in a container) Salt and pepper Garnish: basil or cilantro

Directions: 1.Saute onions in small-medium pot with small splashes of veggie stock until translucent. (I would let the edges burn a bit and then deglaze the pan with little bits of veggie stock.) 2. Add everything else except the garnish and salt and pepper. 3. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cook until everything is soft enough to cut through with a spoon. 4. Let cool, and blend to puree it or use an emersion blender. 5. Salt and pepper to taste Serve with fresh cracked pepper, cilantro or basil (parsley would be great too) and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast (optional).

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Fall Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients: 1 small butternut squash (about 1-1.5 lb) skin peeled, seeds removed, med dice 2 thin leeks, rough chop 4 large carrots, rough chop 1 large apple, corred, sliced thin 4 large celery stalks, rough chop 1 avocado Water 1/2 large box veggie stock Salt, pepper, dried ginger, and dried cinnamon Garnish: parsley or cilantro, fresh ground pepper, and a squeeze of blood orange (optional)

Directions: 1. In a medium pot, add squash, leeks, carrots, apple, celery, and enough water to barely cover veggies.

2. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cook until everything is soft enough to cut with a fork (about 30 min). 3. Add avocado and puree entire soup, adding as much veggie stock to the blender/ soup as necessary to get the desired texture you would like. (the avocado adds creaminess, do it!) 4. Return to pot and salt and pepper to taste. Then cinnamon and ginger to taste. This gives a warm fall flavor to the soup.

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Incredible Broccoli Potato Soup

Ingredients: 1 large yellow onion, diced 6 large cloves garlic, minced 1 large yukon gold potato 1 head broccoli, rough chop (stem too, skin removed) 1c cabbage, sliced into 1 inch thin strips 1 large box veggie stock 1 tsp coriander Salt and pepper and nutritional yeast

Directions: 1. Saute onions with veggie stock until translucent (as seen above) 2. Add garlic, and saute until fragrant 3. Add potatoes and veggie stock, anbring to a boil; then reduce to simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes 4. Add broccoli and cabbage and return to a simmer until soft, about 15 minutes. 5. Salt and pepper to taste and add a good amount of nutritional yeast a small handfull), and the coriander. Stir well. 6. Garnish with extra cracked pepper, and another tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

I can not stress how good this soup is. My housemate (who is not on the cleanse, nor enjoys eating healthy) came out of her room to ask what I was cooking, and then asked if she could taste some. She continued to eat half my bowl! =) itʼs a winner

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Green juice

1 head broccoli 2 large bunches of spinach 3 small honeycrisp apples 1/2 bunch parsley 1 bunch basil

Directions: Juice it all up!

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Fresh Fruit Juice

6 apples 10 ounces strawberries

1 blood orange

Directions: Juice it all up!

Donʼt forget! You are alive, vibrant, and thriving!

<3 Anika Canton

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For more recipes click here.

To change your relationship with food for the better join us at Group Health Coaching beginning Nov 7!

Why a 30 Day Vegan Expirement?

It's time for Cliff Notes again and I'm so excited that Cliff is sharing part of his journey with you. When Cliff and I were first dating and early in our marriage he always cooked for me. I'd come home from work and he'd have dinner in progress or on the table. It was almost always some form of meat + starch (taters, bread n butter, white rice, etc) and maybe some kind of veggie. The meals were made with love and I loved every second of it, there were no complaints coming from the girl with the full mouth. We've come a long way since leaning into those first meatless meals in 2008 and our milk substitute test in 2011 (I now make our own almond milk each week). At the time it felt like such a HUGE change from the way we were both raised. I stand in awe of Cliff for being willing to make such huge changes on behalf of his health (I make a pretty strong case for wanting to keep him by my side for as long as possible). I feel so strongly that this experiment will make a difference in his numbers. So without further adieu I'll turn you over to Cliff! To my completely healthy and happy husband! Lacy

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Two weeks ago I received some troubling health news that I had already known but I guess, had to hear it again. I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. My predisposition for these two common maladies has both a genetic and a lifestyle component. My father had both HTN (hypertension) and CAD (coronary artery disease) AND he ate rather poorly most of his life…lot’s of mayo and salt. However, I was raised on health food from my mother’s direction and made most of my meals myself since I was about 21 years old.

Still, here I am.

I was on medication for both diagnoses in the past but I have always wondered if I could reverse this trend using diet and exercise. It is a wild adventure that I was contemplating (somewhat skeptically) because I was raised in a clinical medicine environment. Everything was approached from the standpoint of medication first and THEN diet and exercise. It was a foregone conclusion that you would take the meds would work and then support with the other options.

Can I control this without modern pharmacological technology? We’ll see. So far, halfway through, I have seen a reduction in my blood pressure and my weight has dropped from 187.6 to 181.4 in two weeks. I crave comfort food but then I’m glad when I don’t eat it. I find that I’m less judgey about other people and that is probably coming from a new sense of self confidence. My workouts are picking up and the energy level is consistent. So overall, I feel better and my wife and friends say I look better.

I have missed cheese and eggs the most. My newest, best friends are the meatless meatball and potatoes! Funny right? I was raised on meat and potatoes and so it makes sense that I'd run back to those. I have to say if  skipping the meat, eggs and cheese lets me drop weight and keep off of the meds I think it could be habit forming, plus Lacy's made it really easy making almost all our meals and sending me out the door each morning green juice or smoothie in hand!

I’ll post an update in another 15 days with the final tally!

Cliff

p.s. food I'm most looking forward to post vegan experiment = sushi!

Animal vs. Vegetable Protein

It's Cliff Notes time again and this week he's talking protein. When we first started leaning into going veggie protein was a major topic of conversation. I LOVE this article, it left me with some major take-aways. I know it will for you too! :) Lacy

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Until recently, protein has gotten little attention. However, lately, high-protein diets for weight loss have gained momentum and people are starting to ask about it. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day to keep from slowly breaking down their own tissues. That's just about 8 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight.

Animal protein and vegetable protein probably have the same effects on health. A 6-ounce broiled porterhouse steak is a great source of complete protein—about 40 grams worth. But it also has about 38 grams of fat, 14 of them saturated. That's more than 60 percent of the recommended daily intake for saturated fat. The same amount of salmon gives you 34 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat, 4 of them saturated. A cup of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein, but less than 1 gram of fat. The bottom line is that it's important to pay attention to what comes along with the protein in your food choices. Vegetable sources of protein, such as beans, nuts, and whole grains, are excellent choices, and they offer healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Nuts are also a great source of healthy fat (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource).

The best animal protein choices are fish and poultry. If you are partial to red meat, such as beef, pork, or lamb, stick with the leanest cuts, choose moderate portion sizes, and make it only an occasional part of your diet, for several reasons: Research suggests that people who eat even modest amounts of red meat have a higher risk of developing colon cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, and a higher risk of dying from heart disease, cancer, or any cause. And skip the processed stuff like bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats since that's linked even more strongly to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes risk.  (Processed meats are very high in sodium, which may be one reason why they are associated with higher disease risks.)

What is protein?

Protein is found throughout the body in muscle, bone, skin, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue. It makes up the enzymes that power many chemical reactions and the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood. At least 10,000 different proteins make you what you are and keep you that way. Twenty or so basic building blocks, called amino acids, provide the raw material for all proteins. And just for clarity, amino acids rebuild the body while vitamins make it function better.

Following genetic instructions, the body strings together amino acids. Some genes call for short chains of amino acids; others are blueprints for long chains that fold, origami-like, into intricate, three-dimensional structures. Because the body doesn't store amino acids, as it does fats or carbohydrates, it needs a daily supply of amino acids to make new protein.

One protein source that has been getting a lot of attention is soybeans. We've been told that regularly eating soy-based foods lowers cholesterol, chills hot flashes, prevents breast and prostate cancer, aids weight loss, and wards off osteoporosis. Some of these benefits have been attributed to a unique characteristic of soybeans which is their high concentration of isoflavones, a type of plant-made estrogen (phytoestrogen). The claim was based on early research showing that soy protein lowered levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. A number of solid studies done since then have questioned this finding.

However, soybean and egg protein is a "complete protein" since they each provide all of the essential amino acids for human nutrition (http://www.wikipedia.org/), (http://www.nsrl.uiuc.edu/soy_benefits.html).

a note from Lacy on soy: If you're going to do soy the best way to get it into your diet is through edamame or fermented soy like in Miso soup. Be careful of highly processed soy products! Much of the soy out there is HUGELY genetically modified and GMO is a NO GO!

Essential vs. non-essential (conditionally essential) amino acids:

The amino acids regarded as essential for humans are phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, leucine, lysine, and histidine.

The amino acids arginine, cysteine, glycine, glutamine, histidine, proline, serine and tyrosine are considered conditionally essential.

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No More Fish Burps: The Beauty of Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Welcome, welcome to Small World, Big Hearts!  I'm so excited to introduce Abby Blackburn to you as a guest blogger here at lacylike! Abby is a phenomenal chiropractor & all around good ole Texas gal! Her sense of humor coupled with her vast knowledge of the body makes each visit feel like an indulgent treat for my mind, body and spirit! I've asked her to share the wonderful ways of fish oil with you today. Taking daily fish oil is a lacylike health TO DO! Enjoy,

Lacy

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In my Chiropractic practice, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “If I were going to take just one supplement, which is the most important?”

My answer:  “Fish oil!” Now then, I truly believe several supplements make for a more balanced body, but fish oil is one of the most important.  Seriously, every person can benefit from fish oil.

Are you vegan, friend?  Not to worry.  There are many vegan friendly omega-3 options for you too!  Algae and flax oils are excellent sources of omega-3’s, but back to the beauty of fish.

Fish oils are derived from the tissues of oily fish.  They’re composed of omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaeonic acid).  These are precursors to certain eiconasoids that are known to reduce inflammation within the body.  One study showed that taking 2000mg of fish oil had the same anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects of taking 800mg of ibuprofen.  Without the nasty side effects.

Along with reducing inflammation within the body, omega-3’s have boundless other health benefits.  Several studies show taking omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of developing cancer and slow its progression.  Yes, please!

If you’re a fan of big governmental agencies and their opinions, the US National Institutes of Health recommends fish oil to lower triglycerides and high blood pressure for cardiovascular disease prevention.  Isn’t that fantastic!?  Now we just need our physicians to get on board and prescribe fish oil and a wee bit of exercise before we start popping medications with side effects that essentially shorten our healthy lives.

Do you ever feel a little low?  Multiple studies show that fish oil can help stabilize mood, decrease depression and lower the risk of suicide.  These good fats are necessary for proper brain function.  If we don’t provide our brains with the proper nutrients, it’s impossible for them to function optimally.  Improper function includes an inability to make happy neurotransmitters that keep us in a good mood.

Did I mention that these fatty acids are precursors to hormones in the body?  Proper hormone balance begins with supplying the body with good quality fats like omega-3’s.  Omegas-3’s are also CRUCIAL during pregnancy for the developing brains of our babies.  Omega-3’s = Smart babies.  Who wants smart babies?

If you haven’t been inspired to jump out of your chair and dash directly to your nearest vitamin retailer, listen to this:  New studies are showing fish oil can decrease the occurrence and severity of several frightful diseases like Lupus, Alzheimers and Parkinson’s.

So what brand should you buy and how much should you take?  A few of my favorite brands include:  Barleans, Numedica, Xymogen, and Nordic Naturals.  A supplement that says ENTERIC COATING will help you avoid those delightful fish burps that we all love so much.  Enteric coating allows for the capsule to break down slower in the intestine rather than quickly in the stomach, and Viola!  No fish burps!  A good dose for brain health includes 800mg of DHA a day.  900mg of DHA per day is recommended during pregnancy.  Read the back of the bottle.  DHA is usually included in a smaller quantity than EPA because that’s how these fatty acids naturally in fish.  If one capsule has 200mg of DHA and 300mg of EPA, taking four capsules a day meets your need for DHA while providing a nice healthy level of EPA.

Now then!  Please don’t cruise straight over to Sam’s or Costco and buy an extra large jug-o-fish pills.  Quality is super important.  Oily fish tend to store heavy metals and other gnarly toxins, thus they need to be distilled, purified and carefully tested before we start sucking them down.  It takes meticulous processing to ensure the quality and safety of your supplements.  It’s okay to spend a few extra dollars for a reputable brand.  Remember:  Your body is worth it!  Get your fish oil today.

Abby Blackburn, D.C.

Ablackburn@blackburnchiro.com

2012 & YOU

Welcome back to Small World, Big Hearts!  I'm delighted to introduce Anthony Riche as a guest blogger here at lacylike. Anthony is on my team at lacyyoung.com and is my coach. His no nonsense approach and consistent encouragement have been gifts in my life to help me face and walk through fear. His name carries a lot of weight in our house as he's been a tremendous teacher for Cliff and for me. We've had the [end of world] 2012 conversation many times and I love what he's sharing with you today on change and it's beautiful inevitability. Here's to embracing change & allowing love to flow into your life!

Enjoy! Lacy

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2012 has been on the mind of several people who live their lives around me. Here’s the thing on 2012- no one knows for sure what the true significance will be. The Mayans ended their calendar in this year (December 21^st 2012 to be exact). Professional Mayanist scholars have worked hard to decode exactly what the Mayans were trying to tell us with no luck. So the scenarios persist. Many believe (or worry) that the world will end in 2012 without knowing exactly when or how. Catastrophic earthquakes, tsunamis, major volcanic eruptions and the possibility of a nuclear war are all popular theories. I don’t really believe any of these will occur- least as a result of it being 2012. One thing I am certain is that the Earth will reorient itself at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

You see, the Earth has it’s own Processional Cycle. Not only does the Earth rotate on it’s own axis affecting our perception of time, but it has it’s own journey around the Sun along the Milky Way. The Sun has a very powerful effect on us and our planet. This Processional Cycle completes itself every 26,000 years [or so]. The upcoming alignment is estimated to be completed in December 2012  and will signify the completion of this 26,000 cycle. The Earth will return to it’s “original” starting point. It will find itself in the center of the Milky Way which is supposed to bring with it a vibrational response on our planet. This event is speculated to raise the vibration of this planet and everything in it.

Now, take a long look at your life.

Is it working?

Are you happy?

If you aren’t, it's time to get in boat. So many people are being confronted with what isn’t working like never before. Where we could once “ignore our problems away,” we can no longer hide. This is happening everywhere you look. What needs to happen before any change can occur is to be confronted with the reality that something no longer works. This follows the rule of change- you cannot change what you cannot acknowledge. Denial can protect us no more. The fiasco of our financial system was supposed to be our global wake-up call.  The crash of our housing and financial systems affected not only us but the entire world. Dreams came crashing down overnight. We are being forced to decide what’s really important in our lives. The Universe is providing us an opportunity to wake up and make fundamental changes in how we are going to live our lives now that the security we all thought we had has been removed. It’s time to take an honest look at who we are, who we think we are and what are we doing here on Earth.

We cannot make changes until we become conscious, That’s the first step. We need to become more conscious. We need to create the changes we want to see. Obama ran his entire campaign on the simple principle of “Change.” This was in alignment with what is happening in the heavens. There is change in the air. The change has to start with you. If and when you begin changing, it should be much easier to do so now then it would have been, say, 5 years ago. Whether you decide to change or life forces you to change, change is imminent.

So that’s what I believe 2012 is all about. Change. It is often said that, “Change is good.” And it is. So many people are afraid of change but if you don’t ever change anything, nothing ever changes. Our society will be in for some very big changes so I believe it’d be good to get some practice in before these events occur.

Get your inner life in order and you’ll be able to handle whatever happens externally. Learn how to master your past and your emotions and change will be your friend. Chase the ego away because it is the ego that dislikes change. The lack of change has been good for him because it’s allowed him to survive. (I refer to the ego as “him” because it is a male energy).

As you take inventory of your life, take notice of what isn’t working. Then just “think” about changing. Even if you aren’t ready to change or don’t know what to do, just the simple act of thinking about changing will help you to accomplish this. Thoughts are very powerful. Learn to use them wisely and they will transform your life. Start with your life and what you want to change and you may never look back.

-Anthony

To Juice or Not to Juice

Hands down I say, JUICE! I count juicing as the #1 thing I've done to increase my health! #1!  That's one big compliment to juice! I've lead hundreds of people through successful juice cleanses and seen the results duplicated over and over again. At this point almost every one of my family members has purchased a juicer and have green juice on the menu daily or weekly.

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Everyday Health's Guide to Common Cleanse suggests using:

'Juicing as a Meal Replacement

For a less-extreme cleanse, consider occasionally replacing a meal with fresh vegetable or fruit juice. “In moderation, or as an alternative to eating fruits and veggies, this can be a great way to supplement your meals and snacks,” Jantz says. “Juicing is a great way to concentrate the phytochemicals and nutrients found in veggies and fruits.” When you do it on your own at home, it’s also a lot less expensive than a prebottled system.'

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I totally agree!  Juicing as meal replacement is how I maintain my green juice love affair.  I have a green juice for breakfast (almost) everyday. Invest in a juicer and then juice at home. That way you control what goes into your juice, the quality of the ingredients and when you consume it.  Always go organic when you can and the sooner you drink the juice the better.

My little sister has a lot to say about juicing too:

Hi, my name is Kayla and I’m a juicing addict! Seriously though, the love affair with me and juice has been fast and furious. Even though my big sister is the health coach and all-out juice nut, it was actually my little sister that coaxed me into that first sip of liquefied greens.

It was November of this past year, and I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy, miserably sick, and seriously lacking in nutrition because of the nausea and food aversions. My little sis had been living with friends who were also into juicing, and she brought over a nutrient-packed green juice to help put a little pep back in my step.  Unbeknownst to me, I was about to find a new, easy, delicious way to eat my veggies, and unbeknownst to her, I wasn’t just sick...she was about to discover that she’d soon be an Aunt!

I didn’t get my first juicer until that Christmas, but serendipitously a new juicing bar called The Juice Spot had just opened near my husband’s work. Squeamish about anything green his whole life, he reluctantly gave green juice a try at my urging but with a few extra pears to start. Before you knew it, we were both hooked and loving the natural “high” we felt after drinking our juice.

It’s only been 6 months of juicing, and we’ve already upgraded from our original Juiceman Junior to a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. We’re still die hard green juice fans, but we’ve been experimenting with adding new ingredients like jalapenos, carrots and ginger.

Our daughter can’t get enough of our healthy habit as well. Even though she’s still en utero (I’m now 7 months pregnant), I can already tell how much she loves her greens by her frenetic happy kicks after I gulp down a glass. She’s never more active than she is right after we enjoy our juice!

I have to say that the joy has been about more than the nutrition as well. My husband and I tend to juice together on the weekend and really enjoy doing it together. We also recently joined a CSA so we’d always have the local, organic, fresh veggies that we need on hand. It’s something that I crave now, and that makes me feel really great for my own health and for my baby.

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Here's to finding the juice combo that is right for your body!

To your whole health + happiness! Lacy

p.s. there's still time to enroll for Group Health Coaching: Foundations of Food starting two weeks from today on the 29th of May!

Yoga Magic

Welcome to the Small World, Big Hearts Guest Posting Series! Some of the amazing people I've met along the way will be showing up here to do guest posts on life, love, food, inspiration and all things good. I'm so excited to introduce my beautiful friend, Anne to you! Anne is part of my team at lacyyoung.com.  She is among my favorite people! I know you'll love her too. XO Lacy

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“The magic that I feel driving along Highway One is indescribable, it is a root connection that must be from a prior life.  A feeling of bliss.  A feeling that I belong here.  Esalen takes this feeling to a whole new level.  I had an immediate feeling of never wanting to leave here and wondering how I could arrange to stay forever… I feel like there are any paths that I could go down in my life, that I could become one person or I could become another.  Figuring out which path feels the most true to my heart is the challenge that I want to face right now.”

These are words I wrote in my journal two years ago, on the first day that I arrived at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California for a yoga and kirtan workshop.  Esalen is a magical utopia nestled in the cliffs between the Pacific Ocean and a vast wilderness that feels straight out of a fairy tale.  It was here that Lacy and I met and a beautiful friendship began.  There was a group of at the retreat who bonded immediately, we were at crossroads in our lives, and seemed to be on the search for some deeper meaning to our lives.  We all fell in love with each other and deep, life-long bonds were formed.  Seeds were planted during that week long workshop that allowed all of us to come closer to our hearts and our life-callings.  Rolf told us that our job is the “what” and the universes job is the “how,” and we learned to have faith in that.

I returned to Esalen earlier this year with a few of the people from the group while Lacy was in Hawaii.  I reflected on how much my life had changed in two years, how much the lives of my friends had changed.  Many of the seeds had blossomed to fruition.  I opened my heart up to love and a new relationship.  I found the courage to quit my secure, well-paying job to return to school.  I started a holistic healing practice for women using the ancient tools of yoga and Ayurveda, Lunar Shakti Healing.  You just never know who you'll meet, where you'll go next and how powerful it is to keep moving forward with an open heart!

To yoga magic, to friendship and Esalen (definitely put it on your list of must see/experience places).

Anne

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You can see my post from that trip here. -Lacy

Heart Centered Career

Welcome to my BRAND NEW BLOG!  I'm so excited to kick things off with a guest post from the lovely Angeles Moreno!  She and I have worked closely through my herbal line, website and now this blog!  She is one of the most talented and effervescent women I've ever met.  Welcome, welcome to this new space I hope you love it as much as I do!  XO Lacy

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When Lacy Young asked me to contribute with her new blog, I thought it would be interesting to start with some of the things we have in common:

A Strong Motivation. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with several of her inspiring projects, starting with the Herbal Line LacyLike – Organic | 100% Natural | Hand Made, which has extended to the design and development of LacyYoung.com and most recently, LacyLike.com. She represents the ideal client in my scope: meaningful projects, prolific collaboration through open communication, freedom of expression as an artist and complete trust on results.

An effective graphic identity should harmonize with what is inside shaping the form, translating a concept to visual language; from mind to matter. There are other intangible factors involved in this psychological process not easily expressed by words but is fair to say its success depends on the ability to understand parallel realities.

A Creative Background. Both of my parents are architects, so I grew up surrounded by all sort of art, craft and design tools and equipment, which I was never told not to touch. I was naturally trained an artist and my reaction for computers at the beginning, was categorical: the new techs had began to change the whole artistic process, from conception to production and distribution at a very fast phase; and my initial rejection was against the mechanization of a traditionallly organic process.

At the University, while studying Graphic Design, I had to develop a final project for the multimedia module. I found an unexpected excitement in this new virtual world, as a powerful tool to optimize the artistic methodology and its techniques. While learning the software and getting used to the hardware, I clearly remember having a crucial thought: “I would like to do this for a living”. Soon later I began authoring webpages, dvd's and cd-roms, becoming an eclectic artist-designer-illustrator-developer. I envisioned working with other people around the world taking advantage of the internet, much before it became what it is today.

Heart Centered Career. Lacy and I are constantly looking for opportunities to synchronize our personal philosophy through what we put at the service of others, giving the whole process a profound meaning. We acknowledge the advantages and challenges of choosing to follow our dreams. A challenging path without a doubt, but full of rewards. From my part I am certain that one of the most significant retributions has been the addition of a Yoga practice into my life. A practice that extends beyond the limit of a place in time. Through appreciation for what we can offer to others is that we express our profession.

Working as a freelance has given me the patience to understand that everything is in constant fluctuation, and that Systole and Diastole apply to our profession, our personal relationships and our economic income. I see the past as previous lives already, each of them giving an aspect to my personality and my overall view of the world. All the people I have met, and furthermore, collaborated with, have stayed more than metaphorically. Some of them have a page on my graphic design portfolio or a drawing on my sketchbook. They have all contributed to my evolution as a human being, not only as a designer. They have thought me through what they love and I will always remain grateful for that.

Angeles Moreno Motion Graphic Designer | Anaimation.com Yoga Inspired Art | Yoga-Art.net

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