Booty, Contraception, Meditation, Vital Greens & Yoga

Booty Camp starts on Tuesday. Twice a week at 6.15am for an hour for 4 weeks. Designed by women for women. I'll start tracking my food, measurements and weight from Monday. Looking forward to some inspiration and getting fitter again. I kinda kept up the pizza habit since I got back from the States. Still trying to find something close to the New York slice from Astoria, downstairs from my sister's flat. Basil is possibly close with their Margheritta, yum!

Contraception, specifically NuvaRing. I went off the pill in August and have since had a pregnancy scare. Everyone else is going to have the babies for me right so thankfully I'm not pregnant but I'm not taking my chances again. The reason I went off the pill in the first place was because I was a little concerned about being on it for so long. My doctor assures me it is safe and hell, do I prefer the alternative? Uh, no thank you. Why NuvaRing? I don't have to pop a pill every day and it's a lower dose of hormones but just as effective. It's a little more expensive than the pill but I'm happy to pay for the convenience. I'll give it a month or two and see if it works for me.

Meditation. My man and I have been attending an awesome beginner's course to Buddhist meditation at the Sydney Buddhist Centre. We have a great teacher by the name of Ratnavyuha who is unreal. I'm finding it challenging to do my homework, basically meditating when not in class, but I hope it becomes more regular in my life. It really does make me realise that there is so much beauty in the world if only I actually take the time and actually stop to have a look more than I do. I think I'm beginning to understand how meditation can really be about joy and curiosity now, while being totally present in the moment. I do live too much in my past where I beat myself up over things I have done or said. It's good to acknowledge it but then let it go. Learn from the mistake and move on.

Vital Greens. Fantastic. Even though I just got my blood test results back and proved that I'm a healthy vegetarian, I like the idea of using this as my "multi-vitamin". This is a great product and so many people I know now through my studies in Nutritional Medicine have used this product and highly recommend it. It's organic, it's sourced from natural foods, it's got 76 nutrients in it, it has high bio-availability and best of all, great for vegetarians. Some people even use it as a their primary protein supplement. It is expensive but you'll get bang for your buck. If you live in Australia, you can get a free sample, just check out the site.

Yoga. I am trying a new studio on the weekend. One that doesn't focus so much on the spiritual. I want to explore some other schools of thought. I haven't really picked up my yoga asana practice as much again as I had hoped but I know the time will come when I'm ready to grab it by the horns again.

I can't wait for college to be over for the year, soon! I have assignments due and end of term exams coming up. I really should get off this thing and make sure I pass...

Caffeinated Yogi

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,

It is by the Dew of Mountain that thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning,
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. (Unknown)

I wasn't a huge or consistent coffee drinker until ... New York. Let's just say I came back with some bad habits. Coffee in the States is sh*t by the way. Yes, my personal opinion. Coffee is so much better in Newtown (Sydney, Australia) and you get more of a bang for your buck here. 

But just so this doesn't appear to be anti-America in the food stakes, nothing beats their New York Pizza, particularly in Astoria. Oh, and the Mexican and free-pour alcohol! Yes, I'm going back.

Back to the coffee. I developed a 2-4 cup a day habit. It's been going on for 2 ½ months now. I need to stop. It's just not conducive to other activities in my life. When I stop, I can't keep my eyes open and I feel nauseous. Quick fix for caffeine withdrawal symptoms? Have a shot of coffee of course and it fixes you right up. Obviously, I haven't been brave enough to push on through the hell yet. But I must.

Another reason for my current addiction is that when I came back from the States, one of my Nutrition lectures was on coffee. The brilliant, smooth, warm, seductive taste of coffee and it's benefits, with some added not so good characteristics as well. The conclusion however? 1 cup a day is fine. My lecturer happily projected, "the more the merrier". She clearly loves her coffee and I know too well now the seductive call myself but the more the merrier isn't really a stance Nutritionists would advise. I took it and ran though but in the long run, it's making me feel more exhausted. 

So tomorrow, I quit (and back to my occasional coffee on weekends). By Friday I will have no choice as I'm going on a yoga retreat for 3 days. That's 3 forced days of no coffee. I think I better try and detox BEFORE then or I may not be a pleasant yogi.

Some interesting things about coffee and caffeine:

(notes taken from my lecture notes, workbook and textbook)

• A shot is great reliever for a tension headache 
• Green tea does contain caffeine
• Pregnant women should steer clear of coffee due to the potential effect on the babies neural stressors, or at least limit their intake
• 2 cups (80-250g) of coffee per day would be classified as low dose caffeine consumption
• Primary pharmacological action of caffeine is that it's a central nervous stimulant – caffeine is rapidly absorbed, with peak blood levels generally reached in 30-45 minutes. It is quickly eliminated with a typical half-life of 4-6 hours. Which explains why most people need to go to the loo soon after consumption
• Reported short-term adverse effects with high does of caffeine: anxiety, jitteriness ad upset stomachs
• Caffeine has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of benzodiazepines; to cause nausea in some people with ingested concurrently with certain broad-spectrum antibiotics; and many enhance the effects of certain analgesics
• Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include: headache, tiredness/fatigue, decreased energy/activeness, decreased alertness/attentiveness, drowsiness/sleepiness, decreased contentedness/well-being, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and muzzy/foggy/not clear-headed. In addition, flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain/stiffness may also occur
• Caffeine withdrawal symptoms can happen within 12-24 hours after abstinence, with peak intensity occurring 20-51 hours and duration of withdrawal ranging between 2-9 days

Some thoughts...

"Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come." Robert H. Schuller

I love the smell of jasmine all around Newtown in the Springtime but what a strange start to Spring this year. As I type this, the sun just came out again.

I went to my first yoga "class" in over two months this morning and am feeling pretty good. I started doing yoga again regularly at home two weeks ago, including resistance training (weights) every other day. I'm feeling more like me again but still not quite over the post-holiday blues. I came straight back to work and study which made me feel the burn-out feeling I felt before the holidays. My baby sister also got married, D's sister had a baby and now my baby sister is due in two weeks. Can it get any busier? Ha!

My physical yoga practice stopped dead in it's track when in New York and more so because I think I really needed a break from everything routine. I needed to stop and smell the roses or rather New York, and what an interesting melting pot of inspiration, fascination, desperation and every other kind of "...ation" you can find there. I really love that city and even more so because of my eldest sister who I hadn't seen in 7 years. She has lived there for two decades now. 

There's something about New Yorkers that I love and I think the "can do and will do and do do" attitude is the main thing I noticed and appreciate. New Yorkers also seemed to have this amazing ability to be so supportive of each other and each other's dreams. Sydney's tall poppy syndrome does get painfully annoying so it was a nice surprise in New York. Of course, my experience will be different to the next persons.

This week D and I start a 7 week Buddhist Meditation course. I'm really looking forward to it and hope it helps me deal with all the things I've taken on board so I don't burn-out this term. I also need to let go of some of the unhealthy expectations that I've put on myself, release the pressure. Have I just put an unhealthy expectation on the meditation course? We'll see.

Below is one of my favourite new songs of late. Corny as hell but hey!

I have another exam on Tuesday so need to get some more study in before then. Off again...

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You)