Hey Guys!
So I’m still here in La and things are going great. How is your week? It is not as hot here as I would ideally like- but it isn’t freezing either. 
I was secretly hoping to get more sun time in though, since I’ll be heading back to NY soon. Oh well!
Last night I had a dinner party that went pretty late, so I am officially entrenched in West Coast time. Actually I’ve made dinner for dinner parties the last 2 nights in a row! I’ve been going and going, and there are moments when I feel thrown off. During those times it just seems that things are a little harder to deal with and work out that normally aren’t. And I know EXACTLY where it relates to- my backed up belly! When I travel and my bathroom schedule gets even slightly off, it really makes a huge difference in everything, including my yoga practice, my mentality and my appetite.
There are energy lines in our body that run up and down, and interconnect. In Oriental philosophy they are called meridians. My friend Yvonne who is an acupuncturist is the real expert in meridians, and acupuncture can help opening these lines of energy. However, we don’t have to resort to acupuncture to immediately remove major blockages in our bowel- but we need to resort to something! Otherwise we will really start to feel the effects- even if they are subtle and even if we don’t necessarily equate them to our bowels.
The secum of our intestines, which is on the right side, is connected via meridians to the skull. And so on and so forth throughout the whole body. I know I am backed up immediately when I start getting a bit, um…testy shall we say. Agitation, headaches, feeling overwhelmed, overly nervous, etc. can all be related to this. Part of the yoga practice is maintaining equanimity, and I definitely consider how I choose to eat and keep my body clean as part of my practice. It sure helps keep the mental equanimity- which is not always easy. Authentic and ancient yoga books discuss various forms of keeping the bodily temple clean along with asanas (poses).
This was one of the best weather days I've had here. I love all the plants in Southern California!
So I can’t stress enough how important it is to not let yourself get to the point where you feel backed up. It can and will energetically affect all areas of your life. Energy permeates, everything is full of energy, and stuck energy will not allow the life force to flow through you. You will not feel as vibrant, and you will certainly not feel your best. We can not have stuck waste in our bodies and except to be on top of our game- and right now I’m not even talking about the old toxicity, I’m talking about stuff from yesterday, and possibly the day before!
Oh- so back to the trip. I was feeling okay at the beginning, but hit a little low point a few days ago of being a bit backed up. For me, the best quick fix is downing some Kombucha on an empty stomach. Out here I get the bottled kind. There is something about the liquid delivery of a hefty dosage of probiotics that really helps rebalance everything, usually pretty quickly or at least in 24 hours or less. So yesterday was a great rebalancing day, and I feel great again today, even when I am up late at night and up early in the morning the next day, like I was this morning, with lots of stuff going on. If you have access to coconut kefir, which is also liquid, that would be amazing also! I had some of that last night also, courtesy of my friend Jon Biel, and it was great. There are many foods of course, such as spinach, which is said to have somewhat of a laxative effect on the bowel, but these foods will not usually be as immediate.
So please be conscious of how important of an issue this is to deal with when it comes up, and do what you have to do to stay clear-minded!
Have a wonderful day!
Love, Kimberly
