Crazy Sun Yoga & Fitness, LLC

Friday, August 23, 2013

One afternoon when I thought I was having a "bad" day & was feeling particularly unhappy, I began grumbling to my wise yoga teacher/mentor/friend. He said something to me I will never forget: "As the mind, so the man; bondage or liberation is in your own mind. If you think you are bound, you are bound. If you feel liberated, you are liberated. If you think you are unhappy, you feel unhappy. Things outside neither bind or liberate you; only your attitude towards them does that. If you control the rising of the mind into ripples, you will experience Yoga. YOGAS CITTA VRTTI NIRODHAH!" Then he gave me this little tip. Since most of what we think is learned or comes from someone or something else, he suggested I say to myself, 'return this negative/unhappy/etc. thought to wherever it came from with love, happiness, peace, joy, and kindness.' And when I remember to do this, amazing things happen! http://crazysunom.com/blog.html

Monday, April 1, 2013

Pour Some Sugar ON Me!

About 5 years ago I decided to cut out sugar in my diet. So if the sugar didn't occur naturally in a food, like in fruit, I did not eat it. I read labels like a feign and if it said sugar, fructose, sucrose, corn sweetener, syrup, etc., I avoided it. I was shocked to find how many foods have added sugar; breads, salad dressings, salsas, all processed foods, even things you wouldn't expect have added sugars. Two things occurred as a result of avoiding sugars. First, I went through what can only be called sugar withdrawal, horrible headaches and fatigue, which quickly passed in a few days. The second thing that happened was long-lasting and wonderful, my skin turned BEAUTIFUL!

Last year a read a book by Dr Jessica Wu, Feed Your Face. In this book she warns about the dangers of eating sugar when it comes to fighting acne, wrinkles, rashes, and other skin conditions. On her web site she also writes:
Now some public health experts believe not only that we're eating too much sugar but that it’s actually toxic. In a commentary published in the scientific journal Nature, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco propose that sugar should be regulated in the same manner as other addictive substances, such as alcohol and tobacco. They’ve even called for the government to tax foods and drinks containing added sugar, to ban the sale of these items in or near schools, and to set age limits on their purchase. While these suggestions may seem extreme, studies do show that 75 percent of health care dollars are spent on diseases linked to bad diets.

Research also shows that many other diseases are caused or aggravated by the consumption of sugar. Type two diabetes, heart disease, depression, memory disorders, Alzheimer's , yeast infections, and cancer just to name a few. It is also one of the major causes of the obesity epidemic in our country. With so much evidence mounting against sugar, it would be wise to at least read food labels and limit sugar consumption.

For more information about sugar:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/sugars.htm
http://fitbie.msn.com/eat-right/tips/6-scary-side-effects-sugar

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/04/01/what-eating-too-much-sugar-does-to-your-brain/

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1983542,00.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Loving What Is!

When I was in my 20's and started to practice yoga daily I was stifled by the idea that everything had to be perfect to have a good practice. The room have to have soft lighting. Incense and candles were a must. The environment had to be quiet or, playing softly on the record player, the latest yoga music. There could be absolutely no interruptions. And most of all I had to be perfect. Perfectly flexible, perfectly balanced, perfectly focused...then I had kids. So I modified my expectations but I still longed for the ideal yoga practice. Then I read, Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, by Byron Katie. In it she writes, “The only time we suffer is when we believe a thought that argues with what is. When the mind is perfectly clear, what is is what we want.” Though the inquiry process in the book, I learned to really enjoy pretty much any yoga practice. So blare the rock 'n' roll, turn on the flood lights, and send in the pets, I am practicing yoga and loving it!
http://crazysunom.com/blog.html

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Forks Over Knives!

This weekend we watched a provockative documentary, Forks Over Knives. The film showed through clinical and scientific research that many chronic diseases are caused by the foods we eat. On their web site, http://www.forksoverknives.com/, they write:

What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure. Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to “battle” these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases. Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive, but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously?

This documentary also elucidated that by avoiding animal-based and processed foods many of the degenerative diseases, caused by eating the typical american diet, can be controlled and sometimes reversed. An amazing film worth watching. And it's free on Netflix's!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Clean of the Day!

One of my new years resolutions this year was "the clean of the day". The idea was each day clean or organize something in the house. When I made that resolution I thought it would be difficult and my original intention was to have a cleaner more organized home. The focus was totally on the results and all that I was going to accomplish.
Then I read this passage in The Miracle of Mindfulness, by Thich Nhat Hanh:
While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.
Wow, what a revolutionary idea! Being completely present while doing chores. Who knew that focusing on the process instead of the results would make doing housework more meaningful and more enjoyable. So here's to the clean of the day, with mindfulness, and to the clean master bath toilet!
http://crazysunom.com/blog.html