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Healthy Plant-Based Summer Rolls Recipe, by Michelle Chua

8/29/2021

For weeks I've been craving Vietnamese Spring Rolls and just haven't gotten around to ordering them. So, I finally decided to try to make them for the first time. I'm writing this after my happy dance of mindfully devouring the rolls pictured above, for which I'm excited to share the recipe for here. After skimming a couple of vegan recipes online, I tailored this one to the ingredients I had at home at the time and for a healthy balance of greens, not too much rice ingredients.

Here are the ingredients I used:

Organic firm tofu, sliced into rectangular prisms
Organic red butter lettuce
Organic herbs: basil, mint and cilantro
Organic heirloom carrots, sliced into thin strips
Avocado, sliced into slivers
Broccoli sprouts (Read about it's cancer-fighting benefits here.)
Organic lemon half
Non-GMO Spring roll papers made of rice
Organic peanut sauce, 365 brand from Whole Foods
Braggs Liquid Aminos (in place of fish sauce, to make it vegan)
Braggs Nutritional Yeast (for a vegan boost of Vitamin B)
Organic black pepper
Organic coconut oil

STEPS:

With paper towels, pat the sliced tofu dry and set aside.
Lightly oil a frying pan or skillet with a tablespoon or small drizzle of coconut oil and let it get warm.
Place the tofu in the pan and lightly drizzle liquid aminos and crushed black pepper over them. Check that the underside of the tofu is lightly browning on the edges. Then, flip sides and drizzle a little more aminos and black pepper. Do not overcook the tofu. I cooked it for about 7 minutes in total. This depends on how crispy you want it. Mine was not crispy.

4. Soak one spring roll paper in a large bowl of warm water for 10-13 seconds, until it becomes more pliable but not too soft. Then, drizzle some peanut sauce over it.

5. Place the rice paper on a dry plate and add on top, across the diameter: a large leaf of butter lettuce, 2-3 strips of tofu, 3-4 avocado strips, 5-6 carrot strips, a large pinch of broccoli sprouts and a few leaves of each herb to your taste preference. Drizzle a love-squeeze of the lemon half over this, to your taste preference.
6. Tuck each opposite end of the rice paper inward, and tightly roll the paper as if shaping a burrito. As you can see, I need some practice working with the sticky rice paper! Feel free to share your comments below on your techniques for doing this neatly.
7. Finally, add some peanut sauce on a separate saucer for dipping.

To tame the pitta dosha, or fire-dominant mind-body, as categorized in Ayurveda, yoga's sister science of holistic health, cooling foods like these fresh vegetables can be helpful. I see it as a salad in a wrap, perfect for summer. Thus, I named this version Summer Rolls. I hope yours moves you into a happy food dance, too! Buen provecho!

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You Are Going to Be OK. by Michelle Chua

8/19/2021

Right where you are standing or sitting, how many miracles can you appreciate around you? Honestly, I invite you to give yourself a moment to see them, feel them and remember that however difficult a given moment might be, you are so deeply unconditionally loved. Perhaps by your partner or family or friends.

AND an even greater infinite love exists beyond all forms, that you and I are inseparably a part of. This I believe, even though the human me sometimes forgets. This weekend, however, I got a huge reminder.

Friday night began with chills, aches, fever and sharp stomach contractions. So I called off all my Saturday yoga classes, to not spread anything, just in case.

Saturday it all continued as I stayed in self-nursing, eating to heal, lying in restorative yoga, practicing breathwork and meditating. Fearing that C word, I got tested. I canceled performing in a big show for Sunday.

Through it all, however, a persistent voice kept reassuring me, "You are going to be ok."

Sunday the fever subsided. That evening as I was cuddling with a dog I had grown so fond of that my partner had been caring for. I gave it a hug not realizing it had softly growled. It bit my face. I spent the next 9 hours in the ER.

Box breathing and meditation made the hours pass more quickly with peace. I was greeted by one nurse after another with such lighthearted comforting care. I felt like I was with relatives (They sounded like my aunts). The surgeon, who looked like he was 23, felt so grounded and skillful. Compassion came from all directions that I could feel that formless love in all of those beings.

This weekend was a big reminder that adversities can be opportunities to reawaken to the daily miracles we can become desensitized from appreciating when we're going about our usual patterns. (PS--Both COVID tests were negative.)

This reframing of our daily perspective is a huge focus of our upcoming Fall Retreat, Breath of Perspective. Hope you consider joining us on November 1-3, 2021 in CA!

See info on Fall 2021 Retreat

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7 Mindtraps: Stress Relief from Mental Patterns, by Michelle Chua

6/22/2021

Do you ever suffer from nagging thoughts that just disturb your inner peace?

It may fit into one of the seven categories of mental patterns that exacerbate stress and pain, identified as “mindtraps” in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, written by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein. In understanding these common mental habits, we can apply the yogic practice of svadhyaya, or self-study, to cultivate loving self-awareness and remember that we don’t have to believe every though that arises. As we shed light on such repetitive thoughts and their effects, we can consciously choose what thoughts to feed with our attention and those we can release or change. Thus, we can skillfully train our minds toward inner peace.

Here is a brief explanation of the 7 Mindtraps and ways to address them:

Emphasizing the Negative and Discounting the Positive – This is when the judgment or critical mind alters your perception to look for flaws and what you might deem unfavorable, even when you’re having a good time. For example, after savoring an amazing meal, you might think, “This was delicious, but the plate didn’t look very nice.” Such a tendency can contribute to anxiety and depression. Instead, you might consciously train your mind to recognize what you are grateful for.
Negative Self-Talk – This is the dominant voice of the inner critic that may constantly judge you or deem you unworthy. For example, as you’re trying to establish a new habit of practicing yoga each morning, you might think, “I can’t do this. I’m not disciplined enough to stay consistent. I’ll never be able to meditate regularly.” This habit of self-criticism can contribute to fear and procrastination and gradually develop into shame and insecurity. An antidote is to practice treating thoughts as mental events, not facts. You can also use loving kindness meditations to cultivate self-compassion and repeat heartfelt positive affirmations to help rewire your subconscious mind.
Should’s – This is the pattern of constantly comparing yourself to others or to external standards. It also includes “shoulding” on others, or repeatedly measuring others to your expectations. It can build a feeling of guilt and stress when you don’t live up to your adopted expectations, and it can cause you anger and resentment when others don’t live up to them. Instead, you might try practicing switching from judging to understanding, as my Yoga Psychology teacher, Ashley Turner, prompts. Plant and water the inner seed of compassionate understanding, using metta, or loving kindness, meditation and learning to forgive yourself and others.
Catastrophizing – This is the tendency to imagine the worst possible outcome or worst-case scenario, even in the midst of having a great time. This can result in anxiety, fear and panic attacks. As Byron Katie teaches, you might counter this impulse by questioning the thought’s validity, “Is this true?” Also, you can practice various mindfulness meditations to cultivate clear seeing and present moment awareness.
Mind Reading – This is the habit of convincing yourself you know what other people are thinking without actual proof. Such a cycle contributes to negative self-talk, anxiety and depression and can poison relationships by projecting our insecurities onto others and acting from our assumptions. This might sound like, “They didn’t reply to my email just now. They think horribly of me.” Instead, try learning to cultivate peace within uncertainty and adopting the Zen practice of mentally addressing such thoughts with, “Maybe so. Maybe not.” Also, as Don Miguel Ruiz explains in The Four Agreements for inner peace, don’t take things personally.
The Eternal Expert – This is a righteous attitude of being constantly on-guard. This thinking has attributes of perfectionism, narcissism and arrogance and is an attempt to “feel better than” others, setting them up to fail. It might sound like a compounding criticism of others around you. Often such pompousness is used as a mask for low self-esteem. Causing defensiveness, this mental pattern can undermine relationships, making it difficult to admit fault and resolve conflicts. Instead, it may help to cultivate humility and practice seeing things from others’ perspectives. You might also try So Hum meditation, which is a remembering of our interconnectedness and interbeing.
Blaming – This is the habit of holding others responsible for our pain or holding ourselves responsible for others’ pain. It contributes to resentment or guilt and codependence. In giving away our sense of control, it can lead to anxiety and stress. Instead, take responsibility for what happens in your own life. Mantras that affirm your sense of agency can be helpful. A constant practice of forgiveness meditation helps cultivate inner freedom.

May this brief glimpse into possible mental patterns provide personal insight towards self-liberation. While this is only from one source, perhaps it sparks more self-inquiry to dive deeper into your own mind’s tendencies. One of my favorite quotes from The Yoga Sutras is “The mind is the ground for both bondage and liberation.” Understanding the patterns in our minds is a doorway to freeing ourselves from unnecessary suffering. As Lao Tzu was quoted for saying, “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

Want to further unpack the 7 Mindtraps and practice ways to address them through yoga? Try this free 7-class series of postures, breath work, meditation and further explanation of each mindtrap.

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Creating a New Healthy Habit (Tips from the Heart), from Michelle Chua

6/2/2021

Instead of focusing on an old habit you want to release, focus on how the new habit you want to create inspires you. Journal, meditate, reflect, talk to a loved one and let yourself feel the inspiration of what this new habit serves, creates or manifests. Have fun researching the benefits of this new habit. Find a genuine pull to what it is you love and are devoted to. And let your inner joy drive you to inspired action.
Let go of perfection. Showing up is key, and some days you just might not feel like going all out. That’s okay. It’s human. As you’re doing the best you can, your “best” may mean a more doable variation of your new habit, according to the moment’s circumstances. And if you fall off the wagon, and miss a day or slip up, remember the saying “Fall 7 times. Get up 8.” As you commit to picking yourself up again, you’ve strengthened your inner muscle of resilience and self-trust. Be kind and compassionate to yourself; it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. As life happens and you roll with the punches, remember to be honest and forgiving with yourself.
Make it feasible for you. Start with doable baby steps in which you can feel successful and let that inspire you to grow your habit. For example, if you want to be able to meditate for 20 minutes a day and you currently don’t meditate at all, try setting the timer for just 5 minutes a day first. When that feels like a strong enough habit you’ve been able to accomplish consistently for a while, you might experiment with 7 minutes next and so on.
Piggyback your new habit onto another habit that’s already in place. For instance, let’s say you’d like to keep a tidier home by making your bed each day. If you habitually go to the toilet each morning as soon as you awaken, attach the new habit of making your bed as soon as you get out of the bathroom. Attach the new habit with what you do after using the toilet at the start of the day, associating it with cleansing your body andcleansing your home space for a fresh start.
Celebrate your growth, step by step. Find a personally meaningful way to acknowledge your progress that contributes to strengthening your new habit. For example, let’s say your new habit is to eat 70% vegetables within each meal. Perhaps for weeks now you’ve gone from 0-20% vegetables to 50%. That’s a huge difference! Aligned to your inspiration for choosing this new habit, find a way to celebrate. If you started this new habit to have a cleaner digestive system and to feel more energized in your body, you might celebrate by taking yourself out dancing or rollerblading, if those are hobbies you enjoy. Just make sure your way of celebrating isn’t counterproductive, like foregoing all vegetables and binge eating junk food! Notice the inner message you’re communicating to your body-mind through how you choose to reward it.
Most importantly, have fun with the journey! What’s it all worth if you’re dragging your feet into something you just think you “should” do? That may not last very long, if the human spirit is not in it. Find the joy in it, (see tip number 1, your inspiration), and add your own flair to do it in the most meaningful way for you. Even mundane activities, like brushing your teeth or washing the dishes, can be simply gratifying or nurturing. Experience it as a practice of mindfulness, letting go of having to be elsewhere while you’re doing it and being open to seeing it from different angles. Be creative: Maybe having freshly aromatic dish soap or a brand new electric toothbrush adds that childlike tinge of enthusiasm to color your lens of your activity or habit.

If you'd like to create a daily habit of yoga with breath work, meditation and postures, consider joining Morning 21 here. It's 21 days of 21 minutes a day to get you started!

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21 Benefits of Daily Yoga, by Michelle Chua

4/30/2021

1. Relieve Stress
Deep breathing and meditation induce the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system, according to Yoga Psychology teacher trainer, Ashley Turner. This shifts the body out of the “fight, flight, collapse or freeze” stress response of the sympathetic nervous system.  Yoga postures help to reduce muscle tension, which also deactivates the stress response.  Studies, such as one conducted in 1995 at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, showed a decrease in the stress hormone, cortisol, after practicing yoga asana.

2. Boost Immunity
According to studies cited in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2020, yoga with breathwork and meditation demonstrate anti-stress and anti-inflammatory properties. They increase the vagal tone, which regulates the body’s stress response.  Thus, stress hormones are lowered.  Also, numerous postures, like a sequence of backbends, forward folds and spinal twists, and warming breathwork, like Breath of Fire, or Kapalabhati Pranayama, are geared toward aiding digestion, known as a central component of immune system health.  Pranayama conditions the lungs and maximizes breathing capacity, combatting “disturbed irregular habits of breathing” associated with chronic respiratory illnesses that “are directly linked to a weakened immune response,” informed Gary Kraftsow in his book, Yoga for Wellness.

3. Increase Mobility + Flexibility
An intelligently sequenced physical practice with mindful breathing, warm-up movement, optimally aligned postures that increasingly deepen stretch in targeted areas of tension and counterbalancing postures within the same antagonist muscle groups help increase mobility and flexibility over time, especially when practiced daily.

4. Improve Posture + Breathing
Asanas, or yoga poses, help to realign the major joints in your body facilitating an upright, open and relaxed physical posture.  When the chest, neck, shoulders and overall spine are continuously opened in different postures, breath can flow more easily and deeply.

5. Cultivate Steadfastness + Loyalty to Yourself
Making a commitment to show up each day to care for your body, breathe through whatever life brings you in the ever-changing moment and sit with your mind to nonjudgmentally watch how it responds to the world cultivate steadfastness and loyalty to yourself, as Mindfulness Teacher Pema Chodron says about meditation. It also strengthens your willpower, making a habit out of following through with self-care, even on days when it’s challenging.

6. Daily Spiritual + Mental Hygiene
Witnessing the fluctuating thoughts of the mind in meditation enables the meditator to see past their own mental habits, such as the negative chatter of the inner critic.  Just like daily oral hygiene cleans the teeth, or tools of digestion, daily mental hygiene through meditation brings clarity to the mind, or tool of perception. Meditation is a constant opportunity to become aware of and consciously release the accumulation of harmful thought forms.

7. Interrupt Unhealthy Patterns in Body, Breath + Mind
Thoughts and emotions are energy and affect the breath and body.  For instance, anger can manifest as short quick breaths, a frowning face and tense jaw, neck and shoulders.  A constant state of anger can turn these manifestations into a prolonged way of breathing and tensing the body into such a posture. Yoga poses, such chest-expanding backbends, and breathing techniques, such as sustained abdominal breathing, interrupt such patterns and consequently affect the mind’s state.  Meditation can create a pause between the stimulus of anger and the physical and mental reaction, offering the meditator a more conscious choice of how to respond.

8. Cultivate Equanimity + Intrinsic Peace
Equanimity is the mindfulness quality of gaining a balanced perspective of life circumstances, rather than being pulled into the highs and lows of reactivity. This powerful skill for inner peace develops as a daily meditator is able to discern the impermanence of events, emotions and thoughts, not relying on them as sources of happiness or permanent identity.  The ability to breathe evenly and mindfully through yoga postures of varying degrees of comfort and reasonable challenge allows the freedom to choose an inner state of mental-emotional balance.

9. Connect with Your Inner Wisdom
Meditation is an intimate meeting with your inner source of wisdom. Physical yoga is attuning with your body’s wisdom.  Yogic breathing bridges the wisdom of the mind and body.

10. Strengthen Your Mindfulness Muscle of Nonjudgmental Present-Moment Awareness
Paying attention on purpose and without judgment to the present moment to the sensations that arise within a yoga pose, to subtle energetic shifts within a breath practice or to the tendencies of the mind are the practice of mindfulness. Practicing this daily allows accessibility to mindfulness as a ready and familiar tool for other daily events, like eating mindfully, conversing with a friend with loving attention or driving home from work with nonjudgmental perception of other drivers.

11. Develop Daily Tools for Self-Regulation (Grounding + Embodiment)
Rather than dissociating with what’s happening in the moment, yoga teaches embodied presence: tuning into the subtler felt sense message of the body. Rather than getting carried away by a reactive chain of thoughts into the past or future, being in the direct present experience of the body empowers a feeling of safety, groundedness and awareness of life as it is happening now.  Examples of self-regulation tools from yoga include box breathing, or sama vritti pranayama, restorative yoga poses, forward folds and chanting meditation to self-soothe through resonant sound.

12. Establish a Loving Relationship with Your Body
Showing up daily to care for your body on days when you feel energized and inspired and on days when you feel unmotivated reinforces the message that your body’s wellbeing is important to you.  Approaching the postures with the yogic quality of balancing effort with ease allows the body to feel nurtured.  There becomes a synchronistic dance of communication between your body, mind and spirit that can continue into the rest of your day after your practice.

13. Increase Circulation
Mindful breath-led movement through various yoga poses enables circulation of blood, energy and life force, releasing stagnation mentally and physically. Blood flow is reversed and stimulated in inversions, like shoulderstand, or salamba sarvangasana, and restorative legs-up-the-wall, or viparita karani.  Spinal twists stimulate the abdominal region, where digestive organs reside, thus increasing blood flow and movement of food in this area.

14. Cultivate Self-Awareness
Our habits of doing and being in daily life often show up in our yoga practice, which can become a laboratory of self-study, or svadhyaya.  For instance, the tendency to rush from one pose to another may reveal the ways we rush through life experiences.  As we experience the effects in the microcosm of physical yoga, we can see parallels in the effects in the macrocosm of our personal lives.  Our practice can be a mirror for self-reflection that empowers us to live more consciously. Additionally, as you learn the various traditional limbs of yoga and apply them with integrity and consistency over time, mental habits based on egoic misperceptions that cause suffering, become more apparent for you to release.

15. Build Self-Trust + Confidence
Taking consistent action aligned to your core values, presuming it’s in the realm of optimal mental, physical and spiritual health, builds self-trust.  The harmony between beliefs and actions experienced when acting with integrity and love-inspired discipline empowers self-confidence.

16. Naturally Regulate Your Energy
Different poses and breathing techniques can be skillfully used to either energize or relax the body and mind.  A daily practice of various types enables you to build your own practical “inner pharmacy” of natural ways to help regulate your energy throughout the day.

17. Sharpen Your Focus + Increase Productivity
Synchronizing your breath and body in vinyasaflows or holding still in an asanafor several breaths requires sustained mental focus.  Meditation begins with concentration, practice, or dharana.  Directing the breath intentionally requires skillful presence.  Throughout the yoga practice, you are training your mind to let go of distractions, through the yogic practice of pratyahara, and to be intentional on what it focuses on and thus directs your energy towards.  Applying the same skills off the yoga mat empowers the ability to concentrate and be productive in other tasks.

18. Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety is characterized as worrying about the future and not being present. Yoga is a constant practice of being present in your body, breath and mind. As you develop self-awareness and self-regulation tools through yoga, you are also building a toolbox on how to deal with anxiety as it arises.

19. Counteract Depression
During yoga, including breathwork and meditation, feel-good hormones, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, are released.  Meditation, the process of stepping outside of mental patterns, creates new neuropathways in the brain, increasing patience, empathy and positive thinking, according to Yoga Psychotherapist Ashley Turner.

20. Build Physical Strength + Balance
The multitude of yoga poses is bound to reveal imbalances of strength and flexibility in the body.  Moreover, their variety—from 4-limbed staff pose, or chaturanga dandasana to warrior 3, or Virabhidrasana3-- require learning to engage different muscle groups to support the health of joints, like within the spine.  Balance is also challenged and refined, using different parts of the body as the base of support as an experienced instructor guides you through wisely sequenced poses to help you transfer skills from simpler poses to more challenging ones.

21. Befriend Your Mind + Emotions
Body, breath and mind awareness are developed so that over time of consistent practice you can habitually take the seat of wise witnessing presence. Meditation can be used to befriend emotions, not bypassing difficult ones or falling dependent on pleasurable ones. Rather, you can use your emotions as tools for awareness. Through this constant practice of clear seeing, you can bridge the practice of befriending, or having an all-encompassing caring curiosity, onto the ebb and flow of situations that arise throughout the day.

These are only 21 of a a multitude of benefits of practicing yoga daily. Meditation is a large aspect of yoga. Read on here to learn what Psychology Today says in their article, 20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today.

Want to get started on a daily yoga practice? Try a 21-day journey of 21-minute yoga sessions with Michelle Chua, RYT, to kickstart your feasible and informed daily practice of physical postures, breath work and meditation. LEARN MORE...

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Space to See Clearly by Michelle Chua

4/25/2021

Ever feel triggered? It’s that feeling of being hijacked by a strong emotion, such as anger, where a chain reaction of thoughts lead you into reactivity, or impulsive action.  Or, when you’re deep in a state of happiness, do you ever suffer from the thought of never wanting to let it go?  Perhaps sadness, desperation or obsessiveness creeps into what was a joyful moment.

Equanimity is a powerful tool for regaining inner balance and peace, during whatever high or low part of life’s rollercoaster you are experiencing.  Yoga philosophy identifies root causes of human suffering, called kleshas, and are commonly based on mistakenly perceiving that our identity is whatever impermanent state, such as emotions, we’re experiencing and forgetting that life is ever-changing.  It includes being constantly driven by our aversions, such as resisting and running away from what we dislike, and our attachments, such as clinging to or continuously running after what gives us pleasure.  Both kleshas of aversion and attachment create a lens of dissatisfaction and restlessness. Equanimity is the ability to accept that impermanent highs and lows of life are inevitable and being able to source balance and clear perspective from within to respond to the moment with presence, not reactivity.

It’s also important to clarify what equanimity is not.  Just because you accept that life happens, it doesn’t mean you have to approve of what’s happening, such as social injustices, or that you should sit back and do nothing, feel nothing.  In contrast, it requires a level of emotional intelligence and self-awareness that empowers you to notice when strong emotions begin to arise and to exercise your freedom to choose to pause and not be overcome by their trance.  This “space between stimulus and response,” as Viktor Frankl described, “is our power to choose our response,…(wherein) lies our growth and our freedom.”  Moreover, unlike indifference or dissociation, equanimity involves recognizing and feeling the strong emotions and expanding your heart’s capacity to include the whole spectrum of human emotions.  It also entails understanding any layers of emotions that may sit beneath the surface of the louder emotions.  For example, underneath anger may be sadness and hurt.  In so doing, you can see yourself and act in the world with nonjudgmental truthfulness and from a compassionate wise heart.  It takes courage to look inside yourself honestly before acting outwardly and to act intentionally and wholeheartedly.

So how do you develop equanimity?  If you are prone to reactivity, as our human brains are wired to have the “fight, flight, freeze or collapse” stress response for survival in the wild, then it takes a shift of perspective.  As you understand the value of equanimity for inner and outer harmony and spiritual well being and evolution, you may feel more inspired to invest your energy in strengthening this inner muscle.  Daily meditation practices are useful to learn to mindfully observe your emotions and thoughts and allow yourself to feel whatever arises without having to fight or flee from it.  Specific guided meditations on dealing with difficult emotions and on befriending varying circumstances you might deem positive or negative can help.  Through a well-rounded yoga practice, you can develop self-regulation techniques for soothing your mind and body out of a stress response by using physically grounding postures and movements, conscious breathwork to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and mental focus to stay present in your body even in discomfort.  Introspective practices, such as journaling and sharing your personal experiences with a trustworthy witnessing presence, such as a friend or community member, can increase self-awareness and cultivate the habit of identifying emotions and self-inquiry to trust your inner wisdom.  Practicing the tool of equanimity when you’re not in the heat of strong emotion can make this skill more accessible and familiar to exercise when you do encounter life’s unexpected circumstances.

Finally, equanimity is a worthwhile mindfulness skill to invest your energy in learning.  Your direct experience of the inner state of balance it builds can be the most convincing reason to practice it.  Its impact can extend beyond small disappointments into tragic situations and can affect not only your well being but those with whom you affect through your presence, especially in times of difficulty when a calm and collected mind is direly needed for decision-making.  With an open heart, wise mind and calm body, your skillfulness in equanimity can contribute to balance, peace and harmony in the greater community.

Learn more about equanimity through guided practices of meditation, breath work, gentle physical yoga for self-regulation, journaling and mindful heart-centered conversation at Integrative Yoga: Art of Equanimity with Michelle Chua live on Zoom on 4/29/21 --Register here to join.

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Spring Detox: Why + How?

4/1/2021

An Interview with Holistic Health Coach and Living Foods Vegan Chef, Magdalena
By Michelle Chua

Why consider “spring cleaning” your body?
What are some practical ways to start?
With busy lives, still stressed over this pandemic, what simple nutrition tips can help you lead a healthy lifestyle?

These are some highlights of my interview with Magdalena, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Living Foods Chef, streaming live on Instagram from Switzerland on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

I met Magdalena in Costa Rica in 2017. We were solo travellers from opposite ends of the globe, who crossed paths on a bus ride to Pachamama in Guanacaste.  I had booked a stay in the forest commune retreat center to attend a workshop on movement meditation.  Magdalena convinced me to stay longer and join her in their body cleanse, 5 days of juice fasting.  I met her as she was pivoting careers to holistic health.

I’m delighted to have reconnected with her on this interview, in which she shared her discoveries in wellness and healing through nature. Here's our Q+A from the interview. Enjoy some treasures for your own journey in optimal health.

1. What is your background and area of specialty in nutrition and wellness? What inspired you to focus on this? How have you trained in it?
I am a Certified Holistic Health Coach (Institute of Integrative Nutrition) and Certified Living Foods Chef. I trained as a Chef with Ben Richards at Seeds of Life in Bali.

Since I was a child I have always been very much connected to nature. However later as an adult I felt that my lifestyle and choices were not contributing to my wellbeing, I felt overwhelmed, very confused, lost and quite stressed. I traveled to Costa Rica where I lived in a small cabin in the forest and completely immersed myself in nature. I participated in a detox program, cleansed my body doing a powerful detox, mediated, drank fresh juices made of fruits, vegetables and herbs. The effects of this cure were outstanding, I have never experienced before such expansive feeling of wellness, clarity and vitality.

This experience inspired me to enroll in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition where I was certified as Holistic Health Coach.

As I am passionate about the healing power of nature and living foods I wanted to deepened my knowledge about plants and healing so I did a training as the Living Foods Chef at Seeds of Life in Bali. There I learned how to prepare beautiful and nutrition meals made of raw foods only. I stayed in Bali for 2 months and it was also a powerful healing journey. Most of the time I was eating raw foods, tons of fruit and I was immersed in nature.

I have also traveled a few times to Thailand where I was mentored about the process of detoxification. I did many detoxes myself and followed different protocols. I studied more about detox and living foods reading books of.Jensen, Andreas Moritz, David Wolfe, Arnold Ehret.


2. How important is nutrition and the digestive system in overall health, especially during a global pandemic or a stressful busy life?

Nutrition is at a core of health. I believe that WE ARE WHAT WE EAT – we become the food we eat..- the food we take in stays within our body way longer than the few moments we were aware of its taste. It becomes out blood, enters each and every cell of our body, it becomes our thoughts, mood and feelings, our life energy.

An Ayurvedic doctor has made this interesting analogy: Imagine that your digestive system is a river of life. This river needs to flow and move easily trough your body to bring the life force to your body. Once that river is congested, full of rubbish and toxins and it cannot move, no life force is being provided to your body & to your cells.

80% of immune cells are located in our digestive tract, if we our digestive track is compromised so our health and this will manifest in various diseases and discomforts.

Natural, whole, living foods, mostly plants are healing, detoxifying and boosting our immunity. And this is really crucial to remember during this pandemic – our bodies are incredibly powerful and can heal at any moment, but we need provide our bodies with foods and environments in which they thrive. The more contact we have with nature and natural foods the better our immunity.

3. Why is spring a good time for inner body cleanse? (or is it?)
Traditionally, Chinese medicine and Ayurveda view spring as a time for renewal. In winter, here in Europe we experience less sunlight, days are shorter and it is cold, we eat lots of cooked foods and also eat more foods for comfort. In Spring the body is coming out of that winter hibernation mode and ready to cleanse. Its like we clean our house and do the Spring cleaning, the same refers to our bodies. In nature there is a renewed and fresh energy and intuitively we want to match that and have that sense of renewal and a reset.
Cleansing is a tune-up for the body, we clean our amazing organs which are the filters:  our liver, kidneys, colon, lymph system (which become congested with metabolic waste).
I usually recommend a 10 days cleanse. But before we start the cleanse first we prepare for it for at least one week when we eliminates sugar, processed foods, meat, grains, dairy, and caffeine. During the cleanse for first few days we eat plant-based diet with some cooked foods, next few days we eat raw foods, smoothies, salads raw soups, juices. And then finish the cleanse with a few days of juices only. The detox can be supported by herbs supplements.
Because our bodies are naturally in sync with the seasons, foods that support detox and the liver are plentiful at this time: spinach, lettuce, snap peas, asparagus, celery, and berries; cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower; kale. To enhance the detox its great support it with lemon water, spirulina (very detoxifying) garlic, and green tea.

4. Please share your 3 favorite/most effective ways (maybe include a simple recipe) to spring cleanyour body using whole foods. Can you provide any health facts, research or personal stories to vouch for their effectiveness?
I start my day with lemon water – simply juice one lemon and mix the juice with a glass of clean filtered water (room temperature). Lemon water really boost the digestion and it is alkalizing for the body – which means thriving environment.

I eat a lot of fruit in the morning, one or two fruits at a time is best so the body can really digest and absorb all the goodness from fruit.

I make fresh juices, using different combinations of celery, apples, carrots, fresh ginger, beets, oranges, lemons, cucumbers.

Also raw soups are great, they taste great and are very satisfying:
EXAMPLE: This easy to make gazpacho is a yummy dinner meal

mango and/or papaya
lime juice
tomatoes
spring onions
fresh jalapeño, chile or cayenne pepper

Optional green goodness: Add some fresh herbs like coriander, basil etc or some neutral greens like spinach. This will turn it green.
Method: Combine all in a blender until smooth. You can top with fresh herbs, spring onion, sprouts, chopped tomato etc

5. Moving forward, what basic healthy eating/healthy lifestyle principle might you share to help guide a continued conscious joyful nutritional practice?
My simple and basic advice for a healthy lifestyle is to tune more into nature, pause from technology, be outside, feel the sunlight on your skin, nature will invite you to slow down. There is so much magnificence and harmony in nature, when we are immerse in nature we invite more peace, expansion, more harmony and joy into our lives. I call it “rewilding”, we come from nature and we need to return to it to heal.

For nutrition: slowly add in & introduce more natural foods to your diet. FEEL what it does for you, and let the good “feeling” foods slowly crowd out foods that don’t feel good to your body.

Some good choices of food to introduce to your diet on a regular basis are:

Fruits and vegetables, with specific emphasis on sweet vegetables and dark greens,
Eat MORE fruit – fruit is the most amazing gift from nature, it contains so much of LIFE FORCE; of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. And what more – it contains a lot of water, water from fruit is the most hydrating, it hydrates us at the cellural level and makes our skin really alive and beautiful.
Eat more raw, living foods – raw food is a live & fresh food that has not be heated or processed or modified in any sense. It’s a pure life force. Enzymes help digestion, living foods profoundly nourish the body and are essential for balancing the body metabolism and producing energy.

6. What kinds of services do you offer? How can anyone get in touch with you to learn more or to work with you?
I am just in the process of building my website which I plan to launch in May.
Currently I offer an online 1:1 guiding for a 10 days detox. I am currently guiding two beautiful women in this process and I am so thrilled about how well they experience this journey.

I will be also organizing onsite detox retreats for bigger groups and I am looking at venues in Spain and in Switzerland.

Now, spring cleaning is not only about your physical body or home. Inner spring cleaning involves addressing the mental habits or emotional baggage that need to be released too. Check out my free guide to get you started with your inner spring cleaning!

Learn about Inner Spring Cleaning!

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Feel to Heal: The Inner Work of Yoga, by Michelle Chua

3/13/2021

“It isn’t about getting somewhere you’re not, but about deeply relaxing into clearly seeing what’s here now,” shared Breathwork Teacher Scott Schwenk about spiritual awakening, which he emphasized is an ongoing process.

Whether or not you call yourself “spiritual,” we humans are more than a physical body or the thinking mind constantly going.  And that “awakening” Scott referenced, as I understand, is partly about awakening to this very idea of who we are and how we bridge our inner and outer worlds, such as in our relationships.

A few months ago I started a Zoom yoga class talking about “spiritual bypassing,” a term coined in the 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist.  He defined it as a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks".

We have all been wounded in our lives, and it’s part of being human.  But how we tend to our wounds and make sense of them or not spills out into how we relate to the world and affect each other.  My Yoga Psychology teacher, Ashley Turner, shared that we build our personalities through the coping strategies we’ve developed around our core wounds.

You may be familiar with a pervading motto in modern western yoga and wellness communities: Good vibes only.  Focusing on positive feelings can be uplifting and offer a fresh perspective when we’re in a funk.  However, when positivity is used to gloss over uncomfortable feelings and hurts, it may become “toxic positivity,” defined by Samara Quintero, LMFT, CHT and Jamie Long, PsyD as “the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations, resulting in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.”

Mindfulness teacher, Pema Chodron, prompts us to lean into feelings of discomfort, like sadness and anger, and offer ourselves compassion and truthful listening. She points out that all emotions have a message, and the difficult ones often reflect to us where we're spiritually stuck. In sitting with all our emotions, we build our capacity to offer empathetic listening and compassion for others.  Sometimes our loved ones just need us to support them with our listening presence when they convey that they’re suffering, without disregarding their emotional processing.

Best-selling author and vulnerability researcher, Brene Brown, adds that when we don’t allow ourselves to fully feel the uncomfortable emotions, like those within grief, we also disallow ourselves from fully feeling happiness.  We can’t isolate which emotions to not feel.  Such attempts inhibit wholehearted living.

As my practice evolves, yoga has been a lens-shifter, since my journey began in 2001. As I deepen my exploration of the Eight-Limb path described in The Yoga Sutras, I can see through my past coping habits.  I see when I’ve glossed over my own hurts to uphold an external model of positivity, disallowing self-compassion for my imperfections. I see when I’ve sidestepped another’s pain to urge them toward the good-feeling “solution.”

Yoga’s first two limbs teach truth-seeking, compassion, self-study and dissolution of limiting beliefs from the ego.  I’ve been more drawn to courageously ask my unconscious mind, “What’s beneath the surface that I still haven’t allowed to process?”  And, “How are my un-metabolized wounds and emotions affecting my relationships and life?”

Revolutionary psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, warned, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” I continue to do my own shadow work of excavating repressed parts of myself to integrate and transform into allies.  I understand this is a journey of many spiritual awakenings. The yogic practices of tapas, or inspired discipline, and isvara pranidhana, or surrender to my highest Self, are tools for this inner revolution.

I feel that this inner-work aspect of yoga is far too important to gloss over by only practicing one of the eight limbs--the physical poses.  As we explore the depth that yoga offers for self-healing, we can impact healing in our families by ending cycles of problematic coping styles, like addiction or bypassing difficult emotions.  As our families heal, they impact our communities, which impact our nation and so on. I truly believe that world peace begins with genuine peace within.

Interested in Joining Us for Some Inner Spring Cleaning? Click Here.

My Saving Grace, by Michelle Chua

3/7/2021

1993 Bishop Amat High School Cross Country Team

A coping tool since childhood for when I’ve felt overwhelmed and helpless and needed to feel empowered was to run—as far and as fast as I could.

When my dad and I would have yet another raging argument, I’d take my German Shepard/Labrador and bolt out the door.  When I was depressed and devastated by my first breakup, I joined the Cross Country team.  When COVID hit LA, my partner and I took to running 6 miles a day to “strengthen our immunity.”

But now I’m on week 4 of not running at all, as I heal from my third sprained ankle in a year.  Maybe you can relate to having a familiar coping tool suddenly unavailable to you?

Through these 4-6 weeks of “run-fasting” I’ve realized how many other tools have actually been my silent saving grace and are resilient to sprained ankles.  They are my daily yoga practices, my sadhana (of physical poses, breathwork and meditation).

They are the moments where I don’t feel guilty for sitting still.  When instead of running away, I feel my own power to BE.  I realize I can experience the rollercoaster of life and still be the core of who I am, not an injured body or an angry daughter, but the witness of these temporary states.

Whereas fierce movement was once my top go-to, I’ve also learned to value slowing down and replenishing my energy through Yin and Restorative Yoga (the kind where you deeply stretch your body in still poses, sometimes supported by pillows and blankets to feel the sweetness of letting go).  Maybe some of you LOVE to move as well, but if you’re constantly going all day, whether in your mind or body, when do you give yourself a counterbalance to re-center?

2017 Soul Movement and Yin Yoga

Here are some opportunities to Join Me for Yin Yoga!

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Benefits of Yoga, by Michelle Chua

3/2/2021

The benefits of practicing yoga vary with the practitioner, depending on factors such as how consistently they practice, what aspects of yoga they integrate into their daily lives and the integrity of their practice. But as a yoga student since 2001, a registered yoga teacher since 2010 and someone who has observed the journey of my diverse long-term clients and students, here are some benefits of practicing...

Yoga postures (or asanas) -- Train your ability to be present in your body. Release stagnancy and enable energy flow throughout your body. Detoxify from mental stress manifested as physical tension. Increase your physical strength, stamina and flexibility.

Yoga Breath Work (or pranayama) -- Regulate and rebalance your nervous system. Skillfully direct the flow of life energy (or prana) throughout your body. Calm your mind from habitual negative thoughts. Optimize your respiration and digestion. Give your nervous system rest and redirect more energy to boosting your immune system.

Yoga Philosophy -- See life outside the lens of the fear-based ego. Understand the tendencies of the human mind. Apply the physical and mental strategies of yoga into your daily life and conflicts. Identify and let go of self-sabotaging patterns and develop clear perception. Cultivate an open mind and open heart to deconstruct notions of separation between you and "others."

Meditation (or dhyana and dharana) -- Daily mental hygiene. Become more aware of the role your thoughts and emotions play in your life. Recognize unmetabolized emotions that cause you to react, rather than consciously respond, to daily events. Liberate yourself from habits that no longer serve your highest well being and true connection to the world. Have space to listen to your inner guidance with your whole being.

These are only a few of the ways I've read about, personally experienced and witnessed our community members benefit from these practices of yoga that we share in our Zoom yoga classes, 6 days weekly. A beautiful part of the practice is that it's self-paced, You are your teacher (I'm like a tour guide) and you're encouraged to participate in the ways that you're able to in the moment. If you'd like to join us for a class, visit our schedule here or consider joining our monthly varying community events here.

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Michelle truly lives out what she teaches. She is so much more than a yoga teacher - I learned this when I went on her exquisitely curated trip that she organized to Costa Rica this past June 2018...Hopefully like me, you'll be delighted by her effervescent love of movement, nature, and all people!
-Rebekah B. (Los Angeles, CA) *See more YE LP Reviews

Michelle clearly stands out with her beautiful and bright energy. I love how her practice and teaching encompass body, mind and spirit. She not only teaches yoga but lives and exudes it.
-Marianne Manes (Los Angeles, CA)

Michelle not only teaches 'yoga', she embodies it fully with her heart and soul...
-Christin M. (Los Angeles, CA) *See more YELP Reviews

Michelle is by far one of the best instructors I've ever had, period. Patient, clear in her explanations and demos, and so encouraging...
-Jessica L. (North Hollywood, CA) *See more YELP Reviews

My first yoga class was with Michelle years ago. You can have the best (yoga pose) sequence and not teach from your heart. With Michelle, I also feel her passion when I'm in her class. I can see she loves what she does, and she inspired me to want to teach yoga, too.
-Janette Guzman (Northridge, CA)

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I’ve had dozens of instructors over the years, but Michelle is far and away the best yoga mentor I’ve ever practiced with. She epitomizes grace during these difficult times. Michelle has saved my sanity and my back while working from home, keeping me grounded with her sharing of yogic teachings and meditation techniques. Her repertoire of physical asanas is encyclopedic, and I’ve loved learning new poses and stretching my boundaries. Jump in, all. You’ve got this!

- Cathleen Fager (Attends Zoom Yoga Classes)

A Blog About Living Yoga

Healthy Plant-Based Summer Rolls Recipe, by Michelle Chua

You Are Going to Be OK. by Michelle Chua

7 Mindtraps: Stress Relief from Mental Patterns, by Michelle Chua

Creating a New Healthy Habit (Tips from the Heart), from Michelle Chua

21 Benefits of Daily Yoga, by Michelle Chua

Space to See Clearly by Michelle Chua

Spring Detox: Why + How?

An Interview with Holistic Health Coach and Living Foods Vegan Chef, Magdalena
By Michelle Chua

Feel to Heal: The Inner Work of Yoga, by Michelle Chua

My Saving Grace, by Michelle Chua

Benefits of Yoga, by Michelle Chua

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Join us for our Women's Retreat in malibu on 10/10/21!

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An Interview with Holistic Health Coach and Living Foods Vegan Chef, Magdalena​By Michelle Chua

A Collective Blog about Yoga Lifestyle & Inspiration by Michelle Chua & Guest Authors

Archives

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What Our Clients Are Saying

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Join us for our Women's Retreat in malibu on 10/10/21!

An Interview with Holistic Health Coach and Living Foods Vegan Chef, Magdalena
By Michelle Chua

A Collective Blog about Yoga Lifestyle & Inspiration
by Michelle Chua & Guest Authors