your real self is awareness.
Tag Archives: Empowerment
update from latest Gracious Living Empowerment Retreat in Nicaragua
http://www.examiner.com/article/tai-chi-master-takes-her-teaching-from-the-desert-to-the-jungle
this just in!! check out the amazing review of our recent GRACIOUS LIVING & RANDI SMITH EMPOWERMENT RETREAT in NICARAGUA! Don’t forget to check out the fun slideshow, too!
stay tuned for news about our upcoming retreats together…next one Yoga & Sports Retreat in the Bahamas May 12-18, 2012.
Om shanti
Detoxification & Healthy Eating for BODY, MIND, and SPIRIT
Detoxification & Healthy Eating for BODY, MIND, and SPIRIT
by Grace Van Berkum, R.H.N.
We don’t think twice about cleaning our house, car, clothes, washing our hair, or cutting our nails….. but what about cleaning the inside of our bodies? This is something that is often neglected or not even considered, but so imperative for a healthy AND happy life!
Detoxification is a process that rids the body of harmful pollutants improving our immune system and our entire functioning. Detoxing the body by going on a juice fast is a great way to flush out toxic germs, bacteria, and waste to slow down aging and help prevent disease.
Who Needs to Detox?
Everyone can benefit from juice fasting! Regardless of how healthy one’s lifestyle or diet might be, we live in a toxic world. We are regularly exposed to harmful chemicals in our environment. Many foods contain pesticides, preservatives, additives, and metals that are difficult for the body to eliminate. Pollution is in our air and water. Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and other drugs clog the liver and contaminate the blood resulting in an unbalanced body affected on many levels. Moreover, negative or stressful thoughts have injurious effects on the body and mind. Our advancing world and fast-paced lifestyle that we are becoming accustomed to are disrupting our internal eco-system and taking a toll on our body, mind, and spirit. A juice fast can help remove these harmful substances and recalibrate the body and mind toward a healthier lifestyle and a more positive outlook on life
How does detoxing work?
Our bodies naturally detoxify everyday as part of a normal body process. Detoxification is one of the body’s most basic automatic functions of eliminating and neutralizing toxins through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph and skin. Most bodies cannot sustain the demands placed on them, which results in imbalances, diseases, and a decreased capacity to function optimally. When our bodies become overloaded, elimination processes are not efficient, organs become overworked and are unable to finish their duties, and toxins keep circulating in our systems. Body systems and organs that were once capable of cleaning out unwanted substances are now completely overloaded to the point where toxic material remain inside our tissues.
Common symptoms of toxic overload are:
- low energy/ fatigue
- poor concentration/memory
- strong food cravings
- depression
- digestive problems
- aches and pains
- sugar/caffeine/alcohol/drug dependence
- frequent illnesses
- excess weight
- disease
- premature aging
A juice fast can help the body’s natural cleaning process by:
- resting the organs stimulating the liver to eliminate toxins
- promotes elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin
- detoxes the body at a cellular level
- improves circulation of the blood
- balances digestion
- increases absorption of nutrients
- eases pain and inflammation
- reduces skin problems
- re-energizes body and mind
- improves clarity and concentration
In simplest terms, juice fasting allows the organs to rest and speeds up the detoxification process by focusing on the removal of toxins, acidity, and hardened deposits in the cells and body. Fresh juices are rich in live enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and alkalinizing nutrients for speedy absorption, helping to boost the immune system and improve digestion.
Fasting for Spiritual Evolution
Fasting is also conducive to spiritual evolution. It helps bring clarity, peace, and a feeling of interconnectedness. Meditation, yoga, and spiritual discussions at satsangs offer the opportunity to enhance the journey of self-discovery and expand consciousness. Some of the indispensable benefits of doing a 10 Day Detoxification Juice Fast at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram is that participants are in a supportive group setting with qualified health professionals and spiritual teachers in the gorgeous, sunny Bahamas, making this life changing experience very enjoyable and empowering.
The 10 Day Detoxification and Juice Fasting Program starts with 2 days of raw food to prepare the body for detoxification, 6 days of juice fasting with additional cleansing powders, herbal supplements, and special teas, and then re-introducing 2 days of healthy, raw food to break the fast.
Revitalize yourself with the upcoming 10 day Juice fast in the Bahamas to cleanse the body and mind! click HERE for more info on how you can detox with me!
Maintaining Healthy Eating After The Fast
Immediately after the juice fast is done in May, I will be teaching a 3 Day Raw Food Retreat in the Bahamas. Learn how to create wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free alkalinizing, energizing meals in the kitchen while also learning about how vegan and raw foods help to heal on physical, spiritual, and ecological levels.
Wellness is not just about nutrition. What’s on our plates and what’s happening in our bodies is a direct correlation of what’s happening to our planet. Heal the body, heal the planet!
click here for info about my upcoming 3 DAY RAW FOOD COURSE in the Bahamas.
I am also assisting with a YOGA & SPORT course in May 2012
that explores how the application of yoga practice and philosophy can dramatically improve athletic performance.
Grace Van Berkum is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Sivananda Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, and Recipe Creator who currently lives in Nicaragua teaching people about health, yoga, nutrition, fitness, and the importance of staying connected to nature.
There are still spots left for my upcoming Gracious Living Empowerment Retreat with co-host Randi Smith in 3 weeks in Nicaragua!
Yoga~ Your Path to Infinite Power
Yoga~ Your Path to Infinite Power
Yoga practice is like an obstacle race. It is in overcoming obstacles that you find your strength and expand your capacity. When you encounter obstacles in life, you are faced with two choices. You can choose to stop or become unstoppable. Obstacles can be real or imagined. They can be large or small. Does a road closure send you back home or drive you to find a new path? Does losing a job send you into a state or depression or create the sensation of ecstasy that you may now discover your life’s purpose? Does the end of a relationship leave you feeling empty and insignificant, broken down or broken open to the uniting with your soul mate?
According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book 1:30, it is the constant and continuous effort of overcoming obstacles that keep the mind sharp and engaged. Thereby protecting it from the real dangers: disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained.
I love teaching and sharing yoga with the world. It is an amazing feeling to introduce people to the simple technology of breath and movement. It is like plugging in a lamp and turning it on after it has been sitting for years looking like a decoration. Suddenly there is Light. The potential was always there and the sky is the limit. The way you approach your yoga practice is reflective of the way you approach your life. You can see the weak areas as obstacles and stop or embrace the fact that you now know where to focus your efforts to become unstoppable. The problem is many people are intimidated by yoga or allow the ego to believe things like: I am not good at it, I am not flexible, I am overweight, I am too old, I don’t have the time, I went once and didn’t like it, I can’t do those kinds of moves, etc.
These are simply manufactured obstacles. It is just like learning to walk, talk, read and write. You must begin somewhere and accept the infancy stage is always the beginning. To begin as an expert of anything defies natural laws. You have the strength, you just don’t know it. You need to be challenged and tested to overcome your own limitations and strengthen your desire and will. Doing what is simple and easy is like a river that just flows without expressing its power. Put an obstacle in the flow, like a dam, and you can see its strength in the form of tremendous electrical power.
You are the water. Yoga is your path to infinite power! Feel it! Own it! Be it! Whether you want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, start a business, buy a home or plant a garden, the regular practice of yoga will give you the strength and tenacity to overcome the obstacles and be unstoppable.
Ready to tap into a Life of Yoga & Adventure? Join Gracious Living & Happy Healthy and Fit in Nicaragua April 15-22, 2012 for a life-changing experience!
Commit to discovering your Infinite Power and book by March to enjoy Early Bird savings!
Much love to Randi Smith, for her powerful contribution this week.
BAHAMAS COOKING…and un-cooking!
What a month it is has been here in the Bahamas! Went from a very busy X-mas season and New Years Eve at Aqua Wellness Resort where I teach in Nicaragua, right to the Bahamas for the 10 Day Detoxification/Juice Fast/Yoga Retreat, right into my 3 Day Vegan Nutrition Retreat! Phew! Busy, busy, busy, but also very gratifying. I love watching people transform on a detox, I love teaching people about food and how it affects the body, I love helping people become empowered in the kitchen, and I love watching people re-connect to their bodies and feel lighter and more calm from doing yoga.
Here are some of the highlights from my Vegan Nutrition Course. 15 students, 15 happy bellies, 15 minds looking at food in a different way! Om appetite! Next Raw Food & Yoga Wellness Retreat with me in the Bahamas is May 6-8, 2012)
What you eat affects your body, your mind, your relationships, and the planet.
change what you eat…..change how you feel.
the lovely Rachel, founder of Om Grown Greens….best sprouts I have ever tasted in my life!
you are what you eat. you are what you think. GRACIOUS LIVING.
for upcoming 2012 Detoxification Juice Fasts, Raw Retreats, and Yoga & Sport courses with Gracious Living in the Bahamas, please click HERE!
for upcoming 2012 Gracious Living retreats in Nicaragua, please click HERE!
JUST.BE.YOUR.SELF.
There comes a time when you must stand alone.
You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.
You must be willing to make sacrifices.
Sometimes familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.
There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.
Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.
Be confident enough that you won’t settle for a compromise just to get by.
Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.
Don’t stand in someone else’s shadow when it’s your sunlight that should lead the way.
Laugh at your mistakes and praise yourself for learning from them.Making mistakes is part of success.
Don’t be afraid to show your emotions… laughing and crying make you feel better.
KNOW YOURSELF. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. BE THE PERSON YOU ARE MEANT TO BE.
(much love & gratitude to Urzala Weiss for these beautiful sunset photos taken on Paradise Island, Bahamas a few days ago)
the Dalai Lama’s Instructions for Life
20. attend a 2012 Gracious Living Yoga Raw Adventure Retreat in Nicaragua (the Dali Lama said this is very important)
GRACIOUS LIVING 2012 YOGA RETREATS IN NICARAGUA
the choice is mine
I choose to live by choice, not chance.
I choose to make changes, not excuses.
I choose to be motivated, not manipulated.
I choose to be useful, not used.
I choose self-esteem, not self-pity.
I choose to excel, not compete.
I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinion of the crowds.
~Alexandra Starr
