Sunday, May 27, 2012

Tips for Keeping Your Spark While Traveling

These are tips I have picked up over the years. Some come from getting from one country to another with 30 plus hours in between, clients, naturopaths, you get the idea.  There is an immense amount of gratitude in my heart for having the good fortune of getting to see over 25 countries.  Recently at a constellation workshop we were asked to sit in order by age.  A friend said, "Beka come sit by me, I think I am older than you." She then asked, "how old are you?"  I replied "44."  "Go skin!" she exclaimed!  She sells my friend Destinos incredible all natural skin care line CoCoPlumCo.com at her famous store Papaya, which I have been using for months.  She thought I was at least 10 years younger!
This is what works for me, be your own detective.  If a lifesyle change makes you feel, think, look, sleep, and crap better, better to keep it! 
Pack ginger tea (anything that helps digestion is a friend for life!) and rinse out travel stiffness with excess water.  Don't drink if you are low on water, it flushes old water out of the system.   Grapefruit seed extract in pill form (in case you eat bad pork in India or notice people have the puke flu on the bus to Spokane, take at first notice.)  On this trip back home to Alaska, I packed Seaweed and nuts in my carry on, always have protein on hand.  Great greens tablets or green powder capsules, etc.  Always hard to eat enough greens on the road!  I learned capsules and pills are better than powders and liquids for trips.  Trying to mix liquid grapfruit seed extract on a Himalayan road trip that started at 3 p.m. in Sikkim to get back to the airport in Bogdagra didn't work.  My pork symptoms lasted longer than necessary.  Rescue Remedy Black Current Pastilles work wonders for stressful moments.  If you begin to feel nervous, focus on tuning into your feelings a little more in depth.  Dried goji berries is a great power food that is not too sweet.  Stevia is great when avoiding sugar.  A water bottle is always good to carry on late night walks.  Sonam, our Bhutan guide, said "Don't go towards a yak, they will think you are going to kill them and stomp on you."  Then, we saw a group of large animals nearby in the dark. I like glass best, then no plastic or metal leaching.  Overseas however, I take metal.  Take probiotics every night in a perfect world.  Now everyone is saying kimchi or saurkraut is much more powerfull than pills.  Yogurt is good if dairy doesn't give you migraines, mucus, or stiffness but be sure to watch the sugar levels.  I like it plain with stevia, and frozen berries. Make sure the container says live and active cultures, and the best has cream at the top.  Yogurt is better than milk because it has been digested by the probiotics, kefir has even more probiotics.  Daily vitamins, and I am starting to get into enzymes.  As soon as possible,  get to a store with an organic, health food section and buy a huge plastic box of pre-washed organic lettuce, lemons, and frozen sheltons pre-cooked turkey dogs.  These are my travel staples.  Oh also electrolites, I like the lite Emergen-c packets with no fructose and MSG.  Remember if you are eating lots of green stuff, you are doing great!!  On vacation now, so not really interested in editing! Thanks folks for all of your support.  What the heck fish oil pills (cod liver oil is the best) and vitamin D if it is cloudy where you are going.         
   

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Green Smoothie the Babyfied version Photos to come

The last smoothie I posted was more of an Avatar, ninja skills, yer ancestors, no fruit sugar or processed food clean smoothie.  This smoothie tastes great and won't accelerate your aging process like the fruit and fruit juice sugar overloaded smoothies some people do.  When I think of these types of smoothies it makes my pancreas cringe and I get a contact lightheaded high.  You can stay fit or loose weight with this recipe.  I do this one on busy days when I might need a snack or miss a meal. 

~ (everything organic when possible makes your life more magical, healthy, wealthy, abundant and heals the soil and water where grown and heals your body and the earth)

Sometimes I will put a teaspoon of dried nettle leaf in the blender the night before if it is going to be an early morning.  It is a superfood with tons of nutrients. 
1 to 2 cups spring, filtered or alkaline water, more water makes it more hydrating and easier to drink.
2 or 3 stalks of organic celery(cut off bitter leaves), loaded with pottasium and peppy energy.  Good for crampy calves.
Few sprigs flatleaf parsley( my healthiest client is 79, I wish I had her hair.  She says to add this.)  Never juice a lot of parsley, it is good for your nerves but my mom says too much can slow down your body and kill you.   

1 large handful of lettuce  this will keep your energy good at three in the afternoon.
1 or 2 droppers of Stevia depending on your taste.  My friend likes two drops I like ten!
1 cup of raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.  Fresh is best but keep some frozen for backup.
1 cup of hemp, coconut or almond milk non sweetened vanilla.  Hemp is the creamiest but some say men shouldn't do too much of it so tune in to your intuition and mix it up
1 scoop vanilla protein powder.
Put in a Vitamix blender.  They last forever and can munch up anything.  Start on low then go up to high, be sure to give it a few minutes.  Pour into a quart jar.  Rinse the blender with a little water and pour that in the jar too.  If there is too much, put extra in a cup and refrigerate for the next day or better yet, give to a friend!  Rinse the Vitamix twice more with water, no need to wash it.  This is my personal best tasting smoothie with 20 years of field testing for good health, attitude, looks, weight etc.  Since nothing got cooked, when you go to drink it or hand some to your friend, you can shake the glass and say "It's alive It's alive".  Drink your smoothie, feel your cells start to glow, notice how awesome your skin looks and go have fun in your shimmering alkaline state. 

I like a vegan one with brown rice and pea protein etc.  Hemp seed is a nice choice.  Veggies or seed proteins are the best choice.  Whey is good but it gives me puffy eyes and a lot of snot if I do it every day.  I like to do Whey every three days with frozen berries and stevia for a skinny shake experience.  Buy the non bitter stevia, not the bitter type of the old days.  Stevia comes from a leaf and helped me kick  my sugar habit. It has no calories and it is very easy to trick your lizard brain into thinking you are eating sugar.  You can grow the stevia plant right in your backyard!    Whey has the master of all antioxidants glutathione.  Sorry if this is sloppy,  I just found an editor.  I do one of these every day and all the good energy is keeping me uninterested in crap food and my thigh fat is melting, Yay!!  My business is booming and I make more money when I eat like this.  Life gets easier.  I did at least 60 massages and healing sessions with no days off getting ready to come home on vacation and had no soreness or meltdowns and I feel great!!  Time for a nap, TaTa

Friday, May 18, 2012

Green Smoothie for a Funner Life... the purest version

Get a Vitamix blender, it will last forever and you will save money in the long run.
I add:
filtered water
half a cubed cucumber
two stalks of celery (all ingredients organic for your rocket boosters)
large handful of lettuce
pinch of himalayan salt
half a lemon with the rind scrapped off, leave the pulp, it is very good for you (bioflavanoids) makes for handsome cells!
some dark leafy greens, rotate them between days, the same kind every time is not good for you (kale, swiss chard, spinach) and cut off the stems if you have a weaker blender
If you buy local eggs 1 or 2 egg yolks(you can't taste them).  You need fat for your body to get the most of all these super lively nutrients.  If you buy mass produced eggs they often sit in warehouses for months and so don't eat raw.  When I do this every day, I can literally massage all day and feel good after it thanks to all the life-force.  People will say "you look great!"  When I slack off on the smoothies,  I start eating crap around 3:00 pm for lack of real energy from the smoothies and no one says I look so young or great or have glowing skin. Oh almost forgot Jeanne who perfected this recipe says flat leaf parsley is the best.  If I need a boost, I add dried nettles for health extra credit if my system seems low.  Thank you Lisa for your inspiration I will post a smoothie that is a sweet berry smoothy that is more of a meal.  Here's to your best life, Beka


Monday, May 14, 2012

What I learned from watching clients heal. will post update soon



   With each client who comes to me for massage, I take time to tell them there are a few simple self-care steps that can make your body a lot more relaxed and pliable – and make you a lot happier, especially at times of stress and injury.

·        A daily anti-inflammatory, such as a teaspoon of turmeric in your daily nutritional smoothie will work wonders for sore muscles and joints. We’re all used to ibuprofen, but turmeric is natural and doesn’t damage your liver, like over-the-counter meds.  In the long term, such meds can make things worse.  You’ve heard of “old lady hands?” With this, you won’t get them.

·        Cod liver or other omega fish oils. Yes, they can be yucky, so I recommend going with the orange-flavored variety. Again, a smoothie is a good delivery system for this. Put in a tablespoon a day. It’s an antioxidant and has a range of health benefits. Clients who take cod liver oil have the most release from trigger points and their problem areas clear out easier if they’re lubricated with healthy oils.

·        Ginger tea.  The preparation and drinking of tea daily is a nice, soothing ritual, so why not make it ginger, which cleanses muscles and flushes tissue of inflammatory toxins that come from eating a too acid diet, plus it has a lively, sprightly taste.

·        Oil pulling with sesame oil. Swish a tablespoon around in your mouth for 20 minutes, sucking in through your teeth. It’s a simple ayurvedic process that relieves the entire upper neck by the fifth day of doing it. Clients tell me their joints and muscles become much looser.

·        A diet of 75% organic produce(mostly vegetables). I’ve seen it help clients get a lot better and I’ve seen real change in my body – more mobile, healthier tissues.

·        A relaxing tea, daily, something good for stress, like Tension Tamer made by Celestial Seasonings, with B vitamins and blended herbs. This will head off that feeling of being frazzled and not being able to slow down and get back in neutral.  Passionfruit-mango by Stash Teas is also good – or find a good local tea with similar ingredients.

 ·        Cut back on wheat. Eat more potatoes and rice to open up the tissues. Wheat and too many grains make you acidic and stiff. Potatoes and rice are neutral. Potatoes and vegetables are easy to digest and they provide the carbs you need. Yeast-free sourdough bread is good, the best I’ve found, much better for your body.

   What we’re trying to do with all this is flush toxins out of the body’s pipes – the log jams or traffic jams that create pain and stiffness. It’s not age that causes aches and pains, it’s the accumulation of toxins.

   If you notice old injuries acting up, it’s the body storing toxins in old injured sites and it’s telling you that you need to do a cleanse.

   Beka Chandler is a masseuse with 17 years experience, living and practicing in Ashland, Oregon. She works in deep tissue massage, Alaska Energy Healing, cranial-sacral, stress reduction, sports injuries, migraines and chronic pain. She works in the offices of a chiropractor and acupuncturist and, when needed, can refer to doctors. Beka is at 541-778-0015 and www.bekachandler.com.



Sunday, May 6, 2012

HEALTH MOTIVATION Avoiding Senior Centers as We Age

Sometimes I eat really good, other times not great.  There is a teflon pan in the garbage and three organic lemons on the counter.  A level has been reached.  My passion for the best life possible finally connected to my daily lifestyle and eating patterns.   Somewhere in my mind, the two neuropathways have finally reached each other and are now holding hands.  Suddenly, there are health geniuses by my side every time I go for a walk and they tell me new approaches to health on levels I am just starting to get a footing on.  When I grow up, I want to be a health comedian.  If the jokes aren't funny, at least I will look and feel like a beacon of radiant health as I tell them.  Nutrient rich, alive, organic, free range foods bring me special ninja powers.  No longer will I space this out.  I will stare down sugar, holding my non bitter stevia bottle of courage.  As green vegetable smoothies are my witness, I am ready to lead the way for my carbfogged fellow human family.  If my grammar isn't perfect perhaps you will only remember the free health tips.  Cheers to your best life and you!!    Best Beka