A new semester begins, with some new habits to boot

My final full semester of school begins today. I am taking four courses, all of which I am actually quite excited about.

I have research class, which hopefully despite the extra work will be more rewarding this semester with my new direction, community building.

I have a movement class which talks about how different movements affect the body/mind/spirit's health. Oooh, I can only hope that means we will be getting out of our chairs during class time.

I'll be doing an independent study on how art affects the health of an individual, a community and the world, as well as exploring different forms of art on my own (a self-study). I will also address the bigger question, "What is the purpose of art?"

My last class will be at the Cultural Wellness Center and it is called Organization for Social Change. I'm stoked for it. My biggest reason for going into my field of holistic health studies is because I believe EVERYBODY should have access to good health and there are ways we can do it without having to rely on insurance companies and medical doctors. We can take care of ourselves! Woo hoo :)

Additionally, I will be continuing with training in Beginning Yoga I and II, which will be great learning but also great self-care for the semester.

It will be busy but I am excited for some movement this cold winter.

Beyond the exciting news of the classes I am taking I wanted to come on here and be open about some goals I am trying to meet on the side of academics. I feel by sharing this news it will further my dedication to these goals.

Number One: Become a Vegetarian.
It's already been three days meat-free and I have to say I am feeling fine. I am looking forward to this challenge of eating a nutritionally balanced vegetarian diet. After basically being a flexitarian my whole life, I am making the final plunge and letting go of meat-eating for awhile. I will assess my health and see if it is a good choice for me along the way.

How I came to this decision?

1. Recent discussion with my pal who just went vegan. Thanks Ash, for the inspiration.

2. Listening to exerpts from the book, Slaughterhouse. The cruelty of animals in factory farming just killed me. There was one part where a factory worker was describing just before a pig was to be slaughtered. He said it came up to him and nudged up against the worker like a puppy. For some reason after hearing all of the horrific ways these animals are being killed and treated, hearing about this pig described as a puppy begging for forgiveness made my stomach turn. It also made me want to adopt a pig and have it as a pet. I'm working on this one with Jay.

3. My connection to Buddhism, long ago instilled a wish inside me to follow the vegetarian ways of life. It is much better on the environment, the animals and the world.

4. This decision will further my want/need to pursue gardening.

Number two: Kick the refined sugar, flour and what have you.
We'll see how this one goes. For some reason sugar has been the ultimate hardest thing for me to let go, and it is addictive as hell. While I have periods of no-sugar I have not given it up for more than a couple weeks. I'd like to at least go a month greatly reducing refined/processed foods in my life and see what happens. I figured this would be a necessary pairing with my choice to be a vegetarian because many vegetarians eat sugary, processed, white bread products to keep awake because they may lack protein.

Number three: Get back on the treadmill.
My 12 times a month to the Y have looked more like me stopping by and laying in the hot sauna for 20 minutes and then calling it a workout. I need to get my body moving. I always feel better when I do.

Number four: Take more public transportation.
I am going to try taking more PT to school (baby steps). So when I attend classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will try my best to take PT or carpool. I talk about being environmentally conscious and I'd like to incorporate this piece more in my daily habits.

Those are the some things I am going to really work on in addition to school and life in general. While it will be challenging for me, I am excited at the prospect of feeling more energized and in line with my beliefs/principles.

Foods and activities that calm hormones and help PMS

This post is dedicated to my sisters in Korea and all the women out there who suffer from PMS symptoms. In order to live your best life, reducing PMS is a must.

The foods we put in our bodies affect the hormonal cycles in the body. One way to lessen the hormonal shift in the body is to avoid the foods or activities that cause them.

Foods/activites to consider avoiding or limiting around "that time of the month":
* Meats, cheese, eggs tend to drive hormone levels up.
* Fatty foods raise cholesterol and estrogen levels.
* Excess salt and sugar.
* Limit caffeine intake, and if possible, eliminate it.
* Tobacco use
* Certain Yoga poses should be avoided, inverted poses during menstruation can cause blood to leak out the fallopian tubes and lead to endometriosis. While not proven and highly unlikely, because it is not known, it may be best to do more restorative poses during this time. In general you know your body best, so if it feels okay to invert go ahead. Listen to your body. If you are feeling achy and tired don't push yourself too hard.

Foods/nutrients/activities to consider:
* Natural plant foods like whole grain bread, pasta, cereal
* A variety of vegetables, fruits and legumes
* Fiber. Eating foods with lots of fiber is good to help rid the body of excess hormones.
* Calcium (in the form of supplement or leafy greens). Improving calcium balance in the body has been shown to ease menstrual pain.
* Vitamin B6
* Light/moderate exercise
* Meditation

Information shared from Healthy Eating for Life for Women by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and my personal favorite, Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, MD.