Thursday, June 16, 2011

Salt of the Earth

Sugar is to live for and salt ..apparently to fight over.

Salt crystal formations,  Dead Sea

For centuries mankind fought battles, traded and valued salt and it infiltrated every civilisation across the globe. Ancient Egypt, Rome, China, France and Greece all have history in the control and distribution of it and virtually every culture has customs relating to salt. Salt has been mentioned in folktales and myth, used in many ritualistic traditions and in the arts. 

"Such was the importance of salt that the words, 'war' and 'peace' originate from the word for salt & bread in Ancient Hebrew and Arabic" according to salt org 

Yet the stuff we call table salt is also known as sodium chloride and manufacturers use a chemical extracting method to refine it this way. Salt is simply not found in nature in this isolated form. In nature it is found with an abundance of naturally occurring trace minerals and elements such as Sulphur, Calcium, Magnesium, Boron, Zinc, Silicon, and Iron.

How does this affect our body??

Our bodies are essentially made up of millions of living cells. Cells are composed of molecules such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus, water molecules, proteins, DNA, polysaccharides (sugars), lipids (fats), and MINERALS.
We need minerals in our diet to stay healthy and build tissue, the building blocks so to speak. But we can only absorb these minerals when they are in their organic whole form as nature intended, like in the fruits and vegetables we eat. Plants absorb the nutrition from the soil, creating a biologically available form of minerals and our bodies assimilate it to perfection. However, this all depends on the quality of the soil. Modern farming methods such as chemical fertilisers and mono-crops have made the soils deplete of these minerals. But nature does her best, she uses what she has because that's her style.

I heard a wise person say once, Women are as fertile as the Earth is. In other words, as nutrient rich the soil is as healthy and fertile the woman. Minerals! This is where the quality of salt comes in. Consuming sodium chloride has negative health effects as our body strives to balance it's isolated form. . .

"For every gram of sodium chloride that your body cannot get rid of, your body uses 23 times the amount of cell water to neutralize the salt. Eating common table salt causes excess fluid in your body tissue" Mercola.com

Which doesn't seem like a big deal until we mention cellulite, kidney issue, fluid retention, electrolyte and fluid imbalances, arthritis and high blood pressure.
Minerals are found with other minerals on purpose. It's natures way of providing us with a "supplement" and still buffer its concentrated effects on the body. A pinch of salt is all you need. When you don't have enough salt, issues like low blood pressure and dehydration occur, however, this is not the norm. Considering most processed foods some healthy, some not so healthy all contain excessive salt as a taste enhancer... amongst other things.


Traditional Chinese Medicine regards the kidneys as one of the most important organs. The kidneys are associated with the water element, and most susceptible to the cold and are stimulated by the taste salt. Energetically, the kidneys store the body's vital Essence- inherited from our parents. Essence is what forms the basis for growth cycles, development, reproduction and determines our constitution. How resilient or weak we are health wise and how long our life "battery" will last for.


Himalayan Salt
Beautiful pink salt from the Himalayan region. I question the ethicality of how this salt is mined because it is sourced from deep within the Earth, which seems like a great idea except in theory. However, it conjures up images of big destructive mines. It is however an Earth salt, hard and dry but contains around 84 trace minerals.


Celtic Sea Salt
Is my favourite salt, harvested by hand and evaporated by the sun and wind. It is a pleasure to pay good money for an artisan product like this. Salt is something we season food lightly, paying decent money for something that will last a long time in your kitchen cupboard.


Macrobiotic Sea Salt
Produced in a similar manner to the Celtic salt as it's a sea salt. This salt is the preferred salt for the macrobiotic diet, a Japanese dietary system based on the principle of balance.

Make your own season-all salt using your choice of high quality salt, dried herbs, and favourite spices. I love to mix a curry powder with dried parsley and mustard. I consider it the secret ingredient in my veggie dishes...

Salt lamps are pretty cool. I keep one in my bedroom, it casts a beautiful glow. Salt crystal is an ideal source of negative ions due to its chemical composition. Ideal to place anywhere in the home where you want to improve air quality and create a nice environment. 





Love
Ulyana...

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Shiny hair obsession...

It's no secret that women and men adore beautiful hair. I seem to be borderline obsessed with my own and for a good reason. I never ever had problems, not with condition, length or thickness. My hair used to be blonde and technically should have snapped off but my "hair genetics" and healthy lifestyle seemed to have saved it time and time again. That was until one year, and I say year because once you mess with your hair, it literally takes a year or more to rectify the damage. I won't point the finger at anyone, well heehee not much!

Mermaids have been known to break hearts...
 I was in a very stressful time of my life, at least I considered it to be back then. On reflection I was just being a drama queen. I had changed my colour to a nice chocolate brown hue, everything was going along nicely. My hairdresser would thin my hair, saying I had plenty of it and it'll make my life easier. It was long and pretty. Everything besides my personal life was peachy... That was until she left the salon! *shock* Where did she go??!! I should have known better but the salon owner suggested I try a different hairdresser. "Sure!" The younger, more gullible version of me replied.
Dissatisfied with the close to midnight colour I walked away with, a "friend" hairdresser suggested he do my hair instead...

I wanted my hair back to normal, long, pretty, thick and brown. He said he could make magic happen and I believed him. *Hint* NEVER believe a man that says he can do magic. I would say half of my hair snapped of from the attempt at highlighting. With all the breakage, he needed to blend it in somehow, so a ridiculous amount of layers were put through. This is where my hair resembled something from the 80's. THEN as I ran my hand through my hair, it was as crispy as a corn chip! No amount of product, blow drying, conditioning, or wishful thinking could make magic happen this time...

So I swore off all hairdressers. They were evil creatures, you get a good one and they desert you. You get a truly evil one and they destroy your hair and charge you while you pretend to like it, so not to hurt their feelings. *Vent over.* I know I don't mean that. I have actually found a really precious hairdresser, who only snips a centimetre off at a time. The next time I visit her, I'll let her take two. She also uses low chemical colours and products and can style hair like a dream.

The point to my long-winded story is that I've destroyed my hair but it came back. Admittedly, it took me a good two years full recovery. Hair is really slow moving, it takes months and months and months to see the results and you have to be consistent in treating it with caution. Minimal heat, no chemical based products and no colour fun. An effective distraction technique is to smile more, who needs fabulous hair when you smile like a princess???!

SOS products I have used...
Feminine Mysteries Tahitian Coconut and Vanilla Shampoo & Conditioner is heaven
Morroco Method The actual shampoos and conditioners are not so heavenly to use but the Diamond Crystal Mist is divine
David Babaii 4 Wildaid Beautiful products all round and love, love, love the Bohemian Beach Spray
Seven Wonders Hair Care Detangling Moisture Spray, is my pick. They also have an Argan (Moroccan Oil) range... 



Apple Cider Vinegar & Herbal Hair Rinse
To improve condition, shine, body and boost hair growth...

This is a recipe my babushka taught me. I've always noticed how long many Russian women wear their hair. My babushka was no exception. While the other grandmas had purple perms mine was rocking silky tresses right down to her waist. She traveled across oceans from Russia to Australia and was certainly an exotic creature back in the day.
She wore her hair all braided and slicked back. I can see now why she was a heart breaker in her time (mermaids have been known to do that). She gave me this hair rinse recipe. The basic mixture is just vinegar and chamomile but I've added the rosemary extract with time. The vinegar softens the water, adjusts the pH and gives you a super glossy finish (no it doesn't smell). The chamomile adds highlights with time and somehow strengthens the hair (my babushka says), the rosemary is my little touch and stimulates the blood flow to the scalp, resulting in happier hair with more bounce.

Ingredients...
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (only ACV, no other vinegar will do)
1 cup chamomile tea
1/4 cup rosemary extract
1.5 litres filtered or spring water

Method...
1. Sprig of fresh rosemary to 2 cups water, bring to boil and reduce and leave for 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Add ACV, chamomile tea, rosemary infusion to the water.
3. Shampoo and condition your hair with the best quality natural based products you can afford.
4. Rinse your hair well with water and put the herbal water through and let t sit for around 5 minutes for a perfect result.
5. Then if weather permits, rinse your hair with COLD water as a final then style.
6. Your hair will look gorgeous, tread carefully with the hearts you're about to break.

Do this once or twice a week for the best results.

Not only do you have to use the correct product but you have to eat the right foods and supplements speed up the process.


Chia seed- high in omega 3 fatty acids, high in protein, easy to use. Just add to muesli, desserts and smoothies.

Seaweed- high in minerals, nori, kelp, wakame, kombu, spirulina all fall under this Umbrella. A green superfood powder should do the trick ideally with sprouted baby grasses. The easiest and tastiest way to get your greens in.

Wholegrains- People are at odds with the wholegrain category but I swear by them. Brown rice, oats, quinoa, and buckwheat are my favourites. High in silica, fibre and minerals.

Almonds, Brazil, Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds- for the essential fatty acids, proteins and magnesium. Magnesium will help soothe the nervous system after you breakup with the evil hairdresser...

Greens- all the baby greens, sprouts, kale, broccoli and herbs. Highly mineralised and alkalising to the system.

Green, white, rosehip, nettle tea- high in antioxidants, good for detoxifying.

Celtic Sea Salt- Just a pinch, for the minerals. Table salt is a junk food.

Exercise and sunlight- essentials for life, oxygen and blood circulation. The body is built to move...

Avoid- excess alcohol, coffee, dairy, processed, denatured "fake" foods, chemicals and unnecessary pharmaceuticals (please confirm with your doctor) and peroxide...

Supplements that may help...

B Complex- for hair growth and condition
Zinc- growth
Green powder (with seaweed and sprouted greens)- detoxification, alkalising
Spirulina- condition, hair growth, quality
Silica- condition
MSM powder (organic suphur)- hair growth, quality

Brushes
Brush your hair everyday and using a soft bristle brush. Never brush your hair when it's wet.


Love
Ulyana xx

Friday, June 10, 2011

Dear Diary... Dream is a nice word

Dream is a nice word don't you think? I always wonder where mine are at, if I'm "watering" them enough so to speak. Are we giving enough attention to our dreams or do we even know what they are??


Like many of my insights this one came to me during a consultation. We were talking about love... lost love to be exact. I think we've all been there and I think we can all relate. We've been both the lover and the heart breaker, we've been both wronged and in the wrong. I could think of at least 10 people I don't want knowing my thoughts on this topic but I can think of at least 10 who'd like my thoughts too. I sacrifice this post to be more of a "dear diary" entry.


Most of the people I see and talk to want love. "Love makes the world go round" and "love is all there is" love, love, love. Tears and butterflies, highs and lows I see it and feel it all. I wont recall my dating history here, I simply don't enough enough energy and it's pointless. But it's the thing everyone wants and I believe many of us are really here just to find it. Our life purpose might not be to discover a new form of sustainable and environmentally friendly energy source (although feel free) but to find that one person. Call it a soul mate or twin flame or something less mystical. Maybe deep down some people are here just to find simple love.


Imagine if in primary school the curriculum would include... love and all of the above. Relationship life skills that some "parents" are simply not capable of teaching their kids because quite honestly they've not been taught it either. Why when so many of us are completely capable of functioning in all facets of our lives except for maintaining healthy relationships. Why are we taught our times tables until we can recite them by heart but we're not taught to communicate with people effectively and truthfully. Some might say that's a parental role and I agree- it is. However, when your parents are busy counting numbers, paying bills and getting dinner on the table... we could do with a little more help.



Which brings me to my dream, it's just a dream but I'm putting it out there. Imagine if the structure of our society focused more on supporting us finding and keeping that other half and creating families and less on consuming, owning, investing and the rest. The more I look at how we do things the more distant I see we have become. We travel more, see more, learn and experience the world at an accelerated pace yet we're no closer to finding the person that makes our hearts tick. Paradoxically, we have more and have less. The people that do have, we consider to be the "lucky" ones.

If we focused more about finding love and valuing it then maybe we would be happier. Cultures that have less material security have been known to be happier and we often question why. My guess is they're not contemplating owning 5 houses rather contemplating how the welfare of their family. Focus on the stuff that matters because at the end of the day, on our death bed we reflect on how we lived, how we loved, if we loved at all and if we ever lived.

The other thing, don't be afraid to want love. It takes so much energy wearing various masks only to disguise our feelings. It takes more courage to be truthful with ourselves and another and walk away a little different, maybe deflated but certainly a more authentic version of yourself. The heart never fools anyone, it knows exactly what and who it wants. It's the mind that plays tricks.


And one more, never walk away from it.

Ulyana xx

Monday, June 6, 2011

Bugs want slugs and slugs want your organic kale..


I've been distracted but I have been pondering what my next post would be about. Inspiration normally just falls out of the sky for me... and I was waiting for it...but it didn't come. I thought about cooking or maybe stretching my artistic side (only very few know about it). The only thing that bounced around my mind was thoughts about negative advertising methods and how they impact you and me and everyone else that switches on the TV, reads a magazine and listens to the radio.

People come in to see me for weight loss, which is common and normal these days. They struggle between "healthy" and "unhealthy" food choices, proportion sizes and living the life they want to live. There is no secret to this secret, you must eat the right food, in the right proportion and move in the right way to be at your ideal weight. What is it that keeps them in the negative yo-yo and food obsessive cycle?? ADVERTISING.


We've been placed in front of the television since we were how old and bombarded with advertising imagery before we could even talk. Now you might think that you make conscious choices in what you buy, that it is really you making the decision... I'll put my money on this one. That your choices are from what you've been exposed to at the right moment in time for you to tell yourself "yes I need one of those" or "Ohh that looks yummy!!". Who is born into his world thinking of Doritos or BMW's or Chanel sunglasses? (can you tell that last one was one of mine!! Until I weened myself off). We are however born into this world thinking about our stomachs and if we feel the cold and our mothers. So our needs start of very simply.

Our minds process thoughts in images. In other words we think in images. If I tell you not to think about a pink elephant... what pops into your mind? If I bombard you with pictures of Cocoa Pops since you are the age of 5, in between your favourite cartoon shows... chances are Cocoa Pops will be on your mind next time your mum goes to the supermarket or if you're sitting in the trolley you'll spot that yellow box. Things don't change much either, look at what your favourite foods are today and they likely have been tricked into your favourites folder in your mind. Advertisers pay millions of dollars to place these images on prime time television and on front pages of your reading material and the Internet. They pay more for advertising than the quality of the product. My body wasn't born loving Cocoa Pops but Kellogg's will try and make you think so, it's in their best interest.


What you expose your mind to will influence you. Let your 8 year old girl watch Rhianna S&M video clip every morning and see how her behaviour changes. . .


So coming back to my point of weight loss and food choices. Start surrounding yourself with the right stuff, turning off KFC ads and removing yourself out of the media's way. Women's magazines love displaying their Sara Lee products, right after their feel good stories making you as susceptible as a sponge. It takes time to unplug and retrain yourself back to making choices YOU really want. Eating the right food, in the right proportions and moving in the right way because it's only natural and normal to function in that way.

It's only natural to want natural foods. All wild animals want the foods that nature intended. Birds want bugs, bugs want slugs, slugs want your organic kale, wolves want rabbits, and rabbits want grass. I never asked to be exposed to advertising that manipulates our food and lifestyle choices...did you? It requires work to create the change within yourself that increases your own awareness to why you buy what you buy and why you eat what you eat but it can be done!



Read how the tobacco industry influenced millions and million of people to become addicted and the effort companies go to so you can make them wealthy!













This is also a super read...













A nice perspective on food and culture...











I guess at the end of the day I knew what I wanted to post about but ignored it, hoping I'd have the urge to make a vegan blueberry pie or nut mylks or something... no such luck! Till next time lovelies!

Ulyana...
xxx