Foods that Fight Cancer...

I was at the hair salon reading Health magazine and this article caught my eye. There are scientific studies that prove certain foods can help fight cancer! I love that modern medicine is starting to incorporate holistic healing methods.

The research is in: Here are six of the most potent weapons against the big C.

To reduce your risk of cancer, look no further than your fridge. "All the studies on cancer and nutrition point to eating plant-based foods for their phytonutrients and other special compounds," says Richard Beliveau, PhD, chair in the prevention and treatment of cancer at the University of Quebec at Montreal and author of Foods to Fight Cancer. Aim for five to nine daily servings of all kinds of fruits and vegetables - especially these six superstars.

Broccoli
All cruciferous veggies (think cauliflower, cabbage, kale) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is the only one with a sizable amount of sulforaphane, a particularly potent compound that boosts the body's protective enzymes and flushes out cancer-causing chemicals. A recent University of Michigan study on mice found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells - those that aid in tumor growth.
Helps fight: breast, liver, lung, prostate, skin, stomach, and bladder cancers.
Your RX: The more broccoli, the better, research suggests - so add it wherever you can, from salads to omlets to the top of your pizza.
(Based on research by Jed Fahey, ScD, who studies cruciferous vegetables at the Johns Hopkins Chemoprotection Center)

Berries
All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. But black raspberries, in particular, contain very high concentrations of phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which slow down the growth of premalignant cells and keep new blood vessels from forming (and potentially feeding a cancerous tumor).
Helps fight: colon, esophageal, oral, and skin cancers.
Your RX: Concentrated berry powder is used in studies but a half-cup serving of berries a day may help your health, too.
(Based on research by Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine)

Tomatoes
This juicy fruit is the best dietary source of lycopene, a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red hue. And that's good news, because lycopene was found to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study in Nutrition and Cancer. Endometrial cancer causes nearly 8,000 deaths a year.
Helps fight: endometiral, lung, prostate, and stomach cancers.
Your RX: The biggest benefits come from cooked tomatoes (think pasta sauce!), since the heating process increases the amount of lycopene your body is able to absorb.
(Based on research by Beliveau)

Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth.
Helps fight: breast and prostate cancers.
Your RX: Munching on an ounce of walnuts a day may yield the best benefits.
(Based on research by Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia)

Garlic
Eating it may not do your breath any favors, but the protection it offers against digestive cancers just might be worth the smell. Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to halt the formation of nitrosamines, carcinogens formed in the stomach (and in the intestines, in certain conditions) when you consume nitrates, a common food preservative. In fact, the Iowa Women's Health Study found that women with the highest amounts of garlic in their diets had a 50% lower risk of certain colon cancers than women who ate the least.
Helps fight: breast, colon, esophageal, and stomach cancers.
Your RX: Chop a clove of fresh, crushed garlic (crushing helps release beneficial enzymes), and sprinkle it into that lycopene-rich tomato sauce while it simmers.
(Based on research by Beliveau)

Beans
A study out of Michigan State University found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats, in part because a diet rich in the legumes increased levels of the fatty acid butyrate, which in high concentrations has protective effects against cancer growth. Another study, in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans particularly effective in preventing breast cancer in rats.
Helps fight: breast and colon cancers.
Your RX: Add a serving - a half cup - of legumes a few times a week (either from a can or dry beans that have been soaked and cooked) to your usual rotation of greens or other veggies.

What NOT to eat
While researchers are still trying to determine which foods have the most cancer-preventing benefits, we do know what not to eat if you want to protect yourself, says Cheryl Forberg, RD, author of Positively Ageless.
Animal Fats: Meat, cheese, and butter can be rich in saturated fat, which has been linked to obesity - a big cancer predictor. Opt for leaner protein sources, such as fish, low-fat dairy, and those good-for-you beans.
Processed Meats: A ballpark hot dog or a few slices of bacon once in a while won't kill you, but don't make them a staple of your diet. Some cured meats tend to be high in nitrates and nitrates, preservatives that can, in large amounts, potentially increase your risk of stomach and other cancers.
Excessive Alcohol: Stop after one drink! Too much tipping is associated with an increased risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and breast.

I hope this article was as eye-opening to you as it was to me. Age-old holistic healing at its best.


Article from Health Magazine, November 2010.

Class Announcements...

The 6am class at Bailey Dance will be cancelled next week: December 28th & 30th.

All other classes will remain the same!

Yes! I will be having the 5pm Free Yoga class at 1st Ave Rocks this Sunday (Dec 26th). Come to class, bring your family, and work off all those extra holiday cookies!

Merry Christmas!

Inversions & Menstruation...

So it's that time of the month again... can you do your beloved shoulderstand & headstand? The thing that kept me away from it for so long was the myth that inversions can lead to endometriosis. But according to the following article that I found on the Yoga Journal website, that myth has been debunked...

"First of all, there is no consensus on whether to avoid inversions during a woman's menstrual cycle. The two opinions are basically divided between those who think that no women should practice inversions during menstruation and those who feel the choice varies from woman to woman.

Those who encourage a ban on inversions cite fears that certain physical problems may arise. Until recently, increased risk of endometriosis was considered the most common risk. But since more is known now about that disease, the idea has been debunked. There is also a theory that inversions may cause "vascular congestion" in the uterus resulting in excessive menstrual flow. (For more info, click here.) If true, this risk is probably most relevant for women who hold inversions a long time. Some teachers say that since a woman's energy is low during menstruation, high-energy poses such as inversions should be avoided. This makes sense, yet not all women experience low energy during menstruation; indeed, many feel quite energized.

Philosophically speaking, menstruation is considered to be apana, meaning that energetically, its vitality is downward-flowing. The argument against inversions during menstruation maintains that inversions will disturb this natural energetic flow. However, inversions are recommended in some systems of yoga as therapy to improve elimination of excess apana. In Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health, B.K.S. Iyengar recommends practicing inversions to alleviate menstrual problems such as heavy flow and irregular periods.

The contradictions don't stop there. Some teachers recommend avoidance of inversions such as Sirsasana (Headstand) and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) while suggesting no such caution with other poses that invert the uterus, such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) and Downward-Facing Dog.

Since I know of no studies or research that makes a compelling argument to avoid inversions during menstruation, and since menstruation affects each woman differently and can vary from cycle to cycle, I am of the opinion that each woman is responsible for making her own decision. Pay attention to how you respond to inversions (indeed, ALL asanas) during your period. A short Headstand may be fine while a longer one isn't; maybe you will find that backbends or twists adversely affect your period. If your energy is very low, restorative poses may be just the ticket, though you may find a more active sequence of standing poses alleviates cramps and the blues. You really won't know what works and what doesn't until you feel it in your own body.

The bottom line is that hatha yoga is full of contradictions and varied opinions, leaving each of us ultimately responsible for our own choices. Pay attention to your body and discover what works and what doesn't—not just during your period but every day."

(article written by Barbara Benagh. Taken from the Yoga Journal website)

What about inversions while pregnant? That's next...

miraculous practice...

Has yoga changed your life? It's pretty likely, since just about everyone who practices yoga has been touched in some way by its transformative power. Maybe you simply feel better in your body. Perhaps you've experienced more profound changes in your life, relationships, and worldview. But because these changes often take place over time, as a part of a subtle and organic process, it can sometimes be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about yoga that helps you to live a better life.

Tantra scholar Rod Stryker says that to truly understand why yoga is so transformative, you first have to understand the concept of transformation. The idea that yoga changes you into someone better than the person you were before is something of a misconception. It is more accurate to say that yoga helps you remove the obstacles that obscure who you really are, that it helps you come into a fuller expression of your true nature. We're not transforming into something we aspire to, we're transforming into the very thing that we are innately: our best Self.

One way yoga encourages transformation is by helping you to shift patterns you've developed over time, patterns that may be unhealthy. When you put your body into a pose that is foreign and you stick with it, you learn how to take a new shape. Taking this new shape with the body can lead you to learn how to take a new shape with the mind. If practiced correctly, yoga asana breaks down the psychological, emotional, physical, energetic, and psychic obstacles that inhibit us from thriving.

Yoga also teaches you how to make better decisions. Everything about practicing yoga involves intention - you set apart time in your day to do it, you move in a specific manner, breathe in a specific way. And when you are mindful and deliberate in your yoga practice, you create the opportunity to become more mindful and deliberate in your life. The people who stick with yoga realize that they make decisions that are more constructive than destructive. "I often tell my students that one of two things will happen after you do yoga for a few years: Either you will begin to change for the better, or you will stop doing yoga" (Stryker).

Perhaps most important, your yoga practice allows you a glimpse of the joyful and free person you can be. Practicing asana shows you that you can accomplish things you never thought you could. At first, we think, "There's no way I am going to be able to do a Headstand." And then, in little increments, we start to gain the confidence. And then all of a sudden we can do it. When you're lying in Savasana at the end of a yoga practice, after you have worked hard and felt thoroughly present and connected to your body, that sense of joy and freedom you experience is an expression of your true nature. Even though it may be fleeting, it shows you what is possible.

For a look at yoga's amazing healing power, read Julie Peoples-Clark's story. Her daughter was born with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy as the result of mistakes made by the birthing center, and Julie (mom) fell into a deep depression. She says that yoga saved her life. May her story inspire you to trust in the practice and in the answers that arise from getting to know your own Self.

"The only limitations are those in your head. Everything else is just a technical problem."

~Julie Peoples-Clark

(Reference: Yoga Journal 2010)

Why the right side?...

"Why does my teacher always say to roll to the right side at the end of savasana?"

I've heard this question a few times, so I researched it! The most straight forward, anatomical answer is that your heart is on your left side so when you roll to your right, your heart is above the organs on your right side thus putting less weight on the heart. It’s not that big of a deal, but if you rolled to your left, the heart would have a bit more pressure on it after savasana.

However, if you're craving a little more depth on the subject (like me) I've done the research...

The concept of polarity, or balancing the opposites, is vital to both Yoga and Indian traditional life. The right side of the body is related to the solar/positive/masculine flows of energy that are manifest by the surya nadi, which is correlated to the termination of the pingala nadi (a major prana nadi which flows along the right side of the spine). The left side is related to the lunar/negative/feminine flows of energy that are manifest by the chandra nadi, which is said to be the termination of the ida nadi (along the left side of the spine).We must also remember that even the term Hatha Yoga, which means “sun and moon,” has the right side placed before the left in its esoteric association of ha with the sun and tha with the moon (Hatha).

There are also some physical reasons for this:

If the goal is ‘action’ and one has ‘things’ to do after a practice, one rolls to the right side. It is generally recommended that one get up from bed by rolling to their right side, as it is energetically linked to ‘action’. If one is trying to remain calm, or preparing for bed, one should roll to the left side.

• Rolling to the right side of the body is rolling away from the heart (less pressure and weight on the rested and open heart).
• Pausing on the right side allows the students natural blood pressure to reach it’s potential homeostasis.
• Resting on the right side allows the energy to be redirected in the present moment as needed and circulated appropriately.

Sat Nam,

Free Yoga Sunday is back!...

Free Yoga Sunday at 1st Ave Rocks is back!

Class is at 5:00pm every Sunday.
Free, donation only class.
Lead by me.

The yoga room at 1st Ave Rocks is so magical. It's small and intimate but the icing on the cake is... HEAT! A lovely heated (not hot, just heated) practice will leave you stretched out, relaxed, and full of peace!

See you soon!



See the Birmingham Yoga link under "my class schedule" for directions to 1st Ave Rocks and other class info.

Quote of the Day...

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." (Christopher Robin to Pooh)

~A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)