Do you consider yourself an emotional person? Do you feel like you’re happy one minute and angry the next? Although you very well could be having a rough day, blood sugar has a lot to do with mood and energy regulation and it’s a lot simpler than you would think to keep it under control.

I would call myself a very “emotionally reactive” kind of person. My family and friends don’t really know what to expect from me from day-to-day – little did I know how much that has to do with my blood sugar and not so much with my “all over the place” kind of personality.

Half Boat Pose / Ardha Navasana 

Benefits:

Strengthens core.

Improves posture.

Can strengthen arms, legs, and back.

Foundation & General Alignment:

Start sitting up with knees bent and towards chest.

Lean back and at the same time raise feet up, keep knees bent.

Balance body solely on butt bones.

Keep entire body engaged.

Back is as straight as possible.

Hands are extended out in front of body or can also be at sides.

Condiments are great. There are so many of them, and they can always make or break a dish. Two of my favorite condiments are peanut butter and jelly, a diehard classic. One day, while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I wondered how easy it would be to make my own peanut butter and jelly condiments from scratch. You’ll be delighted to know that it’s very easy (and tasty!). It just takes a little time, patience, and dedication. The best part is, you have full control over the ingredients list.

Never had your astrological chart read? Always wanted to know what it's like? Tune in here for Basmati Editor Ursula Squire's second time getting her Soul Chart read!

Turmeric, botanically known as Curcuma longa, has long been revered as a sacred plant for healers of many traditions. Used as food, medicine, and in ritual, this rhizomatous plant holds a well-respected power.   

Most people think plants love summer – but that’s not exactly true.  Summer can mean more bugs, too much sun, too little water, and too high heat, and some plants handle these hurdles a little better than others.  Even for plants that don’t thrive in the throes of summer, there are things you, the gardener, can do to help them get through the heat.  Here’s a list of 11 essential tips for every summer gardener.

Tip 1: Place birdbaths throughout your garden.

Kava Kava (Piper methysticum) is native to the Western Pacific Islands region. Captain Cook is responsible for the naming of the kava plant, though he didn’t actually discover it. The Latin name Piper methysticum translates to “intoxicating pepper.” The terms “kava” and “kava kava” are both used often and refer to the same plant.

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity.  Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto).  And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary

Welcome to Healing Journeys - a corner of Basmati.com where you can read about our team's real experiences with different holistic healing modalities. Trying a new type of healing can be overwhelming and you might first want to hear about someone's experience before taking the plunge. Healing Journeys will cover many different types of healing.

Many years ago, after a few hours on a sweltering beach, my friend and I gathered ourselves and climbed the dunes to a restaurant. It was on the patio there that we two tired, over-sunned young girls were brought back to life by generous bowls of cool, hearty, earthy gazpacho. Every summer since, when the temperatures soar, I think: soup.  And although I love a good tomato gazpacho, it’s just the beginning.