The watery sign of Cancer has arrived with the height of the summer solstice. With the turning of her tides we find ourselves moved by our emotional bodies more than any other time of the year. Cancer is the Mother, the Moon, and the protective crab and to best support the energies she brings we lean on the Moonstone and wear Pearls.
The artichoke has origins in the Mediterranean basin. It is a member of the thistle family and evolved from the cardoon plant. It is the bud part of the plant before it flowers, which is edible. It is composed of triangular scales around the central choke known as the heart and only the lower half or fleshy part of each scale can be eaten, but the heart is the most delectable part of the artichoke. The immature bud can be eaten in its entirety.
The other week I posted a news story on Facebook with commentary that I have compassion for robbers and the robbed, and was met with so much vitriol it astounded me. People I didn’t know called me a moron (and worse), told me to get off of Facebook, and more. What I heard over and over again was, “I’m poor and I’ve never robbed anyone.” That’s great! I’m glad there are poor people that don’t rob others. Keep not robbing.
Nothing beats a nice summer BBQ with fresh, seasonal foods and good company. Even when you're not at a BBQ or special occasion, you can still bring in the bounty of summer with these four recipes. All of them incorporate in-season produce. I highly recommend going to the local farmers market and picking up the ingredients for these recipes from there, as it will enhance your dishes greatly.
Picture a scantily attired competitor performing a series of stunts on a spotlighted stage at the Westin Los Angeles. Two billboard-sized screens broadcast every miniscule muscle twitch to a room of more than a thousand spectators, who are silent except for the MCs commentating between performances. A row of scrutinizing judges award points for each maneuver based on its difficulty and the skill and grace with which it’s executed.
After going through a few hard months, I've recently been able to really focus on looking within and getting myself back to balance. I of course went for my go-to methods of relaxation and energy healing; meditation and yoga, but I also came across something called somatic therapy, which really piqued my interest.
I spent a four-month period immersed in Traditional Hatha Yoga practices and teachings in an ashram in northern India. It was transformative, to say the least. As a base to all the other teachings and philosophies, we were introduced, one by one, into five of the six main shatkarma practices found in the ancient Ayurvedic texts which later inspired hatha yoga texts such as Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Swami Svatmarama.
It might be tempting to pop a Tylenol, Aleve, or an even more potent, potentially prescriptive drug to relieve pain, but the side effects and risks might not be worth it. If natural alternatives are available–that don’t cause side effects like nausea, stomach pain, rashes, headaches, heartburn, and rare conditions like anemia, bleeding of the stomach, chronic heart failure, and depression–what's there to lose?
Benefits:
Great hip opener.
Opens chest.
Stretches thighs, hips, and shoulders.
Foundation & General Alignment:
Start in pigeon prep pose, bring back leg up bent at knee -- and if able, bend arm back and grab hold of foot.
Feet are flexed and font bent foot is parallel to top of mat.
Keep hips squared.
Back is slightly bent so hand can grab foot.
Chest is open, head is looking forwards.
I have a complicated relationship with my Amazon Echo and Dot, the hands-free, voice-controlled devices Amazon developed as a user-interface for Alexa, their answer to Siri and other intelligent personal assistants. The Echo and Dot devices can be used as Bluetooth speakers, but their most well-known function is to allow users to interact with Alexa – you can search the web, buy stuff directly from Amazon (because, of course!), listen to music, get news briefings, and more – all by simply talking to the device.