New Diet, New Yoga

I'm back in my practice and pretty effortlessly too. I wonder that I needed the break. I've been taking lots of Chinese herbs as well as changing my diet to a more cooked vegan style, though I'm by no means a vegetarian. I used to be but I think I will maintain a bit of meat and fish in my diet so it won't be so jarring to my system when I go out to eat or visit my mother (who is a staunch meat-eater). I've been eating lots of lentils, veggies, sea veggies and RICE. LOTS OF RICE. That's the base of all my dishes now. The clinic I go to for acupuncture, etc. advises me on this diet, encouraging no meat consumption so that I don't take on the bad energy of a dead animal and so that I don't have meat rotting in my intestines. Gross, I know but the latter part is valid. Right now I'm eating a bowl of Jasmine rice, "build blood stew" and lentils made with Nori seaweed. It's a very Asian diet. I'm open to it because it suits me. It's easy to eat and digest and I'm probably one of the worst eaters around. You just prepare all this food ahead of time and it lasts forever. I eat small meals frequently (or at least, I'm trying to).

I'm drinking lots of tea, i.e. nettles, red raspberry leaf, earl grey, maté, chamomile, etc. I mix the loose leaves with two teaspoons of raw cane sugar and vanilla soy milk and I'm laughing. It's delicious and I drink lots.

I've also been working on changing my sleeping habits. My goal, by the end of the summer, is to be a morning person so that waking up for early call times for the series won't hurt so bad :) Part of changing those patterns (according to my wellness therapist) is to bring all the lights down around 9:30-10pm and aim to be asleep before midnight. To aid in sleeping, she encourages lavendar baths and meditation. I just bought some specific crystals to help with meditation and sleeping and general health and wellbeing. I'm not sure if I believe in it entirely, but I think even the placebo effect is just as valuable. It's about sending out and receiving good brain vibes, right? So what does it matter if crystals work or don't work? It's the thought that counts (lol).