Internal dialogue shifts to “Do I need a jacket?” “I need to remember to wear layers.” “I’ll start carrying a light scarf.”

We are arriving at the sandhi “the joint” of the seasons. It’s a magical, mystical time of transition, where the outer environment is signaling a shift. It’s an opportunity to mix things up and carries excitement for something new.

A new wardrobe. A new pulse to the day. New recipes. A new set of activities to look forward to…

What else might change?

Maybe, greater permission to go within, slow down, and have more gaps in the day for just being.

These are the blessings of the Fall season. These are the blessings of change. And these are the blessing of Vata.

Vata is the archetype of the union of Air and Ether, and therefore has the qualities of dry, light, cold, rough, hard, mobile, clear, subtle.

These elements and their respective qualities are activated during the Fall, so Fall is classified as a Vata season.

Without Vata we would get bored. Nothing would change. We owe the rhythm of the day, the year, and our life to Vata’s pulsating force of change.

Vata brings a freshness to our being with which we meet life with renewed vitality and vigor. It is the essence of excitement. You feel it in the air. It’s in that morning chill. It’s heralding something new is on the horizon for you, and it feels so good!

… if your doshas are in balance.

If you are already over-worked, stressed, anxious, and not sleeping well, this change of seasons with its mobile, light, dry, subtle, clear, and cold qualities could very well push you over the edge. Whether you express excitement or anxiety depends on your baseline state. When you are already “Vata-up,” more change just makes you more aggravated.

I want you to get excited about Fall and all the opportunity the freshness of this experience provides. Your outer world is gently nudging you and guiding you to adapt your life, and all you need to do is listen.

… and follow these 10 steps so that you get to feel all that Fall is meant to be.

1. Wear a light scarf. Keep your neck covered, even in a tank top. The cool breezy currents in and around the throat make you more susceptible to fall colds and flus.
2. Eat more. It’s time to start shifting from the lightness of summer, when appetite and agni plummet, to more food, heavier foods, and more grounding foods, such as root vegetables, nuts, seeds, and more protein. Prepare food warm, cooked, and soupy. Kitchari is the perfect fall food. If you were eating 2 meals a day, just lunch and dinner, you’ll likely do better with adding in a small breakfast.
3. Add more healthy fats. This doesn’t mean fried. Just be more liberal with cooking and dressing oils. Choose oils according to their smoke points and your dosha.
4. Use more warming, digestive spices such as, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, bay leaves, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. This will minimize the gas, bloating, and irregular digestion that can be the hallmark of this season. Also, this is a real opportunity to get more creative, even with simple recipes – adding in some extra cinnamon where you don’t expect it (like in black beans) or some pumpkin spice into your golden milk.
5. Limit caffeine. Caffeine depletes your adrenal glands, challenges your nervous system, and interferes with restorative sleep. Your hormones and nervous system are already adapting to seasonal change in addition to their usual managing of modern life. They need soothing, not more challenges.
6. Anchor in your daily routine – with regular sleep, wake, and mealtimes. This may not seem as important as it actually is. Remember babies. What’s one of the most important things for their wellbeing?  A schedule. When it comes to the nervous system, some things don’t change.
7. Oil your body. Be sure to include your ears, the top of your head, and the soles of your feet, as these are your prime energy exits. Oil both in and on the body balances the dryness in the air caused by the wind blowing around during this season. This is also the ultimate self-care practice in Ayurveda – abhyanga. If it’s not yet part of your daily routine, fall is the time.
8. Practice mindfulness. Movement in the mind is one of the biggest drivers for movement and irregularity in the body. Your entire day can be a meditation if you stay present to what you are actually doing in that moment. This is so simple, so powerful, and so often overlooked.
9. Favor quality over quantity. You need to create space for magic and mystery. When things are changing, there is a tendency to start and stop multiple things without completion and to collect the unnecessary. Remember to focus on just a few things that bring you joy. More things and more activities don’t equal more joy. If often equals less.
10. Plant Yourself. The elements of Fall are Air and Ether, therefore Earth brings the most balance. Spend time in nature to align with natural rhythm. Touch the earth with your hands and feet. Try to minimize time on the internet and escapes such alcohol and recreational drugs that disembody you – connecting you with the Ether versus the Earth.

Follow these 10 steps, and you will have balanced the

dry, light, cold, rough, hard, mobile, clear, subtle

Vata qualities of this season.

From this place of balance, you can tune into the frequency of Fall’s potential.

From this place of balance, you can alchemize anxiety to excitement, disembodiment to insight, and frenzy to inspiration.

I hope you enjoy the Fall.

Nisha Khanna MD

To learn more about Vata and how to balance doshas to disease visit my Ayurveda Foundations Course or Ayurvedic Self-Care Course.

Please note this content is for medical purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

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You are a Whole Body.  So doesn’t it make sense that what happens in one part of you influences other parts?  In Western medicine, we often get so segmented with a specialist for everything.  A return to a whole being approach is necessary for true health and vitality and to address concerns at a whole-person, root-cause level.

We don’t know exactly how these conversations between the gut and vagina happen, but there is cross-talk between all mucosal surfaces. There is an interconnection on a molecular (and energetic) level between the microbiomes of your sinuses, mouth, lungs, GI tract, and vagina – with the GI tract being the loudest contributor.  One likely reason for this interrelationship is that embryologically, some of these tissues share the same origin in the ectoderm.

I’ve treated many women with gut-restoration protocols, who reported almost as an unexpected, very welcome, happy side-effect that they noticed an increase in vaginal lubrication, increased sexual desire, and increased pleasure after treatment. Functional Ayurveda is definitely in the business of providing happy, welcome side-effects – with many patients also reporting that concurrent to a gut protocol their skin cleared up, their personality shifted to a happy, peaceful, optimist, and their insomnia resolved.

The following information is a reduction and does not detail post-menopausal vaginal support. Vaginal lubrication diminishes with a loss of estrogen around menopause.  However, the drop is less significant if the gut and adrenal system are supported. (More on that, in another article.)

The information also does not address the impact of sexual trauma on vaginal health.

The Mechanism:

 Now that you know your parts are connected, let’s delve into the ‘how?’ and the ‘why?’

Remember the expression, ‘you are what you eat.’  Yes, and more specifically, ‘you are what your bugs eat.’ You decide with each meal which bugs you are going to feed today.  That’s a powerful concept!  You are the mom, nurturer, caretaker, and custodian of your body.  It’s for you to decide who lives and dies in your gut today.

If you feed health-promoting bugs such as Lactobacilli what they like to eat, they will thrive and crowd out dysbiotic (unhealthy) bugs. Healthy bacteria are responsible for maintaining a healthy, functional vaginal lining, that does its job well – creates lubrication. Good bugs like to eat fiber. Bag bugs like to eat processed food and simple carbohydrates. So it’s up to you.  Who are you going to feed?

And sometimes, it’s not about feeding at all.  There is simply mass annihilation with an antibiotic.

When you take an antibiotic for a respiratory infection in your sinuses and end up with a yeast infection in your vagina, it’s because the antibiotics wiped out your good bacteria EVERYWHERE. It’s a competition for space and nutrients on your mucosal surfaces. With the good guys gone, anything not killed by the antibiotic, including things like resistant harmful bacteria, yeast, parasites, and viruses, takes over.

Then, you are starting from scratch and will likely never regain some of those ancient, good strains, no matter how much celery you eat. (That’s why we reserve antibiotics as a last resort, giving your immune system a chance to fight, before we wipe everything out – solving a short-term problem, but creating a very big, future mess.)

Common vaginal infections include:

Acute yeast infections: often a no-brainer barrier to sex or sexual interest.  Not only is there an absence of lubrication, but the vaginal lining can burn and feel raw.

Acute bacterial vaginosis: often does not go unmissed because of a copious, foul-smelling discharge. It is caused by an overgrowth of dysbiotic bacteria in the vagina.

Chronic low-level yeast or dysbiotic overgrowth: will lead to a functional decrease in vaginal lubrication and hence, sexual interest and desire.

In all of these instances, there is a disruption in the healthy balance of bacteria. Many women alternate between yeast and bacterial vaginosis infections or are co-infected with both. Some cases are alarming and others are mild, often going untreated and leading to a functional decrease in vaginal lubrication.

Key To-Do’s:

1. The first step is awareness. Now you remember that you can’t squeeze in one place, without creating a bulge in another.  You are a whole human and cannot be treated in parts.
2. Consider a 2-4 week experiment of removing simple carbs from your diet. Simple carbs are processed carbohydrates with the fiber removed.  They include things like fruit juices, candy, and refined breads and pasta.
3. Eat wholegrain – which means that you can see the individual grains, such as in oats, quinoa, or brown rice. Eg. quinoa pasta would have a higher sugar burden than wholegrain quinoa and therefore be a more bad-bug friendly food. Know that large shifts can happen in your microbiome within just 3 days.
4. Avoid antibiotics when possible. Consult with a Functional MD for guidance – someone who is going to carefully listen to you and be aware of your long-term best interests, but also know when the benefit of antibiotics outweighs the cost.
5. Consider a gut cleanse and reset, with the addition of anti-dysbiotic herbs and specific probiotics, followed by a gut rejuvenation plan. Most people need one as a foundational part of treatment, wellness, and disease prevention. My online Gut Cleanse and Reset Guide can be accessed via the Healing Courses tab of my website.

Why is vaginal health important?

Whether you choose to express yourself sexually or not, your vaginal health is a window to the health of your whole being.

Sexually, your ability to feel pleasure and experience and maintain vaginal orgasms directly relates to your innate lubrication.  (I’m not talking about clitoral orgasms – the short, sharp, good, but also disappointing in their depth variety.) Vaginal orgasms are connective, creative experiences that enlighten you to the power of your being and the joy of your spirit’s existence and expression.

Those are the ones you want, and it takes good gut health to get there.

I hope this information helps and inspires you to consider cutting the simple carbs and seeing how you feel. Your Whole Body will thank you.

Nisha Khanna MD

Functional Ayurveda

This content is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

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Funny enough, today, I’m still asking myself that.

How do we know when we have arrived?

Is it working that coveted job? Leaving the corporate job and becoming a holistic wellness practitioner? Getting married? Having kids? Then the child’s milestones and their marriage? Grandchildren? Retirement?

Life tends to slip by so quickly, yet we know all along that something intangible is whispering for our attention.  “Is there more?”  “Am I missing something?” We don’t know what to do about this nagging, so we refocus our attention on the milestones.

Then, before we know it, the body is ailing and aging.  The dreams of youth have given way to the ups and downs and obligations of life.  Now the physical body has taken priority over any emotional, intangible sense of lack.  Now we have one to a few medical diagnoses and a life history, our story, as we continue to be carried by milestones — birthdays, holidays, summer vacations, graduation, New Year’s…

Such is the wheel of life, and it keeps on spinning.

We’re all on the wheel, that rolls out into a timeline. However, you can stop it long enough for you to see yourself on the wheel.  You can evaluate which way you are spinning and change direction if you like, or get off the ride entirely and choose another.

I’m inviting you to pause now on the cusp of this next New Year and congratulate yourself for all the milestones you’ve reached.  Take a look at the past 10 or 20 years and acknowledge all the old goals you had and met. Wow!  And how about this past year, or even your to-do list from last week.

You have already accomplished so much.  It’s so easy to forget, because the old milestones have been reached, and you’ve moved on to the next thing. We can live so much of our lives in a state of lack because our next goals are ever on the horizon.  Moreover, we can carry a vague sense of unfulfillment because we haven’t updated our goals and clarified what we truly want now, which evolves as you change.

How are you defining success today?

Professionally, at 28, I just wanted to finish medical school and finally work as a doctor.  Five years later, that wasn’t enough; I wanted to learn more about how to prevent disease, not just treat it.  After 2 years of Ayurvedic training in New Mexico, I wanted to integrate medicine and build a life in Austin.  One year later, I craved financial stability over start-up risk.  After two years of a last full return to corporate medicine, I defined success as sensibly building my own thriving medical practice. Now, one year into developing my Integrative practice, in addition to continuing individual consultations, I feel called to share and educate groups as well and write an Integrative book.  As you can see, my idea of success at 28 looks quite different than my vision now at 40.

Part of these moments of stillness is to realize that the endpoint is shifting, and therefore not an end at all. Reaching one goal leads to the next. This is also how we know we are growing and is what gives us the drive to be alive.

Congratulate yourself for reflecting long enough to truly see yourself.   Present-You loves Past-You for all the lessons you brought it. Future-You loves your excitement but is reminding you that how you do something is as important as what you do.

Stop also to check-in and see if you are creating goals and living your life in alignment with your deepest passions and sharing your most unique gifts. If you are not used to living this way, it can be daunting and feel impossible.  However, even a fraction of attention to something you personally desire is better for you than none at all. It paves the way for more. It’s not too late.

So pause with me. Celebrate your life — milestones and goals, past and future.  And, as you are drawing up your New Year goals, seek the truest alignment with who you are today, remembering to listen to that inner whisper of dreams that may still blossom if given the fertile ground, the space, for your creativity and play.

Happy New Year!

Nisha

This content is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

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You are here.
You chose to be here.
You chose your parents, your physical form, your gifts, your weaknesses, your trauma.
You are not a victim.
You are in charge.
You are in charge of what you think next, what you feel next, what you do next.
You are in charge of your “re-action” to the past and your action in the present.

Stop looking back. Stop looking out there. Touch your body. Feel your breath. Come back in here. Be in your body, now. Your release is in your body.

Nobody, no matter what their life looks like, is happier than you. We are all sharing every emotion in this human consciousness soup. So “re-member” that you and your sadness are not unique. Your loneliness is just a forgetting that everyone is truly alone. Alone with their thoughts and emotions. Alone on their soul’s journey. And there’s a togetherness in everyone being alone. See?

So stand up. Breathe. Deeply. Fill each aspect of your lungs with life. Breathe in the gratitude that you can draw breath. The only difference between you and a spirit is that you have a body and draw breath. It’s a gift.

Remember your gifts, those given to you and those you have to give. Today, affirm that you will discover, uncover, and use your gifts. Your unique special talents that you chose as offerings to the altar of your soul’s remembrance and as your gifts to humanity.

Use your next breath to utter an expression of love, gratitude, praise.
Use the next gesture of your hand as an offering of love, service, or assistance.
Use your Prana to create more Prana.

There’s no room for sadness to linger or take ahold of you, if you step outside, breathe in fresh air, and help someone who needs you. There are plenty of living beings that do.

The problem is thinking too small. Expand your focus to include more life, to include your neighbor, to include the world, and you will come into now, this precious now, and into what you are going to do with now.

Here are some steps to take now:

Go outside.

Take a few really deep breaths.

Shake your body all over for at least 2 min or 10 to 15 min (like no-one’s watching.)

Smile for 1 minute straight.

Wash your hair, get in or under some running water.

Listen to some vibrational sounds like Jonathan Goldman or in person  — a crystal bowl or a gong soundbath.

Nisha

This content is intended for educational/inspirational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice or to replace psychotherapy, the care of a psychiatrist, or the seeking of urgent medical or psychiatric attention.

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1) Get my head wet. I don’t wash my hair every day; so when in a funk, I at least wash my hair, but preferably submerge my whole head in a body of water. Natural spring water or a salt-water pool is preferable.

2) Vigorous exercise. Gentle to moderate exercise is my norm – so a really hard sweat and racing heartbeat are great to move physical and mental toxins around and out. Sauna therapy is a great substitute if you cannot exercise

3) A light fast. When I’m down and negative, I may crave heavy, tamasic food. The opposite is what I need to unfunk. My usual diet is pretty satvic (light/yogic), so taking it a step further is what works best. A fast on a veggie-heavy, mineral-rich broth balances out heavy qualities within the being, and the willpower exerted in a light fast, ignites mental Agni(clarity), clearing out the clouds and murk of a funk.

4) Journaling with my higher self. This is one of my favorites and works really well in conjunction with the others. We have all the wisdom within to delve deep into the root cause of the funk. We just need to connect and write it out. Enter into an actual Q and A dialogue with this part of you, and let your subconscious pour out onto the page. It’s really quite amazing for me each time.

5) Spiritual Reading. Funks can only exist with a microcosmic focus, me and my small world of “i”. Any work that expands your focus to the macrocosm (as both a part of creation, and Creator of your creation) is helpful.

6) Do something nice for someone else. This is surprisingly effective. Focusing on your role in serving someone else helps expand that funky microfocus.

7) Humming or toning. A meditation practice I learned last year, essentially calls for you to hum on each exhale. It’s really simple. Inhale through the nose, exhale hum. This is one of my all-star favorites. 30 minutes of this will definitely unfunk you. At least that’s the case for me. Even a few minutes of it goes a long way.

Being in the light (mental clarity, positivity, connectivity, joy) feels like home to me. So, it’s really uncomfortable when I’m not. We all have ups and downs. There’s nothing wrong with being down and relaxing into it. The discomfort arises in wanting something else, something to be different. Let’s honor wherever we are. There’s no shame. Sometimes just the allowing and acceptance of a state is all we need. It’s ok to be in a slump. It’s ok to be anxious. It’s ok to have a melt-down. And, when you’re ready, when you want something different, these are the things I do to shift my mind, body, and spirit back to home.

I hope this helps. Please share in the post ways you unfunk yourself.

Nisha

p.s. You are not your mood. You are always and eternally peace, love, and boundless joy. Our physical existence can cloud and murk our realization of this truth. So unfunking methods only serve to facilitate this remembering.

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Have you been in a conflict with your partner, where you felt misunderstood?  Unappreciated?  Insulted even?

I’d be surprised and impressed if you hadn’t.

The Feminine’s instinct here is to close.  “Fine, you don’t see me.  You don’t value me.  See what life is like without me!”

We give the silent treatment.  “Nothing’s wrong.  I’m fine!”

Clearly something is wrong.  You want them to definitely know something is wrong and struggle/squirm a little in the discomfort of knowing your pain. Realize their mistake.  Apologize sincerely and reaffirm their true love for you. 

It’s a challenge to not withdraw when we are triggered.  One, I’m curious to overcome.

David Deida diagrams the highest feminine evolute as – Being Love.  Moving from needing to receive love from others, to giving herself the love she seeks, to actually embodying Love itself.

What a concept!  To be the Love we seek.  Love does not close.  It is forever open, whole, and desires to flow.

So in that setting, where I feel triggered by my partner, “You wouldn’t say that or do that if you loved me,” and my instinct is to retreat, my current approach is to stay open, steady, and ready to flow.

Most disagreements are founded in unmet needs.  Superimposing your own unmet needs, in reaction, does not attempt to address the root.

I had a soul dialogue where I asked,

“Have we learned boundaries?  Are we ready to go beyond the lesson of establishing boundaries, maintaining all the learning, and in the heated moment, stay open in listening and love?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Let love soothe and cool the wound – yours and your partner’s.  Then patiently, maybe hours later, address your unmet desires and needs. Often at this point, in light of your compassion, presence, and responsiveness, your partner will admit some responsibility for their thoughts, words, and actions.

I’m not suggesting you be a doormat.  I’m just saying, there comes a point where the answer is simply, “More Love!”

as we ask ourselves, “What would Love do?”

love,

Nisha

This content does not constitute medical advice and is intended for educational purposes only.

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“A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans that it receives through listening to wisdom that is not its own. It waits until it has been taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it. It does not depend upon itself for anything except its adequacy to fulfill the plans assigned to it. It is secure in certainty that obstacles can not impede its progress to accomplishment of any goal that serves the greater plan established for the good of everyone.”

– A Course In Miracles

At first glance, this quote sounds like a dangerous surrender of personal will to a leader and communist/cult thought that was employed to brainwash masses.

Yes, but it’s not that.  It’s an invitation to commune with yourself, with your highest self, and realign with what serves your highest good.  What serves your highest (immaterial) good also always serves the good of everyone, because at the highest numerator we have the same denominator.

This quote was so timely for me last week. I found myself contracting around really wanting something that I thought was the perfect fit for me – the perfect next step in my future. It was all I could think about, circling back to it throughout the day, despite my best intentions to be surrendered. I felt like I was choking, not walking the walk.

Why was I so susceptible to being rocked and swayed?

My root chakra was stagnant and frozen in fear. Fear of how will I survive?  Will I be safe? Will I be able to meet my basic needs? This constriction next blocked the energy in my sacral chakra, (in all my chakras!) and I wasn’t able to flow. Fear by its nature of sympathetic arousal mobilizes muscles but is paralytic to consciousness.

I read this quote, and it resonated and bumped me out of my contraction as I remembered the words. It was only after I considered the worst outcome and realized that it was actually better and further away than the associated suffering in anticipation of not getting what I wanted, that I was able to fully be at peace, regardless of the outcome.

I can use my best discernment and do all I can to what I intend. Although I may think I know best, there may indeed be something better —  better for me, more aligned with my higher self’s goals, and potentially the greater good. The key for me is discernment of obligation versus inspiration. Am I acting from fear and obligation? Or from inspiration and creation?

Afterall, I didn’t get that thing I really wanted, that I thought I really needed. I still think it would have been great. I am also open to something better. More time to play, expand, and morph into whatever it is that is most aligned with my highest purpose.

Maybe the point of it all was a reminder of the obligation versus inspiration axis and then maybe to remind you here.

A healed mind gives its best effort and surrenders — to the inner wisdom that knows it is safe, whole, calm, and certain. A healed mind acts from inspiration. If you are acting out of fear, fracture, pain, or cloudiness you are mostly likely not listening to a healed mind. You are probably listening to the nagging voice in your head, that circles and encircles till it chokes flow. The voice of a healed mind is clear, calm, and certain. It is whole with or without that thing you want/need. It is open and patient to be directed by the wisdom within you that frolics in freedom and divine flow.

Here’s to not getting what I wanted but being open to the lesson and something better!

Love,

Nisha

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I just published my first book!

It’s a book of poems! and is dedicated to all women open to miracles.  Titled “Drops of Gold, Poems for The Modern Day Enlightened Woman,” I use the word enlightenment to mean the process of bringing in more light.

Over the past few months, I had a miraculous flow of creativity and inspiration spill out onto the page.
The book is a compilation of 69 poems, many of which flowed such that the first line was a repetitive nag in my head, till I wrote it down.  Then, within about a minute, the whole poem was written.  I noticed I would try to step out of the way and just write the first thing that came into my head.  I had little regard for whether it would make sense.  Somehow, the poem would come together beautifully, better than I could have conceived if I had thought hard about it.

I’m so excited to compile these drops into a book and share it with whoever wishes to hold a copy.
It’s available on Amazon, and of course, in person if you would like a signed copy when I see you.

With so much love,

Nisha

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I first learned of it in a crash-Course in Miracles last year. I felt it. I wanted to avidly write about it back then, but I didn’t know if I could sustainably put it into practice. After a windy road of loving it and then mostly forgetting it, I’m back. It’s the only thing that matters. All truths point here.

Taking a step back in Esalen, I realized that there is no way, absolutely no way, my body can be completely healthy if I harbor even an ounce of resentment or criticism of another being. Those molecules of anger, comparison, separation etc. become part of my body and create dissonance and disease. You see, each cell’s highest, healthiest vibration is love and gratitude, so anything out of sync with this feeling equals disharmony.

I want to be healthy, so healthy. So the most important question to me is will I let those feelings linger in my body and create disease? What do I value more? Being right and an innocent victim of the world or being healthy?

I know my ego needs those beliefs to feel safe. I can recognize that. I can talk to it and say “yes, I see you are having those thoughts, because you need to feel like you matter and have purpose, and that the world as you know it makes sense to you and is, therefore, a safe place.” The ego is not a bad thing. It’s actually protective for your physical safety. The problem is when it is left unchecked.

Lately, inspired Margot Anand’s writing, I’ve been visualizing my ego as a little, cute kitten that I put into a box. When it asks for attention, I stroke its face, acknowledge its intentions, and understand its needs. I’m not this kitty. I get to decide what I see and feel. I can choose my perception. I can choose my response.

I can choose to see love and innocence. I can choose laughter.

Part 1 in the formula to health then, is letting go of my grievances against humanity and choosing connection over separation. Connection is always the more difficult and profoundly more rewarding option. I can choose to see what I don’t like in my world as a catalyst for my own growth. Then, lingering dis-ease literally doesn’t stand a chance.

Part 2 is surrender. Openness. Allowing. Flow. Presence. Expansion.

That feeling when you want something so bad, that you have to have it yesterday (I’m all too familiar with it) — that’s constriction. Worry about anything eg. your kids, your finances — that’s also constriction. I love the quote “Release your grasp on life. Let what wants to stay, stay. What wants to flow out, leave.”

Step out the way. Be open to the magic. Release your grasp, so that you can allow the pearl to float into your palm.

This world, let it surprise you. Remember, the surprise is so much better than the plan.

Connection plus Surrender equals Health.

No disease can exist in their radiance. But they are also the keys to a magical, miraculous life – one of confidence in Wonder.

When given the option these days, I choose peace. I choose love. I choose trust. I choose magic. I choose my health.

Namaste.

Breath

I love myself so much.

So much, that I show up with bells and bright colors. 

So much, that I raise my hand to question

and my voice to sing.

So much, that I fill the space around me, with my ecstasy.

So much,

that if you don’t swell with me, 

you may feel small.

But that’s not my intention.

I intend to love, live, and breathe. 

With one breath, you can do the same. 

There’s room for you here.

Come now. Breathe with me

And together we’ll expand the world.  

Love,

Nisha

This content is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

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I was on the airplane, listening to an audiobook on the importance of creativity but distracted and perturbed by the gurgling distention in my intestines.

“I preach the path to intestinal health, why am I suffering with this now?” Traditional things hadn’t worked. Most recently, I had tried homeopathy, and it felt like it was almost working but my symptoms would return for no apparent reason. It was perplexing. It was distressing. “I’m going on vacation. Can this just be ok?”

So I pause my audiobook. I stop for a second and ask my body to relax. “Hey, I know, I know. I hear you. It’s been a mess. Maybe it was that day at the lake that did it. But I’ve got this. I’m taking care of you. We are on track. The homeopathy is exactly the right treatment. I’m going to make sure you get a daily dose. Trust me. I got this. I’m going to take care of you. You don’t need to yell anymore.”

And just like that, with one conversation, it calmed down. All of my symptoms subsided in an instant. A couple days later there was a slight hint of a return. I reminded my body to trust me and in the plan. “Hey, it’s ok. I remember. Trust me. You don’t need to tell me again. I’m staying on track. I’m taking care of you.”

It whispered just two more times, again I reassured it, and my symptoms never returned. I knew I was healed. I knew that I physically and spiritually took responsibility for my healing.

You may be familiar with the saying, “All dis-ease is information, not affliction.” When you hurt, you (the “I” in you) does not have a stomach-ache or a back-ache, but your body is simply trying to tell you something. There are two separate entities (you and your body) that can enter into a dialogue. If you listen to it, talk to it, reassure it, make a plan to take care of it, and share the plan with your body, that may just be enough so that the symptoms go away.  Possibly the healing is instantaneous, or it takes a little while.  However, the foundation of friendship is laid.  The communion and communication are present.  Surrender and trust, and then it’s only a matter of time.

Amazing, right! Try it.

–Nisha

Forgive me for calling you fat.

Forgive me for wanting you to be something you’re not.

Forgive me for not accepting you when you changed.

Please know I love you, now and forever.

You are always so gracious, serving me daily.

Wherever I lead, you follow.

Now that I’ve come home, back to you,

I see your glorious curves and softness

Where there was once straighter, colder edges.

I remember your love for and in service to life.

Forgive me, my body, your beauty surprises me,

Because it’s shockingly different, yet familiarly so.

This content is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

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