Happy New Year!!!!

First, I would like to wish all of you a fantastic 2009!! Happy New Year!

Next, I would like to state that I don't do resolutions. I have done them maybe three times and each time I have completed whatever I resolved to do. When I want to do something, I don't need new years to make it happen.

This year things are a little different. It isn't just the start of a new year for me, it is the start of a new decade. In 2009, I will be turning 40. I would like to modify a few things.

I spent the past ten years dealing with Hashimoto's Thyroidits. http://www.medicinenet.com/hashimotos_thyroiditis/article.htm Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a type of autoimmune thyroid disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland. For most people, it is simply a function of taking a synthetic hormone and you function just fine. For me, no such luck. For ten years, I have been unable to find a stable level. I have a new doctor that is fantastic. Unfortunately, I let my stress level run away with me and added an adrenal problem as well. I have to stabilize this before I can stabilize the thyroid problem as they work hand in hand.

I have had enough. I am not doing this for another decade. I am sure that there are things that I can do to help myself. Now it just so happens that I am a Bikram Yoga junkie. I have read over and over again that yoga is one of the best things you can do for hormonal issues. Time to turn it up a bit.

So here are the first two things I want to work on for 2009 ~ now this doesn't mean that I will be able to do them by year end, but working toward doing them both is a goal. The photos above show a woman named Britton Jeffries during a yoga championship competition. I think her postures are so beautiful!! Kudos to you Britton! The top photo is full camel and the bottom is standing bow. I want to move my practice to get to this level of expression with my camel and standing bow.

For those of you not familiar with Bikram yoga, it is not uncommon that when you start camel you feel a little nauseated when you are in this posture. After over 2.5 years, I can still feel a little "off" in the posture. For the first time, in December I started doing the posture a little differently so as to move toward this more advanced version of the posture and getting a deeper back bend. I can tell you that I wasn't nauseated ~ I was in a full blown, surreal "I saw God" moment. (no disrespect intended to anyone) I almost lost my lunch from a week ago. WOW.

As far as standing bow is concerned, I am working hard on it as well. Whenever I see someone in class that I know has a great standing bow, I try to practice within view of that person. I get so inspired when I see someone do the postures with such grace, elegance and precision. It motivates me to visualize myself doing the perfect version of the posture.

(on a very side note that very few of you will understand, these are the moments that I wish that I had Jenny to tell me to do it. Now she is big on holding you back when you needed it but she is also big on pushing you to get over any fear or reservation you have. Jenny knows how to make a yogi unlike any other. If Jenny tells you it is good, it rocks.)

But Bikram yoga alone isn't enough. I have started to read about foods and how what I eat affects how I feel. This also is not new to me. Long before the days of Clairton I took classes learning about what foods would help me with my allergies (both to consume and to avoid). Now I am not only concerned with the basics but what foods have artificial ingredients that may be affecting me. What foods can help boost my system where it is weak? What foods are hurting me?

I cook for my dogs. They don't eat any dry pellet food. I tried them all to help Max with his IBD. I gave up on fake food and now they eat venison, chicken, turkey, veggies, organic rice and Force from The Honest Kitchen http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml. Since I have done this, they eat more, weigh less and Max's IBD is virtually gone! They have shiny coats, lots of energy and are happy and healthy.

I hardly think that my dogs are a fair scientific sampling however, I also noticed that when I drink Cha Cha Cherry juice from Arden's Garden http://www.ardensgarden.com/main_html.html, my joints don't ache (another fun side effect from hypothyroidsim). Cherry juice is great for arthritis pain. OK, so instead of taking Tylenol I can drink juice and never experience the pain to begin with?!? Again, not a fair sampling however what am I risking by NOT pursuing better choices?

Finally, I want my long hair back. It was all cut off in October as they said it was "damaged". Fine, time for it to grow back! I miss it.

So, here is to a more healthy 2009!

Namaste!