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COLOURS OF VEGETABLES

Hippocrates said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” Under the guidance of your medical practitioner, can you enquire into ways of reclaiming your health through food? Your daily meals, snacks and anything in between have enormous impact on your physical, emotional and mental health. How couldn’t they, when food is medicine and medicine is food? Brighten your diet with these simple suggestions for a happier, healthier, more energised way of living. Let’s take a look.

EAT THE RAINBOW

When recovering from illness, vegetable soups with soothing oils are extremely nourishing and aid in healing, yet on a regular basis, are you getting enough vegetables in your day? It is not only how many servings of fruits and vegetables you consume daily that’s important for good health, variety is required for an overall healthy system. Do you have the same vegetables day in, day out? Are you regularly choosing the same fruits? One way of mixing things up is to shop for a rainbow of colours. Ask yourself, “Have I eaten green today?”, and “What about blue, have I eaten red, orange, yellows?” These questions only apply to fruits and vegetables; there are no browns in the rainbow. Find out where can you source fresh indigo and purple foods, and consume them. Choosing a variety within each of the rainbow colours opens you to the abundance of life available through food. Aim to eat several different rainbows in every week.

DELIGHT THE SENSES

Try writing a food journal. Start by recalling what you’ve been eating, or think you’ve been eating, as some things creep in without being conscious of them. Be as honest as possible with yourself, then spend a day writing everything down as you eat it. Note your energy levels. Next, chase rainbows – add your rainbow foods to your diet and record each day how you feel. Do this for at least a few weeks, to really notice the changes in your life. Record them, celebrate them, be kind on yourself.

Let the differences motivate you to sourcing a delicious variety of colours, not only for your taste buds, but for your eyes as well. Take a moment to appreciate the sight of the meal on your plate, as abundantly rainbow coloured as possible. Enjoy the visual delight.

Next, smell your meal, be it a fruit salad or a cooked dinner, take in the sights, aromas, sounds, then sensations of touch as you feel each mouthful before digesting. Awakening the senses to an appreciation of what you are about to eat and during the eating process, this is said to help absorb the nutrients more efficiently during a meal. If this is the case, and the more conscious you are of your food, how much do you think you might be absorbing when you mindlessly eat while typing, eat while watching tv, and even when you eat while having a conversation? Take moments for silence to sense your meal. Take pleasure in the food before you. This way you are more likely to only eat what you need, since you are listening and becoming aware of what your body is telling you.

WINDS OF CHANGE: A YOGA SEQUENCE
A PAWANMUTASANA SERIES

This gentle sequence is windrelieving. It is designed to strengthen abdominal muscles and internal organs, relieving gas from your stomach and intestines, and to improve your digestion. It’s a wonderful complement to your new found rainbow food delights! Make sure you practice yoga on an empty stomach, in a place free of distractions.

Firstly, lie down on your back, raise feet off the floor and knees bent as shown. Hold your knees together, hands on top of knees, straightening arms at the elbows. On your exhale, your out-breath, raise your head towards your knees while drawing your abdomen toward your spine. Inhale and release back to the original position, straight arms, head resting on the floor, chin slightly tucked down.

Repeat the sequence six times, working slowly with the breath, then lie flat. Focus on the movement of your breathing, become conscious of your natural breath, letting all worries and fears fall away, and just breathe.

COMMENTS?

I would love to hear from readers as they try on any of the suggestions in the health and wellbeing page. Please get in touch, and email me at info@ kylieterraluna.com.au. I would love to hear how you go.

Kylie Terraluna is a yoga, health and lifestyle feature writer and health journalist. Kylie teaches private yoga and wellbeing coaching sessions, with home visits along the hills to hawkesbury region. She also runs private retreats. Kylie is the Health & WellBeing feature writer for the Hills to Hawkesbury Living Magazine. For more, visit kylieterraluna.com.au.

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