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Ep 3: Ayurveda and The "C" Word

16/1/2020

Cleansing from a western fad perspective is pure diet culture BS. But in Ayurveda the "C" word takes on a somewhat different, multifaceted meaning. This can be both problematic and refreshing depending on your perspective.

In this episode I interview Narayana Commerford, Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, Yoga Teacher, and owner of Evolution Botanicals.

In this episode:

How Ayurveda didn’t accompany yoga to the west, and the effects of this on contemporary yoga practice
Different spiritual practices (e.g. Vipassana, Tantra) are not suited to everyone
Everything can be medicine or harmful, depending on context
Your constitution informs the medicine you need
Diet culture vs. the introspective curiosity inherent to Ayurveda
Ojas, or vitality: is your “cleanse” giving you that?
Cleanses are effective at short-term weight loss, but not effective at long-term weight loss
Keeping digestion healthy is key in Ayurveda
Cleanses and fasting can disrupt agni and metabolism, and aggravate vata
The Magic Bullet Syndrome: cleanses won’t fix the lifestyle problems causing your health issues in the first place
Nara’s experience with chronic fatigue, discovering how stressful dieting was on his body, and how he recovered

Post-interview solo:

Navigating the touchy issue of Ayurvedic “cleansing” amidst the sea of diet culture and accusations of pseudo-science
The differences between a juice cleanse, and pancha karma or “cleansing” in the traditional Ayurvedic sense
Where I feel a few days of kitchari might be appropriate, and where it definitely would not be appropriate
Hardcore cleanses in Ayurveda

Links:

Nara’s company Evolution Botanicals
Website: https://evolutionbotanicals.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionbotanicals
Instagram: @evolutionbotanicals
Non-Diet Yogi Patreon

Pre-launch waiting list for interest in Casey’s Non-Diet Ayurveda Course:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/courses.html

Casey's articles on Ayurveda, TCM and Intuitive Eating
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating-or-dietary-dogma
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/beyond-pitta-kapha-vata-ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating

Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing - online non-diet nutrition & naturopathic consulting services and in-person yoga classes

Grab your free e-book The Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing

Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing Facebook page

Instagram @nondietyogi @caseyaconroy @funkyforesthealth

Support the show

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Ep 2: Juice Cleansing in Yoga Culture

26/12/2019

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Why is juice cleansing so popular in yoga culture? In this solo episode I take a deep dive and try to answer this question.

I also give a crash course in how detoxification actually works, and what you can do to support your body's detoxification processes without starving yourself.

In this episode:

What is juice cleansing? How it’s marketed vs. what’s actually going on
Why it’s so popular in yoga culture
How tapas and saucha may underlie and amplify the tendency towards spiritually-endorsed disordered eating and body dysmorphia
Ayurveda and juice cleansing
Disordered eating and eating disorders in Yogaland
My personal experiences with harsh yoga practices, fasting and orthorexia
The physiology of detoxification and how juice cleanses impede this
Why those initial “detox symptoms” and later, that feeling of “energised bliss” occur on a juice cleanse (it’s not what you think)
What you can do to safely support detoxification (if you wish to do so)
The next level of cray: water fasting in yoga circles

LINKS:
My articles on Ayurveda, TCM and Intuitive Eating:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating-or-dietary-dogma
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/beyond-pitta-kapha-vata-ayurveda-tcm-intuitive-eating

A biomedical look at the physiology of detoxification, how juice cleanses impede this, and what you can do to support detoxification:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/detoxification-so-not-about-juice-fasts-colonics
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/your-bodys-lifelong-detoxification-kit

My article on the stress response of restrictive eating:
https://www.funkyforest.com.au/blog/the-honeymoon-period

Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing - online non-diet nutrition consulting services and in-person yoga classes

Grab your copy of my e-book The Modern Yogi's BS-Free Guide to Wellbeing

Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing Facebook page

Casey's Instagram

Support the show at Non-Diet Yogi Patreon

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Introducing the Non-Diet Yogi Podcast!

13/12/2019

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Errrrmaghaaad so it's finally happening.. I've released the first episode of my new podcast!

I warmly invite you to gather your earholes and tune in to the Non-Diet Yogi Podcast, where we explore yoga, earth-based living and gentle nutrition through a non-diet lens.

We will explore the wonderful, wacky and sometimes worrying places where the yoga world and diet culture overlap, as well as exploring how social justice, feminism, motherhood and bunch of other things all jive together within the Yogaland/diet culture Venn diagram.

In this episode:

Why this podcast needs to exist
Creating a podcast as a mum
A bit about me, including my personal and professional experiences with disordered eating and yoga culture
Why living and working on the Gold Coast (the L.A. of Australia!) was the perfect petri dish for developing Non-Diet Yogi
The need for the non-diet approach in the natural medicine sphere, and vice versa

Having been a guest on a couple of fantastic anti-diet podcasts myself, I am excited (and shitting myself just a tad) to join some of the great minds floating around in the Podosphere. My wish is to bring the non-diet approach, Health at Every Size and social justice savvy to the yoga and "wellness" space where I believe it is sorely needed.

I hope you enjoy!!

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The Paleo Diet: Pros + Cons

18/11/2019

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The Paleolithic diet. Road to wholefood-based wellness and weight loss? Or meat-centred craze based on shaky science? Perhaps there’s a middle way.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the paleo approach to eating, and often it’s a strong one. From anthropologists to acclaimed authors, nutritionists to naturopaths, Crossfit trainers to colonic hydrotherapists, and pretty much any health-conscious individual in between – the paleo movement now seems less like a fad and more like a dietary era in itself.

What is it?

The paleo diet is a modern way of eating based on the presumed diet of Paleolithic humans.

Also known as the "caveman diet", "Stone Age diet", and "hunter-gatherer diet", it is a diet centred on fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts.

It has many different interpretations but generally excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils – basically any foods perceived to be agricultural products. Stricter variations of the diet exclude some or all fruits.

Generally it is a high fat, moderate protein and low to moderate carbohydrate wholefood-based way of eating with the intention of granting long term health, resilience, and well-being.

Like most “diets” or ways of eating, there are many different interpretations, and there is both good and bad to come out of it. Unlike many fads, there is scientific evidence supporting some of the Paleo diet claims. But how solid is the evidence, and what are the long term pros and cons of the Paleo diet? To answer these questions from a balanced perspective, we need to dive a little deeper.

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The Magic & Medicine of Mugwort

29/10/2019

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Mugwort. Surprisingly cheeky and brazen, like the very old withered little bent over woman who suddenly reaches up to you and plants a big juicy smacker of a kiss on your cheek. She has the vitality of somebody a quarter of her age. Wise and direct, yet joyful. She's soft without molly-coddling. She delivers her message swiftly, with mirror-like clarity yet without judgement or harshness.

Mugwort is like the grandmother you always wanted, which might be why she is often referred to by herbalists as cronewort after the wise elder archetype. Like a patient grandparent who has been ignored and not visited for far too long, she welcomes you with zeal and open, forgiving arms, eager to distil her timeless wisdom to anyone willing to listen.

Perhaps this is why she is also known as the herb for new initiates to the plant spirit path. She is so easy to talk to. She welcomes you with open, soft, silvery hands. All you have to do is open up the conversation by saying "hello". And when you do, she will gently invite you in to realms of deeper perception, where a new way of communing with plants and integrating the healing process is possible.

In my communications with her I'm always amazed at how quick and clear she is in her conversing. She is so chatty (at least, relative to other plants I've spoken with) that I often doubt myself - "did she really just say that?" - although that is becoming less of an issue with time. More about that soon.

Mugwort's latin name Artemisia vulgaris hints at the moon goddess that it it's namesake. Every image I've seen of the greek goddess Artemis (or Diana, her Roman equivalent) depicts her as huntress and protector of the wild creatures of the forest. She doesn't kill indiscriminately; she brings death only when it is timely and appropriate. And she also brings life, as is evident in her traditional use by herbal midwives in labour and birth.

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Herbs for Handling Stress

15/10/2019

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Forget asbestos, Roundup on our vegetables, and mercury fillings: by the year 2020 the most threatening health hazard known to humans is predicted to be stress. Already a major cause of disease, chronic stress sets off a cascade of long-term chemical changes that can spell disease and inflammation for your body, and disintegration of the spirit.

So what’s a human living in the 21st century to do? Aside from lifestyle interventions – such as healthy diet, regular movement, strong social support networks, mind-body practices, and adequate rest – there are certain herbs that can help us to manage the high levels of stress we inevitably face in this day and age.

Rather than indiscriminately throwing a bunch of herbal powders and potions down the hatch and hoping for the best, it is important to know about the three stages of stress adaptation your body experiences as different herbs are most effective at different stages.

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Essential oil ingestion: Just DON'T Do It

6/10/2019

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Got gut health issues? Down some OnGuard Softgels to sort out what-must-be candida.
Everyday detoxification? A few drops of lemon essential oil in your water everyday will have your liver squeaky clean in no time... all without having to eat an actual lemon!
Want to feel the spiritual benefits of frankincense oil extra swiftly? Chuck a few drops of that stuff down the hatch and feel your consciousness expand...

No, no, and dear God, NO.

In short, essential oil ingestion can incredibly be dangerous unless prescribed by a qualified herbalist, naturopath or aromatherapist. Not a distributor for an MLM essential oil giant who has no health qualifications or expertise besides what their team leader has passed on to them.

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First month on our homestead

3/10/2019

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If you're a regular reader of my stuff, you already know that non-wanky health, food eaten for pleasure (not weight control), and social justice are kinda my thing.

So it probably comes as no surprise that living a good hour from the nearest hot yoga studio or massive health food grocery chain doesn't worry me in the slightest.

Actually, it feels like I can breathe again.

Our recent move - from an endless sea of Colorbond steel on the rapidly developing northern Gold Coast, to a rural ecovillage in the hills south of inland Kenilworth - has been a long time coming.

After spending my entire adult life in urban rentals, and the odd caravan or treehouse, I finally feel as though I can say:

I am home.

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The alternatives to dieting

30/9/2019

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"I'm SO confused by all the diets out there! Everyone says something different. How do you know what to eat, when to eat it, and how much of it to eat?"

This is one of the most common questions I am faced with in my nutrition counselling practice. It is usually asked by a client in an exasperated, overwhelmed tone of voice, accompanied by hands being thrown up in the air!

So I'm going to attempt to answer it here.

In my experience there are two levels at which you can know something to be true.

The first is to know something at the level of the intellect. This is where logic, science, traditional knowledge, past experience and “common sense” coalesce to inform and direct us.

The second is the deeper level of intuition, instinct, or “just feeling” something to be true. This more feeling-based truth happens “below the neck”, in the vast landscape of the body that lies beyond the brain. It may be described as feeling in your heart, sensing in your gut, or knowing in your bones that something is true for you.

Another way to think of it is that we have two different navigation or GPS systems that can help us to arrive at a personal truth: intellect and intuition.

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The call for wise, old women

31/7/2019

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"A village without elders is like a tree without roots."
- African proverb

Winter, 2018

I'm frustrated.

I crave the presence of old, wise women. The sage, the elder, the crone. The wise old woman, or man.

Like an open wound craves soothing balm and mending and tenderness, I crave the smell, the words, the energy of the mature feminine archetype. And of actual old, wise women.

Where are they?

We have an ageing population, but - as Michael Meade, host of Living Myth podcast so eloquently states - instead of getting older and wiser, it seems people are just getting older.

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Casey's blog

Ep 3: Ayurveda and The "C" Word

Ep 2: Juice Cleansing in Yoga Culture

Introducing the Non-Diet Yogi Podcast!

The Paleo Diet: Pros + Cons

What is it?

The Magic & Medicine of Mugwort

Herbs for Handling Stress

Essential oil ingestion: Just DON'T Do It

First month on our homestead

The alternatives to dieting

The call for wise, old women

Winter, 2018

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