Unleash Your VitalityYour Guide To Natural Health, Personal Fitness & Lifestyle Freedom

I was recently fortunate enough to travel to Alaska for about 11 days of majestic mountain views, hiking, nature walks, local foods, history and relaxation. Literally everywhere you turned there was an ice-capped mountain range for your eyes to marvel at, with scenery to match. It was an incredible time, but that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.

What I want to talk to you about today is something that became clearly highlighted for me as I walked the streets of Alaska: you can only feel as good as your decision making process. What do I mean?

While in Alaska, I found an interesting divide between the restaurants featuring locally-grown, organic foods and the restaurants offering diner-style meals and traditional comfort foods. “The Great Choice” between eating for comfort and convenience vs. eating for personal energy and vibrant health often seems like it comes down to external factors – aka what restaurants are around in the area, how hungry you currently are, how much money you have in your wallet, etc. As much as this can appear to be the case time and time again, I’m here to tell you that “The Great Choice” doesn’t come down to external factors…rather, it’s your decision making process.

Let’s take a look at a few examples together. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s one that hits close to home: chocolate. It’s a worldwide phenomenon and a snacking bliss that’s been enjoyed since before you can remember. Actually, when you think about, how long has chocolate really been around? Chocolate bars with sugar, dairy and other additives certainly haven’t been around for centuries! Let’s take a look at a quick overview of how cacao came to be known in today’s world, and how much things have changed. I give you: “The Secret History Of Chocolate”.

Theobroma cacao was first native to South America (regions of the Amazon and Venezuela) as well as Central America and even key areas of Mexico. Cacao trees grow well in tropical climates and other areas with temperatures consistently in the 70s and 80s (degrees Fahrenheit). Because of this, as well as trading incentives, cacao from Venezuela was planted off the coast of Africa for the first time in the late 1500s. Thus began the incredible growth of cacao as an export for various nations in Africa over the next few hundred years!

What’s really exciting to me is what chocolate REALLY is… Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve got to admit: the last few days have been pretty exciting. Friends and family are coming out from around the country and meeting up after months of being apart from each other! It’s a time of celebration, giving thanks, and… s-t-r-e-s-s. It’s easy to get caught up in the turbulence of the holiday season, and to find ourselves in high-stress situations despite our best intentions. So how can we at least deal with these situations in the best way possible?

There are a number of powerful ways to melt away stress in our lives. Diet is a huge part of it – making sure that we eat simple meals that agree with us and leave us full of energy and feeling good! But the holidays seem to challenge us a bit harder than the average week. One great way to step it up is through relaxation. Go ahead and let all of the muscles in your face and jaw relax completely. Did you feel the difference? We hold onto so much without even realizing it! Physical relaxation brings mental relaxation, and vice-versa. Schedule in a few minutes every morning or evening for the next few weeks to relax for just a few minutes – totally. It’ll clear out any stress or anxiety and put you right back in a state of balance. Read the rest of this entry »

When was the last time you really explored the concept of your own DNA? If it’s not in the last few years, then you may have missed out on some startling discoveries. What we now know is that the expression of our very own DNA – our genetics – is largely determined by how we feel on a vibratory level. When we feel upbeat and full of energy, we’re literally enhancing the expression of our DNA! This is a profound concept that goes far beyond literary musings. Specifically, it ties right into our health and well-being.

Strong, positive feeling states like love, joy, compassion and gratitude actually “relax” our physical DNA. When our DNA is in this more relaxed state, its expression is significantly enhanced and leads to higher immune functioning and a more intelligent body. And the opposite? Powerful negative states like frustration, anger, hate and rage? We’ve now seen undeniably through scientific research that these negative feeling states tighten or wind up the DNA coils…effectively squelching our immune system and our general level of health. Read the rest of this entry »