Roots

Hey guys! Wow it's been a very busy spring over here for me! Quick note- we did have a little technical difficulty with our email so if you sent me one and did not get a reply please try again cuz we've got it up and running!🦋

Had intended to share again with you all sooner than this but I've been a busy bee🐝 with school, yoga and family life💕

I have been doing a lot of reflecting over Spring about life with my family (my children, my parents, my sisters) because there have been many changes for all of us. What does keep presenting itself is all the beautiful memories, positive times shared, learning from one another and the inevitable growth that naturally occurs within families🌹 This understandably directed be me back to my own tribe/culture~ I am both Incan & Spanish (plus a splash of a couple other lovely cultures that I'll share down the road with you guys😉) For me this personally manifests as spending more Spiritual time for myself/my children and connecting on a deeper level with nature through meditation/ritual work used in Shamanic work of my country. My paternal grandmother was married to a well-known Shaman in Cuzco and I learned so very very much from this Abuelita👩‍👧The second way it presents itself is Feather starts cooking a lot of traditional Peruvian foods that I grew up with for a while lol. Those formative years in my homeland deeply infused my cultural roots within me and connected me to my ancestral tribe ~ this bond beautifully and magically followed me to the States where I would learn to grow up in a very different culture than my own. This proved to be a little difficult for my parents~ they missed their country for the remainder of the time that they've been here but the beauty of this is that I grew up with parents that would not speak English in our house and cooked all the traditional recipes from our country, so essentially even though I was in the States, within the doors of our home everything that was occurring was typical of a Peruvian home and for this I am so very grateful💜

What are your Roots? What regions of this beautiful mother earth are your ancestors from? We can learn so much about our tribe, our family members, the uniqueness of our cultures when we understand that where we came from has in fact an influence on how we are raised and from there we take those experiences into adulthood. It is only in the heart and eyes of that receiver may they see those tendencies as beautiful and positive or not. For me the cup has always been half full!😀

As we witness wildflower blossoms of May fade in the warmer breezes of a June sky soon the Summer Solstice will arrive. Midsummer marks the longest day of the year when the sun is at its zenith.🌞 Flowers and herbs are in full bloom, nights are hot and dry invoking a fiery passion to many, lovers in particular🔥☀️ The element of fire is an important part of Midsummer festivities since ancient times. For thousands of years people all over Europe celebrated at this time by lighting huge bonfires. In Wales (region of my daughter Branwen's name and ancestral side from her father) a huge wheel was set afire and rolled down the mountainside. In my birthplace of Peru on June 24th they celebrate our Sun festival of Inti Raymi which is a sacred ceremony of the Incan Empire which honors the sun God Inti and celebrated in Cusco it lasted 9 days (yes we love to celebrate life lol) was full of colorful dances thanking Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Inti for providing light and warmth to sustain them🙏🏼

In Ayurvedic terms Summer is governed by the dosha Pitta. This clearly manifests water and fire which appears in the form of humid and hot days that are present. When the heat of summer builds up within the body it may present itself with rashes, acne, frustration and possible anger. A lovely way to stay refreshed is using a cooling Pranayama like Shitali which by definition literally translates to cold❄️ Also activities like swimming, having lots of fun times in nature and working with meditation using cooling imagery or locations. Eating foods that are opposite to the fire heat essence of summer ~ Think cooling foods like: cold, bitter, sweet, astringent and lightly cooked meals🐧 Coconut water is great for hydration but preferably at room temperature since ice-cold drinks can cause stomach issues. Best to limit spicy, sour, salty and hot foods during summer. Some great Pitta foods to indulge in:

Pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, apples, grapes, asparagus, broccoli, cucumbers & jicama🍓🍉🍇🥒Choosing local organic foods that are in season in your town is always the best for our bodies & our farmers!💪🏼

A great activity we've always liked to do for summer when the kids were little is making Dream Pillows ~ filled with the abundance of herbs at this time and slipped under pillows will aid in promoting positive dreaming🌙Here are some herbs you could experiment with:

🌱Rue~ Protection

🌱Anise~ Prevent nightmares

🌱Bay~ To induce prophetic dreams

🌱Mugwort~ Prophetic dreams

🌱Mullein~ Prevent nightmares

🍽 My favorite Peruvian drink to share with you😘

💜🌽Chicha Morada 🌽💜

This is a sweet fruity drink that most of us Peruvian groms grew up with, traditionally it was created by the Incas and they would allow it to ferment (creating an alcohol-based drink).....then dance and celebrate all night long🤗💃🏻lol. This is my mother's recipe (non-alcohol) and because like a good Latin women she doesn't write any recipes down, she just has it in her head so it took a moment to get the exact proportions but I've got it and so excited to share with you guys!😊

💜🌽1 ~ 16 oz bag of Incan Peruvian Purple corn from Peru (Amazon and Latin markets carry this~ I have found an organic vendor contact me if you want that info)

🍍1~ Pineapple (large preferably organic)- only the skins off the side, discard the top with the leaf and the bottom, save the meat of the pineapple for something else🍀

🍏4-5 Apples (typically Granny Smith) quartered

💓4 Cloves

🎋5 Cinnamon sticks

💧3 quarts of purified water

🌈 Put all the ingredients into a very large pot fill it with the 3 quarts of the water and put a lid to bring it to a boil. Then bring it down to a gentle simmer for one hour with the lid slightly on, at the end of the hour sweeten with (typically they use fine sugar) but I have tweaked it successfully to use agave for a modern healthy twist😍instead of the white sugar my mother used growing up but if you do not have agave try turbinado (I do not add honey to hot liquids). Allow to cool completely, serve it in a cup alone or you may try the fun way I grew up eating it which is to take one fresh apple and dice it into little half inch cubes and add a sprinkle of the apple cubes into the drink which makes it really fun to eat and drink this....enjoy!💝

🌈What are some good cooling Asanas for the Pitta season? Here ya go!😉

• Uttana Shishosana (Extended puppy pose)

• Parsva Balasana (Thread the needle)

• Adho Mukha Svanasana (Plank)

• Bhujangasana (Cobra)

• Salamba Bhujangasana (Sphinx)

• Deviasana (Goddess)

🙏🏼Mudra for Summer days💕

Mudras are gestures of the hands, body and face that promote spiritual awakening, physical health and psychological balance. Mudras in Sanskrit translates to as "gesture or seal/attitude". They awaken our own enchantment and inherent delight that are always present within us and waiting to be awakened.🐬

Angushtha Mudra ~ it's core quality is Inner Listening

This Mudra is especially help for:

🐢Supporting thyroid health 

🐡Releasing any tension residing in the neck, throat or shoulders

🐋Aligning the cervical spine

🐞Receiving inner guidance and conveying it clearly in the world

🙏🏼Begin by holding the palms in front of the solar plexus

*Softly press the tips of the thumbs together which will allow the other fingers to relax inward. 

*Release the shoulders back and down, elbows held just a bit away from the body, the forearms parallel to the earth and the spine naturally aligned.

*If you have Joseph Le Page's amazing Mudra book he suggests a lovely affirmation to go with this:  

"Through deeper listening and enhanced Sensitivity, I receive the guidance of My inner being." ~Joseph Le Page

Namaste dear Amigos!