Ask the PFMs: How to Fight Cold Season

It's that season, and I'm not just talking about the holidays. Every winter it seems unavoidable that we all get a common cold or flu, especially when stress comes into the picture. I tried my best to stay strong but something's had me feeling under the weather for the past few days. The good news is that I've been digging into my trusty stash of healthy remedies to boost my immune system and recover quickly. I've been asked to share my tips for those days when you are feeling run-down with flu or cold symptoms, so here's my routine. Please remember, I'm not a doctor! xoxo Becca

1. Sainsbury's Vitamin C Tablets are amazing, but too bad I can't seem to be able to find them for sale in the United States! One a day in a tall glass of water is all you need. My brother brought them back from a trip to England and now I'm hooked, but this version by NOW Foods is my alternative.

2. It's an Owl Mug. Better to make it a cute one because you'll be sipping hot tea out of this every morning. Try brewing something soothing like raw ginger root tea with a splash of fresh lemon juice (here's the teabag version) or just drink plain warm water to stay hydrated and keep things moving in your system. 

3-4. Be sure to avoid sugary and processed foods and get a super healthy dose of energy by mixing Green Vibrance into your morning green smoothie. We have recipes here and here. Fresh foods (veggies and whole grains) will go a long way in making your recovery a fast one. 

5. The Sinus Rinse Kit is something that I've grown to like (not love.) It feels pretty weird at first, but the results will have you coming back for more. Hint- you will be able to breathe through your nose again without taking antibiotics.

6. You know that I'm the soup queen, so there's really no reason for me to need an excuse to have soup for lunch and dinner...but being sick is a darn good one. I have a simple homemade soup twice a day like this one. And when I'm feeling up to it, I give this recipe a go.

7. Get more sleep and stay warm. I rest as much as possible with a pair of socks like these to keep me cozy.

8. The only thing more frustrating than feeling under the weather is having breakout prone skin on top it. That's usually the case with me...if I'm not feeling well, my skin bears the brunt of it. LUSH Cosmetic Warrior Face Mask contains a mix of garlic and tea tree oil which are powerful antiseptics and disinfectants. I love it- my face feels fresh, clear and moisturized thanks to the natural ingredients like honey, eggs, and grapes. If you're worried about the smell, don't be. It's pretty odorless.

9-10. Choose high quality vitamins and supplements. My multi-vitamin of choice is MegaFood, recommended by Kris Carr. It can be taken anytime, with or without food. Plus, I make sure to have zinc on hand at the first sign of sickness.

Spiritual PFM: Cricket and more: Leaping over Hard Lessons

Photo courtesy of here

the end of the summer into early fall was a rough transition for me.  i had a lot of good things going on but, at the same time, i was being faced with some hard lessons about life.  i was totally overwhelmed with all that was expected of me. ...so much so that it didn't seem like there was any relief in sight.  while some areas were moving full speed ahead, the areas that i wanted to move forward were at a complete and utter standstill.   it left me feeling uninspired, down in the dumps and just plain ol' unhappy.  then, it seemed like all of a sudden things started to move forward.  what happened exactly?  well, that's what i have been wondering so that i can create a formula so that i can repeat it for when life decides to be a pain in the a$$ (which i know is inevitably going to happen again).  here are a couple things that stand out in my mind:

1. Cricket appeared - this summer in my house, we suddenly kept finding crickets.  we had no idea how they were getting in but, they were.  it drove us insane!! there is nothing like heading to your kitchen to get a drink and being greeted by a cricket in the middle of the floor.  arrrrgghhh!! at the time, all i could do was add this to my frustration list.  now that i have had some time to reflect, i am confident that spirit was trying to send us a message.  i looked in my Animal Speak book and according to Ted Andrews, crickets are a sign of growth.  ...not just your average growth that happens incrementally, but  growth that literally jumps ahead. an additional google search on the web led me to this site that states, "The crickets’ hind legs are modified for jumping. They leap over difficult situations effortlessly always choosing to land in a more pleasing environment and can teach us how to do the same. A powerful ally that embodies the qualities of faith and trust the cricket serves us well. All we need to do is follow its lead."   all of this made total sense!!  ...not only in regards to the situation at hand, but also to my entire life.  for example, after years of  living with my in-laws and feeling like i would never move, the opportunity came up to purchase my house!  just like that, i became a homeowner!  while most people make gradual changes in life, it definitely feels like i make changes in sudden leaps.
2.  Saturn moved out of Libra - even the stars suddenly joined on my side.  the planet saturn is known as the task master, the planet that rules over hard lessons.  it takes saturn 29 years to travel around the sun and it makes its slow, painful trip taking two and a half years to get through each sign.  October 5th marked the date that Saturn left Libra and moved into Scorpio.  wooohooo! (sorry, Scorpios!)  i am a Libra and, boy, do i know first hand how hard the last 2.5 years has been for me.  i have learned a lot about myself and questioned just about everything that i believe in during this time.  although i know that i am a stronger person from it all, i am glad for a little relief any way i can get it!!
3. Working on me - once i accepted the hard fact that there was nothing that i could physically do to make my life get easier, i started working on me.  i added more juicing into my diet, upped my prayers, and started focusing on giving myself extra love.  it was super easy to focus on everything that was going wrong so i made a point of turning my focus inward.  after all, the only thing that i can control is me.
4. Enlisted my prayer warriors - when things started to get crazy, i started speaking to the people i knew had close connections with the Most High.  i requested that they add me and my family to their list when praying.  i believe in the power in numbers so, in addition to my prayers for help and breakthroughs, i knew that having others praying for me would only increase my chances of success.  i hope that you are blessed to have prayer warriors in your life; if you don't, you need to enlist them now!

though i can't force breakthroughs to happen when i want them, i have definitely learned that when i need them to, they happen.  i'm hoping that continuing to be open to signs from spirit as well as connecting to my spirit within (and to others who are doing the same) will help keep me from feeling blue the next time life throws me for a loop.  i sure hope that it will be quite a while before it happens again #fingerscrossed lol, xo Sesheta

Ask the PFMs: Making a Change - Step #2

now that you have established your goal (see step #1 here), the easiest thing you can do to start incorporating healthy eating is to think green.  this is Step #2.  adding more green foods (especially raw - like in salads) to your diet can help to literally bring more life into your lifestyle.  it is also the simplest way to make a change that won't leave you feeling like you are missing something, especially if the thought of eliminating foods makes you cringe and has kept you from making changes.  here are some quick ways of getting your daily dose of green foods:

1. adding a salad to every dinner - you can find salad fixings all cut-up or pre-washed in your local market, like the salads from Earthbound Farm Organics, for an easy way to throw together a yummy salad.  add your favorite dressing (we love Annie's Goddess dressing) and you are on your way! (hint - if you are trying to lose weight, eat salad first so there's less room for other stuff.)
2. veggie snacks - stick some broccoli, cucumbers or snap peas in a baggie with a side of some dressing as your dip (Goddess dressing is perfect for dipping!!). now your veggies are ready for on-the-go snacking.  
3. green food powder supplements - so you still aren't ready to eat more veggies.  start acclimating your taste-buds by mixing green food powder supplements such as Green Vibrance into a morning smoothie.  loaded with such super foods as spirulina and chlorella, this ensures you will get a dose of green energy without much effort.

as you start to get used to having more green foods in your everyday diet, you can slowly start to increase the amount of veggies (and fruits) and then begin to decrease what you are trying to eliminate.  for example, if you are trying to eliminate carbs, using salad as your "rice" to accompany protein and veggies is a stress-free way to jump start weight loss.  

questions?  remember to shoot us an email at any time if you have specific questions or need us to clarify anything you've seen here.  xo Sesheta

Spiritual PFM: Iyanla Fix My Life - Evelyn Lozada

i'm not sure if you took the time to watch the premiere episodes of Iyanla Vanzant's new OWN show Iyanla Fix My Life, but i did and i have to give props to both Iyanla and Evelyn Lozada, best known as a "Thug" on VH1's Basketball Wives series.  Evelyn did something extremely courageous - she not only stated to the universe that she no longer wanted to be the woman notorious for starting fights, but she did so publicly.  as she shared more about her troubled childhood and where she came from, it was easy to see that her story is the story of many young women; the only difference is, she lives her story in front of the camera for all to see her mistakes and bad decisions. i applaud her for stepping up and realizing she was doing a disservice to herself and to women and young girls everywhere.  i also want to applaud Iyanla for her powerful tough love approach that forced Evelyn to face the truth of what she herself had created in her life.  i got chills many times as i listened to Iyanla drop truth on Evelyn,  saying things like changing her life was going to "cost her" and that you can't be afraid to give up everything in order to live your truth.  i really appreciated Iyanla's closing words (see them here); it was the perfect summation for a powerful show.  she was absolutely right that i experienced a healing just watching Evelyn's process.  Iyanla encouraged us to take the time to examine where in our own lives we have accepted situations even though our instincts tell us we shouldn't.  though Evelyn appears to have "lost it all" in order to live the new life she wants for herself, she has really just cleared room for the true blessings that are waiting for her.  i wish her all the best in staying true to her new found sense of freedom and i look forward to watching the powerhouse that is Iyanla Vanzant do her thing in episodes to come. 

i encourage you to follow the links and share in Evelyn's healing too.  xo Sesheta

A Day in the Life: Life's a Beach

Labor Day has come and gone and now it seems like the weather has officially cooled down some.  whether we want it to or not, the summer is drawing to a close.  if you can't tell by now, i am deeply saddened to see that warm weather go, lol.  i have even considered moving to a warmer climate.  (i haven't officially given that idea up - it has just been pushed back on the timeline.) considering that that isn't happening anytime in the near future, i am going to remember the pic from above.  as the weather gets colder and our layers of clothing increase, i am going to be dreaming of what it felt to be laying on the beach watching my sons play in the water.  

this trip in particular was part of my last of summer hurrah.  i planned a day for us to go enjoy the beach one more time before the school year began and the season officially ended.    we chose a beautiful day and there were hardly any other people on the beach.  it brought me joy to watch my three boys play in the water.  that was exactly what i had hoped for all of us - time to connect with Mother Earth so that we could be healed by her warmth, cleansed by her water and renewed by her air.  we had a great time and they all told me that they were glad we went.  in the words of my four-year-old, "this was a great day."

...so as the weather reminds me of how un-summer it is, i will use this picture to bring all the summer memories back.  hopefully, it will keep me going until summer rolls around again! xo Sesheta

A Day in the Life: Rain, Rain Cleanse Away

the calm after the storm

in the few days of summer we have, the last thing i want is for there to be rain. ...especially rain of the magnitude we had this morning in ny.  it forces you to rearrange your outfit to be waterproof or, even worse, you get caught unprepared in the downpour.  public transportation runs late; there's traffic everywhere.  either way, it sometimes ruins the day.  ...but then, when i take a second to step back from all the little inconveniences that it causes, it's hard to ignore the healing properties that rain has for the earth as well as for us.  it cleanses away the dirt and grime.  it cools down the heat and dispels humidity. it helps flowers to grow and gives water to the animals.  it refills our reservoirs, lakes and streams.    there are many people praying for rain for all these very reasons...

...so today, instead of being annoyed by the wet weather, i am going to be thankful.  thankful for the cleansing and calm it brings.  ...but i sure hope it's bright, warm and sunny tomorrow!! lol :)