How do you approach structure?
You can feel a tinge of fall in the air (in the northern hemisphere, shout out to my southerners), school starting, a desire to get organized, focused and the beginnings of turning inward for winter. I just landed back in San Diego after three months of travel, and am over the moon. This summer felt so decadent and expansive for me (yin energy), and now I am ready for some grounded, structural and intentional actions (yang energy).
How do you approach structure? Do you white knuckle it and force your will power on your schedule and lists? Or have you allowed a bit of flexibility in so you can adjust to reality and life’s way of changing it up for us? As a Virgo (it is my b-day month:), I grew up being so focused on structure and results that I never allowed my feelings to lead me with my food choices. I wanted to force my body to only eat what I learned from school, books and my hypervigilant mind. That alone keeps us out of balance and in a VERY contracted state.
Our body desires balance and flexibility. The chart below is a great visual on what foods can help us feel more expansive or contractive. Most extreme diets are forcing one or the other by having you count macronutrients, high fat, too many beans or just too many salads. We all need to learn how to flow with our needs, body’s signals, internal feelings and external desires.
The best way to practice HEARING and learning from your body is to experiment. And when you experiment you WILL have trial and error, that is what helps you gain clarity.
When my clients first begin to listen to their bodies, I have them meal plan and bring good ole soup and salad to work. Have you ever brought a salad with you only to realize that is exactly what you DON’T want?
Why is this?
You may have had a yin like breakfast such as a protein shake or fruit and nuts. Then you had a shit ton of stress in your morning and you need to help the body calm down and CONTRACT, like a deep inhale to reset and relax. That is why a burger or for my vegetarians, a bean burger with extra salt sounds so good. So, instead of fighting your body and forcing the salad, try meals that contain both sides of this rainbow so you can feel more balanced and supported as you experiment!
A few examples that I personally love are:
1. Eggs chock full of veggies with a light side salad
2. Miso Soup with Seaweed along with a side roasted carrots topped with a drizzle of honey
3. Sautéd Fish topped with Macadamia nuts
4. Honey drizzled on Manchego cheese
5. Cut apple dipped into almond butter
Give these meals and snacks a try to see if you feel more satiated, don’t crave sugar after your meal, have energy and actually enjoyed your meal versus forcing a meal that you don’t enjoy. One of mine is steamed veggies with white meat chicken meal. NO WAY!
Another way to help you experiment is my 5-day Jump Start! We are going to do a LIVE version as a group beginning on
Monday, September 23rd-27th
You will have access to the recordings and the OWN program for the next 6 months! Because I believe in YOU learning about you on your own time.
Each day I will provide yin/yang meal ideas along with a dash of structure for us all to TUNE back in. You will be invited into my private community and receive other resources to support you!
Learn more about the LIVE Fall Jump Start! here.
Or reply back to this email if you have any questions.
Love from The B-DAY goddess,
Heather Fleming
