Hiya guys & happy Monday!

Me on day 14 of my juice cleanse. Apple-spinach juice, yum!

New Blog Series: Upgrade Your Life
* Life Hacks From a Health Coach

Starting today I will start to share some of my most effective exercises that I use in my coaching practice in this new blog series Upgrade Your Life – Life Hacks From a Health Coach. Over time coaching my clients to optimal health and inspire them to creating a fulfilling life I have developed some exercises that really do the trick in awakening people to their highest potential and actually going out and doing it. I’d love to share these exercises with you so YOU can start to unlock your highest potential as well. Let’s kick off the series with my very favorite exercise!

Upgrade Your Life Exercise #1: Create Your Perfect Day

I love this exercise and I keep coming back to it again and again myself (yes I too need coaching from time to time ). In this exercise you will sit down and write down in detail what your perfect day would look like. What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? Who brightens your spirit? What nourishment makes you feel healthy and energized? In other words; what do you need on a day to day basis to feel your absolute best? Writing this down makes it easier for you to prioritize and to not skip and skimp. It helps you to structure your day in such a way that making green juice doesn’t sway for hitting the snooze button for the umpteenth time. It helps you to see more clearly that you do have time to read that novel or bake those vegan cookies if you simply wasted less time watching Kardashian reruns (or whatever it is you kids are watching these days). It’s a time-optimization and  life-streaming tool all rolled into one. Here’s an example of what a perfect day could look like for me;

Morning

* First thing; drink Holistic Skin Tonic & make green juice (Best start of the day. If I do it first thing in the morning I won’t skip doing it later. Drinking green juice gives me tons of energy and a great chunk of all the nutrients I need in a day)
* Yoga
* Write in journal
* Choose affirmations for the day & write down
* Create to-do list/planning for the day
* Move body; go for a run, do a workout, or hoop

Afternoon

* Work from 12-5
* Take a 10 minute stretch break every 50 minutes (If I don’t implement breaks I tend to waste more time on facebook/the Internet and my efficiency goes down. It’s also way better for my body to get up and stretch/move regularly)

Evening

* Write in journal
* Either read/study, visit friends, or go out to dance (the underlying message here is; don’t shrivel your brain watching TV).
* Meditate for 30 minutes before bed time
* In bed; go over my gratitudes for the day (This makes me fall asleep all warm and cozy)

Tips

* Be realistic. This exercise works with the here and now. If you currently have a 9-5 job you can write ‘sit in the sun slumming back Mojito’s’ all you want, it’s not going to get you anywhere. Getting up an hour early every day for some exercise and a healthy breakfast however is very doable (yes, really!)
* Be specific. ‘Eat a healthy dinner’ or ‘do something fun’  aren’t….
* For every detail of your perfect day, write down the why. Why is drinking green juice so important to have the best day ever? Why are those 10 minutes of stretching before bed important to you?
* Write your day on paper or print it and hang it somewhere that’s in.your.face.
* Review and rewrite your perfect day from time to time! Maybe you’ve picked up some new tools and/or are done with doing a certain something day in day out.

Let me know how this exercise is working out for you and if you have any cool life changing tools to share!

& if you are interested in more in-depth coaching with me, check out my coaching pages.

It’s been ages since I’ve done a proper Nutrition 101 post! Time to dust off our notebooks and get down to business!

The B12 Discussion

Ah, b12, the age old thorn in the eye of the vegan community. B12 is the only vitamin that plant eaters can not get from their food and thus have to supplement with. As you can imagine, those in favor of eating meat use this in their arguments against a plant based diet. Understandable, given their reasoning is if a completely plant based diet were so healthy and ‘natural’, why would you have to supplement in the first place? Understandable yes, if you don’t have a clue about what b12 is and how this vitamin works in the body. So let’s find out and dissolve the confusion shall we?

The Deal With Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is synthesized by soil bacteria. Animals ingest these bacteria with their feed or through grazing, and the bacteria colonize the colon and start producing B12. When humans kill and eat animals, the b12 in their tissue then ends up in their bodies. This does not, however, mean we are and always have been dependent upon eating our furry friends for b12! In simpler times, us humans too ate our veggies with some of the dirt still on it and so obtaining our b12. Nowadays though, thanks to the whole germophobia we near sterilize and irradiate all our food, and with that killing and eliminating all these helpful bacteria. Bummer, because this means it is very very hard, if not impossible, to obtain (enough) b12 through a plant based diet. Some plants, like algae, contain b12 analogues, which do not contribute to healthy b12 levels in humans (and can actually have adverse effects on our b12 levels!)

How B12 Works & The Dangers of B12 Deficiency

B12 deficiency is no walk in the park. B12 deficiency can lead to serious degenerative nervous issues when untreated. B12 works together with folate (B11) to create our genetic make-up. B12 keeps homocysteine levels low which lowers the risk for stroke and heart attack.

We only need infinite-small amounts of b12 (about 2.4 micrograms a day) and our bodies can reuse (reabsorb) b12 for years before we run out. Quite practical, yes, but it also makes that a lot of people think they are doing just great without supplementing with b12, while in fact they are using their reserve which is bound to run out at some point.

B12 Controversies – To Supplement Or Not To Supplement

B12 is a hot topic and I would love to see much more research into this vitamin and its workings. For example, did you know a lot of meat eaters are deficient in B12 also? The percentages of vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters being deficient in b12 are very close, which clearly indicates there’s more to this vitamin than meets the eye. There are factors that influence b12 absorption, making it more complicated than simply amount of b12 consumed. There are also very strong indications b12 reabsorption by the body goes way up when people switch to a plant based diet. Fascinating, no?

All in all, everyone is potentially at risk for b12 deficiency, and a shocking percentage of society is walking around with undiagnosed b12 deficiency. However, when you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, your risk goes up, simple as that. Meat eaters are at risk because their bodies might, for some reason, not absorb the b12 efficiently, but vegetarians usually consume too small amounts of b12 and vegans don’t get any new supply of b12 at all. These are simple facts.

Now the answer to the question to supplement or not to supplement is a little less simple, or so it seems. Mainstream nutrition(ists) dictate b12 supplementation is the only way to ensure healthy longterm b12 levels for vegetarians and vegans. Some people in the raw food and/or vegan community disagree, for various reasons. Some are simply against supplementation in general. Others claim b12 is not an essential vitamin for humans. Others again believe that we can get our b12 from eating unwashed produce and/or from algae containing b12.

Here’s my two cents. Over the past 3 years I have gone back and forth myself over this issue. I even made an effort to get b12 in the ‘natural’ way by eating raw goats cheese about a year and a half ago, after not wanting to be dependent on a pill for an essential nutrient (however I soon realized I’d still have to supplement because cheese alone doesn’t contain enough b12 in the long run). For the past year or so, after not supplementing with b12 for some time, I started taking something called ‘essential microorganisms’. This is basically soil nourishment used by farmers, it contains the bacteria that synthesize b12. Later I discovered it is very likely this is a not a good way either. At the moment I am only taking a b12 sublingual once every few weeks, and yes I do eat unwashed produce (not necessarily for b12 purposes). I am using my intuition here and try and work closely with my body.

Is this something I prescribe when working with clients? No. Because with b12, you really rather be safe than sorry, and I can’t intuit a persons b12 needs. And I rather have someone supplementing with b12 (which is harmless even if you didn’t need the b12) than a lawsuit for someone developing a b12 deficiency under my care .

I have heard quite a few stories of people not supplementing and it causing major health problems. On the other hand I know long term vegans (10,20,30 years) who never supplemented with b12 and are in perfect health.

Bottom line? If you don’t eat meat, get yourself a b12 supplement. If you’ve been on the path for a while, know how to feel into your body, and have done your own research on b12, then you might, perhaps, come to other conclusions.

So how do you feel about b12 and supplementation? Do you supplement or not?

It’s no big secret I am somewhat of a book addict.

I think books are one of the most powerful & potent tools we have at our disposal for personal growth. Reading books accelerates your learning and growth by about 592.8% *. Books are condensed knowledge and experience. There is only one you and there are only so many hours in a day, so you are limited as to what you can learn in this lifetime. Books (among other epic tools), when used correctly, help you learn and understand more, in less time.

Books open up whole new worlds for you. Sure, reading a book about Asia and gawking the pretty pictures is not the same as actually paying a visit yourself, but books do open you up to the possibility. They might invoke a longing in you to explore yourself, whether that be a different country, a different way of eating, or exploring other dimensions .

Over the years I have read hundreds of insightful books that gave me a much better understanding of things like functional nutrition, spiritual growth and positive psychology, to name a few. I get asked a lot what my favorite books are, what books I would recommend for xy&z, and what books have had the most impact on my life. Today I will only discuss those books that had a profound impact on my life, since that’s what truly makes for a great book if you ask me. I keep rereading these books from time to time (I have read ‘In Defense of Food’ 7 times….) and I always recommend and lend them out to friends & fam. If you’re not a giant nerd bookworm like me, at least make the time to read the following books, mkay?

IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you would have heard me rave about this book (many times) before. It’s on the reading list and recommended books list. ‘IDOF’ is the first book I read on my own to supplement my nutrition studies, and the book that was the catalyst for the first major dietary changes I was to make.

Michael Pollan is a brilliant genius. Not a dietician or nutrition researcher but rather a journalist that became aware of the growing confusion surrounding food, diet & health of the average consumer. Pollan is free of all dogma and doesn’t adhere to a particular diet or way of eating, which comes as a major relief for those simply wanting to understand how to eat better, without being told so and so diet is the healthiest or foods x & y should be avoided like the plague. Pollan only promotes eating real food. Is there such a thing as fake food you wonder? You’d be surprised to learn that 96.4% of everything that is being sold in supermarkets today is in fact not real food. And that is what this book is all about.

Pollan’s opening words of this book have become legendary; ‘Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much‘. The book really dives deep into the meaning of these 3 simple statements, or ‘rules’. Afterall it is important to realize what defines real food and what does not, why we should be eating plants as the majority of our diets, and the importance of frugality.

The parts on the history of food and food production and insights on nutrition science and research were especially eye-opening for me and helped me to understand why we shouldn’t always (or rather, almost never) rely on scientific studies conducted on foods. ‘In nutrition research, the nutrient is taken out of the context of the food, the food out of the context of the diet, and the diet out of the context of the lifestyle of the individual‘ (or something like that, I memorized this, lol). BOOM. This is why all nutrition research is constantly contradicting each other and why every 5-10 years researchers have to admit they were completely wrong about a prior conclusion (on which (inter)national dietary recommendations were built. Whoopsie!).

In Defense of Food is a great read for just about anyone, from health nut to health n00b. There’s some science-y stuff in there but it’s all in laymen terms. It’s especially awesome for people who want to learn how to eat, not being told what to eat (and what not to eat).

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS

A small and compact book that will change your life in not-so-small ways is ‘The Four Agreements’ by Don Miquel Ruiz. Ruiz is an ascendant from the Toltecs and the 4 ‘agreements’ in this book are part of their ancient success system.

Once you get used to Ruiz’ particular style of writing and expressing it is a very easy to read book. Short and to the point. Every agreement comes with real-life examples that will ring familiar for every individual. This book, the agreements, are all about enhancing your experience of day to day life. It might be hard to (want to) change every situation and every person and their actions, but it is way easier to change your perspective on things. This sounds easier than it is, unless you understand why certain things happen and why and how we allow these events or people to bring us down in the first place. With this understanding comes a new awareness and the ability to change your perspective and in turn your experience, shifting from a masochist attitude to one of contentness in any situation.

This was the first resource that got me to understand that life is really what you make it. We are 100% in charge of our life experience, our happiness, and so forth. With this also comes responsibility. We are responsible for our actions, our mood, our experience of life, and no one else. The book comes with an invaluable preface that shows us our conditioning and how this is creating a mental nightmare for us. The rest of the book is to guide you how to turn the nightmare into a dream.

The second agreement (‘don’t take anything personally) especially made my life so so so much better. It’s enabled me to let things go a lot easier, and to be less insecure in any kind of social interaction. I used to be very insecure socially (although I’d rather die than show it) and now I’m not (unless I am having a real tough day). Seriously one of the best gifts to give to yourself & then share with others, this book!

DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA

Basically, this book converted me to veganism within a week of finishing it. And many others with me.

But before I tell you a little more about this book, let me tell you the story of John Robbins and his Father Irvine Robbins, co-founder of ice-cream congolmerrate Baskin-Robbins(!!), as told on stage to Integrative Nutrition students at last years LA conference….

“Robbins told the story of him and his father, Irvine Robbins, the co-founder of the world’s largest ice-cream conglomerate: Baskin-Robbins. Growing up, John Robbins was expected to take over and run the company his father and his Uncle, Burt Baskin, had created. But when Burt Baskin died at the super young age of 54 of heart attack, John began to question if ice-cream (dairy + refined sugar) could be responsible for his uncle’s premature death. He began doing research and decided he didn’t want to sell something that was making people sick, resulting in John and his father having a huge fall-out and not speaking with each other for several years.

When John wrote the book ‘Diet for a New America’ he send a copy to his father, though he suspected he would never read it. In the meantime, Irvine Robbins had fallen profoundly sick himself, with a debilitating case of type 2 diabetes (now known to be caused by diet and lifestyle choices but not back then). Irvine had become impotent and was facing amputation of his foot because of his diabetes. When he went to see his doctor, the top cardiologist in the States at the time, he gave him a book that might help him… can you guess which book? Irvine Robbins slowly began implementing the wisdom laid out in ‘Diet for a New America’, gradually cutting out all animal products and refined sugars. Irvine’s diabetes went into remission, he went off his meds and he lived healthfully for another 20 years, and restored the contact with his son.”

I was seriously in tears after reading this book and after hearing this story. John Robbins saved his fathers life and undoubtedly that of many, many others. Diet for a New America is not a fun read by any means. You will want to put it down many times. It’s very confronting and graphic, but its nothing more than showing is the truth about consuming animals and animal products.

The real cause of hunger is a scarcity of justice, not a scarcity of food. Enough grain is squandered every day in raising American livestock for meat to provide every human being on earth with two loaves of bread.”

The book starts with a chapter that helps us see the magnificent qualities of different animals, most of which we today see as ‘food’. Robbins opens our eyes to chickens being smart and social animals, contrary to popular belief. Robbins quotes many great stories of animals saving human lives and performing all kinds of heroic deeds. The first and most criticial step to switching to a plant-based diet, in my opinion, is really seeing animals for what they are, appreciating them and loving them, without discrimination.

Robbins then continues to show us how absolutely horribly animals are treated these days. You might think you know but after this chapter you’ll know better. Robbins tells us of many horrible situations in which animals get abused and tortured. This happens everywhere in the world, on a daily basis, and yes also to the animal that’s on your plate (unless maybe you eat organic but even then you can’t be sure). If you truly love animals reading this chapter will be enough to help you give up all animal foods. This chapter helped me understand that the dairy industry is actually worse than the meat industry and that ‘giving up’ meat wasn’t enough to help the animals nor my conscience.

The rest of the book explains, very thoroughly, why animal fats and proteins cause all kinds of degenerative disease, from cancer to diabetes. This might not be for everyone but if you’re one of those people that likes to get down to the nitty-gritty of nutrition and science, to have their dietary choices backed up by lots of research, you’ll love this. Though I mentioned before that most nutrition science is flawed because it is reductionist and taken out of context, Robbins has worked together with Dr Colin Campbell who performed the legendary China Study, one of the very few nutrition studies with a very broad scope and that spanned many years.

If you’ve been wanting to switch to a (more) plant based diet, this is a must read

CRAZY SEXY DIET

Though I wouldn’t describe Kris Carr’s ‘Crazy Sexy Diet’ as one of the ‘best’ books out there, the down-to-earth and fun style of writing and presenting definitely makes this book invaluable. CSD makes raw & plant based nutrition easy to understand for everyone!

Kris Carr is a cancer survivor and in her book CSD she explains how she healed herself with food and alternative healing; she saved her life by switching to a mostly raw and plant based diet. CSD explains the merits of whole, raw plant foods in the most basic and fun way, from enzymes to probiotics to the glycemic index, all in a way that anyone can understand (and without falling asleep from boredom).

This book, in particular the ’21 day cleanse’, helped me transition to a raw food diet (without having that intention!). I was never a fan of salads, nor did I particularly enjoy vegetables, let alone raw vegetables. I went on the 21 day ‘cleanse’ (a 21 day mealplan), just for fun and to see what, if anything, would happen. Well, in those 21 days I kicked my coffee habit and fell in love with salads. Those 21 days helped me retrain my tastebuds and switch from coffee to green smoothies in the AM. I also phased out soy and wheat products in this time, which made a huge difference in my digestion and energy levels.

If you are looking for a fun book that explains raw plant foods in plain English, either for yourself or a loved one, this is the book to get .

Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Greens, Ignite Your Spark & Live Like You Mean It !

Tell me, which books changed your life??

* books can only go so far though. It is taking additional steps, implementing the information, and/or actually go out and have first-hand experiences of what you read where the real benefit lies.

Heya guys!

I am excited to tell you today about a project I have been working on in secret for the last couple of months! It all started out small but its growing out to be a big program that I feel has the potential to help tons of people seriously upgrade their lives – woohoo!

How it All Began

I’ve been a raw foodie myself for some years now. For three years I have been blogging and writing articles with the intention of inspiring people to eat and live in a way that promotes optimal health and well-being, as I had experienced a true, life-changing transformation myself by switching to raw and plant-based foods. About a year ago I started writing eBooks and took on clients for personal coaching sessions as well, in an effort to ‘do more’ and have a greater influence on your raw food journey. Writing eBooks and coaching people has been so so so much fun and rewarding, for both me and my readers and clients. However, now it is time to take all this to the next level!

You see, there are only so many hours in a day, so many days a week. Read; there is a limit to how many hours a day I can (and want to!) spend behind my desk writing, and so many hours I can spend on coaching (keeping in mind a session may last one hour, but I spend time after each session developing meal plans and recipes, coming up with action plans and resources to help my client reach his or her goals, etc). And there are more factors limiting the amount of people I can ‘reach’, and the depth and quality of information I can share through eBooks and a often limited number of coaching sessions.

Taking Online Education & Guidance to the Next Level

I really feel this is the time where more and more people are waking up to the possibility of reaching their full potential and with this I see a growing interest in, and need for, guidance. Simply acquiring some raw food recipes and random tips just doesn’t cut it anymore, in my humble opinion. First of all because ‘raw food’ actually isn’t all that much about the food, it’s also about breaking free from years of conditioning, emotional eating, and social dogma surrounding food and lifestyle. Second, because I feel raw food is not the end goal but simply a means to reach the next stage in our personal evolution. I see a lot of raw foodies, books, websites, online courses etc, put all their emphasis on the ‘food’ part (read: recipes and mealplans, what to eat, what not to eat), with little to no regards for any personal and spiritual development. From personal experience (and those of many friends and clients) I can let you in on a little secret; raw food is only the beginning!

Some months ago I started fantasizing about bringing all this together, raw food and personal development, in an intimate online setting. I feel the Internet is still a great tool to share information and knowledge and bring people together in this day and age, however with articles and eBooks the connection and interaction and thus real guidance is often lost. I wanted to establish an online platform where information is shared and personal guidance is available.

may I present to you….

Raw Transformation

Raw Transformation is a three phase online program that makes it easy going raw – and beyond.

Each phase lasts an entire month and has a specific focus and builds upon the previous phase. Every phase includes a wealth of information through text (PDFs), video’s and audio material (podcasts). Every phase is divided into classes, 2-3 classes per week, each covering a specific topic in-depth. There will be exercises and assignments to follow every week which help you stay on track and actually implement the information!

The first phase is all about going raw - switching from wherever it is you’re at right now, to eating more and more raw plant foods so you can experience an increase in energy, vitality and mental clarity. In this phase you will learn how to make your own mealplans, find out what foods best support your body type and constitution, and what foods support optimal nutrition. This phase is chockfull of recipes, ranging from salads and elixers to cakes and ice-cream, that will make the transition easy and fun.

Phase 2 is all about detoxing and we will do a few specific cleanses, together as a group. Detoxing is a vital aspect of successfully going raw and never before was it so easy or fun  as when we’re all in it together! In this phase we will discuss fasting and juice feasting but also various other ways to cleanse and detoxify the body, from little daily cleanse practices to the more serious cleanse protocols – and how and when to safely implement them. In this part of the program we will also discuss alternative healing modalities like colon cleansing and herbs to reach even higher states of health & well being.

After phase 2 your body is fresh, clean and efficient, which is much needed for what’s to come in phase 3!

Phase 3 focuses on not just improving your diet, but all aspects of your life. I am a big fan of personal development techniques and I feel the real key to transformation lies in combining these with a healthy, clean diet. When you do, prepare for the magic to happen! In this phase I will share my all-time favorite resources and techniques for personal development and spiritual growth. These range from writing exercices to meditation techniques, eye-opening and soul-shaking books and movies, hypnosis and sound-wave tapes, body movement practices and more. In this phase we also address the underlying causes for food addiction and emotional eating and how to finally break these patterns and habits. There is some more truly life-changing stuff in this phase which I might reveal a bit about in a later stage

As you can see by now, Raw Transformation is all about bringing about transformation on every level and every aspect of your life. Every phase includes inspirational video’s and/or audio tapes (from me!) that inspire you on your raw journey, my favorite inspirational & educational resources (likes books or video’s from other successful raw foodies) that helped me go raw and stay raw, recipes and recipe videos (including all raw and transitional recipes), and exercises, assignments and techniques that help you implement the information straight away and accelerate your learning.

How Raw Transformation is Different (& Awesome)

There are many programs and other resources online already (including my own articles and eBooks), aimed at helping people make the switch to a more raw diet & lifestyle. I think this is awesome and I am so happy the Internet is helping people like me and my fellow raw foodies share this information with people who are completely new to this new way of eating, thinking and living. I am by no means the first person to develop a program like this, but I do feel this program stands out from the rest in a number of ways (or I wouldn’t be spending so much of my time passionately developing it, doh).

Like I said, what I have seen over the years is that these programs focus mostly or entirely on the food part. Trust me, raw food recipes and mealplans is not what it takes to successfully go and stay raw (and besides, these can be found all over the Interwebz, for free). Now I am not saying recipes and mealplans are not important – they are, and I too included them in the program. Where Raw Transformation makes a big (and crucial!) difference is that it also teaches you how to develop your own mealplans, for example. Or how to eat best for your body type and lifestyle, no one diet fits all mentality here! I also address emotional eating and intuitive eating, instead of telling you what to eat and what not to eat, or how much to eat, which doesn’t make any sense at all. And Raw Transformation continues where other programs stop. No ‘now what?’ after you got the food part down!

But the best part about this program? Live support. This is not an offline, stagnant, do it yourself kinda thing (which would basically just be an upgraded version of a book or eBook). No, the foundation of this program is live. There will be live coaching calls with me for extra support and motivation (and where you can ask everything you’ve ever wanted to know!) and a private group forum where all participants of the program can interact on a daily basis. Share stories and recipes, give and receive tips and little nuggets of wisdom, and support each other on this journey. Of course, I will be in this forum too and here you can ask me questions as well.

LAUNCH: THIS SPRING (May/June)

If a Raw Transformation sounds like just what the doctor ordered, make sure you subscribe to the Raw Transformation interest list. Once in a while I will send out some newbies and updates to the subscribers, and you will be the first to know the exact launch date. Subscribers to this list will also get the first word on the discount I am providing to a limited amount of people and only for the first 3 month round of this program! Click here to subscribe to the Raw Transformation interest list (and receive updates, tips and recipes from the Raw Transformation program max every other week).

Hiya guys!

Fashionably late I have decided to give up something for this years Lent! And no, it’s not chocolate….

Facebook Fast

Actually way harder for me to give up is Facebook (for 40 days that is. I obviously wouldn’t want to couldn’t live permanently without chocolate!!).

Don’t get me wrong. I think Facebook is (or could be) a wonderful tool for sharing valuable information and connecting people worldwide, which is oh so important in the time spirit we find ourselves in. However I, like so many other people, can’t seem to find a balance. I overuse (abuse) the site in which case it doesn’t aid me in my personal growth, but instead hinders me. I owe a lot to this social media tool. I made many new friends (yes, that I met irl after connecting on facebook first), I have been made aware of tons of great resources that aid me every day in my learning processes (my latest obsessions are Spirit Science, Thrive & anything Drunvalo Melchizedek), and I also get to share my little nuggets of wisdom and inspiration. Last but not least, Facebook has been my only means of marketing the past 3 years and I definitely see it as a form of personal & meaningful ‘marketing’ (by simply sharing my thoughts & life).

Howevah, Facebook is definitely my major source of distraction from living in the moment and pursuing my purpose. Too often I find myself wanting to ‘share’ things publicly without knowing why. Too often I find myself mindlessly scrolling through my news feed to see what others are up to. I find it very interesting to notice I feel the urge to (ab)use facebook much less in periods where I have very strong focus and dedication to my lives purpose (including my work), periods where I eat super healthy and find myself outdoors a lot, and overall the periods where I feel much more ‘connected’, grounded, happy. E.g., when my vibration is higher. Obviously, this works both ways. The less Facebook I use, the more I am able to get into this high vibe state .

Another major factor in this decision is that I want to work more and more towards spending most of my time not bathing in radiation (EMF) emitted by wireless connections. Instead of having it on by default, only turning the wi-fi on when needed. After getting rid of my TV and turning off the connection on my phone most of the time, I feel this is the logical next step.

Last but not least, I am working on some pretty major and epic projects for some like it raw that I all want to bring to you this year and on schedule, and I feel if I limit my Facebook use to the bare minimum, I would improve my productivity with 30-50% (directly and indirectly). Ps for more news on this pretty major and epic projects, stay tuned! I am revealing a lot of info over the coming few days!

Facebook, like anything in this world, can be medicine or poison, depending on how you use it. I want to create balance and clear intention in my Facebook engagement, which at the moment I am once again lacking sorely. This last week I get to blame my killer jetlag, however I also admit I am worsening the effects of jetlag by not cutting myself off the Internet often enough and just kick myself back into gear (and to bed)!

Balance

I have long toyed with the idea of doing a Facebook fast but always deemed it ‘impossible’ for me personally because it is such a vital aspect of my business! I wanted to disconnect from Facebook personally, not professionally. Well, I have now finally found the solution; hootsuite. With this nifty little tool I can post and share things to my Facebook fan page (and personal page and groups) without even having to log on to Facebook! This means I can keep my fans updated of new website content, I can keep sharing photos of meals, inspirational quotes, and so forth, without having to log on and being distracted by 3 friendship requests, 8 messages, 42 notifications, tags, and my news feed. This, for me, is ideal. Hootsuite also has the option to auto schedule messages so once a day or so I will use it to auto schedule a bunch of messages/photos for the coming days and be done with it.

So here’s  the deal;

* For 40 days I will not log on to Facebook
* I will remove the Facebook app from my phone
* I will remove the Facebook icon from my bookmarks bar
* I will only share relevant information/inspiration through hootsuite
* I will check once every few days or so for messages and questions and respond to these (only for my website page, not my personal account, and again only via hootsuite)
* I will upload a profile picture that lets people know I am not on facebook for 40 days
* I will turn of the wi-fi whenever I’m not using it 

Do you ‘like’ this? Feel free to join me!

Tell me: what’s your relationship status with facebook?
& Are you ‘giving up’ anything for Lent?

The  point of discipline is not a restrictive one but one of expansion. Whatever it is you start doing (exercise routine, language course, daily sex) or stop doing (smoking, drinking, being judgmental), you’re doing it because you want to create more possibilities and opportunities for yourself. You try to create extra space for who you are and who you want to be, you do it because you believe you will benefit from it and will improve your life.

Discipline should be relaxing; it gives you more freedom. It cuts out a lot of inner dialogues, makes sure you do the things that are beneficial to you and your life and you can go about your days knowing you’re doing something right. This should relax you!

Self-discipline is not about being your own dictator. It is about being your own disciple.“

- Brian Johnson

One of the most interesting debates within the raw food paradigm (aside from cacao of course) is high carb low fat versus low glycemic. Over the last year I have been experimenting with, and learning about, both. Here are my findings.

The High Carb Low Fat (HCLF) Diet

This way of eating means getting most of your calories from glucose (natural sugars); mostly sweet fruits, some greens and vegetables, small amounts of nuts and seeds. Though there are a few variations, generally speaking HCLF’ers eat large amounts of calories and, more so than other raw vegans, eat a very naturalist diet which I definitely think is a plus. The general consensus behind a high carb/low fat diet is that this is the most natural way for us to eat, and that fats (and proteins) don’t promote optimal health. However, I don’t think promoting a high carb low fat diet as the best way to eat for everyone is justified, and here’s why.

1. Though I am a big fan of looking at our collective past and aiming to get back to a (more) natural diet, we can’t deny our current living environment either. Not all of us are so fortunate as to live in the tropics where an abundance of fresh, organic, tropical, affordable fruit is available in a wide variety. Living in colder climates, the fruit options are either very limited, or they are shipped from all over the world, losing much nutritional value in the process.

2. Speaking of natural, a lot of people don’t realize that nowadays a lot of fruits (and some vegetables) are hardly what they used to be. A lot of fruit species are hybridized to the max. The best example of this is the banana. The definition of a fruit is that it carries its own seed, so that the tree can reproduce. Yet have you ever seen a banana with seeds? Probably not. I have, but only 2 times in my life. Bananas are hybridized to the point where they contain much more sugar yet a lot less minerals than ‘real’ bananas. Bananas are a staple food in high carb diets yet far from a ‘natural’ food!

3. A lot (= not all) HCLF’ers seem to be so focused on their fruit/calorie intake that they undereat valuable sources of essential nutrients, like greens and non-sweet vegetables. There are quite a few nutrients that are difficult to obtain from fruit only, like omega 3, selenium, zinc, iron, calcium, sodium, vitamin E and some B vitamins. Most of these nutrients can be obtained on a low fat high carb diet when enough greens are included (400-500 grams per day). Too bad I see a lot of HCLF’ers undereating greens and even sometimes promoting this. Another problem on the HCLF diet is essential amino acids, the building blocks for proteins. On a high carb diet you are likely to get enough protein, however the diet is high in some amino acids and chronically low in others, which concerns me. This could lead to muscle degeneration and other problems over time.

4. Just like our fruits changed, our lives also aren’t the same as thousands of years ago. Getting most of your calories from glucose (sugar) is a good thing when you have a very physically and/or mentally active lifestyle but guess what? Most of us have very sedentary lifestyles. If you dramatically increase your activity level as you dramatically increase your sugar intake, you’ll most likely be fine and experience an increase in energy and vitality. However, if you keep pouring fuel in your tank without burning it…. you are likely to end up feeling jittery and restless. In my opinion, most people would feel and perform better with some more (natural) sugars in their diet for extra energy and brain fuel. However, either match your diet to your lifestyle (and activity level in particular), or be prepared to match your activity level to your new diet! Which, in all honesty, is a fabulous idea in theory. But only if you actually do it.

5. Another often overlooked fact, that goes hand in hand with point #4, is that an excess of macro nutrients (= fats, protein,s carbohydrates) gets stored as body fat, not just fat from food! Fat in food doesn’t equal body fat, an excess of something, anything, will equal body fat. So if you increase your glucose intake above what you burn off in a day, even if you would eat close to 0 fat, your body would store this as body fat! This is an important one as, as pointed out above, lots of people don’t have the activity level to compliment this diet. I know many ‘successful’ HCLF’ers, yet I also know of plenty who are unable to lose weight and/or gain unnecessary weight with this way of eating. HCLF should therefore be a complete lifestyle, not just a way of eating.

6. Most of us live in urban jungles. In cities we are exposed to more toxins than ever before. A raw foods diet is ideal in reducing the amount of harmful substances we ingest via our foods (so long as they are organic) on a daily basis, and is very cleansing in and of itself.  It’s like a gentle yet continuous daily detox. The less fat we eat, the more our bodies are in cleanse mode. Though this might sound like a good thing, it isn’t really. You see, cleansing is one part of the equation, but we also need protection from toxins. Fruits and vegetables are very rich in anti-oxidants which provide some form of protection, but they are not able to give the same kind of protection as fats; insulation. Our nervous system needs fats in the diet to have a barrier of protection against toxins coming in and the more toxins in our environment, the more we need these fats.

7. Last but most certainly not least, we must take into account different metabolic types (or Ayurvedic constitutions which are similar – yet not exactly the same). Some people are fast oxidizers. Some are slow oxidizers. Some are mixed. What and how we eat should be tailored towards our metabolic type/constitution. This is one of the topics you will learn all about in my new program to be released May 1st!

The (Raw) Low Glycemic Diet

A low glycemic diet is a diet with a minimum amount of sugar, even natural ones. The glycemic index refers to how fast certain foods make your blood sugar rise (and then drop). A famous low GI diet is Dr. Gabriel Cousens ‘rainbow’ diet, especially designed for diabetics. It has 4 phases, with phase 1 for healing, and phase 4 for maintenance. In phase 4, people are ‘allowed’ to eat a little more natural sugars but most concentrated sources of glucose are still not recommended (like bananas, dates, honey, etc). Phase 1 would be exclusively greens, non-sweet vegetables (so no beets, carrots, pumpkin, potato, etc), non-sweet fruits (avocado, tomato, cucumber, etc), nuts, seeds, sprouts. Dr Gabriel Cousens is an advocate of a low sugar diet, not only for diabetics but as a general guideline. He states glucose messes with our blood sugar, and thus insulin and hormones.

I think low GI diets are not a natural way to eat long term. Like I explained above, our main source of fuel is glucose. All of our cells need glucose to function properly, especially our brain. This is a great hint as to what our main source of food should be. Some parts of fats can be converted in the body to sugar, however this is not an ideal situation for the body.

Low sugar diets are great for certain periods of our life when we need them, for example for healing or spiritual purposes. People suffering from candida (yeast) overgrowth would benefit tremendously from eating this way for 3-12 months, to starve the candida. Diabetics would also do really well with this type of diet (however some preliminary studies have also shown low fat (high (natural) sugar) diets have been successful with diabetics in lowering blood sugar). Cancer sufferers might be able to slow down the progression or even reverse cancer cell growth with a low sugar diet (as cancer cells thrive on sugar). But diabetes, cancer and candida overgrowth are not normal states of health. A low GI diet comes in when health has already been compromised. It is a great way of eating in certain healing crises, but as with a very detoxifying diet (like the low fat diet), it is not an ideal long term diet.

Phase 2 raw chocolate cake anyone? Who said low sugar eating was boring??

Diet and Spirituality

Lately I have become more and more interested in the link between diet and spirituality. It’s just another one of those things to consider when forming your diet. What I have noticed for myself, and others, is that eating a high carb, low fat diet is not ideal for spiritual pursuits. On HCLF diets we tend to become very active and ‘buzzed’, very activated, alert, sharp. High carb diets are great for creative mental efforts, as our brain gets tons of fuel (glucose). However, with so much fuel to burn and so much mental stimulation, there is less inclination for rest, peace, reflection. What I have noticed in myself and others when eating high carb, it’s always go time. Honestly, I enjoy this effect, however long term it doesn’t provide enough depth for me. There is more to life than running around (literally) and I feel on high carb diets the focus shifts towards outwards. It creates more of a masculine energy.

Low sugar diets on the other hand seem to have the exact opposite effect. They create a very calm, mellow, more feminine energy. This type of energy is great for getting more grounded and connected and thus great for spiritual purposes. Meditation is likely to get easier on this type of diet because the mind isn’t overly stimulated by sugars. However, long term low sugar diets tend to create an effect of ‘spaciness’, likely because there is too little sugar in the system for clear and concise thinking. The mind becomes more mellow, less sharp. It’s kind of like living life in the slow lane. Some people will like this effect. I myself don’t.

The Best Diet – The Secret Revealed…

In the end, there is no ‘one diet fits all’, not even within the raw food paradigm. Yes, to a certain extend our bodies are the same and so will need the same nutrients. We all need protein. Fats and carbs. Everyone needs iron in their diet, and Vitamin C, to give some examples. However, we each have different genetic make-up, different body types, lifestyles, environments, climates, different goals. I do believe there are certain general guidelines that apply to every body when it comes to diet; eat only whole foods. Raw foods are the most natural foods. Most of our calories should come from natural sugars. Eat enough fiber. These guidelines make that we all ‘should’ be consuming roughly the same type of foods, however after that there is lots of room for variation.

The best diet for you is the one that agrees with your body and your goals, whether that be spiritual, athletic or other.

I wake up at 6. A bit disoriented because I sleep with ear plugs in my hostel. I do some light stretching and breathing exercises, drink a glass of lemon water and eat a banana. I then sit down to write. I write down my intentions for the day and try and come up with some amazing affirmation. This morning my half asleep half awake brain fails at this, so I pick one from my list (“every cell in my body vibrates with energy and vitality”).

I then roll out my Yoga mat and struggle through a BodyRock.tv workout. Long gone are the days I cranked out a BodyRock workout a few times a week with relative ease…

After all that pain and torture I sit down to devour the best breakfast I can imagine; half an ice cold, juicy watermelon!

I hop on one of the bikes and exactly one song later (Flo Rida’s Good Feeling. Every. Single. Morning) me & coconut lady have a 2 second chat in Spanglish (broken English (her) and broken Spanish (me) and I buy a coconut to rehydrate. I find a nice spot on the beach and read for about an hour (though the book is really more something to keep me busy while tanning). This hour every day makes me intensely happy and grateful; in the sun, with a coconut, looking out over the ocean… wow <3. On my way back I fill my stainless steel bottle with fresh coconut water to which I add chlorella back at the hostel.

I pack my backpack with my trusty macbook and notepad, grab my hoop, and walk over to Naked Foods. Naked Foods is a raw food cafe a mere 1 minute walk from my hostel (a coincidence? I think not). It is run by two cool Cali guys and it has a pool. I announced this my new office.

I went in for an innocent chocolate macaroon but I walked out with a jar of raw nutella and a bag of dried banana. I mindlessly dipped all morning while writing for my new secret project (lets see how long I can keep it a secret lol). Oops right! I must say the cacao infused me with creativity however it was hard to sit still, which I do need to crank out a good writing session. Oh well, I took plenty of hooping breaks to release some energy <3

In the afternoon I walk ‘home’ to have lunch; more watermelon, yum yum! I read for a little and chat with some of the surfers at my hostel. I made friends with a really amazing dutch couple, I love them so much already! Feels awkward talking Dutch again though after 2 months…. (or anytime of the year, really, lol).

I walk back and install myself at ‘the office’ again for just a few more hours of working. Not a very focused afternoon, I waste a lot of time on the Intarwebz. Anyone else do this??? I have mac apps that can block Facebook and the like but erm, I can simply do CMD + Q (quit) to shut down the app. It’s kind of liking hiding candy for yourself. It doesn’t work.

I might have accidentally had a bliss ball too….

Around 5pm I drop off my stuff at the hostel, grab my head phones, and cross over to the beach again. I have been making a sunset beach walk almost every day here fueled with music and then a few days ago I accidentally started DANCE WALKING! Wow how I had missed that! I get some looks but mostly lots of ‘thumbs ups’ and big smiles!

Back at the hostel I eat another banana, and an avocado with a little pepper and salt.

I spend the evening writing in my journal, reading and chatting with some friends on facebook/whatsapp. I put on a short yoga video (myyogaonline.com) and stretch my body before I turn in at 9ish.

So that was my day! How was yours??

Even though 2013 is still super fresh, I can already tell I am doing things a little different this year. Like celebrating Christmas on the beach with a bonfire, how very untraditional of me…

Some things will never change though, like me writing my yearly recap a few days late (like I did last year).

Here are the highlights of my 2012, a very memorable year for sure… (all the pink links are clickable!)

January

I started off the new year with a bang; the release of my very first (and to date most popular!) eBook; Raw Chocolate Made Easy! This book was, and still is, a major contribution to putting myself on the raw food map, so to say. It’s partly because of this book I have been asked to do workshops, demo’s and little catering gigs in super cool places. Yes, raw chocolate really does have super powers . A little heads up; RCME will get a baby brother or sister this year!!

Another pivotal moment was when I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a Certified Holistic Health Coach. IIN has brought me more than I can put into words. I made new friends for life. I gained the confidence (and credentials!) to make health coaching my full time job. I went to L.A and met my raw food hero David Wolfe for the first time.

Although the book release was an awesome accomplishment, January mainly sucked balls for me. Though at the time I didn’t speak openly about it on the blog, I got my heart broken for the first time in my life and spend most of January crying and sobbing (including my birthday), to the point where I was seriously thinking I was depressed (turns out it’s called a broken heart ).

This month I was, seriously, plotting moving to California. I wanted a new start. I felt Holland was too small, and like there was no-one out there ‘like me’ (read: a hemp seed loving  raw vegan hippie freak). I was saving up and trying to figure out when would be best to move…

I did meet a new soul mate this month whom I still hold very dearly. He lit up my dark January month at least a little bit

February

February. My nemesis. My least favorite month. Cold, rainy and with NOTHING remotely excited going on. Oh and did I mentioned February 2012 was quite possibly THE coldest dutch February known to mankind??! I seriously thought I wouldn’t survive. One faithful morning I spotted a temperature of -18C (-4 F) on my phone display. Awesome I thought to myself, hell has frozen over.

I felt increasingly uncomfortable and lonely living in Amsterdam and hit the point where I knew I either had to get the heck out of dodge, or manifest change. And so I did!

I hosted my very first potluck! Although it might seem & sound like something small and insignificant, potlucks really changed my life for the better. I met and connected raw foodies – and other beautiful consciousness warriors – from all over Holland. I no longer felt alone on my life path. In fact I made so many new friends this whole year, mostly due to potlucks, that it’s safe to say we have our own community, our tribe, in Amsterdam. A family that always feels close to me, wherever in the world I am. I love each and every one of them and I love bringing us all together in a big, messy, food porn party!

February also marked two other very special events; my first Chocolate Club party in Club Lite (aka my second home) and, meeting there that same night, a special person who’s become one of my dearest friends over the year.

Yup, discovering Club Lite/Conscious Clubbing is another one of those things that changed my life for the better! I have introduced many a friend to Club Lite and got them hooked so that’s another place where our tribe meets at least once a week .

This month I also wrote one of my most popular and powerful articles to date, and got featured on Evolyfe.com; How I Unlocked My Highest Potential Through Raw Foods.

Another very noteworthy article this month was On Eating Disorders and Overcoming One. I just reread it and love it, and hope it will reach more and more people who need it!

March

My March started out rather blissfully with a trip to California for a health seminar from IIN! It was awesome meeting up with so many like-minded souls from literally all over the world and have a weekend jam-packed with interesting lectures (and lavish dinners at Cafe Gratitude!). And to see David Wolfe shine his light on thousands of people!

But the best thing about March?  My bestie moving in with me! We’ve had such a blast living together <3

Us:

I wrote a lot of workout posts this month! HIIT it hard & An ode to the Pushup. 

April

April was such an eventful month, where to start???

In April I released my second eBook after months of hard labor; Raw Food Made Easy! I am still so happy with, and proud of, this book! It’s really my baby. I reached my goal of selling 50 copies on the day it launched!

In april I also hosted my very first raw food workshop (also called Raw Food Made Easy) which was not only a ton of fun, but also a big hit! And I felt from the start that this is something I wanted to be doing more of!

Not long after these two milestones, I hopped on a plane to beautiful, magic, sacred BALI. This trip marked the start of a huge love-affair with traveling. By myself. Meeting new people and exploring the bounty of beauty this world has to offer!

In Bali I embarked on a beautiful and transformative journey; a 3 week juice fast! I teamed up with Saar for this adventure and when all was said and done, we published our whole experience in a free eBook (that you can still get your hands on by subscribing to my newsletter!) that became quite popular!

May

The day after I got off the plane and set foot on Dutch grounds again I naively picked up my very first hoop, not knowing it would turn into a very time-consuming hobby obsession passion. Hooping is now my second biggest passion, after raw foods & holistic health!

Hooping lights my every day and gives it color and playfulness. It’s a great ‘moving meditation’ &
helps stagnant energy flow freely again <3

Pretty soon after my return home I gave my second Raw Food Made Easy workshop, this time outside because of the blasting heat. Another fully booked workshop, one of many over the summer!

I also wrote a quite elaborate raw foodie travel guide to Bali which spurred quite a few people to book a trip to Bali, awesome! See here and here. Can’t wait to be back myself…

June

In June I hosted 2 potlucks – to make up for lost time – and the potlucks were now really growing, forming and shaping. A big ‘core’ group that showed up every time, and lots of newbies every time too.

This month, only a month after ‘Raw Food Made Easy’, I proudly launched my third eBook; ‘Detoxing Made Easy‘! Fasting and detoxification are huge interests of mine and one of the main pillars of my coaching and I am so happy to have a handy, resourceful guide on it readily available for all my readers. I spend a lot of my time in Bali writing this book, while juice fasting. It was amazing!

In June I also danced my butt off in the first ever DUTCH DANCE WALK. I love dancing. I love acting silly. I love gently provoking and inspiring by being an example. That’s all what dance-walking is about for me. Showing those around you that you can have fun anywhere, anytime, and you don’t need to feel ashamed for doing so. Between collective dance walks I would often solo dance walk or even dance cycle .

July

In July I created one of my favorite recipes to date and it still gets shared all over the blog-o-sphere: Mango Coconut Dressing!

This month I also wrote two posts that received a lot of feedback and appreciation; Why I Don’t Eat 100% Raw, and  Get Your Tan On – Raw Sun Protection.

In July the creative mastermind behind Chocolate Club in Club Lite asked me to start doing Raw Chocolate workshops which I of course happily did. Still grateful for this amazing and FUN opportunity. I really love combinging work and play, since it’s the same for me anyway!

However most of July was spend looking forward to…. BOOM FESTIVAL! Most epic week of my life, bar none. I spend a week in la-la-land in beautiful Portugal surrounded by my best friends (oh, and made a bunch of new ones).

This month I connected, quite randomly (or was it?) with a guy through Facebook. We ended up meeting each other soon after in the park, and then again at BOOM festival. He is now one of my dearest friends <3

August

Between recovering from BOOM festival, writing for my next eBook, coaching 16 (!) clients and a quick trip to Ibiza, I had no time to write for the blog.

Yes people, this is also Ibiza! It’s not all drunken sluts and sleazy night clubs. Ibiza has some of THE most beautiful nature I have ever seen and a cool hippie community!

When my plane from Ibiza to Amsterdam landed, I literally raced back home, showered and got dressed and surprised my ‘family’ by showing up at Chocolate Club (“wait… weren’t you in Ibiza or something??” lol). That same weekend I jumped in to the best thing that has ever happened to Holland; Magneet Festival (see video above)! I can’t describe how much fun I have had working, hooping and partying (sometimes all at the same time?) at this event. Magneet festival is every friday-saturday-sunday for 4 weeks at the end of the summer. I did Raw Food 101 workshops (a short version of my Raw Food Made Easy workshops, created especially for festivals and events) and Raw Chocolate demo’s. I went around the festival handing out raw chocolate goodness with my mom, and I did my first radio interview!

Woutiiii!

September

In September I got back on the writing horse and wrote a number of articles. This was also the month I learned more about my skin, hormones, and natural skin care, improved my skin dramatically and ditched the make-up for good. I challenged y’all to do the same in Guts, No Glam; The No Make-Up Challenge which some of you happily accepted! (A reader wrote on facebook; it’s so lovely to be able to go to bed at night without having to take off anything. I think I will stick with this a little while longer!). I wrote the post ‘My Top 5 Natural Beauty Products‘ which is all ‘products’ that helped me make my skin more beautiful.

Another topic that I care about deeply is organic food. You can read in the article ‘Why I Eat Organic (and You Should Too)‘ why I recommend eating only organic food.

I wrote a funny article called ‘10 Things We SHOULD Have Learned In School‘ more as a joke but got tons of positive feedback. Happy to notice more people are wakening up to the shortcoming and potential danger of our contemporary educational systems =)

This month, another one of my best friends moved in and I felt a deep sense of joy and gratitude, living together with my two of my best friends. It was a very special time!

Us:

In September I also finally discovered the epitome of raw food heaven; Durian, and fell madly in love..

This month we had some truly epic potlucks. 40-50 people showing up, in the park, bringing delicious foods, hoops, slacklines, poi, juggles, kids, dogs, fireworks and fire poi, sound systems, the whole shabang baby!

Last but not least this month I created one of my favorite recipes to date; Raw Vegan Caramel Sauce (warning; it’s addictively good!).

October

This month was spend mostly in a frenzy of packing and planning and my stress levels were an all-time high. I was preparing for my longest trip so far while all the while knowing the lease on my apartment would probably end during my time away, so I was packing my whole life in boxes at the same time. Much less fun than it sounds, I tell you.

In October I sold raw goodies at the first edition of Shine in Club Lite with madly popular Chocolate Mint Superfood smoothies (and shared the recipe on Facebook)!

I celebrated two years being meat-free, what a great thing to celebrate!

I shared this yummy Raw Sate Sauce recipe with you all, have you tried it yet? It’s definitely become a staple in my kitchen .

Just in time for the new season I wrote my top tips for staying healthy and flu-free this fall and winter in ‘My Top Tips for Boosting Your Immune System‘.

This month I also did a lot of, yet again, book writing! Phew, looking back at this year I was pretty much constantly in the process of writing a book (and I don’t see that changing anytime soon…).

November

In the first week of November I hosted the biggest potluck so far! Almost 50 people came to hug me goodbye because I was off to…. COSTA RICA!

After many long hours on a plane (good thing I follow my own travel tips!) I arrived in San Jose and made my way to La Joya Del Sol, or viva la raw, an all raw vegan farm nestled in the mountains of San Isidro. I spend about a month here, learning about gardening and farm life, and finishing my fourth eBook: ‘Raw Beauty – Ditch the Make Up and Reveal Your Natural Glow‘.

I enjoyed eating a high carb/low fat and saltless/superfoodless diet for a few weeks and the pristine air and fresh spring water, and of course the stunning waterfalls. All blissed out! You can read about my experience of Viva la Raw here.

Say hello to my little friend!

December

I spend all of December in Pachamama which has been a complete whirlwind of emotions, ranging from ecstatic and blissful to sadness and grief. Pachamama ain’t no vacation – it’s spiritual bootcamp! I did a ‘primal feelings – freedom from the past’ workshop which had me in pain all over my body and feeling unable to move for a day from all the emotional shit that was coming up and needed to be released. I did the silent retreat at the end of the month. In between I worked at the raw cacao bar and got some work of my own done but was mainly exhausted from all the self work I was doing. Worth it? Definitely.

Christmas on the beach <3

During this time I also took my last IIN exam and….

!!!

After all this hard work I am treating myself to a few weeks on the beach for some R&R before heading on to my next adventure here; a two week ayahuasca gathering including a spirit quest!

My new office <3 (and yes that’s totally raw vegan nutella. By the jar, that’s how I roll)

Oh my word…. it took me 4 days to compile this post and with every hour I put into it I became increasingly more amazed, humbled and grateful over how amazing my last year has been! What a crazy ride. Thank you for being a part of it!

I LOVE MY LIFE

Time flies and seems to stand still at the same time. Have I really been in Costa Rica for 2 months already? Have I only been in Pachamama for a month? It seems like so much longer.

So, Pachamama! So many of you have showed interest in this place and hearing about my experiences, we should all just meet up here next year! Cacao party at my casita

About Pachamama

Pachamama (‘Mother Earth’) is an intentional community in the forests of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It came to be 13 years ago and was founded by Tyohar. In the beginning of Pachamama, it wasn’t as open to the public as it is now. Visitors from all over the world, from all different ages and backgrounds, come to Pachamama to either relax and unwind, partake in transformation workshops or cycles, or do a work exchange (like me). This makes that Pachamama isn’t a community in the traditional sense of the word anymore, it’s kinda like between a community and a retreat center, with plenty of long-time, permanent residents, and many new work exchangers and visitors every season.

The intention of Pachamama is to provide a place for people to come and retract from the outside world and have time and space for going inwards, for silence. In that silence we find ourselves, our true and higher self. The daily silent sitting (meditation) from 7-8 pm is the highlight of the day for most residents and certainly the most sacred element of Pacha.  It is called the daily inner shower and every night you can find some 100+ people here in stillness and oneness. Sometimes there is Satsang, also called ‘dharma talks’ instead if silence. Satsang literally means being in the presence of truth, where someone who is far along his spiritual journey (some might call this person a guru) speaks from the heart about topics that help us awaken to our inner wisdom. In Pachamama, this person is Tyohar. There are several silent retreats and Vipasana retreats throughout the year, which is one of the main reasons I am here. This year, the silent retreat is during christmas and new years and the whole community will be in silence for 10 days. I can only imagine how beautiful and powerful this is going to be. To celebrate the new year with awareness and quiet, instead of party and loud noises.

“Listening. I am ever listening

That I may know the fullness of my Being

Of Presence

Life itself

As it flows within me

I Am

Love, Grace, Gratitude,

If I listen, I will hear

That you and I are One.”

Pachamama consists of a ‘downtown’ area with a little shop, veggie market, communal kitchen, restaurant, and raw cafe (the ‘wild treats bar’), with an open space for gatherings and events. There is a communal area with hot showers, toilets and big lockers (which nobody locks ). The big hall for silent sittings is called Osho hall (after, yes, Osho), there is a Yoga studio with free daily yoga, dancing and chanting, another Yoga studio usually used for people in a particular workshop, and the Prana Clinic, which is a cute little hut with a big open kitchen, hammocks, lounge area, and DIY colonic rooms. Finally, there is a bamboo internet cafe (there is no wi-fi in most areas of Pachamama, which I love) and ‘books nest’, a small library. The internet cafe is a top a hill with a great view of the sunset everny night. Around these areas are casita’s, camping spots, cottages, houses and even villa’s. I live in a primo spot casita; right behind the wild treats bar and one of only three casita’s that is downtown. A casita is the cutest thing ever; a little hut, consisting of a wooden floor and two walls, in the middle of the forest. A nice comfi 2 person bed, bedside table, chair and lamp, and a little cabinet for books and clothes. That’s it. Amazing. I share mine with a family of about 6 bats. They are very considerate though, when I come home they leave and latch themselves to the outside of the casita. And they help me wake up every morning! (Other casita’s have monkey alarm clocks, with monkeys that sound, literally, like demons. Brrr).

I work in the raw food cafe which I absolutely love (oh really?). I get to be around incredible smoothies and chocolate creations all day and make people happy with these treats. Though I have also been asked to help out with the marketing and communication (through writing articles) and the prana clinic (help develop their detox materials) so I guess I’ll be doing a little bit of everything from now on. If I wanted, I could have 4 part-time jobs here, including my own biz :p.

There is quite a lot of fun stuff going on at Pachamama aside from the more ‘serious’ healing work that is being done. Weekly movie nights, flea markets, 2-3 sweat lodge ceremonies per week, music & dance nights, special dinners, cacao parties, ‘medicinal mondays’… There also seem to be a lot of meetings which for newcomers like me is quite funny (9 out of 10 times when I am looking for a staff member they are in a meeting, frustrating at first, quite funny now). There are daily beach busses going for $3 for a round trip.

Pachamama has a (free) school program and is home to plenty of kids. Outside of the transformation workshops (like ‘freedom from the past’, tantra, ‘yoga and healing’, ‘body cleanse’, etc) you can book individual sessions with staff healers, like accupuncture, clarity breathwork, tantra for couples, Shiatsu massage and other mind-body work. You can also do your own colonics for a reasonable price, and someone from the clinic staff will help you and will give you the option to add something to your colonic (like I had my very first garlic enema the other day. Phew, powerful stuff).

The food at Pachamama, though I would love to see a few minor tweaks, is pretty amazing. Fresh everyday with the perfect balance between raw and cooked foods. About 90% of the food is vegan (and always vegetarian), and if there is dairy or eggs its clearly labeled and comes from some free pasture local goats and chicks. Not all food is organic (which is the one thing I’d like to see improved) but a lot of it is, and some is from Pachamama’s permaculture gardens. Everyday there is a buffet with bowls full of salad, raw crackers, homemade sauerkraut and seaweed salad, and raw dressings, coupled with some wholesome rice or lentil dishes, amazing soups, and sometimes special stuff like (vegan) sushi, wraps, quice, etc. I’d say the food is neither cheap nor expensive, but eating at the restaurant three times a day is too costly for most younger people. Which is not a problem because we just make our own stuff and share it either at someones casita, the restaurant, or the bar. Everyone is free to do their own thing. The food at the raw cafe is what I lovingly call ‘raw junk food’. It is raw and wholesome, but it’s all sugary and fatty stuff which is what it is; something to indulge in (daily, preferably). Raw bounty’s and truffles, energy balls, marzipan, ice-creams, and deliciously thick smoothies. Here in Pachamama though, they add ‘Macuna’ to all the chocolate, which is like cacao’s antidote! It is nature’s richest source of dopamine which balances the ‘high’ from cacao, but it’s also a superfoods loaded with nutrients. I don’t really understand antidoting cacao though. Isn’t the high what you want? I know I do, lol.

It is for sure possible to eat all raw at Pachamama, but you’d have to get a bit creative, and come prepared. I would advice you, if you want to eat fully raw at Pachamama, to bring some staples; hemp and chia seeds, bee pollen, maca and spirulina, maybe E3Live or vitamineral green, sprouting seeds, a nutmilk bag, some nori sheets and a stash of raw granola or spicy trail mix are just some examples, all depending on your diet and how long you’ll be staying for. The jungle shop does sell really good chlorella ($25 for a bag), stuff like fresh kefir and kombucha, medicinal honey and raw cacao powder, butter and vanilla extract. The spirulina and apple cider vinegar don’t seem to be of a very good quality (raw/organic). The shop sells nuts, some of which or raw and organic, some aren’t. In the end, it all depends on your desire and motivation for eating all raw. I personally am fine with eating vegan and high raw. What I find more of an obstacle is that not all the food is organic. Nosora, a town about half an hour drive away, has an organic market on Saturdays.

So there ya go, all you need to know about Pachamama. It’s a great place which provides a unique experience. I’d highly recommend coming here to anyone. We all need inner showers, satsang and lots of sweat lodges and cacao parties to heal .

“Meditate every day for 30 minutes. Unless you don’t have the time, then meditate for 60 minutes”

www.pachamama.com