People often ask me how can I be more happy, the number one thing is : gratitude. When we are focused on what we are grateful for in detail then a warm feeling envelops us, we feel happy and calm. When we think about what we are lacking, what we don’t have, anxiety sets in. Take a moment to think about what in your life you feel grateful for …visualize the things that make you feel love

your family

friends

husband / wife / boyfriend / girlfriend

job

home

good food on my plate

time for myself

Whatever they are, really let that energy soak within you, and watch the feeling that comes over you. This is something you can do anytime you feel anxiety washing over you, come back to gratitude, it’s the attitude that will change you in a few minutes back to a happy place!

People often ask me if happiness is a choice or something they can learn to feel. Happiness comes from when you are feeling aligned with the present moment. The present is all we have, when we are wanting something, we are not happy. How often do we find ourselves wanting something only to get it and want something more. So “getting our desires met” is only a temporary solution to happiness. True Happiness come form within. So it is a choice, and the more we choose to be grateful for what it is we do have in the present moment, we can actually change the the chemisty of the brain. Just like a puppy can be trained to “sit” we can train our monkey minds to find stillness in the present moment and feel happiness. Mediation is a wonderful way to feel our true nature which is happiness….how we get there has many avenues. I find that chanting a mantra, a sacred word is something that is powerful for lulling my brain into a relaxed state. One powerful mantra for happiness is:

Lokah:  The location of all universes existing at this moment
Samastah: All beings living in this location
Sukhino: In happiness, joy and free from all suffering
Bhav: The divine mood or state of union
Antu: May it be so

MAY ALL BEINGS EVERYWHERE BE HAPPY AND FREE

So try this mantra every morning or anytime of day you need to reconnect to spirit and watch that cloud of unhappiness disappear…I promise you will feel a clearing in the mind chatter and connect to peace which is ultimately happiness! Blessings xxo

Come join me for two exciting events!

Thursday Feb. 21st at 7pm  Yoga Is will have it’s theatrical debut at the Mill Valley Sequoia Cinema co-hotsed with Yoga Works!

I will be there for Q and A following the film along with Jai Uttal and an amazing guest panel. Then we will all head over for an after party hosted by Zhoba in downtown MV.  For more details and to purchase tickets please visit: www.yogais.com

Feb. 24th 1:30-3 pm….I will be teaching a workshop at Yoga Works MV on Happiness: Asana, meditation, lecture and pranayama will be included in this class….the cost is $20. I hope you can join me for this transformative class!

To register for the class:

Call the Yoga Works studio MV or email
415-318-7650, or email
jessica.sexton@yogaworks.com

Presidents Day weekend…Feb. 15th through the 17th the Indian International Film Festival featured Yoga Is!

Saturday Feb. 15th the film was screened and Sun. the 16th I taught a yoga class.

Here are some photo’s from the fabulous event!:

My favorite new magazine Origin Magazine asked me to write about why I made my film. You can read the article here:

http://www.originmagazine.com/2012/10/23/yoga-is-a-transformational-journey-by-suzanne-bryant/

Thank you Fitness Magazine for a great article on  YOGA IS: A Transofmrational Journey and for picking us as DVD of the month!

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/blogs/fitstop/tag/motivation/

There is so much talk these days about adopting an alkaline diet. The reason: because our biggest enemy is an acid environment, it is a breading ground for disease. So many doctor’s such as Andrew Weil and Dr. Cambell have been studying the effects on what role an alkaline diet plays in preventing and reversing diseases. Heart attacks and cancer fester and grow in an acidic body, in an alkaline body you can reverse and prevent disease. By adding these 7 foods to your daily diet, you can make a huge difference in your system.

What Are The Most High Alkaline Foods?

1. Spinach

ALL leafy greens should be eaten in abundance but spinach is my absolute favourite because it’s easy to buy, easy to use in recipes and salads and is delicious. Baby spinach or fully grown spinach are nutritional powerhouses and are incredibly alkaline.

As with all green foods, spinach is rich in chlorophyll, a potent alkaliser and blood builder.

It is also super high in vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin c, vitamin b2, calcium, potassium, vitamin e, dietary fiber….need I go on?

I doubt there is a more all round healthy food on earth and I highly encourage you to eat spinach throughout the day, every day.

2. Kale

Kale is another leafy green beauty that is widely known for its cancer-fighting, cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant-rich, detoxifying goodness.

Less popular than spinach, but only because it has a history of being cooked poorly (like cabbage) – when done right it is absolutely delicious (see recipes below, you’ll thank me).

If you eat kale 2-3 times per week you’ll know it. Like spinach it is massively high in vitamin k, vitamin a and vitamin c and being leafy green it also has a huge chlorophyll content.

The reason it is so powerful against the cancer fight is that kale contains at least four glucosinolates. I don’t want to lose you here by using words like glucosinolates – all you need to know is that as soon as you eat and digest kale, these glucosinolates are really easily converted by the body into cancer fighting compounds.

Also quite amazing for lowering cholesterol, it should be noted that steamed kale is more effective for cholesterol lowering than raw.

3. Cucumber

The beauty of cucumber is it’s water content – 95%. That is phenomenal and you won’t find that anywhere else. It’s the daddy of water-content. This of course makes it an incredibly hydrating food to consume, that ALSO contains superb amounts of antioxidants, including the super-important lignans. These highly beneficial polyphenols have more commonly been associated with the cruciferous vegetables, but their content in other veggies such as cucumbers is gaining more and more attention.

Cucumbers contain a right load of lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol (don’t try to pronounce), three lignans that have a huge and very strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease as well as several cancer types, including breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

The best thing about cucumber is that they provide the base for practically every alkaline soup, smoothie and juice – giving you a very alkaline, very nutritious base that also tastes great.

In terms of the actual nutrient RDA per serve, cucumbers contain fair amounts of vitamins K and C, and slightly less of vitamin A and the B vitamins. Cucumbers also contain the following alkaline minerals: calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium, copper, manganese, iron and zinc.

4. Broccoli

Broccoli is just a must. If you are serious about living with health, energy and vitality you simply have to eat broccoli, if not on a daily basis, then at least 4 times per week.

Broccoli has been proven over and over and over again to be incredibly powerful in inhibiting cancers, supporting the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, the detoxification processes in the body and also supporting the skin, metabolism, immune system, being an anti-inflammatory and providing ample antioxidants.

Sound good?

Eaten steamed or raw its a hugely alkaline, hugely nutritious food. Please, please, please eat lots and lots of it. Put it in salads, juices, smoothies, soups…steam it with other veggies – you can even roast it if you’re having sunday lunch.

Don’t let a meal go past without thinking to yourself “how could I get some broccoli in here?”

5. Avocado

I eat a LOT of avocado. Not a salad, smoothie or soup goes by without me adding at least 1/2 an avocado per person. I probably eat at least five-seven per week, myself.

Now, I know a lot of people give avocado a bad rep because it is a high-fat food (85% of it’s calories come from fats) – but this is totally insane. These are good fats that will not make you gain weight. If anything, due to the high content of oleic acid (making it an omega 9 fat and very similar to olive oil), it can lower total cholesterol level and raise levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) while lowering low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), also known as the “bad” cholesterol. Oleic acid also slows the development of heart disease, and promotes the production of antioxidants.

These beneficial omega oils also help speed the metabolism, actually leading to weight loss rather than gain.

So now we’re over the fat issue, avocado also contains a wide range of other nutrients that have serious anti-inflammatory, heart health, cardiovascular health, anti-cancer, and blood sugar benefits.

Containing key antioxidants such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, selenium and more – it is a powerful, alkaline, nutrient-dense superfood.

6. Celery

Celery, like cucumber is a favourite because it’s alkaline AND really high water content, so is used very frequently as a base in juices and soups (not so much smoothies as you have to juice it first…and then you have double the washing up).

One of celery’s big benefits is it’s vitamin C level, which has the well known benefits – but two of it’s lesser known nutrients are phthalides which have been shown to lower cholesterol and coumarins which have been shown to inhibit several cancers.

The beauty of vitamin C rich foods are that they help with the most common and most challenging health concerns – they support the immune system, inflammation (so helps with arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma etc), and vitamin C also helps significantly with cardiovascular health.

If you are on a weight loss journey, you’ll also be happy to hear that this alkaline staple contains plenty of potassium and sodium and so is a diuretic – meaning it helps rid the body of excess fluids.

7. Capsicum / Bell Pepper / Pepper

The antioxidant superpower, bell pepper is one of my all-time-favourites because it is sweet, crunchy and refreshingly delicious. You can use it in almost any meal raw, grilled, fried, roasted and it is always a winner.

Here are just SOME of the antioxidants bell pepper contains:

• Flavonoids
– luteolin
– quercetin
– hesperidin
• Carotenoids
– alpha-carotene
– beta-carotene
– cryptoxanthin
– lutein
– zeaxanthin
• Hydroxycinnamic Acids
– ferulic acid
– cinnamic acid

Of these, the cartenoids are the most interesting. Impressively beneficial to our health cartenoids are highly researched and get a lot of attention in the health field…and bell peppers contain over 30 different members of the carotenoid nutrient family. The only other food that is close to this is tomato…and all other foods are also-rans.

Bell peppers have shown up in research relating to decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, macular degeneration, cancer, inflammation and more.

Alongside these lesser known or more complex-named antioxidants, bell pepper is one of, if not the best food source of the more common antioxidants: vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E.

In fact, bell peppers contain twice as much vitamin C as oranges.

information courtesy of many research studies and energize for life.