We all know that illness can be caused when toxicity in our body increases.  To reduce toxicity you can always try weight loss detox with whole foods and detox recipes.  But did you know that toxicity can be increased by stress.  So why not try to reduce your stress first?

To reduce stress you can learn to relax, improve sleep quantity, or try some breathing exercises.   If you reduce your stress you may be able to reduce female hormone imbalance and ease pre-menopausal and post menopausal symptoms.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.  ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

One of the best stress reducers is to try to do nothing for five minutes.  Can you do it? It will be even better if you lie down and put your legs up on the wall – in Legs-up-the Wall Pose. This detoxing pose will help you to relax, drain lymph from the legs and increase blood flow.

If you are not sure how to start, some directions from yogajournal.com might help:

Start with your support about 5 to 6 inches away from the wall.

Sit sideways on right end of the support, with your right side against the wall (left-handers can substitute “left” for “right” in these instructions).

Exhale and, with one smooth movement, swing your legs up onto the wall and your shoulders and head lightly down onto the floor.

The first few times you do this, you may ignominiously slide off the support and plop down with your buttocks on the floor. Don’t get discouraged. Try lowering the support and/or moving it slightly further off the wall until you gain some facility with this movement, then move back closer to the wall.

Try to relax on the floor doing nothing every day, and if you think you don’t have time, lie down while you watch TV, talk on the phone or plan a weekend  getaway.  Breathe, smile and be happy…..

Let us slow down and learn how to do nothing from time to time to feel and look fabulous, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

If you get up in the morning feeling stressed out, out of balance and fatigued, you might need a break to breathe, meditate, or do one of these four Qigong exercises to get more energy and feel centered.

Try to do these exercises presented by one of the “Shift Doctors” Marion Ross, P.H.D. Do them in the morning, or any time when you need to get rid of your old or negative energy, detox your body, get your hormones in balance, improve your vision, and get energized by the Universe.

Do you feel energized, refreshed and centered?

Click to listen to our discussion with the shift doctors Tracy Latz and Dr. Marion Ross on How to Feel Happy and Lovable on holistic health talk for women radio show “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina”.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Counselor

Happy and Healthy New Year to You and Your Family!

Are you ready to start this New Year with healthy winter breakfast? We, women after forty, must have breakfast in order to have enough energy and to keep our hormones in balance.

Do you like to have cooked or raw oatmeal with fruits and nuts for breakfast? We need oatmeal to feel and look fabulous at any age.

Oatmeal is rich in fiber, which can help with constipation,  high blood pressure, and natural weight loss and detox. It is also rich in Manganese, a trace mineral we need to keep our bones strong, our blood sugar under control and thyroid (responsible for our hormonal balance) healthy.

New Year Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup whole grain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 cups kefir
• 2 eggs (preferably organic and from free-range birds)
• olive oil for the pan
• 2 tbsp raw honey or blackstrap molasses
• Maple syrup
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• fresh fruits (apples, bananas, blueberries, persimmon, raisins, prunes, etc).
• sour cream

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and add kefir and raw honey or blackstrap molasses. Stir thoroughly. Cook as regular pancakes. Serve with the fresh fruits and sour cream on top.

Bon Appetit!

Learn more about eBook “Detox-101,Super Simple Detox-The Ultimate Detox Guide for Beginners”

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Counselor

Did you know that extra estrogen in the body can trigger growth of uterine fibroids? To improve your breast health and reduce risk of getting fibroids or growing them bigger, we need more fiber rich foods in our diet, especially beans. Black beans are rich in phytoestrogens and fiber which can help control estrogen and reduce fibroid growth.

Listen to our podcast with Gail Edgell , President and CEO of 360.Menopause, in which we discuss fibroids, testing and what women after 40 need to know in order to stay  healthy.

Healthy Mango Salad Recipe with Black Beans and Carrots For Fibroids

• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1  can black beans, drained, rinsed
  
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 scallion, sliced
  
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 carrots, chopped
  
• 1 to 2 tsp jalapeno, minced
  
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
  
• Salt, pepper to taste
  

Sautee carrots in 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix all ingredients and serve.

Bon Appetit

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach, Counselor and Relationship Expert

How are you feeling right now? From time to time our female hormones can mess with us, can’t they? Do you think your hormones are in balance or you have a low hormones level? A hormone imbalance can cause menopause problems and lead to serious health issues.

Have you listened to my interview with Karen Roth, holistic naturopath about hormone imbalance and symptoms of their deficiency during menopause on “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina”, radio show for women? Click above to listen to the tips on how to balance hormones and get hormone testing.

A natural hormones balance for women means to balance hormones with nutrition, using organic food benefits, and healthy lifestyle changes. 

The first step to hormonal balance is to minimize the amount of toxins penetrating into ou

r body from the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, household, skin care, make up products we use.

The following can alos help balance hormones:

• avoid sugar, unhealthy fats, processed foods that can cause hormone imbalances;
• eat organic foods as much as we can (including, meat and dairy products) to reduce amount of toxins and chemicals in the body;
  
• reduce stress, #1 cause of all illnesses;
• exercise (even exercise shortcuts might help)
• detox with whole foods using alkaline fruits and vegetables and fiber rich foods
• add omega-3 fatty acids into your meals on a regular basis (flax seeds, walnuts, wild salmon).

Remember that to get your hormone test is always a good idea, click to learn more about hormone testing

To feel and look fabulous and keep our hormones in balance, let us change our lifestyle one step at a time, shall we?

P.S. Click to listen to our discussion with Dr. Theresa Ramsey on Hormonal Imbalance and What We Can Do About It

P.P.S. Click to listen to our discussion with Dr. Alicia Stanton on How to Deal with Hormonal Imbalance Naturally.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert