Wellness Wednesday: Let's Talk About Supps, Baby - pt1 (Copy)

You like what I did there? >_< (If you’re too young to understand that reference… kindly look it up or ask your elders.)

I wanted to take some time to chat about a way that you can give yourself the upper hand on the trail, in the gym, or just plain in life. I’ve been biohacking for the better part of two decades now, without having necessarily realized it when I began, and it’s the sort of thing that certainly compounds benefits over time.

But “WHAT IS BIOHACKING?”
It’s not as outrageous as it might sound. I’ll focus another, more in-depth post on it later, but simply put, biohacking is the art of utilizing different tools and tricks to enhance your body chemistry, physiology, and ultimately improve performance. Nutrition and supplementation are just a couple of the ways that you can biohack yourself.

As someone with an ethnic background who had a relatively holistic grandmother (always putting plants and natural potions on her face) and a father who was into home remedies, I’m also quite the naturalist myself and have always found assistance and solution through nature. As a fitness professional, my interest in supplementation was piqued and I’ve tried a lot of things through the years.

ANYWAY… Here are some supplements I personally use in my own biohacking adventure.
*NOTE + DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor nor do I make any claims in regards to your own health; I am simply sharing my own supplemental regimen and it’s up to you to do your due diligence and research or speak to your healthcare providers about if they might work for you. If you choose to try any of these supplements without research or professional consultation, you are doing so at your own risk.

ELDERBERRY - The fruit of the Sambucus tree, provides antioxidants for immune support and has been shown to have antiviral properties that can defend against the flu. I just started using these on-the-go shots by Nature’s Answer that I can just throw in my hiking pack. I particularly love that they taste great and don’t use sucralose :)

• antioxidant

• immune-boosting

• antiviral
  

NAC - I started using N-Acetyl Cysteine over a decade ago in my quest for natural respiratory health solutions and as I was building up my cardiovascular endurance, I’d experience noticeable differences on days that I missed a dose vs every other day I remembered to take it. I’ve been using NOW Foods NAC for nearly a decade now since they were a local brand when I lived in IL and I’ve always been satisfied with the quality and affordability of their products.

• aids in detoxification

• antioxidant production

• prevention of cellular damage
  

FORSKOLIN - The extract of the root of the Indian coleus forskohlii plant, this is another supplement I came across in researching solutions for natural respiratory support that I found to be beneficial in mitigating asthmatic incidences and I’ve been taking regularly for quite some time. It was popularized at one point for potential weight loss benefits and may have an impact on body fat regulation, lean muscle mass support, and weight management. I’ve been using Cardiovascular Research Ltd Forskolin since I like that they’re a brand trusted by more holisitically inclined physicians.

• metabolic regulation
  

CORDYCEPS - I’m a big fan of adaptogens and medicinal mushrooms (not the special kind, per se) rank near the top of my list. Ask me about the week I felt invincible when the one big difference to note was that I took Cordyceps daily without fail. This is another supplement I trust from NOW Foods, though I’ve also taken mushroom blends from different brands. Another one I like if you want to up your shroom game is Genius brand’s Mushroom blend. While modern Western medical research is still in progress for most of Cordyceps’s health claims, it’s been used for ages in Traditional Chinese Medicine I’ve experienced the health benefits for myself.

• increase ATP / cardiovascular improvement

• reduce fatigue / boost endurance

• anti-inflammatory
  

ELEUTHERO (Siberian Ginseng) - Though there are a few different forms of ginseng, and I’d used other types in the past for athletic enhancement, Siberian Ginseng caught my attention while in as herbal remedy lecture at Envision Festival last winter. As someone who conscientiously maintains a healthy immune system, I still sometimes fall prey to seasonal allergies, and I was therefore interested to find that many people use eleuthero as a natural antihistamine. I’ve since then been pleased by it’s effects to help me through two allergy seasons so far. I particularly love that it’s even more afforable than your average OTC antihistamine. Unsurprsingly, once again, I’ve trusted NOW Foods’s Eleuthero as well.

• immune booster

• general stimulant

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS ARTICLE? Did you learn anything? Are you fascinated?
Please drop a COMMENT below to let me know, and share any of the supplements you use too!
I’ll be sharing more from my personal supplementation list next week so stay tuned :)

*NOTE : Yes, the blue/underlined texts are affiliate links hyperlinks to Amazon product pages and any purchases made through those links to help support my efforts to create and share content with you are greatly appreciated 🙏

Why Not Whip It Up: Smoothie Bowl 10.25.20 - UnPumpkin

While Halloween is my favoritest of holidays, I've been having a hard time getting into the spirit with the current Mercury retrograde, amongst other distractions in my own life as well as in the macrocosm of my/our collective environment. Nonetheless , I wanted to be at least a little festive and conjured up this masquerading UnPumpkin smoothie bowl.

Smoothie Base
-1/2C frozen strawberries

-1/2C frozen bananas
-1 scoop Vega Sport vanilla protein

-1 scoop Vital Proteins Marine Collagen
-3/4C filtered h2o

Toppings
-2-4Tb chia, flax and hempseed mix

-

I topped it all off with some leftover store-bought frosted chocolate cake.

What fun and aesthetically festive holiday recipes do you have up your sleeve?

thoughtfull Thursday: What Manifestation Feels Like

“Preface: thoughtfull Thursdays are sometimes, though not necessarily always, thoughful, however are moreso referred to as such because they are FULL of THOUGHTS.
p.s. if you’re reading this, could you hit the like button so I know that someone is?”

This may sound like the simplest thing in the world to some, and even if you’re thinking “why should I bother reading this,” I still think you should. For me, the reason I’m writing this is because if I were wondering what manifestation felt like, I’d likely Google search “What does manifestation feel like?” And in fact, I did once have that pondering, but it was before the time of even thinking to consult your own personal technological information slave (Google, Siri, Alexa). In fact. I haven’t searched that query, I’ll admit, but if I had, I’m sure I would’ve wanted to find something (and we all remember the days when our searches led us to dead ends, or perhaps only those millennial and older ) .

Anyhow, I’ll get to the point now. I just had a moment of experience that I feel best describes the sensation of manifestation and I wanted to share it with anyone who might not know exactly, or even in any minor semblance, what manifestation feels like.

Just this morning, I was getting my life together like I always do at least once or twice or 55 times a week, organizing things in my room, folding clothing, and putting away laundry in their respective home spaces. I felt a piece of paper in the back pocket of a pair of jeans that I was rolling up and felt into the pocket, expecting maybe a parking ticket voucher or something of the like. As I reached into my pocket, I found my social security card. I know, I absolutely know that you’re thinking that’s not something you’d want to lose. I agree, especially having clearly misplaced mine. What might be more troubling than the prospect of having lost such an article of importance, is that it’s probably been about a year since I’d last seen it. It’s how funny how these little things work, though. I remember having thought just recently, maybe a week, maybe a few weeks, maybe a couple months ago, “I know my social security card is here somewhere, it’ll pop up eventually.” I made maybe one relaxed effort to find it, but didn’t stress too much about it like I might’ve scoured for anything else with more of an urgent necessity. After that, I guess you could say it was on the back-burner amidst all the other things I have on my mind that call to be attended to more immediately. And then, some time and literally no effort later, here is my social security card, back in my secured possession. I feel very strongly that you’ve likely experienced something like this at least once in your life. This feeling of relief and joy that washes over you is nearly magical, so it sometimes seems. I once read someone’s description of love to be something along the lines of,” it feels like everything I ever lost come back to me.”
I can’t argue with a person feeling that way about love. And I add to it that manifesting feels that way also. Whether or not you actually lost an item or idea, a feeling or sensation from your experience of life, there is an incomparable feeling that occurs when you get or get back something you desired that you all but let go of.

Whether or not you believe it’s a scientific coincidence or a manifestational, and still scientific, occurrence, it’s the feeling that we’re focusing on, the sensation of seemingly calling to something with your mind, letting the matter go with ease, and experiencing the appearance of said item.

As some metaphysicists would say, that was the “set it and forget it” method of manifestation.
Have a clear and unwavering image in your mind of what it is you want or are hoping for, with full belief of it.
Let that idea, that desire, that want go and forget about it, or at least cease attachment or dwelling about it.
Watch it manifest.

For anyone completely new to or in disbelief of manifestational occurrences, I dare you to just try it.
Now of course, it can work to your advantage or your disadvantage, as I’m sure many of us can believe and know has happened to use; thinking something you don’t want, watching it come to life. You imagined it, after all? And then right there it was.
I know it sounds too easy to be true, because it sounds easier that it is.
One of three mistakes might happen when you’re manifesting: You either don’t believe it can actually happen, whether literally or figuratively, or you think so hard of what you don’t want that THAT is what in fact ends up happening. Or, potentially the worst of them all, you continue to spend so much time thinking about or wanting something that you inadvertently push it away. More on that another time.

Try these simple steps out and even if you don’t experience manifesting up front, you might at least become more clear in your mind about what it is you truly want or where in your life you could stand to place more belief.

-Cher Nicolas RYT-200, Reiki Master Practitioner, observer of life