Posted by terrepruitt on May 18, 2018
Last month my husband and I decided we need some ocean time. We went up to Capitola for breakfast. I was looking forward to sitting on the beach and enjoying the ocean. But we just had breakfast and took a walk to the wharf then headed home. It was a very short little visit. It was a very nice day.
Here is a shot from the Capitola Wharf for today’s Friday Photo.
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Capitola breakfast, Capitola Wharf, Friday Photo, ocean, ocean time | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 16, 2018
The meridians or the channels are the paths that the Qi travels. In the Yin Yoga Teacher Training I am taking we are focusing on the SINEW Meridians. The Jing Well Points are the areas where the meridians begin. The leg meridians begin at the Jing Well Points of the feet. The arm meridians begin at the Jing Well Points of the hand. Just like the leg meridians there are Yin and Yang Arm Meridians. Also, remember that the Jing Well Points and the meridians are bilateral so they are on the left side as well as the right side. The Yin Sinew Arm Meridians are the Lung Sinew Meridian, the Heart Sinew Meridian, and the Pericardium Sinew Meridian.
The Yin Sinew Meridians run up the inner part of the limbs, primarily. So the Yin Sinew Arm Meridians, run up the inner forearm and inner upper arm. The Yang Sinew Arm Meridians travel up the outer part of the arm, crossing over the elbow.
The jing will point for the lung sinew meridian is at the base of the thumb nail. The lung sinew meridian travels up the “back” of the thumb over to the inside of the wrist up the inner forearm up the inner upper arm into the arm pit, continues on to the anterior shoulder spreading out to L1-15. It also branches down to the diaphragm, spreads over the diaphragm ending in the area of the floating rib. Lung Qi has to do with circulation and, of course, respiration. Weak lungs or blocked lung Qi could be evident by signs of skin issues or a poor sense of smell.
The heart sinew meridian starts at the nail bed of the median side of the pinky, crosses over to the inside of the palm, travels to the wrist and up the inner side of the arm, over the medial aspect of the elbow. It travels into the chest under the armpit through the diaphragm ending at the belly button. The heart and its Qi has to do with blood and its circulation, it also has to do with spirit. Issues could be presented as anxiety, trouble focusing or settling down.
The Pericardium Sinew Meridian starts at the tip of the middle finger, it travels up the palm, up the inner forearm to the inside elbow and below the armpit. It then disperses out and down over the ribcage. It branches of into the chest at the armpit and down to the diaphragm. Since it has to do with blood circulation to the extremities, having issues with circulations in the extremities could indicate blocked Qi.
Most Yin Yoga poses focus on the lower body, but there are ways to incorporate the arms and affect the arm sinew channels. Yin Yoga asana don’t target only one meridian, they tend to affect more than one at a time. When examining the pathways, it makes sense since they are so close together and sometimes seem to converge. Yin Yoga uses asana to free up sinew meridians.
So there you have the pathways of the Yin Arm Sinew Meridians.
PLEASE NOTE: Nothing you read here should be relied upon to determine a medical diagnosis or courses of treatment. The information on this blog is not intended to replace advice and instruction from a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asana, Heart Sinew Meridian, Lung Sinew Meridian, Pericardium Sinew Meridian, poses, Qi, qi channels, qi pathways, Yang Sinew Arm Meridians, Yin Arm Sinew Meridians, Yin Yoga | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 14, 2018
This is one of those not-really-a-recipe things, but it is kinda an idea for dinner, an idea on how to use left overs. Last year we had a party. It was a very small party, but I cooked as if it were a big party. I was looking to make things that could be made ahead of time. I didn’t adjust the recipe for a smaller number of guest. I knew we would have a lot of left overs. We were ok with that, we like left overs. One thing that I made was artichoke dip. You know that one, yes? I posted about it Artichoke Dip – Easy Party Dip.
It is really good. Well, we had a lot left over. So I was trying to use it up. Aside from just eating it with crackers and/or chips. If you know me at all you know I love tortillas. I pretty much think you can put anything on a tortilla. And I often do. One night I made use of the artichoke dip. I put some cheese on a tortilla, then I spread some artichoke dip on top, then I topped that with meat. We happened to have left over meatballs so I cut them up and put them on top, but I it would be good with ground turkey, ground beef, shredded chicken, even sausage. Then I chopped up some kale and put it on top.
As usual – just my normal M.O. – I didn’t take a picture of the finished product. I was too hungry I think. At least I got pictures of the before cooking. Although they don’t look very good. It looked better when the artichoke dip was hot and gooey and the kale was a bit wilted. And it tasted awesome.
This was just another way to eat the left over artichoke dip. Have you ever had left over artichoke dip? What did you do with it? Did you try to incorporate it into a meal?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Kale, left over artichoke dip, left overs, not really a recipe for dinner, party dip, party left overs | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 11, 2018
Oh! Babies! I just ran across these pictures! Last year I heard a lot of chirping coming from our little front yard that I never go into. So I went to see what all the commotion was about. BABIES! There was about six babies looking as if they were just getting bold enough to venture about. I watched them for a long time. Then I went and got my phone/camera. When I came back they noticed me and most of them teetered off. They were so cute! I managed to get two of them.
Baby birds is today’s Friday Photo.
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: baby birds, cute babies, Friday Photo, John's yard | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 9, 2018
I know many people think salt is bad for you because that is what the American Heart Association seems to preach. But salt is not bad for you and it is very necessary in our diet. What I think the American Heart Association bases their recommendations off of is the idea that the average American eats A LOT of fast food, and a lot of over processed foods. Fast Food contains a lot of sodium as do over processed foods. Often times food stuff can be “lite” or “less fat” and still flavorful by adding more sodium. So, I believe that the American Heart Association thinks there is too much salt in the average American diet and with that their recommendations have scared people away from salt. I started off with that because I am going to post about salt. Not just any salt but a particular salt.
I have a friend that visits Hawaii once a year, I believe. She is one of the generous people who buys gifts for people whenever she goes on a trip. Well, one year she brought be a few salts and spices. Since she bought me a few it took me awhile to get to using them all. Well, there was one that once I opened it I used it on everything I could use it on. I fell in love with Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt. I used the Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt so much I quickly went through it.
My friend always asks me what flavor to bring back when she goes and I tell her Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt. But the last time she went to brought me Aloha Spice Company’s Aloha Vanilla Hawaiian Cane Sugar so we could see what that was like. She didn’t bring me the Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt. So I got to thinking . . . maybe I could just buy it from Aloha Spice Company. Well, of course I can. But I can also buy some flavors through Amazon. So that is what I did.
I don’t use the Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt on everything that can be salted because I am not sure the Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime flavor would go with everything, but it pretty much goes with ALMOST everything. It is great on veggies. You know, if you have ever read one of my posts about veggies, you know I love to roast veggies. The Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt on roasted veggies . . . . . WOW! So good.
She had also brought me Kiawe Smoked Garlic Hawaiian Sea Salt. Since I use garlic on pretty much everything I cook . . . so using the Kiawe Smoked Garlic Hawaiian Sea Salt is really not a big change. I also got some Guava Lime Smoked Hawaiian Sea Salt, which is not as flavorful as the one with ginger, but it is very good. It is amazing, to me, the different flavor that these salts add to things. Not an over powering flavor, but just enough to make things I would use garlic salt on anyway – very, very yummy!
The salt comes in little bags which I find tedious to use. So after my friend brought me a few bags of different types of spices I started saving the spice bottles from the organic spices I buy. They are glass and really nice to use. The label peels off them very nicely and they wash up really well. Once the spice that is in the bottle is done, I peel off the label and put the bottle in the dishwasher. Then I peel (I think I peeled once and that is why the Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt label is ripped) or cut out the Aloha Spice Company label and stick it/tape it to the jar. So much easier to use the spice from a shaker jar.
So if you are looking for a little taste of the island 🙂 and you cook things that you like to salt, you might want to check out Aloha Spice Company and see if there are any spices that you might like. They sell a lot more than just salt blends.
Do you use sea salt?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Alohoa Spice Company, American Heart Association, flavor enhancer, Guava Lime Smoked Hawaiian Sea Salt, Hawaiian Guava Smoked Ginger Lime Salt, Kiawe Smoked Garlic Hawaiian Sea Salt | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 7, 2018
The Yin Yoga Teacher Training I am taking has been one weekend a month since February. This month we are going to meet two times. This will be our final month. When we were first introduced to Jing Well Points the introduction was made with the points on both the hands and feet. We went on to learn about the sinew meridians associated with the legs and how they began at the jing well points on the feet. I posted about the Jing Well Points of the Feet first. Then I posted about the Leg Meridians in two separate post as there are Yin Leg Meridians and Yang Leg Meridians. First off, to make sure we are all on the same page, some believe there is Qi or energy moving through the body. The Qi moves through the body via channels or meridians. These meridians have starting points called Jing Well Points. There are many meridians in the body but our teacher training is focusing on the Sinew Meridians. They are less exact and the most superficial. They are the easiest to target by Yin Yoga. My posts about all of this so far has just been a way for me to somewhat sort out all the information I am getting. And to share it with you. These post are brief in the information as there is SO much. This post is about the jing well points in the hand.
I have to give thanks to my husband who was my hand model. In the training we receive handouts of information, but when posting on my blog I like to post original creations. I don’t like to use other peoples stuff, I have, but I don’t like to so it is rare. So this is my creation, thanks to my hand model.
There are six jing well points on the hand . . . just like the feet. And just like the feet, they are bilateral. So the left AND right thumb have the lung jing well point and so on. The jing well point for the small intestine is at the nail bed on the lateral side of the pinky. At the base of the nail bed of the pinky on the medial side is the heart jing well point. The lateral side of the ring finger at the nail bed is the jing well point of the Triple Heater. The tip of the middle finger is where the jing will point of the pericardium is. The medial side of the index finger at the nail bed is where the jing well point of the large intestine is. And the lungs’s jing well point is at the nail bed of the thumb.
Also, just like the leg sinew meridians there are Yin Arm Sinews and Yang Arm Sinews.
The jing well points can be activated by touch and pressure or movement. So as in my comment on my post about jing well points in the feet, the jing well points in the hands can be affected by acupressure or reflexology.
Most Yin Yoga poses focus on the leg meridians, there are ways to incorporate the arm meridians into the poses. There are a few arm poses, but most of them incorporate the legs meridians too.
Next we will learn the path of the arm meridians. Exciting, yes?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: acupressure, asana, hand model, Jing Well Points, Qi, Reflexology, sinew meridians, Yang Arm Sinews, Yang Leg Meridians, Yin Arm Sinews, Yin Leg Meridians, yin yoga poses, Yin Yoga Teacher Training | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 4, 2018
I love our roses. Yeah, I post about them a lot. I take pictures of them on the rose bush. I cut them and bring them in. I take pictures of them in vases. I love them. I was talking to a friend recently who, when I suggested she put roses in her yard, said they are a lot of work. I suppose if you take care of them properly they are. But I don’t know how to properly take care of a rose bush. I am not a gardener. I just like to look at them and cut them and bring them in. That seems to be enough so far.
Here is a rose from our rose bush for today’s Friday Photo.
I love roses. How about you?
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Friday Photo, orange roses, Roses, yard roses | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 2, 2018
I used to use SeaPlasma for so many things. It was a great moisturizer that I could spray all over; my hair, my face, my skin, my clothes . . . it didn’t matter. Of course I didn’t spray it on my clothes to moisturize them, but when I sprayed it on me I was not worried about it getting on my clothes and staining them. I didn’t worry about it getting on my car’s upholstery or my furniture. It was a great way to “freshen” up when I had to go somewhere right after teaching Nia. I loved it and have been using it since Junior High. Sad, so sad, to say that it is not being made any more. So . . . I am always on the lookout for something comparable. I have found a couple of moisturizing products but they are basically made of oils so I don’t trust them on my clothes or furniture. I also don’t like to use them in my hair as they just make my hair oily. The other day, after posting about peppermint oil, I decided to make a mixture of my own.
I had a little spray bottle and I filled it almost all the way up with witch hazel, I added a few drops of peppermint oil for its cooling properties. Since it can help with allergies, congestion, among other things, I thought it would be a nice addition. I put in a few drops of lavender oil primarily for its calming effects. And I put in some Ylang Ylang because I enjoy the smell and it can help with anxiety, high blood pressure and restlessness. I topped the bottle off with water. I thought this would make a nice mixture for cooling me down. I think it will not be drying and it smells nice.
Witch Hazel is an astringent made from the bark and leaves of North American witch-hazel shrub. But even though it is an astringent it is not a harsh one. It does not dry out the skin, in fact it helps with moisturizing the skin and hair.
I am not so worried about it on my clothes although I should probably test it out. For now I just have a bottle by my bed and it helps me get to sleep on those warm nights.
I think I will make some more to use in replacement of my beloved-yet-no-longer-made SeaPlasma. I really love the smell!
________________
Refresher
Small spray bottle
Witch Hazel
Peppermint oil
Lavender Oil
Ylang Ylang Oil
water
Fill the bottle almost all the way with Witch Hazel, then add about 7 drops of peppermint oil, 7 drops of lavender oil, and 3 or 4 drops of Ylang Ylang oil. Top of with water. Shake.
________________
As I said I have not tested this on clothing or furniture so be cautious. Also, this is just a loose recipe and IDEA of what to do. Add more or less oil as you see fit . . . do what works for you.
Do you have a recipe for a refresher?
Posted in Essential Oils | Tagged: calming effects, moisturizer, Nia, refresher, SeaPlasma, spriter, witch hazel, ylang ylang | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 30, 2018
Everyone is different, right? So, it might be too early for you to think about Christmas. But I am often thinking about Christmas. I am not a shopper. I do not like to GO shopping. I do most of my shopping online, so when I am out in a store, Christmas might come to mind if I see something cool. This month, April, I didn’t walk into the store specifically thinking about Christmas, but when I walked into the store and I saw something that reminded me of someone who is on my Christmas list THEN I start thinking about Christmas. On our recent trip to the ocean I found some items that I purchased with the intent of giving them as Christmas gifts.
I was talking to the store owner and I mentioned that most things in the pile of items she was holding at the register were going to be Christmas gifts. She mentioned that when she buys gifts so far in advance she forgets about them. Ha.Yes! I have had that happen too. I have forgotten that I have purchased gifts for someone and I ended up buying additional gifts for that person. I have also misplaced gifts that I have purchased throughout the year.
So a few years ago I started keeping a list on my computer. I have a “running” list of people who I buy for so after having given the gifts I just delete the items and save the list of names as “the next year of gift giving Christmas” (ex. 2018 Christmas). Sometimes I have room in one spot in a closet or on a shelf for all the gifts, but sometimes I don’t, so I also include a note on the list as to where the gift is being stored. That way I know where it is.
Since I am an online shopper I also have a system for “ordered” and “received”. When I order something I type it on the list next to the person’s name in regular text and I highlight it. When I receive it, I remove the highlighting and make the text bold. Because sometimes I might have an IDEA of what I want to get someone and I might include that on the list . . . so if the item is just plain text that is the IDEA of the gift. Highlighted is WAITING FOR/ORDERED/IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING and BOLD is received/completed.
I also cross the items out and put “Done!” near the names when I am done with buying for that person, otherwise I will just keep reviewing the items and deciding whether to add more or not.
This could work for any gifts you might buy throughout the year. You could have a Birthday Gift List or whatever occasion you purchase gifts for.
What about you? Do you shop early for gifts? Have you ever forgotten or misplaced a gift?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas gift list, gift list | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 27, 2018
I was looking through some photos to try to find one to post for my Friday Photo today and I found this. It is a little confusing to me because I am not recognizing the view or the angle. But the picture next to it dated the same day is one I recognize so this one just must be an angle I have not taken before.
See the little black dots? Those are birds. I like this shot. I thought it was a good share for a Friday Photo.
Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Birds, Friday Photo, moon, sky | Leave a Comment »
