Body Nirvana

Since I wrote about when it clicked for me a year ago, it has continued to click for me.

I’ve clicked that I don’t need sugar in everything I eat.

I’ve clicked that wine isn’t necessary every day.

I’ve clicked that I can do yoga even though I can’t touch my toes.

I’ve clicked that I don’t need to be perfect.

Last week I clicked that my body needs to run, be strengthened and stretched.

Without trying to, I have clicked my way from a UK size 14 to a UK size 10.

And there was no suffering involved.

I’m more and more convinced that the best way to get into shape is through insight. 

And that you don’t get insights by being mean to yourself.

Sudden realisations and aha moments come when you get out of your way. 

It comes when you start seeing that you have created a reality for yourself for years and that “reality” is often just a figment of your imagination.  (With me, I was convinced I needed sugar in everything I ate, that I had to have wine to be mellow, and that I had to be perfect to be worthy.)

Having an insight is a bit like a butterfly landing on your hand.  It’ll come when you’re peaceful.

It’ll come when you’re listening out for the still, quiet voice that knows what’s good for you. 

It’ll come when you’re talking to someone who loves you. It’ll come when you feel safe and heard.

It’ll come when you stop running and trying and grasping and thinking and rushing.

It starts by being kind to yourself, instead of judging yourself.

It starts by having faith in yourself, by being grateful for everything you have and by looking after yourself.

It starts by stopping.

You could even start by cooking delicious food and enjoying it.

Let me know how it turns out.

Three things I cooked this week that were yum yum delicious:

Leek and potato latkes

6 largish potatoes peeled and grated

2 leeks grated

3 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

Half a teaspoon baking powder

Salt and pepper

Mix and place in a sieve and encourage water to leave the batter. You don’t have to go crazy. Gravity will do most of the work.

Fry in lots of hot oil

Michelle’s baked cod with crème fraiche and zatar

Dab bits of butter on cod fillets. Bake uncovered in hot oven (200 degrees) for 10 minutes.

Let fish cool down. Cover with crème fraiche and sprinkle with zatar.

Put back in oven for 15 minutes. Check fish for doneness. If cooked through take out and serve.

Thai chicken curry soup

One tin coconut milk

2 teaspoons lemon grass paste

1 piece of ginger (size of two thumbs) sliced small

3 kaffir leaves crushed

1 chicken breast per person eating – chopped up small

5 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)

2 tablespoons sugar

Half a lemon squeezed per person eating

A sprinkle of dried chilli flakes

One teaspoon per person Thai red curry paste

Mix white basmati (one a half cups) and wild rice (half a cup) and cook with 3 cups water.

Boil the chicken pieces in one cup coconut milk, kaffir leaves, lemon grass paste and ginger for four minutes. Add rest of coconut milk and boil for another 3 minutes.

For each person eating: in a bowl mix the lemon juice and the red curry paste. Add a ladle of the ckicken coconut mix on top. Add a half a cup of rice. Stir. Sprinkle with chilli flakes.

Add chopped coriander if you have it/want it.

Es gesunteheit.