Brunch #40 @ Sun In Bloom – A Delicious Fall Brunch Menu, Courage, Growth & a Powerful Shift.

While in savasana in my Bikram yoga class today, I was crafting a letter to my teacher, who I hold as one of my most influential teachers.  Every time I am in her class, I reflect on the space of encouragement, truth, and unconditional love she holds for her students that ignited my flame back in 2005.  6 months later I quit my job, gave up my NYC apartment, unloaded all of my belongings, and packed 2 duffle bags for my journey to LA where I would learn from Bikram Choudhary.  It was the first journey in my life I’d embark on without a plan.  I only knew I’d be living and breathing yoga for 9 weeks.  It was a journey of letting go, releasing my story of trauma, choosing sobriety, all in hopes that I could learn how to love myself. 

Almost 7 years later (today), I walk out of my loving teacher’s class and she thanks me with deep gratitude for being a seed of courage for her – for my understanding of what this means, how the courage takes root, feels, and manifests deep within the fibers of our being. 

I giggled and shared with her that throughout the class I was reflecting on how she feeds me courage.  And here’s just another event in my life that reminds me how we are all one.  When we are open to each other, we are each other’s teachers.  We are mirrors for one another.  If we are willing to release our fear to stand in our own truth, I believe love becomes abundant, accessible, and spills into every facet of our life.  With this vulnerability, we begin to love ourselves.

My goal was to go 60 days on just juice.  After 31 days I stopped counting.  I think I juiced for 35 – 40 days.  During the juice feast, I experienced profound shifts.  I’ve maintained almost a daily Bikram yoga practice.  I’ve been making it to the gym 3-5 times a week.  I’m nourishing my body from the inside out.  I’ve been in constant action.  My body is opening up.  Everyday in yoga, I’m in awe of my increased flexibility.  I recognize my reflection in the mirror.  The bags under my eyes are disappearing.  I feel reconnected to my faith.  I feel more trusting to the process.  There has been a letting go of fear.  I’m more at ease.  Everyday challenges no longer throw me off.  I feel deeply connected to my gratitude.  Where I’d normally turn my back and run, I’ve stood in my discomfort and created an opportunity to grow.  I know I have a lot of love to share and I’m not holding back.  I also allow myself to feel my pain and move through it until I come back to that special sweet spot of unconditional love… for myself and others.

My intention for just drinking juice was to create space for me to come back to feeling aligned and confident with my purpose.  I did not want it to become a count down to the day I could chew solid food again and treat myself to something sweet.  It was about creating positive patterns; re-training myself to nourish my body, mind, and spirit and drinking the magic juice.

So, when I started to experience some weakness in my yoga practice and with my workouts somewhere around day 35-40, I decided to transition slowly back into consuming food with fiber – first with just juice and shakes.  Today, I’m drinking 1-2 quarts of green juice everyday with a midday meal.  My body craves our Sweet Lady Green and I now treat myself like a Sun In Bloom guest and put my order in for a week supply of juice every Monday.  I know this juice is a key to me living my best life possible.

And just after I made this contract with myself to drink at least 2 organic cold-pressed Norwalk green juices everyday, I received an email from my special teacher requesting to purchase a month of Sun In Bloom’s green juices to support her in drinking 2 a day.  Yes, we are all connected. 

We look forward to seeing you this weekend for brunch or whenever the time is right for you to return to Sun In Bloom.  We are always here for you.  And, now open 7 days a week!

Wishing you abundant joy, pleasure, and love in your life.

Love,

Aimee

Day 31 – HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure… Did I say Sabotage? No, I meant to say…Opportunity!

As soon as I started to feel myself taking off for flight, life presented challenges.  Seriously, it was like I lifted off the runway only to then realize my gas tank was half full.  So, I had to touch down, put my wheels back on the runway, and turn around.

Due to the nature of how I started Sun In Bloom, with my piggy bank filled with pennies I had saved from teaching yoga classes over several years, if a Sun In Bloom team member calls in sick, it translates to me working a very long day.  Or, this is the story I’ve written based on my fear of the penny jar becoming empty.  So, last week, as I was entering my bliss in my 4th week of juice feasting, and was taking flight, a team member called in sick each day.  Which means, I am on my feet, without break, for 14 hours.

Looking back on all the chapters of my life, I believe it was working in the Emergency Room (ER) that led me on my meandering path seeking wellness. My body never adapted to the 12-hour graveyard shifts I worked 4-5 times a week.   And to cope I developed an addiction to sugar and caffeine.  You would never believe the quantities I ingested and how I’d find ways to inhale these chemicals.   I basically hooked myself up to an IV pumping caffeine and sugar directly into my blood stream.  Looking back, I can’t believe this was my life.

It was not long after I developed these habits that I started to feel very sick, tired, and depressed.  I constantly battled fatigue.  I was always constipated, bloated, and suffering from severe inflammation.  I stopped menstruating.  My body hurt and I was literally living in a fog.

My idealized dream of what it meant to be a doctor in our country was quickly tarnished when I sought help and was pushed around the medical system from doctor to doctor with no positive outcome.   As a result, I adapted to getting by in my life being “sick”.

Frustrated and disenchanted with my experience seeking help within our health-care system, I left behind all of my studies and hard work to go to medical school and decided to pursue my photography and passion for music.  And with the flip of a page, I changed the course of my destiny.  But, I was also living with a secret.  And my secret was that underneath my mask of charisma, success, and fun, I continued to struggle with my reality of feeling sick and tired every day.

I honestly forgot what being alive felt like and alcohol and drugs became the perfect prescription to numb me from the pain and support me to live the double life of being the charismatic, successful young woman I was, as well as the deeply depressed and lost girl I had become.  And with a little practice, working hard and playing hard quickly became my routine.

A couple years later, I had a life-changing experience with Michael Franti, an incredibly talented musician and human being who chooses to live a self-aware and conscious lifestyle.  A yoga session in his green room before a Red Rocks show changed my life.  The next day I started a daily Bikram Yoga practice. And within two weeks, I resigned from my dream job, called my Mom to ask for help, and one month later I packed up my sweet condo I had bought and renovated (thinking I’d spend my life in Colorado) and moved home to NY.  I just knew I had to make some big changes, but I had no idea where they would lead me.

My yoga practice sent me down this path in which I developed a deep sense of self-awareness and I believe it has been this self-awareness that ultimately changed the fabric of who I was choosing to be in my life.  My yoga practice saved my life.  For the first time since I had hit rock bottom working in the ER 5 years earlier, I tasted the experience of feeling alive.  And I wanted this to be my experience everyday!

After so many years of feeling sick and tired, I had honestly forgotten how it feels to be alive and what life can be when you are energized, clear and happy.  And then I discovered living foods.  This is when I exceeded all my expectations for what healthy living might feel like.  I opened up spiritually and tapped into an energy resource that was unbounded by the walls of fatigue and depression.  And as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I have no doubt, it was this space of pure potential that opened up the opportunity for me to manifest Sun In Bloom.

But, as soon as I approached this place of personal expansion with Sun In Bloom, I was working extreme hours unlike anything I had ever experienced and felt that everything came crashing down as I relapsed to my state of dis-ease that struck me when working in the ER.

I quickly dug a very deep hole called self-sabotage.

So, as soon as I found myself working 14 hours everyday this past week, an intense fear surfaced.  Is this what my life is going to look like again?  Why does this happen every time I’m just about to lift off this runway?  Is there any hope for me?  Or do I just have to accept I am stuck – this is my life now.  This is what it’s like when you are the head chef and owner of a restaurant.

We were short-handed with staff and I was unprepared for my juice feast.  I had run out of important supplements, did not have time to prepare as much juice as I needed, and did not believe I could fit in yoga or exercise into my 14 hour work day.

However, rather than completely folding in on my fear, something miraculous did happen – I stayed in action.  I posted an ad, interviewed several cooks, invited one to train, and trained my entire team to support me in areas of the business that depended completely on me.  But, I found myself in the situation where I needed to taste recipes.  And because I tasted recipes, I believed I had sabotaged my juice feast.

Yet, with perfect timing, a powerful conversation about self-sabotage with my dear friend showed me that this was simply a beautiful opportunity.

It was an opportunity to be gentle, kind, and loving towards myself.  It presented this perfect opportunity to let go of judgement or expectation for this journey to unfold with perfection.  It provided me with this opportunity to practice creating a new pattern in which I remove the actions of self-sabotage.

As soon as my chef returned Saturday, I jumped back into my yoga routine, prepped my juices and followed my body’s desire to continue juicing.  So, here I am, Day 31!

And I truly continue to feel more alive each day.  I feel closer to my essence.  And my story here is just like a child who falls.  She scrapes her knee, but with a quick wash, she is running through the field again, following her bliss.

Day 22: HOT Raw & Juicy Adventure – Juicing through my Inner Mean Girl

This past week, I wanted to give up.  My “inner mean girl” (a term I’m borrowing from Christine Arylo) took control of every thought I was having.  She critiqued and judged every part of me, every decision I’ve made, and propagated all negative stories I’ve created in relation to myself.   It felt grueling!  And I nearly succumbed to the hold she had over me. 

Self Critic by Corinne Geertsen, "the daughter of a psychologist who discussed his work at the dinner table."

Do you experience anxiety, fear, or find yourself obsessively focusing on an old story? The next thing you know, this story is repeating itself like the echo of a broken record, taking control of your entire life.  For a long time, I thought I was alone in this experience.  Today I think it is universal. 

 It’s been my experience that the change of seasons draws old stories to the surface. Maybe it’s associations I make with temperature, similarly to how different tastes trigger emotional reactions.  Yet, as I move more deeply into my being with the support of this juice feast (today being day 22), a space is opening up that is allowing me the opportunity to develop greater awareness for the vibration my consciousness is operating on. 

And something marvelous is happening.  I’m experiencing the space in which I can witness my experiences, just like you watch clouds moving across the sky.  There’s no emotional response to watching a cloud glide across the sky.  And our experiences are only here for us to experience a lesson, not for us to attach oursleves to them and press reply (again and again).  So, as soon as I witnessed my inner mean girl’s dialogue distort my experience of being love, going to my Bikram yoga class was a non-negotiable.  

Savasana - Surrendering to stillness & Relaxation.

 As soon as I chose going to class over rehashing all the debilitating old stories and reconnected to my breath, I felt a powerful shift.  A sweet delicious balance came over me and the river of life started to flow through me again.  My heart opened and I once again felt infinite potential.   

I’m falling in love with life again.  Day 22 of my juice feast, and what I find most profound with this experience is how my mind continues to feel more strong, flexible, present.  Being the chef / owner of a restaurant is the most challenging project I’ve embarked on, but I think for me the true challenge that I’m feeling is being on the road to higher consciousness.  Sometimes it just feels lonely.   

It’s easy to live in our stories and play same record again and again.  But, for me that is not my happiness.  And, I want to implement a life practice for choosing to play with thoughts that support me in creating the life I want to live.  

We truly can fly free.  For myself, I know I need to continue on my juice feast and prioritize my yoga practice.  For now, these are the tools supporting me to witness my experiences, rather than hang on to imprisoned memories and stories that hold me back from ascending into my truth and the essence of who I really am.    

And I believe that as I gain control of my mind and learn to change the channel more immediately from “inner mean girl” to being love, life is going to get fun!  Our true essence is playful, happy, sunshine… yes, like a child!  I’m ready to embrace her fully. 

Ben... a very special Sun In Bloom guest!

 I hope you are enjoying the delicious shift of seasons.  Stay tuned to Sun In Bloom news… I’m in action and working to solidify some exciting developments!  If you are on Facebook, like us or follow us on Twitter.  I like to play on these platforms.  They allow me to stay present and share fun news, tips, and reflections. 

 Love, Aimee

 P.s. My beautiful friend, Liz Neves, the founder of Raganella, is hosting a workshop at Sun In Bloom –  Make-It-Yourself Cleaning Solutions workshop on Thursday, September 22nd from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at Sun In Bloom.  If you are available, come play with us!  Everyone will take home 3 beautiful products. 
 

Day 15: HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure – Vote with your dollar, choose your best life possible!

Today marks a quarter of the way to the finish line – 60 days of just juice.

Fountain of a Radiant Life

I have more energy than I know what to do with.  I’ve completed projects that I’ve procrastinated on for the past year and half.  I’ve been practicing Bikram Yoga daily.  I’m  running at the gym.  I’ve even entertained extreme ab exercises with the help of Crunch fitness super-hero, Jake.  (Even when I was in my best shape ever, with a 6 pack, I routinely avoided ALL ab strengthening exercises.)  Oh… And, I continue to work my normal 7-day a week schedule at the restaurant.  Truly… I am doing ALL of this with ease and just juice.

Juice + Weights = HOT

Fasting, juicing, detoxifying… these practices are not new for me.  My body has a lot of experience cleansing and I’ve always had remarkable results.  However, I have not cleansed my body like this since opening Sun In Bloom and frankly, I was terrified. 

How am I going to possibly have the energy to make it through my days at the restaurant and manage all the other balls in the air just drinking juice? 

But, while on this quest to re-align with my true essence, body, and happiness, I followed the calling to just do it.

This past week has been particularly fulfilling for me.  Before juicing, I hid – not just from the world, but from myself.  I had stopped exploring the world, I did not maintain my physical activity, nor did I have any desire to fill my brain any more than I felt it was already full. 

But, I’ve always been a voracious reader and seeker of information on topics that I am passionate about, anything that will support me to live my best life possible.  So, hiding and my lack of curiosity was just part of the deep depression I had allowed myself to fall into.   

A remarkable documentary that will arm you with knowlege and inspire.

This past week was amazing.  I’m in awe of what I’ve accomplished.  A bit taken aback as I write it because I haven’t been keeping track, I’ve just been in action.  

I went to the movies with a friend, took Jodie (Sun In Bloom’s new extraordiary and very special front of the house manager) on a tour of raw food stores in Manhattan during the massive rain storm on Tuesday, read OSHO’s essay on Courage, watched CNN’s program called “The Last Heart Attack” and studied 3 documentaries – Forks Over Knives, Deconstructing Supper, and biography: Ben & Jerry.  And I recommend you watch these too!  Not because I want to tell you what to do, how to live your life, what’s best for your family, but because I think we’ve been grossly misled to believe today’s food practices are normal and yet, our beliefs and attachment or addiction to food is what is killing us.  Yes, it’s the cause of dis-ease and emotional imbalance.  And I just want you to know what your options are.

 Today, there’s heaps of accessible information (books, films, blogs, people’s personal experiences, research, yes… loads of both clinical and laboratory research that show us the effects of all the toxins we are eating every day.)

 And I know for many this feels overwhelming.  But, we all have the power to create change.  Everyday, with every purchase, we vote with our dollar.

Your dollar is your vote. Spend it mindfully.

 The more knowledge I arm myself with regarding non-organic and GMO foods, the more energized I become to get involved in the politics to protect our organic foods and to get real food onto the plates of our children.

 The most exciting news I received this week was when Luria Academyconfirmed they will offer parents the option to have Sun In Bloom’s gluten free, allergen free, vegan school lunches delivered to their children at school.  This is just the first of many schools we plan to work with in creating school lunch programs.  And it was just a dream of mine two years ago.  Now it is reality.  Yes, dreams come true!

Wishing you the strength and courage to make choices that support you to live the life you truly wish to experience!  And always look forward to seeing you at Sun In Bloom.

 Love, Aimee

Day 11: HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure… Releasing sabotaging beliefs.

Day 11: HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure.

Yes, life is an adventure! And the story we tell ourselves is the basis of our lives.

Over the past couple days, I’ve felt this powerful letting go of attachment to both how I identify myself and sabotaging beliefs.  It feels like the clouds are separating after a big storm and an awe inspiring light is beaming through; a mesmerizing light that captures only what is present and all fear, worries, and the chattering mind become still.

Before opening Sun In Bloom, my identity was Aimee Follette, the Bikram Yoga teacher. Previous to teaching yoga, my identity was Aimee Follette, the publicist and marketing director for the Fox Theatre, a music venue in Boulder, Colorado. And prior to this identity, I was Aimee Follette the girl who was going to go to medical school and become a doctor.

In college, I was living multiple lives as I juggled my identities of being a talented art student, psychology student, 4.0 pre-med student, girlfriend to an extremely abusive boyfriend, domestic violence counselor, and secret addict on the side.  A dark multi-identity, I know –  not the woman I see myself as today.

High school was another confusing chapter. My parents and I clashed. They didn’t understand me; I did not understand them. We were all frustrated, angry and it was just a really sad era of my life as I tried to navigate my identity as a teenager, balancing my desire to be the “smart” girl and the “popular” girl. Being an over-achiever and wanting to be liked turned into a mega-mess.

Amazing moment captured of me in awe of my little sisters tiny fingers. I am 5 years old.

I am the eldest of 3 sisters. I can recall my parents telling me at seven years old that I was suppose to be the “good example” for my sisters. I always felt wrong. I was responsible for all of the bickering, fighting, conflict, and unhappiness in my family.

Growing up in Lexington, Massachusetts for the first 5 years of my life, we had a beautiful back yard that met up with 4 neighbor’s yards. My parents tell me I was visiting with neighbors from the time I could crawl.  And some of my fondest memories are with these people that I only knew in my earliest years of life.  I also remember imagining and wishing at this time that I had a different family. I wanted a perfect family with happy parents who acknowledged me and gave me attention and affection.  I wanted to feel loved.

Pictures capture a very different story! How could this little girl possibly feel unloved?

This is a story – a little girls interpretation of a series of events that she strung together to create the basis of her life.  And from my interpretations, I created a belief that my parents did not love me the way I wanted them to.  This led to complex insecurities that I’ve carried with me through out my life and that have played a large part in the story I’ve created.

My parents are amazing – the most intelligent, loving, and generous people I know.  I revere both my Mom and Dad for their individual talents and accomplishments in life as both parents and active members in society. And I feel gratitude every day to them for giving me life.

Our relationship today is a different story from the one I tell above. It’s the story of a girl with two perfect parents who love her very much.

Family dinner at Caravan of Dreams... look at all the orbs! Yes, we are truly happy.

As soon as I became conscious of my true identity, the essence of who I really am, I freed myself of the “baggage”.  It’s been amazing to experience life living out-loud, standing in my truth, and being me. Sharing my life without apprehension or fear that I am not living up to the “identity” I imagined my parents wanted me to have has opened up the possibility for me to experience a truly loving relationship with them.

But, when I opened Sun In Bloom, I relapsed back into insecurities, as I attached meaning to events, like the criticism, judgment and feedback I received from the public.  And as I allowed negative beliefs to take root in my body,  I succumbed to their power to cause dis-ease (in my case – hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, candida, chronic fatigue).

Breaking free of sabotaging beliefs can feel like you are taking on a massive war by yourself – you against a zillion powerless thoughts that consume your mind at every moment.  But as I became more aware that I was allowing these beliefs to control my life in every aspect, I listened to my gut and followed the calling I felt to juice for 60 days and take control for how I feel in my life.  Day 11, I can’t even begin to explain in words the love and courage I feel and how they overshadow the moments of fear I continue to experience.

Waking up on this rainy day was magic. My body, mind and spirit were equally energized. I drank 32 ounces of green juice, tacked my messy room and made it to my 10 AM yoga class.

Practicing Bikram Yoga has saved me at different points in my life and today’s practice was very special.  For the first time since I returned to my practice after being out of the room for nearly a year, I felt empowered as I looked into my reflection in the mirror.  My body felt strong and flexible.  Pre-cleanse, I’d have minor panic attacks looking at my reflection when I would see a body that was inflamed and tired.  My mind didn’t give up in eagle.  I went into the depth of the posture where I had left off two years ago.  My spirit felt happy, joyful, and love.  I’ve practiced nearly every day while drinking only fresh pressed organic juice, which is what my body has desired.  I know I want to experience my life having a mind-body connection.  It is in this space of connection when I am not only feeling optimal health, but I am happy.

Love is a powerful experience.  Detaching from the meaning we’ve given to events in our lives will make room for new beliefs and the possibility to create a story we want to tell the world.  And I dream everyone will allow him or herself to be vulnerable enough to feel love, see that events have no inherent meaning, and experience the story they truly want to live.

Love, Aimee

P.s. My Mom just informed me that my Dad is moving towards a vegan lifestyle. Amazing! I do not push my beliefs onto my parents. I only share my experiences and information. And my Mom is making green smoothies in the Vita Mix she gifted herself with the one she gave me as a birthday gift three years ago. If you read this Mom and Dad, I love you!

Day 7: HOT Raw & Juice Adventure… Winds of Change are blowing.

The winds of change are blowing.  I embarked on a 60-day juice feast last week and tomorrow marks my 8^th day of consuming only juice (3 QTS of Sun In Bloom’s Sweet Lady Green & another QT of a creative blend).  The shifts I’m experiencing are profound.

My fridge 😉

I’ve always lived an inspired and charmed life – voraciously following my heart and chasing my passions.  And this approach to life has led to a storybook loaded with over-the-top exciting adventures, and many struggles.

Life is a duality.

“You have the option to focus on what you want or the absence of what you want. You can tell what choice you are making by the way you are feeling.  And you can constantly change your choice.”  – Ester Hicks

Jumping into this juice feast was not a quick, unplanned or irrational reaction to my struggles.  It is something I’ve had the desire to do with integrity for a couple years.  The calling just intensified when I lost my balance in the latest chapter – Girl takes leap of faith to follow dream and opens off-the-grid restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Sun In Bloom - 460 Bergen Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn

I’ve attempted to make the commitment to an extended juice feast several times this past year.  Yet, each time I backed out with “very good” reason.  Although I’ve consciously been making healthier choices for myself to achieve balance, I’ve felt trapped in a body that does not feel like mine, my energy levels continue to decline, and I’ve succumbed to feelings of depression.  On my worst days, I felt dead.

So, why do some of us have to fall down  (really, really hard)… possibly even face death before we decide to scrape ourselves from the floor to make a significant life change that will completely alter how we look, feel and interact with the world? 

The story we tell ourselves is the basis of our lives.  And, if I continued to focus on how much my body hurt, exhausted I am, or imbalanced my life is, I realize I will continue to be unsuccessful in living the life I desire to experience.

Unhappiness does not align with the essence of who I am.  When I became aware that thoughts of self-doubt and fear are misaligned with my inner being, the idea of embarking on a 60-day juice feast became a very exciting fun opportunity, surrounded by light.  With alignment there are endless possibilities!  So, during these past 8 days, I wake up and consciously choose to face my day with courage and do the work I must do to live the extraordinary life I deserve to experience.

I share my experience with the hope that maybe one person will connect with my story and realize you are not alone.  We all deserve to live healthy, happy, joyful lives.

Brunch at Sun In Bloom - Delicous Gluten Free Vegan Pancakes!

Hope to see you for brunch!  I dreamed up a spiced cream of cauliflower soup that Byron made today.  I tasted a teaspoon to offer feedback and I was overjoyed by how it took on the flavors of the stock I imagined it would.  We are going to have a very creative Fall at Sun In Bloom!  Also, stay tuned – I am hoping to reopen on Tuesdays this month.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love, Aimee

Day 5: HOT Raw & Juicy Adventure – Freedom… Continuous Surprise.

“Life is not a science; it is not a cause-and-effect chain.  Heat the water to a hundred degrees and it evaporates – it is a certainty.  But in real life, nothing is certain like that.” OSHO

It seems most people who embark on juice feasts keep a daily record of the LBS they melt away and inches lost in addition to the wonderful emotional and spiritual expansion they experience.  All of these stories inspire me.  However, I have yet to weigh in or wrap a tape measure around my waste, thighs, or arms.  I’ve gone back and forth on whether tracking these stats is important or not.

Weigh In? Or Not Weigh In?

Well, today I’ve decided that I am not going to weigh in.  For me, looking down at the scale to see a number different from the number I’ve felt most comfortable at brings anxiety right up to the surface; it’s always a set back for me.

And this adventure is about feeling, being HOT.  So, when I woke up feeling energized for the first time in almost 2 years and was ready to hit the gym, run around the loop at Prospect Park or sweat and meditate at my Bikram Yoga class, I realized this is what being HOT is for me and I’ll just continue riding this wave.  Whereas looking at a scale, might just sabotage the elation.

I arrived at the decision to embark on this adventure not just because I’ve put on about 20 LBS since opening the restaurant, but I’ve been carrying an extreme load of stress, worry, anxiety and fear everywhere I go.  I’ve felt separated from my connection with the divine… my faith and trust that when I am following my intuition and heart, life unfolds in the most beautiful perfect way.

I’m 100% confident that these negative emotions are the roots to my bodies physical changes.  And although I do not expect these emotions to disappear from my life experience,  I am committed to strengthening my courage so it can fiercely look at fear in the eye and move beyond it.

Yes!  This journey is about creating space for courage, love, happiness, trust and faith.  And when I dance in a space of unconditional love, I am proud of the reflection I witness – truth and authenticity.  This is when I know my body is absolutely perfect and I am HOT!

Strength & Courage

As we come into alignment with our essence, extra body weight will melt away. A stressed body contracts, and contraction leads to an acidic body.  So, the more acidic our bodies are, the more fat we retain to protect our organs.

So, I’m grateful my body so intelligently responded to the stress I’ve been under.  And now, just 5 days into my juice feast, my body is already transforming (lighter, brighter, more energized).  This is marvelous!

And I’m most likely consistently consuming more calories a day than I have in a very long time.  I am definitely nourishing it with more minerals and nutrients than it’s had the opportunity to soak up in many moons.  Today my courage feels stronger.  I’m LOVING my HOT Raw & Juicy Adventure.

Pre -HOT Raw & Juicy Adventure:

Breakfast: Too busy too think about that.

Lunch: What, lunch?

Dinner (8 PM): Bella Divine (massaged kale salad w/ avocado)

Snacks: Sips of Smoothie overflow, handful of live granola, spicy lemonades.  And, if uber stressed and exhausted… couple dates.

HOT Raw & Juicy Adventure:

Pre-Breakfast: Spicy Lemonade

Breakfast: 1 QT Sweet Lady Green

Lunch: 1 QT Sweet Lady Green

Dinner: 1 QT Sweet Lady Green

Snacks: Watermelon Juice, Carrot Juice, and Coconut Water

Green Juice Illuminated! My cells are dancing.

You cannot be truthful if you are not courageous

You cannot be loving is your are not courageous

You cannot be trusting if you are not courageous

You cannot inquire into reality if you are not courageous

Hence courage comes first

and everything else follows

OSHO

I am incredibly grateful for your support and I am grateful this space exists for me to explore my courage.

Love, Aimee

Day 4: HOT Raw & Juicy – A new story… An astounding shift.

An extraordinary shift happened today, the 4^th day of my HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure.

Every Monday I’m at the restaurant for 15 hours on my feet.  By 9 PM, I feel as though a 16-wheeler hit me multiple times.  Aches, pains, sheer exhaustion… I collapse.

Tuesday is a full day of recovery.  I wake up in a fog, my body aches, and I’m always extremely fatigued.  I never feel like myself and I’m unproductive (according to my baseline of productivity).

Waking up in the FOG.

The fog of fatigue carries over to Wednesday morning and it’s not until Thursday that I feel like myself again.

However, this week, I’ve written a new story. Sun In Bloom had one of its busiest Mondays.  I felt happy and breezy, swimmingly moving through the day.  I checked things off my ‘to do’ list that have been looming on it for months.  And, I enjoyed being of service to all of our guests.

For someone who has never worked in the food industry or in service, I do not expect you to understand all of the demands and long hours we endure.  I also feel cooks are grossly underpaid.  So, with all these variables against us, it’s imperative that we LOVE food and service.  And even though opening Sun In Bloom by myself has been a particularly emotional challenge for me, I do feel immense gratitude that I can be of service sharing the most nourishing food with my community.  I feel heart tugs every time a guest shares with me how Sun In Bloom has changed their life.  These accounts are worth all the struggles.

So, Monday was a very long day… And I walked home energized!  I even felt so energized that I continued to be productive until about midnight.

And waking up this morning is when I felt really excited… 7:30 AM, I sprang out of bed, bright eyed, happy, and excited to start my day.

3 QTS of Sweet Lady Green Juice for Day 4!

I juiced, went to the gym, attended to some work, hit up a Bikram yoga class, ran errands, completed payroll, updated bookkeeping and took the most relaxing shower.   I then put myself together to visit a friend and her 2 yr old son in the city – a friend I’ve not seen in 2 years… yes, I met her son for the first time today!

Tuesdays… I usually hide.  Today, I felt alive and excited to interact with the world.  In fact, several people at yoga commented on how great I looked today.  Truly amazing how quickly the juice has affected me.  I have the GLOW!  (think the carrots are helping with this!)

Beauty Juice - rich in carotenoids (the vitamin A rich compound)

Green juice is life – so rich in live enzymes, nutrients and minerals.  I hope to witness in my lifetime fresh pressed organic green juice go mainstream.  I am so grateful this juice is supporting me to wake up to feel connected and alive again.  This is what being HOT is all about!

 

Day 2: The Art of Allowing… Power of Thought.

Day 2:  HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure

I fell in love with my sweet lady green juice all over again.  It’s like a relationship.  I go really strong, appreciating her for all her nourishing qualities, and then I take her for granted, spiral into my day forgetting to drink the sweet lady green.  New goal!  I desire juice to be part of my daily traditions.  Ideally, 2 sweet lady green’s a day (post juice feast).

Today, I gave myself permission to relax, nap, move through the day with ease, and listen to Learning to Attract Wealth, Health and Happiness with Ester and Jerry Hicks.  I did multi-task – I couldn’t help but try to catch up with bookkeeping while listening to my audio-book.  Have yet to allow myself to cozy up on the sofa with my favorite books.

Home Office

Abraham’s teachings are wonderful reminders for the powerful role our thoughts play.  Going into this juice feast, I made a commitment – to tune into all of my thoughts, choose positive thoughts, and deliberately speak thoughts that reflect the life I want to live.

Although I absolutely desire to shed LBS on this adventure and slip back into my fantastic wardrobe, I am most interested in putting new habits into practice that will allow me to experience the life I truly desire to live.

 

Freedom, Pleasure, Happiness

I live a vegan lifestyle, low fat diet (in fact one of my challenges is I often forget to create time to eat, and then when I do, it’s at the end of the day when famished, which leads to consuming food without chewing).  Although I do crave sugar, I only treat myself to dates and agave.  I also reintegrated exercise back into my lifestyle in January – not as hard core as I once was with a daily yoga practice and running 25 miles a week, but I’m definitely creating time for 3-4 hard work outs a week.

So, why am I retaining an extra 20 pounds and suffering from hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, and the general feeling of SPENT?  It has not felt easy facing my reflection in the mirror and my body just feels uncomfortable all the time.

I might just be the quintessential example for how our thoughts create our reality, determine our health, and then manifest very quickly into dis-ease.  I’ve spent this past year and half sinking deep into my despair.  Sacrificing my yoga practice and gaining a couple pounds led to unhappiness, negative emotions, and eventually dark depression.  Isolation in the start-up of my business led to feelings of loneliness and further inflated the negative emotions.  Anxiety and panic took over like a storm and eventually I was hanging myself every day with fear.  Honestly, looking back at this journey, I am in awe of my survival skills and grateful for my strength to live through so much fear.  Today, I am definitely in a better space – I see the light.

We all have the option to either focus on what we want or the absence of what we want.  And Abraham says that resistance is caused by focusing on the lack of what is wanted.  Where as allowing is caused by focusing on what we do want.  And the result of our focus on the lack of what we want leads to negative emotions, creates resistance in the body, and ultimately leads to pain, illness, dis-ease.

I believe part of being HOT is stepping into my power of positive thinking, being an example for what is possible, living an inspired life, manifesting my dreams.  I am so excited to continue on my HOT Raw and Juicy journey to live this story of healing my body through allowing.  I know the juice is creating space for the river to flow and ultimately bring me back into alignment with my true essence.

Art of Allowing - Aligning with your true essance.

If you decide to pursue a 1 day, 3 day, 5 day or more juice feast… please let me know.  It would be so fun to have everyone join me on this journey!  Here’s to being HOT Raw and Juicy!

Love, Aimee

HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure

Today I embarked on a 90-day HOT RAW and JUICY adventure – my journey towards rebooting my body, mind, and spirit.  This is my adventure to reclaim the HOT that a raw and juicy lifestyle illuminate.

1st Juice- Sweet Lady Green from Sun In Bloom

Today is day 1 of my 60-day juice feast, which will be followed by 30 days of mindfully reintegrating vegan raw living foods back into my lifestyle.

Since the unplanned twist to my life story, opening Sun In Bloom (a gluten-free vegan raw living foods restaurant), along with experiencing wonderful accomplishments, I’ve also struggled with stress, depression, loneliness, anxiety, fear, and a sugar addiction that have all caused me to see in the mirror the reflection of a woman I no longer recognize.  I believe it’s this disconnect that has driven me down a path that is not serving me.

Me (with my sisters) just before opening Sun In Bloom

Me (wearing same dress 2 years later after opening Sun In Bloom)

Over my life, I’ve fallen down really hard several times and each time I’ve picked myself back up. I’ve persevered through all of the challenges life hands me.  I choose love and compassion.   And since I was a little girl, I’ve always been committed to following my dreams, living an inspired life with purpose, and being of service to be the change I wish to see in the world.

We all experience struggle in life and what matters is how we deal with it.  Once again, it is my time I pick myself back up.  Every fiber of my body is ready for this journey.  I’m excited to witness the tapestry pieced together by the stories that will develop over the next 90 days.   It is a beautiful tapestry; life is a gift.

So, here’s to being the HOT that a raw and juicy lifestyle embodies.  And over the next 90 days I desire to:

* Bloom into my full potential.
* Optimize my physical health & raise my energy.
* Create daily traditions that help manage stress, anxiety and fear.
* Clear space for happiness and love.
* Align more deeply to my purpose and faith.
* Have fun!

Me on Day 1 of HOT Raw and Juicy Adventure