I’ve been experiencing more back pain lately and I know what that means. Inflammation. And inflammation can rest in your joints, back, colon, etc… those are places it likes in my body! So, it’s time for a cleanse! Cleansing your gut flushes out toxins, reduces inflammation, bloating, and you lose weight, too! According to the Mayo Clinic, a diet high in fiber (which will be followed in the LAH Cleanse), “normalizes bowel movements, helps maintain bowel integrity and health, lowers blood cholesterol, helps control blood sugar levels, aids in weight loss, and (may help) colorectal cancer.

Below, I have listed directions for the Life Art Healing Cleanse, it’s inexpensive, you can find all you need at your grocery store, you’re going there anyway, right? The Life Art Healing Cleanse consists of eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and taking fiber and Smooth Move tea. Remember, drink lots of water! You can follow our Life Art Healing Cleanse for a day, a week, or up to 25 days, (I like the 7 day), in any case, you will see and feel the benefits! If you choose to do the cleanse for more than 3 days, remember, you will be frequenting the loo more often, so do it on a week that you have a lighter schedule. Usually, it’s in the morning, but everyone processes things differently and has a different amount of toxins and build up in their body, so day 2 should be a home day for you (weekend or day-off), as it’s the Smooth Move that you take at night that really moves things along!

Buy organic if you can, the less toxins you are adding, the less you have to flush out. Remember, keep it simple, if you are too overwhelmed to change your diet, just take the fiber and Smooth Move tea, and see what results you have, you may be motivated to change one thing at a time, like eating brown rice instead of white.

You will need a fiber supplement. I like Michael Tierra’s Tri-Cleanse (available at Health Food Stores for about $14.99) but you can use Metamucil, which has psyllium husk, also, nature’s scrub brush!
Also, a box of Smooth Move Tea (available at most grocery stores).

What to eat:*(these are suggestions only, see below if you feel this is too much of a challenge for you right now)

Morning before breakfast: drink fiber mixed in water/juice, follow with 8 ounces of water. (the fiber works like a brush to clean out your intestines)

Breakfast: think fruit or oatmeal or other whole grain cereal

Morning Snack: think fruit/dried fruit/veggie juices/seeds/protien-beans/chicken/turkey (avoid lunch meats)/ brown rice/avocado

Lunch:think gentle unprocessed foods… vegatable soup/fish/sandwich on whole grain bread/brown rice, beans, veggies/salad

Afternoon snack: Rice cake with almond butter and apple slices/raw veggies with cashew butter/baked yam/potato

Dinner: Think gentle comfort foods. Fish/chicken/beans/lentils, Quinoa/brown rice/Yam/squash/potato/salad/greens/

Dessert: dried fruit/fruit in bowl with almond milk/sugar free cereal/homemade muffins made with brown rice or other whole grain flour, sweeten with honey or bananas.

2 hours before bed: Drink Smooth Move Tea (follow directions!) follow with 8 ounce glass of water (this acts as the “flush” after the fiber).

Okay, overwhelmed? Think you can do it for 7 days? The whole 25? Don’t know if you’d make it through 3? It doesn’t matter. The point is to be gentle with yourself. Avoid sugar/processed food/fatty proteins/dairy/soy but, you know where you are. If this is too hard, just do what you think you are capable of. If just skipping the drive-thru for 7 days is all you are up for, then do that! The point is to take care of yourself at whatever level you are ready for today.

Drink 8 glasses of water each day, this helps move things along and keeps you hydrated.

Consult your physician before beginning any cleanse. -Amy Roemer 2011

Questions? Post it on Life Art Healing’s facebook wall or e-mail me at amy@lifearthealing.com

One of the most easy plants to grow in your own home is wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is known for it’s high chlorophyll content,  has all minerals known to man in each blade, vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. Wheatgrass is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

In the American Journal of Surgery (1940), Benjamin Gruskin, M.D. recommends chlorophyll for its antiseptic benefits. The article suggests the following clinical uses for chlorophyll: to clear up foul smelling odors, neutralize Strep infections, heal wounds, hasten skin grafting, cure chronic sinusitis, overcome chronic inner-ear inflammation and infection, reduce varicose veins and heal leg ulcers, eliminate impetigo and other scabby eruptions, heal rectal sores, successfully treat inflammation of the uterine cervix, get rid of parasitic vaginal infections, reduce typhoid fever, and cure advanced pyorrhea in many cases.Wheatgrass Juice cures acne and even help to remove scars after it has been ingested for seven to eight months. The diet must be improved at the same time. -(blogstersguild 2008)Read more: http://blogstersguild.blogspot.com/2008/01/wheatgrass-will-cure-youlive-longer.html#ixzz1SCqNAvUXI

I grow wheatgrass year round in a small pot (about 4″ across), selecting a pretty pot will make it more fun, but any container will do! Just put a bit of soil in it ( I like organic soil). I also like to add worm castings (aka poop, don’t say eww….worms poop all around the veggies we all eat), that makes it grow fast and super green! Then just sprinkle some wheatgrass seeds on the top, water, and place the pot in some sunshine. They grow on my windowsill in winter in Wisconsin, if they grow here, they’ll grow anywhere. It only takes a week to get a nice patch going, and one small pot is plenty.

When my wheatgrass is 3-6 inches high, I cut off what I need and add it to a juice or smoothie. My favorite is to add it to my Strawberrygrassana smoothie! 1/2 c frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen bananas, 1/2 cup almond milk ( rice, soy, dairy, whatever milk floats your boat or your digestive system), 1/2 cup orange juice, 6-12 blades of wheatgrass. Add all ingredients into the blender, blend, vioila! The wheatgrass blends right up and you can’t even taste it! You just have a nice fruity refreshing smoothie!

If you don’t use all your wheatgrass, cut off the remainder before  the blades get long and dull, then juice or blend them with a bit of water and freeze in ice cube trays. Then you can just pop them in the blender or juicer next time you want a boost! (thanks for that tip, Amy Ryan!)

Get your juice on with wheatgrass! -Amy Roemer 2011

“Everything is okay in the end, if it’s not ok, then it’s not the end.” -unknown

So true and a great reminder to put things in perspective.

-

I have had numerous experiences of signs in my lifetime. When I was 15, a friend of mine passed away. His name was Tony. He knew his life would be short and requested that our friends not write any sad songs about him. (He played guitar in my brothers’ band). I’ve had several signs from him, but one that stood out the most was a few years ago, when my husband, daughter, and I decided to move from Los Angeles, to Milwaukee. I was thinking of him and put on my iPod to listen to music. My husband and I share the iPod, so it’s quite an ecclectic mix of music from the 60’s-current. I used the Genius feature, which randomly selects songs for the listener and on came Billy Joel’s “Moving Out”, how appropriate, I thought. He must be showing me a sign that he sees what’s going on in my life. This was an album that my husband put on our iPod and I’d never listened to. One of the lyrics mentions a heart attack ( Tony died of heart complications). Later, I noticed that “Moving Out” is also known as “Anthony’s Song”! So, Tony (aka Anthony) was really trying to give me a sign and say hi!

I get signs from my dad all the time. He was a big smoker, which eventually played a large part in his death. Still, it was something I always connected with my dad. He always had his pack of Marlboro reds in his shirt pocket. I have a small scar on my pinkie finger where he accidentally burned me with a Marlboro at a fireman’s muster, of all places! So, I see Marlboro packs everywhere, and yes, you could say it’s one of the most popular brands of cigarettes, so you’d be apt to see them, but I see them in very unusual places. One time, my husband and I were driving on the 101 freeway in California on our way up to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles. We had passed this part of the freeway (near Malibu Canyon) many times, but had never stopped there. This day, I wanted to stop and take a photo of, what I affectionately call, the “Happy Hills”, so I could use the background in a painting. We drove until I saw a view I liked, then got off the freeway. There was a long road that leads to an area of buildings, with a very well manicured median in the center. There was not a bit of trash, it looked like a movie set, the lawn care company must have been there that morning. So, I got out of our car and walked around looking up at the hills, trying to find the right angle for my shot. Finally, I found a perfect spot and snapped several photos. Then I looked down and I was standing right over a pack of Marlboros!

So, why do I bring up signs today? My 96 year old grandfather is in failing health. He has lived an amazing full, healthy life up until recently. Even now, he’s still painting. I took a walk today with a friend, we were together for about 2 hours, walking on trails. At the end, we stopped walking and I told her about my grandfather, how I wanted to go see him before he dies. Just then, we heard a strange bird call, one that really got my attention. I looked up in the trees, then way up in the sky, I saw a single Sandhill Crane flying overhead. It’s been a long winter here in Wisconsin, and it’s supposed to snow tomorrow. We are in the migration path for these birds, but still, it’s rare to see them and I’ve only ever seen them in groups, they are migrating, after all.In Chinese culture, the crane is a symbol of longevity and auspiciousness. In ancient China the crane was regarded as having a long life span and one Chinese legend says that a immortal rode a crane to heaven. The crane also represents a lasting soaring spirit, health, and happiness.So, I knew, today, that I saw a sign, that my own single migration out to the East Coast to see my grandfather one last time, is being called for.

So, what signs have you seen or heard? A favorite song that you once shared with someone? Always waking up at a certain time at night? Birds, animals appearing when you are speaking or thinking of a loved one? I find it’s very fun to look and listen for signs. I feel connected to those who have passed over, and connected to spirit. It’s okay to ask for signs, too! It’s fun to see them appear. -Amy Roemer 3-11-11 (and they say 11:11 is a time that often shows up as a sign, and just as I typed that, I noticed, 11-11~ coincidence or a sign?)

Sit quietly for a moment. Listen. Feel. What is your body telling you? What is your spirit telling you? Do one small act as an answer. Today, after all my efforts to stay well, taking airborne, using my neti pot to drain my sinuses, eating leafy greens and juicing, I still got the cold that my daughter came home from kindergarten with. I had a large installation of artwork I was due to put up this week and tried my best to be well for it, but after all of that, I still woke up with my chest fully congested, a productive cough….how ironic to call it a “productive” cough, when I feel so unproductive.

So, I sat quietly in meditation. I listened. What does my body need, my spirit need? I am one to avoid confrontation at all costs, but one recent one came to my mind during this. One I had felt I had put aside and was okay about. I listened. I felt. When someone I love is upset with me, I have an unconscious fear that this will be the end, they will be taken away, or never speak with me again. Perhaps that stems from my father and mother both being in ICU when I was a teen or a friend dying when I was 15, or my father dying when I was in my 20’s or…is doesn’t really matter why, what I discovered is that my body and my spirit, need to know that it is safe to love and safe to be loved. Chest congestion, centered right in the heart chakra, a perfect space to settle my grief on this matter.

So, how to act on this? I created a new affirmation for myself “It is safe to be loved, it is safe to love.” My first act, is self love. Cover myself with a blanket, make some tea, take medicine, rest, all things I would do for my daughter or my husband.

The next step, is a little more shaky, I’m unsure how to feel safe, but I’ll start with the love I give and receive from my daughter and my husband, perhaps the safest love I’ve had in my life. Then, open my heart more to the love that is out there for me. That is a bit scary for me, however crazy that seems, but I will try my best, and do some heart opening yoga poses. Upward facing dog, cat and cow poses, bridge pose.

Any step toward giving my body and spirit what they need will be healing. Being perfect isn’t my goal, just listening and trying in the moment instead of pushing down, or setting aside.

So love, it is safe to be loved, it is safe to love. Happy Valentine’s Day from Life Art Healing!-Amy Roemer 2-11-11

Right now, my goal is to do 2 vegan days a week and see how I feel. If I have energy and stamina, then I will add more. I already eat at least one vegan meal and all vegan snacks every day, but I’m excited for more!

I also want to get back to a regular yoga practice. I walk on lovely nature trails here in Wisconsin and that is fabulous, but yoga adds variety, moves my body and muscles in ways I don’t every day, and centers me, body, mind, and spirit. My husband has been joining me and that’s been great! My favorite yoga classes online are by Esther at www.yogatic.com, she embodies the calm, strong, spirit of yoga and explains in simple, patient, language how to do the poses.

So, what are your New Year’s resolutions? I hope you join me by adding vegan meals or vegan days to your diet, here’s a menu I created to get started!  ( I will follow with recipes asap, in the meantime, use recipes you like and replace meats/dairy/eggs with tofu/tempeh/soy or rice milks/cheeses). -Amy Roemer 1-1-11

Amy’s Vegan Menu

It’s the holiday season, and no matter what holiday you celebrate, you’re bound to be inundated with candy, cakes, and an abundance of calorie rich foods! How lucky we are to live in such a bountiful country! Okay, so do you tend to overindulge over the holidays and can’t button your pants on January 1st? Feel guilty about every cake, glass of Bailey’s and cookie you ate? What if you went into this holiday season deciding to overindulge? What if you said to yourself. “It’s the holidays. I enjoy eating beautifully decorated desserts and home-cooked comfort foods with friends and family.” Take the guilt right out of the equation by choosing what you want to do and being okay with it.

Go out and buy a pair of pants one size up and call them your January pants! Then you can also decide that in January, you will go back to (or begin) choosing healthy foods and exercise. Buy a pair (or dust off an old pair) of yoga pants and call them your February pants! Because you’ll be taking walks, doing yoga, cycling, whatever it is you enjoy doing that gets you moving, and heading to Whole Foods, in February!

When we make a conscious choice of when we are going to eat something for pleasure and when we’re going to eat something for health, we can release guilt, we become empowered. What we believe is what manifests in our bodies. By taking control and making a plan, we not only become empowered, we lose the stress every time we grab a cookie, we lose the fear of lack, and that is much healthier than being a guilt riddled famished wreck over the holidays!

So indulge! Imbibe! And I’m betting, that with your new guilt-free attitude, you’ll be grabbing for less, anyway!

Amy Roemer – 12-1-10