This month we have a fantastic giveaway offer – Barlean’s Omega Swirl, an award winning Omega-3 product! I take mega Omega’s for the benefit of my heart, skin, joint mobility, mental health and overall well-being – maybe you should too!! All you have to do is check the facebook page for A Girl Named Guy Productions and check out the posts, respond and whoa-la! On any given day this month we’ll have fun questions, facts and contests – it’s easy! We love partnering with companies like Barlean’s to offer you great health options, education and free stuff! If you aren’t a facebook-er, you can also signup for my newsletter, Sage Advice, for a chance to win. Simply go to www.ModernSage.com.
Enjoy the Omega Swirl – truly it’s delicious!!
Archive for the ‘Mental Health’ Category
Bathtub Reflections
Friday, November 26th, 2010I’ve been spending a lot of time in the tub (see Detox Bath Review www.modernsage.com) and with that comes relaxitation: meditation in the tub. As I was finishing a bath recently and watching the water drain, I began thinking about drains in general. Sink drains, tub drains, physical drains, emotional drains.
We think that small negative ‘things’ in our lives don’t affect the whole. We try to isolate a stressor and believe that it’s not wreaking havoc on our other affairs. But, think of the drain. What happens in the sink when a small bean clogs one of the drain holes? The water still goes down, but at a slower pace. Think of that drain with several food particles from the dinner plate, covering a many holes. A much slower drain, indeed. Even tiny hairs in the sink can quickly cause a complete clog. Meet plunger, your new assistant.
Imagine that those food particles or hair strands represent negative stressors in your life.
In a healthy state of mind, we want life to be less cumbersome. We seek happiness, love, positive movement and a continuous gentle flow. Life thrives in these environments. To think that one negative factor (be it a person, habit, debt, burdensome weight or addiction) is not causing your entire life to be more difficult (less thriving) is false thinking. No matter what is clogging your drain, be it small or large, your life is being held back from the movement it is trying to make.
Maybe it’s time to start clearing out some blockages in your life, to remove the beans and pull out the gnarly hairs so that your life-force can flow freely.
Enjoy your holiday. Give thanks for all that is brilliantly *alive* in your life and consider how much time you are spending plunging the same issues that are holding you back.
(I highly suggest tub relaxitation for further discoveries.)
I’m A Christian & I do Yoga
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
In response to the recent headline news from an ill-informed Southern Baptist leader in my home state of KY, (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39553520/ns/us_news-life/) I’d like to offer a bit of Christian enlightenment to the forum.
God loves my down-dog. As does my yorkie, Corkie. We do it together and I’m not sure, but I believe he’s a Christian too.
For the past 15 years I’ve been practicing yoga. For the past 25 years I’ve been practicing a Christian faith. I do sun salutations with God in my heart and Jesus as my Savior. What a wonderful gift to my creator to move my body with such ease, freedom and joy to the glory of His name. Perhaps I’m really living on the edge, but I confess that, most likely, I practice yoga with people of different religions, cultures and colors. I accept them and their beliefs.
Yoga is a systemic science. Christianity is a faith. What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that Albert Mohler is misleading his congregation/students/followers with a message that is harmful to Christians: that they simply cannot or should not practice yoga and be a Christian. This is a disgrace.
Yoga is not a religion. Yes, there are religions that implement yoga. So one could say that yoga is in some religions but religion is not in yoga. There is no deity in yoga. A warrior pose will not make one Buddhist or Hindu. Does eating hummus make one Greek? Or enchiladas Mexican? If so, I am a Greek Mexican.
The practice of yoga can be done religiously – as in, with fevor and discipline. Yoga influences the body structure, the organs, the breath, the mind and the spirit indeed. All wonderful. Yoga frees stress from the body and offers an opportunity to connect with our inner selves – aligning our hearts and minds with our spirit and that, my friend, is a beautiful thing. These aspects of a physical practice bring great awareness to our health and environment in many aspects. Yoga does not, however, require a faith, an idol or a religious opinion. If you learn the definition of yoga (union) and some other yoga-ish terms that are often present in a class or chant, you will discover things like forgiveness, honoring the divine present in each individual, open heartedness. These are honorable and considerate attributes that no one should fear, and perhaps similarly, ones that many religions strive to teach.
If you want to eat a jalapeno, you will not become Mexican.
If you get acupuncture, you will not become Chinese.
If you do yoga, you will not become Hindu.
If you accept God into your heart, you will practice living with a faith in Christ as a Christian.
All of the above can be woven into a life rich with half-moons, one-legged pigeon poses, vinyasas and the ever humbling downward-facing-dog. If times get difficult, I suggest the child’s pose – it’s perfect for prayer.
energy draining?
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Who/what is zapping your energy? Even if you don’t understand the energy system as it relates to your physical health, chakras or other esoteric principles, I’m sure you’ve experienced situations or people that zap the living life out of you – mentally, emotionally, or physically. It amazes me the amounts of people that recognize what’s causing such misery, yet still imbibe. Yes, I’m guilty as well! We humans get into ruts/habits doing the same thing and end up getting the same result – exhaustion. This is more than the lazy factor; it could be that the energy it takes to overcome the problem is already depleted due to the very problem itself! It takes a special something for us to pull ourselves over the hump..
These sneaky “energy vampires” can come in the form of food (nightly ice cream indulgences) beverage (too much vino for the ‘ole liver), relationships (unfulfilling or abusive partners, family members, children) activity overload (not being able to say no) and even procrastination (remember that kitchen sink that needs fixed?) All of these things can suck the life right out of you – which translates into low physical/mental energy, an emotional imbalance and physical illness.
Protecting yourself from these drains on your energy is an important thing to consider.
Here are some healthy living tips to detract negative energy:
Techniques such as meditation, energy clearing/healing, and smudging/cleaning your personal space will help your environment stay healthy. Even a quick shower will clear away icky energy. Hot followed by a quick cold rinse is great.
Simply be proactive with your time (get things accomplished without over-committing). Finishing what you started or completing necessary tasks will help you remain centered and healthy.
I find that a healthy self-esteem allows a person to assert their position and say no to what is not beneficial. When we feel strong and confident, it’s easier to not get entangled with negativity, but even the strongest person can find themselves in less-than healthy situations.
If we keep our hearts and minds set on taking excellent care of our bodies and environments, we reap a huge benefit: being armored against the vampires!
So, what/who’s draining your energy?
Tip: Negative Energy Release
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
It’s easy to accumulate stress, negative thoughts, emotions and energy. It’s also easy to feel drained, fatigued and overly stressed. I’m sure you know someone that you would classify as “an energy vampire” – they just suck the life right out of you!! Here’s a simple way to rebalance your energy and release negativity. And the best part is… it’s in the tub!!
You will need 3 things. A plain candle (small or large), a natural soothing fragrance (I suggest organic essential oils like lavendar, vanilla, orange or even lemon) and a tub.
Prepare a warm/hot bath. Light the candle and put near tub water. Use the natural essential oils in the bath water or on the candle. Turn out the light.
Lie in the water with as much of your body underneath as possible. Try to relax your body and mind and stare at the candle. Just stare. Let thoughts come and go. Continue staring. Imagine all of your worries, stress, thoughts, everything, just going into the candle flame and gently burning. Do this for about 15 minutes.
After this 15 minute exercise, release the drain on the tub and lie back and watch all of the water go down the drain. After the last bit is down, stand up and rinse off with cool water in the shower.
Trust me – this is a powerful and refreshing exercise. If I go more than 2 weeks without practicing it, I feel very “bound up” and off balance. Give it a try. It’s a healthy living tip that is worth every minute for your body and mind!
Energy Medicine
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
I’m sure you’ve heard about energy therapies such as Reiki, acupuncture, polarity therapy or similar types of healing options. Many people still don’t know what energy is or how it works in our bodies or lives. In fact, I’m frequently asked if it’s voodoo, anti-Christian or the connected to some kind of cult. No, it’s not any of the above. Everything is made of energy (a quantum physics conversation that I won’t get into here, but one that is scientifically proven), and the energy in and around you is a very real ‘thing.’ This energy, if unhealthy, can be treated, manipulated and healed with the proper…energy! It’s a medicine that dates back to ancient times and is finally gaining popularity in our culture.
As an energy healer, I’ve worked on people, their homes and pets. As something becomes energetically out-of-balance, from stress, physical exhaustion, emotional or mental upset, the whole system of the energy field gets disrupted, which in turn will eventually disrupt other parts of the being. Physically, it is usually easy to correlate a bodily problem with an energetic imbalance – and vice versa. May sound strange, I know, but as you study the energy field of the body and become sensitive to its possible correlations, you begin to notice patterns and can even feel the imbalance on other levels.
If you understand the basic components of energy, the idea of holistic medicine begins to make a bit more sense. Everything is connected. Mind affects body, body affects emotions, emotions affect body and round and round it goes. Energy lives within each of these aspects and can be manipulated (for good or bad) by circumstances, food, feelings of love or hate, mental attitudes, activities and certainly emotions. As one energy system becomes affected (neg or pos). it will then affect another area of your well-being. It is a system that works synergistically. Simply genius.
Acupuncture, Reiki, polarity therapy, EFT, acupressure and many other energy healing therapies all rely on this system of energy that runs through and around the body. Attending to this system with the aid of a practitioner or self-manipulation creates healing that is a viable, safe and effective for your health. There is nothing voodoo about it. Yes, one that works with energy should be trained and have an understanding of how it works along with the healing process. Some people are particularly gifted in this area. To learn how to do techniques yourself, you do need basic information and we’ll discuss more in depth about your chakras, auric fields and healthy living tips to improve your well-being in the next weeks. As you become tuned into yourself and your surroundings, you’ll begin to see that the world of energy is alive, pulsing and seemingly magical. We are created to function at the highest level of health and ease, not dis-ease! This applies to physical well-being as well as all other areas of your life. Soon you will be living a truly organic lifestyle and thriving!
12 Week Energy Series Kickoff!
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010You are used to me writing about health – food, relationships, supplements, alternative treatments. You may not know that I’ve studied energy healing for over 15 years, working with energy of the body, auric fields, energy as it relates to relationships and even our homes. So, I’m starting a 12 week series of blog posts relating to this fascinating topic and how it affects all areas of our health including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and relational. Energy is a force of life and a God-given instrument to enhance our wellbeing. The posts will go live by each Tues of the week until mid-October! So, join in regularly and post your experiences so we can all learn from each other.
You may have heard of energy fields, auras, chakras or meridians that correlate to your bodysystems in Eastern medicine. We’ll look at all of these aspects and the energy of your emotions, thoughts, foods and more. There are little tricks in the home you can do to increase positive energy, as well as energy tune-ups for increased health and wellness. I’ll talk about how to protect your energy (from negative people or places) and how to project your energy. This is information that will help you feel better, handle stress and life better and potentially heal from long-standing issues that have been “in your energy field” that you will now be able to release. There’s no voodoo involved, or strange & wacky ceremonies. Just great energy information to assist you on your life’s journey. See you next Tuesday!
The will to live
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010There’s nothing that clarifies life more than death.
When people we love pass away, it’s typical to go through a grieving period for the loss of their earthly presence. I believe we also go through a spiritual emergency regarding the life we are or are not living. For a certain time we may question what we didn’t say, haven’t done, aren’t doing or even what we are doing. The presence of death seems to spark this kind of character review and actions taken… or not.
What are we doing here, anyway? We don’t want to die, but are we really living? This is a large topic, larger than a simple blog entry, but one that makes me think of a common word in the English vocabulary: will. As I ponder life and living, this word ‘will’ seems one that is vastly overused, yet generally misappropriated.
Here are a few definitions of WILL: a decree, a determination by choice, a futuristic intent, a legal document declaring the disposal of property after death.
If I had to put all of my money on the table, although the pile wouldn’t be high, I’d bet that the most used translation of the word ‘will’ would be “a futuristic intent.” Of course, it’s appropriate to have a will and an intention. The problem with this overly used word is that it keeps us out of the present and always in another time-zone, one that hasn’t happened yet and probably “never will.” We can’t predict the future, nor should we constantly expend energy on something that is not actually even real. Most intentions, except the tangible ones such as “I will turn the light off” never turn out like our vision in the first place. If we have an intention of moving to California, we can fulfill the actual packing and moving, but the vision of our intention – the smells, experiences, feelings are never as we had envisioned. Think about it – the amount of time we spend dwelling on, worrying about or planning for some unknown happening consumes the majority of most people’s day. Even our hopes and current desires are wrapped around this notion of ‘will’. How can we live a life of happiness and peace when we are not even living a life of actual reality? This is a powerful realization which prompts the awareness to remove the ‘will’ and live in the now.
When the ‘will’ becomes ‘am’ then the mind becomes aligned with the body and spirit and health is created. Examples: “I will lose weight.” “I am loosing weight.” “Someday I will take dance classes.” “I am dancing!” “I will call her back tomorrow.” “I am calling her right now.” “Before I die, I will travel South Africa.” “I am booking my flight to South Africa.”
As a matter of fact, however positive the will to do something is, it’s not worth anything until it is done. This begs the question, “What are you waiting for?”
I know we can’t do everything in one single moment, but to understand that you are only doing what you are doing right now, and nothing more, is an awakening to the present that allows a life to be lived deeply – richly, with no regrets. It returns the reality of your life right before your very eyes. As we mourn the death of others, ours becomes a time to celebrate the life we still have right now, not later – there is no later. This concept is the impetus to make that call, book the flight, paint your house, call your long-lost friend.
As you alleviate the ‘will’ mentality of the constant time-traveling mind, health and happiness in your life begin to flourish and now becomes the only time to live.
Accepting what is
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
There’s a fine line between acceptance and passivity. I’ve often resisted acceptance and at times have found myself trying to create something that shouldn’t be. There is an art to accepting ‘what is’ in life, and learning how to be aware of acceptance without falling victim to the swallows of passivity is the key to enjoying it’s beauty. It’s important to accept our life as it is, and also have a heart to know what we want to experience. All we have is now, so what are we doing with our “nows”? Accepting life fully will generally lead to greater happiness and peace. This is not to be mistaken for laziness, passivity or a “who cares” attitude.
There are people that push in life and push too hard. Always focused on something other than what is right in front of them. The danger of that way of life lies in the fact that many live a life without a clear presence, without gratitude and with no awareness of the smallest, acute happenings of life unfolding right now. The stress of this “push” causes mental and physical maladies, not to mention spiritual disconnections.
On the other side of the ‘fine line’ are those that could care less about life or goals or self-actualization and call their state of uninvolvement a “detachment” – a surrender to the universe or a trust that a higher power has everything worked out and if that is true, there’s nothing to do anyway but “let life happen.” There are fads and philosophies that use this as a base mantra. This is dangerous, as well, to the human organism for similar reasons as above. A lack of interest, proactivity or gumption will cause the spirit to become faint, the heart to close from lack of vitality and the body to recoil from anything that requires great endurance.
I believe acceptance is like a beautiful dance. An activity that’s enjoyable, one instigated by you and yet open enough to allow the rhythm of life to create a destiny yet unknown. The acceptance of ‘what is’ is work, needing a mind dedicated to the now, a spirit moving in faith and a body in motion. It is from this active space of surrender and motion that we find the beauty of our lives, and in that, we discover and celebrate “what is.”
This… or That?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Some decisions are easy to make, but we still choose unwisely. We “know better” but eat fried chicken instead of baked, drink 4 glasses of wine when one is ample…we have healthy, great options, but… So when it comes time to make larger life decisions, we look at our track record and realize maybe healthy choices aren’t our forte. There’s a subconscious lack of trust in ourselves and this creates stress.
The proverbial fork in the road – it’s a place we all come to, sometimes without even a realization we are there. I recently spoke with one of my ministers about this place. This forked road. He reminded me that we will often make wrong decisions – and it may not be how we want to experience this world, but it’s ok. We are people that make mistakes.
Sure, we learn from mistakes, sometimes. Sure, we can again change our minds. And certainly, nothing (but love) lasts forever. But finding peace with decisions requires a maturity that is based in faith.
I didn’t want to be responsible or mature, so I asked him for his direct advice. I normally can’t stand people’s advice, but there are times when I just want to be told what I “should” do. His reply: “When it comes time, I think you’ll know.”
I want to fight that response, it’s not what I want to hear. Someone do it for me. Help me. Just decide for me for goodness sake! But in my heart of hearts, I do know that when it comes time, I’ll know. Just like every other decision that I cared about. I generally go thru a process of mental turmoil for a few weeks, then exhaust myself and in that mental exhaustion I find my heart and suddenly, I hear the answer. It was there all along, but drowned by the noise in my mind. Not all decisions can be made in the heart, this is true. But when you have the luxury of time to decide, you can either relax in the process or have a mental war of “this or that” – I suggest you spare yourself the anguish. Try to let go and listen to your heart. You’ll know – when it’s time.
Leah Guy is a Producer, TV Host, Writer and passionista for inspired, lifestyle content. In 2006 she created A Girl Named Guy Productions and hasn’t slept since. 
A Girl Named Guy Productions is a multi-media company that serves a variety of audiences. Who's On Deck is a new celebrity TV Show produced by the company and Modern Sage is a site geared toward women's wellness. Creator & CEO, Leah Guy, launched the company in 2006 with a goal to meet the demand for positive, inspired content for the mainstream audience. AGNG produces videos, 
