Play & Book Excerpts
Cooking with Marika
(Delicious Nutrition)
© Marika Blossfeldt
Book Cover: Hele-Mai Alamaa
Awareness
I believe that Awareness is the number-one ingredient for a healthy and happy body and life. I am therefore spelling it with a capital A.
Health is so much more than the absence of disease. It means bursting with vitality, being full of life force, radiating positive vibrations and having all the energy you need to do all the things you love to do.
You allow your body to function with ease and pleasure by being aware of how and what you feed it, by listening to its messages and heeding them, by lovingly practicing self-care, by consciously relating to yourself with kindness and understanding, by honoring your body for the things it does for you, by keeping your negative thoughts in check and replacing them with positive affirmations.
Happiness is a big word. But when you master the ability to notice the little things that bring you joy and to relish them consciously, you will find that you do not need that much to be happy. The glimpse of a bird on a tree branch, the first blossoms to emerge out of the snow, the purring of your cat or the smell of freshly baked bread can easily uplift your spirits. All you need is the Awareness to notice them.
Awareness means to be present and awake to feel, see, hear, taste, smell and sense what is going on right now in this very moment. Life is but a string of millions and millions of moments. The more aware you are, the richer and fuller your life can be.
We live in an action-packed, fast-paced time. Because we are so busy doing, most of us have forgotten what it is like to simply be, listen or observe. We overlook the need to slow down once in a while, to stop and reflect.
What is holding you back from having a rich and fulfilling life? Is it the chatter in your head? Is it a hectic work schedule? Is it an overbooked social life? Is it a soft addiction to Facebook or electronic devices? Have you turned into a workaholic? Are you depriving yourself of rest and chill time? Do you eat while busily multi-tasking other activities? Are you spreading yourself thin by agreeing to volunteer, help and provide for too many worthy causes? Are you packing your calendar with too many appointments and forgetting to plan in transition times, breaks and downtime? Do you block or suppress your feelings?
Awareness for me is something multidimensional that connects body, heart, mind and soul. Ultimately, it means experiencing life on many levels at once. It means being present physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, having all your feelers out.
How Can We Practice Awareness?
I find that a great starting point is to experience Awareness through the senses of our body.
Awareness can be practiced in many ways. For example, when you take a shower in the morning, instead of going through the motions mechanically, really enjoy all the sensations. Do not rush. Instead, turn this into a little spa experience for yourself. Feel the warmth of the water, feel the drops caressing your body. Notice how soothing it is, how relaxing and pleasurable it is. Just be in the moment, let go of any thoughts and tune in to your body. Smell the scent of your shampoo before even putting it into your hair. Feel your hands massaging your scalp. Feel the lather sliding down your neck. Notice the calm and serenity a simple daily cleansing ritual can bring to you.
Another fun exercise is to sit outdoors, when the weather permits, and close your eyes. When you close one sensory organ, the others automatically become amplified. Choose to listen to the sounds around you. First, notice any sounds you might be making yourself by simply breathing in and out. Next, focus on the sounds nearby, then widen your perception to include sounds from farther away. Notice whether these sounds come from one spot or are moving. Are they coming closer or moving farther into the distance? Turn your head slowly side to side and “see” whether anything changes in your perception of surrounding sounds. Become all ears, take it all in. Be a “witness” to the sounds.
The next time you hold a piece of fruit in your hands, pause. Look at it. Think about how this fruit came about. A seed was planted in the soil. Roots took hold, and a little sapling grew. Over the years, this little sapling developed into a grown tree with branches spanning several meters. One spring, first blossoms sprang and by the fall, a fruit matured. Think of all the people who took care of the tree, who harvested the fruit and transported it to the farmers market or store where you bought it. Think of the traveling this fruit has done to arrive, finally, in your hand. Then smell it. Then savor it.
I believe that Awareness is the number-one ingredient for a healthy and happy body and life. I am therefore spelling it with a capital A.
Health is so much more than the absence of disease. It means bursting with vitality, being full of life force, radiating positive vibrations and having all the energy you need to do all the things you love to do.
You allow your body to function with ease and pleasure by being aware of how and what you feed it, by listening to its messages and heeding them, by lovingly practicing self-care, by consciously relating to yourself with kindness and understanding, by honoring your body for the things it does for you, by keeping your negative thoughts in check and replacing them with positive affirmations.
Happiness is a big word. But when you master the ability to notice the little things that bring you joy and to relish them consciously, you will find that you do not need that much to be happy. The glimpse of a bird on a tree branch, the first blossoms to emerge out of the snow, the purring of your cat or the smell of freshly baked bread can easily uplift your spirits. All you need is the Awareness to notice them.
Awareness means to be present and awake to feel, see, hear, taste, smell and sense what is going on right now in this very moment. Life is but a string of millions and millions of moments. The more aware you are, the richer and fuller your life can be.
We live in an action-packed, fast-paced time. Because we are so busy doing, most of us have forgotten what it is like to simply be, listen or observe. We overlook the need to slow down once in a while, to stop and reflect.
What is holding you back from having a rich and fulfilling life? Is it the chatter in your head? Is it a hectic work schedule? Is it an overbooked social life? Is it a soft addiction to Facebook or electronic devices? Have you turned into a workaholic? Are you depriving yourself of rest and chill time? Do you eat while busily multi-tasking other activities? Are you spreading yourself thin by agreeing to volunteer, help and provide for too many worthy causes? Are you packing your calendar with too many appointments and forgetting to plan in transition times, breaks and downtime? Do you block or suppress your feelings?
Awareness for me is something multidimensional that connects body, heart, mind and soul. Ultimately, it means experiencing life on many levels at once. It means being present physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, having all your feelers out.
How Can We Practice Awareness?
I find that a great starting point is to experience Awareness through the senses of our body.
Awareness can be practiced in many ways. For example, when you take a shower in the morning, instead of going through the motions mechanically, really enjoy all the sensations. Do not rush. Instead, turn this into a little spa experience for yourself. Feel the warmth of the water, feel the drops caressing your body. Notice how soothing it is, how relaxing and pleasurable it is. Just be in the moment, let go of any thoughts and tune in to your body. Smell the scent of your shampoo before even putting it into your hair. Feel your hands massaging your scalp. Feel the lather sliding down your neck. Notice the calm and serenity a simple daily cleansing ritual can bring to you.
Another fun exercise is to sit outdoors, when the weather permits, and close your eyes. When you close one sensory organ, the others automatically become amplified. Choose to listen to the sounds around you. First, notice any sounds you might be making yourself by simply breathing in and out. Next, focus on the sounds nearby, then widen your perception to include sounds from farther away. Notice whether these sounds come from one spot or are moving. Are they coming closer or moving farther into the distance? Turn your head slowly side to side and “see” whether anything changes in your perception of surrounding sounds. Become all ears, take it all in. Be a “witness” to the sounds.
The next time you hold a piece of fruit in your hands, pause. Look at it. Think about how this fruit came about. A seed was planted in the soil. Roots took hold, and a little sapling grew. Over the years, this little sapling developed into a grown tree with branches spanning several meters. One spring, first blossoms sprang and by the fall, a fruit matured. Think of all the people who took care of the tree, who harvested the fruit and transported it to the farmers market or store where you bought it. Think of the traveling this fruit has done to arrive, finally, in your hand. Then smell it. Then savor it.
EASY BREEZY SPRING CLEANSE
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Photo Credit: Hele-Mai Alamaa
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Marika Blossfeldt, a former dancer/choreographer, is an award-winning cookbook author and Certified Holistic Health Coach.
Her first book, ESSENTIAL NOURISHMENT: Recipes from My Estonian Farm, won third prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris and a gold medal at the Living Now Book Award in the United States. Reviews of her artistic and culinary skills have appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and The Village Voice as well as in European editions of health, lifestyle, and cooking magazines. She regularly writes articles for Estonian publications and gives talks in both Europe and the U.S. on healthful eating and leading a vibrant, mindful and harmonious life. Her second book, COOKING WITH MARIKA: Clean Cuisine from an Estonian Farm was released in 2020 and is the winner of the 2020 Living Now Gold Medal, the 2020 American Book Fest Best Book Award, the 2020 Best Indie Book Award and the 2020 Kops-Fertherling Gold Award. Marika graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and maintains a private practice in Beacon, NY, where she resides during the winter months. June through September, she pampers guests at her farm and retreat center Polli Talu in Estonia. |
