Please come visit my new site and blog at www.elenalipson.com

See you there!

If you are interested in guest posting for amazing TheEcoDiva.com audience, please send an e-mail to TheEcoDiva@gmail.com

3 changes that have changed my life. Truly.

1. respect an early bedtime
2. wake up early to eliminate
3. do yoga for at least 15 minutes to start each day

After over a month of keeping these simple, yet not easy to begin habits, they have changed my days, the way I approach challenges and whiny voices and how I structure my day. I am embodying the principles I teach.

I am telling you this because I want you to know that small changes can make a big difference. Though they are not easy. It took me weeks of hearing my alarm ring at 6:30 before I decided to actually get up. It took me months, even years to set my bed-time and actually respect it.

I know that there will be challenges along the way. But the difference is…I am taking myself seriously as a pro. A shift in perspective. Something has broken through.

Working with my coach has been a great support in making huge and small changes, especially in my thinking in relation to what I am capable of.

What changes have you made or do you want to make? Have you ever thought about working with a coach to make these changes? Please ask me any questions you may have about working with a coach to support changes and create goals that align with your vision in your life.

Love, light & gratitude,
Elena

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on this blog. I think about it everyday and feel sad that I have not connected. But it has all been for a worthy cause. For those of you who have been following my journey, you know that I’ve been doing a lot of work to create the next phase of my life. I’ve felt and acknowledged a strong pull to create a business that reflects my passion, my awareness of creating consciously, of doing work that is true to what I know to be most important for me in this lifetime. I was fortunate and grateful to have journeyed through a 5 month yoga intensive where I studied ancient tools and methods to look deeply inward in a raw and honest way.
I have taken time to learn from some of the best living foods chefs and gurus as to what makes living foods so amazing for the body, the mind and the spirit. I’ve taken deep dives into meditation, yoga and self-reflection to bring to the surface my intense belief in intuition and how it can guide us to lead our lives in a magical, honest and powerful way. I’ve also heard the call of creating a space for women, a sacred tribe, a community where women can shed their tears, shed their facades and create powerful connections that lift each other up in beautiful ways.

The culmination of this work led me to create my first women’s workshop. The workshop was absolutely beautiful. A group of fifteen amazing women showed up to share in the space and it was truly magical. I am finally sitting down to look back and see what worked best, what I would have done differently and what I want to again for the next workshop. Here are a few comments from the women who attended:

“The most memorable part of the evening was hearing all of the voices of the women in attendance as well as seeing parts of myself reflected back to me.  It was nice to see all of us vulnerable and open, it was so refreshing! I did not feel like i had to fake it, and this for me is memorable.  Additionally, I don’t feel bad about showing my vulnerable and sensitive side–it is a huge part of me, and I have realized the more I try to hide the more difficult my life becomes.  One more little thing…the book, Journey to The Heart, I own and have read it and had shelved it.  Your opening the book and reading it aloud reminded me about it and I have since removed it from the shelf and am reading it daily, again.  Thank you! “

“WONDERFUL – variety of engaging activities, good pace and great energy.”

“Your workshop was lovely, what a great group of graceful women! I felt so peaceful and assured when I got home. —We’re much better mamas when we take care of ourselves.”

These are just two of the comments I received. This makes me feel, in my heart, that the work I am moving towards in the world is truly taking me in the right direction. I am working on my new site ElenaLipson.com. This will be the new home of the workshops, the coaching and much much more. I am thrilled to share this with you and will work on documenting the journey as I go.

Please feel free to connect with me and watch for my next workshop coming in January 2013.

Love, gratitude and light.

xoxo

Elena

I am in the middle of creating many different things in my life. This requires a lot from me in terms of making time for my son, my husband, my friends, myself and my projects. This is a place where I can get easily overwhelmed and get stuck in the fear. It’s also a space where I can choose to become the martyr, the “see how busy I am” mama. I’ve been in each of those spaces. I can still hear the voice of overwhelm creeping in. But I’ve learned to identify the voice much sooner.

The difference is that I have some amazing tools to use that can help me to unravel those knots that start forming in my stomach, my mind, my life. I have my intuition, I have yoga and I have confidence in the rhythm of life. I’ve been a yogi since I was 16 years old. Sometimes more in theory than practice. But I always come back to yoga as a mainstay to create peace and a sense of positive movement in my life.

I know things are so much more balanced for me, internally and externally when I slow down long enough to get on the mat and on the meditation pillow. It’s an illusion that there’s not enough time. In fact, when I slow down to take extra care of myself, I miraculously find more time to do the things I love. I am so grateful for yoga and the deeper places I was able to go earlier this year on my 5 month yoga intensive. I encourage anyone who asks to ask the questions, to find the tools that take them back to center.

Back to my original musing . Besides yoga, another refocusing and centering tool for me is going into nature. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful place surrounded by lots of trees, water and animals. To get back to nature, I just walk out of my door and keep walking. It’s not long before I encounter squirrels, deer, and many other beautiful creatures that have no worries about deadlines, workshops or designing logos. I can take a deep breath of fresh air and come back to my body and out of my brain for a while. It’s amazing what a little nature can do to replenish our souls and the quiet space we need to create and just BE.

Grain free pumpkin bread is in the oven, and it smells divine. I took the inside ‘stuff’ and the seeds and made raw pumpkin milk. It’s a beautiful color as you can see. I used it in a curly kale smoothie and it tasted amazing. Pumpkin and the seeds are a great source of minerals and vitamins. The seeds are naturally rich in protein, zinc, essential fatty acids, magnesium, iron, and fiber. And they contain most of the B vitamins, along with C, D, E & K! Pumpkin seeds are rich in the amino acids alanin, glycine and glutamic acid. Not bad for a little pumpkin ).

I’ll post the smoothie image and the grain free pumpkin bread next

Grain free pumpkin bread is in the oven, and it smells divine. I took the inside ‘stuff’ and the seeds and made raw pumpkin milk. It’s a beautiful color as you can see. I used it in a curly kale smoothie and it tasted amazing. Pumpkin and the seeds are a great source of minerals and vitamins. The seeds are naturally rich in protein, zinc, essential fatty acids, magnesium, iron, and fiber. And they contain most of the B vitamins, along with C, D, E & K! Pumpkin seeds are rich in the amino acids alanin, glycine and glutamic acid. Not bad for a little orange pumpkin ).

I also made my nutmilk (image above), but this time I am in the Fall spirit so I added some pecan and maple syrup. So good!!! I was so inspired by the pumpkin that I tried to make pumpkin milk. I read this on facebook last week and was intrigued.

Pumpkin Milk Recipe: I simply used 1 cup of the insides mixed with the seeds with 3 cups of water, and a splash of maple syrup.

Here’s what the smoothie looked like:

Smoothie Recipe:

2 stalks of curly kale

1 cup of pumpkin milk

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin

1 cup strawberries

1 ripe banana

And finally, here is the grain-free pumpkin bread. The recipe is courtesy of Elana’s Pantry

I wanted to share an upcoming event I’m hosting in Bellingham, WA. Here are all the details:

Intuitive Wellness Workshop For Women
with Elena Lipson

Imagine yourself in a circle of amazing women, each one supporting you on your path to glowing radiant health. Utilizing art, meditation, vision techniques and some fun DIY recipes, you will create your new story of health and wellness. Oh, and organic wine AND green juice will be served!

Elena Lipson is a Holistic Wellness Artist and Coach. Through fun, engaging group and individual exercises, Elena guides women toward bringing forth their authentic voice, intuition and creating a unique vision of optimal health.  In the course of this creative, fun workshop, you will create your most healthy vision of your body and spirit as well as gain tools to move into the most glowing and radiant version of yourself.

Register HERE

My intention for this workshop is to help you clarify your health goals for 2013 and to take steps towards making your goals a reality.

Utilizing a blend of meditation, creativity and simple do-it-yourself beauty recipes, you will create your ideal vision of thriving health.

You will experience:

• Creating a personal BodyMap To Reflect The Vision of Your Optimal Glowing Self
• Enjoy Organic Wine, Green Juice and Raw Treats
• 3 Ingredient (or less) ‘Do-It-Yourself’ Beauty and Personal Care Recipes
• Simple Yoga and Meditation Techniques For Building Intuition

Register HERE

I began Day 4 of my juice fast with a strategy. I woke up early and had my 16 oz of water with lemon followed by a beautiful carrot, pear, ginger juice. It was sweet, spicy and the perfect way to begin my juicing day. I juiced another 32 oz of juice and took them with me in a cool container because I knew I’d be out of  the house most of the day. I did buy a juice at a juice place later in the day as well. That made for 16 oz of juice ever 2 hours. I felt energized, satiated and didn’t find myself craving any food.

Lucky for me, hubby is making dinners for kiddo and himself so I can stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. I’m feeling very light throughout the day, maybe a bit too airy in that I have broken my favorite wine glass and keep knocking things over. Stopping throughout the day for meditating and journal-ling makes a difference in keeping me rooted. I also spent time soaking in the sun today, not too much, just enough to get my dose of vitamin D, which is an issue for us Pacific Northwest dwellers, even in the summer.

For dinner I had this beautiful green juice above. I began with a green apple, a bunch of parsley and a head of broccoli. I found it to be a bit too bitter so I added a green pear after the picture was taken. It was really quite good. And it was rich enough that I think it will get me through the night. I also had a small warm cup of miso to settle my stomach and am thrilled to bring a close to day 4. Now just 3 more days. I am so proud of myself and look forward to all the insights that will continue to come as I take extra care of myself and honor my intuition to complete this 7 day juice cleanse.

Are you juicing? Or planning to? Feel free to ask any questions

Day 3 of Juicing…..it started out really easy, meaning I wasn’t wanting to reach for any kind of food. But as the day wore on and I was making meals for kiddo I found myself hearing voices in my head….just one bite….just one bite. But, I realized that this is where my yoga practice, my meditation and all the work I’ve been doing over the years  comes into play. I want to make and keep promises to myself. I want to know and act from my best, most strong, most enlightened and divine place. I want to walk with integrity in my own life. This doesn’t have anything to do with others and what they think. This is my path.

Day 3 has come to a close and I am looking forward to the the unfolding of the next 4 days. I will celebrate with a beautiful raw meal on Monday as this is best for easing out of a juice fast, and it’s what I’m know will be best for me.

Are you juicing? Or planning to? Feel free to ask any questions

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” – Anais Nin

What is a BodyMap™?
A BodyMap is a visual representation of your emotional, physical and spiritual goals.

Imagine yourself in a beautiful room filled with a group of amazing women all supporting each other on the path to glowing radiant health. Utilizing meditation, creative vision techniques and reflection exercises you will create your BodyMap™.

Utilizing a blend of meditation, creativity and simple do-it-yourself beauty recipes, you will create your ideal vision of thriving health. You will experience:

• Individual and Group Reflection Exercises
• Simple 3 Ingredient (or less) ‘Do-It-Yourself’ Beauty and Personal Care Recipes
• Simple Yoga and Meditation Techniques For Building Intuition
• Creating A BodyMap™ – An Authentic Vision of Your Optimal Glowing Self
• Green Juice and Raw Foods For Beautiful Skin

Fee Includes: Organic Wine, Green Juice, Raw Treats & Art Supplies for creating a BodyMap™

Registration info:

Date/Time: October 26^th, 2012 – From 6 – 9pm

Pricing: $45 Pre-Paid at ElenaLipson.Eventbrite.com ($55 at the door)

E-mail: TheEcoDiva@gmail.com

Phone Contact: 360.393.7301

Register at ElenaLipson.Eventbrite.com

Good morning! I woke up today still feeling a sense of peace and ease about the juice cleanse I have been on for the past two days. This is the first time I’ve tried a full on juice cleanse and I was worried that I would not be able to get through the day without actually chewing something. With the planning tips from my first post, it’s been a great challenge, but in the best possible way.

I knew I was going to need a lot of variety in taste and color, so I looked up recipes, purchased a wide variety of organic fruits and veggies as well as planned my week so that I would be able to either be near my juicer, or take juice with me. So far it’s going well.  Above is a great book I used this to get some ideas for breakfast. I chose the Pear, Carrot Ginger. YUM!!!
I have not had any detox symptoms yet and I feel very peaceful calm and have plenty of energy to do yoga this morning. I got less sleep than normal last night because my kiddo woke up early, but I still feel like I am balanced emotionally. The balance of emotional energy is just one of the benefits of a juice cleanse.

I’ll report more later. If you have any questions, or are considering coaching with me to set up a juice cleanse for yourself, please email me at TheEcoDiva@gmail.com.