You will be missed Mayaji

It has been a long time since I have written on my blog..Time does fly.. Ms Angelou left for a place as divine as her words on the 28th of May.. I was compelled to write to remember her as the way I saw her..Mayaji..a true illusion and a profound teacher.. gorgeous, honest and filled with love..

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Maya Angelou

You will be missed…watch us with yr grace.. Love Vaidya Priyanka

Do you feel it in your gut ?

The quirky urge. A funny tingle. That little voice in your head. These are your gut feelings talking. But what are they telling you, and should you listen? Here’s how to make the most of your own innate wisdom.

Most of us have experienced the sense of knowing things before we know them, even if we can’t explain how. You hesitate at a green light and miss getting hit by a speeding truck. You decide on a whim to break your no-blind-dates policy and wind up meeting your life partner. You have a hunch that you should invest in a little online startup and it becomes Google.

If only you could tap into those insights more often, right? Turns out you can, especially if you learn to identify which signals to focus on — whether they’re sweaty palms, a funny feeling in your stomach, or a sudden and inexplicable certainty that something is up.

According to many researchers, intuition is far more material than it seems. Hope College social psychologist David Myers, PhD, explains that the intuitive right brain is almost always “reading” your surroundings, even when your conscious left brain is otherwise engaged. The body can register this information while the conscious mind remains blissfully unaware of what’s going on.

Another theory suggests you can “feel” approaching events specifically because of your dopamine neurons. “The jitters of dopamine help keep track of reality, alerting us to those subtle patterns that we can’t consciously detect,” Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide (Houghton Mifflin, 2009) notes.

So how do you choose which gut feelings to trust? Judith Orloff, PhD, a Los Angeles–based intuitive psychiatrist and author of Second Sight (Three Rivers Press, 2010), suggests that it’s a matter of “combining the linear mind and intuition,” and striking the right balance between gut instinct and rational thinking. Once you’ve noticed an intuitive hit, she says, you can engage your rational mind to weigh your choices and decide how best to act on them.

To that end, here are five gut feelings that Orloff and other experts recommend you pay attention to — and some reasons why you’ll be glad you did.

1. “Something feels wrong in my body.”

Listening to your body’s subtle signals is a critical part of exercising your intuitive sense, says Orloff, who also trains UCLA medical students and psychiatric residents to use intuition when treating patients.

“Your body is a powerful intuitive communicator,” she explains in Second Sight. “Intuition allows you to get the first warning signs when anything is off in your body so that you can address it. If you have a gut feeling about your body — that something is toxic, weak or ‘off’ — listen to it. Go and get it worked up.” She’s seen too many people ignore their sense that something isn’t right with their bodies, and subsequently find that small problems have become big ones.

Physical symptoms can also have symbolic value. “If you’re around somebody and your energy goes down, that’s an intuition not to ignore,” Orloff says. Sudden sleepiness can mean that you’re in the presence of an energy-draining person or circumstance; it can be your body’s way of communicating that these conditions are taking more energy than they give. If you stay in a situation that makes you feel instantly depleted (like taking a job after you left the interview feeling exhausted), it can easily lead to a situation where you become depressed, anxious and — not surprisingly — stuck.

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, a psychologist, mindfulness expert, leadership consultant, and director of the Open Mind Training Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., also recommends paying close attention to any sudden physical sensations you experience during the course of an interaction. He tells a story of traveling in India where he decided not to get in a cab because of a “burning sensation” in his gut, and he later saw the driver being arrested in the train station for suspected robbery. He says he typically feels intuitions in his chest or his stomach; the latter is relatively common given that the intestines house the enteric nervous system, sometimes called the “second brain.”

“That second brain really is the intuitive brain,” Alexander explains, and he recommends that when it speaks, you listen.

2. “I’m in danger.”

The feeling you get about a person in the first 10 seconds expresses an “ancient biological wisdom,” says Myers in his book Intuition: Its Powers and Perils (Yale University Press, 2002). Early humans who could speedily detect whether a stranger was friend or foe were more likely to survive, he says, and they would create descendents who were able to read emotional signals in another person’s face almost instantly.

Of course, the human capacity to judge can go badly awry, as it did in the 1999 fatal police shooting of Amadou Diallo in New York City. Police fired when they thought the young Guinean man was reaching for a weapon, but he was actually unarmed and digging in his pocket for his identification.

Because social conditioning helps to create unconscious beliefs, and these beliefs can produce first impressions and snap decisions that are utterly flawed, Orloff suggests that it’s important to check your gut feelings against your rational mind whenever possible. And there are simple ways you can attend to what feels like a warning signal in the short term, she says.

“If you don’t trust somebody, even if it turns out to be inaccurate, it is something to pay attention to,” she explains. “If you’re walking down the street at night and you get the feeling ‘stay away from that person,’ just cross the street.”

3. “I want to help.”

While you might think of our gut instincts as something we’ve maintained mostly to avoid danger, the human species has evolved an equally powerful capacity to sense when our fellow beings need support. “Sympathy is one of humanity’s most basic instincts, which is why evolution lavished so much attention on the parts of the brain that help us think about what other people are feeling,” notes Lehrer.

Since evolution has made you a quick read of other faces and their emotional signals, you don’t always need to wait for a verbalized cue before you reach out. The sympathy instinct nudges you to change the subject when wedding talk makes a newly divorced colleague cringe, or to start up a conversation with a nervous seatmate during an airplane landing — subtle gestures that can make a big difference in someone’s day. The capacity to empathetically identify with other faces can even be what compels you to donate money after a natural disaster. Studies of humanitarian relief efforts show that people are markedly more compelled to give after seeing a photo of an individual in need than after reading statistics about damage.

Finally, this ability to “read” other faces isn’t just good for those you help. One recent brain-imaging study suggests that generosity makes the pleasure centers in the brain light up like the Las Vegas Strip. When participants were given $128 of hard cash along with the choice to keep it or donate it to charity, the reward centers of those who chose to donate went wild.

Multiple studies have also demonstrated a phenomenon known as the “helper’s high,” which causes individuals aiding others to experience improvements in mood, immunity and overall well-being. That’s why following your instincts for sympathy and generosity generally turns out to be a good investment in your own health and happiness, too.

4. “I know how to do this.”

Basketball announcers can be merciless when otherwise talented players choke at the free-throw line, but most of us can identify with the player’s sense of panic. You might have a well-developed yoga practice with one pose that still stumps you. Or maybe you’re a stellar driver who forgets how to parallel park whenever your intimidating sister-in-law is in the car. Or you’re a great cook who botches your favorite dish each time you make it for guests. In situations like these, the can-do instinct you’ve developed through years of experience is being drowned out by an onslaught of overthinking.

“Choking [among athletes] is a vivid example of the havoc that can be caused by too much thought,” Lehrer points out. “Such deliberate thought processes interfere with the trained movements of their muscles.”

He cites a study at the University of Chicago showing that, while novice golfers did better when they thought carefully about their putts, the performance of more experienced golfers got much worse when they reflected on what they were doing.

Rational thought served the beginners, it turned out, because they were still developing muscle memory and technique. But for those players who had already integrated all that information, instinct naturally took over — and did a far better job. Overriding instincts and neural patterning in favor of logical thought absolutely destroyed their performance.

“Once you’ve developed expertise in a particular area — once you’ve made the requisite mistakes — it’s important to trust your emotions when making decisions in that domain,” Lehrer insists. If you know you can do it, trust your gut — not your head.

Next time you’re tempted to think too much about something you know how to do, try a little therapeutic distraction. Say the alphabet backward when your yoga teacher orders you into the dreaded handstand, or sing a favorite song to yourself at the free-throw line. Briefly engaging your conscious mind with something other than the task at hand can leave your instincts free to do their job — and free you to enjoy the satisfaction all that practice has made possible.

5. “This is it!”

When your intuition signals that you’ve found something or someone truly right for you, the choice often becomes strangely easy. “It feels healthy; it feels good; it doesn’t feel like you’re forcing it, there’s not a lot of conflict,” says Orloff.

Lehrer agrees that when you’re poised to make a big decision with lasting repercussions, like choosing your life partner, you’re best off deciding from the gut. Based on the bulk of his research into the cognitive mechanisms of decision-making, he actually recommends that you “think less about those choices that you care a lot about.”

According to Lehrer, the rational mind is really suited only to limited concrete choices, like deciding between two brands of car insurance. In situations where there are just a couple of relevant factors involved, the prefrontal cortex can weigh the comparative rewards of each and yield an excellent result. But there are so many factors involved in a complex decision like, say, buying a house, that the limited space in the prefrontal cortex gets overwhelmed. In that state, it becomes the wrong part of the brain for the job.

Several studies support the wisdom of emotional decision-making in the realm of big choices. In one study, Dutch researchers shadowed shoppers at IKEA, observing their shopping behaviors. Later interviews indicated that those who spent less time making their choices ended up more satisfied overall. Choosing a couch and choosing a spouse are decidedly different acts, to be sure, but both tend to provoke the kind of agonized overthinking that leads to poor choices. Using your intuitive brain in these situations, on the other hand, will almost always point you toward a lasting fulfillment.

Of all the reasons to use your gut instincts to make big decisions, this may be the best: It leads to the choices that are most fully satisfying — decisions that can improve the quality of your life.

“It allows you to find relationships that resonate for you, instead of what looks good on paper,” Orloff says. “It allows you to connect with people on a heart level, it allows you to deeply experience life instead of just letting it wash over you, and it allows you to be really smart about how you make your decisions.”

From the Vedic times, it has been part of the culture as well as an Ayurvedic prescription to take care of one's gut and digestion.Maybe,it was to harness the fabulous quality of "I feel it in my gut.."

Always be happy..

Vaidya Priyanka

VEGA PROTEIN SHAKE..RECALL..URGENT

Dear All,

I have been recommending Vega shake powders for many years and it has come to my notice that there was an

URGENT recall and I wanted all of you to know.

Please read further and pass on.

Thanks

Vaidya Priyanka

Recall -- Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Vega Issues Voluntary Withdrawal of Vega One Nutritional Shakes and Vega Sport Performance Protein Product Due to Traces of the Antibiotic Chloramphenicol Contact

Contact:

Consumer:

1-866-839-8863

Media:

1-866-839-8863 x 366

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2013 — Sequel Naturals Inc., dba “Vega,” announced today that it has taken the precautionary measure of voluntarily withdrawing a limited quantity of its Vega One Nutritional Shakes and Sports Performance Protein products due to finding trace amounts of chloramphenicol (CAP), a naturally occurring antibiotic.

Chloramphenicol is a prescription drug commonly used to treat typhoid fever and eye infections around the world. It should only be used under medical supervision. It has been associated with rare cases of aplastic anemia and allergic reactions in some people. A leading expert on CAP says that there have been no known cases of anemia caused by residual amounts found in food. Pregnant or lactating women should avoid this medication. N

one of the Vega product formulations include CAP as an ingredient; however, an enzyme that was provided by a third party supplier, which constitutes less than 1% of the product ingredients, was found to contain trace amounts of CAP.

As a precautionary measure, Vega is voluntarily withdrawing all of the listed product from the market and has taken steps to ensure all future products are CAP-free, including using a different source of enzymes to prevent further potential contamination and assure consumers of product purity. These actions complete a voluntary product withdrawal and ingredient resourcing that applied to Canadian products as well.

“We’re doing this out of an overabundance of caution and to ensure that when you go to the shelf, you never have to wonder about the purity of a Vega product,” said Charles Chang, Vega President and Founder.

The Vega products were distributed nationwide in retail stores.

People who have severe sensitivity or allergies to chloramphenicol may run the risk of an allergic reaction if they consume these products. There have been no reported allergic reactions from the listed products.

The following products listed here are being voluntarily withdrawn from sale:

Product Description Size FG Lot Expiry

Vega ONE Nutritional Shake Berry 15 oz 47047800 08/2015

Vega ONE Nutritional Shake Berry 15 oz 47043100 07/2015

There are several other flavors,please refer to www.fda.gov for more details

All the product from the lot codes listed are completely safe for the general population. This voluntary withdrawal does not apply to any other lot of Vega product distributed anywhere in Canada or the United States.

If you have purchased a product from any of the lot codes below and wish to return it, please call or email Vega for a full refund: 1-866-839-8863 or www.vegarecall.com

Maya Angelou Poetry

Whatever happened to those school girl days of reading, just reading for the appreciation of fabulous words strung together like pearls of the mighty Ocean..

Some poetry to rekindle that joy and startle the senses from one of the greatest poets of all time..Mayaji.

On the Pulse of Morning

A Rock, A River, A Tree

Hosts to species long since departed,

Marked the mastodon.

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens

Of their sojourn here

On our planet floor,

Any broad alarm of their hastening doom

Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,

Come, you may stand upon my

Back and face your distant destiny,

But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no more hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than

The angels, have crouched too long in

The bruising darkness,

Have lain too long

Face down in ignorance.

Your mouths spilling words

Armed for slaughter.

The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,

But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,

A River sings a beautiful song,

Come rest here by my side.

Each of you a bordered country,

Delicate and strangely made proud,

Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.

Your armed struggles for profit

Have left collars of waste upon

My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.

Yet, today I call you to my riverside,

If you will study war no more. Come,

Clad in peace and I will sing the songs

The Creator gave to me when I and the

Tree and the stone were one.

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your

Brow and when you yet knew you still

Knew nothing.

The River sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to

The singing River and the wise Rock.

So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew

The African and Native American, the Sioux,

The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek

The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,

The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,

The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.

They hear. They all hear

The speaking of the Tree.

Today, the first and last of every Tree

Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.

Plant yourself beside me, here beside the River.

Each of you, descendant of some passed

On traveller, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name, you

Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you

Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then

Forced on bloody feet, left me to the employment of

Other seekers- desperate for gain,

Starving for gold.

You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot...

You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought

Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare

Praying for a dream.

Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am the Tree planted by the River,

Which will not be moved.

I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree

I am yours- your Passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need

For this bright morning dawning for you.

History, despite its wrenching pain,

Cannot be unlived, and if faced

With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon

The day breaking for you.

Give birth again

To the dream.

Women, children, men,

Take it into the palms of your hands.

Mold it into the shape of your most

Private need. Sculpt it into

The image of your most public self.

Lift up your hearts

Each new hour holds new chances

For new beginnings.

Do not be wedded forever

To fear, yoked eternally

To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,

Offering you space to place new steps of change.

Here, on the pulse of this fine day

You may have the courage

To look up and out upon me, the

Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.

No less to Midas than the mendicant.

No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister's eyes, into

Your brother's face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope

Good morning.

For the power and love of words,

Vaidya Priyanka

The Holstee Manifesto

“This is your life.

Do what you love, and do it often.

If you don’t like your job, quit.

If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV.

If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.

Stop over analyzing, life is simple.

All emotions are beautiful.

When you eat, appreciate every last bite.

Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences.

Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them.

Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself.

Some opportunities only come once, seize them.

Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them so go out and start creating.

Life is short.

Live your dream and share your passion.”

Truly inspirational and a must read for everyone on the planet.Period..

More details on http://shop.holstee.com/pages/about

Stay inspired..

Vaidya Priyanka

Quite a quote !

Dear Blessed Beings,

How was this week ??

Mine was a huge mixture of this, that and the other but all of them truly wonderful..

Had to share this quote with all of you..

"FOOD is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and EXERCISE is the most potent yet underutilized anti-depressant." -Bill Phillips

Who is Bill ?

From Wikipedia, William Nathaniel "Bill" Phillips is an American entrepreneur and author. He is the author of the fitness book Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength. He is the author Eating for Life, founder and former editor in chief of Muscle Media magazine and the former CEO of EAS, a performance nutritional supplement company. Bill and Shawn Phillips, his brother, also made a promotional movie called Body of Work which was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada and chronicled the very first EAS Challenge. On June 21, 2010, Phillips latest book, "Transformation: The Mindset You Need. The Body You Want. The Life You Deserve" was released.

It is truly fabulous that as a country, we are starting to think in the right direction of prevention is way better than cure.

Have a fabulous weekend !

Vaidya Priyanka

Calendula- My New Love..

I was introduced to this truly remarkable flower by the "Gardening Girls " ,my friends Susan and Christel. During one of our numerous cooking sessions, captivated by her hue, I started adding Calendula as a highlight garnish and ingredient to sorbets, salads and soups alike.It might be a good idea to refer to her as a lady.

Get to know her: Other names :Calendula officinalis, pot marigold, Garden Marigold, Gold-Bloom, Holligold, Marigold, Marybud, Zergul.

Introduction: The calendula is an annual flower native to the northern Mediterranean countries. Its name refers to its tendency to bloom with the calendar, usually once a month or with every new moon. The term "marigold" refers to the Virgin Mary, and the flowers are used to honor her during Catholic events. The Egyptians considered calendula flowers to have rejuvenating properties. In the Hindu world, the flowers were used to adorn statues of Gods and Goddesses in our temples, as well as a colorant in food, fabrics, and cosmetics, and of particular interest, in the 18th and 19th century calendula was used to color cheese.

Constituents: Calendulin, beta-carotene and other carotenoids, isoquercitrin, narcissin, rutin, amyrin, lupeol, sterols, and volatile oils. The flowers also contain complex polysaccharides with immunostimulant properties.

Parts Used: Dried flowers and I use them fresh as well..

Typical Preparations: Creams, teas, tinctures, infusions, compresses, and washes.

Summary: Because of the vivid and brilliant color of calendula, it was thought to possess powers for the protection and benefit of humans. One of the more outlandish claims was that wearing an amulet or necklace made of calendula petals, a bay leaf, and a wolf's tooth would ensure that any words spoken to the wearer would be kind, peaceful and honest. The German Commission E has approved calendula to support mild inflammation of the oral mucosa. It is externally approved to support the skin and assist with minor wounds. Its efficacy in supporting healthy skin has been supported in additional clinical trials. It is traditionally used to support healthy skin, and is a common ingredient for herbal oils, salves and lip balms.

I am a student again learning all about Western uses of herbs with a wonderful teacher called Bridget.It is a true joy to learn more of how the West views herbs, for us in Kerala, it was as commonplace as salt and pepper.Not surprisingly,there are so many similar uses.More to come on the blog as I explore..

Resources: www.mountainroseherbs.com www.pacificbotanicals.com

Love and Blessings,

Vaidya Priyanka