Super-Whatever
Super-Whatever
By Taylor Wells, M.A., M.Ed., RYT
This destination is always changing—like the flow of life. I am always adding things to Super-Whatever, so if you have an idea and/or suggestion, lay it on me, Super-mom!!
I’ve already received some great suggestions, and here they are:
**Tell other Super-moms about an inspirational book that you loved reading.
**What’s the best movie you’ve seen lately?
**Share some Super-cool projects you can do with your kids.
**Share a Super-mom challenge that Super-mom.com readers can take on for fun (i.e. take a walk today with your family, get on your yoga mat, turn off the TV for an entire day or week).
**Spot a Super-mom in action!! Catch a mom in a Super-mom moment and share it with Super-mom.com readers. Whether it’s entertaining, inspirational, or funny…tell us the story!! What Super-mom inspires you? Which Super-mom have you learned from?
**Share women’s health information that has made a difference in your life.
**Share helpful environmental information that will help take care of our earth.
**Tell other Super-moms about your favorite products (yoga mats, organic clothing, juicers, etc.)
**Add something here!! Tell me about it and I’ll put it up.
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I’ll get the ball rolling:
**Inspirational book: Ask And It’s Given by Esther Hicks.
**Best movie I’ve seen lately: I haven’t been to the movies in so long!!
**Super-cool projects you can do with your kids: Ask your child to choose one article of clothing and one toy and one book to give to a child in need, and then write that child a note together, telling the child about all the ways you’ve enjoyed these things and how you hope the child will also enjoy them. Then paint a picture together for the child. Walk (or drive if necessary) together to a place where you can donate the items, along with the note and the picture.
**Super-mom Challenge: Turn off your TV for a week, and see what happens!!
**Super-mom in action: Today I saw a Super-mom at Wholefoods with four kids, and she was totally present with all of them, pointing out this and that to each of them and teaching them every step of the way. I told her she was a Super-mom and she smiled and said something very humble.
**Women’s health information: The very best women’s (and men’s!!) health information that I have ever received is to eat as much raw, organic food as possible. Ever since I was very young, I was interested in health. I used to chat with my grandmother about vitamins and “health food” (as it was called in the 70’s) at age five!! This is way before Wholefoods was even in existence and before I knew what the word “organic” meant. To this day, I smile when I hear our four-year-old ask “Mommy, is that organic?” What four year old in the seventies knew what organic meant, let alone ate organic food? So I learned a lot about health and food and vitamins, or so I thought. I have experienced more amazing life-transforming effects from my all raw vegan lifestyle than any other health information I picked up in my entire lifetime.
**Environmental information: This is super simple but it will save a tree. We re-use all of our paper (except toilet paper). Nothing gets put in the recyling bin until both sides are used. So in the pink house, once we print something from the computer for Prana Power Yoga and/or Super-mom.com and we’re finished with it, it goes into our arts and crafts cabinet where it will later be used in a project—drawing, painting, etc. We also use empty TP and paper towel rolls for projects—painting on them, drawing on them, glueing stuff onto them-whatever.
**A few of my favorite products:
Yoga mat: Jade Harmony. We sell them at all four of our Prana Power Yoga studios and they are the best mat I’ve used by far.
Organic clothing: Philippe and I like to wear hemp clothing. It’s sustainable and beautiful too.
Yoga clothing: hands down, Lululemon. And I’d say that even if they didn’t give it to me for free.
Juicer: Breville.
Dehydrator: Excalibur.
Microwave: Don’t have one!! We took it out of the wall and replaced it with a Buddha statue and some candles.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I would love to hear what you eat on a daily basis and when. I am always torn as to whether or not I should eat at night or not. That is my wors time for picking, after the kids go to bed. Although I have heard that it is good to eat some protein at night as your body should not go for so long without food, it needs to protein to help metabolize. I read on your website about eating in the raw and I’m very interested in reading more about it. At this point I am a vegertarian, but I do eat seafood and eggs. I do not miss meat, in fact it turns me off, but sometimes dinners are difficult becasue my husband could not live without meat. I usually just make dinner for him and the kids and I will eat everything but them meat/chicken.
May 24th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Thanks Super-mom Jacqui.
After almost four years of being 100% raw vegan, I have learned a lot about digestion and having the most amount of energy possible and feeling my absolute best.
I studied Ayurvedic Medicine and learned that I am almost 100% “vata,” which means that it’s really important for me to follow food combining principles so that I digest my food well. This made a lot of sense since when I ate cooked food I had digestive issues a lot. Now that I’m raw and I food combine, I have NO digestive issues at all!! It’s a dream!!
One book you can get to read about Ayurveda and also food combining and many other things as well is “Conscious Eating” by Gabriel Cousens. It’s a great book. Years ago I read in Conscious Eating that Gabriel Cousens eats his big meal before 2 pm and then eats fruit and veggie/fruit juices in the evening. At first, when my husband and I read this we said “That’s crazy!! We could NEVER do that!!”
But then one day we tried it, and wow, I felt so amazing the next day it was RIDICULOUS. I had even MORE energy and clarity and focus than I already had with my raw food lifestyle. I woke up in the morning with ease and without an alarm and started the day with joy. After that, when I ate other heavier and slower digesting foods in the evening, I noticed that I felt “hung over” in the morning…slower to rise, groggy, and a bit “out of it.”
You can read all about this in the Cousens book and/or other books on food combining and digestion (please read my suggested reading list in the super-foods section), but the general idea is that the night-time and morning time before noon is the time when your body is detoxing and rebuilding itself. If you eat anything except fruit and/or fruit or veggie juice (made in a juicer—not bought in a bottle) during these times, your body is working to digest the food and so it therefore cannot clean/detox/do its work. It can’t clean house!! And at night time, even as it works and works to digest that slow-digesting food that’s sitting there, it cannot digest it because you cannot digest food while lying down!! So the food sits there and sits there for 8 plus hours and begins to ferment. Yuck!! Because of this fact, people who don’t even drink alcohol develop cirrhosis of the liver due to all the fermentation of food sitting in their intestines at night, night after night, year after year.
Needless to say, this is why so many people wake up groggy, bloated, and tired in the morning after eating heavy foods at night (“heavy foods” being anything except fruit and/or vegetable or fruit juices—easy things to digest).
Fruit and fruit/veggie juices made in a juicer digest in 30 minutes or less (except for bananas, which take 45 minutes). It doesn’t matter how much fruit you eat—just separate it so that you eat one fruit at a time. This aids digestion more and is a part of food combining.
Food combining is a really big topic and so definitely get one of the books I recommend and read up on it because you will be amazed at how good you feel when you eat foods in the proper order for the most efficient digestion. A good and easy explanation of this is in Natalia Rose’s book on my reading list.
But the basic idea is to eat the lightest foods first and so those foods can move through your digestion quickly and with ease. Natalia Rose calls these food “quick exit foods.” So, for example, fruit would come first, then juice, then salad, then anything that is not fruit, juice or salad. And be mindful not to mix things into your salad like nuts of fruit or dried fruit that would inhibit the salad from moving through.
I follow food combining principles and have excellent digestion now and feel great all the time, with tons of energy and focus and joy. And girl, let me tell you, I was the quintessential “night-time eater” and “night owl” before I tried this. I just tried it and now it’s so easy.
And remember eating “fruit” doesn’t mean eating an apple and calling it a day (or night!!). I eat a lot of avocados, coconuts, olives, mangos, papayas, and bananas at night and in the morning, which are all filling and satisfying. Just remember to eat one fruit at a time and then wait at least thirty minutes. Definitely don’t skimp on the fruit. Eat all you want and you’ll be surprised at how your body will process the fruit so quickly and well and easily. When I’m driving my kids to school in the am or out doing errands or playing with our baby outside, I’ll be sure to have some fruit with me to munch on.
At night, I love to blend two young coconuts (white stuff and water) in the blender with agave, a pinch of Himalayan crystal salt, and vanilla bean to make the best vanilla pudding ever.
In the morning, I love to do the same, except add raw cacao powder (available at rawfood.com) to make the best chocolate pudding ever!! I’m eating that right now and I have to say, it tastes better than snack pack used to when I was a kid.
As far as what I eat that’s not fruit and fruit/veggies juices, the list is way to long for this blog because I eat everything I ate when I ate cooked food—and SO MUCH MORE. And the food tastes so much better. You can create anything from the cooked food world with raw foods. For an easy example, I used to love to eat oatmeal and I now make it raw—it’s so easy!! I just soak and sprout oat groats and then blend them in a high speed blender (Ktech) with agave and Himalayan crystal salt and voila!! Delicious oatmeal that’s warm from the high speed blender. I also always have freshly made oatmeal cookies and blondies on hand…the kids and I love them. Made in the dehydrator, never heated above 105 degrees F.
There are tons of great raw food “cook” books out there, and I’ve listed some in my Super-foods section. Tonight we’re having a raw dinner party and we’re serving nori rolls, sweet potato corn chowder, pizza, and chocolate pie.
So since friends are coming for dinner tonight, I won’t be eating just fruit at night. I don’t believe in restriction and so if my spirit wants to have anything other than fruit at night, I have it. So when we have dinner parties or are invited over to a friend’s house for dinner, I will eat whatever is served that is raw and enjoy it and the love with which it’s made and my friends company. And frankly, if I ever wanted to eat cooked food, I would eat it that moment. It just doesn’t even appeal to me anymore. I talked about this in Super-foods also.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 24th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Taylor - this is so inspiring! I did a raw food cleanse for 2 weeks the year I got married and never felt better in my life! The clarity and focus I felt then was incredible. I don’t know why it’s been so hard to go back to that pattern. I have a raw “cook” book sitting on my shelf - maybe it’s time to dust it off as I finish the last week of 31 in 31! Best wishes on your new website!
May 25th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Thanks Katy.
I’m so glad that you’ve experienced the clarity and focus I describe, so that you know first-hand how great it feels.
As you finish up the 31 in 31 is the perfect time to dust off that raw “cook” book and give it a try!!
Keep it simple and just do your best and listen to your body, as you do at Prana.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you feel AMAZING. Like day one!!
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 26th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Hey Taylor (from one Vata to another)! Great site! I think Super whatever should be stories from your viewership (moms like me) who have spotted a super mom in action. I love catching moms in super mom moments and it could be an entertaining, inspirational and possbily funny story telling section. Depends on how interactive your reader ship is but from what I can tell they are vocal which is great! For instance, I had one mom from of mine who recently had both her boys diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia so she called me to walk out dogs. We spent the entire walk listing all the positives of ADHD and dyslexia and were often doubled over laughing wishing everyone could be as blessed! I am always inspired by another mom friend of mine who always finds way to introduce her kids to people of all races and walks of life. Her parties are always 1/2 black and 1/2 white and the most interesting and exciting! Then there’s my creative mom friend who is always reaching out to others. She invites kids over to make reindeer food for Christmas or inivites your child over to her house to make a homemade birthday present for you. She spends one on one time not just with her kids but others — creating that it takes a village mentality that we seem to have lost. She inspires me. So we can learn a lot from each other if we all shared some of the inspirational ways moms live (especially when they don’t know we’re watching). Thanks for bringing this forum into our worlds — I think it can really help! Best, Mary Kaye
May 27th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Hi Taylor,
I discovered the Prana Yoga studio in Winchester recently, and I checked out super-mom.com since I feel like your yoga has added so much to my life, I wanted to learn more about your lifestyle. I am in the process of adjusting my food intake (I am about 80% vegan, and almost 100% dairy and nut free due to allergies that I developed a few years ago). I have battled with anxiety and depression also….yoga has really helped me with my transition to a happier, healthier life. I was thrilled to find out that simple food changes contributed to better mental health and yoga has really helped me calm my anxiety and stress. I am not a super-mom yet, but I work with preschoolers and children with Autism, and I work directly with many families. I’m glad I found super-mom! Maybe your Super-Whatever category could be filled with women’s health information, environmental information (recycling crafts for kids), product reviews (best yoga mats, organic clothing, etc) or Super-Mom Challenges—-like challenging Super-Mom readers to turn off their TVs for a week.
Thanks so much for your wonderful site!!
Can’t wait for more!
-Beth
May 28th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Thanks Super-mom Mary Kaye.
I love this idea!!
I’m on it, Sistah.
So stay tuned and have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 28th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Thanks so much Beth for your great ideas for Super-Whatever.
I love them and as I told Mary Kaye about her great ideas as well, I’m on it!!
So stay tuned…
Also stay tuned because I put up a new article every Monday morning, and a new quote of the day every day.
I am so glad that you found Prana and that you are living the reality that what we put in our bodies and practicing yoga on a regular basis absolutely affect our well-being on so many levels.
I have had countless students go off of medication for anxiety and/or depression after committing to a regular practice at Prana, and it is such an honor and a pleasure to witness their transformation and increased sense of freedom, empowerment, and joy.
We are all about empowerment and freedom and joy at Prana and that’s what Super-mom.com is about too.
So keep up the great work—stay on the path—and have the best day ever!!
Maybe I’ll see you in class at Prana Winchester on Friday at noon—the hour of power…
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 1st, 2008 at 5:35 am
hey mom,
maybe you can make like, super projects!
you know…. for kids? i know you are always really good
at coming up with really fun projects!
and also on super whatever maybe you could have a picture of a calendar and mark on certain days challenges (like Beth said)
like you could have a family take a walk day or a healthy day or an exercise week or something…………
June 1st, 2008 at 9:40 am
Thanks Madison Leigh.
I love these suggestions!!
I’m on it.
I’ll be incorporating all of your ideas, as well as Beth’s and Mary Kaye’s, so stay tuned.
Have the best day ever!!
XO and Namaste!!
Mommy
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:23 am
Hey Taylor,
Every day I go to your website and even though I may not leave a reply everytime I am blown away what you’ve done on this website. I really appriciate the quotes and the articles that you’ve left as well as listening to others questions and suggestions. It’s very inspiring and it also lets you know that you too have the power to make a difference in your life with your challenges. I am very greatful for this. Thank you for everything you’ve given to all of your students. I am looking foward to the next time I can take one of your classes.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 am
Thanks Super-mom Sonneva.
I’m so happy that you are enjoying Super-mom.com and visiting the site daily to get inspired. That is exactly why I created it.
I do what I love and I love what I do and this website was born from this way of living, and I am honored to be able to connect with such wonderful people, like yourself, who are seeking information to make their lives the best ever.
I am delighted that so many people are resonating with this information and connecting with one another.
As always, everything just keeps getting better.
See you in class soon (maybe tomorrow in Newton at 9:00am?) and have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 4th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Loving all the above suggestions, and wondering if maybe “Super-Whatever” can be just that - a little of whatever each month. I’d love to see some inspirational books or movies that might have missed the usual radar of the Oprah show or the New York Times. Just got back from seeing “Young at Heart” and all I can say is that if ever I get to complaining about my age, I will remember the “Forever Young” that performed in this movie. If it is in your neighborhood, please check it. A truly feel good movie. Also, a great book I’m reading is “the power of kindness - The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life” by Piero Ferrucci. Okay, so that’s my 2cents worth for today. Loving this website!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Thanks Super-mom DJ.
Such great ideas for Super-whatever!!
I will include these suggestions as well as the suggestions from Mary Kaye, Beth, and Madison.
I’m going to check out “Forever Young” and “The Power of Kindness—The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life.” I like them already because of their titles!!
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Hi Taylor,
I’ve only been a mom for 6 weeks and I’m starting to come out of the “baby time warp”. I can usually remember what day it is although clocks still mean nothing. This time has gone by so fast and has been so wonderful and I’m starting to look at my new life. With this comes so many new challenges balancing it all. Maybe a good topic of discussion is all that goes into balance in the work force. I left my job that I poured my blood, sweat and tears into and now in thinking of my transition back at the end of the summer creates an ache in my heart and a lump in my throat. It’s all so different and that’s scary.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Thanks Super-mom Tory and congratulations!!
That is a great topic of discussion—balance in our lives as Super-moms.
In essence, that is what Super-mom.com is all about. Finding balance, community, inspiration, support, and overall good energy.
Enjoy this precious time with your newborn baby. Your new baby is teaching you a lot already (children are our greatest teachers)…like how to flow with things being different!!
Balance may seem impossible now but give it some time…you are still so new to being a Super-mom and you will learn with time how to manage your life with baby so it’s the best ever, listening to your intuition all the way.
After all the classes you have taken with me at Prana Power Yoga, I have a question for you…what does it mean when you have an ache in your heart and a lump in your throat? What is your spirit telling you?
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
September 26th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Have a question for you Taylor and was not sure where to post it. Super-Whatever seemed the right spot. I think many would love to hear your process of “paring down” with your wardrobe, your house, etc. and how difficult it was/is at times? I feel that I am going through another “growth spurt” in my life and the need to start “giving away” and start “rightsizing” my life, spirt and surroundings has begun to take place within. I am presently reading the books, “Rightsizing Your Life”, “Let Your Life Speak” and “Organizing for the Spirit” and they are proving very valuable and helpful, but would love your insight. When did the process start for you and how is it for your kids who can be “pressured” by tv, outside sources and other kids to have the latest video game, latest CD, latest “whatever”. Any practical suggestions you can offer on this process would be appreciated by many. Loving this site, DJ
September 28th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Hi Super-mom DJ,
So good to hear from you.
I think this is an excellent question.
I want to preface my response by saying to all the super-people out there: take what you want from what I say and leave the rest!!
As always, I honor and respect every super-person’s process and path, and everyone is totally different.
I am only sharing what my process and path have brought me thus far.
What I’ve noticed in my “paring down” and “mimimalizing” process is that it generally hasn’t been difficult at all–instead, it’s been FUN and FREEING and a HUGE RELIEF!!
The only times when it felt or feels difficult is when my mind gets involved and gets impatient and/or overwhelmed by too much stuff around.
I recall feeling this way many years ago when I began this process.
It’s funny because as I am writing this, I realize that I really began the “clearing the clutter” process in the most dedicated and joyful way when I began to practice yoga daily.
The two went hand in hand.
In fact, the cleaner I got physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, the cleaner my house, closets, and fridge got–naturally.
It just flows that way–without thought or planning.
It’s funny because that was one of the “side effects” of the Prana Cleanse that we taught two weeks ago.
Many of our forty Prana Cleanse students reported that they couldn’t stop cleaning and giving stuff away!!
Jacqui, our Newton Manager, said that she said she had so much energy on the Prana Cleanse that she cleaned and organized and gave stuff away for six hours straight one morning!!
As the body and the mind are cleansed, the physical surroundings in our homes naturally mirror our internal state.
But back to many years ago…I recall that when I was living with my now ex-husband (who liked to hold on to things–shoe boxes, old things and stuff, etc.) I felt overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” around me and the seemingly nonstop process of “unpacking” that I engaged in daily as the Super-Mom of our little daughter.
I remember wanting to cleanse completely–give everything away and not unpack another thing ever!!
I so wanted to give everything away that one day one of my friends said “I think one day I’m going to come over and find you and Madison living in a Tee Pee out in the yard!!”
I could feel the stagnant energy around me and it felt stifling and unnatural.
It was at that time of feeling frustrated and stifled by so much STUFF around me that I wrote myself a note card that I read to myself daily–and still do.
It says: “Don’t get mad at all the stuff you have/unpacking you do. Just give some away every single day. It’s a process, just like acquiring it. Stay calm through the process.”
And I have managed to do so, reading this note card every day.
(I have many hand-written note cards that I read daily, in the early morning hours and while I practice. They help me to set my intention and the energy for my day).
So my advice for you, DJ, is to just flow with what you FEEL like doing, when you feel like doing it.
You have set such a beautiful intention by reading the three books you mentioned, writing to me, and just thinking about the “paring down” process.
And at the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you!!
Also remember that the universe is managing your every intention.
So just let things flow with this process, and that is what it is–a process.
It’s NOT an overnight thing.
But overnight you CAN do some serious damage and give away many big trash bags of things–and have a blast doing it!!
It’s very cathartic.
Remember, if it feels like a chore, don’t do it.
Just like on your mat: if something hurts, don’t do it–modify.
To this day, the times I find stuff to give away in our home are not times that I have blocked out in my blackberry as “cleaning out the closets” time.
My spirit would fight that and do something else!!
It’s usually just in the flow of the day or night (usually when I am supposed to be doing something else, like packing for a trip or writing emails–LOL) that the magic of shifting the energy of your living space happens.
And that is what you are doing: shifting the energy of your living space.
Stuff that is not used regularly=stagnant energy.
For years, about once every two weeks when the kids went to sleep at night, Philippe and I would go into the playroom and go through toys and books and chat as we gave away bags of stuff–that they never even noticed was gone and certainly never missed!!
Now things are so pared down that they actually would notice.
Oh and as for your question about how it is for our kids–this whole process of clearing the clutter on a regular basis, what I’ve found is that our kids are all in all, very grateful for the clean and clear living space that we live in at the Pink House.
I went through times years ago, as I’m sure every Super-mom has, when I had way too many toys for Madison (when she was my only child), and I now think it must have been overwhelming for her to have so many things around–even if they were toys, and carefully chosen toys at that.
In the same way that it’s challenging to work when your desk/working space is cluttered, I believe children play better when they can actually see what is there to play with and it’s not overwhelming.
But I want to repeat that the process of paring down the kids toys and books took awhile!!
I also started a tradition years ago that when you receive a gift (toy, book, clothes, whatever) at birthdays and holidays, you give something away.
And you write a gratitude note.
For birthdays, our kids open one gift a day, and give something away and write a gratitude note right after opening it.
It’s just what they do now–they are used to it.
In fact, as I listen to Madison (age 11) explain the process to her friends, I think she’s a little proud of it.
We actually don’t have TV and haven’t for years so we are blessed that that does not influence our kids re. wanting this or that toy or video game or breakfast cereal :), and when they say that one of their friends has this Barbie or that toy or video game, we say “That’s great for them!! It must have been fun to play with that at their home.” And we leave it at that.
If they go on and ask for the toy/video game/whatever we say that they are abundant with what they now have and they don’t need anything else to be happy.
Then we ask them what brings happiness, things or love?
Just planting the seeds….
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
October 1st, 2008 at 9:24 am
Thank you Taylor for sharing your experience with me and so many others. There is so much there to draw inspiration from and you are right, if I put it on my calendar as a “to do” thing it becomes that much more difficult to tackle. Sophia and I went through her stuff last week and put several bags together for a wonderful place called “Village of Hope” where families that are having a difficult time can stay and get back on their feet. She and I went there last week and delivered our bags and she later said to me, “You know Nana, when you give you want to give more”. Oh the wisdom of children. When we got home we decided to go through the garage and see what else we could box up and I asked her if she wanted me to take these boxes myself the next day or wait until she came back in a week or two and we could do it together. Her answer, “Nana, please wait, you don’t want that good feeling all to yourself do you? I want that good feeling too.” So I will continue on this journey and know it is right for me at this time. Thanks again Taylor, your insights are always so helpful. Love, DJ