Twin Pines Wellness

Balance isn’t about eliminating things... it’s really about figuring out what works well for you + your particular make-up.

Yeah, sometimes that does mean we have to limit our exposure or consumption of certain things so we don’t have unpleasant experiences.. but it’s not something anyone else but you can dictate.

We all have different ways our bodies, minds + spirits feel balance. And we all have different ways we experience imbalance.

BUT imbalances do NOT equate to wrongs.

They’re simply guiding us to know ourselves a little better... to help us consider the choices we make or situations we participate in.

To pause for a second, listen deeply + really hear what you’re asking for.

Eating is a natural process. One that we all must partake in to survive. ⁠
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However, there are so many factors that can show up to interfere with this process. Things like lacking regular access to food, disordered eating + chosen food deprivation affect the ability of many people to “naturally” eat.⁠
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But the fact remains: ⁠
Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, deserves to experience food in a way that is safe, accessible + nurturing. ⁠
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Eating is for Everyone. ⁠
Food needs to be too. ⁠
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This is where I start to drop in... ⁠
If you know me, you know I’m a mix of a little bit sweet, a little bit dorky, a little bit goofy + a lotta bit real. ⁠
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I don’t need things to be fancy to be enjoyed, but I do very much enjoy making moments feel fancy... Mostly by focusing on the details; the unique textures, flavors, forms, + handcrafted nature of everything in its own way. ⁠
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I’m sharing this because going forward we’re gonna be talking about a lot of things: food, the body, societal systems, cultural expectations + assumptions, intuition + choices... and I want you to know that at my core is the recognition of beauty + pleasure in even the tiniest of things... and the knowledge that tuning into these small bits + pieces of experience can help us to better hear what needs there are + understand what’s showing up in the bigger picture. ⁠
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Just like the garden calls to be tended through all sorts of signals: dry soil, curling leaves, insects, unintended plants... we can notice these things in ourselves, in our communities, in nature + the greater world. ⁠
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I’m totally digging in...!!!! ⁠
You wanna join me??! ⁠
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NADI SHODHANA⁠⁠
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Is a breathing practice learned from Ayurveda that helps to balance the energies of the body. ⁠⁠
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It's especially helpful when:⁠⁠
➕ you're feeling congested⁠⁠
➕ you're feeling anxious⁠⁠
➕ you're having trouble sleeping⁠⁠
➕ your mind is over active⁠⁠
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HOW TO PRACTICE:⁠⁠
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Place your thumb on your right nostril + 4th finger on your left, using them to close + open the nostrils as you breathe in one side, close both for a pause, then breathe out the other side. Keeping that nostril open, breathe in, pause + breathe out the other side again. ⁠⁠
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EXAMPLE:⁠⁠
In left nostril, pause, out right nostril. Pause. In right nostril, pause, out left nostril. Repeat.⁠⁠
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++ Alternate nostril breathing specifically targets vata, though there are variations for balancing pitta + kapha as well. To balance pitta with cooling energy, inhale through the left + out through the right. To balance kapha with warming energy, breathe in through the right + out through the left. ⁠⁠
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It feels like summerrrrr!!! 🤩

Loving on this sunshine + the first rounds of local cherries + berries ✨

What’s poppin’ in your zone?

Happy spring, friends!

Green + flowering things are popping up everywhere.. spring foods included!!

A big part of my food story is collecting food from the land. This means wild foraging, gardening + sometimes harvesting from the immense amount food bearing plants that go untouched in the city.

Now that it’s springtime, my body aches to be outside... (like literally allllll the time)....hands in the soil, eyes scouring the landscape for every sign of new life.

So much is wildly available here in the PNW, an ecosystem that was once a thriving rainforest. You just have to open your eyes to see it.

Right now, though, I am STOKED to be cooking with all these seasonal gems!!

Shoutout to the for continuing to hold space for all the incredible stewards of food. 🙌🙌

|| S P H I N X ||

If you aren’t familiar, I introduce you. If you are, I encourage a re-introduction.

The sphinx seems like an easy position.. maybe like it would give you a comfortable stretch.. but it’s actually one of the most engaging + active positions I’ve been using recently.

This exercise is great for developing core stabilization, balancing asymmetrical patterns + helping to counter the forward/hunched posture so many of us struggle against. It trains the engagement of serratus anterior, the rotator cuff + muscles of the upper back + neck (traps, rhomboids, occipitals).

To do this exercise, stack your elbows under your shoulders + lay your hands easily at shoulder width in front of you. Look forward with your head lifted, pressing your elbows into the floor at the same time you lift the center of your spine (between shoulders) towards the ceiling - like you’re trying to create space for a big balloon to fit under your chest. You should start to feel it in the sides of your ribcage.

Breathe.

Aim to hold the position for 60 seconds without sinking or dropping in your shoulders.

|| If you have severe low back pain, please check in with your doc first, for safety’s sake ||

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