Jill's everything but the kitchen sink Kimchi - for good gut health!

The Kimchi festering before potting

I've learned an awful lot about gut health this past ten months. Eben was born with gut issues, a result of his entrance into the world - six weeks early, Caesarean Section, administered antibiotics upon birth, kept in a sterile incubator without much human touch those first few days of his life. It was far from ideal and has resulted in a lack of good microbes, which means he is intolerant to lots of things.

And when I say lots of things, I mean lots of things - dairy, wheat, gluten, oats, soya, tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers. If he eats any of these things then his digestion is compromised (constipation mainly) and his skin flares up with eczema.

It's been quite some journey managing this, not only for him but for me too given that I've been breastfeeding him.  We've followed the GAPS diet as best we can, with bone broth (yep, I even ate organic chicken for a time), lots of coconut oil, olive oil and fermented foods. My Mum's been helping lots and has made this wonderful 'Everything but the kitchen sink' Kimchi", which I share with you here:

Jill's everything but the kitchen sink Kimchi

There are many recipes for Kimchi but I guess the overriding difference to Sauerkraut is the inclusion of chillies.

Ingredients

1 small daikon/mouli grated (I got mine from Forest Stores and they are large, so I only used half in this recipe.   You could use ordinary radishes instead and would need at least a whole packet)
2 large carrots (or equivalent) grated
1 apple grated
1 onion (red or white) or a bunch of spring onions, chopped
1 cabbage, sliced (core removed and cabbage quartered). KEEP 2 or 3 of the outer leaves for 'sealing' the mix in the jar.
1/2 bunch kale (red/white or both) or pack of small pack choi, sliced
5cm piece of ginger, finely grated
2 or 3 red chillies finely chopped or 1 to 2 teaspoons chilli flakes (to taste)
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, finely grated or minced (you do need some garlic but can reduce this amount if not keen or increase - to taste)
2 tablespoons fish sauce or dulse flakes (the latter from Hansa)
2 tablespoons Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt such as Celtic salt - as long as it is decent quality.

Using your hands mix it all in a large glass or ceramic bowl, squeezing it as you do so to start the release of the juices.    If you do this in the morning you can transfer it to jars later that day.  If made later in the day it should be left overnight before potting.

When potting, pack it down so that you force the juices to cover it, but don't pack right to the top of the jar, leave 4 - 5 cm.   Fold one of the retained outer cabbage leaves to create a 'lid' inside the jar, then use a bit of carrot set in the middle of the leaf, a little bit higher than the lid, so that as you screw the lid on, it forces the leaf down and ensures the juices cover the mix.  DON'T screw the lid tightly at this point as you need to leave it on a work surface for 3 days so that it starts to fizz a little.  You can leave it longer but after those 3 days the lids can be screwed on tightly and it can now be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months (if it lasts that long - it is moreish!).

You can vary the vegetables, although cabbage is a staple in it.

Packed into jars, see the liquid near the top

Use the retained outer leaves, folded, to 'seal' the kimchi below.  Use carrot, a little higher than the lid, to push the seal down when you put the top on.

With the lids on loosely, you can clearly see the liquid right up to the top.

The light of yoga

I'm very excited about the seven day yoga challenge that we're launching tomorrow. I love sharing yoga and hope that this may encourage some of you to dust off your mat and have a go.  

I've been thinking recently how yoga can be a little bit like that saying, "people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime".  So it's the same with yoga.  For me it's certainly a lifelong practice, whilst I recognise that people flit in and out, sometimes because something is going on in their lives and they need the support and other times, because yoga gets too confronting.

I realised yesterday that I've now been practicing yoga, on a virtually daily basis for 14 years now. My body's changed a lot during that time, not least in terms of my flexibility,  but the hugest change has been in my outlook on life and my relationship with my self (which has had a knock on effect on every relationship in my life).

I was suffering with depression and PMS when I discovered yoga. It was for those reasons that I sought it out. Yoga made me feel better.  I mean not consistently better, at least not overnight, but gradually the depression eased as I made changes in my life, that the yoga has helped me to realise needed to be made, and gave me the strength to make the changes.

I came home to myself, to my heart and soul. Yoga saved my life.  It taught me how to dream and to believe in my dreams, it encouraged me to see the positive in all things. It helped me to learn to love myself again, to let go of the insecurities and the shame, to acknowledge my gifts and use them. It helped me to heal.

It also helped to deepen my connection to Mother Earth and to take responsibility for my impact on her. This recognition in itself has been hugely life changing, because it's all too easy to overlook this and not take any responsibility. It's made me more conscious then, which has been hugely rewarding, if at times confronting!

Yoga's amazing and I shall be eternally grateful to all the yogis and yoginis who came before me and led the way. Thank you. I hope that the seven day challenge may help in a way too, passing on a little of the light passed on to me. 

Happy practicing!

x

Yummy immune Boosting Soup Recipe

I can’t take credit for the recipe, it’s been adapted from one given to me from an Australian cookbook…its incredibly yummy, and very good for you!

Ingredients

3 cups of sweet potato, cut into 3cm cubes

1 leek (both white and green parts), cut in half, washed and thinly sliced

2 tsp cooking oil

1 garlic glove, minced

1 Tbsp grated ginger

1.5litres basic vegetable stock

1 medium broccoli head, small florets and thin slices of tender stalk

2 cups of seasonal leafy greens such as kale or spinach

½ cup cashew nuts

1 tsp sea salt

¼ large bunch flat leaf parsley

Fruity, high quality extra virgin olive oil

What to do

Preheat the over to 200 Celcius

Toss the sweet potato in oil to coat, place on a roasting tray, and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the potato is tender inside and golden outside.

In a large, heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole, sauté the leek in cooking oil for 8-10 minutes or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and ginger, sauté another 2 minutes. Next add all the stock. Add the broccoli pieces, leafy green, roasted sweet potato (whenever its ready, it can be added a little later if necessary), cashews and salt. Simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add three quarters of the chopped parsley (it will cook almost instantly in the hot soup).

Turn off the heat and puree the soup either with a and held blender or a food processor. Reheat then mix in a few grinds of peppercorn and taste for seasoning.  Garnish with remaining parsley and a glug of olive oil.

Enjoy!!

Part 29 - The Light of Surrender

Our lives were filled with light that Thursday morning; as if the surrendering brought with it a rush of support from the Universe.

There were Earth angels everywhere as I was assigned the most beautifully funny and reassuring midwife who was the embodiment of compassion and understanding.  She was supported by another midwife who happens to be the best friend of my cousin-in-law.  It was perfect.  Ladies who cared and who were in part familiar to me.

My parents kindly rushed around collecting some things for me from the cottage and dropping them into the ward as we hadn’t brought anything with us that morning.  While I was deemed an emergency, we had time, and all I asked was the opportunity to take a shower, which was granted.

I enjoyed standing bent over in the shower cubicle, the water washing over my back and cleansing me. I needed to feel clean ahead of the surgery.  It also gave me time and the space to be on my own too, processing events and coming to terms with my present reality.

The contracting had eased at this point, and I was feeling decidedly calm about everything. After some time, I dried myself and sat quietly, holding my precious lump of rose quartz, dropping awareness within and noticing how it felt; was there any residual fear and could I let go of this? I then sat with my breath until I felt aligned and centred.  I checked my pendulum, yes, now I was ready.

While I was showering, E was shown around the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (“NICU”) for babies, which I’d been shown around when I’d been in hospital a few days earlier. I hadn’t been too interested, because back then I hadn’t expected the baby to arrive at 34 weeks.  Even now I wasn’t too fazed, there was mention that the baby may need support in the delivery room, but my sole focus was on the birth.

Back at my bed the final arrangements were put in place. I had asked to keep my placenta and a tub was found for this.  I’d also asked for vaginal seeding to take place although this was refused me – the specialist almost laughed that I’d suggested it in the first place.

One of the reasons I had resisted a Caesarean birth was due to the increased risk of health conditions in childhood as the baby is deprived of the bacteria that live in the mother’s vagina.

One way around this is to collect the mother’s vaginal fluid on a piece of gauze prior to the birth and wipe this gauze over the baby’s mouth, face and body directly after birth.  This will help to kick start the baby’s immune system and gut by exposing the baby to a diverse mix of bacteria.

However, I was told that this would be extremely risky given that I had an infection and the baby was being born so early. I accepted this easily, the baby’s wellbeing was paramount and I had to respect the knowledge and experience of the medical team, even if this went against my own understanding of things. 

By late morning they were ready in theatre for me and I was ready to meet my baby. I walked to theatre this time, which made a huge difference psychologically, as if I was giving my full consent to the process and not being pushed in a bed as had happened previously.

Arriving at the theatre it was still a relatively alien environment to me, although this time I had none of the fear that had gripped me previously. The theatre nurse assigned to me was another Earth angel who did all he could to care for me.

I knew with certainty that the Universe had my back and that I was being truly supported. I also had my mantra running constantly thought my mind, “love not fear” and it was this that I repeated to myself as the spinal block was applied.

It was actually a relief to be anaesthetised because the contractions had started up again and it was a challenge to stay present to these and do what was asked of me in terms of my positioning on the bed.  The theatre nurses were very kind and I held one of their hands as I focused in on my breath. 

The spinal block soon took effect and we went through the usual checks.  I had made the anaesthetist aware of the issues I had experienced with Elijah’s birth and she was another angel who kept talking to me and making sure that I felt ok. Before I knew it E was beside me wearing his blue theatre attire.

It all seemed to happen very quickly after then and we held hands as our son was born at 12.21pm on Thursday 20 October 2016 with E watching on. Here he was safely Earthside, our little grounded warrior, Eben Ron McInnes, whose name had chosen itself months earlier.

We liked the name when we were looking at names for Elijah and we just had a sense that if we had another boy he would be called Eben. The name is Hebrew and means “stone of help” and this felt rather appropriate to me because in utero he felt grounded.  Furthermore, I had this sense that this was a healing baby and would help in the world as he was now helping me.

As we had named Elijah after E’s Dad, Iain, we had agreed that if we had a boy, he would name him after my Dad, Ron. The name comes from Old Norse and means “warrior”, and he seemed to be living up to this name already.

Eben weighed 5lb 1oz, which was a brilliant weight for a baby born six weeks premature, but he needed oxygen upon delivery and while I got a glance of him, he was immediately whisked away to the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit, while I was stitched up again.

I was jubilant, we had another son, a gift from above.  And his birth too was a gift, for I had been given the opportunity to embody surrender. This was all I had ever wanted to experience; the surrender that accompanies the birthing process.  I too, felt re-birthed.

There was nothing to fight against. There was just this incredible sense of peace and calmness. The Universe had our back. We were bathed in love and with that came the realisation that that’s all there is.  We are all heart, just like our babies had shown at their 6 week’s scan. There is nothing to fear and nowhere else to be but in the moment.

We were in the flow and that meant constantly surrendering to the present, whatever it may give. And I was grateful for this realisation over the coming week ahead.

Thinking, thinking, thinking...

I attended my second yoga class since Eben was born. What a joy! I practice yoga on my mat every day on my own and sometimes I practice along to YouTube yoga videos (Adrienne is a particular favourite) but there’s nothing quite as wonderful as attending a class. It’s a passion of mine.

I love nothing more than joining other yogis and yoginis in a dedicated yoga space to practice together. And I love a good teacher who is able to guide me to a deeper awareness of being. So I was in my yoga heaven yesterday when I joined Kevin and the Saturday morning class at the Brighton Buddhist Centre.

In the peaceful environment of the yoga space, I quickly became aware of the hectic nature of my mind. It’s easier to overlook this in one’s own practice, sometimes merely going through the motions and often increasing the pace to meet the mind rather than slowing down to try and tame the mind.

My mind was in overdrive. Within the first few minutes of movement, I noticed my mind thinking about a forthcoming Reiki attunement session and planning the food I should prepare for this and putting together a list of ingredients. I caught myself as I drifted into Waitrose and down the aisles, identifying the location of the ingredients I will need to buy.

I had a good laugh at myself. I may well have been physically present on my yoga mat in Brighton but my mind was in the future in a shop in Guernsey. As for my spirit? I knew it was there but my mind was too noisy to hear it. Before I knew it, I’d drifted from Waitrose to Infinity Foods in Brighton as I planned the food I was going to buy after the class.

I laughed again and brought my awareness back to the moment and back to the breath coming in and out, ujjayi breath, steadying, centring and calming. From the breath my awareness moved to sensation in the body to further ground me in the present. I was aware how it felt to move into Downward Facing dog and from there the relief of resting in Pose of a Child.

It was a wonderful feeling really. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The thoughts kept coming but I was more aware of not becoming engaged with them and just noticing them instead.  This was easier at times than others, because sometimes the thoughts drag you in.

In yoga, we talk of cultivating equanimity, of being able to ‘stand in the middle of all this’, of being grounded, sane and ordinary. It’s about noticing how our mind works and getting familiar with it, recognising the hooks, the temptations, the things that drag you in. I was certainly noticing this during the class, it was much more apparent probably because I haven’t been to a class for a while now.

The practice offers us the opportunity to see what’s happening without getting hooked, without having a drama, noticing that everything arises, abides and dissolves. I love that we can embody this in our yoga practice. We inhale and arise into a pose, we stay abiding in that pose and then we exhale, dissolving out of the pose.  And in this whole process we have the opportunity to learn how our mind works, and to get more familiar with it.

Yoga is amazing for many reasons, but especially as it offers us the opportunity to train the mind. This does involve some effort, as it can be hard work to let go of the seductive thoughts, the thinking that throws us off centre and draws us in. It’s a constant practice to keep coming back to the breath, to notice that you are thinking, and being able to resist going after the thoughts, which, like our asana practice, arise, abide and dissolve.

Only that sometimes – well actually quite a lot sometimes – we abide within the thoughts.  And our thoughts give rise to behaviour patterns and beliefs that shape our life.  We create our reality by our thinking. In simplistic terms this means that if we have negative thoughts then we are more likely to have a negative experience and a negative perception of life. Our thinking affects our biochemistry so negative thinking can create dis-ease.

Our yoga practice offers us the opportunity to not only move the body and breathe but also to witness our thoughts as they arise, abide and dissolve, strengthening our mind in the process. Furthermore, it can provide us with the opportunity to notice the nature of the thinking.  How is it for us? Has the habitual thinking given rise to a negative behaviour pattern or to a belief which is no longer serving us? Are we fearful or anxious? Are we constantly giving ourselves a hard time?

Often these patterns are laid down in childhood and we don’t question them, just considering that that is how it is – inherited as they’ve been from society, culture and our parents. We forget that everything is impermanent, that life is not linear. Instead it’s full of movement, fluidity and potential. We just have to recognise the nature of our thinking and not get stuck in our thinking patterns!

I remind myself of this as we practice a number of asana, to notice my habitual way of thinking and it’s liberating.  To be able to stand back and notice the arising thoughts, allowing them to abide and then dissolve, they’re not me!

With that I feel lighter, not least physically but also mentally.  There is a pause between thoughts, a silence.  I long for more of those silences. Those liminal spaces. That gap between the inhalation and the exhalation and between the exhalation and the inhalation. That space where magic happens. That’s the reason I also love Yoga Nidra, it’s full of liminal spaces.

After the class I headed to a crystal shop and chose a Goddess card before having my tarot cards read by a beautiful lady called Nina. Both of them told me what I’d already realised.  It’s time to retreat to silence and calm the mind. It’s true what they say, that we teach that which we most need to learn, but that makes sense doesn’t it, otherwise how would we know.

The effects of the class continued into the day.  I kept catching myself when the hooks presented themselves. The victim/martyr archetype kept showing up and I had to reel myself back from getting hooked. It is what it is. We create our own reality. Equanimity. It’s a life long practice, of arising, abiding and dissolving, taking it all very lightly and questioning the thinking!