African Americans and Yoga

When I look around me, I see many people embarking on the journey of yoga.  Yoga is a great way to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and stay fit.  In the back of mind however, always remains the thought "how come more African Americans do not practice yoga"?  In our African American culture many times we confuse yoga with religion, and indeed yoga can be a spiritual experience practiced by some religions, but yoga in and of itself is not a religion.  The work yoga comes from the Sankrit meaning to yoke, to unite, to join. 

Yoga truly helps the individual to unite the mind, body and spirit together in ways that increase overall mindfulness and well being.  When many people think of yoga, they think of India, but actually yoga was practiced in Ancient  Egypt, North East Africa  as well, it was called Kemetic yoga and was practiced for about 10,000 years. Kemet means black, or black land and was called this because of the early inundation of the Nile River which caused the rich silt to overflow its banks.

  According to the Kemetic yoga association:  There is universal consciousness that is beyond the scope of the normal realm of consciousness, or individual reality of people. Hence, the practice of yoga is a personality integration method that allows human beings to bind their individual transitory reality with the universal consciousness. The universal consciousness is stable and unchanging, unmoving, therefore, it is the substantial reality while human beings are existing in transitory phenomenon. When this process is accomplished one can say that they have experienced the way things really are or have experienced reality; universal consciousness.

Yoga is the practice of binding individual consciousness with universal consciousness. This individual reality that you are experiencing is actually only a small reflection of your true nature and yoga is the practice of how to achieve the knowledge of one's abiding and immortal aspect.

 

I enjoy teaching yoga, and sharing it with others.  I hope that everyone who reads this post, will at least explore yoga in some detail and allow it to bring peace, clarity and healing.  Watch my short yoga video below!  Enjoy.

 

 

 

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRvBt-IYoVU

A Cultural Lifestyle Change

Every day, millions of African Americans wake up and want to look better and feel better.  The problem is that many of the methods for wellness on the market today are not targeting or are not geared toward African American.  It seems to be very difficult for African Americans to cut themselves loose from the mainstream American Standards, and with those standards are coming a host of health problems.  Our food consumption as African American are up, and our activity level is down.  It is time to make a change.  When you turn on the television, many times we are not represented in the fitness arena, or health areas as a people that are healthy and fit.  When African American get breast cancer as opposed to their white counter parts they are more likely to die form it.  This trend must end. 

Charles Wsir Johnson wrote that for there to be black history there must be a positive health history.  I want to encourage everyone reading this post to grab a loved one, and get started on a health and wellness revolution.  It is in our culture to be active, healthy and well.  We were the healers of our families in ancient time.  Today, we torture ourselves to meet societies standards of beauty and neglect the health and well being of ourself and our families.  It seems that many are more concerned about image than health, fitness or wellness.  We get more concerned about how we look than how we feel internally.  Images in the mainstream media does not address our reality and the time is now to take a long hard look at what is really going on with the African American Community. 

According to Marcus Garvey, an error not corrected will become fact.  It is time to correct the errors for the wellness of our communities.  When you love yourself, and your culture, you want to preserve it and take good care of it.  What legacy will you leave?  One of disease, sickness, prescriptions?  Or one of wellness, health, fitness and vitality?  Today, make a cultural lifestyle change for wellness.

Dr. Fateria Johnson   www.wellnessbyfateria.com    www.its4yourwellness.com

Morning Elixir

Try this powerful juice combination for a great morning elixir!
I use my Nutri Bullet. I chop up a whole carrot, add fresh Watercress leaves and fill will fresh apple juice (not from concentrate) Watercress health benefits arise from its potent mix of essential nutrients such as proteins, folates, panthothenic acid, and minerals such as copper, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. Additionally, watercress provides ample traces of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin K, along with vitamin B complex such as thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and so on.

 Health benefits of watercress greens to individuals on a weight loss diet become even more important when you consider that this is a low sodium, low fat option. Carrots are perhaps best known for their rich supply of the antioxidant nutrient that was actually named for them: beta-carotene. However, these delicious root vegetables are the source not only of beta-carotene, but also of a wide variety of antioxidants and other health-supporting nutrients. The areas of antioxidant benefits, cardiovascular benefits, and anti-cancer benefits are the best-researched areas of health research with respect to dietary intake of carrots. mixed with apple juice you have a super drink to start your day! Enjoy

Thyroid Help

Many African American women suffer from thyroid conditions.  I was one of them until I took matters into my own hands and researched ways to heal.  I did a complete diet makeover, learned ways to reduce stress, but most of all I added sea vegetables to my diet.  Sea vegetables such as Kelp, Dulce and Wakame seaweed offer very high nutritional values.  Wakame has over 95 minerals that our body can uses to maximize wellness, it is low in calories and fat and I simply love it!  I use Wakame and kelp to keep my thyroid balanced,(as well as my whole food diet) because they are high in iodine which is an important element for proper thyroid functioning.  Iodine maintains the balance of the thyroid and is needed for the production of thyroid hormones.

I wanted to share this with everyone, because my Doctor told me that if I had to go on thyroid medication I would be on it for life, I decided that it was up to me to take self responsibility to help myself to heal, that was over 10 years ago and I have not had a problem with my thyroid since!  Balance is the key, and when I feel myself (or my thyroid) getting out of balance I know exactly what to do.  Also I avoid soy product, and foods that are goitrogens.  If you would like more information, visit my web site

@ www.wellnessbyfateria.com or contact me @ npathydr@yahoo.com

Change Your Atmosphere

It is my conclusion that healing really does start from the inside and works its way out. 

I have only met a few people in life that did not want to truly change.  I want to encourage every person reading this post to envision the progress you want to make with your health and wellness.  Often we complain about circumstances instead of taking self-responsibility and just changing the circumstances as much as is within our power to do.  The health of the body, mind and spirit, derives from not only proper food, exercise, and correct living but good thoughts as well. The way that our thoughts affect our wellness is often overlooked.

Our thoughts can be our ally, encouraging us to press on, eat healthy, resist negativity and to seek out solutions to health challenges instead of  accepting a grim diagnosis as the final decree.  On the other hand our thoughts can become our enemy, poisoning us with doubt, fear and dead stopping us dead in our tracks, causing us to not push forward towards heal and healing. 
The good news is that you really can change the atmosphere, internally and externally.  Our thoughts, whether positive or negative grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition.  That explains why many people who are negative, gloomy, always sick, stay that way, and others who are positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic even in the midst of trying circumstances fare much better and seem to come out on top. 

Science validates what the good books have been saying for centuries, fix your thoughts on things that are good, cheerful heart is good medicine, and the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.  Internally, our cells are affected by our thoughts and emotions, according to new research by Dr. Bruce Lipton a Biologist at the University of Wisconsin. Cells are intelligent; they respond to our emotional and environmental stimuli, DNA is controlled by the signals outside of the cells including the energetic messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts.  I want to encourage you as Dr. Lipton stated, “change the thought environment and the cells, and you change the behavior.  Ask yourself today; what is the greatest source for your thoughts? What label will you use to describe your recurring negative thoughts? What is the plan that you will use to challenge your thoughts? In what ways do your thoughts affect your health and wellness now?
Fateria Johnson ND, CNHP   

Tear Down the Strongholds

Well its time for week two of our 21 week weight
management and wellness . Week two: Tearing down
the strongholds for weight loss and wellness. Strongholds
are fortified places, dominated by particular things or
people. In order for anyone to gain freedom from the
weight management issues that are holding them captive,
they must first be willing to tear down the mental
strongholds that hold them captive. The truth is weight
management is a choice, if you want to lose weight you
must choose to eat the right foods, and stop allowing
yourself to make excuses as to why you choose foods that
sabotage your weight loss and wellness plans. When we
understand that the battle starts in our mind, we can begin
the task of casting down thoughts that do not line up with our
goals and wellness plan. Think of every thought contrary
to what you truly want to be a brick in that wall that is
holding you captive and it must come down. Shame, pull it
down, past mistakes, pull it down, fear, pull it down,
loneliness, pull it down, greed, pull it down. 

 



As you break  free from the weight in your mind, the weight on your body
will become easier to come off. The mind body connection
is powerful and once you began to process your thoughts
properly you will become unstuck, and thus free to explore
the options that were always there before you when you
were stuck in your self limiting belief system constructed
and controlled by your own mind. The power is in now!
Today, pull down the strongholds, cast down the
imagination and be the best you God has created you to created you to be. Next week stay tuned for lesson three maintaining your temple for weight loss and wellness.

21 Weeks To a New You

Get ready for my 21 weeks to a new you lessons! Right here on my page. Each week will will cover a spiritual principle for weight loss and overall wellness. Many people are going through the motions of life but their souls are screaming out for help, the time is now for grounding principles that will bring one back to the center.

lesson one: getting ready for the journey. When we take trips to far away destinations, we plan for them. Now, you can be that person who wings it, but preparation brings more peace of mind. This is the same concept as it relates to eating, and planning your meals and your day will ensure that you will not only be prepared, but have healthy snacks to tide you over. Understand this principle, moderation in all things is needed, anything in excess can bring harm. Take the time to reflect on why it may be that you eat so much? Or why is it that you choose comfort foods more than healthy foods? Is there something you are compensating for? Are there unresolved issues in your life? Taking the time to introspect is your first lesson on the spiritual journey. A healthy relationship with food must begin and the strongholds that hold you captive must come down...tune in next week for lesson two...tearing down the strongholds in our mind for wellness and weight loss.