Ill-imination Hacks for Every Occasion
Do you want to let something go from your life? For me, I could no longer deny specific foods were not doing my body good. I decided that the best thing for me was to do an ill-imination diet, also known as, an elimination diet. I needed to eliminate the ill, the disease. Our diet is anything that we take in, so if food is not what you need to release at this time, you can still use the below hacks to help you.
I have to be honest, at the end of the school year when things were most stressful for me, cutting things out of my diet challenged me greatly. It takes great will power (that I obviously lacked as my energy was seeping out in other ways) to change to my eating plan, and it took intention that I had not thought to set.
When my body started to scream at me in pain, I could no longer walk the path that I was on. Changing my thinking was a must. I had to remind myself that I was not being denied anything that was helping me. I had to gather my will power and set the intention to change what I was feeding my vessel.
Over the last couple weeks eliminating certain foods, and throughout my time in this body, I have come across some hacks to take my thinking up a notch that I would like to share with you. Regardless of what you are eliminating from your life, these hacks when implemented will help.
1. Eat/do that thing one more time and see how you feel. Observe.
Instead of a cold turkey elimination, eat or do that thing one more time. Observe how it makes you feel. For me, eating bread one more time, helped me to feel the bloat that comes with it and find more ease letting it go. If you can not have that thing, person... one more time, imagine it. Take time to sit with the feeling of having that thing and ask yourself these questions: What was it about that thing that made you feel good or not so good? Why do/did you feel you needed it? What is it getting in the way of you doing now? Observe your body's reactions. Go all the way into it. Get intimate with your feelings here. You may even choose to journal these observations to look at them again later when you forget what brought you here.
2. Eliminate one thing at a time.
We live in a world of do more. We multitask constantly. This does not always mean the best is getting done, but just that something is. Doing one thing at a time allows you to focus on keeping that one thing out of the equation. As opposed to trying to control everything at once, focus on one aspect of the elimination. If you are not working to eliminate food, think about the steps that are necessary for you to eliminate that thing, and take it one step at a time. Focus on one thing at a time. If you do not know these steps, ask, search. Someone has been here before and may be able to help you.
3. Substitution.
With food, there are a lot of gluten-free or dairy-free options. These are helpful. And, these exist for all of us no matter what we are eliminating. We just have to find them. For example, if you are to eliminate smoking, taking a deeper interest in breathwork can be enormously helpful. A deep breath through an O-shaped mouth as if inhaling a cigarette, can give you a similar sensation. Holding the breath at the top of the inhale can help as well to disengage with cravings. It will not happen with just one inhale and exhale. Substitutions are not that thing. Like gluten or dairy-free, they do not taste the same. We have to value them for what they offer instead, practice bringing the substitution in often, and find multiple things that work for your needs. But if you seek, you will find. There are many things that can help you stay the elimination course. Find them and use them.
4. One a week? Set the pace.
Setting a pace for your work will be great help. You will know what to expect and when. I have eliminated one thing a week for the last 3 weeks. I started with bread, added dairy, and even decided that when it was time to give up alcohol, I would do it while I was on retreat. I deliberately gave myself a head start since I knew there wouldn't be any alcohol offered during the retreat. Think about your life and what is happening. When will it make sense to take certain steps? Be careful though, the mind can tell us it will never make sense. If you think this, get started with one and keep adding. Regardless of what is going on in your life this is taking up space and not allowing you to be your best self. Start now and keep going.
5. Write a list for the fridge or a place where you will find resistance to change.
On a dry erase board on my fridge, I typically keep quotes to inspire myself and my family. On the bottom of the board, I now have: Ill-imination Diet , underlined and in bold letters. Underneath it, I have added each thing, one at a time, that I will eliminate. I put the word up there before I eliminate it to prepare myself, and then like in hack #1, I have it one or two more times to observe its effect. This holds me accountable and reminded of my intention. This is not about denying myself the good in life. This is about helping myself enjoy the good that is for me in life. And you will/can do the same. Place your list in your car or in your bathroom, wherever you will see it often and wherever you have done this thing often. Energy does not die and will be in that place, until you longer interact with it and it is transmuted. So we must find ways not to feed what once was. Reminders in that specific place will help to refocus you as needed.
6. Congratulate yourself often.
Every week, as I grow through these changes and make better choices for my health, I congratulate myself. I congratulate myself when I walk away from the bread, or say no thank you to the alcohol. I smile at what I am able to accomplish and how much better my gut feels. I am not perfect and I don't expect that of myself. Still, once you get some momentum, the celebrations will happen often and even more good will come as you clear space and integrate new ideas into your life. Celebrate by yourself and with others. When you are doing good, tell yourself so.
7. Spend less time in the places that trigger your defiance.
For me, with regard to food, the grocery store can be a challenge. I have to write a list or at the very least, I have to know what I am going to get. If you are trying to let go of a past love for example, maybe it is time to delete some things that trigger you. Move their stuff, box it, and move it out of your line of view, or give it back to them. Get rid of pictures, clothes, and smelly reminders. Don't venture into old stomping grounds. Take a new path. Go to new places.
No doubt eliminating things from our lives can be a challenge. We live in a world of inclusion, so we can not resist things and expect them to go, but we can see the good in opening our hands and allowing things to flow through them. We can see the benefit of letting things live for others and not getting caught up believing, because someone else has that thing, it could be or is for us too. We are not cookie-cut people, and we will need to make good decisions for ourselves, for our own bodies, that nurture and grow us, uniquely.
Sat Nam.
You got this! Still, if you need help with your plan or some encouragement, reach out to me here. Leave a comment or email me directly.
Courtney.
I have to be honest, at the end of the school year when things were most stressful for me, cutting things out of my diet challenged me greatly. It takes great will power (that I obviously lacked as my energy was seeping out in other ways) to change to my eating plan, and it took intention that I had not thought to set.
When my body started to scream at me in pain, I could no longer walk the path that I was on. Changing my thinking was a must. I had to remind myself that I was not being denied anything that was helping me. I had to gather my will power and set the intention to change what I was feeding my vessel.Over the last couple weeks eliminating certain foods, and throughout my time in this body, I have come across some hacks to take my thinking up a notch that I would like to share with you. Regardless of what you are eliminating from your life, these hacks when implemented will help.
1. Eat/do that thing one more time and see how you feel. Observe.
Instead of a cold turkey elimination, eat or do that thing one more time. Observe how it makes you feel. For me, eating bread one more time, helped me to feel the bloat that comes with it and find more ease letting it go. If you can not have that thing, person... one more time, imagine it. Take time to sit with the feeling of having that thing and ask yourself these questions: What was it about that thing that made you feel good or not so good? Why do/did you feel you needed it? What is it getting in the way of you doing now? Observe your body's reactions. Go all the way into it. Get intimate with your feelings here. You may even choose to journal these observations to look at them again later when you forget what brought you here.
2. Eliminate one thing at a time.
We live in a world of do more. We multitask constantly. This does not always mean the best is getting done, but just that something is. Doing one thing at a time allows you to focus on keeping that one thing out of the equation. As opposed to trying to control everything at once, focus on one aspect of the elimination. If you are not working to eliminate food, think about the steps that are necessary for you to eliminate that thing, and take it one step at a time. Focus on one thing at a time. If you do not know these steps, ask, search. Someone has been here before and may be able to help you.
3. Substitution.
With food, there are a lot of gluten-free or dairy-free options. These are helpful. And, these exist for all of us no matter what we are eliminating. We just have to find them. For example, if you are to eliminate smoking, taking a deeper interest in breathwork can be enormously helpful. A deep breath through an O-shaped mouth as if inhaling a cigarette, can give you a similar sensation. Holding the breath at the top of the inhale can help as well to disengage with cravings. It will not happen with just one inhale and exhale. Substitutions are not that thing. Like gluten or dairy-free, they do not taste the same. We have to value them for what they offer instead, practice bringing the substitution in often, and find multiple things that work for your needs. But if you seek, you will find. There are many things that can help you stay the elimination course. Find them and use them.
4. One a week? Set the pace.
Setting a pace for your work will be great help. You will know what to expect and when. I have eliminated one thing a week for the last 3 weeks. I started with bread, added dairy, and even decided that when it was time to give up alcohol, I would do it while I was on retreat. I deliberately gave myself a head start since I knew there wouldn't be any alcohol offered during the retreat. Think about your life and what is happening. When will it make sense to take certain steps? Be careful though, the mind can tell us it will never make sense. If you think this, get started with one and keep adding. Regardless of what is going on in your life this is taking up space and not allowing you to be your best self. Start now and keep going.
5. Write a list for the fridge or a place where you will find resistance to change.
On a dry erase board on my fridge, I typically keep quotes to inspire myself and my family. On the bottom of the board, I now have: Ill-imination Diet , underlined and in bold letters. Underneath it, I have added each thing, one at a time, that I will eliminate. I put the word up there before I eliminate it to prepare myself, and then like in hack #1, I have it one or two more times to observe its effect. This holds me accountable and reminded of my intention. This is not about denying myself the good in life. This is about helping myself enjoy the good that is for me in life. And you will/can do the same. Place your list in your car or in your bathroom, wherever you will see it often and wherever you have done this thing often. Energy does not die and will be in that place, until you longer interact with it and it is transmuted. So we must find ways not to feed what once was. Reminders in that specific place will help to refocus you as needed.
6. Congratulate yourself often.
7. Spend less time in the places that trigger your defiance.
For me, with regard to food, the grocery store can be a challenge. I have to write a list or at the very least, I have to know what I am going to get. If you are trying to let go of a past love for example, maybe it is time to delete some things that trigger you. Move their stuff, box it, and move it out of your line of view, or give it back to them. Get rid of pictures, clothes, and smelly reminders. Don't venture into old stomping grounds. Take a new path. Go to new places.
No doubt eliminating things from our lives can be a challenge. We live in a world of inclusion, so we can not resist things and expect them to go, but we can see the good in opening our hands and allowing things to flow through them. We can see the benefit of letting things live for others and not getting caught up believing, because someone else has that thing, it could be or is for us too. We are not cookie-cut people, and we will need to make good decisions for ourselves, for our own bodies, that nurture and grow us, uniquely.
Sat Nam.
You got this! Still, if you need help with your plan or some encouragement, reach out to me here. Leave a comment or email me directly.
Courtney.
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