What Macrobiotics Means To Me

I had the amazing opportunity to cook with Warren Kramer, one of the most experienced macrobiotic teachers and counselors of today, this past weekend. I also listened to his lecture on steps we can take to reach total and optimal health. If you have the chance to see him speak, do it! He travels all over giving lectures, so check out his schedule here.

His lecture got me thinking about what macrobiotics means to me and how I’ve been slacking in many areas in my practice. I rarely have scheduled meal times where I sit and eat with no distractions. I often stand and eat because I’m cooking for clients through lunch-time. I know my health would be improved by doing these 2 things, but haven’t been able to make the commitment to them. I haven’t been taking care of myself as well as I could, because I’m more focused on helping others with their practice. This is a fatal flaw for most macrobiotic teachers/chefs. I will deal, so let’s get back to what having a macrobiotic practice means to me 🙂

Macrobiotics is about creating balance in your body, on your plate, and in your mind and heart. It’s about eating whole foods and  knowing what your body wants and needs, and having the freedom to make conscious decisions for your mind, body, and spirit. BUT, first you have to get very clean to be able to hear the right messages. Once you give up the sugar, coffee, simple carbs, alcohol, animal foods, and other nasty stuff, overtime you will really be able to tell the difference. Most people who do this notice they feel so amazing it’s not worth it to add the nasty stuff back in! It’s good to go slowly at first if these things have been in your diet heavily.

My favorite new book right now is The Kind Diet, which my friend Jessica Porter co-wrote. I’m really excited that this book will open the eyes of vegans to macrobiotics and living healthier in general. Macrobiotics gets a bad rap because people read about it in a book and think that the Standard Macrobiotic Diet must be followed to a tee. Sure, it’s good to eat clean and give up the nasty stuff in the beginning, but if you don’t have a serious health condition your diet can be more wide. But getting clean is the first step. If you never experience true health (by getting rid of all the junk stored up) you can never really understand what you body wants and needs.

There’s a reason why you feel so good when you get rid of the crap. It doesn’t belong. And, you don’t have to feel deprived when eating healthfully. Does Alicia Silverstone look unhappy and deprived? No way! We have to decide how important our health is and whether our sensory pleasures are going to dictate our diet, which in turn determine our state of health.