Michelle LaBrosse Blogs

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Camas Davis started the Portland Meat Collective to help people get closer to their meats. In this class we learned how to enjoy older animals, and how to prepare all parts of it with great love.

Yesterday I went to another event by the Portland Meat Collective.  This one was an informative lecture and demonstration by Adam Danforth – a former NYC Advertising Professional turned Artisinal Butcher.  He has a couple books out on the humane slaughtering of livestock.  Dan’s main message was traditionally, farm animals served multiple purposes throughout their lives before they were consumed.  They were well loved and utilized,  integral members of the scene.  Older ruminants (animals that survive on grasses) who have consumed more of the natural grasses they need to sustain themselves throughout a productive life are actually better overall to sustain us.  The trend to factory farming and grain finishing young ruminants is hard on every part of the overall system – including we the consumer as it’s more difficult to digest and fully use this type of meat.

Conventional wisdom says eat more fish and less meat.  Supposedly fish is high in omega 3’s that are part of a “hearth healthy” diet.  Yet, as Adam pointed out, farm raised fish is lower in omega 3’s than meat that is only raised on grass (never grain fed).   So where are the truly “heart healthy” choices?  As part of loving myself thoughout the past decade, I have become more aware of the origins of my food and its impact on my health and happiness.  I raised my own beef cattle for a decade – exclusively grass fed.  Never got the high cholesterol issue that many in my genetic line up experienced.

So I got to thinking more about this proselytizing by “experts” that goes on about what we consume.  When I was younger, there was the FDA’s food pyramid with it’s  push to low fat, high carb that would supposedly keep you healthy (all that did was make me fatter).  Back then I had persistent digestive issues following that food pyramid and eating processed foods – mostly commercial wheat products.  I tried an experiment and switched to milling organic grains and making my own breads and pastas.   Belly ache’s gone.  And now at least half the time I go the extra distance and sprout the wheat berries, dry them and mill them as and added boost of nutrition and digestability.  This takes more planning than effort as it adds about three days onto the process to sprout the berries and dry them before milling, if I don’t already have a supply of sprouted wheat berries  stored in the freezer.  Current pop nutrition says stay away from grains of any type.   Well I’m opting for my dietitian’s approach here – everything in moderation and adding in my own – pay attention to the source.

I sometimes find myself apologizing to others regarding my diligence with sourcing foods I know will improve my overall quality of life.  I really don’t want to be on the other end of this being all hell fire and brimstone about any one specific dietary practice as we all get to choose how we want to move through the world.  I don’t want to be on the other end of that either with having to defend myself for my choices either.  So as part of loving myself more, I am owning just how discerning (not picky)  I am in a very stand up way (rather than apologizing for it).  Loving myself more does include the choices I’m making in the foods that sustain me. These are my choices that are right for me.  No more apologizing for being discerning and educated about sourcing the foods I eat.  It’s a topic near and dear to my belly.

Kate’s comment: WOW the classes you’re taking sound really interesting. A friend from Fairbanks invited me to go to a pig harvest last year, and I figured “if I can’t handle a pig harvest, I shouldn’t be eating bacon”. And I really appreciate a good piece of bacon – so I went. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually really interesting to see the team of 10-15 people working as a well-oiled machine to process these 8 pigs that they had all bought into as a co-op at the beginning of the year. Side note to anyone getting queasy at this blog post – the Fairbanks friend was a vegetarian for years until her husband got a moose one fall and she had to butcher it. That turned her into an omnivore.

ALSO – I love how you called it “pop nutrition”. I am definitely going to start using that term.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Congrats to Jean and Evelyn. After taking my Happy Aging Yoga retreat last year, they both decided to become Registered Yoga Teachers. And now they are learning how to teach Happy Aging Yoga using our Happy Aging Yoga Mats.

I’m starting to realize just why it takes 66 days (or even longer) to create a new habit.  The initial idea is only a infinitesimal fraction of what it takes to implement it.   I’ve learned this lesson time and time and time again through the years with my entrepreneurial pursuits.   So, it really should come as no surprise to me the level of persistence required in undertaking anything new – like this new habit of learning how to love myself more.

Loving myself more also means putting more effortless energy into those projects I love as well.  I’ve been teaching yoga for the past 18 months and created a way to use my accelerated learning techniques to help beginners quickly learn and do yoga in a way that helps them age with more grace comfort and ease.  We call it Happy Aging Yoga.  I worked with a medical artist over the past year to create plump silhouettes doing the various yoga poses I teach in my classes for folks less inclined to do yoga.  And I worked with my graphic designer to lay out these silhouettes to demonstrate the various yoga flows students master in our yoga retreats.  Then I found a way to print these various yoga flows on a yoga mat and tested out using the yoga mats in a two day yoga retreat format.  Next, I  assembled a crew to help me make instructional videos for each yoga flow on the mat.

It’s been a long haul and at times I got rather discouraged as everything seemed to take a lot longer than I’d prefer.  Today though saw the culmination of all that effort because I got a renewed burst of energy for this project.  We now have all the elements for selling our Happy Aging Yoga program to the public and launched our online store  to do just that.  The next step is promoting our innovative program to learn yoga as a way to age better.  We have a big three month promotional campaign starting with Healthy Living Magazine in November.  Yet I know we have only just begun.  Learning how to love this more as part of loving myself more is giving me the energy to keep going – and wow, well that is just AMAZING.  Who knew this loving myself more would translate over to a super extra boost of enthusiasm for those other things I love in life as well.

Kate’s comment: I cannot tell you how excited I am that the Happy Aging Yoga mats are now officially for sale. I use mine for warm up and wind-down. The inclusions of breathing instructions help calm me down and bring me back to my center. I think these things are revolutionary for an individual’s yoga practice.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Plating is an elegant way to be more conscious of portion sizes and feel happy with less. One of the many things I’ve learned from my dietician.

My dietitian Kate posted an incredible blog yesterday about nutritionally healthy traits. One of them I realized – wow – I have never even thought much about the converse of this one:

5) Feeling safe and confident that they have enough food
This is also known as food security, and it can help prevent over-eating episodes. For example – have you ever had food FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)? Where you say “I’m not sure when I’ll get to have this again” or “someone in my household might eat all of this before I get a chance to have some” and then you eat it, whereas otherwise you may not have?

Instead, some nutrition-savvy people think “I know that I can have that later if I want it, now that I know exactly where and when to find it!”

I grew up in a large family with three older brothers, a younger brother and a younger sister. While I don’t remember ever going to bed hungry, I do remember quite a bit of competition about getting my fair share of whatever was there.  As Kate identifies this above, it’s a form of food hoarding.  It’s a primal drive to survive and part of survival is packing it on for an impending famine. It makes sense if you feel food is scarce, you’ll pack it in in the event you won’t have any later.

This line that Kate put about what nutrition savvy people think – “I know that I can have that later if I want it, now that I know exactly where and when to find it!”  – for me, I’d change that up a bit to be – Whatever I want and need shows up when I need it. And this includes not just food, but also friends, and opportunities.  Which has actually been more true than not time and time again.  Loving myself more means being so grateful the world I live in is consistently a very kind and abundant place, in all realms.

Kate’s comment: I like how you made the line your own. Your version also conveys “if I don’t have it right now, I don’t need it right now” – and that can help prevent people from making unnecessary trips to the store to get a tube of cookie dough (because they saw a commercial about freshly baked cookies and they need some RIGHT NOW).

Michelle Labrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

The planes that fly from Juneau to Haines are far more comfortable than commercial airlines, especially when the weather is nice.

I was talking with my dietitian Kate today about what would happen if the little air taxi’s that fly between Haines and Juneau started to charge by weight.  I was wondering how that would impact people’s desire to reduce their weight.  I know for me, when I first started going to Haines I was super embarrassed to tell the air taxi services my weight, so much so,  I would only take the ferry. Then I got over it and now I just write my weight on a piece of paper and slip it across the counter at the air taxi service. My friends who introduced me to Haines told me if I lied about my weight, they would put me on the scale. PLUS, I’m an aerospace engineer – I figured lying about my weight when going on a small plane was not the wisest decision.   (BTW – Kate my dietitian makes her nutrition counseling about improving health, NOT strictly reducing weight for reasons mentioned in other blog posts of this 66 day challenge to create a habit of loving myself more).

But I got to thinking, supposedly 2/3 of Americans are considered “overweight.”  This is a sizable market (ha ha no pun intended).  I googled how are the airlines accommodating our increasing size.  I found this great article that addresses tips on traveling when you are a larger person.  Is it only me, or does it seem like the seats have been getting narrower and closer together on planes?   Well according to this article, yes the seats are smaller and closer together. BUT there are several airlines where they actually care about their customer’s experience. For example, on Southwest Airlines, you can purchase an extra seat if you would like more room.  AND even if the flight is over booked, they will refund your money for the extra seat.  Now that is AMAZING.  You just have to call and ask for the refund.  Next time I fly Southwest, I’m going to give this a try.

It’s rather interesting how I’m just discovering this now.  And the reality is the reason I never looked into this before was because I was embarrassed by my size. I have a gazillion frequent flyer miles as air travel is a requirement of my work.  So, I’ve been able to get bumped up to first class on most flights, except on the flights that do not have first class.  The worst flights are on the smaller prop planes that have two small seats side by side and well before right now, flying on Southwest as they are most often booked to capacity so we are all squeezed in the packed flight like sardines.  The air taxi’s from Juneau to Haines are very comfortable in comparison – even if they can sometimes give quite the thrill in rough weather.

I’m going to start paying more attention to how various businesses are more accommodating to people of all sizes.  I have a feeling it’s becoming more common place.  And now since I’m learning how to love myself more, it is an element of service I will start to reward more for the businesses that are more accommodating to who I am just the way I am – rather than how I “should” or “could” be.

Kate’s comment: it is interesting to think about the services offered that aren’t advertised – plenty of businesses have these. However, wouldn’t it increase the companies’ fan base to make these better known? To let the world know that they are inclusive and don’t participate in fat shaming? It seems that Southwest Airlines gained a fan by being a good-guy company.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Organization creates the bridges to a better tomorrow.

I’m working with Joanna Cutler, a Feldenkris practitioner to develop new ways of moving in my body to remediate a persistent foot pain problem that has recurred on and off for the past 22 years. It’s been more on than off the past six months so I figured I’d give this a shot. It’s been a very interesting process as we are creating new neural networks in my brain of how my entire skeletal system organizes it self so I can move in ways that remove the pain.  What is most fascinating about this process is the less I pay attention to how I’m walking, the less foot pain I have. According to Joanna,  when I think about the foot pain, I’m reinforcing the old ways my skeletal system is organized.

From what I’ve studied about weight issues, it’s rather similar. The more someone thinks about being over weight, the harder it is to lose weight. My dietitian, Kate, is right on by not focusing on weight and instead focusing on adopting more consistently healthy food choices so my body is healthy.  As I’m learning in Feldenkris, It’s all about how my mind is organizing every element of my body. To organize my brain to create an even more robustly healthy existence, I need to just allow my brain to make that my only reality. This article on what traditional medical “lore” says is overweight has conditioned us to think about weight (and organize our brain) in ways that actually amplify the problem. Too many people are negatively impacted by negative perceptions of themselves that are just not serving them.

And this is the overall point of this 66 day challenge – to move way beyond my negative conditioning about my natural state from family, well meaning friends, strangers, and “healthcare professionals” (I’m starting to discover many working in traditional healthcare are not professional and gain more by creating sickness than health).  So better brain organization on what is truly my reality – that I am robustly healthy – helps me love myself even more.  It is starting to take hold as I organize my thoughts to only focus on being the most loving I can be to myself in every moment.

Kate’s comment: what an interesting parallel between Feldenkris thought process and my dietitian practice – it follows the trend of “the mind tracks the dominant thought”. This is why instead of saying “I can’t forget my lunch in the morning” is far more likely to result in forgetting your lunch than saying “I must remember my lunch in the morning”.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Here with my father in 2014. It seems like a common drive for parents to want a better life for their children than what they had. How they go about making sure that happens can take some very interesting tactics.

WWLD – What would love do?  This is the question I can ask myself when faced with a decision about how to perceive or be in any given situation. I have set up a little process for myself to get into a more loving and contemplative state from which to make the more loving decision – it’s pretty simple actually.  I focus on my breath and slow it down – breathing in deeply for a count of four, holding it for four, exhaling to a count of four and holding it for four. I repeat this ten times and see what emerges as the more loving focus on whatever issue it is I face.  What I really like about this is I can do this breath practice anywhere at any time and it is me just breathing.

From time to time I have encounters with loved ones where they express some judgement about my appearance or my behavior where I feel less than loved (who the heck hasn’t been on the giving or receiving end of this?).  For example, over the past thirty years, I’ve had numerous encounters with my father where within one or two days of seeing him again after a long absence, he inquires something to the effect of “how did you get so fat?”  Does this type of question ever get more pleasant to hear?  Based on work I did to heal from a brain injury a couple years back, I learned cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). With CBT, I create strategies for handling prospective challenging situations in the future. The WWLD technique is an application of CBT I can use for future encounters with my Dad who in most cases is a very kind, loving, and caring person. The last time he asked me this question, I said, “well geez, I have a feeling it was genetic because I’m quite a bit like you.”

Doing my ten slow, deep breaths – the WWLD response that emerges for that question now is –  “I’m the divine ideal just the way I am. This is somehow part of a grand plan that continues to show itself how it is absolute perfection just the way it is.”  Luckily I have several months (and 52 more days of this habit change) before the next time I see him to contemplate more WWLD type of responses to this question.

Kate’s comment: it sounds like the WWLD response moves in the direction of letting things roll off your back. Even when a question is framed as a personal attack, WWLD moves it away from the insult being about the subject. With WWLD, the issue lies with the initiator (the one who says “how did you get so fat?”); not the recipient.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

To push past an upper limit I was experiencing with loving myself, I went on an adventure I've been wanting to do for a while. I road my bike across this new bridge to this indoor pool I swim at. I hit a new high with loving myself when I got out of the pool - I experienced a genuine sense of feeling really gorgeous exactly as I am.

In Gay Hendrick’s book – “The Big Leap” he talks about a concept he calls the “upper limit.”  He explains people tend to have a natural upper limit for happiness and success. This is they only allow themselves to be just so happy or just so successful, then will create something in their life so they do not exceed their upper limit for either of these areas. This creation can be a fight with a partner or colleague, some illness, or some other life event that derails their mojo.

I’m wondering where my upper limit is for loving myself more?  I’m paying attention when something happens that takes me down a couple notches from how loving I’m being towards myself. For example, several days ago, I got up early and got started on making a loaf of sour dough sprouted rye grain bread for my sweetheart who is coming home after being gone on a business trip for several weeks. Then I was hit with this wave of extreme fatigue. I’ve been so looking forward to this reunion and then it was like WHAMO – I just needed to go back to bed.  When I woke up the second time around 10 AM,  I remembered what I had read in Gay’s book about the upper limits.  So I committed to pushing past this fatigue. Got on my favorite yoga outfit and road my bike to the pool.  That did the trick, when I got out of the pool reenergized and ready to go, my first thought was – geez my muscular, round body is so smoking hot today – I feel GREAT. YES, I have reached a new level in my pursuit of loving myself more!!!!!

Kate’s comment: Some people have this same concept, but in regards to “things were just going too good for me!”, thinking the universe allows a finite amount of happiness before it decides you’re due for some negative karma. This thinking goes a long ways in excusing upsetting situations, but it does little to address the root cause of the upsetting situation. It sounds like you were fed up with feeling like you’d reached an upper limit, and you raised it. You raised the universe’s quota for your energy and happiness! Keep that level going with what you know works for you.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Yes just by canning peaches I learned one of the most delightful secrets of the universe....

I had a major epiphany in Whole Foods several years ago – it had absolutely nothing to do with Whole Foods though. This was just where I was when I first had this realization. I was having this very sweet encounter with one of the produce clerks – we were both so into sharing our stories of canning various fruits, chutneys and jams. This guy’s innate goodness shined bright. It was very easy for me to connect with him as we shared a similar love. Then it hit me, I realized that while being unconditionally loving to someone else was a gift for them, living in another’s innate goodness was a gift I gave myself.

I’ve found delightful encounters with so many friends and strangers alike by simply opening my heart and living in their innate goodness.  I’ve experienced time and time again when people feel genuinely seen for how they are innately good, they show up in such kind and caring ways. I don’t even need to say anything as it is a palpable feeling others get when others feel seen, acknowledged and appreciated.  Being this way helps me love me more as I realize my own innate goodness is closer to the surface when I take the time to live in the innate goodness of others.

Kate’s comment: there was a story that showed up on both of our Facebook pages a couple weeks ago very similar to this one – except it was written by Jerry Winstrom in regards to a Panama hat, not fruit and preserves. My point is that both of you found the good in people that wanted to find the good in you as well. Both parties had intentions of having a positive connection. Imagine if everyone intended to have positive connections with others in our daily life.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Sometimes you just have to take your goats out for a walk. Give air to your ire and let the fresh air clean out whatever irks you.

The other day, someone “got my goat.” I wondered just where did this saying originate and what is the higher value of having “goats” anyhow?   According to the website – The Phrase Finder – “A commonly repeated story which purports to explain the phrase’s origin is that goats were placed with racehorses to keep them calm. When ne’er-do-wells who wanted the horse to race badly removed it, that is, they ‘got someone’s goat’, the horse became unsettled and ran badly. That’s just the sort of tale that gets the folk etymology juices running. Let’s just say that there’s no evidence to support that story.”

It doesn’t really matter what it was that raised my ire – what matters more to me is what was the larger purpose of this experience?  What makes me the judge and jury of how someone else’s chooses to be and how they choose to share that experience of who they are anyhow?  Am I only able to run fast if all my “pet” comforts are close at hand?  And if not, I sulk off into a corner and brood?  This is where I think the term “high maintenance” comes in.

Yet even this dressing down of myself does not seem all that loving.  As well, I have a feeling there is an actual purpose to my goats – and it is not to attempt to control others through my reactions.  Applying the principles I talked about yesterday – I was wondering what I needed to more fully love in myself because of this event that got my goat?  And I decided to take a curious, open, accepting and loving perspective on the overall purpose of having goats.  So here goes….

Goats are very good at cleaning up debris. They can even go into some places with nasty plants and are quite happy cleaning those areas up too.  Click here to see a video of how goats are being used to clean up poison ivy and poison oak in the Congressional Cemetery.  They are able to eat the poisonous plants. Plus nothing makes it through their digestive system to pass on the propagation of the poisonous plants.  Having goats in this sense seems like it serves a very good purpose.

Linking this back to the metaphor – “got my goat” – maybe having these knee jerk reactions to perceived toxins in my own life serves a valuable purpose.  Maybe it serves to help me learn how to steer clear of those things that could cause harm in some way. Could the higher purpose of having “goats” be to develop discernment as some situations and/or people warrant extra caution and consideration?   Loving myself more means loving my “goats” more as well.

Kate’s comment: my gosh did this post make me laugh out loud. When you brought us to the part about goats eating the poison ivy and poison oak, I thought “boy, oh, boy, what a tangent!” but then you brought us back. And helped validate our feelings when we’re hurt. Although it feels better to be happy rather than upset, ignoring the upset feelings doesn’t make them go away – addressing that someone could take your goat from you is a good step in understanding why you needed that goat in the first place. That brings the conflict down to the core – and overall, leads us in a productive direction.

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Yesterday I wrote about how I was going to be extending “grace consciousness” to myself as a pivot point whenever I dropped into self-judgment.  Grace consciousness as I’ve defined it is recognizing how I am in any moment is the divine ideal – just as how everyone else is the divine idea. I’ve had a day to contemplate this and I realize extending grace consciousness to myself is more about being on my own side than it is about settling for some type of “less than” existence.  As as way of connecting with the world around me, sometimes I inadvertently align my view points (and perceptions) with the collective consciousness.  This is what creates both self-judgements and an unsavory righteous sense of virtue. I notice though buying into the collective consciousness is what feeds the hungry ghost of ego that wants and wants and wants, yet is only satisfied with the “what is” when it is completely aligned with our perceptions of how life should be.  (This alignment rarely happens).

As I wrestle with this concept of me being exactly who I am is already my best and highest good, where does that leave the idea of expanding what is possible?  Where is the place in here for my creative aspirations to experience the world in ever expanding ways – to express my joie de vivre however that is going to happen?  I recall on day four of this challenge I discovered finding my own truth happens when I’m feeling expanded rather than constricted. This reminded me I do teach a way to shift my perspective from self judgement to grace consciousness – but from a different reference point.  I’ve enclosed a mind map we use in our course “The Happiness Project” to expand on this idea.

This is a mind map that can explain how to shift from reacting to the collective consciousness to being guided by grace consciousness.

This is a mind map I created based on the work in the book Interpersonal Neurobiology.  It’s about how you react to the “what is” shapes how you connect with others and ultimately the health of your brain. The bottom half of this mind map is how we react when our “synaptic shadows” get triggered and we react from ego rather than love. “Synaptic shadows” are neural pathways that happen when you create the same reaction time after time after time to similar events.  When living “below the line” we reduce our abilities to respond to events and either react with rigidity or become emotionally chaotic based on previous similar experiences.  This is what happens when reacting from a place of self-judgement or self-righteousness in response to the collective consciousness on a particular subject – like feelings about your weight. The level to which you live below the line is in direct proportion to the strength of your perception.  Let’s say you believe all people who look a certain way are lazy (this is called being “rigid’).  This is a perception that limits how you can and will interact with people who look a certain way to you.  It is much of what is happening in our culture (and the collective consciousness) these days – relating to a “fat bias.”   This creates a below the line existence and substantially impacts the ability to connect with others.  It doesn’t really matter what the perception is as any perception is limiting and will hamper a genuine and authentic in the moment connection with another being.

The idea of window of tolerance means how much information can your “system” tolerate?  When you are constrained by your perceptions, especially when aligned with the collective consciousness, how much information you can tolerate is reduced.  This means your window of tolerance is smaller.  To expand your window of tolerance, and therefore expand what is possible, requires moving above the line into a more loving and flexible frame  – one of curiosity, openness, acceptance and love (called COAL in this mind map). Living above the line is a form of grace consciousness and it also meets my aspirations for creatively experiencing the world in ever expanding ways.  Furthermore, it provides guidelines on how to move from a place of living in the ego driven states of self – judgement below the line to one of wonder and more fully loving myself above the line.  This will help shift into grace consciousness so I move through the world with more grace, comfort and ease.

Kate‘s comment: your mention of fat bias was interesting. It plays into a specific type of stereotyping, where we take one observable trait and apply our assumptions of non-observable aspects to the person. Those who participate in fat bias see someone carrying more weight on their frame, and think back to a (potentially flawed) reference point of someone else with that same body shape. Just because someone’s BMI is over 25 doesn’t automatically mean that they’re lazy, have heart disease, and eat fast food frequently. This practice is inherently short-sighted on many levels, and the consequences are far-reaching.

That’s one of the reasons I feel that thorough testing can be much more indicative of health status. BMI is a flawed snapshot. Making assumptions is a good way to insult someone.