June 10, 2026 • 36 mins
Come and listen to our Host, Gia-Raquel Rose, for our "Victory Over Fear" Podcast Mini-Series.
This powerful series explores what it truly means to move forward despite uncertainty, self-doubt, and life's challenges. Through authentic conversations, personal stories, and practical wisdom, we uncover how courage is built one step at a time. Fear may be loud, but it doesn't have to have the final say.
Together, we'll discover how healing, faith, resilience, and action can help us overcome the barriers that keep us stuck. Whether you're facing a major life transition, stepping into a new opportunity, or simply learning to trust yourself again, these conversations will encourage you to embrace bravery and move confidently toward your purpose.
Join us as we celebrate the strength found in vulnerability, the growth that comes from taking risks, and the victories that happen when we choose courage over fear.
Gia-Raquel Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, LLC and a real estate sales associate in Tewksbury, New Jersey has had a love for horses stemming from early childhood. Growing up in “horse country” afforded her the privilege of beginning to ride from the tender age of four. It was a childhood illness, which brought her riding aspirations to an abrupt halt. It took twenty years before she was able to reunite with her long lost passion for horses and their ability to heal. In that time, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication from Arcadia University and became a twice two hundred hour certified yoga instructor in both Hatha and Vinyasa. It was the loss of her mother, Rose, to breast cancer, which ultimately shifted her trajectory from the corporate world to the internal work for which yoga, as a practice, is renowned.
I share why the macrobiotic diet is a major trigger for me, rooted in my mother’s breast cancer journey and the way food can become tangled with fear and hope. I break down what macrobiotic eating is, what it gets right about mindful living, and why I believe listening to your body matters more than following perfect rules.
• my mother’s choice to start with a macrobiotic lifestyle after diagnosis and what that brings up for me
• the difference between macrobiotic and vegan eating, including limited animal protein and strict rules
• how family culture and eating out can make any diet feel isolating
• women’s changing nutrition needs across puberty, perimenopause, and menopause
• macrobiotic principles around unprocessed foods, sourcing, storage, and avoiding plastic
• the idea that cooking and eating carry “energy” and how intention can shape self-care
• potential downsides, including deficiencies, weight loss risk, and the cost of eating this way
• warm cooked foods, gentle digestion, and parallels with Ayurveda
Please feel free to share the same with your loved ones. For more goodness, follow me on all the socials at Above the Ground Podcast or visit my website, airsaboveyoga.com.
For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
It's Divas the Care Radio.
Stories, strategies, and ideasto inspire positive change.
Welcome to Divas that Care, anetwork of women committed to
making our world a better placefor everyone.
This is a global movement forwomen, by women, engaged in a
collaborative effort to create abetter world for future
generations.
(00:20):
To find out more about themovement, visit divas that
care.com after the show.
Right now, though, stay tunedfor another jolt of inspiration.
SPEAKER_01 (00:31):
Namaste, and welcome to the Divas That Care Network.
I'm your host, Gia Raquel Rose,owner of Airs Above Yoga, and
you're listening to Above theGround Podcast.
If this is your first timetuning in, our network is going
into its 16th year and islistened to in over 30
countries.
I would like to personally takethis time to thank you for
giving me the gift of your time.
(00:53):
As always, it is my honor tohold space with and for you.
And today, as has been a themefor this series of um, you know,
overcoming your fears and youknow, just getting on with it,
essentially, when it comes toyour life and the things that
you know you will be faced with.
Um, I'm gonna dive in again tothings that are really big
(01:17):
triggers for me as we talk aboutthe diet nutrition episode.
And we're gonna touch on a dietthat I probably have mentioned
in passing, but that Idefinitely don't necessarily
ascribe to.
Um again, triggered, triggeredis probably one of the reasons
why.
Um, and I will share that story.
And so this episode is gonna bemore about that story than the
(01:40):
nutrition aspects, although wewill, because it is a nutrition
episode, we will touch on themacrobiotic diet.
Um, and it is it's akin to avegan diet.
There's a lot of similarities,but it's different because it's
very strict.
Um, and it does allow for somerare but inclusive animal
(02:02):
protein to be supplemented, um,which a vegan diet does not.
So um let me get into the storybecause that's kind of the
thread that has taken all ofthese episodes together,
including the meditation episodeand the original episode that
was um that I recorded onMother's Day, and that, you
(02:24):
know, has talked about the thesea that we all hate, uh, the
word cancer and those that areaffected by it.
And um, as I lost my mother tobreast cancer, um, and I lost a
friend to breast cancer, and uh,I've had many of people that I
love uh affected by cancer, um,one way or another.
And so I'm gonna share a prettytriggering um aspect of my past
(02:50):
with regards to this particulardiet and how it is attributed,
claimed to be, and again, like Ilove my mom, don't let her roll
over in her grave, but here'sthe trigger.
Um, when my mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer, there was an
element of fighting it from thebody standpoint as opposed to
(03:17):
medically.
That's not to say that my motherrefused medical treatment, but
there is an element um broughtin by my father that was very
much holistic andanti-establishment, as I like to
call it.
And so instead of going withwhat was a relatively aggressive
(03:39):
diagnosis from what I was told,instead of going full tilt,
which was my mother's choice,and anyone who has is un, I'll
say unfortunate enough to um bethe one diagnosed gets the right
to choose, right?
That is inherent.
We all as human beings have theright to choose for our bodies
(04:00):
and our health.
At least to this point we do,and hopefully that will
continue.
But this particular choice ofhers, um, I remember they went
to a school out in California, Ibelieve, my father and my
mother, and uh were taught howto cook and follow a macrobiotic
lifestyle.
(04:21):
And this is how my mother choseto battle cancer out of the
gate.
Me being the Aries only childthat I was, you know, would have
gone the cut it all out, nukeit, zap it, like get rid of it.
(04:41):
I would have gone that route.
I would have gone the quoteunquote balls to the wall route.
That's me.
Um, that was not my mother.
And so when we talk about, evenas I was kind of just refreshing
myself on the diet, because I dohave some experience with it, so
I'm aware of the ins and outs ofit.
As I was looking it up, evennow, you know, all a lot of the
(05:04):
things you'll find online willsay, like, this is not meant to
treat or cure cancer.
So, you know, there were, andyou know, this was almost 20
years ago now that, or over 20years since she chose this path.
And so obviously there have beenmassive amounts of developments
in science and in the medicalfield, and thank God for that.
Um, some treatments, I'm sure,remain similar in nature and the
(05:30):
aggressiveness with which somecertain cancers are treated, I'm
sure have have you know beensustained.
But I don't think any medicalprofessional is gonna say, eat
some, eat some brown rice andit'll go away.
It's fine.
No, that's not a thing.
So, as I said, this is gonna bea different kind of episode, and
(05:50):
I'm going a little bit feral onthis episode, so please indulge
me in that or forgive me forthat.
But it is, like I said, atrigger.
And so I when I was kind oftoying with again, as you try to
tie all these ideas together,coming up with you know, victory
over your fears, overcoming yourfears, and when it comes to
(06:11):
diet, it's kind of it's kind ofhopefully no diet makes anybody
fearful, right?
Like dieting itself could be afear to be overcome, right?
Like, like taking thatcommitment to yourself can be
scary.
Um, you know, making socially,especially, and that kind of
ties into the macrobiotic aspectbecause I know for my mom that
was one of the biggest thingsbecause food was such a big part
(06:33):
of our lives.
Um, as they they were part of agourmet club.
They, you know, we're Italianand Spanish, olive oil is
everywhere, it's in everything,wine was in everything.
And my mom was a huge fan ofcoffee, and macrobiotic diets
don't allow you to havecaffeine.
So, you know, it was a massivelifestyle shift.
And I have to give her maybe,maybe I get this from her,
(06:56):
hopefully.
I love to say I'm my mother'sdaughter.
Um, but you know, the disciplinethat it took to just irrevocably
alter her diet.
And my mother was a heavy setwoman for a majority of my life.
Um, we definitely, shedefinitely ate her feelings.
(07:16):
Um, I think I had a little bitof that when I was younger as
well, probably because that'syou know, food was a big part of
our lives coming from, like Isaid, a European background.
Like it was Sunday dinners.
It was, you know, there it wasfamily dinners.
We always Sunday was family day,and we always had dinners
together.
And my mom was an amazing cook.
My dad was an amazing cook.
(07:37):
So our our world, our home lifereally circled around food.
And it wasn't unhealthy food perse.
Maybe it was sometimes, um, butoverall, it was home cooked,
rather delicious.
And I will say, I was spoiledfor choice as a young person
growing up.
Like I had a very loving, verysupportive mother.
(07:57):
Um, and and I was just food wasa part of our existence, right?
It's like it's like the Italianor the Spanish mother, I wants
like love is food, food is love,right?
So for for her to kind of do a180, like like food is health
from food is love.
And and you know, I remember usgoing up to restaurants and I
(08:21):
remember her, you know, notbeing able to eat much.
And as I am now on a relativelystrict, very different diet, um,
I I get it.
Like I get I get that aspect ofthe social, the social, well, I
can't eat there, like, and thatconversation happens for me all
the time.
Um, or you know, my friends arevery kind and we go to places
where I know that they'llaccommodate.
(08:42):
And, you know, you never knowwhat's happening when you go out
to eat.
So I hope that nine times out often, I'm being, you know, as
respectful of the restaurantwhilst also praying that there's
no soy in my in my sauce, right?
So coming from that place of youknow, putting yourself first, my
(09:03):
mom was definitely a peoplepleaser, and I definitely have
that tendency too, but I it wasshe was so supportive that I
never thought of it as peoplepleasing.
I just thought it was love andsupport, and I thought that's
just that's she was amazing, andand that's how I hoped to be.
So from that place of of giving,of outpouring, putting love into
(09:27):
your food, putting love intoyour family, putting love into
your hearth and your home.
My mother very much was that.
Um, and so when she had toredirect her focus to herself, I
can't even imagine thedifficulty and the challenge
that she had in doing so becauseshe was such a giver, such a
(09:50):
supportive person, and such anurturer that that must have
been very challenging for her.
Um I think it's challenging forany probably maybe females more
than males.
Again, no gender.
This is just coming from thatmaternal instinct.
Um, and and I feel as thoughwhen it came to that switch for
her, I mean, getting back to theshe happened to be heavyset for
(10:13):
an earlier portion of her life.
One thing I will say about themacrobiotic diet, and probably a
vegan diet too, is my motheralways had a large posterior.
That definitely runs in thefamily.
I also, too, despite my diet andexercise routine, have a rather
large posterior.
We are built that way.
When my mother went macrobiotic,that posterior shrank down to
(10:37):
nothing, as she would say, menada.
Absolutely.
I mean, she turned into a very,very slight, slim, petite female
that I had never seen her thatthin in my entire existence.
Now, I will preface that Ibelieve some of that came from
at a certain point, she didbegin to implement some Western
(11:00):
medical practices like chemo andradiation, which I only wish she
would have done sooner.
But she did, and so there was anelement of that that I'm sure
when she really lost weight,people started to ask questions.
And I know that was very hardfor her because my mother was
very, very private and she didnot share.
So she'd probably she woulddefinitely roll over in her
grave now with me having thisconversation about her as
(11:21):
candidly as I am.
So sorry, mom, please forgiveme.
But I'm not gonna get into howshe handled her illness because,
like I said, everyone isentitled, and I learned this the
hard way with my mother, she wasentitled to her choice.
Everyone is entitled to theirchoice.
As someone who is battling withcancer, oftentimes they don't
(11:43):
want to fight anymore, andthey're entitled to that choice
too.
And for the people that lovethem, you know, that's a hard
pill to swallow.
So, with respect to every humanto choose a diet that supports
their body and allowing them tochange what that diet consists
of over time when they whentheir body changes, when their
(12:07):
hormones change, when theirneeds and priorities change.
For women, especially, I thinkthat there's a big distinction,
and I do mean women's bodiesversus men's bodies.
Again, we're not talking aboutgender here, we're talking about
science.
The female body goes throughphases, made in mother crone,
(12:28):
right?
That's like the trifecta of howthe woman's body goes through
their existence at life.
And your body needs differenttypes of exercise, different
types of foods, different typesof supplements, and or etc.
And just as an aside note,supplements are also something
that the macrobiotic diet kindof shies away from.
(12:49):
It contraindicates, if you will.
So when you think about thechanges that a female body goes,
and I'm not saying males' bodiesdon't change, of course they do,
but they do not have the cyclesthat women have, and they do not
have the they may have metabolicslowdown, they may have their
own host of things to deal with.
(13:11):
I can't speak to that because Iam a female.
But that being said, women'sbodies, when they start to be,
when they become prepubescent,and then when they become
perimenopausal and menopausal,there are huge life body system
hormone changes in the femalebody.
(13:32):
So as you're going through thatand and coupled with cancer,
because a lot of times,oftentimes, there will be a
cancer diagnosis in and aroundthat later stage of
perimenopause into menopause.
And that's, you know, do we nothave enough going on, right?
Like, is it is it is it war onwomen of a certain age?
(13:52):
I don't know.
But but the body starts to, Ithink it's a matter of, you
know, the same thing that I'llmake it akin to the drinking
conversation for people thatstill imbibe an alcohol.
Like if you drink in your 20s,you can rally and go do, you
know, go do a run a marathon thenext day, get up on three hours
of sleep and work a full day.
(14:13):
You might not be at your best,but you'll make it in your 30s.
Not so much.
You're dragging.
That hangover is starting totake a couple extra days.
And in your 40s, it's like it'skiller be killed.
You know, it's just it's nothappening for you.
So I think that as we age,hopefully gracefully, with as
much grace as we can muster, theself-awareness to check in with
(14:34):
yourself and pay attention towhat your body wants, needs, and
roll with the changes, right?
That's why I've said many times,as much as I would love to be
vegetarian, not vegan,vegetarian, as much as I love
cheese, and I get asked all thetime, well, do you feel better
on your diet?
And I'm always like, well, Ithink I'd feel worse off of it.
(14:57):
And that's my answer.
And I don't have another answerbecause I don't feel 100%
fabulous all the time.
But I do think that if I were togo back to, I remember what
happened when I went from paleoto vegetarian because I didn't
want to eat meat.
I still don't want to eat meat.
It makes me very sad.
I've had this conversation adnauseum.
I know my body needs meat.
(15:17):
It's unfortunate, but it's true.
So I will eat specific things inlimited quantities, not every
day of the week, because I knowthat I need to.
And I have come to terms withthat.
And I while my moral, the moral,the little girl in me doesn't
want to well doesn't want to eatthe animal, the carnivore in me
(15:39):
needs it.
So I'm not getting into thesesemantics or the argument of you
know the whole food plant-based.
I'm not getting into any, likeI'm people can survive and they
can thrive on a vegan diet andbless them for doing so.
And I fully applaud and supportanyone who is willing and able
to do that.
(16:00):
When it comes to the macrobioticdiet, when we touch on kind of
the main distinction betweenvegan and macrobiotic is
obviously animal protein, right?
Macrobiotic allows for veryorganic, fresh, specifically not
canned.
Um, that's one of theirregulations and stipulations.
(16:21):
But, you know, a happy fish or ahappy chicken, right?
But generally it's fish, is themain allowed, allowable protein.
Um, and it can't be, you know,uh, it can't be shellfish.
It needs to be like, you know,uh a healthy, wild-caught fish,
right?
Organic type fish.
And one of the things that Iwill say is I like about
(16:44):
macrobiotic is the idea, andPaleo follows this to a certain
extent too, the idea ofunprocessed.
And I think that I've spokenabout that numerous times.
I know that my friend uh Jason,who is whole food plant-based,
one of the main things isunprocessed or minimally
processed.
And for macrobiotic, that islike the main point.
(17:07):
So the idea is a is a lack oftoxins in the body, in theory,
and and I suppose a cleansing ofof the body in this in this very
kind of strict way of eating.
And like I said, there's nothingwrong with being strict, but
essentially you're you'relooking at a vegan diet with the
(17:30):
bulk of your diet, your intakeon a daily basis being whole
grains and fruits andvegetables.
Um, I touched last time on onsome of the safe, the safe foods
that are across that span acrossum the different the different
diets like uh autoimmune paleoand low VOD map.
(17:51):
So I encourage you to go backand look at that because we're
we are spoiled for choice onways to limit our eating in in
the first world country.
And we should take a moment tobe grateful for all of these
options to be at our fingertipsbecause it is it is a blessing
and not necessarily a realityfor the majority of the world.
So take a moment, say thank you,um, and and and listen to your
(18:12):
body, right?
That's always always what I'mgonna say in yoga, in diet, at
life, listen to your body.
So having the basis be, youknow, this whole food, brown
rice, barley, that kind of athing, you know, the the soft,
the gentle, the gentle grains.
Um, again, we're not talkingabout like the gluten-free
(18:35):
Ronzoni.
That's not that's not gonna besorry, Ronzoni.
Don't mean to, it's just thefirst thing that came to my
mind.
I don't mean to to be mad, toget to anger the pastacods, if
you will.
Um, but you know, the idea ofcoming from as local, as
organically sourced, as youknow, few hands and and less
trucks that drove it there.
(18:56):
You know, it's the process inmacrobiotic as much as it is the
food itself.
So they're also the the dietoriginally um was made up by a
Japanese philosopher calledGeorge Oshawa.
Um, and it goes back almostactually, it goes back a hundred
years now because we are in2026.
So it goes back about a hundredyears.
(19:18):
And essentially the idea is thatplastic is plastic being bad is
one of the things, I will say,because it is definitely one of
you know the containers that weuse the most, you know, when you
purchase food.
So how you store food, how youprepare food, how you cook your
(19:39):
food, they don't aspire tomicrowaves.
And I actually grew up without amicrowave because my dad was not
into microwaves.
We had one, we only used it forpopcorn.
It was very, you know, he gotwildly upset anytime went on.
So I don't use a microwave justby default, which I don't have a
problem with.
It doesn't really bother me.
Um, food tastes better, I think,when you cook it in an oven or
in a frying pan or an air fryerversus a microwave.
(20:00):
So there it's how you prepareit.
Um, it's the energy, and this iswhat I will say.
So one thing that I I I applaudabout the macrobiotic diet is
it's about like the energy withwhich you engage with the food
and prepare the food.
Um and I really feel like, andI'm not gonna get this name
(20:21):
right, so please forgive me.
There was a woman, there was ascientist, I believe she was on
the spectrum, and she was theone that created the I'll say
humane method of animalunaliving, um, under the basis,
and please look it up, and I'msorry that I I didn't actually
know I was gonna speak aboutthis because I kind of just roll
(20:43):
with it when I when I have ourconversations together, um, or I
would have looked her up.
I will I will do so after thefact and get back to you guys.
But the idea being the sametheory of what you consume, you
consume.
And so if you are consuminganimal products that are
unalived in a state of panic,fear, distress, sadness, you
(21:06):
know, terror, which I think mostof them are, unfortunately, then
you are consuming that panic,terror, fear, pain.
And that's not good for yourbody.
So that's one of the argumentsto veganism, that's one of the
arguments to vegetarianism,that's one of the arguments to
the macrobiotic diet, is and soI applaud the female that came
(21:29):
up with the way to keep animalscalm and I mean, I can't go far
as go so far as to say blissful,but calm and have them unalived
in a respectful manner wherethey are not aware of what's
about to happen to them.
And so they don't have that thatthey don't carry that energy
(21:50):
with them as they cross over.
So when in this idea of themacrobiotic diet comes to how
you prepare your food so likedon't cook in anger, um What you
put out of you as you'repreparing food is then held by
the food and consumed by thosearound you.
And I saw actually someone onInstagram recently talk about
(22:11):
how they don't eat food in otherpeople's homes, which, you know,
coming from my background iskind of, you know,
counterproductive because that'sall we did.
Uh, but there's something to besaid for them.
It's the same principle of theenergy.
You don't know, same as arestaurant.
You don't know the energy thatwent into the food that was
being prepared for you.
And you are then consuming thatenergy.
(22:32):
Now, that's getting not toowoo-woo for me, but I'm sure a
lot pretty woo-woo for many.
So the idea is that it's notjust about the food that you're
consuming, but it's about howyou're consuming the food, how
you're preparing the food, um,how you're storing the food.
So for macrobiotic, you know,you're talking about having
(22:52):
everything kind of be a natural,if you will.
So when you are storing yourfood, it's in glass jars, it's
in ceramic, stainless steel.
There's there's minimal, there'sno plastic, no plastic is
allowed, essentially.
Um, they always, you know,you're you want to have clear
and pure water when you cook,when you drink.
(23:13):
Um, you can't have caffeine.
So there were mom, I remember mymom drank an enormous amount of
penalty, an enormous amount ofpenalty.
And there were certain teas,green teas, I think, were
acceptable, even though they hadcaffeine.
So maybe it was a decaf greentea.
Don't quote me on that, butthere were certain teas that
were acceptable.
Um, and this idea of peace, Ifeel I feel like it was peace.
(23:40):
Um, and so I remember when whenmy parents came back from this,
you know, they did make a like aritual out of of cooking for my
mom.
And I think that's beautiful.
And I think that is probably themost the blessing in a
macrobiotic diet, because as youstart to dive into what you're
(24:01):
allowed to have and not have inthis diet, then you start to
realize that you know it's it'sit's not a high protein diet.
Um, you can become deficient inmany different vitamins and
minerals on this diet.
Um, you can lose weight ifyou're struggling or suffering
(24:22):
from cancer.
People can struggle to keepweight on.
Um it it's it's not necessarilyan easy diet to follow.
So, but I give her, I give mymother all the kudos for you
know committing to her health inthat way and and for sticking
with it, because I'm fairlycertain she was macrobiotic till
the very, very end.
(24:43):
Um and she did lose weight, andI I she fought in in the oh, in
the early 2000s, she foughtstage four cancer for seven
years.
So I can't say it did nothing.
Um, because it, you know, Ithink people may not have gotten
that far had they not taken someof the holistic steps.
(25:05):
But like I said, it's it's amatter of this particular diet,
obviously being being cultivatedby um a Japanese man, has a lot
of that spin to it.
So some of the staples alsoinclude miso soy, which I uh
(25:27):
have a problem with, especiallybecause of the link between soy
and breast cancer.
But apparently, if you I guessif you already have cancer, it
doesn't matter anymore.
Although I shouldn't I shouldn'tsay that a little
tongue-in-cheek, but you know,there is an argument about soy
and breast cancer.
There's a link there as well.
So just to be mindful.
But obviously, legumes areincluded.
(25:48):
So your chickpeas, your I'm Iremember again, because you're
coming from like a Japaneseangle based on how the diet was
created, um, mung beans were abig thing that were that were
created in it.
I shouldn't say created, butthat were a part of it.
Um, and it's a very seaweed wasa big aspect of it.
(26:10):
And like I said, it's just it'sa very it was very simple food.
Um, and I am a huge fan ofsimplicity, and so lack of
processing, care and concern forhow you cultivate your food, how
where you get your food, how youstore your food, how you prepare
your food.
I still have my mom's my mom'sknife that she brought back um
(26:31):
from her macrobiotic training,and that's the knife that I cook
with whenever I chop something.
Um, my little homage to my mom.
But I think that the main thingthat I agree with when it comes
to the macrobiotic diet is theidea of the energy with which
you source and prepare yourfood, the minimal processing.
(26:56):
Um and and taking, you know,obviously, as I mentioned
earlier, being grateful for thefact that we have these options
too available to us, and alsothe flip side of that being the
expense, right?
So not taking for granted thatnot everyone has these options
available to them, and nottaking for granted that eating
(27:19):
in this way is not costeffective, right?
Canned, remember, cans are notan option, right?
So you can't have storage of thefood is very important as well.
So buying fresh fish is notnecessarily cheap.
You might be able to findminimally processed locally
sourced grains at a reasonablypriced, but that takes extra
(27:39):
effort.
So, again, one of the thingsthat I think is wonderful about
this diet is simply the factthat it's conscious.
You are making consciouschoices, you are taking extra
time, extra effort.
Um, it's sustainable, so it'shelping somewhat with the
environment if you're not buyingprocessed, pre-packaged foods
(28:02):
and you're bringing your ownglass or ceramic containers,
right?
Um, it's thoughtful because youhave to kind of pre-plan what
you're going to do.
Um, and it's I don't want to sayit's easily accessible, but in
theory, it's easily accessible,right?
It's not, it does eliminatemainly dairy and animal products
(28:26):
and also oils.
So one of the things thatmacrobiotic is is not big on are
oils and fat in general.
It's a relatively low fat.
I'm not gonna say it's a no-fatdiet, um, but it's a relatively
minimal, minimal fat diet.
And like I said, the whole theoil situation is pretty much out
(28:49):
the window.
Um, and that was one of the mainthings that I remember being
like a shocker because we wereItalian and Spanish.
We put olive oil on everything.
Um, and then another one of thebig things that is not allowed
on a macrobiotic macrobioticdiet is eggs.
Um, we've had we had a wholeepisode about the incredible
edible egg.
And so I again am I come frommore of a like for lack of a
(29:15):
better term, gym rat uh diet,diet ideology of high protein,
you know, mindful high proteinso as not to negatively affect
the kidneys, but high protein,moderate fat, low carb.
So I I am in I practice almostthe exact opposite of a
microbiotic diet.
Um, but I do try to practice atleast to a certain extent, and
(29:38):
it's not a hundred percent.
So forgive me for not being likesuper strict with myself about
it, but I do buy things in acan.
I try to buy it in glasswood,but I do buy things in plastic.
I'm sorry, I do, I still do, andI've I've I will I will give a
nod to Annie who's come on andtalked about sustainability and
chastise single-use plastic.
So I've I've switched to barsoap in an effort to counteract
(30:00):
the plastic that I purchasedsome food in, but I do think
that it's really important, nomatter the diet, no matter the
lifestyle choice, to have theseconversations with yourself
about how much you can putthought and consciousness into
your choices across the board atlife.
(30:21):
Not just with your diet, notjust with your shopping, but how
conscientious can you be withyour own life and your lifestyle
so that you're able to live ascomfortably, as happily, as
naturally, and as gently on theenvironment, the animals, the
(30:42):
land, as you possibly can, withrespect to your specific
situation and understanding thatthat plays a factor in it as
well.
So winding down on themacrobiotic conversation and
saying that it's not dissimilarto vegan, but it is very
specific.
Um, as I mentioned, the mainstaples are whole grains, fruits
(31:06):
and vegetables, especially leafygreens, root vegetables are
acceptable, beans and legumesare very much acceptable.
Um, limited nuts and seeds,limited, very, very specific,
organic, clean, lean proteinmeat, mainly fish.
Um, seaweed is a big, big, bigpart of it.
(31:28):
And again, soy and miso and umsoups, warm things.
And the one thing is anotherthing that I ascribe to most
macrobiotic food is is cooked,right?
And so there's a big alignmentwith Ayurveda there in that the
idea of the Agni, the fire inthe body, the fire and the
belly, that warm food is moreeasily digested and gentler on
(31:55):
the body than cold food.
And that there's an I now nowI'm switching gears, but just to
touch briefly, there's anAyurveda principle about not
eating water.
I'm sorry, not drinking water,not drinking water, and that
when you don't drink water whenyou're eating a meal, the water
puts out the fire in the bellythat dig that is the digestion.
And macrobiotic also, inalignment with that, has this
(32:18):
idea of not drinking when you'renot thirsty and not overdoing.
I'm a I I would imagine theprinciple is coming from a
similar place.
Um, warm beverages mostly, theteas, vental tea or otherwise.
Think soft, think gentle, thinkeasy to digest, think easy on
(32:40):
the body, so that warmth um andthat picking and choosing when
to eat and drink, it'sessentially, so that you're not
negating the body's naturalprocesses.
And so there are there arethings about the macrobiotic
diet that are positive, that arebeneficial.
Um, but you also have to bemindful of your own body.
(33:03):
Always seek a practitioner ifthis is something that you're
considering.
And the reason that I I chose itfor this week is obviously
because I don't know thatthere's anything more
fear-inspiring than our ownmortality.
And knowing the link betweenthis particular diet and the
claims that had been made in itsname, um, that need to be
(33:27):
addressed when you look it uponline, I feel like it is
important to note the intentionis sound.
And we talked about this when wespoke about the Mother's Day
episode when we talked aboutstanding in stillness and and
mountain pose and just standing,being your own port in the
(33:49):
storm, being your ownlighthouse.
My mother's choice for amacrobiotic diet was her choice
to make, and it was her standingin her stillness.
And if you are in a place offear or you are in a place of
contr confronting, maybe notyour mortality, hopefully, but
(34:10):
something, something that justknocks you on your you know
what, on your on your ratherpotentially large posterior, how
can you be kind to your body?
And what does your body need?
It may not be a macrobioticdiet, may not be a paleo diet,
(34:32):
but can it be a soft diet?
Can it be a gentle diet?
Can it be a mindful diet?
Can you tap into and tune intoyour own body and cultivate a
sense of self-awareness thatallows you to ebb and flow with
the rhythms of your body as itmoves and changes through time?
(34:55):
And can you honor what it needsas gently as possible on the
earth around you, the animalsaround you, and with respect to
your family, friends, wallet,the lifestyle, all of the
things?
Can you choose to be gentle toyourself?
(35:21):
And in that, no matter howfearful you might be about
whatever it is that you'refacing, can you find a way to
still be kind to yourself firstand to stand in your truth, in
your choice with as muchdiscipline and grace as you can
(35:41):
possibly muster.
And can that be enough?
I think, I hope that it is andthat it can be for you.
And so that the simple act ofself-care is in and of itself
the act of overcoming or beingvictorious over your fear.
And with that, I just want totell you how much I appreciate
(36:04):
each and every one of you forsharing this space with me.
And I ask that you please feelfree to share the same with your
loved ones.
For more goodness, follow me onall the socials at Above the
Ground Podcast or visit mywebsite, airsaboveyoga.com.
As always, don't forget to checkout all of my other episodes and
my amazing sisters at the DivasThat Care Network.
You can find us on Spotify,Odyssey, Apple, Amazon,
(36:26):
iHeartRadio, or anywhere elsethat you might feel guided.
Again, my name is Gia RaquelRose, owner of Airsabove Yoga,
and you are listening to Abovethe Ground Podcast, where every
day is a good one.
SPEAKER_00 (36:40):
Thanks for listening.
This show was brought to you byDivas That Care.
Connect with us on Facebook, onInstagram, and of course on
divas that care.com, where youcan subscribe to our newsletter
so you don't miss a thing.
It's Divas the Care Radio.
Stories, strategies, and ideasto inspire positive change.
Welcome to Divas that Care, anetwork of women committed to
making our world a better placefor everyone.
This is a global movement forwomen, by women, engaged in a
collaborative effort to create abetter world for future
generations.
(00:20):
To find out more about themovement, visit divas that
care.com after the show.
Right now, though, stay tunedfor another jolt of inspiration.
SPEAKER_01 (00:31):
Namaste, and welcome to the Divas That Care Network.
I'm your host, Gia Raquel Rose,owner of Airs Above Yoga, and
you're listening to Above theGround Podcast.
If this is your first timetuning in, our network is going
into its 16th year and islistened to in over 30
countries.
I would like to personally takethis time to thank you for
giving me the gift of your time.
(00:53):
As always, it is my honor tohold space with and for you.
And today, as has been a themefor this series of um, you know,
overcoming your fears and youknow, just getting on with it,
essentially, when it comes toyour life and the things that
you know you will be faced with.
Um, I'm gonna dive in again tothings that are really big
(01:17):
triggers for me as we talk aboutthe diet nutrition episode.
And we're gonna touch on a dietthat I probably have mentioned
in passing, but that Idefinitely don't necessarily
ascribe to.
Um again, triggered, triggeredis probably one of the reasons
why.
Um, and I will share that story.
And so this episode is gonna bemore about that story than the
(01:40):
nutrition aspects, although wewill, because it is a nutrition
episode, we will touch on themacrobiotic diet.
Um, and it is it's akin to avegan diet.
There's a lot of similarities,but it's different because it's
very strict.
Um, and it does allow for somerare but inclusive animal
(02:02):
protein to be supplemented, um,which a vegan diet does not.
So um let me get into the storybecause that's kind of the
thread that has taken all ofthese episodes together,
including the meditation episodeand the original episode that
was um that I recorded onMother's Day, and that, you
(02:24):
know, has talked about the thesea that we all hate, uh, the
word cancer and those that areaffected by it.
And um, as I lost my mother tobreast cancer, um, and I lost a
friend to breast cancer, and uh,I've had many of people that I
love uh affected by cancer, um,one way or another.
And so I'm gonna share a prettytriggering um aspect of my past
(02:50):
with regards to this particulardiet and how it is attributed,
claimed to be, and again, like Ilove my mom, don't let her roll
over in her grave, but here'sthe trigger.
Um, when my mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer, there was an
element of fighting it from thebody standpoint as opposed to
(03:17):
medically.
That's not to say that my motherrefused medical treatment, but
there is an element um broughtin by my father that was very
much holistic andanti-establishment, as I like to
call it.
And so instead of going withwhat was a relatively aggressive
(03:39):
diagnosis from what I was told,instead of going full tilt,
which was my mother's choice,and anyone who has is un, I'll
say unfortunate enough to um bethe one diagnosed gets the right
to choose, right?
That is inherent.
We all as human beings have theright to choose for our bodies
(04:00):
and our health.
At least to this point we do,and hopefully that will
continue.
But this particular choice ofhers, um, I remember they went
to a school out in California, Ibelieve, my father and my
mother, and uh were taught howto cook and follow a macrobiotic
lifestyle.
(04:21):
And this is how my mother choseto battle cancer out of the
gate.
Me being the Aries only childthat I was, you know, would have
gone the cut it all out, nukeit, zap it, like get rid of it.
(04:41):
I would have gone that route.
I would have gone the quoteunquote balls to the wall route.
That's me.
Um, that was not my mother.
And so when we talk about, evenas I was kind of just refreshing
myself on the diet, because I dohave some experience with it, so
I'm aware of the ins and outs ofit.
As I was looking it up, evennow, you know, all a lot of the
(05:04):
things you'll find online willsay, like, this is not meant to
treat or cure cancer.
So, you know, there were, andyou know, this was almost 20
years ago now that, or over 20years since she chose this path.
And so obviously there have beenmassive amounts of developments
in science and in the medicalfield, and thank God for that.
Um, some treatments, I'm sure,remain similar in nature and the
(05:30):
aggressiveness with which somecertain cancers are treated, I'm
sure have have you know beensustained.
But I don't think any medicalprofessional is gonna say, eat
some, eat some brown rice andit'll go away.
It's fine.
No, that's not a thing.
So, as I said, this is gonna bea different kind of episode, and
(05:50):
I'm going a little bit feral onthis episode, so please indulge
me in that or forgive me forthat.
But it is, like I said, atrigger.
And so I when I was kind oftoying with again, as you try to
tie all these ideas together,coming up with you know, victory
over your fears, overcoming yourfears, and when it comes to
(06:11):
diet, it's kind of it's kind ofhopefully no diet makes anybody
fearful, right?
Like dieting itself could be afear to be overcome, right?
Like, like taking thatcommitment to yourself can be
scary.
Um, you know, making socially,especially, and that kind of
ties into the macrobiotic aspectbecause I know for my mom that
was one of the biggest thingsbecause food was such a big part
(06:33):
of our lives.
Um, as they they were part of agourmet club.
They, you know, we're Italianand Spanish, olive oil is
everywhere, it's in everything,wine was in everything.
And my mom was a huge fan ofcoffee, and macrobiotic diets
don't allow you to havecaffeine.
So, you know, it was a massivelifestyle shift.
And I have to give her maybe,maybe I get this from her,
(06:56):
hopefully.
I love to say I'm my mother'sdaughter.
Um, but you know, the disciplinethat it took to just irrevocably
alter her diet.
And my mother was a heavy setwoman for a majority of my life.
Um, we definitely, shedefinitely ate her feelings.
(07:16):
Um, I think I had a little bitof that when I was younger as
well, probably because that'syou know, food was a big part of
our lives coming from, like Isaid, a European background.
Like it was Sunday dinners.
It was, you know, there it wasfamily dinners.
We always Sunday was family day,and we always had dinners
together.
And my mom was an amazing cook.
My dad was an amazing cook.
(07:37):
So our our world, our home lifereally circled around food.
And it wasn't unhealthy food perse.
Maybe it was sometimes, um, butoverall, it was home cooked,
rather delicious.
And I will say, I was spoiledfor choice as a young person
growing up.
Like I had a very loving, verysupportive mother.
(07:57):
Um, and and I was just food wasa part of our existence, right?
It's like it's like the Italianor the Spanish mother, I wants
like love is food, food is love,right?
So for for her to kind of do a180, like like food is health
from food is love.
And and you know, I remember usgoing up to restaurants and I
(08:21):
remember her, you know, notbeing able to eat much.
And as I am now on a relativelystrict, very different diet, um,
I I get it.
Like I get I get that aspect ofthe social, the social, well, I
can't eat there, like, and thatconversation happens for me all
the time.
Um, or you know, my friends arevery kind and we go to places
where I know that they'llaccommodate.
(08:42):
And, you know, you never knowwhat's happening when you go out
to eat.
So I hope that nine times out often, I'm being, you know, as
respectful of the restaurantwhilst also praying that there's
no soy in my in my sauce, right?
So coming from that place of youknow, putting yourself first, my
(09:03):
mom was definitely a peoplepleaser, and I definitely have
that tendency too, but I it wasshe was so supportive that I
never thought of it as peoplepleasing.
I just thought it was love andsupport, and I thought that's
just that's she was amazing, andand that's how I hoped to be.
So from that place of of giving,of outpouring, putting love into
(09:27):
your food, putting love intoyour family, putting love into
your hearth and your home.
My mother very much was that.
Um, and so when she had toredirect her focus to herself, I
can't even imagine thedifficulty and the challenge
that she had in doing so becauseshe was such a giver, such a
(09:50):
supportive person, and such anurturer that that must have
been very challenging for her.
Um I think it's challenging forany probably maybe females more
than males.
Again, no gender.
This is just coming from thatmaternal instinct.
Um, and and I feel as thoughwhen it came to that switch for
her, I mean, getting back to theshe happened to be heavyset for
(10:13):
an earlier portion of her life.
One thing I will say about themacrobiotic diet, and probably a
vegan diet too, is my motheralways had a large posterior.
That definitely runs in thefamily.
I also, too, despite my diet andexercise routine, have a rather
large posterior.
We are built that way.
When my mother went macrobiotic,that posterior shrank down to
(10:37):
nothing, as she would say, menada.
Absolutely.
I mean, she turned into a very,very slight, slim, petite female
that I had never seen her thatthin in my entire existence.
Now, I will preface that Ibelieve some of that came from
at a certain point, she didbegin to implement some Western
(11:00):
medical practices like chemo andradiation, which I only wish she
would have done sooner.
But she did, and so there was anelement of that that I'm sure
when she really lost weight,people started to ask questions.
And I know that was very hardfor her because my mother was
very, very private and she didnot share.
So she'd probably she woulddefinitely roll over in her
grave now with me having thisconversation about her as
(11:21):
candidly as I am.
So sorry, mom, please forgiveme.
But I'm not gonna get into howshe handled her illness because,
like I said, everyone isentitled, and I learned this the
hard way with my mother, she wasentitled to her choice.
Everyone is entitled to theirchoice.
As someone who is battling withcancer, oftentimes they don't
(11:43):
want to fight anymore, andthey're entitled to that choice
too.
And for the people that lovethem, you know, that's a hard
pill to swallow.
So, with respect to every humanto choose a diet that supports
their body and allowing them tochange what that diet consists
of over time when they whentheir body changes, when their
(12:07):
hormones change, when theirneeds and priorities change.
For women, especially, I thinkthat there's a big distinction,
and I do mean women's bodiesversus men's bodies.
Again, we're not talking aboutgender here, we're talking about
science.
The female body goes throughphases, made in mother crone,
(12:28):
right?
That's like the trifecta of howthe woman's body goes through
their existence at life.
And your body needs differenttypes of exercise, different
types of foods, different typesof supplements, and or etc.
And just as an aside note,supplements are also something
that the macrobiotic diet kindof shies away from.
(12:49):
It contraindicates, if you will.
So when you think about thechanges that a female body goes,
and I'm not saying males' bodiesdon't change, of course they do,
but they do not have the cyclesthat women have, and they do not
have the they may have metabolicslowdown, they may have their
own host of things to deal with.
(13:11):
I can't speak to that because Iam a female.
But that being said, women'sbodies, when they start to be,
when they become prepubescent,and then when they become
perimenopausal and menopausal,there are huge life body system
hormone changes in the femalebody.
(13:32):
So as you're going through thatand and coupled with cancer,
because a lot of times,oftentimes, there will be a
cancer diagnosis in and aroundthat later stage of
perimenopause into menopause.
And that's, you know, do we nothave enough going on, right?
Like, is it is it is it war onwomen of a certain age?
(13:52):
I don't know.
But but the body starts to, Ithink it's a matter of, you
know, the same thing that I'llmake it akin to the drinking
conversation for people thatstill imbibe an alcohol.
Like if you drink in your 20s,you can rally and go do, you
know, go do a run a marathon thenext day, get up on three hours
of sleep and work a full day.
(14:13):
You might not be at your best,but you'll make it in your 30s.
Not so much.
You're dragging.
That hangover is starting totake a couple extra days.
And in your 40s, it's like it'skiller be killed.
You know, it's just it's nothappening for you.
So I think that as we age,hopefully gracefully, with as
much grace as we can muster, theself-awareness to check in with
(14:34):
yourself and pay attention towhat your body wants, needs, and
roll with the changes, right?
That's why I've said many times,as much as I would love to be
vegetarian, not vegan,vegetarian, as much as I love
cheese, and I get asked all thetime, well, do you feel better
on your diet?
And I'm always like, well, Ithink I'd feel worse off of it.
(14:57):
And that's my answer.
And I don't have another answerbecause I don't feel 100%
fabulous all the time.
But I do think that if I were togo back to, I remember what
happened when I went from paleoto vegetarian because I didn't
want to eat meat.
I still don't want to eat meat.
It makes me very sad.
I've had this conversation adnauseum.
I know my body needs meat.
(15:17):
It's unfortunate, but it's true.
So I will eat specific things inlimited quantities, not every
day of the week, because I knowthat I need to.
And I have come to terms withthat.
And I while my moral, the moral,the little girl in me doesn't
want to well doesn't want to eatthe animal, the carnivore in me
(15:39):
needs it.
So I'm not getting into thesesemantics or the argument of you
know the whole food plant-based.
I'm not getting into any, likeI'm people can survive and they
can thrive on a vegan diet andbless them for doing so.
And I fully applaud and supportanyone who is willing and able
to do that.
(16:00):
When it comes to the macrobioticdiet, when we touch on kind of
the main distinction betweenvegan and macrobiotic is
obviously animal protein, right?
Macrobiotic allows for veryorganic, fresh, specifically not
canned.
Um, that's one of theirregulations and stipulations.
(16:21):
But, you know, a happy fish or ahappy chicken, right?
But generally it's fish, is themain allowed, allowable protein.
Um, and it can't be, you know,uh, it can't be shellfish.
It needs to be like, you know,uh a healthy, wild-caught fish,
right?
Organic type fish.
And one of the things that Iwill say is I like about
(16:44):
macrobiotic is the idea, andPaleo follows this to a certain
extent too, the idea ofunprocessed.
And I think that I've spokenabout that numerous times.
I know that my friend uh Jason,who is whole food plant-based,
one of the main things isunprocessed or minimally
processed.
And for macrobiotic, that islike the main point.
(17:07):
So the idea is a is a lack oftoxins in the body, in theory,
and and I suppose a cleansing ofof the body in this in this very
kind of strict way of eating.
And like I said, there's nothingwrong with being strict, but
essentially you're you'relooking at a vegan diet with the
(17:30):
bulk of your diet, your intakeon a daily basis being whole
grains and fruits andvegetables.
Um, I touched last time on onsome of the safe, the safe foods
that are across that span acrossum the different the different
diets like uh autoimmune paleoand low VOD map.
(17:51):
So I encourage you to go backand look at that because we're
we are spoiled for choice onways to limit our eating in in
the first world country.
And we should take a moment tobe grateful for all of these
options to be at our fingertipsbecause it is it is a blessing
and not necessarily a realityfor the majority of the world.
So take a moment, say thank you,um, and and and listen to your
(18:12):
body, right?
That's always always what I'mgonna say in yoga, in diet, at
life, listen to your body.
So having the basis be, youknow, this whole food, brown
rice, barley, that kind of athing, you know, the the soft,
the gentle, the gentle grains.
Um, again, we're not talkingabout like the gluten-free
(18:35):
Ronzoni.
That's not that's not gonna besorry, Ronzoni.
Don't mean to, it's just thefirst thing that came to my
mind.
I don't mean to to be mad, toget to anger the pastacods, if
you will.
Um, but you know, the idea ofcoming from as local, as
organically sourced, as youknow, few hands and and less
trucks that drove it there.
(18:56):
You know, it's the process inmacrobiotic as much as it is the
food itself.
So they're also the the dietoriginally um was made up by a
Japanese philosopher calledGeorge Oshawa.
Um, and it goes back almostactually, it goes back a hundred
years now because we are in2026.
So it goes back about a hundredyears.
(19:18):
And essentially the idea is thatplastic is plastic being bad is
one of the things, I will say,because it is definitely one of
you know the containers that weuse the most, you know, when you
purchase food.
So how you store food, how youprepare food, how you cook your
(19:39):
food, they don't aspire tomicrowaves.
And I actually grew up without amicrowave because my dad was not
into microwaves.
We had one, we only used it forpopcorn.
It was very, you know, he gotwildly upset anytime went on.
So I don't use a microwave justby default, which I don't have a
problem with.
It doesn't really bother me.
Um, food tastes better, I think,when you cook it in an oven or
in a frying pan or an air fryerversus a microwave.
(20:00):
So there it's how you prepareit.
Um, it's the energy, and this iswhat I will say.
So one thing that I I I applaudabout the macrobiotic diet is
it's about like the energy withwhich you engage with the food
and prepare the food.
Um and I really feel like, andI'm not gonna get this name
(20:21):
right, so please forgive me.
There was a woman, there was ascientist, I believe she was on
the spectrum, and she was theone that created the I'll say
humane method of animalunaliving, um, under the basis,
and please look it up, and I'msorry that I I didn't actually
know I was gonna speak aboutthis because I kind of just roll
(20:43):
with it when I when I have ourconversations together, um, or I
would have looked her up.
I will I will do so after thefact and get back to you guys.
But the idea being the sametheory of what you consume, you
consume.
And so if you are consuminganimal products that are
unalived in a state of panic,fear, distress, sadness, you
(21:06):
know, terror, which I think mostof them are, unfortunately, then
you are consuming that panic,terror, fear, pain.
And that's not good for yourbody.
So that's one of the argumentsto veganism, that's one of the
arguments to vegetarianism,that's one of the arguments to
the macrobiotic diet, is and soI applaud the female that came
(21:29):
up with the way to keep animalscalm and I mean, I can't go far
as go so far as to say blissful,but calm and have them unalived
in a respectful manner wherethey are not aware of what's
about to happen to them.
And so they don't have that thatthey don't carry that energy
(21:50):
with them as they cross over.
So when in this idea of themacrobiotic diet comes to how
you prepare your food so likedon't cook in anger, um What you
put out of you as you'repreparing food is then held by
the food and consumed by thosearound you.
And I saw actually someone onInstagram recently talk about
(22:11):
how they don't eat food in otherpeople's homes, which, you know,
coming from my background iskind of, you know,
counterproductive because that'sall we did.
Uh, but there's something to besaid for them.
It's the same principle of theenergy.
You don't know, same as arestaurant.
You don't know the energy thatwent into the food that was
being prepared for you.
And you are then consuming thatenergy.
(22:32):
Now, that's getting not toowoo-woo for me, but I'm sure a
lot pretty woo-woo for many.
So the idea is that it's notjust about the food that you're
consuming, but it's about howyou're consuming the food, how
you're preparing the food, um,how you're storing the food.
So for macrobiotic, you know,you're talking about having
(22:52):
everything kind of be a natural,if you will.
So when you are storing yourfood, it's in glass jars, it's
in ceramic, stainless steel.
There's there's minimal, there'sno plastic, no plastic is
allowed, essentially.
Um, they always, you know,you're you want to have clear
and pure water when you cook,when you drink.
(23:13):
Um, you can't have caffeine.
So there were mom, I remember mymom drank an enormous amount of
penalty, an enormous amount ofpenalty.
And there were certain teas,green teas, I think, were
acceptable, even though they hadcaffeine.
So maybe it was a decaf greentea.
Don't quote me on that, butthere were certain teas that
were acceptable.
Um, and this idea of peace, Ifeel I feel like it was peace.
(23:40):
Um, and so I remember when whenmy parents came back from this,
you know, they did make a like aritual out of of cooking for my
mom.
And I think that's beautiful.
And I think that is probably themost the blessing in a
macrobiotic diet, because as youstart to dive into what you're
(24:01):
allowed to have and not have inthis diet, then you start to
realize that you know it's it'sit's not a high protein diet.
Um, you can become deficient inmany different vitamins and
minerals on this diet.
Um, you can lose weight ifyou're struggling or suffering
(24:22):
from cancer.
People can struggle to keepweight on.
Um it it's it's not necessarilyan easy diet to follow.
So, but I give her, I give mymother all the kudos for you
know committing to her health inthat way and and for sticking
with it, because I'm fairlycertain she was macrobiotic till
the very, very end.
(24:43):
Um and she did lose weight, andI I she fought in in the oh, in
the early 2000s, she foughtstage four cancer for seven
years.
So I can't say it did nothing.
Um, because it, you know, Ithink people may not have gotten
that far had they not taken someof the holistic steps.
(25:05):
But like I said, it's it's amatter of this particular diet,
obviously being being cultivatedby um a Japanese man, has a lot
of that spin to it.
So some of the staples alsoinclude miso soy, which I uh
(25:27):
have a problem with, especiallybecause of the link between soy
and breast cancer.
But apparently, if you I guessif you already have cancer, it
doesn't matter anymore.
Although I shouldn't I shouldn'tsay that a little
tongue-in-cheek, but you know,there is an argument about soy
and breast cancer.
There's a link there as well.
So just to be mindful.
But obviously, legumes areincluded.
(25:48):
So your chickpeas, your I'm Iremember again, because you're
coming from like a Japaneseangle based on how the diet was
created, um, mung beans were abig thing that were that were
created in it.
I shouldn't say created, butthat were a part of it.
Um, and it's a very seaweed wasa big aspect of it.
(26:10):
And like I said, it's just it'sa very it was very simple food.
Um, and I am a huge fan ofsimplicity, and so lack of
processing, care and concern forhow you cultivate your food, how
where you get your food, how youstore your food, how you prepare
your food.
I still have my mom's my mom'sknife that she brought back um
(26:31):
from her macrobiotic training,and that's the knife that I cook
with whenever I chop something.
Um, my little homage to my mom.
But I think that the main thingthat I agree with when it comes
to the macrobiotic diet is theidea of the energy with which
you source and prepare yourfood, the minimal processing.
(26:56):
Um and and taking, you know,obviously, as I mentioned
earlier, being grateful for thefact that we have these options
too available to us, and alsothe flip side of that being the
expense, right?
So not taking for granted thatnot everyone has these options
available to them, and nottaking for granted that eating
(27:19):
in this way is not costeffective, right?
Canned, remember, cans are notan option, right?
So you can't have storage of thefood is very important as well.
So buying fresh fish is notnecessarily cheap.
You might be able to findminimally processed locally
sourced grains at a reasonablypriced, but that takes extra
(27:39):
effort.
So, again, one of the thingsthat I think is wonderful about
this diet is simply the factthat it's conscious.
You are making consciouschoices, you are taking extra
time, extra effort.
Um, it's sustainable, so it'shelping somewhat with the
environment if you're not buyingprocessed, pre-packaged foods
(28:02):
and you're bringing your ownglass or ceramic containers,
right?
Um, it's thoughtful because youhave to kind of pre-plan what
you're going to do.
Um, and it's I don't want to sayit's easily accessible, but in
theory, it's easily accessible,right?
It's not, it does eliminatemainly dairy and animal products
(28:26):
and also oils.
So one of the things thatmacrobiotic is is not big on are
oils and fat in general.
It's a relatively low fat.
I'm not gonna say it's a no-fatdiet, um, but it's a relatively
minimal, minimal fat diet.
And like I said, the whole theoil situation is pretty much out
(28:49):
the window.
Um, and that was one of the mainthings that I remember being
like a shocker because we wereItalian and Spanish.
We put olive oil on everything.
Um, and then another one of thebig things that is not allowed
on a macrobiotic macrobioticdiet is eggs.
Um, we've had we had a wholeepisode about the incredible
edible egg.
And so I again am I come frommore of a like for lack of a
(29:15):
better term, gym rat uh diet,diet ideology of high protein,
you know, mindful high proteinso as not to negatively affect
the kidneys, but high protein,moderate fat, low carb.
So I I am in I practice almostthe exact opposite of a
microbiotic diet.
Um, but I do try to practice atleast to a certain extent, and
(29:38):
it's not a hundred percent.
So forgive me for not being likesuper strict with myself about
it, but I do buy things in acan.
I try to buy it in glasswood,but I do buy things in plastic.
I'm sorry, I do, I still do, andI've I've I will I will give a
nod to Annie who's come on andtalked about sustainability and
chastise single-use plastic.
So I've I've switched to barsoap in an effort to counteract
(30:00):
the plastic that I purchasedsome food in, but I do think
that it's really important, nomatter the diet, no matter the
lifestyle choice, to have theseconversations with yourself
about how much you can putthought and consciousness into
your choices across the board atlife.
(30:21):
Not just with your diet, notjust with your shopping, but how
conscientious can you be withyour own life and your lifestyle
so that you're able to live ascomfortably, as happily, as
naturally, and as gently on theenvironment, the animals, the
(30:42):
land, as you possibly can, withrespect to your specific
situation and understanding thatthat plays a factor in it as
well.
So winding down on themacrobiotic conversation and
saying that it's not dissimilarto vegan, but it is very
specific.
Um, as I mentioned, the mainstaples are whole grains, fruits
(31:06):
and vegetables, especially leafygreens, root vegetables are
acceptable, beans and legumesare very much acceptable.
Um, limited nuts and seeds,limited, very, very specific,
organic, clean, lean proteinmeat, mainly fish.
Um, seaweed is a big, big, bigpart of it.
(31:28):
And again, soy and miso and umsoups, warm things.
And the one thing is anotherthing that I ascribe to most
macrobiotic food is is cooked,right?
And so there's a big alignmentwith Ayurveda there in that the
idea of the Agni, the fire inthe body, the fire and the
belly, that warm food is moreeasily digested and gentler on
(31:55):
the body than cold food.
And that there's an I now nowI'm switching gears, but just to
touch briefly, there's anAyurveda principle about not
eating water.
I'm sorry, not drinking water,not drinking water, and that
when you don't drink water whenyou're eating a meal, the water
puts out the fire in the bellythat dig that is the digestion.
And macrobiotic also, inalignment with that, has this
(32:18):
idea of not drinking when you'renot thirsty and not overdoing.
I'm a I I would imagine theprinciple is coming from a
similar place.
Um, warm beverages mostly, theteas, vental tea or otherwise.
Think soft, think gentle, thinkeasy to digest, think easy on
(32:40):
the body, so that warmth um andthat picking and choosing when
to eat and drink, it'sessentially, so that you're not
negating the body's naturalprocesses.
And so there are there arethings about the macrobiotic
diet that are positive, that arebeneficial.
Um, but you also have to bemindful of your own body.
(33:03):
Always seek a practitioner ifthis is something that you're
considering.
And the reason that I I chose itfor this week is obviously
because I don't know thatthere's anything more
fear-inspiring than our ownmortality.
And knowing the link betweenthis particular diet and the
claims that had been made in itsname, um, that need to be
(33:27):
addressed when you look it uponline, I feel like it is
important to note the intentionis sound.
And we talked about this when wespoke about the Mother's Day
episode when we talked aboutstanding in stillness and and
mountain pose and just standing,being your own port in the
(33:49):
storm, being your ownlighthouse.
My mother's choice for amacrobiotic diet was her choice
to make, and it was her standingin her stillness.
And if you are in a place offear or you are in a place of
contr confronting, maybe notyour mortality, hopefully, but
(34:10):
something, something that justknocks you on your you know
what, on your on your ratherpotentially large posterior, how
can you be kind to your body?
And what does your body need?
It may not be a macrobioticdiet, may not be a paleo diet,
(34:32):
but can it be a soft diet?
Can it be a gentle diet?
Can it be a mindful diet?
Can you tap into and tune intoyour own body and cultivate a
sense of self-awareness thatallows you to ebb and flow with
the rhythms of your body as itmoves and changes through time?
(34:55):
And can you honor what it needsas gently as possible on the
earth around you, the animalsaround you, and with respect to
your family, friends, wallet,the lifestyle, all of the
things?
Can you choose to be gentle toyourself?
(35:21):
And in that, no matter howfearful you might be about
whatever it is that you'refacing, can you find a way to
still be kind to yourself firstand to stand in your truth, in
your choice with as muchdiscipline and grace as you can
(35:41):
possibly muster.
And can that be enough?
I think, I hope that it is andthat it can be for you.
And so that the simple act ofself-care is in and of itself
the act of overcoming or beingvictorious over your fear.
And with that, I just want totell you how much I appreciate
(36:04):
each and every one of you forsharing this space with me.
And I ask that you please feelfree to share the same with your
loved ones.
For more goodness, follow me onall the socials at Above the
Ground Podcast or visit mywebsite, airsaboveyoga.com.
As always, don't forget to checkout all of my other episodes and
my amazing sisters at the DivasThat Care Network.
You can find us on Spotify,Odyssey, Apple, Amazon,
(36:26):
iHeartRadio, or anywhere elsethat you might feel guided.
Again, my name is Gia RaquelRose, owner of Airsabove Yoga,
and you are listening to Abovethe Ground Podcast, where every
day is a good one.
SPEAKER_00 (36:40):
Thanks for listening.
This show was brought to you byDivas That Care.
Connect with us on Facebook, onInstagram, and of course on
divas that care.com, where youcan subscribe to our newsletter
so you don't miss a thing.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
iHeartRadio 24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com