Category: Wellness

A Fresh Look at Fitness

I went for a run today and had an unexpected realization. Within 30 seconds of putting my headphones on, zipping up my hooded sweatshirt, and starting my stopwatch, I had a series of thoughts and flashbacks that stopped me in my tracks. For some odd reason, I was momentarily transported back in time to the summer that I spent at my grandmother’s house in Japan when I was eight years old. I suddenly remembered the voice that I heard over a megaphone every morning, announcing the daily exercises that would soon begin at the park. And then I remembered the steady stream of neighbors, young and old, stepping out of their little homes and walking toward the field. No one was wearing a stopwatch. No one was displaying strong, “go get ‘em” attitudes. This was just a way of life, and there was no competition or sense of urgency associated with participating in this routine. If you were well, you got yourself up out of bed and went to exercise with everyone else.

As I stood on the pavement in the present moment, I longed for that incredible feeling of wanting to exercise as a way of life, not as a means to an end. I just wanted to jog because it felt good. I didn’t want to look at my stopwatch. I didn’t care how quickly I could cover the same distance repeatedly.

We live in a culture of 30-day weight loss plans, 60-day intense training programs, road races, timed obstacle courses and 7-day jumpstart programs. All of these things are wonderful fitness tools, but maybe it would be enjoyable to just get back to the mindset of moving our bodies for the sake of wellness.

In this game called life, none of us are getting out alive. The goal is to make our time here on Earth healthy and enjoyable—to balance our life activities so that we spend the vast majority of our time LIVING rather than dying.

What’s the point of making exercise such a painful, dreadful experience? For most of us, the goal is not to become an elite level athlete. We just want to feel good, look good and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Can’t we just achieve all of that with moderation?

This week, I challenge you to approach your exercise routine with a different mindset. Exercise only because it feels good. When it stops feeling good, go do something else. Jog until it isn’t fun. When jogging isn’t fun anymore, grab a jump rope. When jumping rope isn’t fun, walk. When walking isn’t fun, go stretch, lift, tumble or balance. Do something! And do it only for as long as you perceive it to be fun. The second it stops being fun, it stops being sustainable. Practice moving for fun so that exercise can become a natural part of life. Remove the stress and the competition for one week, and see how you feel.

March 24, 2014
Getting Your Kids Involved In Your Yoga Practice

Health and fitness has always been an integral part of my life. When I found out that I was pregnant in March of 2005, I was overjoyed that I was going to be a mom, but I was also panicked about how it was going to change my body and how I was going to get it back to its pre-pregnancy state. It wasn’t until after I had my son that I realized that life and fitness don’t end when you have a child. My body was still mine. I just had to reclaim it!

Fast forward to today. I’m 36, I have two kids, a husband, a full time job and a growing business…My goals of staying fit have not changed…HOW I make the time and get it done has changed. One of my favorite things to do now is to get my kids on my mat with me! Whether it’s for 5 or 10 minutes, it’s an opportunity to get them involved in my exercise routine.

Here are five quick tips on how I got my kids involved!

1. DO NOT expect them to do a full practice! I know that sounds obvious, but when my son and daughter started to join me, I thought they would just fall in love with yoga and practice the full 30-45 minutes with me. WRONG. Children under the age of 10 do not have that long of an attention span, but they can manage 5-10 minutes on the mat. So, start there!

2. Begin with the basics! Kids love Downward Facing Dog. Another favorite is Cobra pose, Tree Pose, Warrior II and seated Easy Pose or Sukhasana. These are great beginner poses, in general.

3. Teach them…but don’t expect perfection! Teach them the names of the poses. You will be amazed how quickly they will pick them up. Teach them what they SHOULD be doing, and don’t fret if the poses aren’t perfect. Just make sure they are not going to hurt themselves.

4. Get them their own yoga gear! I don’t know about your kids, but mine love to have their own stuff…their own space and their own gear. So maybe look into a toddler mat or even an inexpensive full-sized mat! They will feel grown up and you won’t have to share your mat!

5. Make it fun! Remember to keep it light and fun! In my experience, it’s all about the memories you are building with your child while instilling the importance of fitness. Keep your practice with them consistent. It builds their knowledge and makes it part of their daily routine…something that can last a lifetime!

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn

Yoga with mini
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XOXO

March 13, 2014
Pre-Workout Tea Spritzer!
Are you drinking enough BEFORE exercising? The importance of staying hydrated during and after an exercise session is common knowledge, but drinking prior to a workout is just as essential.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you should consume 17 ounces of fluid about two hours prior to exercising to be adequately hydrated and to allow time for excretion of excess water.

If you are looking for a more palatable solution than plain water but don’t want to reach for an artificially flavored/colored sports drink, consider this refreshing alternative—Create your own tea spritzer! It’s delicious, portable, and it will get you ready and hydrated for your workout.

Directions:
1. Fill a tall glass (or thermos) with unflavored seltzer water.
2. Squeeze ⅛ or ¼ of a lime into the water.
3. Steep 1 tea bag for 5 minutes. Fruit-flavored teas work really well, and they are caffeine free!
4. Drink up, and enjoy your workout.
March 7, 2014
Healthy Quick Tip: Steaming Greens

Creating a healthy lifestyle does not have to be an overwhelming experience. I’m not sure when “all or nothing” became the mantra for healthy living, but it really does not have to be that way. You can build a healthy life, step by step. Simply start by incorporating one small, healthy change into your routine. My favorite quick tip for better health is to steam leafy green vegetables on a daily basis. This is such an easy way to kickstart your healthy eating plan. In the time it takes to boil a few inches of water in a pot, your greens will be washed and ready to cook.

I do this every single day. Let me tell you why.

Finding Inspiration
When I was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness, I went to a natural healing facility to learn how to balance my body and health. I was in tremendous pain, but I did not want to start taking the very harsh drugs that are the usual course of treatment for illnesses similar to mine.

While I was at this healing center, I met a number of individuals with various types of catastrophic illnesses. They turned to this healing facility as a last resort. Many of them were given death dates and told that there was nothing else left to be done medically, and many were told to go see the world and say their last goodbyes. It was only under these dire circumstances that these individuals turned to macrobiotics, a lifestyle and diet to balance the body and mind.

As I spoke to some of these individuals with cancer and tumors all over their body, I learned that some of them were just beginning their macrobiotic journey, but many of them had been living macrobiotically for years and had long since surpassed their so-called death dates. How were these people recovering and healing from illnesses that were deemed terminal?!! It was amazing to witness, and I knew that if they could find healing with these horrific diseases, then I certainly could find healing, too.

I will not go into macrobiotic theory in this article, but I WILL tell you one thing that EVERY one of these sick people did at EVERY meal. They ate large quantities of cooked, leafy green vegetables—leafy green vegetables that are low in oxalic acid (not spinach or swiss chard). Yes, they ate many other very important healing foods, but this is such an easy one for anyone to do! Imagine the health benefits of eating greens three times a day! (Or even once or twice a day.) Who knows what kind of weirdo illness you can help ward off with this very simple habit!

The knowledge that I gained at this healing center was invaluable, and with this knowledge, I have been able to stay out of the hospital and manage my illness without drugs. I have incorporated greens into my daily routine, and I’m here to tell you that it’s easy, and you can do it, too.

Let me show you how.

Step 1:
Boil water in your steamer pot, or if you do not have a steamer, boil about 1-2 inches of water in the bottom of a pot. While your water is boiling, wash your green leafy vegetables in cool water. (Ideally, you will have access to organically grown produce.) In the photo below, I’m working with collard greens.

Step 2:
Slice the leaf along either side of the hard stem, but do not discard the stems! Organic vegetables are expensive, so you will want to use every part of the plant. Dry the stems and save them in your refrigerator for another day. I will post another article and tell you how I use up my collard stems.

Step 3:
Make a pile of the leaf halves.

Step 4:
Start at one end, and begin to roll your stack of greens into a tube.

Step 5:
Hold your tubes of collard greens on one end, and begin to slice your greens from the other end into thin shreds. By slicing the collards into thin shreds, a typically very tough green can be steamed and softened quickly.

Step 6:
Drop your shredded greens into your steamer or into your boiling water. Cover the pot for two minutes. After two minutes, your greens are ready to eat.

You can have your greens alongside your breakfast (which is what I do) or pack them up to eat with your lunch or dinner later in the day. Throw them into soup or chili, or eat them as a side dish with a drizzle of your favorite vinegar. Remember that preparation is key! The greens will not magically appear if you do not prepare them. Give this healthy tip a try. Be proactive about your health, and fuel up on nutrient-dense foods.

If you would like to ease into macrobiotics, Alicia Silverstone’s cookbook, is a great one to try. The “Superhero” diet that she presents is actually a macrobiotic diet. She also includes many vegan and non-macrobiotic recipes that the whole family will enjoy. There is no pressure at all to adapt a new diet and lifestyle…just a lot of encouragement to dabble and enjoy!

February 20, 2014
Green Smoothies 101: Buying the Basics

One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your diet and to start each day with a nutritional bang is to blend green smoothies. If you are ready to join the green smoothie bandwagon, you will need a few kitchen staples on hand to make this a simple, natural process each day.

Stock Your Kitchen

Surprisingly, you can create many different, delicious green smoothies with the same few base ingredients. Just mix and match the following items in your blender with a couple of new ingredients each day to change the flavor. If you are working with recipes rather than mixing up your own concoctions, don’t worry—many recipes will include a few of these ingredients. You might need to add one or two new items from the supermarket, but the staples listed here will be used repeatedly. Nothing listed here will be wasted.

-Greens

In order to make green smoothies, you will obviously need to keep green leafy vegetables on hand. If you are short on time, you can buy plastic containers full of pre-washed organic greens from the produce section of your supermarket. It’s as simple as grabbing a handful of leaves and throwing them into the blender with your other ingredients. If you happen to have an autoimmune illness that affects your joints, I recommend working with greens that are low in oxalic acid, such as kale or collard greens. Stay away from spinach and swiss chard, which are both high in oxalic acid and can aggravate your joint condition.

-Frozen berries

These days, you can find bags of frozen organic berries at most supermarkets. Buy a couple of bags of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. You can buy mixed bags of berries or bags of each individual type of berry. I recommend buying berries that you typically DO NOT eat often or do not enjoy. It’s a great way of adding variety and new nutrients to your diet. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but smoothies happen to be a great way of consuming foods that you’d rather not. Flavors and textures of any particular fruit or vegetable just disappear into blended goodness. Personally, I am not a huge fan of eating fresh blackberries. I happen to enjoy the flavor, but I can’t deal with all of the seeds. It drives me crazy, so now I consume all of my blackberries in pureed form. I just throw a nice big handful of frozen blackberries into my blender, and I get all of the benefits of eating them without actually having to deal with the unpleasant texture of the seeds.

-Frozen bananas

Buy a bunch of bananas, and allow them to ripen on your countertop for a few days. Brown bananas are not particularly appetizing to eat as a snack, but they are perfect for smoothies. Slice each banana, and freeze the slices. Frozen bananas slices blend much more easily than frozen bananas that haven’t been sliced.

-Liquid for your smoothies

I like to stock my pantry with organic, non-GMO soy milk, almond milk, and coconut water. If you prefer a smoothie with a juice base, keep your fridge stocked with orange juice, apple juice, or whatever it is that you prefer.

-Almond butter

If you are worried about getting hungry within an hour or so after consuming your smoothie, turn your drink into a stick-to-your-ribs meal by adding a tablespoon of almond butter to your blender. If you aren’t a huge fan of almond butter, try another type of nut butter, or maybe even a piece of non-GMO organic tofu.

-Fresh Ice

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve reached into my freezer to grab a handful of ice for my smoothie and realized that my ice smelled a little funky. Whether you have an automatic ice maker in your freezer like me or a few trays of ice that you fill with water and freeze yourself, check your ice before you actually need to use it! Once a month, I dump all of my ice out of the freezer bin that collects my ice cubes from the ice maker. I scrub the ice container with hot soapy water, and I collect all new ice cubes. There’s really no easier way to ruin a delicious smoothie than to fill your blender with old, stinky ice. Take the time to make sure you are using good ice. And don’t forget that you always have the option of skipping ice altogether and just adding more frozen berries instead!

-Lemons/limes

When you first start making green smoothies, you will most likely dapple with recipes that include lots of fruit. Once you become accustomed to these smoothies, you will probably start lowering the quantity of fruit and increasing the quantity of greens and other vegetables. If you move on to these more savory green smoothies, you will want to have fresh lemons and limes on hand. A good squeeze of lemon or lime really compliments any greens or herbs, like parsley, that you might add to your blender. Lemons and limes have quite a long shelf life in the refrigerator, so go ahead and buy a few. Even if you don’t use them today, you can use them in a few weeks, and they will be just as good.

January 26, 2014
Open Your Heart to Miracles

Do you have pain that just won’t go away? Pain that affects your sleeping hours as well as your waking ones? Chronic headaches? Lower back pain? Muscle injuries that just won’t heal? If not, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. For the rest of you—I’m with you, I get it, and I want to make a suggestion.

Broadly speaking, I want you to start living with your heart and mind open to possibilities—possibilities for healing that you might not believe in or understand at the moment. Possibilities that even Western medicine and science can’t explain. When the drugs aren’t working and the medical treatments seem ineffective, open your mind, open your heart, and head down the path to alternative healing methods. Not everything in the world is yet understood. Just because it’s not understood doesn’t mean that it’s not real. Open your heart and mind, and you just might find yourself a miracle.

Acupuncture

I had no intention to blog about this topic today, but I am very excited about my experience this morning. I just walked into my house from my very first acupuncture treatment. Yes, acupuncture, with all of those needles everywhere—a total nightmare for someone like me, who is afraid of needles. I decided last week that I would overcome my fear of needles (or at least tolerate the fear) for the possibility of reduced pain. I am so DONE with my back hurting and my leg hurting.

Over the past 6 months, I’ve seen doctors. I’ve had an MRI, and an EMG. I’ve been treated with traction, electric stim, heat, ice, exercise, manual therapy, ultrasound and various rocktaping techniques. Have I improved? Yes, but I am still in pain, and I am sick of hurting.

So this morning, after taking a complete medical history and asking a number of questions about my life, I got onto the table, face down, and the acupuncturist got to work. I know that many people say that you don’t even feel the needles in acupuncture, but that wasn’t the case for me. The needles themselves are quite thin, but I found the insertion of each needle to be quite uncomfortable. I felt a strange muscle cramping sensation under each needle, and I had to quiet my mind and relax my body. Given that I am afraid of needles, I kept my eyes closed the entire time to avoid seeing anything reminiscent of Hellraiser. Interestingly enough, the needles are not just placed at the site of the pain. In fact, I had more needles in my ears and arms than I did in my leg or back.

After a few minutes, the feeling of the needles disappeared into nothingness, and I managed to relax enough to dose off. After the acupuncturist roused me from my little nap, she removed all of the needles, which was a painless procedure, and told me to flip over onto my back. I had so many reservations about doing this. For almost 5 years now, I have been unable to lie on my back for more than a few minutes. The pain in my sacroiliac joint is just too severe. In yoga class, I rest in savasana on my side. At night, I sleep on my side. In physical therapy, all exercises have been modified so that I am never supine for more than a minute or two. I explained my reservations to the acupuncturist, and she tried to make me as comfortable as possible, but clearly, she needed me flat on my back. I crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn’t be too crippled at the end of the treatment. Again, I closed my eyes, dealt with the muscle cramping as each needle was inserted into my skin, and tried to relax. I think I might have dosed off again because I was startled when the acupuncturist told me that the treatment was over and that I could get dressed.

My Little Miracle

I will never forget the moment when I sat up. I had NO back pain. I mean NONE!!! What the heck? How is that even possible? I’ve been unable to lie on my back for 5 years without terrible pain, and after just 1 acupuncture session, I am able to lie on my back and get up without a trace of pain? Insane. My mind is blown. The acupuncturist explained something about increasing blood flow to the SI joint and unblocking meridians, but it was all “blah blah blah” to me. I was too busy being shocked. I have no idea how long the effects of this treatment will last or if it will ultimately help my hamstring, too, but I am now a believer, and I have already booked my next appointment.

Keep your mind and heart open, folks. You never know where it will lead you.

January 16, 2014