7 Life Lessons I Learned from Yoga

March 13, 2013 By 10 Comments

I’ve learned some cool stuff recently—some powerful words of wisdom that have proven helpful in my quest towards inner calm.

At yoga.

So yoga may not be everybody’s cup of tea—but it is mine. At least, for the past five months it has been. And I’ve noticed a difference in the way I manage my emotions. This is not a post about all the wonderful health benefits of yoga (of which there are many). But rather a recap of some of the emotional learnings I’ve taken away from my yoga practice over the past several months.

7 life lessons I learned from yoga:

1. Stay in the present. Don’t reach into the past or into the future. Center yourself in the now. This, for sure, is a discipline that takes a great deal of practice to master. But only when we let go of the anger, sadness, frustration of yesterday and the fears, anxiety, expectations of tomorrow will we be able to truly find happiness in today. I want this. Boy do I want this. While I’m making progress, I haven’t yet gotten it down. But I will continue to work on it. I will always keep trying.

2. When you feel your mind start to spin, bring it back to your breath. All the craziness in your head—the regrets, the pressures, the fears, the to-do lists, the never ending whirlwind of thoughts—can truly take on a life of its own. It certainly does for me. But when that happens and the the anxiety kicks into gear, I try to bring myself back to my breath—deep breath in, deep breath out. By focusing on the act of breathing, I give myself a little break from persistent worries vying for position in my mind.

3. Don’t shy away from discomfort. One time a few weeks ago when I found myself in a yoga position that made me (and I imagine a few others as well) want to run away crying, my instructor said this to the class: “I know it’s uncomfortable, but so is life sometimes. When you feel like you can’t take it anymore, you can. Don’t be afraid of discomfort.” She was right. I hate being out of my comfort zone. Really hate it. But in life, we are often forced to that place. So we might as well accept it, face it and push through.

4. You can do it. Trust in yourself. Whether trying for a standing split or a facing a seemingly insurmountable real-life obstacle, I am to trust in myself. At least, that’s what my yoga instructor has advised me to do. I often doubt my own abilities, yoga or otherwise. I lose confidence in myself and sometimes give up before even trying. But what if I had a little more faith in myself? What if I went into a difficult situation—or pose—with an I-can-do-it attitude? Would I get even farther? Probably. So that’s what I intend to do—trust in myself.

5. Cut yourself some slack. Through yoga, I’m learning to accept where I am at any given moment. Sometimes I’m awesome, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I can forward bend with my hands planted firmly on the ground, other times I can only reach my ankles.  Sometimes I am supermom and get it all right. Other times, I am scatterbrain-mom and screw it all up. But that’s okay. To hold myself to the standard of perfection every day will only set me up for failure. So, I choose to give myself a break.

6. When it seems unbearable, smile. They say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. Not sure if it’s true, but it makes sense, right? Think of how much better it feels to smile than to pout. I have read that even a forced smile has the power to change one’s attitude for the better. The other day in yoga, I experienced it first hand while attempting a plank that seemed to go on forever. “Smile,” she instructed us. And I did. And it helped… for a few extra seconds before I finally collapsed. Plank or not, this strategy seems easy enough to try from time to time, doesn’t it? Yes… yes it does.

7. Honor your inner light—the divine presence that resides within. When I am told to do this at the end of each class, I close my eyes and imagine. I force myself into the present moment and picture a light shining bright that is my own. Even if only for a few seconds, this thought grounds me and connects my inner self.

As I continue my practice of yoga, I imagine my list of emotional learnings will only grow. But for now, I will focus on ideas above and continue to work on finding that inner peace that I know resides within me.

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Related:

Seeing past the pain
Triggers
Worry and Control

photo source: freedigitalphotos.net

Filed Under: Mama's Sanity, Mom's Musings, Physical well being, Positive Attitude Tagged With: , , , ,

Healthy habits progress report…

January 17, 2013 By 10 Comments

Back in September, I wrote a post about all the new healthy habits I was going to adopt. (You can read about it here.) Since it is now January—a time for looking inward and taking stock—I thought it would be a good idea to revisit that list to see how I’m doing.

So here goes… the moment of truth:

Go to at least one yoga class a week

√+

Not only have I been consistently going to Yoga, I’m taking classes that push me to the limit—classes that make me sweat and give me sore muscles the next day.  More than the total body workout I feel like I’m getting (some of those poses are a bitch to hold!), I am finding that it calms my anxious mind. This is one habit I intend to keep.

My new goal: take two yoga classes a week. There are two at my gym that fit perfectly into my schedule, so no excuses.

Drink at least one cup of green tea per day

√++

I am officially obsessed with green tea. This makes me sound like the lamest person on the planet — I mean, who’s obsessed with green tea? Could I not find a more fun obsession, like wine or chocolate? Apparently not. Anyhoo, here’s the deal: Research shows that drinking up to 32 to 40 oz of green tea per day can scavenge free radicals (those thingies that do all sorts of bad stuff to your body). With that in mind, I started drinking it like a fiend. On average, I consume about 35 – 40 oz of green tea per day.

I attribute my modest green tea consumption to two things:

First, my super cool 20-oz Monster’s Inc. mug. Two of these mugfuls per day and I’m golden.

Second, the awesome variety of green teas on the market. I have about 6 different kids—from mint to jasmine, to candy cane to blueberry to Constant Comment and more. My green tea doesn’t taste like green tea; it tastes like whatever yummy flavor it comes in, and I love it!

 

Continue drinking lots of water

√-

At one point, I was drinking water like it was going out of style. But since I’ve upped my daily intake of tea, my water intake has dropped. But that’s okay. Drinking tea (which I do without sugar) gives me the same benefits as water, like keeping me hydrated and flushing my system of toxins. So, I’m giving myself a √- because while I’m not drinking lots of plain water, I am hydrating like crazy.

Take more cooking classes

X

I haven’t taken a single cooking class since I wrote the original post. BUT, it’s for good reason. My consulting work has picked up and I’ve been busy making money. That said, I do intend to try to squeeze in one or two over the next few months. In fact, I just got my dad for his birthday a cooking class for the two of us. He wants to learn how to cook and I could always use a refresher. So in April, we will learn about seven different ways to cook with eggs (creme brûlée is involved).

Eat more fruit and veggies

√+

Yup, I’ve done well here. A few months ago, at the urging of a friend of mine, I bought a super green powder called Greens First. It’s basically a whole bunch of healthy stuff (much of which nobody’s ever heard of, like spirala and chlorella) that’s been juiced and dried at a low temperature to maintain its nutritional properties. One scoop provides the antioxidants of nine fruits and veggies. I usually mix it into a tasty smoothie that usually includes some variation of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, pineapple, raspberries and grapefruit or orange juice. (And of course, a few teaspoons of elderberry syrup for an extra immune boost during flu season.)

 

Hit the gym at least 3 days per week

√- 

So here’st he deal with the gym: I definitely haven’t been doing three days a week. At one point, I was doing two, one of which was yoga. So, I guess I haven’t achieved this goal.  That said, my new strategy, as mentioned above, is to take two challenging yoga classes a week. I have decided to only focus on this and skip the treadmill for a bit. I’d like to see how I fare going the yoga route. I hope I see measurable results because I really hate working out. I’d much rather take a few yoga classes.

Deep breathing

√-

I practice my deep breathing when I think of it, but not as often as I need to. When I’m feeling anxious it’s my first course of action, so at least there’s that. But I really need to just spend a few minutes a day doing deep breathing, not including when I’m doing it in yoga. Even as I sit here now and type, my breathing is shallow. I just had to stop myself and take ten deep breaths. That’s what I need to do more of.

Stretching

√

I stretch here and there, but not every day. That said, yoga does an excellent job at forcing me into all sorts of crazy stretches—ones that supposedly “squeeze the toxins out of my kidneys” and “stimulate my immune system,” and so on.  So, I’m not stretching every day, but when I do in yoga, I’m doing a pretty thorough job of it.

So there it is. I am relatively proud of my progress. Sure, if I did all of the above items consistently, I’d be better off. But compared to where I was a year ago, I’m way ahead of the game.

If you’d like to try any of the stuff I mentioned above, I’ve got links to it in my sidebar. I would be lost without Amazon!

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Filed Under: Mom's Musings, Nutrition, Physical well being, Positive Attitude Tagged With: , , , , ,

Foods to Fight Breast Cancer

October 25, 2012 By 4 Comments

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And every year at this time, it seems I learn a little bit more about the disease. I have a couple of friends who’ve had to deal with breast cancer — either personally or in their families — and in honor of them, I decided to write about it today.

Did you know that a woman has a 1 in 8 chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime? I’ll admit it, this scares me. But there’s good news: according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, it is estimated that one-third of the most common cancers — breast included — could be prevented through a healthier diet, adequate physical activity and a healthy body weight.

Why is this good news? Because this is something we can control.  We, as human beings, have the great privilege of being able to choose what we eat and how physically active we are.

Inspired by this information, this girl did her research (as usual). I uncovered a number of foods that have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer.

10 Foods to Fight Breast Cancer:

Cruciferous vegetables (i.e. broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage)  - Mom always told you to eat your broccoli. Turns out, mom was right. Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolate, a natural chemical that is thought to help enhance the body’s defenses against cancer.

Spinach - A study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found that women who consumed spinach twice per week were 44% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who didn’t. The agents in spinach–chlorophyll, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, and micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants–all work together to help prevent cancer.

Garlic - Foods in the garlic and onion family contain allium compounds which may helpthe body’s natural defense against cancer. Allyl sulfides are thought to block the effects of carcinogens and slow the development of stomach, esophagus, colon, lung and breast cancer.

Fatty Fish – The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish, such as salmon, fresh tuna, herring and mackerel, have not only been proven to contribute to heart health, but are also thought to protect against and slow the spread of hormone-related tumor cells.

Flax Seeds - Research shows that the phytoestrogens, or “plant estrogens,” found in flax seeds may help to block estrogen, thereby reducing the risk of certain types of estrogen-related of cancers, including uterine, prostate and breast.

Cherries - Cherries contain a natural compound, perillyl alcohol, which has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in pancreatic, liver, lung and breast cancer.

Tomatoes – The lycopene present in tomatoes (which can also be found in pink grapefruit, watermelon and apricots) is thought to destroy harmful free radicals (unstable molecules that can form into cells that promote cancer growth) and also slow the growth of breast cancer cells.

Olive Oil - The lignans found in extra virgin olive oil is a potent antioxidant that has been shown to suppress early cancer cell changes in colon, prostate and breast cancers. In fact, a 2008 study published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine reported a link between olive oil and a reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

Berries - Containing a whole host of cancer-fighting compounds, including anthocyanins, ellagic acid, kaempferol and quercetin, berries are thought to neutralize free radicals in healthy cells and slow the growth of breast cancer.

Green Tea – Green tea contains, EGCG, a catechin that has been shown to scavenge free radicals and reduce tumors in early stages and slow the growth of cancer cells.

More than adding these healthy gems to your diet, experts also recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, keeping saturated fats and salt to a minimum, and maintaining a healthy weight — particularly for post-menopausal women.

Sources:
Reader’s Digest: Fight Back With Food
9 Foods for Breast Cancer Prevention
Breast Cancer Prevention Foods

Related posts:
How to live a longer life
Why water?
Foods you think are healthy, but…

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Filed Under: Nutrition, Physical well being, Positive Attitude Tagged With: ,

Fooducate: Making Better Choices While Grocery Shopping

October 7, 2012 By 14 Comments

I don’t love reading nutritional labels. It’s hard to know what to even look for: how much fiber is enough; How much salt is too much; which ingredients are artificial and potentially dangerous.

I’ve just discovered a way to make it a little bit easier: Fooducate. This super cool mobile app grades individual food items based on a variety of nutritional factors. It’s so easy to use and extremely informative. (No, this is not a product review. I just happen to love this app!)

So, here are the features of the app, as described on the site: (and no, this is not a paid product review. I just happen to love this app!):

  • Created by dietitians and concerned parents
  • Uses your mobile’s camera to effortlessly scan UPC barcode
  • Over 200,000 unique products and growing daily
  • Simplified information helps you make better choices
  • Works on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android OS version 2.2 and up

With Fooducate, I have made some eye-opening discoveries, which I plan to share with you on an ongoing basis. Today, I will be talking about some common kids food items: cereal, cookies and snacks.

First up: cereal for kids.

I compared Capt’n Crunch, Frosted Flakes, Life, Fiber One Frosted Shredded Wheat and Cheerios. Here’s what I found out:

CAP’N CRUNCH

Okay, not so suprising. Actually, I expected it to get a D or lower. But either way, I’m staying away from this one.

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FROSTED FLAKES


This one was a little surprising. Yeah, there’s sugar, but I figured it’s covering healthy flakes. But healthy it’s not; it contains the controversial BHT additive, which is thought to be a potential carcinogen. No thanks.

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LIFE CEREAL

Getting better, but still not nearly as good as what you’d think based on its commercials. This, too, has the BTH additive. I think I’ll pass — which is a shame because my kids love it.

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FIBER ONE FROSTED SHREDDED WHEAT

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! Similar to Kellog’s Frosted Mini-Wheats, Fiber One Frosted Shredded Wheat is an excellent choice. Though it, too, has 3 tsp of sugar per serving, it’s also packed with fiber and iron. Unlike it’s Kellog’s counterpart, this gem does not come with the BTH additive. My kids love it.  This one is in my pantry as we speak.

————-

CHEERIOS


And we have another winner! This one, I’m sure, comes as no surprise to anyone. Cheerios really is the gold standard of cereals. My kids love it and so does the American Heart Association. Awesome + Awesome = Super Awesome!

Next Up: Kids cookies.

My kids love cookies. If we don’t have some sort of cookies on hand, I have to hear about how the other kids’ moms are so much cooler because they have “good food” in their houses. So cookies I must have.

That said, I compared Snackwell’s, Nilla Wafers and Oreos. See my discoveries below:

SNACKWELL’S

Trans fats! No, no, no! Trans fats are evil; they are the worst of all the fats around! And highly processed? Another big no-no. That said, no Snackwells for this family.

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NILLA WAFERS

Trans fats and highly processed–again? Okay, bye bye Nilla Wafers. You’re not what I thought you were.

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OREOS


We have a winner! Oreos… yay!  Okay, I’m not saying it’s a super food or anything, but as far as cookies go, you could do worse. Here’s what the good folks over at Fooducate have to say about it:

“Unlike other industrial cookies, classic Oreo cookies do not have artificial colors or partially hydrogenated oils. And while Oreos are high in sugar, one serving of Oreos (3 cookies) has less sugar than a single serving of most juices.”

As for the High Fructose Corn Syrup, it’s not great. We all know that. But experts now believe that it’s no worse than regular sugar.

That said, for an occasional cookie, I’m turning to Oreos. Of the three, this one is by far my kids’ favorite anyway. Win-win.

Final category for today: kids munchies.

I always struggle with which snacks to put in my kids’ lunch boxes for school. So, I compared Cheez-its, Pirates Booty, Pretzels, Goldfish and Triscuits. 

CHEEZ-ITS

Really? Cheezits? I’m a bit surprised by this one. But here’s the deal: it’s made with refined flours and it has another controversial additive– TBHQ. This one is a petroleum derivative that can cause nausea, delirium, and ringing of the ears. Granted, that’s probably if ingested in large doses, but still.

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PIRATE’S BOOTY

This one doesn’t go into detail on the screen shot about why it’s not so awesome, but I did a little research. Though Pirates Booty doesn’t contain any of the really bad stuff, it doesn’t have much to offer, nutritionally speaking.

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PRETZELS

I’ve talked about pretzels before. It seems like a healthy snack, but it’s made with simple carbs and, like Pirates Booty, doesn’t offer much in the way of added nutrients. You could do worse, but you could do better.

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GOLDFISH

The runner up goes to Goldfish. No, it’s not made from 100% whole wheat, but it’s still better than most snacks out there. But keep in mind, this rating is for the original version, not flavor blasted or pizza flavored. Those have all sorts of added stuff that brings the ratings down.

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TRISCUIT CRACKERS

The best of the four options: Triscuits! It’s made with whole grains and is low in fat and calories. Don’t want the original version? No problem; the flavored versions, including Touch of Salt, Garden Herb, Parmesan Garlic and more, all come in at a B+ as well!

So, there you have it. Some of my recent lessons learned in the supermarket. Stay tuned for my next installment in this series, to come next month.

For more like this, see posts on nutrition.

For healthy eating tips and tricks, see How To Eat Healthy Without Noticing: A Non-dieter’s Guide To Eating Better. 

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Filed Under: Food Tips and Tricks, Nutrition, Physical well being Tagged With: , , ,

My “get healthy” to-do list – Can I do it?

September 5, 2012 By 22 Comments

Every September, I have some sort of grand plan in my head of new productive things I plan to do when the kids go back to school. But then the hustle and bustle of school gets going and I quickly forget it all. Nothing gets accomplished.

This year, I thought I’d write my big ideas down and share them on the interweb so I can possibly hold myself more accountable.

Here’s my “get healthy” to-do list:

Go to one Yoga class a week. I did yoga years ago before I had kids. But in the last ten years, I think I’ve taken one class. I have a girlfriend who’s a yoga instructor and she is full of all sorts of awesomeness. (You know who you are, my friend!)  She’s had to deal with a lot of crap over the past few years. Yet through it all, she’s stayed positive and calm. She’s been a huge inspiration to me in how she’s handled her many ups and downs. She attributes much of her calm and positive attitude to Yoga. I want me some of that.

Drink at least one cup of Green Tea a day. Green tea has all sorts of healing powers. It’s thought to help prevent and fight cancer, reduce the risk of heart disease and boost metabolism. I have it in my house. It’s easy to make. So why not?

Continue drinking lots of water. I started this kick last June or so and since then I’ve been doing pretty well with it. I need to keep it going. As a matter of fact, since drinking more water, I’ve noticed fewer headaches.  And I’m sure I’m benefitting in other ways that I’m just not seeing as well.

Take more cooking classes. I am fortunate enough to have an excellent little cooking school the next town over. I’ve taken a few classes there already and I loved them! Cooking is a stress reducer (that is, if I’m not rushing to stuff food down my kids’ throats before running out the door to soccer practice or something). So, the more I cook — particularly if I can cook healthy meals — the more I can relieve stress… I think.

Eat more fruit and veggies. I talked about this in a recent post but I felt it warranted another mention. Specifically, I want to eat more broccoli, avocado, red grapes, apples and lemon (in my water). I did some research about the best power foods and these are the ones that I think I could work into my regular diet. Things like Guava and chia seeds… not so much.

Hit the gym three days a week. This is always my goal. But if I’m being honest, it usually ends up being more like two days. Also, I recently read something about how strength training is better for losing weight than cardio. That’s great because I hate cardio and I enjoy strength training. So, 30 minutes on the treadmill and/or stair thingy, then another 3o doing toning and stretching. Monday, Wednesday Friday. That’s my goal. It’s not much, but it’s all I can commit to.

Deep breathing. Most of us don’t breathe properly. Most of us take shallow breaths from our chest, when what we really need is to take deep breaths that originate from the belly. Deep breathing oxygenates the brain to reduce anxiety, relieves muscle tension, helps to alleviate pain, stimulates the lymphatic system to remove toxins, boosts the immune system, helps in weight loss efforts, takes pressure of the heart and more. I know all this, yet I continue to forget to do it. My goal is to stop three times during the course of my day for some deep breathing exercises.  Maybe I’ll set an alarm — say for 10:00, 2:00 and before bed sometime? Something like that.

Stretch. I sit at my computer for hours on end, hunched over in a non-ergonimically correct position. I feel the aches and pains from my right hand all the way up my arm and into my neck and back. I need to stretch every time I get off the computer. Without this, I’ll end up with tendonitis again. And that sucked, so no thanks.

So that’s it for now. And these are only my healthy lifestyle goals. The next list I make should probably have something to do with my professional goals for the year (the school year, that is). Not sure I’m looking forward to that one.

Maybe in a month, I can report back on my progress. Here’s hoping I can stay true to my goals!

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