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Filtering by Category: Health
If you are looking for a quick and healthy fix try this summer salad that one of my best friends, Kelly shared with me. All you need to do is mix avocado, grapefruit and sunflower seeds in a bowl. No olive oil, salt or pepper needed! The juiciness of the grapefruit acts a salad dressing and it is so delicious. Yummmmy!
Good Morning!
Give this home-made drink a try if you are looking for a cleansing and energetic start to the day!
In my last post, I made a recommendation to add a regular mediation practice into your life in order to aid with sleep. Along with this, meditation is said to have several benefits for the body including:
The question usually becomes for someone just getting started is, "How do I meditate?" During my 200 - hour yoga teacher training, we learned a 3-Step Process to help beginners:
A "comfortable seat" recommended is typically seated on the floor with your legs crossed and your hips elevated by using a cushion or a blanket. Or you may choose to sit in a chair with your back straight and your feet pressed firmly into the ground. Your hands can be resting on your knees or at your side. The idea is to feel comfortable so that you don't fidget too much.
There are several forms of meditation that you can experiment with:
One point I would like to stress is the common misconceptions about meditation. Most people tend to think they should make their mind blank and stop all thoughts. That's not the goal. I'm here to tell you, that if you are human, your mind will take charge and the intention is to simply become aware of the thoughts and to observe them. Don't attach yourself to them and if you find you get lost on a certain thought pattern, just return to the breath or to your mantra.
The last tip I'll leave you with is that I find the best time to meditate is first thing in the morning or at evening. In our training materials, they say sunrise and sunset, when the night is meeting the day and the day is meeting the night.
"Meditation is a process of lightening up, of trusting the basic goodness of what we have and who we are, and of realizing that any wisdom that exists, exists in what we already have." -- Pema Chodron
You've probably read hundreds of articles dedicated to the subject of sleep. Since we spend a huge chunk of our lives in a horizontal position, it rightfully deserves a lot of conversation. For reasons that have affected my family growing up, I'm addicted to feeling well rested -- so much so, that I've dedicated an entire section on my website to products that I've found help me "sleep like a baby."
Here are the top 5 recommendations that I would make to someone that is looking for a good night of sleep:
1. Exercise. Mental exhaustion is not the same as physical exhaustion. Do something active every single day even if it is just 25 squats and 25 push ups in the morning before going to work. Get a FitBit and make it a goal to hit 10,000 steps. Do yoga. Take a class at your gym. Go running with a buddy outside. Just do something to help wear your body down so that it is ready for sleep.
2. Don't Eat Too Late. Every time I have a late dinner and then try to fall asleep I'm just setting myself up for disaster. Try to eat dinner on the earlier side so that your body isn't working harder than it needs to when it comes time to get rest. In addition, it's good to give your digestive system a break. If you eat before 8pm and don't eat breakfast until 8am, you're giving your belly the much needed rest it deserves.
3. Shut Down ALL Screens. Don't expect to be able to fall asleep immediately after sending a text or getting those last minute emails done or, for that matter, while watching TV in bed (the worst!). Go old school and read a book in bed for at least fifteen minutes prior to sleep, preferably fiction to give your brain a chance to stop thinking about everything that happened that day or all of the things you need to accomplish tomorrow.
4. Pamper Yourself. Take a salt bath or a long shower. Deep condition your hair. Exfoliate. Shave. Oil yourself with coconut or sesame oil afterwards. And use lavender oil just before getting into bed to calm your nervous system.
5. Meditate. If all else fails and you find you are having two or three inconsistent nights of sleep, consider adding a regular meditation practice into your routine. My next post will provide some tips on this as it deserves more discussion than just a paragraph. I've found this to be extremely beneficial in getting some serious shut-eye.
Having a mother diagnosed with narcolepsy in her late thirties has brought on an unsettling fear of sleep deprivation (given that the disease is hereditary). Getting eight hours of sleep is a non-negotiable for me, whether that means going to bed earlier or getting up a little later to ensure feeling well rested each day.
Admittedly, living in a society that prides itself on working long hours and running ourselves too thin, this can prove very difficult. But I do my best, because as the infographic below shows, loss of sleep can mean loss of our minds and health...even after the first bad night.
Getting the appropriate amount of shut-eye is easier said than done, so in my next post, I'll provide some tips on how I prepare myself for a restful night (and unfortunately, it doesn't include red wine!). I'm an advocate of giving 100% to our families, jobs and nurturing our relationships, but if we're walking around like zombies, and it feels appropriate to have a bottle of wine at the end of each night in celebration that we made it through the day, then, really, what is the point of it all?
Here's to getting more SLEEEEEEEEP and in return, receiving the joy out of life that we all so much deserve.
