Swimsuit Yoga

It was so beautiful yesterday that I decided to bust out some yoga moves. It's been a while since I've posted a pose/how-to guide, so I figured I'd share with you all. By the way, I don't normally do yoga in a bathing suit - only sometimes.


Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel pose)

This has been one of my favorite poses as of late because it really stretches and strengthens my back. I've had a sore/stiff back recently, so stretching it out is absolutely necessary; I feel longer and looser after this pose. It also gives me a boost of energy, which I always appreciate.


Here is a great how-to guide from Yoga Journal. I would write out my own, but it's much better explained there. Also, if you can't handle a full wheel pose, then start in Bridge pose and once you feel comfortable there:
- Put your hands by your ears, fingers facing your shoulders.
- Exhale everything out. All the tension, worries, etc. Release.
- Inhale. As you inhale, press into the ground with your legs and palms. Push into the ground as hard as you can until your arms are straight, your back is completely lifted off the mat, crown of the head is facing the ground and your thighs are engaged. Breathe.

If you can't do the post perfectly, it's no big deal. My poses are rarely perfect. When all else fails, just breathe.

Namaste.

Loving Lunch and Yoga

I'm having an absolute blast discovering how great lunch can be! Seriously, it's like I'm discovering the meal for the first time. I normally consider the middle of the day as the "throwaway" part; I love mornings and evenings but my energy is lower in the afternoon and I don't usually have much going on when I'm not in school. Plus, as I mentioned before, when I was severely restricting my calories I barely ate anything for lunch because I wanted to reserve my calories for other meals. I know my lunch today isn't exactly big or calorie dense, but boy was it filling and refreshing!


Salad monster with romaine, carrots, cucumber, summer squash, chickpeas, clover sprouts, a drizzle of red wine vinegar + olive oil with S&P and oregano.


Complete with olive Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips (LOVE these) and perfectly crisp grapes.


All together now (with strawberry sparkling mineral water - always better in a fun glass).

Not only am I stuffed, but I'm totally rejuvenated after doing 20 minutes of Gentle Hatha 3 and 35 minutes of Power Yoga 4, both from Yoga Download. This was my first time doing the Power Yoga routine and I loved it. There is an intense focus on compassion and love for yourself and others in this flow which I really enjoy, plus the poses made me feel stretched and refreshed. I might do some Core Yoga or Yoga for Buns (mostly for kicks) later as well. I love yoga!


Namaste (excuse the sweatiness).

I'm Bringing Yogurt Back

As much as I love my SIAB, I was craving something different for breakfast this morning. So, I brought back my yogurt bowl!


In the mix:
- Wildwood plain soyogurt
- Banana
- Nature's Path hemp granola
- Slivered almonds
- Bberries
- Shredded coconut
- Cinnamon
- Flax


Unfortunately a little tumeric got in the mix at first because I grabbed that instead of the cinnamon (what? it looks similar) but luckily I salvaged everything and it tasted delicious. I love the combination of coconut/blueberry/almond. Yum!

Yesterday I did 60 minutes of yoga (morning routine and weight loss yoga 1 & 2 from Yoga Download) throughout the day after not doing it as regularly as I usually do, and my body was tight! It took a while to get my muscles and body warm but when I did, it felt awesome. I love how yoga is like riding a bike - it takes some getting used to after a hiatus, but it always comes naturally. My body was in pain and the work out definitely kicked my butt, but it felt awesome.

I think some pool lounging and gym going is in order for today. Stay tuned for a new recipe that I'm excited to share. :)

Strike A Pose

I've focused a lot on food in this blog and not enough on exercise! Like many bloggers, I do yoga; I'm very into it and do it daily. So, I thought I'd show you two of my favorite poses (I apologize in advance for the heinous panty lines):


Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge pose)



Bridge pose is excellent because it strengthens the spine and the legs. The pose also allows your chin to lock into your jugular notch, which stimulates the thyroid.

An excellent, detailed how-to can be found: Here.

Now, my favorite pose of all time:

Halasana (Plow pose)


Plow is another pose which stimulates the thyroid. It also stretches the spine and hamstrings. My favorite part about this pose is that it is an excellent de-stresser. I feel amazing every single time I do it; it relieves headaches and body tension or pain. It took me a while to be able to do this, so beginners, don't be discouraged.

How-to for this awesome pose can be found: Here.
Note: You can place your hands on the small of your back or extend them. I do this pose twice in one routine, the first with my hands on my back and the second with them extended.

"Mom, can you take pictures of me doing yoga?" received a similar look to her catching me taking pictures of my yogurt, but I think she's used to my craziness by now. That being said, would anyone be interested in seeing more of my favorite poses? It's interesting seeing pictures of myself doing yoga, so I'd definitely be interested in taking more.

Namaste.

87 degrees today?!

Yes, that's right. Menopausal western Massachusetts is having a hot flash today, but I'm not complaining! I wait all year for weather like this. Anyway, this morning I concocted quite possibly the most unappealing looking "green" smoothie in existence:



Chocolate covered strawberry smoothie

Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 cup almond milk
- 8 frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- ice
- stevia, to taste

The verdict? Good, but not as fulfilling as I enjoy. It was actually pretty watery. Now I understand why it's important to use a banana as a base. I do, however, think this mix would be fabulous in oats. Hm.



Now, I'll wait for the sweet potato to finish baking (part of dinner!) and then go for a run. I tried a new morning yoga sequence (from Yoga Today) and enjoyed it a lot, so hopefully I'll begin to get out of my yoga rut soon.

Food rut

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a few days, mostly because I don't think I've eaten anything blog-worthy. Which leads me to this question: What do you do when you're in a food rut? I don't know what to make anymore and whatever I do make just doesn't amaze me. Nothing I've made has been bad, but it hasn't been anything spectacular, either. When I eat a meal, I want to be wowed. Here are a couple recent eats, anyway:


A whole wheat/flax wrap filled with chickpea salad, salsa, spinach, and avocado. For the chickpea salad I used a cayenne mayonnaise and added cilantro, lime juice and diced red pepper. On the side I had kale chips sprinkled with nooch and fresh pineapple. Note: there are few things in life better than fresh, juicy pineapple.

Tonight I was randomly craving breakfast, so that's what I had:


Tofu scramble (I OD'd a little on the tumeric) with crimini mushrooms and spinach with a savory pancake recipe adapted from Heather Eats Almond Butter.

Instead of making the pancakes pizza inspired, I made mine Indian spiced. I used:
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin, cardomom and ginger

and added it to the oat flour/flax/S&P and water mixture. I topped them with baba ghanoush.

The pancakes were good, but didn't pack as much of a punch as I would have preferred. I guess I wanted something more, but I'm not sure what. The scramble was pretty awesome, though, especially for it being my first one.

This post definitely proved to me that I eat my greens.

On another note, I think I'm slowly losing interest in yoga and gaining interest in running. I've been using the same videos for months and while I enjoy yoga, I want to spice things up. I don't have the funds to pay for classes or videos online, so I'm pretty limited. I tried something new today and it ended horribly, so I guess I'm in a yoga rut, too.

I need to get out of these ruts!