Here in Connecticut, the first days of spring have meant a return to freezing temperatures, replete with dashes of snow and sleet. To warm up from the inside out, I’ve been making this Hearty Hemp Hearts Porridge that may tantalize your taste buds, while also helping to better your health. This warm, grain-free porridge is packed with fiber, disease-fighting antioxidants, healthy fats and … [Read more...]
When it comes to our personal experience of the world around us, perception is everything. How we perceive our environment is largely influenced by the information our brains receive from our senses, which help us to determined how to behave and what to feel in a given situation. Every day, we rely on the five most recognizable senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. However, our brains … [Read more...]
Our minds have the power to either make us or break us, depending on whether we choose to focus on the positive or the negative. Our brain interprets the thoughts we allow to tumble around repeatedly in our minds as reality, whether they are actually true or not. No matter how often the people we care about compliment and encourage us (or criticize and discourage us), our niggling inner voice … [Read more...]
Twenty-one million adults have diabetes in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports.Tragically, another 8.1 million adults have the disease but are yet to be diagnosed and thus are not treating a condition that can have devastating effects on the body. To improve detection of the disease in the United States, Sam’s Club stores across the country are hosting … [Read more...]
I often tag my yoga pics with #PracticeMakesProgress to remind myself that the goal of my practice is NOT perfection. The reason I get on the mat is to express my dedication to healing and healthy living. I get on the mat to Embody My Body, to feel all the sensations that sometimes get buried in the harried activity of day-to-day life, to listen to the messages the body is trying to tell … [Read more...]
My life revolved around gymnastics for much of my childhood, as I proudly grew from a tiny tumblebee of age 4 to a competitive gymnast in adolescence. As the type of athlete who thrived on strength and speed, one of my absolute favorite things was to go whipping through the air backwards. At the request of my friends, I would not-so humbly tumble through a succession of back handsprings and … [Read more...]
There are periods of my life when I have grown paralyzed while facing the veiled path of the future that lies ahead. The plethora of choices available to me overwhelms: Which direction is the correct one to pursue right now? Can I follow it without completely neglecting my other desired paths? What if I make the wrong choice? Other times, the choice is clear, but uncertainty confounds me. What … [Read more...]
Has anyone else been feeling out-of-sorts today leading up to tonight's full moon? Other folks have been describing the unexpected fatigue I woke up to, as if needing to cocoon ourselves for a spell before opening up a fresh pair of wings once again to embrace the sky. As we shift into a new cycle, a new month, it is a perfect time to let go of what no longer serves us. To let go of self-doubt. … [Read more...]
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the largest public health concerns facing an aging American population. An estimated 5.2 million Americans have this progressive, neurological disease, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the most common form of dementia. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which gradually interferes with a person’s ability to … [Read more...]
When what to wear while doing yoga, my number one concern is comfort. If yoga pants or shorts grip my gut too tightly, they limit my range of motion in forward folds, and if they are riding up my crotch or straining against my thighs, it impedes my extension in lunges and splits. Breathability of the material is my second big concern. When I flow through a very active yoga practice, I definitely … [Read more...]