Ahh, the joy of YOGA!
I am quickly falling more and more in love with practicing yoga. I cannot believe how relaxing and soothing it truly is for me. If I am having a stressful, irritating day, I just bust a few yoga poses out and I usually feel much better!
On September 17, 2008 I had a life changing TIA/mini-stroke while at the fair with my daughter and young sister-in-law. Since this day, I have been struggling with unbearable pain that has been recently diagnosed as fibromyalgia. Never again will I wake up the same person that I was prior to September 17th. During these long 9 months I have gone through a journey into the deepest darkest realms of my mind, only to return, a changed and better version of myself. This change, this positive me, I contribute to a variety of things. The most resonating of which is practicing yoga.
Yoga takes me to a calm, peaceful place within myself. All while strenghtening, toning, lengthening and healing my body. Yes that’s right, healing. Due to my fibromyalgia, I have pain and stiffness that on some days, my medications do not help. (However, my new medicine has been a miracle drug for me). So, on the days that I have these pains, I now know which yoga poses to practice to stretch them out. Due to the fact that yoga is indeed a vigorous exercise, your body secretes endorphins. This secretion of endorphins increases the tolerance to pain therefore helping prevent some of the many daily aches and pains. I may be experiencing them…I just don’t know because my pain tolerance is increasing all thanks to the healthy lifestyle that I lead.
Filed under Yoga | Comment (0)The Versatility of Cookie Cutters
I am always trying to think of fun activities to keep my daughter and the little boy that I watch engaged, learning and of course having a good time. Many of the most recent activities we have done always seem to resort back to one simple household item: cookie cutters! You may be surprised with the wide array of activities that you are able to do with just a few cookie cutters in your child(ren)’s favorite shapes.
Here are just a few of the fun things that we have done with ours!
- Cut-out sandwiches I made grilled cheese, but I’m sure that the sandwich possibilities are endless. My advice, cut the sandwich with the cookie cutters before cooking it!
- Fun yogurt “popsicles” A great lowfat treat for your children to enjoy! It’s MUCH better than ice cream and is perfect to cool off the little ones after a long day of playing in the sun! Simply take your favorite flavors of yogurt, place cookie cutters onto a flat plate, pour into the cookie cutter shape, add a “stick”, freeze and enjoy! For my “sticks” I cut colored straws into hand size pieces and stuck them in the middle of the cookie cutter shape. This definitely was a hit!!! A tip from my experience: Use small cookie cutter shapes and underfill the shapes. The larger the shape the more likely they are to break. If you overfill the cookie cutter it is much harder to remove the “popsicle” when your little ones are ready to eat!
- Pizza Shapes This can be as simple or as difficult as you decide to make it. You can purchase premade dough (make sure to buy the dough that you are able to roll out with a rolling pin) or you can make your own homemade dough. The latter requires much more planning in advance and also a longer waiting period in which to complete. Either way you decide to go, have the little ones choose their favorite shapes (make sure to flour the cookie cutter well so that the dough does not get stuck), cut your shapes (make sure to press hard), top with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings, bake and you are on your way to having a deliciously memorable time!
- Ice This one is pretty self explanatory, choose your shapes fill with water or juice, whichever you prefer and freeze! These are perfect for parties, special events, and well any day you feel like adding a little bit of fun to your drinks. These definitely add a nice personal touch and will be unexpected by many guests.
The possibilities with cookie cutter activities are truly endless. Above I listed just a few kid-tested activities that were definitely a hit! Just remember to be creative, think outside the box and above all have fun!
Filed under Fun with kids | Comment (0)I’m so excited…
…to finally have my blog up and running! :) I’m stoked to have the opportunity to share all of the thoughts, tips and randomness that make me, well, ME!
So, I’m in the process of becoming certified to be a Mommy and Me Fitness trainer and I cannot begin to describe how invaluable all of the information that I am learning is. Never had I truly known how beneficial being fit is to all aspects of life. I mean sure, I knew the obvious benefits…being healthy, lean, strong, energetic and happy…but there is so much more to it than I had ever imagined, especially during prenatal fitness.
Benefits to working out during pregnancy are not limited to only the expecting mother, they are bountiful to the fetus as well. Some examples of benefits to the fetus include a more efficient bloodflow to the placenta, a higher Apgar score at birth, easier adaptation to life outside the womb, higher intelligence and a faster development both mentally and physically.
I can’t wait until I am training expecting and current mothers! I will be able to share SO much useful information with them!!!! :)
Filed under prenatal fitness | Comment (0)