MOTIVATION: needs. “I run because it keeps me sane.” Putting everyone else’s needs before your own is a common practice in our culture. But becoming a martyr isn’t the answer when you cut out what YOU need first. Do everyone a favor. Don’t feel guilty when you need to say no to plans or take a break from something so that you can have some time to heal yourself. If you need that run, cycling class, walk in the park, yoga class…take the time to do it and make it a priority. You’re giving everyone else the gift of a better YOU by doing that for yourself. Do what YOU NEED to keep sane. via runnnninghigh

MOTIVATION: needs.

“I run because it keeps me sane.”

Putting everyone else’s needs before your own is a common practice in our culture. But becoming a martyr isn’t the answer when you cut out what YOU need first. Do everyone a favor. Don’t feel guilty when you need to say no to plans or take a break from something so that you can have some time to heal yourself. If you need that run, cycling class, walk in the park, yoga class…take the time to do it and make it a priority. You’re giving everyone else the gift of a better YOU by doing that for yourself. Do what YOU NEED to keep sane.


via runnnninghigh

2 months ago
MOTIVATION: sleep.  Why it’s crucial. Lots of it. CLICK THRU to see the eye-opening (or closing) Infographic (via Why Sleep Is So Important (Infographic)) I know plenty of people who think that sleep is unimportant. Or beyond that, they feel they maximize their productivity or value by sacrificing sleep. I’ve never held that this is true. In college I pulled my fair share of all-nighters and I’ve been known to keep a late night or two—but I’ve always held that sleep is far more important than most people think, and that sacrificing it can actually be fairly costly as far as productivity, and at worst, can actually be quite dangerous. This infographic showcases some studies on just how dangerous—and costly—sacrificing sleep can be, and it concludes with some facts on how you can try and improve your sleep quality if it’s something you struggle with. I hope you find it informative and helpful, and I hope that it persuades any stubborn night owls out there to try to get a little bit more shut eye now and then. via http://frugaldad.com/ High-res

MOTIVATION: sleep. 

Why it’s crucial. Lots of it.

CLICK THRU to see the eye-opening (or closing) Infographic

(via Why Sleep Is So Important (Infographic))

I know plenty of people who think that sleep is unimportant. Or beyond that, they feel they maximize their productivity or value by sacrificing sleep. I’ve never held that this is true. In college I pulled my fair share of all-nighters and I’ve been known to keep a late night or two—but I’ve always held that sleep is far more important than most people think, and that sacrificing it can actually be fairly costly as far as productivity, and at worst, can actually be quite dangerous.

This infographic showcases some studies on just how dangerous—and costly—sacrificing sleep can be, and it concludes with some facts on how you can try and improve your sleep quality if it’s something you struggle with. I hope you find it informative and helpful, and I hope that it persuades any stubborn night owls out there to try to get a little bit more shut eye now and then.

via http://frugaldad.com/

2 months ago
MOTIVATION: balancing WORK and WELLNESS. If your go-to answer to the question, “How are you?” includes the word “BUSY!” you’re…well, you’re just like me. I can wake up at the crack of dawn, get my morning run in and then sit at my desk literally until 10pm at night. It’s insane! And can run you ragged from the inside out. A helpful article for us worker bees. (via MINDBODYGREEN:) 4 Tips for Balancing Work & Wellness 1) Prioritize. Create lists daily according to higher and lower priority. High priority means they must be done today. Let the lower priority items go. Don’t rush to accomplish them all — accept that the to-do list will never be completely done. Also, don’t set yourself up for disappointment by being unrealistic about how much you can accomplish on your high priority list.  2) Set Boundaries. If your high priority list is consistently too long, you may need to examine other alternatives, in conjunction with co-workers or supervisors. This could involve delegation, cooperation with team members, and streamlining or eliminating cumbersome processes. Overextending yourself leads to burnout. You may be able to get it all done this week, this month, or this year, but you must find a sustainable pace for the long term. Just as heavy manual labourers must look after themselves physically and pace their work to avoid debilitating injuries, we must use our mental, physical, and emotional energy wisely and invest in our long-term health. Click thru for tips 3 & 4  I mean, if you’re not too busy of course ;)

MOTIVATION: balancing WORK and WELLNESS.

If your go-to answer to the question, “How are you?” includes the word “BUSY!” you’re…well, you’re just like me. I can wake up at the crack of dawn, get my morning run in and then sit at my desk literally until 10pm at night. It’s insane! And can run you ragged from the inside out. A helpful article for us worker bees.

(via MINDBODYGREEN:)

4 Tips for Balancing Work & Wellness

1) Prioritize. Create lists daily according to higher and lower priority. High priority means they must be done today. Let the lower priority items go. Don’t rush to accomplish them all — accept that the to-do list will never be completely done. Also, don’t set yourself up for disappointment by being unrealistic about how much you can accomplish on your high priority list. 
2) Set Boundaries. If your high priority list is consistently too long, you may need to examine other alternatives, in conjunction with co-workers or supervisors. This could involve delegation, cooperation with team members, and streamlining or eliminating cumbersome processes. Overextending yourself leads to burnout. You may be able to get it all done this week, this month, or this year, but you must find a sustainable pace for the long term. Just as heavy manual labourers must look after themselves physically and pace their work to avoid debilitating injuries, we must use our mental, physical, and emotional energy wisely and invest in our long-term health.
Click thru for tips 3 & 4 
I mean, if you’re not too busy of course ;)
4 months ago
MOTIVATION: eating good shit. (via the lululemon blog:) what’s up with kale? reap the benefits of kale Momma’s right (but isn’t she always?). Vegetables are jam packed with various vitamins and nutrients and kale is no exception. The dark green has an abundance of antioxidants that help fight off cancer-causing free radicals and can also aid in lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation. nutritional value One cup (130g) of kale contains: over 1000% of your daily-recommended value of Vitamin K(supporting bone growth and regulating blood clotting) over 350% of your daily value of Vitamin A(helps vision, growth, bone formation, tissue repair and red blood cell production) 5g of fibre(like yoga, fibre helps the digestive system function and detoxify the body) 35 calories  Get the whole scoop on kale here!

MOTIVATION: eating good shit.

(via the lululemon blog:)

what’s up with kale?

reap the benefits of kale

Momma’s right (but isn’t she always?). Vegetables are jam packed with various vitamins and nutrients and kale is no exception. The dark green has an abundance of antioxidants that help fight off cancer-causing free radicals and can also aid in lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation.

nutritional value
One cup (130g) of kale contains:

  • over 1000% of your daily-recommended value of Vitamin K
    (supporting bone growth and regulating blood clotting)
  • over 350% of your daily value of Vitamin A
    (helps vision, growth, bone formation, tissue repair and red blood cell production)
  • 5g of fibre
    (like yoga, fibre helps the digestive system function and detoxify the body)
  • 35 calories 

Get the whole scoop on kale here!

4 months ago
MOTIVATION: pushing your edge. via MINDbodyGREEN: The Importance of Pushing Your Edge There is a great Albert Einstein quote in which he says: “Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” I have this quote written down in my planner in a spot where I see it every day, and whenever I read it I get a little bit of extra motivation to push myself above and beyond what is comfortable.    When you find something that you enjoy, give it everything you have and see how far you can go with it. Study it, read about it, practice it and strive to know it in and out. If you do so, pretty much any hobby can be expanded upon. If you practice yoga but have never tried arm balances because they look impossible, just try. You may be very surprised with what you can achieve, and there is absolutely nothing to lose.  High-res

MOTIVATION: pushing your edge.

via MINDbodyGREEN:

The Importance of Pushing Your Edge

There is a great Albert Einstein quote in which he says: “Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” I have this quote written down in my planner in a spot where I see it every day, and whenever I read it I get a little bit of extra motivation to push myself above and beyond what is comfortable.   
When you find something that you enjoy, give it everything you have and see how far you can go with it. Study it, read about it, practice it and strive to know it in and out. If you do so, pretty much any hobby can be expanded upon. If you practice yoga but have never tried arm balances because they look impossible, just try. You may be very surprised with what you can achieve, and there is absolutely nothing to lose. 
4 months ago
MOTIVATION: being kind to yourself. I know, I know. It sounds cheesy and hippy-dippy. But truly think about how you are kind to yourself. Truly kind to yourself. Are you doing it that often? And when you do, are you doing it in ways that are actually kind? Often it comes off selfish if you want a moment for yourself or want to do something for just yourself. Other times, society tells us to “reward” ourselves in ways that are anything but (think junk food indulgences or wild drunken nights out to blow off steam). These are undercover ways of punishing yourself in reality that all add up later to even MORE need of being kind to yourself. Whether it sounds cheesy or not, take a read and honestly think about the way you’re being kind to yourself.  (via MINDbodyGREEN:) Why You Should Be Kind to Yourself [an excerpt] Self-kindness can be experienced by: caring for the whole of who we are, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually listening to our bodies, and being honest with what we truly need in each moment showing ourselves love, acceptance and forgiveness through all of our experiences being gentle towards ourselves in our thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors. Through kindness, we gently dissolve any negative energy and destructive patterns we are experiencing, creating space for the essence of who we are to shine through more fully in our lives. And once we have cultivated kindness within ourselves, genuinely extending kindness to others becomes effortless. We can give our love freely and demonstrate understanding with ease, even those we don’t know personally. Because what we see within ourselves, we see in everyone around us. When we feel love and kindness in ourselves, we notice love and kindness in others. Read the full article here.

MOTIVATION: being kind to yourself.

I know, I know. It sounds cheesy and hippy-dippy. But truly think about how you are kind to yourself. Truly kind to yourself. Are you doing it that often? And when you do, are you doing it in ways that are actually kind? Often it comes off selfish if you want a moment for yourself or want to do something for just yourself. Other times, society tells us to “reward” ourselves in ways that are anything but (think junk food indulgences or wild drunken nights out to blow off steam). These are undercover ways of punishing yourself in reality that all add up later to even MORE need of being kind to yourself. Whether it sounds cheesy or not, take a read and honestly think about the way you’re being kind to yourself.
 

(via MINDbodyGREEN:)

Why You Should Be Kind to Yourself

[an excerpt]

Self-kindness can be experienced by:
  • caring for the whole of who we are, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually
  • listening to our bodies, and being honest with what we truly need in each moment
  • showing ourselves love, acceptance and forgiveness through all of our experiences
  • being gentle towards ourselves in our thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors.
Through kindness, we gently dissolve any negative energy and destructive patterns we are experiencing, creating space for the essence of who we are to shine through more fully in our lives.
And once we have cultivated kindness within ourselves, genuinely extending kindness to others becomes effortless. We can give our love freely and demonstrate understanding with ease, even those we don’t know personally. Because what we see within ourselves, we see in everyone around us. When we feel love and kindness in ourselves, we notice love and kindness in others.
Read the full article here.
4 months ago
“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”  – Albert Einstein (via Albert Einstein: The MindBodyGreen Connection)

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” 

– Albert Einstein

(via Albert Einstein: The MindBodyGreen Connection)

4 months ago
MOTIVATION: seeing many sides of an issue. Whether you love or hate yoga, this controversial and much talked-about article is a must read. Maybe you disagree with the whole thing, maybe you don’t. But either way it’s good to be educated on both sides of any issue. (via NYTimes.com) How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body A selection: “Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn’t be used for a general class.” According to Black, a number of factors have converged to heighten the risk of practicing yoga. The biggest is the demographic shift in those who study it. Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems. Many come to yoga as a gentle alternative to vigorous sports or for rehabilitation for injuries. But yoga’s exploding popularity — the number of Americans doing yoga has risen from about 4 million in 2001 to what some estimate to be as many as 20 million in 2011 — means that there is now an abundance of studios where many teachers lack the deeper training necessary to recognize when students are headed toward injury. “Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people,” Black said. “You can’t believe what’s going on — teachers jumping on people, pushing and pulling and saying, ‘You should be able to do this by now.’ It has to do with their egos.” Read the full article here: How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body High-res

MOTIVATION: seeing many sides of an issue.

Whether you love or hate yoga, this controversial and much talked-about article is a must read. Maybe you disagree with the whole thing, maybe you don’t. But either way it’s good to be educated on both sides of any issue.

(via NYTimes.com)

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

A selection:

“Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn’t be used for a general class.”

According to Black, a number of factors have converged to heighten the risk of practicing yoga. The biggest is the demographic shift in those who study it. Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems. Many come to yoga as a gentle alternative to vigorous sports or for rehabilitation for injuries. But yoga’s exploding popularity — the number of Americans doing yoga has risen from about 4 million in 2001 to what some estimate to be as many as 20 million in 2011 — means that there is now an abundance of studios where many teachers lack the deeper training necessary to recognize when students are headed toward injury. “Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people,” Black said. “You can’t believe what’s going on — teachers jumping on people, pushing and pulling and saying, ‘You should be able to do this by now.’ It has to do with their egos.”

Read the full article here: How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

4 months ago