Who loves a clean slate? (Insert little girl emoji with her hand in the air!!) I am all about the Monday fresh start each week especially after indulgent and eventful weekends. Then there are the new months and even the new seasons. It is starting to feel like a lot of things in my life are new at the moment. New country, new house, new non job, new local coffee spot… new life really. Continue reading “NEW MONTH NEW GOALS NEW CHANGE”
Ever noticed how babies can grab their feet and lift them up to their mouth or head with ease? Yep that’s right every single one of us has been able to touch our toes at some point in our lives. You may not still be able to swing it up to your ears but that’s because our legs are a lot longer and our flexibility decreases and tightens over time if we don’t stretch.
“Stretching releases dopamine which helps you feel happier and more positive about the world”
One of the most important parts of exercising is warming up and cooling down and of course STRETCHING! I am sure we are all guilty of it – me number one – of neglecting the stretch. I try to do pilates, yoga and body balance at my local gym but this is probably once I week if I am lucky – which lets face it, is not enough mat time. 10-15 minutes a day is all it takes and trust me your body will thank you for it. Especially if you sit at your desk all day – a good old spine stretch could be just the ticket to a perfect nights sleep!
Stretching is also great for;
– relieving PMS pain, emotional imbalance and bloating
– loosening the muscles which relieves fatigue so you can exercise longer
– improving concentration as the blood flows around the body
– lengthening your muscles to prevent tear or injury
– increasing circulation
Here are 10 simple ‘yoga’ stretches/positions to try tonight. Hold each stretch for 45-60 seconds. It will only take 10 minutes of your time – so bung the dinner in the oven and get stretching whilst you wait!
Pyramid pose
Mountain pose
Standing forward bend
Seated twist pose
Savasana pose
Try this 10 minute sequence 2-3 times a week and see how you feel. Challenge yourself to get deeper into each stretch and take note of how your flexibility increases over time! Your body is the only place you have to live forever SO TAKE CARE OF IT!!
STRETCH IT OUT
K
We live in a world where we’re made to feel guilty about food; don’t eat this, don’t eat that, this will kill you, that will kill you. Of course a lot of this is true, but you can take any food, create negative thoughts around it and actually make it unhealthier to consume with those stressful thoughts. After all, stress depletes nutrients from the body too. Nutritional November rule NUMBER ONE … don’t feel guilty. Just enjoy it!
The worst thing you can do when embarking on your healthy clean lifestyle is deprive yourself of certain food groups and ban any form of sweet treat or food that isn’t a dark leafy green. It goes without saying that when something is banned or off limits it only makes you want it more. Yes I have been there before… “This week I will NOT eat any chocolate”. This sounds great in theory and the week started with flying colours until Friday night. Home on the couch watching a movie and BANG the deprivation of chocolate or anything sweet during the week hits hard and before I knew it my stomach had just welcomed 4 squares of Lindt dark coconut intense (THE best flavor hands down), a white choc Lindt ball (also a personal fave), some healthy choc peanut butter slice (recipe HERE) from the freezer AND a hot soy chocolate… and I fortunately stopped myself before completely loosing it and reaching for the choc mint drumstick ice cream in the freezer. Once you start a binge… it is truly hard to stop. Yes this is NO WAY to live. And the worst part about it all was that I ate it all so damn fast that I didn’t actually ‘taste’ or ‘enjoy’ anything. The best way to avoid the binge and excessive chocolate intake at once is to NOT limit yourself of these food groups. One square of dark chocolate with your evening cuppa a couple of nights a week is the perfect solution to avoid the binge. After all dark chocolate is full of antioxidants that our body needs every now and again.
But the most important part of all… when you do eat something that is a little less nutritious than a bunch of kale… ENJOY THE HECK OUT OF IT!! Eat is slow. Taste each mouthful. Chew it and actually enjoy it! If you want a burger… have one! If you are craving pizza… make a home made healthier version or if that isn’t an option then go buy one!!
Food is supposed to be enjoyed. There is no point going on a disgusting celery juice or cabbage soup diet because you bet your bottom dollar that the first thing you will do when its over is cram as much ‘normal’ food into your body and only cause a negative backwards effect.
“It matters more what you do every day that what you do once in a while.”
Happy Monday – now go eat some chocolate and feel damn good about it.
Be sure to enjoy today!!
K
KATIE MORGAN 