Physical Health and Body Archives - Page 4 of 24

Pollen Count Today Near Me and Spring Allergies Hope

Pollen count today near me is a report you want to take a look at if you are spring or year-round allergy prone these days. And I share tips in this article on how to manage allergies better with our constantly changing earth and where we have hope.

healthy pasture-raised organic eggs and the pollen count are related on our planet. — Pasture-raised, organic eggs are one of the healthy foods.

Because our beloved planet needs a restore, Amen!

If you’re like many of us, you’re feeling the effects. It’s not just seasonal allergies anymore… it’s year round allergy effects. And if you’re wondering if your new strange, non-serious, unexplainable body symptoms are related, they probably are. 🌎

They are for me too… I never had allergies before and then started feeling the effects in spring and fall from the pollen count today near me. And that gradually became winter and summer also.

DC had its highest pollen count today near me report in February that’s before the spring fever time. And why the Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms that I grew up around bloomed earlier this year from previous years. 🌸 I remember one year where there were few blooms and I saw one tree near me.

We keep topping new records.

And this affects quality of life. You learn this quickly by observing the patterns. Like I noticed when it reaches over 70 degrees, my skin became thirsty and needs moisturizing self-care love.

By being aware, I can do something preventative.

And you can do the same with your symptoms.

There’s hope.

At one point, the rumor was that allergy effects last for 7 years.

…And in belief and hope in relief, I can attest in my case, that’s about right.

From 2015 to 2023 I felt the effects bad where I would go from my normal feeling self (no pollen allergy effects)… to whoosh my thinking mind was congested and felt like it was hit with a wind storm.

Which btw, gusty wind is not a Vata’s friend as it can knock us out of balance (especially as we already carry wind sameness properties).

Those seasons affected me in my daily activites where I couldn’t just sit outside that I used to love to do (and most of us do).

Because if I did, the next day I would pay the price, feeling out of it in a brain fog way. And I didn’t want to take a blocking histamine pill every day. I felt the blockage as… I couldn’t sneeze at all.

And as bodies adapt, these days I sneeze a lot and have a new appreciation for the self-cleansing interruption.

Likely, you or someone in your household feels the allergy effects in some way. Sometimes it’s our four-legged family members. 🐾

Below are a few survival tips to make the ride a little better until your body adjusts or you find a new way.

…And as we wait for our world to discover new ways to restore our natural world, and change how we handle our modern world like: food agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.

These are major areas that affect the climate crisis connected to allergies. And places that used to be disconnected from these effects, like California, are now feeling the dust.

Even though there are more trees (that primarily contribute to the green spring pollen dust), being near the mountain air feels better.

And better than in a busy city or beach that this body can attest to… or densely populated with mass transportation pollution.

Observingly, places with less people like Norway and the Adirondacks had less pollen effects.

You’d have to test out on your body… just in case you are considering relocating, those are some life-giving things to consider.

One thing you can do in the States is research what the pollen levels are and which ones bother your systems.

Tip #1: Look at the pollen count today near me reports.

So many people I’ve talked to don’t even know that this snapshot report exists.

How I use the report is: I put in my zip code and I see which days are lowest pollen count in the week that is available on the pollen phone app. The daily report can also be found on the site.

Then looking at the week, I immediately know low count days are predicted rainy days. So it’s not accurate as weather prediction is never 100% accurate (and sometimes off).

So, what you can glean from this information is that each pollen season impacted has roughly the same type, quality, and quantity of pollen every day until the pollen season shifts.

If the count is over, say 10 that’s high on any given day, then you know what to do preventatively for that season (or use the tips below to help you).

And you can take a look at what the culprits are such as elm, juniper, and maple trees these days in certain areas and what I see on my report.

Tip #2: Invest in and turn the air purifier on high. This helps significantly for spaces you spend a lot of time in like your bedroom or where you sleep, and in an office space where you work.

If you work around others, you’ll be the envy of your office mates as they get to feel the clean air effects too around you. 💨

Be sure to use HEPA filters that catch small particles like the green ones circulating around (and mold that’s more prevalent in the autumn).

I’ve had an air purifier beside me since around 2000 when it was discovered that an office I worked in had mold behind the walls. The air purifier invested in was a life saver, and I’ve never lived without one since. You appreciate close-up your healthy breathing daily in those instances.

Changing the filters and vacuuming often on schedule make a difference too in the quality of filtering you’re getting.

Tip #3: Do a weeky nasal cleanse with a neti pot, warm water, and sea salt mixture. If you battle with sinus infections often or seasonally, this is a preventative game changer.

Remember, you can’t change the air in this bubble life we live in, but you can change your effects.

That’s one thing we all knew early on in life: air quality affects quality of life.

New Generation Hope for Our Health

And we also picked up: what we knew in the past isn’t going to take us to our future. Or today’s mantra,“What got us here, won’t get us there.”

And while we’re cleaning out our sinuses, we can breathe in some good, hopeful vibes for our planet future with the kids of today, Gen Z.

Born with an innate earthly duty and social media, they may want to have a life mission to impact a fragile world that needs environmental repair. And that’s something we can be optimistically hopeful for. 🎉

…Maybe that’s your kiddos or you that’s saying “school me, please!” so something can be done about the environmental world chaos. In the meanwhile, we can bring back “act local, think global.” And that includes the foods we eat. Like eggs. Not these lawn Easter eggs. But edible eggs.

Because healthy eggs we eat are low histamine (anti-allergy) super foods loaded with vitamins that many of us can rally around, whether school or adult-age. You can make 2-minute easy poached eggs daily or celebrate eggs on occasion.

And if you get tired of eggs, maybe you can make your inspired waffles with this recipe that has a healthy twist (plus an egg 😉).

Print Recipe

easy waffles with healthier ingredients in minutes.

Easy Waffles In Minutes (Healthy Tips)

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk per waffle
1 egg per waffle
1/2 cup combined flour (use more almond flour and some AP flour for healthier waffle batter)
1 tsp oil (can reduce oil of choice and use light EVOO for healthier version)
Greek yogurt
Berries (optional)

Instructions

Add milk of choice to bowl or Pyrex measuring glass for easy measurement and one-”bowl” mixing.
Add egg, flour of choice (combine almond flour and ap flour for healthy), oil.
Pour in waffle iron maker and cook until golden-medium brown and is easy to remove in one piece with a fork.
Let cool and dollop with Greek yogurt and fresh berrries.

Vinyasa Yoga Common Mistakes and Creative Flow Moves

Vinyasa yoga flow is good for getting movement and activity flow through your systems. Learn some of the common mistakes below.

healthy chocolate mousse dessert gluten free. — Creative expression flow from winter to spring in a healthy (gluten-free) chocolate mousse dessert. 🎉Recipe below…

Vinyasa was introduced a few years after I started regular yoga that was just starting to grow in America. We were slow to catch on, immersed in our busy Western ways.

And the Vinyasa series was repeated.

Classic Vinyasa yoga includes 4 parts: Downward Dog, Plank, Chaturanga, and Up Dog.

vinyasa yoga flow. — Start at Down Dog and end in Up Dog.

These poses help your arm strength and back flexibility. All are great for flexing your back if you’re having back tension issues.

Vinyasa flow is good for life balance rhythm especially when you’re having a tough season and wanna work out your Pitta frustrations on your mat. And of course, yoga helps your body balance in the process.

The Vinyasa front down, on-the-mat poses complement your Plow Pose restoring your back.

We can easily need a tune up. And learning good form in the beginning helps to use as a guide.

When we don’t know any better, we choose the easiest form for our bodies.

To start, get into your Downward Dog pose. Feet are firmly grounded on the floor. You’ll then transition into Plank, Chaturanga and then Up Dog (Up Dog vs. Cobra vs. Sphinx).

Note: by the time you get to Up Dog, your tops of feets will roll transition and be on the mat vs bottom of feet. So your feet position is evolving as you move into the Vinyasa yoga pose.

And is often forgotten about.

On that topic, these are some of the common Vinyasa Yoga mistakes:

We forget to flow our feet. In Down Dog, our heels are not on the floor. Or our toes can be curled under on the mat in Up Dog, like in Plank Pose.

We forget to pause. You can slow down (as also a metaphor in life) and insert in a Child’s Pose from the Up Dog to Downward Dog transition if you would like a rest.

Another common mistake is in the hands. Hands are partially flat relying on finger strength on the mat (when it’s good to have full hands flat on the mat). Ideally, hands and fingers are flat on the mat that also helps to protect your wrists and awkward arm bends that could send strange sensations to your hand parts.

In Up Dog, often the position of hands are too low beside the body as you shift the top half of your body forward. Try to align with your shoulders.

And while we focus on hands and feets, we forget about our mid areas, where:

The buttocks are not peaked high enough in Down Dog for a higher pronounced “V.” If you’ve been to a class and received individual instruction, often the teacher will pull your mid-section body up. And that feels lighter and totally different than in a comfy “V” where the body feels weighted toward the ground.

Using a body mirror can help you better assess if your form is good.

Then naturally as we just hiked ourselves up: when we move into Plank pose, our Buttocks are too high in the air resembling a hill in Plank pose. Lower just a bit, so in a mirror you look more like a down sloping seesaw. There aren’t bumps in the middle.

And then in Chaturanga, don’t be in a hurry. Stay there longer for a few breaths and gain the arm strength building benefits. You feel control over your body.

Then Up Dog if you choose is your last part of the flow. There are slight differences between Up Dog, Cobra, and Sphinx. Up Dog is the one with the highest energy vibes.

Then before you get back into Downward Dog, pause into Child’s Pose if you like a rest.

And this is also a good place to insert other inspiring creative poses for Vata especially if you need more energy in your life (feeling Kapha tired).

Your Creative Vinyasa Flow

When you feel comfortable with the basics, you can also add your own yoga spin. Just like each yoga class is different, you can make your own yoga pose moves with your basic Vinyasa Yoga flow series. And these movements will benefit your body.

Yoga is about feeling good and getting the kinks out. And being physically creative can do just that!

One instructional move is that yoga is different than other forms of exercise.

For one, many of the yoga up moves are inhale breaths and down moves are exhales. It’s the opposite in many other forms of exercise.

Like, in weight lifting, when you lift up, you exhale and let go of the air. So switching up your breath inhale and exhale for yoga can be helpful and tricky. The most important point is just to breathe naturally and then let the rest follow. It’s more important to follow good breathing habits in weight lifting where you can unintentionally hyperventilate if you overexert yourself.

Give yourself grace in yoga!

Another move that’s fun to do (if you see it that way) is when you’re in Chaturanga: shift your toes and arms forward and backward on the mat where your height or plane distance on the mat doesn’t change. You’re constantly moving. 😊

What makes Vinyasa special is it keeps you flexible and moving and this helps your creativity. As you use your breath in flow, you get in touch with your deeper senses inside you. And this can help you tap into your creativity that can be missing in your life.

In modern life, unless we surround ourselves in creative environments and inspired, we can get out of touch with creativity.

That’s my story (and maybe yours) in corporate where creativity is as far removed as personal expression unless you have intentions to improve those areas in your day.

One easy way is create your own Vinyasa yoga flow. Maybe you add a Pigeon pose in between your Downward Dog and Plank pose. Or a Hare pose coming out of Up Dog. Or you add a Mountain pose after your Plank pose and then step or take a jump back.

You can reach your Mountain with just a ‘lil creativity and nudge. Sometimes you just need the suggestion or permission and then you’ve enhanced your day with a few more calming breaths and moments without breaking a sweat.

And if you’re feeling energetic, you could get into your hands up Tree or full Dancer poses. And then come back to your Mountain, fold down and jump or step back to Plank. And from there get back to Chaturanga.

The possibilities are endless in your creative day of activities that take just escape break minutes away from your work and devices.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse Dessert Recipe 💕

Print Recipe

gluten-free chocolate mousse dessert recipe

Chocolate Mousse Dessert (Healthy, Gluten-Free)

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2 oz Dark chocolate
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1-1/2 one egg and one yolk
1 tbsp almond flour

Instructions

Prepare baking vessel. Brush coconut oil and dust with cocoa.
Melt chocolate in bain marie with coconut oil.
Beat egg and any flavors (optional)
Add eggs to chocolate.
Fold in almond flour.
Pour into baking vessel. Bake for 12 minutes on 350°F. Do not overbake for a soft, gooey center.
Zhugh with healthy ingredients: raspberries, coconut shavings, mint leaves, pistachios, other chopped nuts, or orange zest.

Plow Pose For Stress Ease and Back Pain

Plow pose yoga is one of the best stretches for releasing stress and back pain. You don’t have to love yoga to love what this pose can do for you! And when you have surrounding healthy inspiration in your life, then you breathe in balance.

Plow pose and healthy living are a great combination.

Do you have a healthy inspiration board? I think it’s a fun way to bring more of that intentional energy and balance into life. 🌱

And Plow pose fits right in. Like the name “plow” implies, Plow pose loosens your body up. In farming, plowing is essential prep-work so seeds can be planted. And in your back’s case, plowing for a loose and limber back will support your daily movements…

If any of these apply, you may just need some restoring Plow Pose love in your life 🧡:

✔️Sit in a chair most the day

✔️Hurt your back doing daily activities

✔️Are as tall as a baby giraffe that towers over most of us

…And in those cases, doing this pose often, you may never cry again to go see a back specialist. The easy pose may be all you need in your wincing daily back pain that can come from accumulated tension.

Some of us already do this pose regularly to restore our backs.

And below I get down to the nitty-gritty of how to get in the pose with ease… and not hurt yourself, that’s a point not to miss!

Because warning: you can hurt yourself. And I’m emphasizing that because people think yoga is just light movements, but some of those movements come with intensity.

That goes for other yoga poses too, but in Plow Pose especially because you’re carrying most of your body’s weight with your upper body half. It’s pretty cool-phenomenal when you think about it.

Yoga is awesome in this way because you don’t need equipment or weights to do weight lifting that’s also good for building strength.

Body weight is self-equipment and you want to use what you have! And like any weights, you want to use good form.

That’s not to scare you away because yoga does good for your body, health, and wellness. And it’ll only help you on your journey!

Sometimes “use it or lose it” can be a good motivator.

Or one I heard recently was that if you don’t make time to exercise (or do yoga), then plan to make time for illness. Sad, but true. And you have a chance to use that mantra as a gentle reminder. 🧡

…We all need reminders to take action today.

Sometimes a new perspective or healthy kick in the pants, works (as it has for me, ha!).

I look at it as investing in yourself now, so that you can have lasting healthy habits and good results in later years that creep up and you start to feel your joints and parts you never felt before. 😭

You have a chance to Plow now for benefits tomorrow..

For starters, I’ll begin with… in one of the first few times I did Plow Pose, shifting my neck in the pose taught me an unforgettable lesson you can avoid in aches.

But done properly, the pose is a life saver!… Just keep your mind focused on good form and you’ll be in great shape. 😊

And if you have ceiling exposed beams or a ceiling fan you can stare at one spot easily, that’ll do the trick.

Or turn your popcorn ceiling into a positive feature.

…And more recently when I relocated and had to sleep on a floor mattress for a month before my bed furniture arrived, Plow Pose saved me and my back.

I had used the lessons I learned from Plow Pose yoga years back to revive my back… and restore me back!

The simple restorative move over the course of a week provided the much-needed relief. It was very little effort that’s always a crowd pleaser plus.

So if you tend to get the lazy Kaphas or consider yourself a tired Kapha, Plow Pose can be a huge problem solve. You can restore yourself without leaving your digs.

The area where the pose feels best is in the mid-back and some lower back if you dig deeper into the pose when your toes and parts of your feet are planted on the mat.

You can use that as a metaphor for getting deeper in your life. Even just a few seconds feels sooo good.

The other benefit is you can do this pose anywhere. If the travel bed you’ve slept on gave you trouble, you can lay a towel down on the carpet-padded floor or yoga mat on floor or flat ground.

You could even do this on the therapeutic beach sand. 🏝️

…So, ready to get your plow-on?

You can do this while waiting for your easy recipe to come together.

This is an easy and healthy oat blueberry waffle great for weekends and brunch. Recipe below. 🫐

Always start with a warm-up move to loosen you up and also get in the mood.

Do a stretch before the stretch. If you’re feeling lazy, you could rest a block behind your mid-back and another block or folded blanket under your head if you’re at home or at a yoga studio.

This stretches your verterbrae without much energy.

But the one move I like that’s portable is…

Seated, and with arms wrapped around bent and tucked knees like a tight ball of yarn, roll back down to the floor and then back up.

Keep doing this several times to warm up your vertebrae so you’re more back limber.

…I like to call it the roly-poly move (…would make a good pose name, yes?).

That’s actually a protective interior move for isopod insects that have the nickname. And you can look at it as protecting your body from any snaps from not warming up.

And then when you had enough of that, lay flat back on your mat or towel. Scoot down on your mat quite a bit, leaving just enough room on your mat above your head where your feet will land on the mat (if they do).

If your buttocks is about at the 1/3 mark of your mat, you’re good.

It can be hard to imagine if you’re new to the pose, but you’ll be glad you did when you’re in Plow. When you’re new to yoga, figuring out space on your mat is interesting.

….The good news, it’s not that important as everywhere you land is flat and you’re low-grounded already.

So if you don’t care so much, you can let your free spirit lead you!

What’s a universal agreement is you don’t want to have your devices or anything else damageable around you, so you can relax!

…Now you’re ready and on your mat, can go into a pause pose like Shoulder Stand that grounds your shoulders and keeps your legs straight

Or, a hugging Upside Down Child Pose like a Happy Baby for a few breaths.

Or go into Bridge Pose before. You could use yoga blocks on the middle setting to transition and help you throw your legs back.

Or go straight into Plow Pose by gently throwing or lifting your legs straight up in the air and then slowly lower back them behind your head. Try and get your legs over with mindfulness and control, one verterbrae at a time.

But however you get there is good. You can use your hands to help guide your buttocks and body.

And in good form, stare at one point on the popcorn ceiling 👀 or above. And maybe you have a nice view so that lowers your blood pressure to look at in addition to the release in body tension.

Avoid shifting your neck.

Do keep your shoulder blades down on the mat helps. You can move your eyes. but if you want to keep your focused gaze (Drishti) still 😳, that’s up to you.

Just remember to keep your neck still. And remember to breathe naturally and not hold your breath.

I think those last points are worth remembering. 📝

And then you’re doing your pose!

You can decide if your toes or parts of your feet touch the mat. Those moves are the deeper pose that’ll stretch parts of your upper back.

But if you don’t go that far back (on your back), you’ll still get a good stretch in your lower and mid-back, that works in the beginning. And that’s where most of us have back pain in the mid-lower area sitting in a chair.

Plus, there’s always next time to practice…

Next time will be when you’ll be more prepared and your body cells will remember the pose that makes the pose easier as you do it more times. And that’s why you can go deeper and further with less effort as you get more comfortabe.

Enjoy yourself and let time melt in your mat. Even a few breaths is beneficial for your back… and adding moments longer is good for de-stressing.

When you’ve been in the pose long enough, then slowly roll and unwind your spine, vertebrae-by-vertebrae. You may have done that with self-control getting into the pose and balancing the move out of the pose. This time use patience as your mantra.

That’s another point to not miss: yoga teaches us good lessons in character alignment we need without long trials and hard lessons.

And right away you’ll feel rewarded with a better feeling back as you roll out of the pose. And when you sit back up, you should feel less back tension.

If you feel the stretch in a good way, then that means you need to do it again more often. When you don’t feel the stretch, that’s when you can focus on other best yoga poses. There are hundreds to choose from on our planet for the amazing creature you are.🧘🏻‍♀️🐶🐬🐪 🐗🐱🐦‍⬛🐇

If you’d like you can pair your yoga with these aligned waffles… and even better make these waffles in the time it takes to get in your Plow Pose. 🧇

Easy No Egg Blueberry Waffles

Short on eggs, you can make this easy recipe in 3 minutes.

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 tbsp blueberries, frozen
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp whole wheat flour, plain flour, or gluten free flour
1 tsp neutral oil

Instructions

Mix ingredients and add to your medium hot waffle maker. This is a liquid-y batter. Add more oats to fill in if it becomes too liquid in spots. This is a very forgiving recipe and great for lazy weekends!
Cook for about 3 minutes or until easy to pull in one piece off the waffle iron with a fork.
Flip the bottom for the top as often that's better cooked.
For healthy version, dust collagen powder on top instead of powdered sugar.

Healthy Meal Prep Points to Enjoy

Healthy meal prep is rewarding like pizzas you can make and bake at home. This recipe is below. 🍴

healthy meal prep with homemade wood-fired pizza with mushrooms recipe.

Like this wood fired -inspired pizza you can make and bake in your apartment oven or home.

It’s no secret that healthy meal prep is the way to eat healthier meals and save time. But doing any type of meal planning enjoyably can be work and a challenge.

…And I remember the 10 years I breathed in event meal planning day and night as a professional career with the tasty outcomes it produced… and smiles on faces.

The happy event memories produced were lasting. And in home meal planning talk that’s like healthy foods to body cell memories.

I share tips below on how to gain the joy in the process of healthy meal prep.

I share from the lens of baking that can be applied to savory meals. Baking isn’t just for sweet tooths 😉

And you can tweak to your cooking methods whether it’s stovetop or grilling (too).

So here we go!

The first point for healthy meal prep is get your self-serving mindset on.

If the idea of meal prep or healthy meal prep sounds daunting to you, instead of looking at cooking and healthy meal prep as a chore, you can reframe to these enjoyable perspectives:

Use meal prep and cooking as a way to relax. 🍽️ The finished meal is the cherry on top. 🍒

Baking or cooking is a great way to detox from work or a stressful day. You can let ideas percolate as you listen to music or a show in the background. You don’t have to stare at your food cooking. You can use your low-key energy.

Listening to audio is a great use of 20-40 minutes. It’s my fave way to listen to music, podcasts, and have even recorded my own weekly. 🎧

While you’re waiting for your cooking to be ready, you can do your clean up exercise, so after dinner you’re smiling with your Houdini magic clean up job (…where poof! it’s gone). ✨

And you can do stretches, side bends, and exercise.

That’s how baking can be superior (because you don’t have to watch the stove or grill). The timer does the watching in the oven so you can take up other light activities.

Healthy meal prep and cooking is made easier.

Healthy generally means cleaner and simpler, less frou-frou embellished ingredients and sauces. The more whole ingredients and fewer processed ingredients, the better.

With healthy foods and fewer ingredients, meal prep time and cooking minutes are shorter because there are less steps.

And they’re easier steps. Adding a spice or two can be the anti-inflammatory flare needed, that’s less time than creating a roux or using multi-step French recipes. Save those for days where you have more relaxed time.

For most days, you can think of healthy meal prep as a new hobby. Didn’t consider it like that, did you? 🤔

Adding to the hobby idea… one great way to rid of racing thoughts is by getting distracted with a new hobby, creative pursuit, project, or passion that baking and cooking can be.

Healthy meal prep can be a part that inspires your new hobby.

Like most hobbies, you get to try new techniques and the result is your finished product version (aka meal). There’s no right or wrong. Just reward. 😋

Whatever you like and prefer will always be popular with you. And always trending on your food board, so it’s a win all around. And if you take up cooking as one of your regular hobbies, then you not only get a life skill that can serve you well and daily… you’ll also have one that others can enjoy in taste and photos if you document and share. 💖

Cooking is entertaining.

That’s what I know planning catered events working with the chefs in upscale hotel and foodie restaurant kitchens. And letting those vibes transcend into my own working kitchen.

What I like most about baking is the entertainment factor in the entire process. You get to watch the bake from scratch, in production and then placement on the plate and table.

That brings me back to my roots. But you can find your own version and maybe you enjoy food shows like I do. Who doesn’t love Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives?

Thank you, Great British Bake Off and weekend cooking shows for showing me that I’m not crazy!

When you watch inspirational and aspiring food shows like those, they can make the meal prep look easy on the set. They fast forward to the main steps. And that’s how it can be for you…

You can skip the multi-layer processes, waiting, cooling, and decorating steps and get to the main steps in healthy meal planning with less hassles.

Slip meal prep into your day.

And instead of doing everything all at once, you can take 10-minute breaks before your meal prep to pull out room temp ingredients, clean tools off, and mince foods. Or, do it early in the day or late at night when your mood fancies.

This will linger in your back burner as a sub-priority and prime you for happy meal prep mood.

As a creative at heart, I don’t believe you should be robotic in the kitchen and dicing perfectly if you don’t have to.

Finding what works for you, works.

As a Vata, I like to go off script and outta routine.

To balance, I put my planner hat back on and get back to a routine.

It’s like playing ball against a wall where you toss and catch. And the balance is that is that the ball is still in the air and you’re still enjoying yourself!

Then after doing other work or activities, you’re prepped to come back to preparing your meal.

Snack while you’re preparing.

Enjoyment doesn’t have to be at the end either. Try a few items while you’re prepping. The benefit of being in the kitchen is being around all the goodies.

Develop your bonding relationship with food loves and new variety foods, as healthy. You’ll love your dishes even more when they’re ready.

Standing points.

When you’re meal prepping or cooking, you’re standing. If you sit most the day, you win points that you may be tracking. If a standing desk doesn’t work for you, then cooking is one activity that allows you to stand without feeling awkward.

Being relaxed and standing has its benefits.

And in between you can do a few more baking yoga stretches like yoga squats to win move and exercise points. Baking allows you to get into your bending yoga squat if you want to be at the level of your oven food.

Cooking and baking are also great ways to unwind from a stressful day where you’re not quite ready to sit down or retire for the night.

And finally, I saved the best for last…

Meal prep can be your meditation.

That’s how I see it as I let thoughts enter. And with eyes open, allow my mind to show me new areas that I haven’t thought about… places to have gratitude that come from my day… and how to relax while aromatic cooking is in the process. That’s food meditation🧘🏼‍♀️

Then to keep the balance and flow, I fast on certain days and hours where I intentionally stay away from the kitchen. That’s my second form of meditation that helps me set my work week and healthy meal prep week.

If you want to learn how you can get free healthy meal plan recipes to align with your healthy weight intentions, check out the free intermittent fasting guide.

Print Recipe

homemade wood-fired pizza with mushrooms recipe.

Mushroom Neapolitan-Style Wood-Fired-Inspired Pizza For An Apartment Oven

You can make this delicious umami mozzarella pie in your home!

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

bread flour (or 00 flour)
salt
water
instant yeast
toppings (mushroom, buffalo mozzarella cheese, and sauce).
extra virgin olive oil
semolina for bench flour

Instructions

Mix ingredients and knead until a cohesive pizza dough ball can be formed. If with a bread dough hook, about 5 minutes and double time by hand.
Add some olive oil to a container with a lid or can be covered.
Place dough in container and let proof for at least 2 hours. Can be left overnight.
Then add some bench flour (semolina flour is classic for Neapolitan pizza).
Flatten into shape except for the airy crust you'll make. Try to not smush down the crust at all with your hands.
When you're happy with your pizza shape, then place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes on 350°F oven. Then add toppings such as sauce, cheese and mushrooms.
Then add to top shelf at least 8 inches away from the oven heat coming from the top of the oven. Bake on broil (caliente hot!) setting for 2-5 minutes until crust is slightly charred giving the wood-burned fire "effect." Watch the broiling effect the entire time, so you don't set off the apartment alarm and to be safe.

Crow Pose Yoga For Stability

Crow Pose is one yoga pose that can help you feel strong along with the messages you feed yourself. Learn about how in this article.

Do good and Be kind are heart action messages worth taking into the day!

Maybe when you start your balance pose initially, you’re not able to hold the Crow Pose without your feet or toes touching the mat or floor.

…But as you practice regularly, you’ll be able to! 🐦‍⬛

Crow Pose could be a goal this week that gets your mojo back to blood flowing activity and to keep moving and growing. 🥅

Building Strength Stability

If you want to become stronger, gaining arm strength is one impactful way. Strength represents resilience that’s needed to get through tough times… and build stability and progress.

One starter exercise way is to be in your push up pose. Alternating legs, pull one knee at a time closer up to your shoulders one side at a time.

Then like a push up, push straight up and down. Your hiked up leg is extra body weight to use as muscle weights for your arm. 😉

Then switch leg sides. After a weekly habit of doing arm strength building exercises, your muscle memory will remember (fostering stable reinforcements) and that’ll help you in your Crow Pose…

If only you could see how cool you look!

This exercise I just described (that I’m not sure if it has a name) helps you get to used to vertical arm strength that Crow Pose needs. Chataranga pose is another.

In good form, vertical arms will support your body along with your strong ab muscles. And speaking of the gut, I share below some strong food ways that complement your pose.

…But let’s not got ahead of ourselves. For starters, you may want to see where you’re at with your Crow Pose today. So give it a try today (or now) and fail forward or beam in your Crow!

Keep reading 👇 for tips…

Crow Pose For Beginners (Or Starting Again)

As a beginner, you can have a yoga block in front of you for strength and moral support. Set the soft-place-to-fall security block on the floor on the lowest setting side where your forehead would fall on… don’t worry, as this likely won’t happen.

The placebo effect is a confidence booster. 🤸🏻

…And that way you can enter the pose confidently without fear of injury that can stall your progress or hold you back unintentionally.

Especially when you want Crow Pose to build your confidence (and not build a fine line wall divide that keeps you stuck).

And when you move into your first Crow Pose moments, you can feel like you can handle the world in all its cruel ways that can sometimes make any of us feel like we’re broken down. Stay at peace. ✌️

When you look up and out with a grin on your face knowing you’re able to support yourself, the weight of the world crumbles into the mat.

Plus, you’re building up arms that are becoming more chiseled. 😊

And after you’ve mastered Crow Pose, you can advance to a taller Crane Pose or take a slight bend (detour break) into Side Crow.

There’s always a next or side step. Before you know it, you’ll be flying! 🕊️

Side Crow Pose and Crane Pose

In Side Crow Pose, you crouch down and tip your body to the side where the back of your upper arms catch your legs and side buttock. So you get a different muscle workout and perspective.

And if you want to lengthen taller and gain more stability in your moves, you can try a more advanced pose: Crane Pose.

Cranes are the tallest flying birds. They’re powerful so the pose matches the yoga pose name.

What I like about these two other poses is what they’ll tell you more about your core and arm muscle state.

Many women think they’ll build Popeye arms with regular 10 lb weights, but that’s not the case.

We underestimate ourselves and what we can lift. If you can lift your travel carry-on luggage up to the compact overhead bin, then daily 10 pound weights should be no problem.

If you look more compact, then you could have more muscle that’s lean mass which means it will become denser or smaller.

Think of a compact ball of yarn versus a loose skein that yarn is usually sold in. On the shelves, it’s soft. But if you take it home and unravel the yarn and make a tight ball 🧶, then it becomes hard like a rubber ball.

We want our muscles to have shape, tone, and hard compactness that a rubber ball represents. In between, it can be like a squishy stress ball.

Our arm muscles are easy to scope out, but the hidden body muscles that give us the most trouble and least strength are the ones we don’t use or stretch often. And in yoga, you can discover those small areas in poses.

Balancing Food Macros to Support Crow Pose Moves

If you’re like many trying to lose weight, be sure to amp up your protein so your body stays full longer. Proteins burn more calories.

Taking a step further, the body burns fat for energy after it runs out of glucose. And that’s why I’m so gung-ho on intermittent fasting for metabolic flexibility. On and off switching teaches the body who’s boss. 😊

As we age, we lose muscle. Our protein macros help make up the deficit, for especially women. We can include large doses of protein foods with specific amino acids to help us restore what’s lost.

Protein food sources also keep us feeling full that saves us time from taking time to eat so we can spend more time doing other activities we want to get to.

If you’re like me, after graduating from baby milk as nutrients, I started out life with sugary bowls of cereal and milk as a breakfast meal. That was what I woke up to, growing up. Protein wasn’t a priority.

With cereal, it’s not the sugary sides that’s the biggest problem… it was the starting with cereal as a meal. Cereal wasn’t and isn’t filling enough and also begs us wanting more sugar in our veins.

But as a snack treat to fulfill sweet cravings, low-sugar cereals are better and I prefer them over sweet alternatives like cookies (my love 💕). Many cereals are fortified with macros and minerals while cookies are mostly empty calories (unless you bake them with healthy goodness like I do these days).

Gluten-free coconut flour, cocoa, shredded coconut, cinnamon, coconut oil, and water make this cookie batter.

But in my earlier years, I was in double trouble working in catering food management at the Doubletree Hotel known for their large paper weight-dense cookies. 🍪

And that’s how I started my breakfast morning at 8 am…

But decades later with better intentions and experiencing a season of excess sugar bothering my skin with eczema, I changed my ways. I didn’t think I could ever switch to starting mornings with a savory meal.

…I mean, forget protein like lean meats. But I let health motivate me and after many bites, savory foods grew on me.

…So I started adding proteins from leftover meals. Because eggs, tofu, and chicken aren’t necessarily the favorite first thing meal when your gut isn’t even awake yet…

And if that’s you…don’t give up on yourself! The a-ha change I made also made me realize that I could ignore my cravings (like unproductive thoughts) if I wanted to and focus on building healthy habits.

Protein substantial foods are also a better stomach cushion for coffee (that’s acidic).

…And you too can start the habit if you want!

Trust your feelings will follow. 💖

That’s how you can change tastes effectively for your health and build in more protein ma-crows in your life, so you can support your Crow Pose and other bird pose yoga areas calling you!

Yoga moves calling for strength can be the canary in the coal mine indicator to add more daily muscle and protein to your body and diet. 🌱

And doing a daily Crow Pose could just be the starting reminder.