Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Neck Yoga Exercises + Easy Coconut Cookies

One part of our body that gets ignored often is our neck. It’s like a shadow to our face. …so neck yoga is needed and the best poses are below.

And a recipe you’ll love that you can prepare in in 5 minutes and bake in 10-12 minutes.

Jump to Recipe

How to make easy coconut cookies below (that are so easy that NO recipe is needed!)

Our necks vary in length even though we have the same number of neck vertebrae as giraffes. And our neck sizes vary as do our Adam’s apples that are larger in males than females.

Our necks serve us to not just help support us in eating apples. Without our neck, we couldn’t use our brains. And we wouldn’t be connected to our body.

So regularly doing neck yoga exercises protect this vital body part and can work out some of the kinks from our bad computer postures and pillow sleeping habits.

Restoring your neck is a gentle way to get your groove back. And if you haven’t been in your yoga routine recently, this could be a good way to start again. Plus you can do it anywhere and everywhere. That can’t be said for many yoga poses.

And yoga is a great way to get your relaxation and breathing space back.

Sometimes all you need is just 5-10 minutes of yoga to reset your day and how you feel. So let’s begin…

Take baby steps, Child’s pose is a great way to begin if you have floor space and a mat. It’s a calming move to set your relax neck intentions.

For neck yoga benefits, instead of tucking your neck down, try an Active Child’s pose where your neck is upward and out forward like the neck of a plane at take off

You can look at your pointed hands and fingers stretched forward on the mat. The intention can be to focus.

FYI, beginner poses like this are healthy good for anyone Advanced or Beginner.

You can use balancing (Hatha) poses. And go with a flow (Vinyasa) where you insert a Downward Dog in between the face down mat and face up poses… or anything you like if that’s too much or intimidating.

Yoga is flexible and hopefully when you do any yoga, you’ll become more joint-muscle flexible as one of the main benefits.

You’ll feel less soreness all around if any, and hear less joint cracking when you bend a certain way. Usually you’re benefitting more than one area at a time.

And the neck is no different.

But if you want to isolate the neck yoga exercise, moving your head side to side and from shoulder to shoulder like sunrise to sunset is a good regular practice.

It’s a healthy mantra to get you loose and let go of the unhealthy or tricky areas of your life situations. And yoga is great to manifest new habits and old thought patterns that don’t serve you any longer.

Making a tradition a habit is not a good idea if it keeps you stuck. And making a good habit a tradition is!

So now that you’re warmed up for neck yoga, here we go:

Front facing down mat:

1.Active Child’s pose

As mentioned start with the Active Child’s pose. If your tendency is looking down most the day, then this will carry a good stretch in your neck. Look as far up to the ceiling or sky as you can.

2. Table pose

This is a neutral pose that you can take into standing or front down poses. In Table pose, look up to the ceiling. Feel the back of the neck yoga stretch.

Besides yoga habits, another habit you can do is when you’re waiting in neutral, look up.

I do this when I’m waiting for the warm water to brew for tea making. Or when I’m filling the water filter with water.

Habit stacking neck yoga with waiting is a good idea. Even when you’re looking at your phone, try to get in the habit of holding your device up.

3. Mountain Pose

You can ease into a Downward Dog and then stand up in Mountain Pose with hands in the air or prayer hands, and look up to your hands or ceiling.

3. Bow pose

Torso body facing down on the mat, bend your knees. With legs up in the air that you can move around, send your arms to your back and grab your ankles.

You’ll feel a nice stretch along your torso and back, and if you look up you really get to take advantage of the neck yoga bend.

Then transition to a seated position with Downward Dog if you like.

Bottom on the mat:

4. Boat Pose

Look up and legs up in the air so you’re in “V” shape with your bottom as your anchor. Your neck gets a nice stretch.

Instead of counting breaths, when you hold the pose, you could think of something today that you’re grateful for that you otherwise would’ve missed in a busier moment. That’ll add stress-drop points to your day.

5. Fish pose

This is a fun water animal pose. On your back, arch your back and let your head dangle downward so you’re looking at the wall behind you and upside down.

This is something you can do on your beach towel in case you’re on vacation And you can roll up your towel to use as a temporary pillow so your head drapes over the rollup (mimicking your neck yoga pose in Fish) that takes the pressure off your neck.

6. Seated Leg stretch

And finally to finish off, while seated you can stretch forward to touch your toes in front of you or as far as you can stretch.

Look up (and out as far as the eye can see) and you’ll feel the effects.

And after doing these 6 look up neck yoga poses, you’ll feel lighter.

And you could be ready for a treat like these summer light delights that are suprisingly healthy with superfood coconut goodness.

Coconut Cookies

Coconut lover? Move over macaroons (and macarons!). You’ll love these healthy, lower-fat cookies that need NO recipe or butter…

These healthy coconut toasted cookies are so easy to make with 4 ingredients and even less steps

: coconut flour (plus about a TBSP of AP flour), coconut oil, an egg, and shredded coconut.

Mix these ingredients together by hand and make a loose cookie dough that will have falling crumbs.

Shape into small circles, and bake on a no-stick baking sheet. Bake until sides are lightly toasted brown.

For the toasted coconut, if you want to be sure they don’t over toast while your cookie is still toasting

, you can use this ‘lil trick:

Add shredded coconut to cookie tops about 5 minutes before the cookies are done. Then flip the cookies upside down on the baking sheet.

They look like crab cakes as an illusion. They’re coconut cookies.

And after you’ve been looking down on your baking tray, habit stack back to your look up neck yoga

Low-Sugar Coconut Flour Cookies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp AP flour
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 Tbsp shredded coconut, sweetened

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Fourth of July Nostalgia For The Happy Inner Child

Recent Fourth of July photo memories in the Cinque Terre via boat

When a new season starts, it’s common to feel nostalgia. Seeing spring cherry blossom trees, fall fiery leaves, summer pool floats, serene lakes, and fireflies do this for me.

Those are the common memories I grew up with living in the DC suburbs where July 4th fireworks still fly in star spangle awe over the Nation’s Capitol

Summer is a time of swinging transition. You can dream of fun memories you can make. And in nostalgia, bring back fond memories that you’ve held onto.

These days we’re all globally connecting with people from around the world. That naturally makes us think more (and are more aware) of places around the globe that we’re not physically in, but imagine in their different time zones, and what their lives could be like.

For me, working with digital nomads who scoot around the globe

with a backpack as easily as stepping out the door makes me more grateful for the world I’m in, and to not take life for granted.

They can be on a 12-hour time difference but working in the same synched zone. This brings us together.

Like me in your situations you can realize how you have more similarities than differences with other cultures. Maybe you’ve felt that way from your work or school experiences.

When I was younger, we were world’s apart with no way to connect. But no matter what decade you grew up in, you probably dreamed up adventures.

I dreamed of going to Alaska from travel photos I had seen in magazines and television. The outdoor Alaskan experience seemed so different than my surrounding reality. And while I never made it to that outdoor nature experience, I did get a taste of international travel just a few years later.

I think of that first European vacation trip as unforgettable because I was just a kid. I haven’t forgotten the Venice gondola ride experience with the musician playing an accordion with soothing romantic melodies, fine dining foods such as spumoni ice cream and a view of a picturesque Swiss lake! That was a great modern Ayurvedic balancing experience especially at such an impressionable age!

And with that nostalgia I can bring back at any time, that serves as a source of calm and good mood change.

And, so then when I went back decades later, it was no less adventurous to see some of the same places with adult eyes.

Some tastes have changed, but some haven’t. And that’s for all of us. We all have those general experiences to celebrate.

And, what does that tell us?

…We’re naturally changing daily and we’re innately the same in our mind and bodies from when we were born. That’s the core of Ayurveda in a nutshell.

And we can see that in our daily experiences and in travel trying new foods and experiencing new languages, countries, and cities.

One city that makes the happiest place in the world list time and time again, is Copenhagen. It’s a strolling city. It’s also a bicycle city.

And I grew up always riding a bicycle (so that strikes nostalgia)…

The charming architecture and cobblestone street design make the historic European city postcard and travel magazine photo worthy.

When you’re in a calm area like Copenhagen with lots to see, you can think of other nostalgia memories that are in your wheelhouse.

For me, I think of peaceful ocean boardwalk cotton candy

memories.

The peaceful memories mean less stress today, and more joy and happiness.

And if you’re missing that wanderlust feeling in new experiences, you can try this…

Turn on media to watch PBS adventures showing the tropical jungle or the Savannah desert life. Instantly your mind switches to a new gear (and you didn’t need to get any vaccines to experience

Or, watch the wildlife of Alaska that satisfy my inner child that never made it there. I don’t need to travel there to experience. And when I think of the stress effort it would take to fly there, I’m actually relieved.

And that feeling of relief reduces stress which is always welcomed.

The brain, btw doesn’t know the difference of whether we see a waterfall on our screen or live and in-person. It’s how we choose to interpret the experience.

So believe you do have an immediate say in your mind-body balance!

And that’s why experiencing those great movies, books, and stories you encounter that make you laugh, cry, appreciate, and wonder… are the perfect escapes.

They don’t get the ooh…ahh from your friends, but the memories and nostalgia feelings are just as real, and whenever you recall them.

You may not take an Instagrammable photo… but who cares?

Everything we know about in this world has been photographed and shared. So capturing your photograhic memory is what matters most.

The most photographed woman in the world you can capture in today’s memory

Some other ways to get those instant happy nostalgia feelings:

You can share about your experience and what you thought in small talk or a book club. Being in community with those you have affinity for not only are feel-good moments, they also help extend our healthy lives.

Another way is to take a streaming voice map tour where you get to experience another place, city, country, or culture from the convenience of your digital device. Maybe you don’t get the full 3-D experience, but you do at least get a 2-D one for a fraction of the price and cost for traveling to another location.

A good goal is to make every day feel special in some way. This could be as simple as turning on those moody jams

And wherever you are and whatever you’re doing today (and on this SUPER special holiday day), commemorate with a moment of gratitude that you can recall next year in feel-good nostalgia.

Happy Fourth of July!!

Be safe!

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Simple Pitta Season Reminders

Pitta season is usually when heat starts up in the summer, but sometimes that can be sooner. We’re reminded of our planet. And we can celebrate with cooling foods like pineapple, cumin, and yogurts. A Hawaiian pizza with pineapple below.

Celebrating a brownie with pineapple, cherry, and Greek yogurt funfetti never gets old!

Heat, heat, heat. And more heat. That’s what Pitta season is about. Along with the bloom and celebration comes heat that is deceivingly dangerous. The solution: cool moisture. And I have some reminder hydrating tips below.

You may not be a Pitta, but Pitta season is a scorcher. Jumping in a cooling pool will give you a few minutes of relief but won’t help you from leathering up or collecting sun-kissed freckles… that I probably don’t need to remind you, catch up with you in sunspots and wrinkles when you get to the mirror.

So in that vain, prevention is always the best and easiest method.

Especially when you’re on vacation, you may forget how much moisturizing love the skin really needs. Your best bet is to moisturize throughout the day when you get a break. And if you get heat rashes or inflammation.

And if you’re like me and tend to forget the SPF before heading out, do it first thing and bring it with you. We can’t get away with SPF 0 or 2 like we once did, especially if you want to look good at mid-life. Try 50 (or 52 ).

And when you’re back home, revive your skin by washing off the layer of SPF skin protection not needed indoors. Steam is going to restore you and your skin back. And your critical-minutes after shower routine minutes will set the tone.

The right moisturizing lotion after showering helps to embalm the moisture. There’s no one-size fits all for products (and that’s probably one of the reasons why there are so many options available). And once you find your formula or brand that works for you, stick with that.

And, use a spritzing facial spray. I like rosewater (good for Pitta moods). If you don’t like the scent, you can choose a mint cooling spray. That sets you on your merry way to start the second half of your day.

Mint btw, is also good for keeping away some flying insects that can really kick up the Pitta annoyed emotions.

Also, Witch Hazel has become a favorite oldie but goodie astringent that draws oil out that irritates (Pitta) heated and dry skin.

And if you like floral scents like jasmine, lavender, or rose, go with that which also helps the body cool or calm from a mind-body perspective. It’s also a good reminder to: stop and smell the flowers.

Or magnolias in my case (known for symbolizing joy, love, and purity):

Look at this moisture-rich magnolia flower

When you’re out, you also want to use an SPF lip balm. The higher SPF, the better.

At home, I use Burt’s Bees brand when no SPF is needed. And a lip scrub, and then dab a little honey on the lips that moisturizes and keeps lips supple… trust me I’m all about the lip management with full lips.

I learned early on that lips don’t tan.

And honey also has been used for centuries for skin inflammation as well as dehydration.

As you age, you notice the drier spots. The good news is your moisture-love efforts, accumulate.

Same with drinking water. If you use an aluminum bottle over glass, that can be super cooling. And keep plenty of juicy fruits around as sweet snacks, such as healthy tropical fruits: pineapple, kiwi, and peeled-off skin grapes.

All these keep you from Pitta season dehydrating or getting easy-fix thirsty headaches… we don’t need to complicate the simple.

Hawaiian Pizza

When I worked in a pizza shop as a teenager, I loved how the sweet pineapple and ham paired.

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, hawaiian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

Pineapple chunks
Flat ham slices
tomato or barbecue (optional)
cheese

Instructions

Bake your pizza crust for about 20 minutes at 350°F.
Add cheese and sauce.
Add ham and pineapple toppings.

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God Winks Encouragement

God winks appear all the time and in front of us if we’re paying attention.

God often speaks in nature like in bright sunflower blooms and occasional rainbow skies And in science like the rare total eclipse and even in a pair of daily ducks.

God winks in nature like these common pair of ducks. They are the many wonders that keep us wondering!

We also sometimes forget that God winks in our food where nature provides plant-based foods.

Like these authentic whole wheat zucchini fettuccine getting drying-ready for cooking (recipe below ).

Jump to Recipe

I believe everyone needs encouragement in this life. It’s part of the healthy and happy journey. And one special form of encouragement that you may already turn to is the God winks that are specific to your life…

The daily favors, blessings, miracles… whatever you want to call it… like driving by a surprising display of flowers instead of the usual path to radiate the day

When something special, small or not happens in your day, you’re reminded that you’re watched over.

You know that you were given luck in some way by the Universe if you allow your beliefs to take you there and you push your ego aside that can thwart your efforts in your mind.

God is love and the ego is fear. And how you noodle yourself out of those times where it’s hard to see the love, will get you to more God winks sooner because you’ll see them.

You see favor in life, whether you bypass a long line that was just there seconds before you got there. …Or, you’re lucky with your online submission that comes back favorable.

Your timing is perfect and the opportunity is for you. And that was no coincidence. That is meant to be encouraging to your day if you don’t miss it.

These can be a part of your every day, if you pay attention to the discernment message that the Universe sends. As you live longer and practice deciphering more you will get better at this!

In Christian living, it’s the Holy Spirit helping us out or the spirit in you.

There’s no mystery or woo-woo, it’s just the way it is on our planet and was established, all documented during Biblical times.

And we can this live out daily in our version of modern Biblical living if we choose.

An interesting thought: the book that made it in every hotel room (I worked in hotels) is full of good daily instruction.

Most of us don’t give it daily thought.

I know I didn’t for the first quarter of my life until the words came to life when I learned the content that helped align my life.

And in your life, the more wondering and connect the dots to the wonders and little miracles, the more you’ll see them and get God wink favors. Not everyone sees a rainbow in front of them.

And whether you do or don’t think you receive favor, your life will have ups and downs.

But if you know in the end that all will be well, that provides a sense of peace. And we all can use more of that if we want to live a life of meaning. Or when we feel discouraged.

So when things aren’t exactly working out the way you thought they would or you feel stuck, look up for the God winks. They will keep you going.

Align your prayerful thoughts and whether you speak them aloud or just think the thoughts especially while in public or around people.

When we stay on the channel of our daily, small thoughts that are mostly negative because it’s on the worldly level of this limited life, then we lose time with negative moods or emotions.

We keep ourselves from growing and getting to the next level. If we think and reach higher, we’re better off.

And we gain more then in the time it takes for us to try and do it by ourselves. If we plan about the future, that may not happen the way we thought if we don’t check in first with our heart and soul.

This is a simple exercise you can try.

Find something in your situations that has given you some tension or hasn’t worked out. You have several productive options. You can try again or look for a new solution.

An example is a tool that has broken. You can try to fix it. If you look at it from another angle, sometimes you figure it out.

But if you get upset or frustrated, then nothing gets accomplished. If you spend the same time praying, the solution comes to you.

It’s the same way you can pray off your worry, as Norman Vincent Peale taught in The Power of Positive Thinking.

It works because of your productive mindset and calm mood, but is also because of the higher-reaching power working in your life.

Another example, and one that was recent for me is new baking challenges. As someone who likes to experiment, not all bakes turn out. And when I wondered what happened, I use the bake as a lesson. It reminds me of what can go wrong. So instead of being disappointed, I see it as a way to grow.

Because in order to grow, there is always a struggle or sacrifice of sorts to varying degrees. You have to give up perfection or success in order to get better. You let go (or let God and reject ego).

Or you spend more time invested in learning than you thought. And this is how you get good and skilled at anything… by the failures and challenges. You don’t learn as much from the ones that turn out and where you get a few minutes of joy from right away. Never judge a book by its cover. Give things a second chance.

But joy does keep us encouraged and engaged in the balance of everything in life.

And these joyful pasta-ccines are very balanced with whole wheat and zucchini.

Print Recipe

Zucchini Fettuccine Whole Wheat Pasta

This is a great homemade pasta making recipe to get your veggies in (or for picky eaters) or if you have a leftover zucchini you don't want to go bad. Homemade pasta is easy to make once you get the hang of it and you can enjoy same day! And as grocery prices rise on pasta, this is an economical way to get fresh pasta with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen!

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, Italian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

blender or mortar and pestle (optional)
cup measuring cup (optional)
pasta machine or dough roller

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour (can use gluten-free flours) per serving
1 egg per serving
generous pinch of salt
1 zucchini, cooked and mashed

Instructions

Make a flour mound. Make a deep well with a spoon or the measuring cup you used. Add egg and salt.
Knead. Add blended zucchini to the pasta dough.
Make a dough disc. Let rest for at least 20 minutes.
Divide the disc into two halves. Roll out pasta as thin as you can without getting holes. If using a pasta machine, start on a medium/wide setting such as "5" and then run through thinner setting such as "3." That may be the thinnest setting.
If rolling by hand and dough roller, roll evenly to about 1/16".
Let strands dry out enough so you can still make a curled nest or can break (like packaged processed pasta). These took about 2 hours.
Cook like you would packaged pasta for about 20 minutes on medium heat for "al dente" pasta. Whole wheat pasta will take longer than other plain flour homemade pasta. You can store uncooked pasta in fridge for 2-3 days. Buon appetito!

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Unfocused Vata Mind Imbalance

Unfocused is a common mind trait. Sometimes it’s confused with ADHD that’s a common label tossed around.

Being unfocused is an Ayurvedic Vata trait. In this article you’ll learn how to better handle this in your life and restore the imbalances.

Focusing on a drink changing can help with unfocused tendencies. — A creative green coffee drink can help with productivity and an unfocused Vata tendency. Recipe below.

For a natural Vata, it’s typical for the mind to be expressing and darting from task to task or idea to idea, instead of being laser focused.

That’s a general symptom diagnosis in the mind-body connection that’s common for many of us.

And when off-balance, this can mean getting up off the couch or outta your seat hundreds of times a day. This is one natural Vata mind tendency, anyway.

The better productivity solution is balancing the Vata mind, so that you don’t feel you have to keep doing something else other than what you’re doing.

It doesn’t matter what the other thing is, but your mind is calling you impulsively to do it no matter what. Sound familiar?

This symptom description is often mistaken as ADHD in our ADD (or attention deficit disorder) world.

Technology has made this worse. We’re juggling our devices and the real world. And there are more noisy distractions that keeps us task switching and reinforcing the tendency to become a bad habit.

You can change your habits to better habits.

That’s completely in your healthy power to keep or change your ways, just like choosing to make healthy meals.

The healthy way or habits could be to multi-task or time block and feel productive.

But when your mind causes unfocus, worry-anxiety around the imbalance, or you’re feeling unproductive because of your unfocused tendencies, that’s when you want to use restore balancing habit to restore your hyper-unfocused Vata mind imbalance.

Other signs are when your unfocused mind is distracting you or you’re leaning toward an unfocused day. That’s when restoring balance is called for.

And if that’s still tricky to pinpoint, you can make a tally sheet of how many times you switched tasks when your brain prompted you to in the moment (from what you had already planned to do in advance). That way you have a visual to compare to for yourself.

Sometimes you can observe the impulsive nature that the mind feeds.

Let that moment pass and help to give peace to the mind by writing down the thoughts, journaling, or creating a list.

Or if it makes sense as a 1-5-minute task, just take care of it quickly, but don’t re-route your day over the impulses if you want to live a consistent calming life that you’re in charge of.

Because 50 five-minute getting-up tasks is 250 minutes or over 4 hours that you won’t get back.

And not having enough time is one stressor we can avoid.

There’s enough chaos in the world that’ll shake off that daily depleting piece (and peace ).

When we were kids, we didn’t have adult wisdom like that. Time wasn’t so important. Our moody feelings fed us and drove us to what we wanted to do.

We basically didn’t drive our bus.

But as adults, you don’t want your emotions to steer and get the better of you and then also lose time.

If you feel strong feelings about a situation, they serve a purpose to bring joy or cleanse sadness. Or… to show you something bigger about your life where you can make a change. But general daily moods don’t always help.

You don’t want the feelings to turn into daily, unproductive moody symptoms such as anxiety, anger, and lethargy where each represent a different imbalance.

And these can bleed into other Vata imbalances…

Another form of unfocused Vata-hyper mind is when it’s difficult to make decisions.

Because at the root of decision-making are your thoughts that drive what you do in the mind-body connection.

You don’t have control over your thoughts from entering, but you do have control over what you do with your thoughts.

The usual natural Pitta and Kapha profiles don’t show this symptom description unless they have a Vata imbalance which can happen to any of us at any time.

We all possess the 3 doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) to varying degrees, even if it’s just a crumb.

For any of us, our imbalance is our Achilles Heel. Restoring our imbalances is in our power and often an easy fix that needs daily repetition until our imbalance settles down.

Pittas have more hard-charging personalities like the hare in the Aesop’s Fable on a competitive mission. Kaphas are more the slow and steady turtles that finish the race.

And when you’re overrun with Vata, you can miss the goal entirely in distractions with the scenic route.

The good news is you can balance this high Vata symptom in more ways than one….

Balancing your Vata imbalance through your food senses is one way to begin restoring balance…. because an unfocused Vata imbalance is related to Vata trait symptoms such as anxious feelings, and indecisiveness. It’s no coincidence in our natural mind-body balance system.

And directly related to the unfocused symptoms you experience… something you can do is to nail down a daily routine or habit practice, so you can get back to being grounded and focused.

This can look like at least one or two healthy time slots in your day that are non-negotiable, e.g. yoga or office hours during certain hours.

You set boundaries with people about these non-negotiables. You essentially training them that you are off-limits and disconnected to the world during those times.

The way this works is being consistent and not letting any exceptions in (besides emergencies) because once you do that, then others know that your rules and boundaries are not hard set and taken that seriously. So be firm.

I watch people on the sidelines who don’t have this in place. They’re on the opposite extreme and schedule anything, get distracted by shiny objects, and fill in slots anytime their mood fancies.

…But then they wonder where the time went OR why they’re not happy with their outputs and decisions.

They don’t manage their time well on calendars getting non-negotiables handled as first thing ,so it doesn’t get missed or during the optimized hours where their minds are sharpest.

And if you’re a unfocused Vata by nature with those tendencies, that only makes your life more chaotic like the wind, where you get tossed to-and-from.

You worsen your Vata-ness with too much unfocused Vata behaviors.

People-pleasing too much can be a cause when we’d be better off practicing proper kind words to say no.

And this can be saying no to ourselves since we have other non-negotiables. Like appointments with our wellness routines.

Knowing it will be okay if you say no could be the hurdle. But you’re not letting others down more than you’re letting yourself down.

Because your immediate feeling of guilt can turn into resentment for others and unhappiness that’s far worse.

So you want to prepare what you will say with tact if someone wants to encroach on areas.

Often, this comes from those who live in chaos and impose their unstructured life on you.

And when you’re with routine, they can’t spill over onto you.

And when you can learn the right words to say, they become more natural and roll off your tongue.

They become and your new way and that helps your routine and focusing.

Plus, you spend more time in this short-lived life doing the things that really matter to you!

For example, you can be in your sweet spot boost of daily energy, and stick with your ideas. And find a routine that you stay competitive with as things in life change.

That will help tone down worry with purpose. And help wipe away the anxious bits that unfocused Vata often feel.

And when you’ve grounded with routines and consistency, you don’t have to stick to only boring routines. You can be creative that most natural Vatas are and love.

I know how that can be, having worked over a couple decades in-and-out of corporate environments where it was all about routine tasks, maintenance, performance, and people management.

None of those areas express creativity. Something Vatas crave.

Vatas are also naturally energetic, encouraging, and eager. Having an idea and then having to wait for management to approve if ever, is anything but encouraging.

And then having people and all the chaos along the way change the dynamics. Well… all that can zap creativity.

So finding a side hobby or hustle as a creative outlet is a good way to re-focus those energies.

And if you’re in flow or with daily creativity, then you’re in alignment with yourself.

That helps grow you toward your life purpose and your authentic identity where you get the deepest satisfaction and joy.

Summary: If you have an imbalanced unfocused Vata tendency today: stick to a routine, express your non-negotiables, find a creative outlet.

The wellness outcome is finding calm and daily joy that you want. And you’ll have a strategy and stick with it.

If you’re curious about what your imbalances are in this season, take the free Body Balance Quiz.

Earth Day Layered Plant Based Cold Brew Coffee

This planet-reminding changing drink is a fun and delicious beverage.

Course beverage

Cuisine American

Ingredients

black cocoa
cold brew coffee
plant-based milks (almond milk, cashew milk, etc.)
gluten-free flour (coconut or almond flour)
blueberry tea
blueberries
Pandan (gel works best)

Instructions

Layer and freeze each layer before adding another layer.
Layer 1: milk
Layer 2: layer with black cocoa, gluten-free flour, and milk (or cream) that's more creamy and good for beverages.
Layer 3: cold blueberry tea
Layer 4: cold brew coffee (or coffee of choice)
Layer 5: milk
Add a few blueberries if you like.
Make plant-based pandan ice cube. Add pandan mixed with water and freeze
Add the ice cube to the top frozen layer.
Bring drink out to regular room temperature about 10-15 minutes before you want to consume if semi-frozen and 30 minutes or longer if frozen solid. Watch your planet beverage change before your very eyes! For kids, you can swap cocoa or chocolate milk for the coffee layer.

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