Dancer pose is one of those poses that has everything… showing grace, balance, flexibility, and creativity. You see your limits and your possibilities.
Whether you love yoga or not, you can use Dancer pose productively for the next steps (or habit stack on top of another activity or intention).
Dancer pose is a good opportunity to feel like you’re already at that place you want to be in this season (where you can lift yourself off the floor ground).
You can believe yourself into your next destiny or destination. And you can feel fearless in the moment that can carry you in your day.
And it doesn’t require much. 😊
You can do Dance pose anywhere you can stand and spread out.
The middle of a room is a good place, but a good way to start off whether you’re new to the pose ornot quite awake in the a.m… is to do the pose when you’re in the kitchen waiting for warm water or food to heat up or drinking a glass of water.
You don’t need to be cooking or baking (but that’s an option!). And you can use your kitchen counter or a solid above waist flat ledge to help you balance.
Or you can use a chair with the back of the chair facing you to support you. It’s not just sitting chair pose. 😉
This’ll give you the edge for a better Dancer pose stretch and to give you a little foundation until you feel stable enough.
It may not be as pretty as free form, but it can give you your best form for the day. And you can stretch your flexibility further.
After you get used to how it feels, you can get free from your nearby props.
Dancer is a great balancing pose where you feel empowered to do more than you would. You can feel like you’re on top of the world.
It’s a graceful pose, and if you like Barre classes, this might be right up your alley! You feel a bit like a ballerina. 🩰
So to start, rest your palms on the counter if you’re using a support. Then take one hand and grab the same side ankle and then extend that leg behind you. And let go of the opposite hand and aim it in front of you.
You’re now in a balanced Dancer pose (without worry of falling or wobbling over).
You’ll feel a nice stretch up to your backside and mid-back. So you don’t have to be on a mat face up or down.
And when you do this standing pose for 30 seconds maybe on each side, you’ll feel tension release from your back.
You feel lightweight like you’re floating a bit. It’s as close to a bird with wings as we’ll get.
And as Dancer pose becomes (or is) second nature to you, and you can do before you’ve had your morning caffeine jolt if that’s your jam, then here’s one added useful intention:
Content creation that has grown wildly since around 2015.
I’d been regularly blogging since 2009 (yeah… I’m one of the ones that started back when Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were the big social media sites, and blogs fell in those categories).
Back when social media was the wild-wild west. 😁
And now this is how we regularly communicate with those we know, and grow ideas and do business life with.
So getting in the habit of doing Dancer first thing can be the way you habit stack to grow your ideas.
…And maybe take a pause to hold the pose a little longer than usual and come up with one creative idea as your intention.
We’ve gotten past the point of just sharing about our immediate lives. We want to share more (in what that means to each of us) and expand what we’re about.
So a hobby or interest that we’re passionate about can be conveyed in photos, videos, and words.
Little did I know that I would be posting about my healthy baked creations. But this has become my passion over the past few years, second to writing.
Dancer pose can help you find what it is that you want to communicate to the world in the first place.
Then when you content create regularly you build something special.
We all start off wondering if we’ll stick with what we’re working on, or branch into something else. It’s all good. It’s always a branching off to the next step on your journey.
And when you put a creative intention out to the world, and you want to contribute as a content creator in some way, that opens you up inside
…Doesn’t that sound appealing to have a unique purpose along with some other activities you love, such as visiting the same stores where there’s comfort and familiarity?
You can run the same track but doing something different with your tracks helps you find a new dimension in your life.
We’re all meant for so much in this life if we stay open.
Your creativity has no limits.
You’re only limited by your beliefs and limitations.
When I went from a traditional college to corporate work path, my creativity drifted and stayed hidden.
Only when I picked up writing as a regular habit and practice did my creative juices get ignited where I wasn’t needing to start and stop to let the creativity flow out of me.
And Dancer pose was one of the first yoga poses that let me feel like I was free to do something outside my structured corporate mindset I had grown.
And you have something in you that is wanting to come out, and the world would love to see… and more of! Unleashing yourself (and maybe with a Dancer pose to start) brings out your best.
For many of us, when we’re in school we’re chasing good grades. But grades never determine whether you’ll have a happy or successful life.
Those that chose an unconventional path to drop out or take a creative arts path I believe helped themselves out, so they could find their deep creative well earlier on in life before practical adult responsibilities grew.
I didn’t do that as I took the traditional path.
The good news is, the second best time to realize your dream or life’s work (especially if you didn’t like your first career or path)… is NOW.
You can restart and pivot. Dancer pose is a good metaphor for pivoting. It can help free up your mind to feel untethered and get on a leveling playing field with yourself so there are no more limitations!
You can start at any age, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing in life. Your past doesn’t dictate your future abilities.
So use your dreams intentions to bridge your creative self (hmm,a dancer maybe?) that brings new ideas, meaning, and purpose to your life.
That’s where I’m heading now… and you can too on your path.
To finish off your Dancer pose, you can rest your right palm on your heart to get centered and reach back your left hand to meet your left ankle.
Anti-inflammatory food ideas are delicious and good for health prevention. Finding the right healthy pairings, spices, and flavors bring make the rainbow variety out. 🌈 Learn more about anti inflammatory foods in this article.
One of my favorite happy and healthy topics is probably no surprise to you, it’s food… and coming up with food ideas to eat. And for a low-sugar but sweet treat with anti-inflammatory benefits, see the Chai Cookies below. 🥠
And I’ve probably talked about anti-inflammatory food ideas even more times, and this anti-inflammatory food guide for grocery shopping and easy meal planning ideas.
…And so to spice up your healthy food knowledge, here are 5 Trivia Questions for you.
The answers are at the bottom… but I have a hunch that you may know the answer to one or more of them, and will definitely by the time you finish reading to the end. 😉
…So here we go with the 5 questions!
What is the difference between an herb and a spice?
Which 4 vitamins are fat-soluble?
Where is gluten found in wheat?
Besides wheat, what are 1-2 starchy CROP foods we could eat? (Hint: Grown and raised in big fields)
AND…
What food category does pumpkin fall in?
I had to add that last tricky trivia question in there because pumpkin is all the rage in taste these days. It seems earlier and earlier each year.
I’m still pouring coconut flavors into my beverages as it’s too hot for pumping pumpkin for me just yet… and maybe you too where you are?
In all healthy fairness though, pumpkin puree we often add to our dishes and bakes, is a nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory food loaded with fiber prebiotics good for gut health.
The downside: it has a high/fair GI rating so it can raise blood sugar spikes but still good for an anti inflammatory meal plan idea.
And so, you’ve probably heard of nutrient-dense foods at the core of anti inflammatory food which means they’re packed with nutrients compared to calories. And they have few ingredients. Often they’re whole foods like fruits.
They’re preventative protectors to help fight inflammation that’s recurring, ongoing, or chronic inflammation. Inflammatory properties often have at least one of these symptoms: redness or irritation, heat, swelling, or pain.
Those are earlier signs that can lead to certain chronic diseases such as heart disease, Diabetes 2, certain cancers, and cognitive decline diseases. So one way to handle is to reduce inflammation occurrences with a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating.
And you’ve probably heard of polyphenols that are nutrients in plants and the orange color in pumpkin gives away its healthy advantage rich in beta carotene that’s converted into Vitamin A in the body as needed, so you can think of them as one and the same 🎃
Polyphenols protect the plant, but we get the benefit as an antioxidant (to help protect against disease) in vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, tofu, and our plant-based diet. These are also good for weight loss meal plans.
There are 13 essential vitamins our bodies can’t make on their own. We get them through food or supplements. They’re critical for key functions like immunity, metabolism, and digestion that help us lose weight and maintain healthy weight.
These are essential nutrients on the anti inflammatory diet and anti inflammatory food ideaas for your food plans.
Vitamins A, C, E
These 3 essential vitamins fight inflammation or swelling. These are important antioxidants that fight cell-free radicals, to help protect against cancer. And you already know one way (eat more 100% pumpkins!).
Since Vitamins A and E are fat-soluble, it’s good to pair healthy fat in your body with them. Like sweet potatoes with walnuts or a drizzle of olive oil that’s common in a mediterranean diet… or how about a healthy bake like carrot coconut oil cake? 😋 That’s one of my anti inflammatory recipes.
Foods like avocados and almonds are rich in Vitamin E and (monounsaturated) healthy fats, so that’s why you probably see these superfoods in the healthy news headlines everywhere you turn.
Vitamin C is easy to find in fruits, but it’s water soluble (I think of it like going down a water slide out of your body). And so, you can take more and that’s why I take a daily supplement, in addition to eating from the rainbow Vit C foods.
Vitamins B
Daily, we need our B vitamins. All 8 are essential like those listed in a B-complex vitamin, and they work in synergy with each other.
Vitamins A, E, D, K are also essential and are the fat-soluble vitamins. Sometimes you naturally take advantage of this. Like when you use EVOO to cook your salmon.
But being more intentional, you can find other opportunities like:
Carrots with hummus made with EVOO.
Spinach with walnuts.
Or an avocado green smoothie with a plant-based milk.
And, here are some of my fave good anti-inflammatory food ideas:
One morning snack I enjoy is celery with almond butter that has protein and fiber. Or natural peanut butter paired with a Granny Smith apple, sliced up bananas, or in good old-fashioned PBJ (or favorite seeded jam) toast.
Another good starter is watermelon with EVOO and mint. If you have a headache, the first thing I do is drink water that’s always good for hydrating your system. And mint is good for the aches.
In fruits and veggies, the different polyphenol-phytochemical pigments are healthy antioxidants. Here are some food examples and how you can eat from the rainbow 🌈:
Red
Red Apples – If you like crisp, Fuji or Gala varieties are easy to find. Or a traditional Red Delicious that’s a softer apple and tends to bruise easier.
Tomatoes – if you find a tomato medley, they all have differing degrees of sweetness, like a green tomato is less sweet. Yellow tomatoes are less acidic and taste sweeter than a red cherry tomato. And a plum tomato usually found in an Italian dish has a deep red or red-orange color different than a slightly sour grape tomato for a Greek salad.
Both overall, tomatoes and avocados aren’t as sweet compared to other fruits. They’re botanical fruits, but we think of them as veggies in our dishes. They actually come from the flowers of plants.
Squashes are considered fruits, and pumpkin popular in September and October is considered a squash. So a pumpkin is a fruit (and that answers that trivia question).
Orange
Carrots – are underrated I think. A bag of carrots is always good to have on hand and are usually abundant year-round. You can eat them as snacks, or cook them slightly soft for better nutritional benefits.
Or you can julienne them or puree them for your carrot cake and breads. If carrots get too dry left out, you can simply add them to a bowl of water to revive them. They’re a lot like us even though their roots are different! 🥕
Oranges – are seasonal even though we see them sometimes year-round. They’re more abundant in the cold winter months like November – January in the U.S.
But, nothing is guaranteed for any food, and you may have found oranges harder to find as there has been a crop shortage, as of 2021. You can find mandarin oranges or small clementines more easily. They’re less acidic and easier to peel if you want to find their good sides.
Yellow
One of the most practical fruits we have around is a banana. Green bananas have a lower GI (glycemic index) than ripe bananas. That makes sense as they’re not as sweet. I like to eat green bananas and use the ripe ones for baking or a smoothie. If you shop around, you’ll know where to get the greenest ones in your town.
Green
Avocado – already mentioned as a superfood, besides on toast, you can make a smoothie or a mousse dessert. You can add on top of any salad. And since they don’t last long after you cut into them, you can easily make an easy guacamole dip. 🥑
Spinach – spinach is a powerful vitamin-rich food and Popeye learned this when got his strength guzzling spinach down.
But for us ordinary characters, we can get bored with the bland spinach taste in a salad. So, I have many anti-inflammatory food ideas:
One idea is to wilt with a little liquid and heat, and then add to your plate slightly cooked to keep the nutrients intact. You’ll find you can add a lot more spinach once it’s tamed down with water and heat
It’s the difference between when your hair is just blown out shiny straight, compared to a wild frizzy humid hair day. 😄
And… when you have a big bag of spinach that can last a couple of weeks in the fridge, but by then is not as fresh… here are some FRESH spinach ideas:
Smoothie: Spinach, pineapple, Granny Smith apple, and nut or plant-based milk. The tart and sweet complements the green smoothie goodness. Add your powders and seeds all day! And you can substitute with kale.
Spinach con queso dip
On medium stove heat, you can wilt the spinach with warming milk, and then add cheese to melt, while stirring. And you can sprinkle baked kale chips on top for extra anti-inflammatory food ideas.
Tortilla with melted cheese spinach (Quesadila)
Bake tortilla. I like low and slow (200°F for an hour) so they don’t burn, and then add shredded or cut-up cheese that’ll be quick to melt in the oven. Add your fresh microgreens or herbs on top AFTER you bake.
I like to add allium-healthy flavors like red or green onions. And tri-color bell peppers for a mouth fiesta 🎉. And a bean spread (with EVOO smashed pinto or cannellini beans).
That is a super anti-inflammatory food idea and you may have heard that beans are the vitamins that Blue Zone Centenarians take. 🫘
Maybe spinach ain’t so bland after all!?
And one food that hasn’t been mentioned yet is fatty fish oils found in fish. Good healthy eating ones are small fish like sardines or wild fish like wild salmon. They would be good to add to any meal planns.
Blue
Blueberries – bake well into morning bars, balls, or scones.
Blueberries also great for smoothies, and jams. And if you’re not a fan or allergic, you could do the other common berries like strawberries or raspberries, or the newer popular berries like elderberries or red lingonberries. I think it’s interesting that we haven’t even come close to identifying all the berries around the world!
Purple/Black
Black beans – I like to bake black bean brownies or energy balls that makes these longevity bakes. You can add espresso on top of the cocoa to give some deeper flavors. Or you can make a cool beans soup. 😋
…Now that’s thinking like a Centenarian! These are worth adding to your anti-inflammatory food ideas.
Red Onions – On the outside, they’re s dark purple hue and inside they’re white. They are pretty and healthy.
Onion rings – And you can easily make healthy baked onion rings. Cut rings (parallel to the top of the onion like the latitudinal equator lines if you could imagine it like a globe). Then dip into a whisked egg, then flour, and then Panko bread crumbs. And then bake. So easy and impressive for a snack!
White/Brown
Mushrooms – these are fascinating as they have so many benefits to the earth and our immunity. The earth needs us and we need the food on the earth.
And adaptogens like mushrooms help with our stress and anxiety. And they have become a whole new taste revolution. Umami – oh, mommy!
Cauliflower – they are a good source of Vitamin C and low in calories for healthy weight loss. You can bake them into your pizza crust or eat my favorite ways, as Crudite. That’s raw on a veggie plate we always had when I worked in hotel catering.
Breakfast Quinoa – as a pseudo grain and naturally gluten-free, this is my go-to cereal. Quinoa takes a little bit of cooking time like rice, but you can batch cook in advance so it’s cool and ready for the next few mornings.
Lunch/Dinner Quinoa – It’s also versatile for your savory lunch meals and dinner salads. My favorite combo is chickpeas and quinoa with a coarser Celtic sea salt.
Warm Oats – this is definitely a morning staple. I like to eat warm with fresh fruit but that’s about Vata-me… andwhat aboutyou?
Cold Oats – You can also do Overnight Oats and just pull your cup or glass out of the fridge in the morning. Add your chia seeds, berries, yogurt, and bananas for a Pitta perfect parfait. 😊
Almonds – these are great snacks. And unlike a chip, it’s good to eat more than one. They have the healthy fat, but also vitamins, minerals, and protein.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or EVOO
Besides cooking, EVOO is good for baking, dips, and on toast for some other anti-inflammatory food ideas.
Spelt and sprouted grains come from whole grains and have high levels of vitamins and minerals. They’re easier to digest with a lower GI (but not to be confused with gluten-free!). You can get GF versions, but those are wholesome wheat grains.
And that’s a good idea and thought to leave it on! I hope this helps you on your food healthy lifestyle!
…Oh, and here are the answer to the 5 TRIVIA questions above (that I copied here):
What is the difference between an herb and a spice?
Which 4 vitamins are fat-soluble?
Where is gluten found in wheat?
Besides wheat, what are some other starchy crop healthy foods we could eat?
What food category is pumpkin in?
Trivia Question Answers:
1.An herb comes from the leaves of plants, and spices from the other parts (flowers, fruits, seeds, roots).
2.Vitamins D,E,A,K
3.Gluten is found in the starchy endosperm in the middle layer of the wheat cereal grain. The seed is deep inside and the bran is the outside of the grain.
4.Corn, rice, and millet are a few. Millet is more popular for humans to eat outside the U.S. but you can find it if you look around.
5.Pumpkin is a squash, and squashes are fruit. So, a pumpkin is technically a fruit. You may never look at pumpkins the same, and at Thanksgiving when you think you need a fruit pie on the table.
And that’s a wrap!
For healthy recipes you can check out this one especially if you have a sweet tooth and want to avoid the inflammatory sugar.
These delicious and simple-to-make chai bombs are loaded with antioxidants.
Course desserts
Cuisine American, Indian
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
1tspall spice (cloves)
1tspCeylon cinnamon (add more with preference
1tspchai tea bag, grinds
1tbspmolasses (or honey)
2tbspcoconut oil, solid form
1/3cupcoconut flour
1tspcardamom
Instructions
The secret to these delicious cookies is to mix the ingredient dough and refrigerate for several days so the flavors have a chance to penetrate. Then scoop into balls and bake as you would cookies.
Wellness morning routines are not easy when you live a busy Western lifestyle.
Cramming in a few minutes to eat healthy, do yoga and get some re-centering quiet time is not usually the routine unless you get up super early as trade off for sleep or staying up late.
I’m exhausted already when I hear how hard charging some people are in their season descriptions… and then I quickly remember that was my life not too long ago when I worked in the corporate world 40+ hours a week and had side hustles.
Matcha sourdough bread and satisfying crunchy chewy bagel 🍵… I couldn’t wait, I had to take a bite! 😋
If you’re of a Vata mind, a structured wellness routine can be challenging as the mind fights against set consistent routines when a routine is what’s needed most. …And heavy Vata minds can’t sit still as obvious signs.
If you carry a Vata mind (that any of us can), you can easily tire from to-do tasks like opening up or pulling out your calendar every day or several times a day. Those simple, but mundane types of activities can be draining.
…Today, living daily aware now years later from what was filtered or partial conscious life, I personally don’t do life without daily checking in on my balanced-imbalanced moods and well… wellness.
Your moods show you what’s going on inside. Your mind-body is intuitive, so it serves you the truth and gives you the information about what you need to restore your health. And, restoring sour moods back to happy and neutral is one way to accomplish more daily.
We all can get affected by external factors that can put us in daily moods. That makes us human. But moods can create more disruption than an external interruption, so it’s better to manage ASAP to nip sour moods in the bud.
As a quick scan, as long as you feel good for stretches of daily moments, and about what you’re doing, you’re probably in good shape. Or you know how to bounce back quickly, so that doesn’t become your season longer than it has to.
One routine I changed up to avoid uninspired moods, is I gave up working on a calendar that I used to color code as a planner. I found better systems that worked for me. And that’s something you can consider for yourself…
To Have A Working Calendar (Or Not?)
On purpose, I avoid having a working calendar these days (and the past few years) as they distract from my productivity.
I do work on other people’s Google and Outlook calendars, but not my own. I’m sure you have examples in your life where you do things differently for yourself than others. I do a much better job and follow through, managing other people’s stuff, as I want to help and serve them the best I can. That helps to keep the balance.
But I found that as pretty colors as my own rainbow calendar looked, I was following it when I didn’t have to. And that was not helpful! So I had to come up with a better way. 🌈
Plus, I also did professional catering management for many years, and all I did was rely on and live off of a calendar religiously year-round, knowing and planning other people’s event dates. And at times, an unhealthy task holding onto dates as though my life depended on it.
So, these days I like to be less reliant on a calendar. If you’re wondering how to live or wean yourself off of a calendar if that’s your want, here are some ideas (and what I do)…
First, I created slightly different weekly goals for each day of the week. And I have deadlines for different tasks on each day, no matter how small.
The thing is, if you don’t apply what it is you’re doing to something meaningful, it becomes meaningless.
On purpose, we’re meant to teach, share, encourage, and use whatever gifts we have, or we lose them. And when we USE them, we get more, and some we may not know we have (e.g. hidden talents) until we get there.
You discover the next talent once you start and develop the first talent. Then you’re ready for more!
And I found calendars got in the way of that as I spent time managing them when I could be working on a talent without working within boxes if you know what I mean.
Like these waffles that can be made healthy.
Healthy chicken and waffle recipe below. 🧇
We all have our special preferences. ❤️
And to make life easy, when I was getting used to the habit of different daily tasks, I set up specific reminders. I’ve learned to let it be easy with no self-imposed struggles or habits. And that takes observation and not being too busy to notice.
It’s also useful to know what day of the week you’re on as the world runs on this time. And if different night TV shows are how you keep it straight, hey that works! 📺
To capture the best of your creative and productive time, find the balance that works for you and where you feel relevant and making good strides. That’s all part of the good wellness journey.
And I found that bi-weekly appointments and schedules can mess that up. So keeping it weekly simple works! 🗓
From experience, I know that building any kind of complicated system is a recipe for disaster in life. 😒
It can build a house of cards that will eventually crumble as there’s too much to manage when the enjoyment factor can disappear one day. Some of the excitement wears off of newness (it always does!).
That’s where the overwhelm and reality feelings can creep in, and easier when you keep it simple from the start.
And after taking a sabbatical in 2016, I realized that sometimes your calendars don’t open up, or they disappear, and then you waste more time trying to backtrack. That’s when I took the hint as a sign, tossed out the calendar and lists, and figured out a more reliable way.
And a way to go digital calendar-less AND paperless.
And to add the internal clock reminders back in… what people in the past probably did before paper was invented.
If you live spirit-led and wellness bound, it’s easier to go to simple ways where you discover your natural internal compass that you learn to trust over time.
And today, you can use digital reminders like alerts or notifications as a backup plan. Those are like a trampoline that ensures you bounce back without falling.
In this way, I haven’t missed a Zoom meeting yet when we were all doing Zoom calls, because my internal clock is wired to the energy around that activity, even if it’s just a one-time event.
And if you’re in a season or work environment where a calendar is expected of you, then you can still do this.
You could go hybrid… using a personal calendar when you have to, and then relaxing the policy when you don’t. 😎
Testing out ways that work for you is a good change to find out what is reliable and helpful for your life now if you want better outcomes, or to improve your life and wellness.
Having been at many jobs, in my wellness balance journey, I realize that none of the tasks are all that significant in the grand scheme of things.
…When you leave a job, you leave the calendar behind. Plus, the next person in your shoes (that you may even train) has their preferred way.
And, the last day of work ends the calendar work cold turkey, and your next day is like the calendar didn’t exist. And then you’re off to your next venture and bigger and brighter things.
When you do this work transition enough times, re-inventing yourself and pivoting, you get the pattern.
You can also can get a-ha’s about your specific past getting you to where you are today. And letting you become who you are today. You can keep moving forward and quicker if you want.
So on that note, I wanted to share 5 quick morning wellness habit stacks that I’ve found useful this season (that may be useful for you).
Habit # 1: Keeping same waking up hours every day even on weekends or days when you don’t have to be somewhere.
This could be what you do today… but also adding a few minutes of intentions time is good for a wellness practice so you’re not just running in the morning.
Intentions could be about what you want from this life, so you can head in that direction and work ON your life, and not just in it.
In the morning, you have the most mind-awakened energy and that can be with or without caffeine.
And you never know what the rest of the day will bring that can change your productivity, moods, or stress level.
Getting up early has a lot to do with the way you’re naturally wired, your environment, and your habits.
Irregular sleep is common with Vata’s (…you too?). In that case, you could challenge yourself to get up earlier than you’re comfortable with, but where you get enough regular 7-8 hours of healthy rest.
Keeping the same getting up hours can calm your Vata. It’s one routine where the instructions are simple.
You can get motivated to naturally get up earlier if you go to bed earlier and if you change up some of your habits like allowing yourself one entertainment show, instead of watching until you’re bored 😊.
Habit # 2: I first drink water and warm water or ginger tea as a primer to get the body running.
And then I work in a preferred green banana, quinoa cereal, lentils, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, OR a fruit smoothie. I mix it up. I may even choose a few from the list.
And then I’m ready for a cuppa joe.
I drink low acidic organic cold brew that I homebrew and drink black or with almond milk (extra calcium) and dilute the acidity further… I don’t have a fancy java machine on purpose.☕️
And my coffee rule is: I don’t drink coffee past 12 noon (…that’s easier than counting cups) or on an empty stomach. This helps with habit #1.
…Oh, and I started coffee late in life, so I’m OK to quit early in the day.
Habit # 3: Ab crunches and yoga wellness
Last time, I talked about losing weight that’s often one struggle aspect of a Kapha imbalance.
And one way I’ve figured out how to incorporate an exercise habit is, I’ve been doing an abdominal crunch challenge (…that may be something to try).
It gets easier as the weeks go by than the first week when it can be a struggle to peel yourself off the mat. But don’t give up!…
In the beginning, all the torso area fat can appear to move to the gut center. But don’t be fooled by the looks as that will eventually turn to muscle if you keep at it. That’s what I plan to do 50 ab crunches per day later. (And if that’s not what you notice if you try, good for you. It doesn’t have to be hard and preferably it’s easy).
The benefit is: strong abs allow your back to strengthen, and each vertebra becomes more flexible. You can roll up more easily like a roly-poly bug (…remember those? I don’t see those around anymore).
And if you start these now (or you take a pilates class), you’ll be better off in your golden years especially when bones get weaker despite the increased calcium and magnesium you may intake.
Falls for women and men are common accidents for seniors. So maybe that gives you a little motivational edge today to start today.
Ab work keeps me grounded, literally. And then while I’m there, I do yoga and exercises. You actually wake up and get happier faster as your endorphins kick in. And you feel more clear-headed because of this, and get excited about your day if that’s what you need this season. That’s well-rounded wellness.
You can get your daily re-centering done on the mat as well. My mat says, “you got this” that’s still my mantra.
Habit # 4: Have a reward activity (or two).
Towards the weekend, I healthy bake in the mornings as part of my wellness routine. This is a reward for me if I’ve met my deadlines earlier in the week. I always have recipes lined up and ingredients on hand, so that’s where the relaxing part comes in. No stress baking.
Another reward is I watch a show for an hour. Usually cooking shows (no surprise there!). One I’m enjoying is about pizzaiolos around the world who’ve opened up wood fire oven pizza parlors. 🍕
Having worked in a pizza shop, I can tell you it’s a lot of fun and one of the easiest bakes to make that brings smiles to faces, young and old.
Habit # 5: Then about an hour after waking up, I start my work that includes the unique daily task goals where I don’t need a calendar (that I mentioned earlier).
I used to reserve the morning for writing because that’s when I could get in my writing zone. But I realized after a couple of years into writing, I can pretty much do it anytime with the same result, as I’ve built up the writing muscles. 💪
And if I had to crank out a quality book in a week, I believe I could. That’s just practice.
And that’s one reason why I think it’s good for anyone to start a daily practice for their creativity and to discover their talents. If you need a quiet environment, a walk-in closet is a good space.
Also, one of the best investments you can make is having an air purifier, not just for the obvious use of better air, but also to cut out distractions with the white noise. And when you’re ready to go to sleep, it’ll help you get good rest and start all over again the next morning. 🌅
And starting with chicken and whole wheat waffles could be protein energy you need to power through your day.
For Southern-style brunches, this is a common dish that you can make super healthy and get your daily protein points.
Course brunch
Cuisine American, southern
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
chicken breast
apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
bread crumbs
Instructions
Cook chicken breast. Bake on 350°F until chicken is safely 165°F cooked or higher. This usually takes 45-55 minutes depending on chicken thickness and oven placement. For a whole chicken, follow the instructions on the packaging that can be 1.5-2 hours for a small chicken. Check 165°F temperature to be sure.
Add apple cider vinegar to cooked chicken. I use an eyedropper but you can use any method that works for you such as dipping chicken in a bowl of ACV.
Toast panko crumbs and stick to ACV dipped chicken. Alternatively if you want to be super healthy, you can crush sunflower seeds or nuts.
Add any spices you would like (e.g. oregano, thyme, black pepper, cayenne for a hot kick, etc.).
Kapha metabolism is one of the barriers to losing weight. This article explains why and what you can do.
…Which btw, we all have these imbalanced needs (Kapha metabolism, Vata anxiety, and Pitta irritated moods for example) from time to time, if not all the time, as we are made of all the earth, wind, and fire elements.
That’s how I like to describe it anyway.
First things first…
An avocado smoothie is in tall order to bring me back to my usual routine… and maybe good inspo for you and your healthy living. This is a great way to break a fast or start your breakfast.
deliciously healthy avocado smoothie 🥑
I needed it because last week I was moving (and why you may have missed me last week).
EASY is what we all need more of! One thing that’s never easy is moving that I just did but necessary to reach a new destination in life.
Let me just say, if you’re planning to move, try to avoid the summer when everyone else is moving! Spare yourself the hassle and do it earlier or later in the year.
So to bring me back to this week’s calm, and to please my Vata palate, cool down my Pitta,
AND wake up my Kapha, I took it one step further with an inspirational in-between summer and fall season inspiring quinoa morning bowl that’s loaded with plant-based goodness (great for burning calories and Kapha metabolism).
I recommend this for everyone and anyone looking for anti-inflammatory eating lifestyle ideas! 🫐
…And just to catch us up here… last time I talked about Vata body needs, and before that I posted a summer series that included baking yoga, travel yoga, and chair yoga moves. I’d recommend all these stretch moves year-round.
Because if it ain’t broke, it can be restored with yoga that you can do at home… and I wish I learned this sooner! I can’t say enough about yoga, but will keep it hush-hush this time to focus on the Kapha losing weight topic at hand.
For cool yoga inspiration, you can check out the car yoga and cooling tips blog post article, where I mentioned bits and pieces about turning into a pretzel. That has always been the universal running joke description of yoga. 😊
It’s funny this week… I ended up making homemade pretzels. 🥨 Below is a recipe for sourdough pretzels that I fell in love with growing up with Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels. We had jumbo soft pretzels in the school cafeteria I got excited about and maybe you love those too!
…One of the benefits of baking your own goods is you get to decide what to add in, like sourdough or rye flour to give your pretzels a healthy twist. To make up for the healthy here, I decided to add high mineral Himalayan salt.
Here you can see the salt in working action…
Himalayan sea salt pretzel dough
Himalayan sea salt spa
Bonus points are gained 💕 when healthy foods taste good PLUS have body health benefits. Like, Himalayan sea salt is known for its detoxifying properties, and you’ve probably seen or heard of the large crystal lamps or sea salt spa rooms.
We all want to feel more energetic, lighter, and healthier.
And you and I both know that weight is just one measurement of health… and btw, whatever your measurements happen to be, it should not define you.
If weight loss is on your agenda that’s usually with a slowing metabolism body, here are some reasons why it can be SUPER challenging:
There’s an abundance of (tempting) convenience food available around us 24-7.
Eating isn’t just something we do for sustenance. It’s reward gratification, a social activity, and soothing comfort. It’s an emotional activity and many foods send us back to our childhood roots and happy-sad memories.
Computers, cars, and technology have contributed to a much more sedentary lifestyle—we don’t all need to be physically active farmers to survive anymore, so we don’t prepare our own wholesome meals.
Reducing daily calorie counts is HARDWORK and it’s not easy to change habits in our busy lifestyle.
Diets are hard to maintain and they can work in the short-term, but fail long-term because they’re simply unsustainable and leave us feeling discouraged with diets.
And as we age, typically our metabolism slows down, but you can help yourself out!
How?
First, Focus on the Kapha Metabolism Positives
Be easy on yourself so you can feel good about your changes.
And we want to keep our minds hopeful and stay encouraged that we can get our weight and fitness under our belts.
Personally, I’ve found that when trying to make goals, focusing on the positives is going to take you further so you don’t end up beating yourself up…
Accentuating what you’re doing right is sustainable to healthy living, so you can successfully create life-giving habit-forming eating plans daily and year-round.
And so you can get back up from where you left off. Your mind doesn’t forget what worked.
Plus, you can make up for any current deficits you feel, in other healthy ways like cleansing or detoxing, as you work on your sustainable eating routines.
Focus on the daily activity and keep the goal in the back of your mind. You can start with a healthy green smoothie or probiotic-friendly shake.
Staying consistent and away from tempting situations is what I often hear is a common body struggle. That’s what it was like when I worked in, out, and around food careers in catering sales that are not usually focused on healthy foods as a #1 priority. It’s happy over healthy.
And the way I found worked best for keeping consistent in weight (for my body that I manage) is focusing on staying on an eating healthy routine and schedule 5 days a week, versus burning calories (see “it’s hard work” 😭 bullet point above).
Plus, I believe an anti-inflammatory healthy eating plan is the best food planning way to stay fit and healthy.
Because inflammation is an early body warning sign. When left unattended, can lead to complications down the road. So best to change up any food-causing culprits that can show up one day.
The main point is to make healthy changes as needed and not get stuck in: this is what I’ve always done. So many people do this.
And dominant Kaphas (and those with high Kapha mind imbalances) can stay stuck in these stubborn patterns.
Try and stay objective to what works or is the truth (vs. how you feel).
And while health trends keep changing, certain anti-inflammatory foods like broccoli or Brussels sprouts aren’t likely to ever go out of healthy style anytime soon. This is a grocery list of 200 anti-inflammatory foods for ideas and reminders.
And if you don’t like those or the taste of certain healthy foods, you can pick others you like in the same category. Or make them creatively tasty and more exciting. Like sprinkling cauliflower or broccoli on top of your food to avoid the bland tastes and cruciferous textures.
It takes a little thought, but as a side benefit, you also get more choosy about what you put into your body.
And if you’re in a stressful season now where eating healthy is a challenge, you’re definitely not alone!
It’s so easy to slip a little. The idea is to still focus on the positives and get in the good stuff 🥦, while you enjoy some comfort foods. 😋
Just don’t give up!
And the foodie in me wants to help encourage losing weight in a healthy way without compromising good-tasting foods. 😉
So figuring out how to make healthy foods palatable to your tastes is one smart strategy.
Remember the upside: when you change your tastes, your tastes change gradually. So start with one healthy flavor you like. Maybe it’s a spice, herb, or accouterment.
And as long as you personally WANT to go in the right direction and turn that desire into daily reality, you WILL make it happen.
One reward is you develop better habits, AND the habits you create develop a better lifestyle and quality of LIFE. When you can rewire your body’s metabolism through foods, you can have a better life.
And, here are some key Kapha metabolism things to know that make the difference.
Besides food and calories, your weight is based on genetics, family history, hormones, medications, stress, and sleep amount. There are so many things that your body does at rest: breathing, pumping blood, detoxing, etc. You start each day new and reset.
The amount of energy (calories) your body uses to perform these essential functions is your basal metabolic rate (or metabolism). Overall, your metabolism accounts for about two-thirds of the calories your body burns every day.
The Kapha metabolism is influenced mostly by your body size and composition. This means that people who have bigger bones and more muscle mass burn more calories at rest. Like men usually have more muscle, so they start with a higher metabolism (Kapha dominant or not).
And young people have this advantage too. As we age, bone and muscle mass naturally decrease (and fat mass naturally tends to increase).
Weight training (e.g., using weights or pushing your body against gravity) builds your muscles which increases your metabolic rate. And yes! certain yoga poses can help in this way. This is also where eating more healthy proteins can really give you an upper edge.
And if you struggle with a slow metabolism that Kapha bodies often do, here are some weight loss tips and reminders:
Set specific, realistic, forgiving goals
Instead of a goal to “lose weight,” try smaller and more specific goals that you can attain.
Daily or weekly goals can be, for example, to add more plant-based foods or lean proteins. This focuses on the positives.
Try to stick with a new habit for at least a week or two to start making it routine. Then when one habit becomes consistent, add another one (and habit stack).
It’s not uncommon to take 6 months to lose 5% of your body weight, so that may be a more realistic goal to aim for than the first few pounds that are easier to lose.
Ditch the “diet” mentality and focus on making lasting improvements for sustainable health.
-Focus on improving your food choices and food shopping for overall health or anti-inflammatory living, rather than “dieting” for weight loss. Food choices start with your grocery store cart and how often you go out to eat.
-Ditch traditional eating and try whole and plant-based foods (eating from the rainbow 🌈) in different ways and see what works for you. Like, you could make dinner your smallest meal or change up your cereal to prebiotic overnight oats or a probiotic healthy smoothie.
-Enjoy your food more and listen for fullness cues that subtly signal when you’re getting satisfied and it’s time to stop eating.
-Eat more mindfully by focusing on and enjoying what you’re eating while you’re eating it. Pay attention to your food’s smell, taste, and texture as you’re eating it. Try to eat without drinking anything that can help you focus on the food more.
-Using your nose helps. Healthy foods that smell favorably strong to you in the moment, are healthy for your body as the fresh food molecules have more healthy-rich goodness. And since your body is intelligent and intuitive, it’s looking for the flavors it needs to restore your body balance. So go for the spices that your nose likes!
-If you have a habit of snacking in front of the TV or computer screen, try getting used to replacing the habit with a glass of water or herbal tea instead. Or better yet, do a ‘lil yoga and get another entertainment view!
Enjoy these sourdough pretzels on your feasting days. Sourdough has a lower glycemic index so it’s an anti-inflammatory good food.
It also has probiotics good for gut health, so it helps boost good moods in the gut-brain connection.
And sourdough helps absorb some B vitamins and bone health minerals that regular bread is not.
Sourdough occurs like a simple science project. The air and room temperature create the bubbly rise. You simply leave your flour and water mixture covered out in room temperature for a couple days depending on temperature and amount.
That’s where the pet starter starts. 🐶🐱🍞
You don’t use commerical yeast like instant or active yeast packets like regular breadmaking. And that’s it. You can add your dough that becomes sour into any bread, pizza crust, or pretzel dough.
I like to use after about 2 days, when the dough aroma is balanced and smells more like bananas as 3-4 day old sourdough in the making is repelling to my Vata senses. And you and your body have your preferences.
You can also use any type of flour you like to make sourdough. Whole wheat has more protein and fiber than regular bread. I like to combine with bread flour for a balanced taste.
1/4cupsourdough (leave water and flour mixed and covered out for two days or until bubbling)
3tbspbaking soda
1egg
Coarse Himalayan Sea Salt or Kosher salt (optional)
Instructions
Mix flour, yeast, water, and salt ingredients. Knead into dough. Let double in size. Proof under a towel or in a plastic container with a lid.
In a pot, boil water and baking soda. Let rest.
Shape pretzel dough into long dough logs. Have fun. Then easy twist them into a simple ribbon (like a Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon). Fold down. And you will see the knotted pretzel shape.
Dip them in the water-baking soda.
Brush egg wash over pretzels. Add coarse salt of choice.
Bake in 350°F oven until golden brown or about 50 minutes.
Intuitive eating can be a reframing way to develop a healthy relationship with food and greater food appreciation.
Intuitive eating is mindful eating thta can open up personal tastes to more healthy food variety that helps our bodies.
When your body is running well, intuitive eating can be a sustainable non-diet approach. 🧡 It can be more automatic than programmed into our day. We don’t need to count calories and other nutrition data content.
As daily eating routines, you listen to what your body wants and needs. This is where intuitive eating and Ayurveda meet. Ayurveda is body and mind listening for balancing and learning what your body is telling you by its wants. You can discover more about this with a body balance quiz you can take to get results.
In healthy terms, Ayurveda is more specific in what works for each type of imbalance, whereas intuitive eating is a general description for eating with when and what feels natural and healthy.
That would include a diet balanced with proteins, healthy fats, and good carbs (both veggies and minimally processed grains and starches).
Below, I share some valuable nuggets from a Vata (body) perspective who doesn’t need to lose weight… along with some RD thought weigh-ins.
For most of us as we age, we need more proteins that help build muscle. If you’re a natural Vata especially, you need more filling foods that give you the most energy like proteins with amino acid building blocks.
Intuitive eating refocuses our attention on what our bodies are telling us, rather than hard and fast, food “rules” that are imposed on us from diet culture and other external forces.
Vatas tend to get hungry easily (and can lose weight even faster), and we’re more likely to get close to the 23 servings per day Food Pyramid diet than the other body types, just to feel full.
Food is fuel and as a Vata example, realized I wasn’t getting enough proteins… because I wanted to tone muscles and despite doing the same toning exercises I couldn’t make a dent. That’s normal after age 40.
So the change I made is trying to get 50 grams of protein in per day. I work in the yogurt, seafood, legumes, nuts… and eggs that have a smidgeon of protein. Like an appetizer plate of shrimp doesn’t hurt 🍤
Many of us Vata bodies are lean (or have a small frame) and need to eat more, not less… and more often. For many Kapha metabolisms, that would not work well.
In either body types, it’s easier to get daily full-satisfied with proteins. Where a Vata can easily gravitate toward comfort starchy carbs that’ll help satiate hunger, while a Kapha body could lean into veggie carbs.
Vatas can also get a skinny-fat build if eating too many sweets (that’s a natural Vata body trait) or processed foods, and if they don’t work on moving and exercising like everyone else.
And while this is the profile of a typical Vata, whatever body type you have, you want to figure out what works for you.
Protein and plant-based are a good combination for most people. With most healthy eating habits, healthy intuitive eating is about getting enough good healthy foods in the diet.
While I do like some food rules, the RDs I collaborate with who promote intuitive eating, describe it as a way to make peace with food and prioritize your physical and mental wellbeing.
So, it’s intuitive eating is like another piece of the puzzle for heathy eating.
“It’s a way to get back in tune with your body and refocus your mind away from “food rules” that can be good for certain people.”
Intuitive eating de-prioritizes weight as a primary measure of health, while inviting you to eat the foods you want when you’re hungry—and to stop eating when you feel full.
Eating intuitively means being curious about what and why you want to eat something, and then enjoying it without judgment.
It’s about trusting your body’s wisdom without external influences. When you have a healthy body, it’s a reliable way to see what’s missing in a diet.
These were the original 10 Intuitive Eating principles that Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch (practicing registered dieticians) came up with decades ago:
Reject The Diet Mentality
Ditch diets that give the false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. You are not a failure for every time a diet stopped working and you gained the weight back. Until you break free from the hope that there’s a new diet around the corner, you cannot fully embrace intuitive eating.
Honor your hunger
Your body needs adequate energy and nutrition. Keep yourself fed to prevent excessive hunger. By honoring the first signal of hunger you can start rebuilding trust in yourself and food.
Make peace with food
Stop fighting with food and give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Stop fostering intense feelings of deprivation by denying yourself a particular food, as these can lead to cravings and bingeing. You don’t want your “giving in” to lead to overwhelming guilt.
Challenge the food police
Confront the thoughts that you as a person are “good” or “bad” based on what and how much you eat. Diet culture has created unreasonable rules. The food police are the negative, hopeless, or guilty thoughts you can chase away.
Discover the satisfaction factor
Pleasure and satisfaction are some of the basic gifts of existence. By allowing yourself to feel these when you eat, you can enjoy feeling content and fulfilled. When you do this, you will be able to identify the feeling of “enoughness.”
Feel your fullness
Trust that you will give yourself the foods you desire. Pause in the middle of eating and ask how the food tastes. Listen for the signals that you’re not hungry anymore. Respect when you become comfortably full.
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Restricting food can trigger a loss of control and feel like emotional eating. Be kind to yourself. Comfort and nurture yourself. Everyone feels anxiety, loneliness, boredom, and anger. Food won’t fix these feelings—it’s just a short-term distraction. Ultimately, you have to deal with the uncomfortable emotions.
Respect your body
Everyone is genetically unique, whether it’s shoe size or body size. Respecting your body will help you feel better about who you are. Being unrealistic or overly critical of your shape or size makes it hard to reject the diet mentality.
Movement—feel the difference
Feel the difference activity makes. Not militant or calorie-burning exercise, but simply moving your body. Focus on how energized it makes you feel.
Honor your health—gentle nutrition
Choose foods that honor your tastebuds and health. Don’t focus on eating perfectly. One snack, meal, or day of eating won’t suddenly make you unhealthy or deficient in nutrients. Look at how you eat over time. Choose progress, not perfection.
The science behind intuitive eating
Studies show that people who eat intuitively tend to also have lower body mass index (BMI) and higher levels of body appreciation and mental health.
They are also associated with lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammation.
A review of eight studies compared “health, not weight loss” eating styles with conventional weight-loss diets. While they found no significant differences in heart disease risk factors between the two types of diets, they did find that body satisfaction and eating behavior improved more for people in the “health, not weight loss” groups.
Another review of 24 studies of female college students showed that those who eat intuitively experience less disordered eating, have a more positive body image, and greater emotional functioning.
Overall, there is a growing amount of research that shows the benefits of intuitive eating for both physical and mental health.
The non-diet approach of intuitive eating fits within the concept that there can be health at every body size.
It’s good to come up with your own sustainable healthy habits so you’ll stick with them, finding the foods that satisfy you and your body.
Removing the “good” or “bad” labels on food and ditching the guilt or pride about eating a certain way is at the heart center of peaceful eating.
Taking care of our bodies and embracing what we enjoy eating as balance are healthy ways to live.
