Healthy Happy Life Secrets

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 waffle iron recipes with healthier ingredients in minutes.

Easy Waffle Iron Waffle Breakfast In Minutes

This is a healthy twist to a brunch waffle that you can make at home with an easy waffle iron.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

waffle iron I use a Cuisinart that I love.

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.

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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 - Almond Flour Healthy and 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.

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Discernment Spiritual Growth For Your Healthy Mind

Discernment helps grow us and protect mental health that’s so needed in our world. I learned about discernment in a confusing time in my life when I didn’t feel aligned.

Life can be like these two baked corn tortilla that look similar. But the one with craters and holes is healthy lime-treated, while the one with the pretty lines you’re more used to is not. You could be fooled by looks into believing which is better, and more discernment could help you choose the healthier and tastier choice on the left. 🌱

Early adult years, I was living out my old life daily with old ways I had learned. I was also blending in a newer life with a new group of mature adult friends I could bond and confide with.

…And you can probably relate with the different sets of circles you hang out in.

But unlike feeling well-rounded, I felt like I was living two separate lives at the same time during those seasons… because I had to leave the old ways that I shared with my former friends to move closer to the new ones.

Gossiping wasn’t a part of this new way that I had grown up around.

And the transition put me at odds for fitting in either groups. That’s how it can be when you’re not quite ready to leave an old identity and adopt a new personal growth one in front of you.

I had many brewing questions…

Discernment was an area of spiritual growth that kept coming up and I was curious about.

…So delving deeper, I soon discovered discernment and wisdom came from the same place that I was missing back then.

Wisdom was another area I was hoping to develop more of… wisdom is getting higher insight than what’s in daily headlines.

Leaning into the miracles and blessings of this world and Godly teachings grows us closer to our spirit.

And you can choose a different choice or path in life than the one you started in. That was my story as I started out with no religion in my life… but the journey of life showed me a spiritual path.

Wisdom vs. Smart Moves

Choosing another path led me to more wisdom. I started out doing the smart things I was influenced to do like get good grades, go to college, and start a career.

Looking back, I also remember when “work smarter, not harder” was a catchy phrase I grew up to in simpler times. But cutting corners isn’t wise. And years later, the cultural zeitgeist went back to hard work as good work, and good for realizing longterm dreams.

…That’s wisdom.

So from then, I separated the two: smart vs. wisdom. You need both for a great life you won’t regret and where you don’t wish you did most of it differently.

Misery is a choice and some sadly make.. But these days we have so many better choices available.

Using personal discernment and wisdom helps achieve those better desires, while smart is practical and gets the right things done.

With smarts, you use your daily thinking skills, while discernment uses your heart, gut, and spiritual mind.

If it’s easier to picture, you can think of being smart as using your frontal and left part of your brain and wisdom on the right side where your intuition is.

…Growing wisdom is one personal growth area that helps you with your better life outcomes you won’t regret. It’s an area that most of us aren’t developed in. But something you can develop (like a skill) and get better at when you use the deeper mind muscle.

The more strengthening discernment exercises you do in your daily life, the stronger the wisdom muscle becomes. This article is about how to exercise and practice better discernment in your daily life (that can be a good life skill tool you can have at your hip!).

Cultivating Discernment

Because remember with improved discernment, you get better at making wise decisions for yourself in your unique life.

Find quiet time and practice discernment.

And discernment is quiet like the wind. You look for it in your quiet moments, feelings, and thoughts. It’s not in your face.

When making a decision when you’re busy or distracted, listening to a noisier source like culture influences can be the deciding factor. Screaming headlines and popular trends are hard to miss while internal-gut feelings are easy to miss.

Practice discernment by thinking what’s a wise, longterm choice for forks in the road. And sleep on ideas or decisions you get to make. Find quiet time balance like you had when we were all in quarantine.

Let discernment be as natural for you as scrolling social media.

One effective way to grow discernment is to remove the blocks.

Discernment can be at odds with smart, popular cultural opinions and trends that often block out the whispering and opposing wise thoughts.

Popular culture doesn’t often reward wisdom that’s countercultural especially in younger cultures.

I know when I was younger and very easily influenced, I would listen to what everyone was doing first before listening to my own internal guide.

I thought: if everyone is doing it, how could it be wrong? But over years, I learned that was the wrong belief.

And yes, everyone (groupthink) can be wrong so it’s good to use your own judgment and developed discernment.

And that can be for any area in your unique life. If you live out your one-of-a-kind, good, and authentic ways without giving up, you will succeed in your life that you’re the star in. 🌟

Grow patience.

Another common block stems from wisdom-discernment being slow to show rewards. Being individually thoughtful is part of discernment which creates uncertainty because you’re not sure on your own.

It’s like making a long-term investment that you let sit on the sidelines versus making quick buys and sells for short wins. Then years later you see the abundance of fruit from your earlier decisions you were then-unsure about.

Those that take action and wait, win. They don’t miss out.

Waiting is part of the process for anything great. Slow cooking makes for a great stew over microwaving soups.

And yet in modern culture nobody wants to wait in areas where they’re eager to move forward in if they don’ have to. With more practice and confidence in your discernment skills, you can also get better with patience that helps your daily joyful temperament.

Invite in good thoughts.

Good discernment comes from wittling through your thoughts and only letting the good ones pass through. Reject the trashworthy thoughts after you figure out if they have any useful message for you. Sometimes that takes just a split-second decision.

Like a self-pity woes-me thought. You can just put those away.

Every day you have thoughts that enter that you have no control over. And you can decide what you do with them so they don’t decide for you.

You have complete control over rejecting thoughts. You can simply walk away in self-awareness. Or self-talk back saying, “I reject this thought.”

You can rewrite the thought narrative ending and your entire day! You can heal yourself in the moment if it was a hurtful memory.

And if unsure on a thought, you can sit on it to see how you feel later about it. You don’t have to do anything with them as they go nowhere unless you take action or have a reaction.

Write off thoughts (from your ego)

And for those ego thoughts that don’t serve you or others, you can write those off. You’re best to catch those often and not waste any more time than it takes to discern that those thoughts are not helping you.

They provide zero benefit to your life. And can add to the fear and irrational actions. And that further pushes your Fear buttons (aka false evidence appearing real).

If they’re truthfully there to serve as a warning, you will get more clues in your life. It won’t just be one thought that keeps pestering and doesn’t go away. You’ll see and hear it from various sources that build up the facts. Be like a jury trying to determine fact from fiction.

And sometimes warning thoughts are helpful. That’s where discernment comes in handy. You can decide for yourself if they are meant for you for a reason you can’t yet decipher.

…Sometimes out-of-the-blue you may get thoughts that are good reminders or new ideas that you can credit the Universe for in trying to help you.

What you let impact you, you also have degrees of control over. An example of this is what you let into your mind from what you watch on media.

You can flip the channel or walk away. You always have a choice in the matter. And there’s always headphones for noise barriers.

This can help you find your quiet time and mind peace as we enter a season of peace, Lenten peace, and Easter around the corner. 🐇

Enjoy this sour cherry bun recipe you can easily make into Hot Cross Buns.

Print Recipe

Yeasted Sour Cherry Buns

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

bread dough (flour yeast, salt, water)
cinnamon
sour cherries

Instructions

Make bread dough. Add in cinnamon.
Let proof for 2 hours.
Add sour cherries to dough.
Roll into even shape balls.
Cover and let proof for another 30 minutes on the baking pan (approx. double in size).
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until medium or golden brown.
Let cool and glaze with maple syrup or honey (optional).

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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.

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. 🧇

Oat Blueberry Waffles - No Egg

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 or plant-based milk for dairy-free
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.

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Indecisive Traits Keeping You Stuck?

Indecisive traits do keep us stuck. Instead of moving forward or going back, we stay in place.

Indecisiveness is one way to describe how Ayurvedic Vatas act often. This could be new news to you. It was new to me too up ’til 2008 when I learned about Ayurveda. The information in this article can help you learn a new way and so you can take more better risks.

Indecisive moments are found in common daily decisions like choosing to go right or left. — Indecisive – which path will you take?

…That’s when it clicked and made sense as to why I had indecisive and other Vata tendencies.

You can read my back story here about when I went to go get help for my immediate Pitta mind-body symptoms. And I also came out with knowledge and awareness on why certain Vata ways were natural to me. I’m naturally a Vata with some dominant Pitta mind, but like all of us… sometimes tired Kapha kicks up.

…And whether you tend toward uneasy, annoyed, or listlessness it all ties back to your balance.

If you’re wondering if you have Vata traits, this article shares more and how you can benefit from knowing.

Growing up, I always felt hesitant about small decisions. Do I want an orange or crackers? Do I want pink or blue to wear? This could easily be chalked up to the fact that most of us like more than one food or color. …or I’m a female, so being indecisive is typical.

But in reality it’s not about the color, food, or gender. Or even about how you were raised.

It’s about our natural makeup, that’s unisex. We have Ayurvedic orientations called Vata, Pitta, and Kapha inside us. Or wind, fire, and earth if that’s easier to remember. 💨🔥🌎

Earth, Wind, and Fire is already taken. 🥁🎹🎺

Vata is the wind element with some common tell-tale Vata signs.

But keep in mind, we’re often dominant in one or two of those elements in body. And same goes for the mind. Putting those two parts together, you get the mind-body connection that affects so much of our lives and behaviors.

Indecisiveness is one way that’s mostly a mind situation that you can easily pinpoint from an Ayurvedic lens.

When you can do that, you can restore the healthy balance back in awareness to your calm and confident decision-making.

Being decisive all around not only saves time, but leads to better decisions and outcomes.

How Being Vata Indecisive Can Hurt

At the heart, indecision is second guessing your first decision that comes from gut instinct and clear minded processing. So in a way, being Vata indecisive is being confronted with a brain fog moment.

Indecision can lead to worry that Vatas lean into already. And that state of mind can lead to staying stuck in a cycle of unproductive thoughts playing as an undercurrent in the back of your mind. 🌊That’s added stress that doesn’t need to be there.

Feeling anxiety also can cause indecision as body symptoms make it more difficult to clearly process thoughts.

Vice versa, indecision can lead to anxiety (that’s another common Vata trait).

Depending on the body symptom severity, anxious feelings lead to poor decisions and outcomes.

It numbs awareness of what is real.

And making matters worse, that pause can linger and keep you frozen from making a decision or in “fight or flight” that can cost.

For small things like daily preferences, that’s not such a big deal… but if it’s deciding on taking a right or left or making a quick life threatening decision, that can be concern- elevated.

Vata indecisive traits can compound into feeling uncertain about other areas in your day when those moments could be better spent enjoying yourself or even better… being in the moment in peace and mindfulness.

That’s when stress melts away for whatever is in your life eating at you. Those anxious feelings are traded in for feeling calm and joyful.

That’s the ticket for your healthy and happy life. 🎟️

And that can be your norm or new norm! I know because my life did a 180-turn from stress to peace when I got rid of the triggers. I became self-employed.

And I became more clear-headed… more like a human and less walking around like a busy Bot. There are too many of those already roaming our internet spaces.

How to Get Back To Your Vata Mind Balance

And in learning from my balanced seasons where I could disconnect and detox, I’m more decisive.

I’m my balanced Vata (the way that is naturally greater and my optimal best) 🧘🏻‍♀️

I don’t teeter back and forth. I can catch myself in the act of hemming and hawing and doing what I know to do to restore any Vata imbalance that tries to creep back in.

It’s not difficult or unnatural. It’s simply being intentional daily doing the specific balanced steps that turn the tide around for a better life. 👣

No one is doomed to the “I’m just indecisive” label. That’s putting a stamp of acceptance that’s not the way it has to be or stay.

And you can start by doing these two balanced healthy steps:

1) Get self-awareness in the moment so you can be next step-intentional.

2) Then, breathe the calm back into your mind-body as soon as you can so you can feel the calm pause in the next moments.

Finding ways to have a calmer life, I believe is underrated. And not what Western culture aims for although we’ve wised up post-2020.

As mentioned, calm allows for clearer, confident decisions.

Calm is also better for your healthy outcomes.

But if you don’t have that life now because of situational triggers you can’t avoid, then restoring daily when you can with what you do have as calming resources will be the next best way.

Use your surroundings: calming activities and scents, music, yoga, and a nature walk.

Do this daily and often.

They’re not time wasters. It’s like taking care of your teeth. It’s always minutes well spent investing in your daily smile. 😁

If you feel you’re daily Vata indecisive for what to do (such as jumping from task to task), get back to your breathing awareness.

We often forget, yet another Vata common trait. Not picking on Vatas as we’re a creative, enthusiastic bunch… but in your remembering moment (or in the slight gap pause), recall there is calm balance and no anxiety.

Let the weight of the world you live in go by letting all that out in deep inhale and exhale breaths. That’s an activity you can do anywhere, anytime… and wise to do all the time.

Set a reminder if that helps. ⌚️

And when you do your breathing exercise, you’re able to work your way out slowly in the gap or one moment at a time.

And this date recipe that you can make for your daily self 😊 can help restore your Vata especially if you add the orange and cinnamon tastes.

Print Recipe

Low-Sugar Date Cookies

You can make these ahead of time and in any oven including an apartment oven. And enjoy.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

coconut flour and plain flour combined
a few pats of butter (or coconut oil)
chopped dates
water as needed
orange zest and cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Prepare and chop dates filling. Tip: since dates are sticky, it's easier to use a serated chopping knife with edges. Add cinnamon and orange zest if you'd like more Vata sweetness.
Mix cookie ingredients: flour, butter or oil, and water as needed to make a cohesive cookie dough disc. You can make this in advance and freeze the dough if you like.
When dough is slightly cooler than room temperature is the ideal temperature to work with this dough. Roll out cookie dough to about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick (doesn't have to be too thin).
Add date filling to center of dough.
Roll up and cut into small, even pieces.
Bake on 350°F for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

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