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Exercise for the Soul: Yoga

So one of the things currently topping my To Finish list is getting certified to be an instructor in Yoga.

Yoga is something I discovered on my path to fitness and I fell in love. Yes that’s right, I tolerate running, but for me, yoga is an exercise I actually look forward to doing. And it is exercise. I can get more sore doing some practices of yoga than running 5 miles.

The word yoga is the Sanskrit to English translation, meaning yoke. To unite or join. That’s the purpose of yoga, to bind your mind and body together- working together in harmony.

I enjoy the idea of an endless path. There is no true mastery of yoga, no ideal end result. Just the journey and enjoying wherever you happen to be on it. If you can’t touch your toes, its ok. Just grab onto whatever you have. Try to inch a little farther each week.

What a great metaphor for life. There is no ideal end result that says, Yes this was the perfect example of a life well lived. All we can ask for in life is to do our best, and hope that gets a little better each day.

In the coming weeks, I want to share the poses I am learning. I would invite you to try them and find a community yoga class near you. You won’t regret it.

Potpourri: Breath through your nose

I always hated it when teachers would tell me to breath through my nose. My sinuses suck, and its just hard. Why should I. Is mouth breathing so faux-pas? Do I have bad breath?

Turns out, the fitness teachers weren’t just being obnoxious, just obtuse. Maybe they had no idea either.

Breathing through your nose makes the oxygen reach your blood stream faster. Thereby oxygenating your muscles you are trying to work and stretch. Making the workout easier and less likely to get injured. Breathing out through the nose also rids the bad air faster.

Huh.. who knew?

Dress for Success: Running Shoes

Did you know that running shoes have an expiration date? Now before you go checking the label, I don’t mean literally. Every shoe has a limited number of miles in them before they become a liability. As you’ve porbably guessed, higher quality shoes tend to get more miles, around 450 miles total. Cheap bargain shoes rarely make it to 300. But there are exceptions. Just because its spendy, doesn’t mean its made well.

When your shoes have given up the ghost so to speak, you are more prone to get injured. Knee problems, ankle problems. etc. This stems from the wear patterns and decreased shock absorption.

So how do you know when your shoes should be laid to rest? Do you wait until the rubber is falling off? Here’s the easiest ways to tell:

Do your legs feel a little more beat up then normal?

If you grab the top and bootom of your shoe, does it twist easily? (meaning the center of the sole has broken down. )

Is the tread really worn on one side, making the shoe tilt?

Is it just not comfy anymore?

Yep, you are the best barometer. If it doesn’t feel good, get a new shoe. Otherwise, you might be at risk for overuse injuries. A heavier person will need to replace their shoes more often. I know, its not fair. Tell me about it. Light little waifs can get away with every 450 miles or so.

Keep track of your miles, and really start to pay attention around mile 300.

Another good tip is to find a shoe you like, then buy a spare set. Rotate. Makes them last longer.

And never wear new shoes to a race. Just saying.

Snack Smart: Kale Chips

Ok, so I am attempting to live a greener life. Aside from a salad, I had no clue how to do this.

My friend, Tres Hatch helped me discover Kale chips. Hers were much better than mine, but I’m working on it.

First, buy a bunch of kale at the grocery store. They are the leafy things hotels stick on everything to make it look pretty. And yes it’s edible. Tip* shake out the water before you buy it. Weighs less, costs less.

Next go home and preheat the over to 350.

Now wash, and strip all the leaves off the stem. The stem is bitter and nasty.

Throw in a bowl with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and kosher salt. I way over salted mine. More than a pinch,. less than a handful.

Toss and then lay out on a cookie sheet.

Throw them in the the preheated oven for around 30 minutes.

Voila. Tasty Potato chip substitute.

Fitness Tip: Chocolate Milk

Milk… does a body good. And for some athletes, chocolate milk can do your body even better.

Studies suggest that for some athletes, after an intensive cardio workout, (cycling, swimming, running) chocolate milk can be better for your body’s recovery than gatorade or the like. It has just the right mix of sugars and proteins to replenish sore muscles.

This is not for the “I just worked out for 15 minutes” crowd. But if you are dead beat after a 45 min or 60 workout, give some low fat chocolate milk a try. Say 6 oz. or 4 oz if you are trying to lose weight.

I’ve been doing this pretty religiously on anything 5 miles or higher. So far, I am able to run back to back days much easier, and my sore limping time has decreased. Give it a shot.

Here’s one of my sources for the article.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/08/chocolate-milk-wants-to-be-your-post-workout-drink/

Z is for Zaftig

Definition of ZAFTIG

of a woman

: having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump

Origin of ZAFTIG

Yiddish zaftik-juicy

Whenever I get depressed that I am not a stick figure or tall willowy blonde, I tend to look up awesome adjectives that make me feel better about my curves. I stumbled across Zaftig not too long ago.

After I lost the 75 pounds, I was a little upset that I was still basically the same shape, just shrunk. Where was the delicate ballerina body I longed for? Why can I wear a size 6 and still have a mommy tummy?

Because I’m juicy and zaftig, that’s why.

And that’s it. No more alphabet. YAY! Ok, so it was a lot of work, but pretty fun too. I survived, but I think I will go back to once a week for this blog and keep up every day on my Finished Being Fat blog. Visit me there, or at Mormon Mommy Writers on Saturdays.

Thanks for reading, see ya next week.

The Long Run: Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon

So most of the times I try to share a lesson or a thought. Something I’ve learned over the course of this accidental adventure. Today however, I will be running the Thanksgiving Point half marathon, and I wanted to share it with you.

I’m actually writing this part of Friday night. My nerves are jumpy, and I probably won’t be able to sleep. But that’s half the fun right? I picked up my packet and my number is 992. Sounds like a good number to me. So I’m going to go to sleep now (maybe), and after I finish the race tomorrow, I will post how it went. It’s timed. I’m sure I won’t be first. I probably won’t be last. But it doesn’t matter, as long as I finish.

Ok, so I’ve finally recovered enough to sit at the computer. LOL. Here’s a tip, if the race is run through a golf course, just say NO. This was a really tough race with lots of steep inclines and drops following the Thanksgiving Point golf course. That part mooey sucked. But the first part was awesome. We ran through the gardens. There were tulips and lilacs everywhere. Fountains and waterfalls. Bridges, archways, and tunnels. I almost wanted to slow down to soak it in a little more.

I had intended this run to be basically another training run for the marathon, meaning slow and steady. Ehh. Didn’t happen. Once I got next to the other runners my little competitive fuse got lit by adrenaline. I was doing my run at 8:30 min per mile pace for half mile, the recovery walk for 1 minute. There was this guy, we will call him green guy because of his attire. Green guy and I kept jockeying for position. I would run ahead of him, then my watch would beep and I would walk. During the walk cycle he would pass me for a moment until my watch beeped that it was time to run again. Then I’d leave him in the dust.

Every time I passed green guy he would groan or swear. He was so mad that I kept passing him then holding back. Then passing again. He finally said something unpleasant. I ignored him and kept on running. I made it my mission to beat him to the finish. So when we approached all the hills my legs really wanted to slow down, but I was not going to let that snot beat me.

Long story short, I beat him to the finish by 3 minutes. Even though I took walk breaks every half mile and he ran continuously. I finished at 2:02:30. in about the top third of all the registered people.

Lesson to be learned? Do your own thing and tune out the naysayers. People may have thought I was dumb for run.walking, but at the end of the race I was exhausted and I was injury free. Green guy was limping. Who had the better run?

Run, walk, skip, or jump. Do your own thing and whatever makes you happy. The only rule is that you have to finish.

Y is for You

The question I get asked the most by aspiring writers is this, There are a million books about (mourning, weight loss, parenting, etc). I’m just a nobody. What can I bring that’s any different?

My answer is always the same… you.

So What if you’re not a celebrity? You have something that nobody else has: your story, your voice, and your life experience. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.

Yes, there have been lots of books about losing a loved one. But there have been no books about losing your loved one.
That doesn’t just apply to non-fiction. How many times have we read boy meets girl, or girl meets vampire? What sells books is your unique narrative voice. What do you have to say and how can you say it differently from everyone else?

As a writing exercise, my teacher had us all go outside and look at the road. Then he had us go inside and write a paragraph about the road. As you can imagine, the six of us, though we all looked at the same road, had remarkably different things to say about it. One of my favorites said it looked like a meeting place for lost souls.

Point is, you bring something to the table that is awesome and unique and deserves to be written. So don’t try to make your book like any other that’s been written before. Don’t model it after a best seller.
Model it after you.
Tell your story.

Exercise for the Soul: Backpack Meditation

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I carry alot of crap around with me. I’m not talking about the stuff in handbag, I’m talking about the junk in my emotional backpack. The stuff I carry around everywhere that weighs down my spirit. So here’s a little visualization technique I made up to help lighten the load.

Go into you meditative stance. Lie down, sit.. whatever works for you. Just find a place you’re comfortable that you can zone out the world.

Now imagine yourself on the bank of the a river. You’re carrying a big backpack, stuffed with all the things you’re worried about. Set the backpack down in the tall meadowy grass. Open it up and start pulling out your burdens one by one. Examine each weight, analyze it. Is it something you really need to worry about? If not, put it in the river and let it float away. Once you’ve gone through and cataloged all you troubles, only put the ones absolutely necessary to function, back into your backpack. Chuck everything else into the river and watch it float away, leaving your sight and life.

Put your backpack on a gain. Feel how much lighter it is without the extra weights from worrying about dumb things, or things you can’t control.

Open your eyes and go about the rest of your day. Make sure you leave the discarded worries where they belong, away from you and your emotional backpack.

X is for Xanthippe

I will admit I was stumped by this one. I went in search of a new favorite words starting with X. I found it.

Xanthippe is an ill tempered woman. Taming of the shrew anyone? Yesterday, that described me to a T. Everything around me was uber irritating. The house, the kids, the big kid I’m married to. Nothing pleased me. I was a xanthippe.

So next time somebody calls you a something that starts with B and ends in itch, just tell them you’re a xanthippe. It’ll shut them up and they’ll have to go look it up in the dictionary. And they’ll probably look in Z.