Month: April 2015

Just How Dangerous Is Your Nail Polish?

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Let’s face it, modern science has ushered in a plethora of amazing things that have helped change the world for the better. Unfortunately, it’s also brought in changes that create some very toxic-living environments, and we’re often unaware of the damage we do to our health through simple every day means. I’m not really good at being a girly-girl. I seriously struggle to do my hair (I just learned how to use rollers this year, and just barely I might add) and contour makeup tips terrifying and confuse me. I don’t get it. You have to apply three colors on your face just to look as much like you’ve have plastic surgery as possible? No, thanks Kim K. I don’t mind looking the same with or without makeup. I do, however, love me a good, basic mani-pedi and I cannot go a day without shaving. These are my girly vices, and I plan on sticking to them for life, winter, spring, summer and fall. BAM! Nails did, hair…not so did. Sigh. Skin and nails absorbs …

New Yoga Challenge: May Mantra

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Are you a part of the yoga community on Instagram? If not, this is the perfect time to jump on board and get inspired by your fellow yoga practitioners, as well as to try out your own skills. The great thing about these challenges is that it gives you the opportunity to practice and fine tune certain asanas that you might never have tried. I love seeing other people’s yoga practice via their Instagram. Unlike so many other accounts dedicated to fashion and makeup, I feel tremendously encouraged and motivated when I follow along another person’s journey. It helps me learn, grow, and believe that practice does make progress! Please feel free to follow me at theyoga_journey, and let me know you’re starting your challenge so I can follow you as well!

Love Nature More: Outdoor Yoga

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“Nature is my religion. The trees my churches, the mountains my cathedrals.” One of the many amazing things about living in the heart of Washington, DC is that there are ample parks and locations dedicated to preserving and enjoying nature. My friends who aren’t from DC often think of here are a crowded city, but it’s actually incredibly scenic and gorgeous, and beautiful blend of stunning landscapes and architect woven together. I’ve never been one to really try the outdoor yoga thing. I saw way more disadvantages than advantages: people staring at you like you’re some kind of hippie-dippie weirdo, the distraction of what’s going on around your practice, the discomfort that can come with bugs and grass and sun and wind and whatever. Still, I felt the urge to get outdoors and soak up some bright greens and blues of nature, and it revolutionized my practice. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly without fear for newer and richer experiences.”  It was such an …

Healthy “Frosty” Recipe That Doesn’t Suck (Promise)

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I really love sweets. Well, and salty foods too, actually. What the heck, full disclosure I love eating. Still, despite the fact that my body constantly thinks it’s in full starvation a la “Naked & Afraid” survival mode, I try to make sure what I consume is going to be fuel for my body. Smoothies are my main goto; I feel like green smoothies are my major food group, like smoothie: it’s what’s for breakfast. And lunch. And probably dinner. I came across a smoothie recipe that defied reality and claimed to be both delicious and healthy. Despite feeling skeptical, I was particularly starved at that moment, what with not having any food for like a whole hour and a half, so I tried it. Surprisingly, it was a really tasty treat, and totally 4pm soothed my sweet tooth monster. It’s also a great post workout refuel treat. Here’s what you need: 3/4 cup (6 ounces) almond milk or coconut milk (if you don’t mind dairy, regular milk works fine) approximately 1 cup of ice (crushed or …

(Guest Post) My Beautiful Journey: the Healing Power of Yoga

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The Yoga Community is truly an amazing source of inspiration and encouragement. Over and over, I see how people’s lives have been changed for the better by yoga. It’s not specifically the asanas that bring the change, but the healing mentality that comes with the asanas. Yoga allows us to find great inner peace, and a connection to God by clearing a path through our minds and chipping away the parts of us that keep us from fully realizing healing. There are so many powerful stories out there, and I was really moved by my friend KaSandra’s story. She’s an incredibly beautiful, insanely talented yogini. Her body is enviably fit and strong, and can do poses that most people would only dream of trying. To see her now, you would never know that this lovely woman has been through hell and back, and that she nearly killed herself through a severe eating disorder. You wouldn’t guess this, because she brings such strength, soul and the message of grace to her practice today. She is one …

Organic Foods: Spurge vs Save and How to Choose

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By this point, the average health conscious person is aware organic living is the way to go. We know we’re supposed to avoid artificial ingredients that make food more like a science experiment than a nutritious source. GMO’s are also rightfully getting more and more attention as consumers are slowly but surely being alerted to the hazards of consuming these science experiments. Whenever possible, as much as possible, we want to eat organic food so we can safely avoid pesticides and genetically radically altered food. But let’s be real, it can really break the bank to eat healthy. I hear this from many of my married friends with children, and I sympathize. My husband and I pay a ridiculous amount of money on groceries, and that’s even with meal planning and budgeting. We also save money by eating out less, so it evens out a bit. Food should be safe to eat, but the simple truth is that most FDA approved foods aren’t healthy. In fact, they’re dangerous to consume. In particular, GMO foods are …

Training with Kino: Fearless Backbends

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Backbends: that part of a yoga class that makes most yogis inwardly groan. Most of us are perfectly content to skip all and any camel like poses. And count us out entirely when it comes to Urdva Dhanurasana. There’s actually a scientific and emotional base for most people’s dislike of backbends. Yoga poses release a cascade of neurotransmitters (they cause those feel good emotions or the shock of adrenaline that gets your heart pumping like crazy) that usually leave us feeling euphoric after a yoga class. Backbends aren’t always so kind to us. The spine is massive network of neuroreceptors and neurotransmitters. Needless to say, getting the spine involved in a big way can release a tidal wave of emotions that can flood us with notsohappy emotions. We usually like to back away from these overwhelming experiences, so we avoid getting deep into our backbends. Kino actually explained that these emotional blues are unavoidable in yoga, and hitting that wall is usually when people quit yoga. Introspection and discomfort isn’t usually what we sign up for when we …

Savory Roasted Acorn Squash

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 I crave colorful veggies. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but those bright colors tell the inside scoop: bright vegetables are rich in nutrients that are essential to inner health and outward beauty. All the fabulous makeup and expensive lotions can’t benefit us the way nature can. I recently tried a recipe for acorn squash, and it was really delicious and satisfying. I enjoyed the flavor panel of sweet and spicy, which pairs nicely with squash. Plus, it was easy to make. Ingredients: Whole Acorn squash Pure maple syrup, honey or liquid stevia Celtic salt to taste Cajun spice Garlic powder Directions: Cook whole squash or microwave till just soft enough to slice into rings. Cut squash into rings, then lay on tray. Mix a glaze of honey or syrup, sprinkle in spices, then brush over both sides of squash. Preheat oven to 425 degrees; Oil tray with coconut oil and place rings on tray. Cook for 7-10 minutes then flip rings and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned …

Training with Kino: Primary Series

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I’ve heard Ashtanga described in more ways than any other type of yoga practice, and usually with some pretty strong emotions; usually people are fanatics about it, but I’ve also heard people speak about it with hostility. The descriptions vary widely: it’s way too athletic, the yoga for young boys, the most liberating emotional experience, too redundant, powerfully meditative. Ashtanga yoga is, in fact a fire-driven and highly athletic practice. This much is true. And a yogi does follow a specific flow that is designed to get the practitioner deeper and deeper into poses without tearing muscles or pulling limbs out of socket. In this pic, you can see Kino helping me get deeper in this asana. It’s sums up a great deal of what Ashtanga is all about: finding the fullest expression of each asana so that we may experience the great peace that accompanies this journey. Noted as one of the most challenging forms of yoga, Ashtanga often attracts highly driven, Pitta (fire) personality types; True, Ashtanga provide a playing field where a yogi …

Fake It Till You Make It: Becoming a Morning Person

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Full confession: I despise, hate and otherwise abhor waking up early. It’s not my thing, and I blame the fact that I’ve worked night shift for years as an ICU nurse and also my persistent childhood habit of refusing to go to bed due to my intense fear of missing out. I’m still convinced that the moment I go to bed, the world gets so much more interesting and everyone is having fun but me. No one can really disprove this belief, so it reigns on. In addition, the second my head hits the pillow, I suddenly become responsible and instantly remember about 50 tasks that I need to do. I’m sure you’ve heard some of the conventional “here’s how to wake up like a normal working adult” so I’m sharing a few of my personal tips that I like to call: “Wake Up & Get Yo’Self Outta Bed NOW!” 1. Get to bed early like your mom used to try to make you do: Seriously. No one wants to even broach the prospect of …