Naturally Fit Living: because being healthy shouldn’t have to be so difficult…
Can we chat for a moment? Full confession, trying to live a healthy life can drive me crazy at times. I know it’s for a great cause (um, my health), and I know it’s a good investment (the ER doesn’t seem like an appealing place), but when did living a fit and healthy life become so damn difficult? As an ICU nurse, I’ve always loved health and fitness, but I began to notice the trend in the health community: trying to be fit seemed like a stressful, demanding investment. Meal prepping for people was a huge ordeal, and the race to burn off calories just seemed…so futile. That’s when I decided that being healthy shouldn’t be a huge ordeal.
Health isn’t just the number we see on the scale; it’s the quality of your life and your mental well being.
Living the fit life can and should be natural. Naturally Fit Living started out as a little blog called The Yoga Journey, which featured yoga, holistic living, and clean eating recipes. It was a merely collection of my musings as I obtained my yoga teaching certification and started an amazing journey of inner peace and better physical health, but it blossomed into a site dedicated to living a naturally fit life. I want to take the stress out living a fit life, so we can spend our energy where it should go: towards making extraordinary memories from ordinary days with the people we love most.
The amazing thing about both the yoga and health community is how the people within connect and encourage one another. The beauty of yoga is it shows us we never arrive, and we never know it all. The journey and the transformation is a lovely continuum that allows us to realize our potential.
Even with and because of all of our scars and war wounds, we are so worthy of Divine love.
YOGA: Why yoga? Aren’t there tons of ways to promote fitness? Yes, absolutely. But yoga transforms our bodies from the inside-out, and without damaging the body like many fitness routines do. Many people start yoga for the physical benefits it provides, but stay for the spiritual path they discover. No other form of “exercise” provides such spiritual and physical benefits. Day by day, the practice transforms us through the process of inner sanctification and healing. Yoga, particularly the Ashtanga style, burns away the layers of ego and lies that distort who we really are and the love we have to give. Life teaches us a false, negative self-narrative, and Ashtanga re-translates that narrative to one of simple self-love and compassion for others. It’s not the asanas themselves that do this, but the fact that yoga allows us to find a place of deep, spiritual peace and a connection to God. For me, yoga is my little place to have quiet time with God. Some people do this in church, others in a field; I do it on a mat. This spiritual experience transforms our hearts into vessels of love, capable of both receiving and giving freely. We all have stories to tell, and we all have hurts to be healed. Yoga helps open my eyes to see the greatness in all people, as well as how to nurture healthy relationships or walk away from toxic ones. Even with and because of all of our scars and war wounds, we are so worthy of Divine love.
Zero Sugar. Zero gluten. Zero processed, artificial ingredients…endless possibilities.
Recipes: One of the best ways to contribute to our health and fitness the natural way is to control what we eat. Naturally Fit Living features a collection of predominantly vegetarian and vegan recipes, because eating a bunch of plants can be sneakily delicious and just happen to be the best fuel for our bodies! The guidelines I follow when I cook: Zero Sugar. Zero gluten. Zero processed, artificial ingredients…100% healthy. I practice compassionate cooking, which means I’m almost entirely a vegetarian out of kindness to both my body and other living creatures. All food I eat is organic and obtained through humane methods. My husband is mostly a vegetarian with a heap of paleo on the side. The recipes I post are ones that I’ve tried and know are easy but delicious. Clean eating doesn’t have to be a nightmare! There are endless possibilities of amazing foods to make and eat. I’m learning that delicious + healthy can (and should) go hand in hand, and these recipes are what I try for my own family and then share with you!
The body is capable of amazing things…including healing itself.
Holistic Living: As an ICU nurse, health and healing are my passions. I was introduced to holistic health when my mother was diagnosed with advanced, aggressive cancer. In conjunction to her chemo, she dove into holistic health measures. The doctors were astonished at her recovery. She’s still in remission to this day. The body is capable of amazing things, including recovering and thriving outside of pills, antibiotics, and chemicals. I think there is a place for those things, but I passionately believe that we can naturally live a healthy live. I’m very fortunate that I have a very intimate inside-knowledge of the medical world, and I believe preventative health care is the most effective health care. I weave my research and knowledge of traditional medicine together with simple but powerful holistic measures. Natural alternatives are also much more economical and gentler on the environment, which is something that is important to me.
Thank you again for taking the time to read my posts! Please feel free to comment and share your insight and thoughts! You can find me on my Yoga IG account: camrynbickham or my fit foodie IG account: naturallyfitliving. Much love, from my heart!
Naturally Fit Living 