Welcome winter and chase away the chills

Winter Chills and Blues It is that time of year again - days are shorter and colder...keep warm. Time and again I find myself playing the same old record over and over - Folks come in with shrugged shoulders, stiff necks, sore bodies...because when we are cold our natural tendency is to curl up, bundle up, tighten up and try to shrug off the chills. This usually leads to still feeling chilly and adding extra aches on top. Our bodies have a beautiful way to fight off the cold - and it doesn't include burying yourself under a mountain of blankets! Move - Take a few moments to stretch and then get moving. You build heat from within, aches and stiffness will melt away and before you know it you will have forgotten all about how cold you were. Breathe - deeply and through the nose to help hold on to that heat. Your nose has an amazing system in place to filter and warm air as it enters your body, it also helps to hold heat in as you exhale. Soak up the sun - find the sun while it is shining and bathe in it. Sure it may still be dark when you roll out of bed in the morning and dark again before the day's activities are through, but there is still sun time to be found. Even a 10 minute sun break can have a huge impact on your day, enjoy those stolen moments by spreading your arms wide all the way out to your fingers, smile up at the sun and feel it's warmth smiling back on you. Exercise, diet and sun time all release hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain that have a positive effect on your mood. If you find yourself suffering with winter blues let's find a solution to get you through the season. Join us for a drop in class, hunt up some new recipes that celebrate the change of season, explore outdoor activities. Harmony Health provides full service fitness, life and nutrition coaching, contact us for our current schedule and more information on how you can get started today to live better tomorrow!

Holiday food, fun and forgiveness

One of the biggest challenges we face is holiday food and fun - especially if you are just starting out on a weight loss journey and lifestyle changes have not become a part of your lifestyle just yet. Fortunately for us, the biggest success we find during the holidays is forgiveness. Whether you have recently implemented healthier food and exercise into your life or have been on this path for years. Take a moment to prepare and set yourself up for a great weekend, it can make a huge difference in how you feel come Sunday evening. As the old saying goes - "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"! Give yourself permission to enjoy in moderation. Realize that during a holiday weekend, such as the 4th of July, there will be temptation and opportunity to stray from your path. If we allow ourselves to indulge a little in traditional BBQ fare then we will be less likely to deny, deny, deny and finally binge, binge, binge. Ramp up your exercise routine. Make time to go for a run, bike ride, fitness class, whatever it might be and get your metabolism working for you. The great thing about exercise - once you get the fire burning it will keep burning for you even after you have finished working out. Best option: make fitness a family and friend activity such as a playing ball, swimming, walking, etc. We are way more likely to be active when we enjoy it and when we have buddies with us. Stay hydrated! This is so very important - we are out in the sun, drink in the hand, food on the plate, water in the pool/ocean/lake... make sure to drink plenty of water too. Alcohol and caffeine dehydrate you, so although you may be drinking plenty, your body is not getting as much water as it needs. Heat and sun cause us to perspire, again losing water. So be sure to drink plenty of water to replace what you are losing and keep your body hydrated and healthy. Forgive yourself! The next best step. If you slip up over the weekend, recover quickly. The more time we spend dwelling on what we did wrong is less time we spend focusing on what to do right. So you drank too much, ate too much, didn't work out for 4 days... we can get back on track and the sooner the better. Start by drinking plenty of water and adding back in your healthy food items. Make time to begin working out again, and if you have to - start small and slow. Our minds are powerful, be sure that the power of your mind is positive, encouraging and uplifting. Our bodies are adaptable, a slip up is not the end of the road, simply an opportunity to begin again. Every day we start anew, yesterday is over and done with - move on.

Love who you are, where you are

Ahhh, it has been a long time since I have been here. Life gets busy and sometimes if you don't pay attention life gets away from you. I have come back to my love of helping people get well. Guiding people on their journey to better health, stronger bodies, quieter minds and happier lives. It is what I do best and what I love most. Since I have been gone I have also grown in many ways: I have added more tools to my bag - knowledge is power and I love to learn! I have spent a lot of time these past 2 years working as a health advocate for the community. Working closely with a team of doctors, therapists and support staff was a great adventure. I gained so much and now have more to give because of it. I have removed some unnecessary items from my life - stuff has a way of piling up! Self inventory is always a great practice that I get a lot out of. Meditating on items, people and patterns, how they affect me - good or bad and deciding if they are something to hold on to or let go of. All things in life have a season, knowing when a season has changed is important. I have grown in my faith in God - and this has made all the difference! Searching for answers is a never ending process, there will always be new questions to ask. Knowing that all things come back to the same beginning helps me to trust even when I don't yet have the answers. Trusting that all things work together for my good. This all helps me to be a more effective advocate for the people in my life, whether they be personal or professional relationships. In every interaction there is always an exchange of energy - we bring one another up or down. Our focus should be reaching out to build up those we see struggling just as equally as we reach out for support and guidance when we struggle ourselves. Life is meant to be lived in love - this does not mean that trials will not pass our way. It means that love will overcome trials if we allow it to. Love yourself - who you are, where you are. Love one another - in all things. It is not always easy but it is always worth it.

Yoga for Weight Loss

Oh so many times I will have a student come into class and their main objective is to lose weight and their first question is: How many calories will I burn in this class? A tough question to start off with and possibly disapointing when the answer is revealed. Americans are great marketers and for an individual who is trying to lose weight and relatively new to exercise, fitness and nutrition they are looking for a big number like the advertsied 600-1900 calories in Zumba, spin, step aerobics etc. So when my answer is 150-600 depending on the intensity, duration and style of Yoga it becomes less worth it to them.
What Yoga does offer that is an exceptional tool in weight loss is self awareness, presence of mind and body, and mindfulness. A great part of Yoga is learning to cultivate a breath that fills and sustains our being mind, body and spirit this is step 1. Step 2 is a quiet - mind once we transform our breath we can begin to quiet our mind and bring greater focus to our physical, mental and spiritual being without all the everyday thoughts and outside world interferring. Step 3 allows us to realize the detailing of our body and get in touch with all our inner workings. When we combine these 3 elements Yoga becomes a powerful tool for weight loss - or whatever your goal is: stress relief, gratitude and contentment, balance, flexibilty, strength both physically and mentally/emotionally.
Finding a Yoga class that offers more than just physical movement but incorporates community, breathwork and mindfulness is a great first step to any health seeking journey. Don't be shy to get to know your teacher and fellow students. Yogis are a pretty great population of people and we love to support and encourage one another. That is an invaluable key to any journey.
All the best,
Catie

We do what we like

Years ago when my journey into Yoga first began I remember a favorite teacher of mine would sometimes begin class by asking everyone to offer up either a favorite pose or a hated pose; and then she would laugh and include the hated pose of at least one of the Yogis in the room. Years later that still sticks with me as I go around the room in classes I am leading and try to get to know the newcomers and help them get to know all the regulars as well, I will sometimes ask this very same question.
Most of us start up a Yoga practice in an effort to release stress, work out tensions, find peace and quiet...relax both physically and emotionally. Finding a pose that is challenging can be inspiring to some but for others it can add more stress, tension and whatever negative energy the student is trying to leave behind. We do what we like, if we don't like a pose we probably would never practice it unless guided to do so by a teacher. This is not always a bad thing, the poses that we like bring us comfort and we feel accomplished and confident with ourselves in these poses. The poses we don't like can take us out of our comfort zone and challenge us - the key is to not allow this challenge to diminish our sense of accomplishement or confidence. We don't need to perfect every pose we try and we dont need to love every pose either. We should try it out when it is presented to us and without judgement enjoy the asana for what it is, like it or not. If it is one we dislike, put some thought into 'why' we dislike it...is it physically uncomfortable, is it hard to maintain a rhythmic breath while holding the asana, does it spark emotions to well up??? For every pose we dislike there is a reason behind that dislike, if we can work with it and get to the root of that reason we may find that this pose will become a favorite pose. The shift that takes place from dislike to like is a growth opportunity and once that shift takes place we do what we like and what we like includes a whole lot more than before.

Modifications

As both a Yogi and Yoga instructor I know how difficult it can be to opt for a modification. For some of us (me too) we don't want to appear weak, accept that we have limitations or admit that our body may have some areas where improvement is necessary; this way of thinking can in fact lead to weakness, injury and setback. I have at times pushed myself beyond my own limits and later suffered the consequences. While teaching I have tried to support and encourage students to take modifications when I see they could benefit from them and seen the struggle of these students who want to push further but just aren't ready yet. If we change our thinking when it comes to modifying we can set our selves up to reach new depths in our practice, create more strength in ourselves and break through barriers. Let's look into it...
I like Merriam-Webster's 3rd definition: To make basic or fundamental changes; to give a new orientation to; to serve a new end.
Often people will associate the modification with the words "I can't", "too hard", "inflexible", "not strong enough", "unbalanced" and all these words are negative so no wonder nobody wants to modify. If we change those word associations to more positive ones modifying can be a choice we make more happily and willingly. A modification is a way to build a strong pose from it's foundation and allow it to grow over time into a confident, competent and graceful asana.
Our minds assert a lot of control over our body - consciously and unconsciously - if we knowingly push ourselves into our asana practice too far too fast we set ourselves up for failure. It may lead to pushing yourself harder the next time or it may lead to giving up completely, either way when we can't do all that we set out to do, we judge ourselves harshly and cruelly.
Next time you come to your mat, while setting an intention during those first few moments of class include "permission to modify". Remind yourself that modifications create a strong foundation that will set you up for success and take you further in your practice. Rather than pushing too hard in each pose, enjoy where your body has taken you and express gratitude for that ability - you may find that once you have accepted where you are today mentally and physically a door will be opened and you can walk right through - the only thing holding you back is your thinking.
Enjoy,
Catie

Vote for me!

HI All,
Last month I came across a Talent Search for Yoga Journal. The winner will be featured in an upcoming YJ article and the top five finalists will get free stuff from Athleta. Well I figured that since I love Yoga and have had some great accomplishments on the mat that I would enter this contest. I would appreciate your support. You can vote once daily from now until April 15 by following this link http://talentsearch.yogajournal.com/view/647
Thank You so much.
Catie