Whether it's cold, rainy, sleety, or blazing hot outside, this dish is sure to make your insides happy. It's equally yummy served warmed or cold and can easily be transformed into a main dish if you add something meaty (i.e. diced chicken, grilled salmon, shrimp, tofu, cubed eggplant or potatoes). What you need: 1 large spaghetti squash 1 bunch of swiss chard coconut oil 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced wasabi paste soy sauce or tamari red pepper flakes black pepper onion powder salt (optional) Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook spaghetti squash until soft to the touch. Depending on the size of your squash, it could need anywhere from 30-50 minutes in the oven. Meanwhile, melt coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Sauteé garlic until deliciously fragrant. Then add wasabi (make sure it "melts" and spreads evenly. Wash the chard to get all the gritty bits out and then chop into 1/2 thumbnail size pieces. Add to skillet and cook until soft and reduced in size. Add soy sauce or tamari and then check on the squash. If it's ready, cut the squash in half (long-wise) and remove all seeds. Separate the squash from the outer layer and place in a large bowl or upper ware container. Add red pepper flakes, black pepper, onion powder and more soy sauce (if you choose) to the squash and mix well. Fold in the chard mixture. Enjoy!
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Let's face it, college is one of the busiest times of our lives. We try to balance school work with relationships, family, jobs, housework, pets and things that just make us decent human beings (like helping someone else study or rushing to help a friend in the middle of the night). The door to sleepless nights, exponential jumps in anxiety, exhausted minds and bodies is definitely flung wide open. We prioritize every aspect of our lives and tend to put off sleep for papers, parties and peers. Think you're surviving? Well, technically, you are. However, the more we put off sleep the more we are feeding into an unhealthy habit. Sleep deprivation can lead to depression, obesity, mood swings, weakened immune system, decreased ability to concentrate and remember, slowed comprehension rates, insulin sensitivity and a whole lot of other not-so-pleasant effects. Your body will tell you if it needs more sleep. If you've noticed an increase in appetite, weight gain or slowed metabolism, it may be a signal to revisit the idea of bedtime. If your brain is being deprived of the energy it usually gets from rest, it will look to food as another source. Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, production will increase and cause all sorts of cravings. Leptin, the satiety hormone, is also affected, messing with your body's ability to recognize when it's actually full. Next time you think about binge eating cookies or your weights worth in fries, try taking a nap instead. Impulsive behavior and a slacking memory are also signs of sleep deprivation. Think about it, your energy levels are down so subconsciously, you're not paying much attention to what's going on in front of you. You are not actively participating, therefore no clear memory is attached to your experiences. This also leads to a veil over our judgment. We are more inclined to lash out or make regretful decision because we aren't thinking about possible consequences. Without enough sleep, cytokine production in within the body drops. These proteins help to fight off illnesses and inflammation, so frequent viral infections and cold after cold could definitely be a sign you need to make sleep a priority. Start tonight. Have a pillow party, snuggle up and get some rest. Put your phone in an entirely different room and don't even think about watching tv. Artificial lights can mess with your sleep patterns. This sounds strange, but rub some lavender essential oil on the bottoms of your feet. Whether it's placebo or not, the feet are great pathways for absorption and lavender has a calming effect. You can also rub the oil into your palms then cup your mouth and nose. Close your eyes and imagine you're drawing the scent directly into your brain. After about three minutes, you should feel a little more relaxed. Next, make your bed. Yes, actually unwrinkle the wad of sheets and blankets that probably haven't been organized in days, and make your bed look presentable. Fluff your pillows, light some candles, grab the lavender oil you used on your feet and dilute in water to spray on your pillows. On top of your freshly made bed, try these six yoga poses to lead you into a restful nights sleep. Begin in a seated, wide-legged forward fold. Don't worry about your flexibility--your pillows are your friends. Stack however many you need to let your cheat and forehead rest gently in the space in front of you. Take several deep breaths and focus on the space behind your eyelids. Transition into locust pose. Lie on your stomach, and keeping your legs straight with the big toes touching, aim to raise your upper and lower half as high as you can. Interlace your fingers behind you and open your chest. An open chest leads to deeper breaths. Hold this pose for as long as you'd like but remember, keep your eyes closed. We're getting the body ready to sleep. Lie with a pillow or two under your lower back with your head resting on the bed and both legs straight up a wall. Let's your arms rest on either side of you, palms facing up, and imagine you can feel the lactic acid draining out of your legs. Draw your knees to your chest, give yourself a little hug, and then guide your knees together to either side of you for a reclining spinal twist. Aim to keep both shoulder blades on the bed and turn your chin to face the opposite direction of your knees. Twists encourage cleansing and detoxification. Make sure you reach both sides. Move so that you are no longer near a wall and guide the body into reclining butterfly position. This time, place a pillow vertically under your head and upper back. Allow your lower half to make contact with the bed so your belly is lengthened. Place the souls of your feet together and allow your knees to fall apart. Again, let your arms rest on either side of your body with the palms facing up. Imagine the the corners of the eyes and your knees are being drawn down into the bed. Focus on your breath and remember, stay here as long as you like. If you didn't fall asleep in the last pose, it's now time to move into savasana. Your place of peace, your piece of home. Gently draw the knees back together and extend your legs long to find corpse pose. Keep the pillow where it was or move it until you're completely comfortable. Remember, arms long and palms up. Literally feel your body melt into your bed as your breath deepens. Feel the cheeks drawing away from the nose, the shoulders sinking away from the heart, the hips drowning into the bed. Goodnight. The seasons are changing, we are in closer proximity to one another (if you're on a college campus or just working more in general), stress levels are high and let’s face it…we are probably drinking more. What does all of this mean? Lower immune systems. Aside from the typical solutions like staying hydrated, getting plenty of rest and incorporating more vitamin C into our diets, we should resort to one simple practice that has been around for thousands of years. Yoga. By moving your body into different shapes and poses, incorporating mindful breathing techniques, and giving a little love to your soul, yoga can heal the body from the inside out. Don’t know where to begin? Try a few poses from each category (twists, inversions, standing poses, openers, restoratives, etc.) by themselves, until you can link them into a sequence that’s most comfortable to you. Twists are probably the most important group to focus on if you don’t have much time to dedicate to your practice. Think of twists as a sort of internal massage. Twisting poses stimulate the organs, rid the body of toxins and promote a sense of balance with your systems. Great twisting poses include reclining spinal twist, revolved chair, revolved downward facing dog, and any variation on thread the needle. While inversions may be the last thing you want to do when you’re feeling a case of the stuffies, it’s definitely something you should try. Inversions stimulate the lymphatic system which, like twists, helps to flush out toxins as well as give you a little endorphin rush from the excitement of being upside down. Not quite up for a grand handstand or pinchurasana? Don’t worry, inversions can also be as passive as lying with your legs up a wall or a supported bridge pose; and, technically, downward dog is also an inversion. Some standing poses can help open your chest and lungs so that air flows more freely in and out of your body. Also, standing tall and strong in any shape is going to make you feel better than if you had spent all day curled up in bed. Crescent warrior, dancing warrior, and chair pose all incorporate opening as well as muscle engagement, reminding your body that its all working together as a team to get you well and healthy again. Restorative almost speak for themselves: rest, rest, rest. Really, you could take any position you adore and hold it passively for a good five to ten minutes and it would be a restorative pose. The purpose here is to bring mental awareness into the game. A little good energy goes a long way. Still, if you don’t know where to begin, reclining bound angle pose or corpse pose can never fail you. Think about letting your knees and shoulders sink into the mat while your heart and rib cage is being drawn up toward the sky, then let the rest of your body just be where it is. Relax, breathe, repeat. Get better soon, my friends. |
AuthorNature-loving, adventure-seeking, holistic and wellness advocate: Yoginiliv. Archives
May 2017
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