Exercise

Stretch routine for chronic sitters

Ever find yourself hunched forward? If you sit for long periods of time on a regular basis, you most likely have this type of posture to some extent. Most of us these days would benefit from working on improving our posture and one fantastic way to do this is doing a few simple PIlates exercises. Below is a short 10-minute pilates routine that is great for relieving neck pain, headaches and tension in the shoulders and upper back.

All you need is a space to lie in a face down position (more comfortable if you have a folded towel to rest your forehead on). The general idea with these exercises is to focus on pulling your shoulder blades back and down in a diagonal direction as if to the opposite pocket of your jeans, while leaving your head resting on the ground/towel.

Squeezing and holding your shoulder blades like this for 5-10 seconds is a great place to start. Do the workout with me here: https://youtu.be/pGOul3tFLDQ

Nutrition

Rice doesn’t always have to be “rice.” Try this Cauliflower Fried ‘Rice’ recipe.

Make: 2 serves

Prep Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 tbs olive or coconut oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, finely diced

1/2 cup carrot, finely diced

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup peas

1 head of cauliflower, finely chopped or blended to rice-sized bits in food processor

1/4 tsp celtic sea salt

4 eggs, scrambled or made into an omelette, then sliced thinly

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil over medium heat in a large frying pan.

Saute onion for 5 minutes until soft.

Add celery, carrot, peas and corn and saute for 5 minutes.

Add cauliflower, cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft and starting to brown.

Add salt and mix through before serving.

Mindset

Morning Rituals For An Epic Day

Guess how many times you will wake up as an adult? Only about 25,000 times, give or take a few. That means we have about 25,000 mornings that we wake up and decide how we’re going to live our day.

Here’s 2 morning rituals many successful people do religiously to start their day well:

• IMAGINE: A powerful ritual to begin with is; before getting out of bed, imagine and rehearse your day with the best possible outcome in your mind. Then choose your attitude for the day. This is based on the principles of visualisation and positive psychology, and can have a powerful effect on how the day goes. Does it mean nothing will go wrong? Of course not, but if you’ve already decided how your will approach the day, you will be more focused on making it a reality that if you didn’t.
• BREATHE: The practice of diaphragmatic breathing has a great impact on our bodies, and is another great practice to add to your morning ritual – even just a few minutes worth. According to Dr Libby Weaver, “The way you breathe has a powerful impact on your biochemistry, your ability to use body fat as fuel, and your energy, predominantly via your nervous system,” Women’s Wellness Wisdom, page 210.  Here’s the simple steps to practicing diaphragmatic breathing:
  1. Find somewhere to sit or lie down, or put your legs up against the wall (this helps to focus on breathing from your diaphragm)
  2. Take a long, slow inhale through your nostrils. Imagine a balloon in your belly and with each inhale you are inflating it
  3. As you inhale, send the breath to your belly and let it rise with the inhale. If your hands are on your belly you will feel this
  4. Exhale slowly through your nostrils as your belly shrinks back towards your spine.
  5. Gently pause
  6. Repeat this 10 times

It may feel uncomfortable initially as some of the muscles may not be used to it, but it will get easier the more you do it. Breathing this way is a beautiful nourishment for our nervous systems, pituitary gland and our adrenals.

Copyright © 2021 Alisha Christie