Non-Fat Summer Slaw! Yum..

Without the mayo this slaw has great nutritional value with no fat and is high in vitamin C.   It works great as a side dish with your favorite grilled meat or seafood, but it shines as a topping for homemade tacos!

½	Cabbage, shredded or cut finely
1	Red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1	Jalapeno pepper, sliced thinly
½	Red onion, sliced thinly
2	Limes, juice only
1	Bunch of Cilantro, chopped
	Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare cabbage, remove the outer leaves and toss them (or better yet put in the compost bin.)  Cut cabbage in half, then quarters.  Remove the cabbage core, by cutting through the base end of the cabbage at an angle.  Thinly slice the remaining cabbage or grate on the largest setting of a box grater.

Place cabbage in a bowl with sliced red bell pepper, jalapeno (seeds and membrane removed for less heat or left in for added heat) and red onion.

Cut the limes in half and juice directly into the bowl.

Chop the cilantro and add to the cabbage mixture.  Toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Opening up!

 What obstacles do you face daily in life or maybe physically, we all face them from time to time.  It's how we deal with them that's important.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal." You see, we have the power to either turn our experiences and truths into obstructions, weights tethered to any possible rise in self-esteem, greater awareness, and health; or to remove them. 

Yogis have fabulous resistance-busting tools. We can get on the mat and practice, opening tight places and dissolving emotional and mental tension. We breathe, switch our thinking, learn to see more clearly and, by deciding to love ourselves a little more, we begin to widen the very doorway into our own hearts. By applying awareness to each situation we encounter, we open a threshold to our core, allowing our deepest wisdom to sweep through, and away, into the world in the form of our most courageous, conscious actions.

In my classes, any time I want to clear the threshold, I ask my students to focus on hip opening. I call the hips "the Gateways," because they can allow, or block, the energy moving from you foundation into your core. If the gateways are closed, the posture is incomplete and with it, the opportunity to gain the full benefits of the asana is lost. Try the following pose any time you feel a little closed yet feel ready to  make the space you need to cross the threshold into that next, most incredible state of being who you really are.

Core Pose: Funky Lunge

This posture clears a common tight area--the side leg and outer hips--all the way from the foundation to your center. When you open this gateway, issues like sciatica may recede, since the piriformis muscle at the side of your pelvis often compresses it. As well, you'll open the IT band, making this a wonderful way to free yourself from over-closure of the gateways of the hip muscles and joints and, quite literally, be able to walk through any threshold more freely.

Come into Down Dog. Step your left foot to your right thumb. With this crossed foot placement, you'll bring the right knee to the mat. Center your hips, and come onto palms or fingertips, on the mat or on blocks, so that your hands are under your shoulders.

Begin to roll onto the pinky toe edge of your left foot. As you ground the foot down, and resist it back towards your hip, roll the outer left hip and upper thigh back and down so that it's not hiking up toward your ribcage.

Inhale, lift your lower belly and wave long through your spine. Exhale, and fold at the hip creases as you bend the elbows to your capacity. Play your edge of flexibility as you begin to straighten your front leg until you begin to feel sensation. Breathe and soften there before moving further into your stretch.

If you want more of a challenge, try tucking the back toes under and lifting the back knee as in a Low Lunge. Your hands will walk back to remain under the shoulders for support.

Breathe here for one minute, taking small spinal waves on the inhalation, and deepening your fold on the exhalation. Return to Dog Pose, and switch sides.

Improving your Lung Capacity!

Proper breathing is essential during exercise but should you try to increase your lung capacity? It seems like the average person who exercises regularly wouldn't concern themselves with increased lung capacity the way an endurance athlete would. However, improving your own lung capacity can benefit you when you are working out. Even if you have no plans to race in a triathlon, you can reap the benefits.

Most athletes work on improving their lung capacity because in turn, it increases their endurance and stamina. If you exercise on a regular basis, you may notice an increase in your own endurance and stamina by improving your lung capacity.

Ways to Increase Lung Capacity

You cannot physically increase the size of your lungs but there are ways to improve the efficiency of your lungs. The average person's lungs holds between 4 - 6 liters of air. Lung capacity also varies on height, age, sex, weight, as well as physical activity. For example, a swimmer would have a much larger lung capacity than someone who only works out a few times a week.

Cardio Exercises

One of the most common ways to improve lung capacity is through regular cardio exercise. Running is a good exercise to begin with. Some runners purposely live or train in areas of higher altitude because there is less available oxygen. The body then has to adapt to training with the lack of oxygen which in turns increases lung capacity. However, this can be dangerous as there is the risk of altitude sickness when the lungs cannot process enough oxygen for the body.

Breathing Exercises

Another method is by performing breathing exercises. Yoga is often turned to for learning how to breathe better. One breathing exercise I practice often is deep belly breathing. It really helps to relax me when I am feeling anxious or stressed. I once read that the average person does not breathe properly and that we lose lung capacity as we age. Breathing exercises are probably beneficial for those reasons.

Improve Your Posture

Having good posture also helps to improve lung capacity because when you are slouching over you constrict the amount of air your lungs take in. Practice sitting and standing with correct posture.

It should go without saying but smoking reduces your lung capacity among the other negative side effects. I think improving one's lung capacity wouldn't hurt. Have you purposely tried increasing your own?

Be in the Moment!!

Be in the Moment

With the many distractions of everyday life sometimes it’s difficult trying to stay in the moment.  Sometimes, and more frequently than I would like, my mind wanders off.  And when this happens I’ll feel disconnected from the present.  Knowing that this obviously isn’t a good way to live, I’m always trying to re-focus my mind. (harder at times then others)

Have you noticed that when you’re away from home, perhaps on vacation or travelling for work purposes, the eyes and mind are more tuned into your environment?  You tend to notice more details in general, and the imagination gets revved-up.   I think that when you live in the moment, life can be more fun and interesting. With being away this last week in Cali, I was busy being in the moment enjoying each and every precious moment with my family...but on the plane ride home I really started to realize how much I missed being me and doing all the things I enjoyed...school, working out and the business of life seemed to be getting in the way of just sitting back and being in that moment.  I realized on that flight home I need to get back to what brings me to a state of peace and reflecting and that is in my art room, creating.  If I could create for a living that would be wonderful.

Being in the moment anywhere from eating to reading or maybe taking a walk will help bring you back to what it means to be in that space right here right now.  SO take just a moment and breathe, reflect and embrace all that is around you.

Journal your journey and goals!!!

Do you ever feel lost or that you're not moving forward in your fitness progress? Are you confused about where you've been and where you want to go? Did you fall off track and don't know where or how it happened? Do you want to get back on track but aren't sure where to pick back up? Are you cheating on your clean eating and not holding yourself responsible for the 2 pounds you gained in the past couple weeks?

I have a tip that may be the answer to all these questions if you apply it diligently, effectively, and honestly.....journaling!! Journaling can be used to record your feelings, how much weight you're lifting, your workout schedule, inspirational quotes, your eating schedule, your cheat meals, and anything else that either hinders you or propels you toward achieving the fitness and health goals of your dreams!

YOU, and ONLY YOU, are responsible for getting yourself where you want to be, and one of the best ways to hold yourself responsible is by recording all of the tiny details of your journey!

I want to share one of my favorite ways to use journaling....feel free to steal this! In fact, I encourage it! We all get tempted and have the urge to cave in to our cravings with the repercussions of feeling defeated and weak. I try and combat the cravings that lead to this feeling with journaling. Whenever I get the urge, I go to my journal and start giving myself a pep talk. Frantically, I start writing things like:

"You don't need it!"

"Prove you can do this, because you totally can!"

"Set a good example for those you care about!"

"You deserve to reach your goals and you're SO capable!!"

"Think about how you'll feel when you're done? Is it really worth it?"

"Look how well you're doing and how far you've come!!"
By the time I'm done writing down everything I can think of to fight the desire to sabotage my hard-earned progress, I've lost the urge to give in and I've renewed my motivation to keep pushing forward! I feel proud, strong, and energized!

So feel free to use journaling this same way, but also think about all the other ways you could use journaling. Write down your fitness program...record your weight and reps so you know where you were and how much to strive to do next time. Write down how you feel after cardio every day and whether you were able to go longer or harder than last time. Write down everything you're eating everyday. I find that when I'm writing everything I'm eating down, I cheat less because I really don't want to have to write "Ate 1 piece of chocolate cake" in my food journal for the day!

Write down all the comments, compliments, tips, and advice you get from other people to help keep you motivated. Post pictures from your fave fitness magazine in your journal to look at when you need an extra push to get your workout in.

Now...there are times when we all give in to temptation (I'm more than human and have done it, too), but there's absolutely no such thing as failure or defeat...even though it may feel like it. Journaling can help you record your feelings and circumstances so that you can learn how to best deal with certain situations for the future. It can also help you get back on track and figure out where things went wrong so you can improve your situation.

See, there are endless possibilities for journaling! Just find what's going to work best for you so you can reach your goals! I'd love for you to share with me any ideas, tips, and advice you've thought of for journaling to help your fellow readers, so please leave a comment!!

Importance of Water!!!!

It's likely that the only reason you think you need to drink water is to stay "hydrated," but you might not truly understand what this means. Let's delve into the meaning behind hydration and just why you need to drink so much plain, "boring" water.

1. Your body is made up primarily of water. When you're properly hydrated, about two-thirds of your body is water—muscle tissue is even higher, at around 70 percent, while fat is less. Muscle powers your body and fat protects it. Put two and two together, and you may infer that water is vital to the things that make your body do stuff. When you don't drink enough water, your body declines into a state we call dehydration. Get too dehydrated, and your body will not function properly, which isn't too surprising when your body's low on such a vital nutrient. (Your body can be as much as up to 65 percent water!)
   
2. You don't need to drink 65 percent of your weight in water each day. This is because, one, if you lost all the water in your body, you'd be dead, and two, that water makes up most of all the living things on our planet. Since we eat living—or recently alive—things, we get some water from the things we eat. When we cook things, they lose their water. This means that the more raw whole foods you eat, the less water you need to drink. Fruits and veggies lead the group of water-rich foods and contain around 95 percent water. If you eat a lot of plants, you can drink less water. But if you don't . . .
   
3. There is more to hydration than just your water levels. Chemicals in your body react with water so that you can function. We lose water in the form of sweat, and sweat is made up of water and body "salts," which are mainly sodium, chloride, and potassium, but they also include magnesium, calcium, and so on. These are called electrolytes and, basically, are the reason that salt is such a vital component in your diet. Salt is a mixture of sodium and chloride, but generally, we use the term "salts" in reference to electrolytes. Too much salt is bad and too little is bad. Both can kill you. This is why, like water, the amount you consume should be directly related to the workload your body is put under. More exercise equals more sweat, meaning that you need more water and more salt.
   
4. What about water weight? Some people are afraid to drink a lot of water because they're afraid of gaining "water weight." This is the opposite of what you should do. Water weight is a term for your body holding on to excess water because it's not getting enough. The best way to get rid of water weight is to drink more water. It works two ways. If you don't drink enough water or if you eat too much salt in your diet, your body hoards water. This water/salt relationship is referred to as your electrolyte balance.
   
   Generally, there's an easy way to tell if you need more water or salt; because most people drink too little water and eat far too much salt—especially those who eat in restaurants. So when you aren't exercising, you almost never need more salt. When you are exercising, getting enough salt becomes an issue. Endurance athletes are ever aware of the need to have enough salt to avoid a condition called hyponatremia, a condition that results when you've had too much water and not enough salt, basically just dehydration from a different angle. Those who don't exercise outdoors excessively almost never have to worry about this condition.
   
5. So what does water do for you? You'll often hear claims that water helps chemical reactions, regulates your body temperature, and lubricates your joints, eyes, and spinal cord. Sure, it does all of this stuff. In fact, since you're mostly made up of water, a case can be made that it does almost everything. So why split hairs? Your body doesn't work, at all, without being fed a lot of water. You can live days, weeks, and, sometimes, even months without food. But you can't live even a few days without water.
   
6. Itchy skin. Dry skin. Constipation. Sneezing. Dry cough, headaches, nosebleeds, and acne. These are common ailments related to drinking too little water. Since water regulates your body's functions, it makes sense that minor glitches in bodily functions may be related to not drinking enough water. And this is just a partial list of common ailments. Many symptoms blamed on allergies are probably due to living in a dehydrated state. When you are properly hydrated, your body can better defend itself.
   
7. The above symptoms may be worse in the winter. Water is required just to breathe, and you lose water through your mouth and lungs. During winter, when the air is dry, more water is required. Add forced heat in the air—like from home heating systems and fires—and the situation is exacerbated. This means that you need to drink extra water in the winter when it's cold, even though you are probably less thirsty.
   
8. Water and your immune system. During winter, lack of water will dry out the mucous membranes of your lungs, gut, and sinus passages and lessen your resistance to disease. These barriers protect your body against bacteria, viruses, and pollutants when you're fully hydrated and intact. Allowing them to dry out could be the leading cause of the common cold and allergic symptoms, not to mention things like constipation, sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and long-term diseases like hemorrhoids and colon cancer.
   
9. Water and fat loss. We haven't yet discussed the importance of fat mobilization for energy and its relation to weight loss and effective exercise because, well, this is Nutrition 911 and that sounds complicated. Anyway, water is the main component of this action. A well-hydrated body has higher levels of oxygen in the bloodstream, translating into an increased ability to burn fat as fuel. The more efficiently you burn fat as fuel, the more effectively you exercise, leading to a better overall body composition.
   
10. How much water? It's said you need about 8 glasses of water a day. However, this will vary due to your activity level and environmental conditions. As a general rule, add a couple of glasses during the hot days of summer and the dry, cold nights of winter. During exercise, you may lose a quart an hour or more. While all liquids provide water, sugar, diuretics (caffeine, etc.), and carbonation reduce the hydration effect. Combining all three, as in soda, can reduce the hydration efficiency of the liquid to almost nil.

 Letter to the Never-been-to-Yoga-at-the-Intermediate-or-Higher-Level-Class Student because it fits in your Schedule or Whatever.

 

Inspired by McSweeney’s hilarious AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SUBSTITUTE YOGA TEACHER WHO WON’T STOP WITH THE IMAGERY.

Dear New Student,

Welcome! Happy to meet you! 

What’s that?  You’ve never done yoga before and you had knee replacement surgery last month? Thank you for letting me know.

Please note that this is an intermediate level class. I very strongly recommend taking at least a few fundamentals of yoga classes before a more advanced class such as this one. Classes labeled for “beginners” are truly helpful for students of all levels of physical fitness and will give you a good foundation in alignment and breath.

I’ll do my best to give variations and modifications during class. Ultimately, you are your own best teacher. Listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right for you today, then please don’t do it. You can rest at any time and for any amount of time. Honestly! If you are having difficultly maintaining a steady breath, it’s a good sign that you’re forcing your body to do something it probably isn’t ready to do yet.

This is a practice. It’s ongoing. The only thing you have to do is breathe. Everything else is optional!

Namaste,
Sherry
—
Teachers, does this happen in your yogasana classes often? It seems that no matter how many modifications I offer, new and injured students often attempt the most challenging poses and variations. But hey, strivers are going to strive. (Strivers, you’re wonderful just as you are!) What are your tips for keeping these students safe? And students, what is a helpful, non-condescending way to be advised against doing something?
~~~
BIO: Sherry French loves beginners. Y’all are welcome and appreciated! But she really wants you to be safe. When she says child’s pose, she means you! If you’re going to do the crazy stuff, do it somewhere else. Not on her watch!