Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/ZfLZ4s6sF-c/

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss in life is what dies inside us while we live” ~Norman Cousins

I am not dead and I am not dying, so you may wonder why I write that death has taught me what I need to know about life.

I lost my mother when I was fifteen. Being a teenager, thoughts of anyone close to me dying had not entered my head. My mother had a brief illness and passed away unexpectedly at age forty-seven.

I remember that my schoolmates came to see me, and I kept thinking that they had their moms. More than being sad that I had lost my mom, I was angry that I had been placed in that position. I missed my mom a lot and just wanted her to come back and be with me.

I started developing a fear that my father would die soon too. When I was in my early thirties, my fears came true when my dad passed away suddenly after a heart attack. He was a skilled physician, a kind man, and more importantly, a wonderful father to me.

As if my dad’s passing away was not enough, my older sister died unexpectedly a year later. I always considered her a strong person, and I could not fathom how she could have died.

To add insult to injury, another sister of mine passed away soon after that.

By then, I had decided that the Universe was conspiring against me. I did…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/yoga/sunday-morning-yoga/

On Sunday morning, I finally have time to indulge in a sweet, slow stretch. I use what I can to go deeper, feel more, and take pause in my practice.

Reclined Bound Angle

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Start by lying on your back, with your feet together and your knees apart. Take a deep breath in, hold it, and then exhale fully through the mouth. Take two to five more breaths just like this.

Knees into Chest 

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Slowly pull your knees into your chest, and wrap your arms around your legs. Give yourself a little squeeze.

Easy Twist

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Open your arms out by your sides in a “T” shape. Keep your knees together and allow both knees to fall over to the right. Keep both shoulders flat on the ground, and bring your gaze over your left shoulder for a supine twist. Repeat on …

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/06/where-are-we-on-golden-rice/

Golden Rice, genetically engineered to contain beta carotene, has long been the poster child for the benefits of GMOs—as witnessed by this Time Magazine cover of July 31, 2000.

Beta-carotene is a precursor of vitamin A and the idea behind this rice was that it could—a conditional word expressing uncertainty—help prevent blindness due to vitamin A deficiency in areas of the world where this deficiency is rampant.

But vitamin A deficiency is a social problem.  Fruits and vegetables containing beta-carotene are widely available in such areas, but are not grown or consumed as a result of cultural or economic issues.  If they are consumed, people cannot absorb the beta-carotene cannot be absorbed because of poor diets, diarrheal diseases, or worms.

Here we are, 16 years after the Time cover, and Golden Rice is still not on the market.

I predicted its current problems in my book, Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety, first published in 2003.  In Table 12 (page 158) I outlined the many basic research studies and research on production, consumer acceptance and use, and clinical effectiveness that would have to be done before Golden Rice could be shown to achieve its intended purpose.  Much of this research has now been done but plenty more still needs doing on getting it produced and int…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/man-eats-chipotle-for-a-year-to-prove-a-point-about-dieting?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We thought we were big fans of Chipotle, but this guy from Washington State has us beat. Devin Cunningham has eaten food from the fast casual Mexican restaurant every day for nearly a year—and yes, he’s managed to lose weight. But this isn’t a Jared from Subway-type story: He’s not here to preach the burrito-a-day diet. Instead he’s using the food stunt to critique the whole idea of dieting. In a post on Facebook, he wrote:

I want to show people that they can be fit while still enjoying the food they love. When you enjoy what you eat on your “diet,” and you do it in moderation, it is that much easier to achieve your fitness goals.

We can argue whether eating hundreds of burritos over the course of a year is moderation, but Cunningham does have a point about eating things you actually like. Anytime we’ve nixed a whole food group (like carbs or sugar), we were left feeling hangry and ate more to make up for all the stuff we couldn’t have.

…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/10/480927407/nashville-high-schoolers-train-as-baristas-to-prepare-for-the-college-grind?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

KIPP high school students are training to pour a perfect Bongo East latte, decorated with the quintessential leaf design on top.

Anna Butrico/WPLN

It’s the afternoon lull at Bongo Java East, and five students from KIPP Academy are tripping over each other behind the counter of this hip Nashville coffee joint, trying to show off what they’ve learned. They’re grinding espresso beans. They’re packing the grounds. They’re steaming milk.

“Let’s see how this goes,” 10th-grader Ayanna Holder says as she knocks a steel pot of scalding milk on the counter to keep foam from forming. She takes a freshly pulled espresso and begins pouring the latte, aiming for a quintessential leaf design on top.

It doesn’t quite go as planned.

“It’s a cloud,” she says with a laugh. “That’s a new masterpiece.”

You can only get so much practice over the course of six weekends, after all. But the group of students training to be baristas this se…

Source: http://clubindustry.com/profits/murder-charge-dropped-against-former-yoga-studio-owner-twin-sisters-cliff-death

Anastasia Duval, who at one time had been a co-owner of Twin Power Yoga with her twin sister Alexandria Duval, was killed after Alexandria allegedly drove the SUV-style vehicle both were traveling in off the road where it fell 200 feet down a cliff.

read more

…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/yoga/sunday-morning-yoga/

On Sunday morning, I finally have time to indulge in a sweet, slow stretch. I use what I can to go deeper, feel more, and take pause in my practice.

Reclined Bound Angle

ShareTweetPlusPin

Start by lying on your back, with your feet together and your knees apart. Take a deep breath in, hold it, and then exhale fully through the mouth. Take two to five more breaths just like this.

Knees into Chest 

ShareTweetPlusPin

Slowly pull your knees into your chest, and wrap your arms around your legs. Give yourself a little squeeze.

Easy Twist

ShareTweetPlusPin

Open your arms out by your sides in a “T” shape. Keep your knees together and allow both knees to fall over to the right. Keep both shoulders flat on the ground, and bring your gaze over your left shoulder for a supine twist. Repeat on …

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/06/10/friday-faves/

Hey friends! Happy Friday! First things first: remember a few weeks ago how I shared that my Nutrition for Runners co-author Jason was in town and we recorded a short running nutrition Q&A video? It’s live on his site now! Check it out: running nutrition Q&A with a Registered Dietitian. We discuss commons mistakes runners often make with nutrition, the difference between exercising and training, and questions like “I’m running and eating right but not losing weight – what gives?” Enjoy!

And now, let’s kick start the weekend with some Friday faves – please feel free to play along in the comments!

1) My new iPhone lock screen picture – one of me and Matt from hiking in Canada. It makes me smile every time I turn on my phone. This suspension bridge (on the Dog Lake hike in Kootenay National Park) was absolutely stunning – one of my favorite hikes on the trip! 

2) This furry little face. We missed her while we were away but she was taken good care of thanks to a combination of my mom and a pet sitter. <img src="http://www.fannetasticfood.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png" alt=":)" class="wp…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/_5-J1bGbjck/

“Life is not designed to give us what we need; life is designed to give us what we deserve.” ~Jim Rohn

Is there something wrong with being special?

Short answer: yes.

But why is that? Being special is… special!

That’s true, but there’s a downside most people aren’t aware of.

Before we go any further, let me clarify what I mean by “being special.”

In short, being special is about thinking that what applies to others doesn’t apply to you, thinking that you’re an exception to the rules of life that others have to follow.

It has nothing to do with having healthy self-esteem or thinking highly of oneself; in fact, it’s all about ego and self-deception.

And you could be thinking in such a destructive way without even realizing it.

The Trap of Being Put on a Pedestal

Let’s say when you were growing up, people put you on a pedestal for something you did well.

Maybe you used to get straight A’s, maybe you were a good boy/girl who never broke the rules, maybe you were more physically attractive than most of your peers, and so on.

In short, you had a privilege that set you apart from your peers, and you may have done nothing or very little to get that advantage.

Maybe yo…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/5FtGJyIQurA/

“Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision. Visions don’t change, they are only refined. Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed. Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan.” ~John C. Maxwell

This year started as a complete mess for me.

After a five-week holiday away from December to January, it was difficult to get back to London and into the swing of things. Not only was I still in holiday mode, but I also came back without a plan.

I am at a point in my life where I am still exploring where in the world I want to be, what I want to be doing, and how.

My background is quite varied and broad. I am half Finnish, half New Zealander, but I grew up in Singapore. I came to London for university, where I studied Geology & Geophysics and then Business Management. I also developed a passion for running, which extended into overall health, fitness, and nutrition, thus I started working as a fitness and running instructor.

I am at quite a fragile point, deciding what path to go down (which field—earth science, business, or fitness; which country—stay in the UK, one of my home countries, somewhere completely new).

It is a decision made harder by having lots of options and a mind that tends to look for the perfe…