Source: http://zenhabits.net/let/

By Leo Babauta

As you sit here reading these words, you are breathing … stop for a moment and notice this breath.

You could control the breath, and make it behave as you like … or you can simply let yourself breathe.

There is peace in just letting your body breathe, without having to do anything about it.

Now imagine letting the your hands breathe. Just let them be, without having to control them. Just let them breathe.

Now look around you, and notice what else is in the room with you. See each object, and let it breathe.

If there are any people in the room with you, in your building, or in nearby buildings our houses … see them in your mind and let them breathe.

When you let them breathe, you just let them be, exactly as they are. You don’t need to change them, don’t need to control them, don’t need to improve them. You just let them breathe, in peace, and you accept that. You might even smile at this breathing.

As you go through your day, let everything breathe. Let yourself breathe.

There is no need to do anything. You don’t expect anything from anything or anybody. Just let them come as they come, let them go as they go.

Just appreciate everything and everybody as they are, miracles of existence, breathing in the soft air of the world, and smile at this joyful manifestation of love.

…

Source: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/02/04/how-to-make-pineapple-coconut-thai-curry/

This is an article from NF Rebel Chef, Noel.

We’re well into the start of the new year, and the motivation of other people’s New Years Resolutions has worn thin, but here at Nerd Fitness we don’t do resolutions. Instead we’re all about Epic Quests that keep us moving year round.

One of my Epic Quest goals is to improve my cooking by trying to cook new things. Now, you might be thinking, “Wait, isn’t your job is cooking… shouldn’t you already be great at it?” Well, sure, but even experienced cooks get stuck in food-ruts. And my friends, I am in deep.

So here’s one of my first food experiments for the year. It has something I love: the simplicity of three easy steps while appearing fancy at the end: red Thai curry (remember last time we experimented with curry?). If you’ve never been to a Thai restaurant and don’t know the difference between Thai and Indian curries, don’t worry. I didn’t until recently, but I’m in love with the coconutty richness of this dish and the number of different veggies included.

Thai curry has a different texture and flavor than Indian curry…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/04/465305656/in-babys-first-bite-a-chance-to-shape-a-childs-taste?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

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Food writer Bee Wilson says that babies are most open to trying new flavors between the ages of 4 and 7 months.

Duane Ellison/iStock

Food writer Bee Wilson has a message of hope for parents struggling to get their children to eat…

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/02/04/healthy-super-bowl-snack-recipes/

Looking for something to make this weekend for the Super Bowl? Look no farther – here are my favorite healthy Super Bowl snack recipes that are still delicious crowd-pleasers!

#1: Healthier Seven Layer Dip

This is my all-time favorite appetizer recipe. The secret to this delicious dip? Using plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and mayonnaise! Your friends and family won’t even notice the difference… I promise. Every time I’ve made this it’s gone in 10 minutes flat.

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#2: Baked Gluten Free Chicken Fingers

This recipe is a delicious alternative to the usual grease laden wings — they’re baked, but you won’t miss the grease because they’re crunchy and packed with flavor from the herbs. Serve with h…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/hold-in-poop-fart?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We can all agree that pooping is good for you. (There are few such universal, unequivocal truths in the health world.)

But the urge can sometimes come at the most inopportune moments. Perhaps you’re in the middle of an important client meeting, on a hot date, or in an airplane and have a fear of letting it out in the sky (totally reasonable fear, by the way). So you do what any rational adult would do:

You hold it in until you can go a little bit later. It can’t be that bad, can it? To be honest, we can’t believe we’re talking about this either, but somebody’s got to ask the question, and we’ve got answers.

The Need-to-Know

Simply put, poop is a combination of waste material and bacteria, as a result of your body’s digestive process. After you eat, it takes your body a little less than 53 hours for it to do its thing and push that BLT sandwich from your mouth through your digestive tract and out the other end (fun fact: the food spends roughly 40 of those hours just in your large intestine, a.k.a. your colon). When the digested food finally reaches the end, the rectal walls are stretched, and that sends a complex signal to the brain that it’s “go-time.”

Everyone’s schedule and frequency are g…

Source: http://greatist.com/eat/pancake-recipes-for-any-time?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Anyone who says pancakes are only for breakfast needs a wake-up call—and this list of recipes. Because, sure, buttermilk with maple syrup (we’re talking the real stuff) is great, but there is so much more you can make on the griddle.

How about veggie-packed latkes, jalapeño-spiked corn cakes, protein pancakes, dessert flapjacks, and sweet and savory crepes? See, you can have them for breakfast, lunch, a snack, dinner, and dessert. OK, maybe not all on the same day (no one likes a food coma), but you catch our drift.

Latkes and Veggie Pancakes

Photo: A Spicy Perspective

1. Korean Pancakes: Pajeon

Jazz up your cakes with carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, and green onion for added color and antioxidants. Then mix up an easy dipping sauce for spicy, salty, umami flavoring, and you’ve got a great app or entire dinner. Make sure you chop the veggies really small (or use a mandoline), otherwise you’ll get stuck with crunchy pancakes.

…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/r5_EQJKT2Gs/

“Our bodies communicate to us clearly and specifically, if we are willing to listen.” ~Shakti Gawain

I woke up screaming—not just any scream, but a blood-curdling sound that could have woken the dead.

My throat was searing with pain, and my pajamas were stuck to me from being so damp. After a minute or two, my heartbeat slowed and I lay back down, still shaking. It wasn’t a nightmare; I couldn’t even remember what I had dreamt.

This behavior sounds weird, but it was not an infrequent episode in our house. The week prior I’d woken up in the bathtub.

My mum would often say, “Do you remember what you did last night?” I would have no recollection whatsoever—unnerving and also frustrating.

I was experiencing what doctors refer to as “night terrors.” As a child it was just the norm—sleep walking and waking up screaming in the middle of the night. It’s only looking back now that I can provide a logical explanation for it.

You see, I had a fairly average upbringing, nothing traumatic about it, except I was always a worrier.

I felt different from other children and liked to keep myself to myself. There I would be in the playground reading a book, while others played. I was a bit of a loner and I got singled out for it. I wa…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/ErNZ61pwGnM/

“You are not a mess. You are a feeling person in a messy world.” ~Glennon Doyle Melton

I can recall crying myself to sleep at night when I was a little girl. Not a loud bawl, more of a soft weep.

My mom would tuck me in goodnight and as soon as she turned the lights on her way out, I would be left with a feeling of fear and sadness. Not because I was afraid of the dark, but because I was afraid of my dark.

The thoughts that entered my mind that kept me from falling into a peaceful slumber as an elementary school kid were rife with pain and suffering.

Mom would say, “Think good thoughts, honey.” But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I was too affected by all the suffering I saw.

I cried for all the injustice in the world.

I cried for all the pain I couldn’t necessarily see but could sense in others.

I cried for the kids getting bullied at my school.

I cried for myself getting teased at school.

I cried because people died and I didn’t get why they had to.

Somewhere along the way I received the message that it wasn’t okay to cry, or feel anything other than fine. That it was somehow bad to feel emotion. That to be a good little girl, I had to conceal and go along.

The only problem wa…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/_mH_lpk9cPQ/

“When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways – either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.” ~Dalai Lama

There was a period in life I called “the golden era.” Not in hindsight but at the actual time.

I named it such because I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

Everyone I loved was alive and well. I had a good job, a home, and a loving companion. All the things everyone longs for.

Little did I know, this “golden era” would end too soon.

One day, out of the blue, Mum asked if I had noticed a change in Dad’s behavior. She described how he could no longer write his signature and would often become distant.

After some tests, we discovered that my father had a brain tumor.

That instantly spelled the end of the golden era and the beginning of a rather painful period.

Watching someone who was strong become weak and bedridden, suffer seizures, and eventually drift away eats away at you.

It’s difficult to describe the tumultuous wave of feelings that come and overwhelm you. There’s the fear of coping with loss and feeling powerless because you can’t cure the illness and avoid the inevitable.

Losing a parent can fe…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/stone-barns-mindful-eating/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=082aizoV9qI

These days, most people understand that what we put in our mouths affects the way we feel and operate. Being mindful of what we eat not only helps us to bring awareness and gratitude, but it also helps us to be cognizant of what we’re ingesting and where our food comes from, making it more likely that we nourish ourselves wisely, methodically, and in line with our values. In this interview, Sonima founder Sonia Jones joins Jill Isenbarger, the executive director of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, to learn more about their practices in creating a culture of mindful eating at the farm.

Related: A Guided Meditation for Mindful Eating

The post A Unique Approach to Mindful Eating appeared first on Sonima.

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