Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/releasing-unhealthy-patterns/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F86zvZeII0

Any pattern we’ve hosted, whether deleterious or beneficial, has created a likelihood in our physiology, our neurology, and our chemistry. This meditation by Elena Brower, a noted New York City-based yoga and meditation instructor, grants us time to rest in a natural, essential state, beneath all the patterns, all the habitual tendencies, in our most primary state of being. The technique we call upon in this 18-minute meditation is working with feelings and their oppositions so we can get at the root of our unhealthy patterns, and seek to find stillness and the best version of ourselves beneath it all. 

Related: A Meditation for Personal Renewal

Photo by Hailey Wist

The post A Meditation for Releasing Unhealthy Patterns appeared first on Sonima.

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Source: http://greatist.com/health/high-protein-snacks-portable?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Whether you’re fueling up before hitting the gym or taking a midday snack break to avoid the 3 p.m. lull, high-protein snacks are the tastiest way to keep on going. These snacks that pack in plenty of protein along with other nutrients are the perfect way to fill up, and give us longer-lasting energy than carb-heavy options.

And if you think you’re limited to boring hard-boiled eggs, think again. These 27 delicious, healthy, and easy options have even more protein than an egg (one large contains about 6 grams).

1. Nut Butter Boat

Any vehicle for nut butter is perfection in our book. Try loading a few celery sticks with a serving of any nut butter (like almond, cashew, walnut) topped with a few whole almonds or raisins. If you’re not a fan of celery, try scooping out the middle of an apple and filling it with your nut butter of choice.

2 tbsp natural nut butter with 1 cup apple or celery slices: 8.3 grams protein

2. Jerky

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Source: http://greatist.com/live/instagrams-non-cheesy-workout-motivation?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Oh, Instagram. Where would we get our 6 a.m. workout motivation without you? Or motivation to work out at any hour, let’s be real.

Chances are, you’re already following a slew of accounts—some inspiring, others informative, and even a few that are just plain entertaining. Also likely? Plenty of posts with quotes and sayings that are as cheesy as a sizzling slice of pizza. You know the kind, the ones peppered with hashtags like #fitspo, #selflove, #beautiful.

That’s why you need to follow these accounts. Some are hilarious and others are just plain #facts. Either way, they’re relatable and refreshing. And they’ll make you want to work out for all the right reasons.

1. ACE Fitness

The Instagram account for the American Council on Exercise delivers candid, real-talk mantras that will make you shout, “YES!” Plus, it provides #PROtips from ACE’s network of certified health specialists.

2. Y7 Studio

The Brooklyn-based yoga studio, a favorite of Girls star Zosia Mahmet, is not just for crunchy granola types. The hip-hop-inspired classes flow to some serious beats, and the studio’s Instagram will remind you what a good time work…

Source: http://tonygentilcore.com/2016/01/strength-starts-here-breath-control-express-badassery/

I always enjoy when I have the opportunity to introduce my readers to someone new; coach’s who are “in the trenches,” doing great things, and are well articulate in conveying their message.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you Chris Abbott. He’s a coach and gym owner based in Chicago. As it happened, he sent me a t-shirt out of the blue as a “thank you” for what I do on this blog. It was a class move and nice gesture to say the least.

Not long after Chris expressed some interest in writing a guest post, and well, it took me all of three seconds to say yes.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Strength Starts Here

Life is better when you’re strong, and that’s a fact.

Photo Credit: Bill Strong

Over the years as a trainer I’ve worked with average Joes, stay at home moms, significant weight loss clients, professional athletes, and a wide variety of broken and damaged people ranging from hip replacements and torn labrums to herniated/broken discs and torn knee ligaments – to name a few. Every one of these clients had one thing in common; they all reached their goals by becoming stronger.

Perhaps I’m stating the obvious, but based off of the people I see and work with daily I feel people may know they need to get stronger, may know t…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/tampon-toxic-shock?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We have lots of rules to live by—some optional, some not. There’s the five-second rule (for picking up food that fell on the floor); the one-day rule (for texting that heart-eyes-emoji guy from the night before); and of course, the eight-hour rule (for changing your tampon).

But if you forget to switch, or you’re stuck somewhere you don’t have a spare tampon, what’s the worst that can happen? We’ve all heard about the apparent price you pay for laziness—the terrifyingly named toxic shock syndrome—but we’ve also heard it’s super rare. So is it a real risk, or are we unnecessarily freaking out in the final hours?

Grasping at Threads

The long and short of it: Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is extremely rare. It affects around one in 100,000 women, says Wendy Chang, M.D., an OB/GYN and scientific director of Southern California Reproductive Center. As any tampon box will tell you, TSS is the result of an infection by two major kinds of bacteria, staphylococcus aureus (staph) and group A streptococcal (strep). Leaving a tampon in after the recommended eight-hour limit ups the risk, as does choosing the super-mega absorbency option (the more material, the higher the risk).

Turns out, everyone actually has some trace of staph bacteria on …

Source: http://www.sonima.com/meditation/wim-hof/

The scene baffled scientists for decades. A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks wearing only light robes enter a frigid room, registering barely 40 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermostat. They sit and begin to meditate, seemingly undisturbed by the cold.

Others from the monastery up the ante, taking large towels, soaking them in cold water, and placing them overtop the meditators’ shoulders. If the seated men were like most of us, they would start shaking and shivering violently. But the monks do not move. Suddenly, steam begins to rise from the towels. Within an hour, the towels are dry.

This scene described from a French study in the mid-2000s by the Harvard Gazette, and which has also been observed historically in ceremonies in the Himalayas for the last century, shows the power of Tummo meditation. Tummo is a Tibetan word for “inner fire,” and with the practice, skilled meditators are able to raise their core body temperature by several degrees (up to 17 has been recorded), even in freezing conditions.

The practice takes years or even decades to master. But an athlete known for extreme stunts in frigid temperatures says he’s developed a method that allows people to access benefits similar to those produced by Tummo in just hours. Laboratory studies show that he might be onto something.

The Iceman Cometh

The athlete is Wim Hof, who’s also known as “The Iceman.” He earned the name by performing incredib…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/tv-shows-body-image?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

After hearing a ton of great stuff about that Marvel-Netflix show Jessica Jones, I finally queued it up the other day, only to turn if off less than 10 minutes later. Not even a third of the way through the very first episode, the main character made a pointless joke about a plus-size woman on an elliptical machine (“Two minutes on the treadmill, 20 on a Quarter Pounder”).

I think uncomfortable humor or dialogue is fine/great when it’s necessary to the storyline or shocks with a purpose—but a lazy fat-joke potshot? That’s just hack writing. Which makes me sad, because I love good TV. But this disappointment got me thinking about television shows that actually do some good for body positivity. There are a few, I think. Here’s my list and rationale:

1. Huge

All of the stars of this one-season wonder on the former ABC Family network were charismatic, watchable, and “of size” (as in, average-size or overweight). Yes, the whole plot of the show revolved around these young people being at “fat camp,” but the writers used that as a premise to tackle a million tender subjects with humor and tact. The show was funny, touching, and fun—and the characters looked like two-thirds of the population of the United States does. It was revolutionary! And cancelled. Good thing you can get the whole s…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/new-antibiotics-guidelines?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Your doc may be less likely to give you antibiotics when you come down with a nasty sinus infection this winter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a report with new guidelines: Doctors shouldn’t prescribe the powerful medications for respiratory tract infections (sinus, throat, or lung infection) unless they think a patient will develop pneumonia.

The report found that half of all antibiotic prescriptions given during outpatient treatment might be inappropriate or unnecessary (this translates to more than $3 billion in wasteful spending, eek!).

For most doctors, this isn’t new information. Seven years ago, the Infectious Diseases Society of America put out similar guidelines. Daniel Park, M.D, a Greatist expert and pediatric emergency physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, says he was trained to follow these guidelines in his residency.

But that doesn’t mean patients have heard the same advice. “Patients often want or demand antibiotics when they come to the doctor’s office,” Park says. “But we have to remember that they may not completely understand the drawbacks of antibiotics, especially in the setting of an ailment that does not require them.” Some of those drawbacks include building up antibiotic resistance (if we take them too often or in the wrong dosage), nasty side effects, and the potential for allergic reactions.

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Source: http://greatist.com/eat/paleo-lunch-recipes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Can we all agree that lunch got the short end of the meal stick? It doesn’t have the finger-licking waffles and crisp bacon that breakfast lays claim to, and most of us don’t have time to make the casseroles or meat-and-potatoes dishes we enjoy at dinnertime. Heck, it can be tough to even escape from our desks to get a midday meal in.

For Paleo lovers, lunchtime can be even more of a challenge—no grains typically means no sandwiches, and how many salads can one person eat? No need to stress. The following recipes are easy to make and take to work so you have a hearty, flavorful meal that will help you stay awake and focused the rest of the day. But you don’t need to be on the Paleo plan to enjoy them: Feel free to add them to your brown bag rotation no matter what “diet” you follow.

Sandwiches

Photo: Drizzle and Drip

1. Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps

If you think lettuce wraps are limp and too light to sustain yo…

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

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” ~Lucille Ball

As I sat on my bedroom floor almost in tears that night, surrounded by all the clothes I’d just tried on before a night out with my friends, the same thoughts replayed through my mind. You’re fat, you’re ugly, and you’re disgusting for letting yourself get this way.

I still cringe when I think about that, and the way I used to speak to (and about) myself. I would never think that of another person, let alone talk to them like that, yet it was second nature to say those things to myself!

I canceled on my friends that night; I was so unhappy with how I looked and felt that I couldn’t face going out and worrying what other people thought of my shape and size.

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that when we feel so low about ourselves, that’s the time when we’re most self-absorbed? We retreat into a small bubble that’s all about us/ As if the people in the bar that night would care what I looked like! They were there to have a good time with their friends, and I should have been too.

I struggled to lose weight during that time because I just couldn’t stay consistent or build new healthier habits. I’d do well for a while, but then I’d have one off moment and I’d give …