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

“You are what you practice most.” ~Richard Carlson

“What are you practicing?” she asked in a gentle, lilting voice.

The entire class was in triangle pose, and at that moment I was comparing my triangle to the young woman’s right next to mine, scolding myself for wobbling out of the pose and simultaneously harassing myself for not being “further along” in my career. (Because if you’re going to hate on yourself, my motto is GO BIG.)

“Are you practicing judgment or comparison?” she tenderly probed.

“WTF!” I thought. “Does this woman have a direct line to my brain?”

“Are you practicing worry or blame?” she continued. “Perhaps you’re practicing patience and love. Notice what you’re practicing and know that you become what you practice. What you practice is what you live.”

DAMN IT!

I was three days into a five-day yoga retreat and I was far from blissed out. In fact, I had deftly managed to tie myself into a knot of comparison, self-doubt, judgment, confusion, shame, and embarrassment.

With my inner critic having hijacked my brain I was a total wreck, and caught myself, more than once, crying through one of the two yoga classes I took each day.

I should also mention I was pissed to b…

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

“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

I attended an interesting event a few nights ago. It featured ten speakers who spoke for ten minutes each on ten things you should know before you die.

The speakers included TV and film stars, CEOs, cover-shooting photojournalists, traveling journalists covering natural disasters, and HIV survivors. As you can image, there was a wide spectrum of perspectives shared.

Here are a few of the lessons that stuck out for me. A lot of these can profoundly change your mindset, how you view the world, and how you choose to react to things. You just need to take a step back and put things into perspective, which leads us into our first one.

1. Maintain perspective.

A journalist told a story of how he traveled to Haiti after the devastating earthquake that hit them a few years back. In the capital of Port-au-Prince many of the homes had fallen apart, and people who already had nothing were now living in small plots of land in public squares in the city.

The separations between each family’s plot were drawn in by hand, with tents and tarps set up overhead.
In one particular plot was for a seven-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy.

The speaker spoke a bit of Creole French …

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

We’re all for tradition, but when it comes to holiday baking, we’ve always had mixed feelings about gingerbread cookies. Fresh out of the oven, they’re warm and peak holiday—but one day later, a plain gingersnap just doesn’t hold the same appeal. And that’s where these recipes come in: They’ve got all the flavor of gingerbread without the boring sameness. Add-ins like cinnamon, Greek yogurt, and chocolate chips mix up the profile, which means fewer disatissfying cookies and more tiny house-building materials.

Photo: Running With Spoons

1. Gingerbread Breakfast Smoothie

This smoothie recipe is the stuff of winter dreams: Warm, filling, and creamy, it blends the line (sorry, couldn’t resist) between beverage and breakfast.

…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/ho5roH18Qi0/

“A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.” ~Charles H. Spurgeon

What are the benefits of being friendly? Some might argue that there aren’t many advantages to it. These people might even tell you that you should mind your own business instead of trying to please everyone.

But is friendliness really just an attempt to please others? Is it really a sign of insecurity or even weakness?

I believe friendliness is a sign of inner strength and balance.

Just a year ago, I was confronted with an extremely negative person at work. At first, I believed she acted as she did because she was struggling with he burdens we all have to bear from time to time.

I thought the problem would eventually resolve itself, but it didn’t. Only in retrospect I am beginning to understand that unresolved underlying pain could have influenced her behavior.

Unfortunately, I didn’t consider this possibility back then. In my ignorance I assumed the worst of her, thinking her behavior was a cold and calculating attempt to manipulate everyone around her.

I judged her based on her actions, without considering the underlying…

Source: http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/rep-schemes-for-strength/

“I just need to get stronger…ya know what I mean?” Jake, a college kid that I train, recently told me.

I took a slow sip of my Americano, anxiously waiting for the caffeine buzz to constrict my blood vessels and supercharge my brain.

“I hear you man. When I was your age, I made strength a priority. Your strength isn’t just dictated by your size, it comes down to planning and loading. ”

Jake looked up quizzically. “I’m not sure I follow. What rep schemes will help me build strength?”

You see, there’s a reason beyond just genetics that the willpower of some lifters is stronger than that of others, and that is the rep schemes and loading parameters that they use while lifting.

Yes, effort is important, but it’s imperative that your workouts are pointed towards maximizing your strength if you want to reach the top of the strength totem pole.

As it pertains to maximum strength, you need to have specific training methods combined with the willpower to go all-out in order to get as strong as possible.

“Why bro? I just want to have abs, arms, and pick up hot chicks…who cares if I’m actually strong?”

For starters, a base of strength improves your ability to train for all other qualities, from athletic performance to getting absolutely jacked.

Sure, you don’t need to be a powerlifter, but a periodic block of strength work increases your work capacity and ma…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yogadork/dwhv/~3/dXixnBNncbA/

by Jillian Pransky “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” — Chinese Proverb Admittedly, I was once a master goal driver. One May, I ran my first five-mile course ever, and just a few months later, I ran a full marathon. I’ve always enjoyed proving myself. But soon after […]

You’re reading Strong Enough To Be Soft by YogaDork. Follow YogaDork on Twitter and Facebook.

…

Source: http://www.bornfitness.com/why-diet-plans-really-fail/

The question hit my inbox and I could only shake my head.

I’m pretty worried right now. Every time I want to enjoy eating out, being social, or even the holidays, all the diet plans I try just stress me out. How do I make this work without losing my mind?

The question was fair but frustrating, and only because he was one of 100 people to ask almost the same question.

I could only wonder and regret, “How the did we get to this point?”

This “point” is a place where the most commonly held belief is that fitness and nutrition are black and white. “Healthy eating” and most “diet plans” are experienced as an overwhelming and depressing shade of stressful perfection, oftentimes created by popular diet books. Ask most people, and they believe the most effective diet and training plan consists of two primary concepts:

You can’t indulge and still look great
You must train or exercise all the time to be fit, look great, and be healthy.

The healthiest diet plans and most effective nutrition strategies focus are not about superfoods, scapegoats, or supplements. Rather, if there’s one reality that we see in research (from Atkins to The Zone), consistency, sustainability, and patience are the foundations of a good plan and prevent diet failure. And when done right, any diet and fitness plan should be built to withstand desserts, days off, and daiquiris. (Yeah, I said daiquiris. I guess…

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2015/12/five-more-industry-sponsored-studies-with-results-favorable-to-the-sponsor-the-score-since-mid-march-959/

Systematic Review of Pears and Health. Holly Reiland, BS Joanne Slavin, PhD, RD.  Nutrition Today November/December 2015 – Volume 50 – Issue 6 – p 301–305.  doi: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000112.  

Conclusions: Animal studies with pears suggest that pears may regulate alcohol metabolism, protect against ulcers, and lower plasma lipids. Human feeding studies with pears have not been conducted. In epidemiological studies, pears are combined with all fresh fruits or with apples, because they are most similar in composition. The high content of dietary fiber in pears and their effects on gut health set pears apart from other fruit and deserves study.
Funding: The authors received a grant from USA Pears in the past. The authors provided their own funding to allow this article to publish as Open Access.
Comment: Pears are a great fruit but the marketing purpose of this study is evident from this press release from the Pear Bureau Northwest: “While the body of evidence connecting pear intake and health outcomes is still limited, USA Pears has been contributing to research efforts by commissioning independent studies to learn and affirm the heath attributes of pears. Visit www.usapears.org for additional pear research, nutrition resources and recipes.”

Whole Grain Intakes in the Diets Of Malaysian Children and Adolescents – Findings from the MyBreakfast Study.  Norimah AK , H. C. Koo, Hamid Jan JM, Mohd Nasir MT, S. Y. Tan, Mahendran Appukutt…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/23/460840803/big-bold-wild-we-re-create-christmas-dinner-17th-century-style?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

An illustration shows the procession of the boar’s head and massive pie filled with many kinds of wild game. Ivan Day calls it the turducken of its time.

Rich Preston

If you are eating turkey this Christmas out of some sense of tradition, food historian Ivan Day says, put down that drumstick. After studying 400-year-old English cookbooks, Day says the giant bird isn’t even that traditional. Besides, he says, “It’s a dry wasteland of flavorless meat.”

Sure, the first turkey came to England in the 1600s. It was an exotic “treat” from the New World. But a time-traveler from Shakespeare’s time wouldn’t understand why everyone in the modern world was having the same dull bird on Christmas night.

<img src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/01/28/51244622_sq-bfcff80c2732cff40e4bae8cab03bc2750943b75-s100.jpg" class="img100" title="Britain's King George I…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/23/460833325/the-unitasker-kitchen-gadgets-alton-brown-loves-to-loathe?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

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Cooking gadgets seem to be a solid go-to when you’re not sure what to give someone. Who wouldn’t be charmed with a laser-guided pizza cutter? A one-click butter dispenser? An electric bacon-bowl maker?

<img src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/12/19/unitasker1_sq-30b8a8fcec60edb33baadbae2171f9e1b140d39e-s100.jpg" class="img100" title="A man takes a closer look at kitchen appliances while shopping at a Bed Bath & Beyond store in New York." alt="A man takes a closer look at kitchen appliances while shopping at a Bed Bath &…