Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/05/16/health-benefits-of-meditation/

I’m sharing a guest post today from my Joyful Eating, Nourished Life program co-author and fellow Registered Dietitian Alex Caspero on why meditation is the best gift you can give yourself. I began my own meditation journey about 6 months ago after deciding I needed something to manage the endless to do list that was life. While I don’t successfully practice every single day, I aim to most days, and it has honestly made a big difference in my stress and anxiety levels. I know it sounds silly, but before you close out this post and say meditation isn’t for you, give this post about the health benefits of meditation a read.

Why Meditation is the Best Gift You Can Give Yourself
by Alex Caspero, MA, RD

Don’t hesitate, meditate! My first yoga teacher had that phrase as a bumper sticker on her car, and while it still makes me chuckle now as much as it did then, I now have a much deeper appreciation for the intention behind those words.

Seriously, though: want to change your life? Try meditation. Whoa! Is that a bit too hyperbol…

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/05/16/weekend-adventures-trails-inn-little-washington/

Hi friends! I’m glad many of you enjoyed Alex’s guest post yesterday on the health benefits of meditation and why you should give it a shot. I wrote a guest post for her last week, entitled 3 Tips to Fall in Love with Exercise. If you missed it, give it a look!

And now, my weekend recap! I needed a little longer than usual to write this one because it was quite action-packed. On Friday night, Matt and I took advantage of the reprieve from rainy weather and had an al fresco pizza date night at Faccia Luna in Clarendon.

Our pizza had pepperoni, lots of veggies, and arugula, and I started with the beet salad and a glass of Prosecco (x2). Nothing better than Prosecco on a really nice night!

<img style="padding-top: 0px;padding-left: 0px;p…

Source: http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/foods-to-support-your-liver/

In Portland, the flowers are blooming, the trees are sprouting their leaves and many of us are feeling a sense of renewal and excitment about the upcoming Summer.  After a cold, wet winter, this is a great time to  recommit to our health.   One bodily organ that deserves some love is our liver, our main organ of detoxification.  Our liver filters our blood, regulates blood sugar and cholesterol, produces bile to breakdown fat and stores iron, glucose for energy and Vitamins A, D, K and B12.  Adding liver supporting foods at this time of the year can help your liver continue functioning at its best.  Some suggestions for beneficial liver foods include:

Beets:  The fiber in beets increases the production of antioxidant enzymes in the liver, helping the body to eliminate bile and other toxic substances.  The phyto nutrient, betalain, found in beets, provides anti- inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Cruciferous vegetables:  Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage are high in antioxidant properties.  These vegetables have strong anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Lentil and beans:  These nutritional powerhouses provide fiber to keep your bowels moving and help stabilize …

Source: http://greatist.com/live/wear-your-label-t-shirts-make-it-easier-to-talk-about-mental-illness?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We’re big supporters of the recent conversations challenging the stigma around mental illness. So naturally we’re fans of these t-shirts from Canadian company Wear Your Label. The tees say things such as “Rad but sad” and “It’s OK not to be OK,” making it easier to express how you feel, send an encouraging message to others, or simply create more awareness around mental health. Check out a few of our favorites below.

…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/this-guy-will-change-how-you-think-about-ballet-dancers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

If someone asked you to picture a ballet dancer, chances are you’d think of a little girl in a pink tutu (or resident badass Misty Copeland), but 23-year-old Erik Cavanaugh is out to change that.

The dancer and choreographer posts stunning Instagram videos that prove dance is for everybody (and every body type). Cavanaugh’s message is encouraging whether you’re a dancer yourself or just an uncoordinated superfan of So You Think You Can Dance. We also love that one of his life goals is to bust a move with Ellen (hi, us too!). Check out some of his videos below.

…

Source: http://www.karpfitness.com/building-muscle/

Q: One of my biggest fitness goals is to build more muscle. Any tips? A: If you are looking to increase your lean body mass, your program must be designed around strength improvements. This means lifting a little heavier weights, performing fewer repetitions on each set, and taking a little longer breaks between your sets to allow your muscles to … Read More

The post Ask Shaun: How do I start building muscle? appeared first on Personal Training Vancouver.

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Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/05/chipotles-food-safety-issues-the-saga-continues/

Food Safety News continues to be incredulous at Chipotle’s apparent denial of responsibility for the safety of food served in its outlets.

For sure, what has happened at Chipotle restaurants is unusual—illnesses caused by multiple toxic microbes at multiple locations:

Seattle — E. coli O157:H7, July 2015, five sick people, source unknown;
Simi Valley, Calif. — Norovirus, August 2015, 234 people, source was sick employee;
Minnesota — Salmonella Newport, August and September 2015, 64 sick people, source was tomatoes but it remains unclear  at what point in the field-to-fork chain the pathogen was introduced;
Nine states — E. coli O26, began October 2015 and declared over Feb. 1, 55 sick people, source unknown, states involved are California, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington; and
Three states — E. coli O26, began December 2015 declared over Feb. 1, five sick people, source unknown, states involved are Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska; and closing out in
Boston — Norovirus in December, 151 sickened.

Chipotle did the obvious right thing.  It brought on board the most experienced and highly regarded food safety experts: Mansour Samadpour (he has a food safety consulting company), James Marsden (to head up its food safety initiatives), Dave Theno (formerly of Jack in the Box) and David Acheson (former FDA food safety official).

Perhaps before they had time to wei…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/meditation/breath-meditation-for-beginners/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh_JRH95Cpo

This is the first in a series of meditation practices that are meant to increase focus, awareness, and enable you to be more present with the breath in your everyday life. This particular breath meditation is for beginners.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Meditation Posture

The guided breath meditation will help the practitioner stay grounded, while becoming familiar with their own breath and body. In this practice there’s an option to keep the eyes opened or closed, and to count the breath as a way of become familiar with our tendencies, our tension, and ourself.

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Watch the video above as Lodro Rinzler, a Shambhala Buddhist meditation teacher and chief spiritual officer of MNDFL, a drop-in meditation studio in Ne…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/support-for-cancer-patients/

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

Everyone digests difficult news differently. Regardless when it hits you, whether it’s right at the beginning or when you’re getting ready to leave treatment, it is always distressing. “Being told you have breast cancer is a lot of people’s worst nightmare. What we do in the moment is put everything into perspective in order to help women not only be able to cope with it as they go through it but also to start to plan how they are going to get themselves through it,” says Guy Montgomery, director of Psychological Services at Mount Sinai’s Dubin Breast Center in New York City. In this video interview with Sonima.com founder, Sonia Jones, Montgomery describes the importance of providing patients with emotional support through an array of services, including couples therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and hypnosis, to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment, like pain and fatigue, and help minimize distress about the whole process.

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A Different Kind of Support Group: Kula for Karma

How Complement…

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/05/12/track-workouts-and-lateral-leg-step-ups/

Hey friends! Thanks for your great comments on yesterday’s post about why the low fat and cholesterol craze was a huge fail. Glad you enjoyed it!

In other news, will it ever stop raining in DC? It’s been so soggy and gray here lately! Do not like…

Thankfully the rain held off until after Tuesday morning’s track workout, though. Our coaches had us do 1200’s (3 laps) – with the first 2 laps at threshold pace and the last lap a bit faster. It was a tough but good one, and I felt strong and energized out there! Made it through 4 of them, plus jogging in between the sets and a warm up and cool down (not shown on watch).

<img title="P5100005" style="border-top: 0px;border-right: 0px;border-bottom: 0px;float: none;padding-top: 0px;padding-left: 0px;border-left: 0px;margin: 0px auto;padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P5100005" src="http://www.fannetasticfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/P5100005_thumb.jpg" width="620" height="465" …