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

“The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at a given moment. And if this is a correct view of freedom, our chief energy must be concentrated on achieving reform from within.” ~Gandhi

If someone asked you to recall the last time you were kind to yourself, would you struggle to bring up that memory?

At one point in time, I couldn’t remember ever being kind to myself.

I grew up with a lot of expectations from a demanding mother and other caretakers. Their expectations were all about them being in control and always being right.

It was more than confusing; it left me with a need to prove myself constantly, and it gave me an inner critic that berated me at an early age.

Years later, I got a job in corporate America where expectations were clear-cut and measured. Positive encouragement and regular successes made me feel good about myself.

I became addicted to that feeling. My ego encouraged me to continually exceed other peoples’ expectations by making my own even higher. My inner critic accepted nothing less.

Then I started my own business. I expected success to come quickly, easily, and be beyond anything I had experienced before.

It certainl…

Source: http://summertomato.com/introducing-the-foodist-podcast/

In just over two weeks Summer Tomato will celebrate it’s 7th anniversary. I’m deeply humbled that so many people have trusted me as their guide to getting healthy and losing weight in a sane, positive way.

But every once in awhile I wake up in the morning and all I can think is: good gawd I’m sick of writing about myself!

This is why I’m thrilled today to announce the launch of the Foodist podcast.

Finally, the spotlight is on you guys.

In the Foodist podcast I interview real people on their healthstyle journey so you can see real life examples of how people-who-aren’t-me have managed to find health and happiness without dieting.

There are countless ways to get healthy and lose weight. As a foodist, it’s your job to find the way that works for you. My goal for the Foodist podcast is to show you what has and hasn’t worked for different people, to give you both inspiration and guidance along your own healthstyle journey.

Currently there are three types of episodes on the show:

Ask Darya: Short 5-10 min segments where I answer simple questions that have been submitted by readers here at Summer Tomato.
Success stories: Interviews with people who have achieved some type of healthstyle success. I…

Source: http://zenhabits.net/workstress/

By Leo Babauta

There isn’t a working person among us who doesn’t deal with stress — whether you’re an entrepreneur, a freelancer, working for a struggling startup, or clocking in working for a company, work stress is inevitable.

But where does this stress originate, and how do we deal with it?

Most guides to stress will give you some actions to take: exercise, sleep well, eat right, meditate, and do some yoga at your desk. These are all amazing, and you should do them.

However, I’m more interested in getting at the root of stress. Dig down, ferret out the cause, and work with that directly, rather than treating the symptoms. Only once you deal with the cause of stress can you truly be a master of it.

Cause of Stress

Let’s take a look at some things you might be stressed about at work:

Hard deadlines
Difficult co-workers or boss
Uncertainty about your job
Uncertainty about whether you can succeed at this project
Competition, office politics, interpersonal conflicts
Not having enough time for family or personal life
Being overwhelmed by too much to do

There are many more possibilities, but these are a good sampling. In all these examples, the cause is really the same thing:

We are attached to how we want things to be. We have an ideal about how each of these situations should be, and our clinging to this ideal is causing the stress.

Let’s take the uncertainty about the job. Of course, that’s not ideal, we wou…

Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/012/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode of The Minimalists Podcast, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus talk about finances, and they answer the following questions:

How do you pay down student loan debt with only a part-time job?
How do you buy a house and stay debt-free?
Should you use retirement funds to pay down school loan debt?
How can you attend college without incurring debt?
How can you adopt minimalism if you’re financially challenged?
How can you afford to travel for pleasure when you earn less?
How can you still enjoy life’s pleasures while paying down debt?

Stream

Subscribe

iTunes · Stitcher · Soundcloud · YouTube · MP3 Download

Mentioned in This Episode

Book: Essential
Book: Everything That Remains
Book: How to Travel the World on $50 a Day
Book: Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life
Book: Total Money Makeover
Essay: 11 Signs You Might Be Broke
Essay: A Minimalist’s Thoughts on Money
Essay: Financial Freedom
Essay: Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness
Essay: Need, Want, Like
Essay: Retirement Planning
Essay: Stimulate the Economy Like a Minimalist
Essay: The Minimalists Open a Coffeehouse
Event: How to Write Better
Event: Tuesdays with The Minimalists
Mee…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/mantras-how-to-create-a-mantra-for-personal-growth?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

It’s time for mantras to lose their New Age-y stereotype. The word mantra originates in Sanskrit and has been translated in English in various ways: a hymn or song of praise, sacred message or text, charm, spell, counsel, or incantation.

While mantras are frequently used in meditation sessions to silence mental chatter, anyone can benefit from one. Our minds are full of noise—largely repetitive, useless, and even harmless thoughts that are on replay much of the time. A mantra can slice through these thoughts in any moment, especially when you craft one that is meaningful just to you.

I recommend having two mantras for the two areas of your life where you need them most. If you’re on the job hunt, for example, maybe you have one to reassure you before an interview. If you’re dating, you have another to repeat on the way to a first date. (Struggling with body image? Try one of these 35 body-positive mantras to say in your mirror every morning.)

Here are five steps to come up with a kick-ass mantra you can use to help you feel strong, capable, and at peace when you need it the most. Think of it as your one-word pep talk, available at anytime or place.

We’ll use the career success example here.

5 Steps to Manifest Your Mantra <img src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_main/public/personal-mantra-feature.jpg?itok=LeVP_nQy" alt="Mantras: How to Create a Mantra for Personal Growth" class="media-element file-g-f…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/meditation/talking-and-listening/

Within you; one moment of silence.
A trust, the one place you can turn to for guidance;
it might sound like someone else, but it’s just your highest, reaching to you.

I’ve been talking to my Mama almost every day. I find myself walking, and on my way
I reach for my phone to fill her in, to remind her that neither of us are alone,
but of course, her body is gone. It’s been five weeks now.

And each time I forget, and reach to call to her, now I just put in my headphones and
say it, Hi Mama. I miss you, I really don’t know how else to reach you.

So while I’m walking, like I used to, I’m listening for your questions
(they used to be burdensome, now I listen for them like my favourite songs),
and your advice (and the weather, now I have to actually look it up),
and your most random thoughts (which I can still hear, and now, they too are music);

call me crazy, but I might be getting used to this.

ShareTweetPlusPin

Within me. One moment of silence.
A trust, the one place I can turn to for guidance.
It really does sound like her. But I know it’s just my highest.

Lead Image by Pete Longworth

The post Talking and Listening appeared first on Son…

Source: http://greatist.com/move/abs-workout-most-effective-core-moves-to-do-at-the-gym?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We’re all for planking your way to a stronger core. And odds are you have a handful of go-to bodyweight abs exercises that you do on the mat when you’re cooling down.

But if you’ve ever wondered how you can work your abs with the equipment available at your gym, we’ve got you covered with 17 creative and effective ways to take your abs routine up a notch.

We worked with Equinox trainer Gerren Liles to round up killer core moves using some of the most common gym equipment: a pull-up bar, cable machine, Bosu ball, abs roller, TRX straps, and barbell. And you can adjust them to fit any fitness level. Next time you’re at the gym (and dread doing another crunch), pick three of the moves below and do 2 to 3 sets for the recommended number of reps. Stick to it, and we promise you’ll feel the burn—and see results.

Pull-Up Bar

1. Hanging Leg Circles

Grip a pull-up bar with palms parallel, arms extended. (The bar should be high enough to hang from with legs extended, without feet touching the ground.) Engaging core and keeping legs straight, draw a big circle in the air with fee…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/yoga-sequence-to-strengthen-the-core/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8KoAcIX72w

This beginner-friendly yoga sequence is all about strengthening the core muscles. Jai Sugrim, a yoga teacher based in New York City, instructs two students of varying levels in how to approach this sequence with proper alignment, so as to maximize results. Though this sequence falls within the yogic structure, it can be easily added on to a gym workout, or even work as a early morning routine to wake up the muscles.

Related: A Pilates Sequence to Sculpt Your Abs from All Angles

The post A Yoga Sequence to Strengthen the Core appeared first on Sonima.

…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/t3zt-4KoPV8/

“Buddha was asked, ‘What have you gained from meditation?’ He replied, ‘Nothing.’ ‘However,’ Buddha said, ‘let me tell you what I lost: anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear of old age, and death.’”

“I never get stressed.”

I used to say and think this all the time when I saw someone freaking out about an upcoming test, a bad grade, relationship problems, or a boss or coworker.

I had a false sense of being “carefree” because I wouldn’t get stressed over the trivial things that most people did.

I was a “battle hardened” soldier recently back from a deployment in Afghanistan. When I saw people worry about those inconsequential things, I would think to myself, “Please, you have no idea what it means to be stressed.”

As it turns out, my understanding of stress was wrong. It’s also wrong for a lot of people who believe they aren’t stressed.

It wasn’t until I started meditating three years after my deployment that I started to realize that I was stressed—just in a different way and from different things than most people.

After meditating every day for a couple months, my “ah-ha” moment finally hit me.

I was sitting in traffic, late for an appointment (I hate being late), watching all the pe…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/relationship-advice-go-on-second-date-even-if-there-was-no-chemistry?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

If you were raised on rom-coms and the idea of “love at first sight,” having a “spark” with a potential love interest seems like a no-brainer. While you’re probably not thinking marriage on a first date, you’re looking for some sign this person could be the one you’re looking for… right?

Actually, many single people today aren’t expecting to feel a connection right away, according to a Match.com survey. Of the participants polled, 59 percent of men and women said they would go on a second date with someone they had no romantic chemistry with on the first date.

And a good chunk of people don’t even count on those butterflies early on: 25 percent of singles don’t expect to feel chemistry until the second date, and 33 percent don’t expect to see that spark until three dates in—or more!

So is the instantaneous spark just a fantasy? And if you don’t feel chemistry at your initial meet-cute, should you give him or her a second chance?

More Than a Feeling

What exactly is that “spark”? It means different things for different people, says Michael McNulty, Ph.D., a master certified Gottman Therapist and Chicago-based couples counselor. It can be purely sexual, or it can be a deeper feeling that someone understand…