Recipes for Success

While I am working very hard to hold my carb count at 30, please remember the scale is 20 to 50 carbs per day.  Here are recipes for success:

​Avocado Egg Bake

• 1 avocado (halved and pitted)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of cheese
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Scoop out the avocado pit to make room for the egg.

Place on a baking sheet 

Crack the egg and place inside the scooped out area of the avocado

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the egg is cooked

Sprinkle with cheese

Per Serving: 605 calories; 50.9 g fat; 18.6 g carbohydrates; 25.3 g protein; 408 mg cholesterol; 525 mg sodium; you can halve that count if you only eat one since the serving size is 2 eggs. Allrecipes.com

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Recipe for Yoga

This is a longer sequence that you can use at home.  I developed it years ago and taught it in our 4:30 pm Beginner's Flow Yoga yesterday.  I will illustrate it when I write it up for my blog...

Six Movements of the Spine

Seated:

Lifting your hips to be a little higher than your knees

in Sukhasana or Easy Seated Pose

Cat/Cow - contracting the belly and extending the spine 

Cat/Cow Circles - both clockwise and counter clockwise

Lateral Flexion - side to side

Windshield Wiper Knees with feet wide apart

Do both orientations with opposite knees in the front

Hands and Knees or TableTop: 

Spinal Balance:  Right leg and Left arm to lengthen and lift: 

exhale on the contraction with knee to chest and opposite elbow to hip

C Curve side to side

Puppy Pose with Thread the Needle arm

Lunge Position with One Knee Down on a blanket and One Foot Forward

Extend and Flex the Spine - Forward and Back

Lateral Flexion or Side to Side with blocks by hips

Twist - Opposite hand to knee and Spear with back arm

Standing Position

Half Salutes with Three Half Lifts 

Twist with Flossing the Spine

Half Standing Moon or Monkey Hara

Sun Salutations

Right Leg 

Left Leg

Look at blog for photo

Warrior I and Pyramid

Step back Right foot, bend left knee, with left leg straight

Three different arm positions for three poses - 

Cactus arms, Eagle arms, Bound arms behind the back

Pyramid, straight leg forward fold

Warrior II and Triangle

Wide Legged on the long edge of the mat

Forward fold with chair or blocks in front as you hinge at the hips

Turn with right foot first and bent knee; back foot parallel 

or the heel a little farther away than the toes

Triangle for Lateral Flexion side to side; partner 

pose helps with someone behind you

Balancing

Warrior 3 for core strength

Half Balancing Moon for lateral flexion

Eagle Twist

On the Floor

Locust Pose - prone position with opposite hand 

and opposite leg lifts (only about 3-4 inches off the floor)

Alternate sides

Caterpillar forward fold with strap

Half Lord of the Fish Twist

Final Stretch

Reverse Pigeon with bent knee and opposite foot across 

Lying Down knees bent with block twisting side to side

Supta or Face Up lying down pose with strap for opening back of the leg

Rest in Butterfly or Open Knees with back support of a blanket

​

Sleep, Secret Sauce for Weight Loss

Warm milk with nutmeg helps with sleep!

1. One hour before bed - no electronics, no blue light, no email check, perhaps you might read a book with regular lamp light, talk to your significant other or spouse, go for a slow walk or just gaze at the stars and moon.  Calm. Easy.  Slow down.  Blue light robs the natural melatonin produced by the body.
2. Let your liver rest...eat your biggest meal when the sun is at its highest peak.  That is when your digestive fire or agni is at its best.
3. Dark room, cool air, but warm body; quiet or white noise
4. Use essential oils, like Lavender, Bergamot, Serenity*, Ylang Ylang, Roman Chamomile, and Frankincense.  I diffuse them and put them on my feet.  Vetiver is also recommended, but I personally don't care for it.
5. I use the Ayurvedic concept of body massage with coconut oil.  You could also use sesame oil, but I caution Pitta dosha to go for coconut oil.  I place the oils on my feet and then use the massage oil on top
6. For twenty minutes before you go to sleep, set your Insight timer or clock, practice meditation and breath in a seated position or Legs Up the Wall pose.  Slow, diaphragmatic breath or Box Breath (see below)
7. No aerobic exercise after 7 pm.  This is why I do not teach or practice or offer power yoga or flow yoga after 7 pm.  This is not a good way to induce sleep. Aerobic exercise would include the treadmill, the spin bike, an exercise video, or anything that ramps up the heart rate.
8. Be careful with your conversations and thoughts.  Things seem more fearful and more worrisome at night.  This is not the time for a serious or heated discussion with anyone.  Start your mantra early and proceed with "peaceful, calm."
9. No caffeinated drinks after lunch.  Drink water, chamomile tea, warm milk with nutmeg to help you sleep.
10. Get some sunshine each day.  Just 20 minutes of time outside will help with pineal gland activity.
11. Easy does it on sleep medication.  My dad was a pharmacist, and I am not against medication.  However, our bodies can become dependent on them, and then we will need to take a higher dosage.  I have a real story in my own life, and while I am not proud of it, I share to help others see how prescribed medication can lead to more anxiety. I have not taken the medication for over a year now.  You can read more about it on my blog.
12. Try a leg pillow for back pain.  I have also used one when my right runner's knee was cranky.  Place between knees as you lay on the bed on your side.
13. Put your neck in neutral.  All of those pillows push your head forward.  Keep your chin and forehead the same height in a parallel line. Put a small roll of towel or blanket under your neck for support.
14. Save your bed for sleep and sex. Period.
15. Block your clock.  Don't have one in the room if you can help it.  I struggled with getting up and looking at the clock last fall repeatedly.  Now our clock is in another room, and I sleep better.