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Healthy Summer Reads

By Callie McBride

Whether a new book sits on your bedside table each week, or summer is the one time of the year when you’ve even got extra time to read, a great genre of books that both entertains and educates is “health and wellness”. You can find light reads and much more in-depth books alike, that inform you of important health topics and also stir up inspiration for your own personal lifestyle. Soaking in a bubble bath or lounging on the beach are two prime spots to sink into a book and escape the world for a little while.

Here are my top healthy reads for this summer:

1. Vegan Before 6, by Mark Bittman

vb6Mark Bittman offers an interesting and completely doable concept to his readers by taking the pressure off of becoming a full-fledged vegan, and instead eating a diet free of any animal products until 6pm each day. This means that no foods are “forbidden” and no sense of deprivation is felt throughout the plan. Filled with recipes, helpful tips, and a 28-day eating plan that shows why a vegan diet is the way to go most of the time, this easy read could have even the meatiest of eaters have a change of heart.

2. Crazy Sexy Diet, by Kris Carr

The strong, beautiful, and hilarious Kris Carr brings her spunky energy and full-of-life attitude to her fourth book which walks readers through a 21-day cleanse as well as all the needed information to adopt a plant-based diet. Her writing is smart, witty, and filled with life experiences that add that personal touch necessary for readers to relate to. She covers all of the bases, including skin, hair and nails; body; spiritual energy; mental health; physical strength and energy; and happiness, all of which she promises will improve and skyrocket when switching to veganism. Especially touching is her recounting of her battle with cancer, and how incredibly brave she was to successfully turn to food as her ultimate source of medicine.

3. Yoga Cures, by Tara Stiles

This quick and fun read by Tara Stiles reveals in tiny chapters every single awesome benefit that yoga offers. From joint pain relief to weight loss to less anxiety and better sex, Stiles’ voice is relaxed and to the point in her book, which also demonstrates tons of yogi moves and includes tips and tricks to perfecting one’s flow.

4. Unbearable Lightness, by Portia De Rossi

This intense but beautifully crafted novel by actress and vegan Portia de Rossi delves into the dark world of eating disorders, as well as the touching journey to recovery. de Rossi grew up modeling and acting in Australia and, once thrown onto television in America, lost sight of what was important in surrender to her highly disordered thoughts. Her story is closely detailed and so personal that readers feel as if they experience everything alongside her. A heartwarming ending places this book on my favorites list, as it is a huge reminder of how precious life is.

5. The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone

It’s all in the title: “The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet”. Actress and resident vegan Alicia Silverstone approaches veganism in an extremely approachable and easy way in her book, which features tons of recipes that I can personally say are life-changing (I’m referring to the vegan seven-layer dip and the homemade peanut butter cups). Without going too much into detail about nutrition and health benefits, Silverstone’s cookbook serves as a reminder of all the other amazing things that going vegan can do: literally save the planet! Her aim is to cause the most cautious of readers to consider the lifestyle, and her method seems to work. Her online forum is extremely popular, as is her incredible food.

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6. YOU: The Owner’s Manual, by Dr. Mehmet Oz

For a more scientific, biology-lesson type read, pick up this heavy-duty manual by Dr. Oz. It’s got an interactive element to it with mini quizzes at the beginning of each chapter to test you knowledge on health and the body, before delving into the nitty-gritty of the body’s entire makeup. Don’t fear, this isn’t a bore. It’s chock full of information that can help turn your  entire household into a much more health-conscious one. Dr. Oz places all of the focus on YOU in this book, so with each page you will learn more ways to improve your lifestyle and maintain the best health state you possibly can.

Pick up one of these books today for your next day at the beach, and soon enough they’ll be dog-eared and torn from love. If you’ve already gone through them, enter the titles into Amazon and click  “similar to” for more healthy reads that won’t dull your mind this summer. Happy reading!

 

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No-Cost Holistic Living

By: Callie McBride

If a fear of costliness is preventing you from delving into the wonders of a holistic lifestyle, you are not alone. But, you may also be confused. Its no secret that organic meals and bi-weekly yoga classes can burn through your pocket quite quickly, but there are ways around those bright green dollar signs that offer you the same incredible benefits of living naturally and healthfully. The trick is to simply open your eyes! Scour the web, check out coffeehouse postings, and chat with your fellow yogis to learn about free deals; you will be amazed with what you will find.

Yoga, etc.

Often times yoga and pilates studios, as well as fitness centers, will offer complimentary classes to new customers. Core Power Yoga , Lulu Lemon retail stores, and YoGoer all offer free trials, just to name a few. Let Google be your friend and check out what studios in your areas do the same. Take advantage of those introductory classes to both try out different locations around your city and possibly discover a new favorite spot. I recently browsed the Internet for a martial arts class in Manhattan, and in about ten minutes I was registered for a free one-on-one lesson for the following week, that easy!

There are also studios that generously run classes by donation; if $5 is all you’ve got, they will gladly take it. Both Yoga To The People and Brooklyn Yoga School in New York boast this deal.

During the summer, outdoor yoga skyrockets and prices dip lower than ever. In fact, they disappear. Well and Good NYC puts together an annual Summer Fitness Guide for New Yorkers filled with free yoga, pilates, and bootcamps around all 5 boroughs. Classes include Bryant Park Yoga, Sixth Street Pilates, Washington Square Park Yoga, and much more.

Let’s not forget the wonderful online world of Youtube, home to plenty of fantastic fitness instructors that post free videos to do at home-my favorites are Tara Stiles and Cassey Ho of Pop Pilates. These women are consistent with uploading new videos and have mastered the art of training through the camera.

Meditation

Another important aspect of a holistic lifestyle is meditation, which can always be free. This summer, grab a blanket and pick a park to visit during your free time. Of course, chanting is optional, but ultimate relaxation and peace of mind is garaunteed. My NYC picks are Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and Riverside Park on the Upper West Side. With no shortage of parks wherever you live, meditation can be a quick and effective way to check in with your body and maintain a focus on your goals of healthy living.  If you need some guidance on how to start meditating, keep your eye out for guided meditation challenges from Deepak Chopra and other wellness experts!  There are also tons of free guided meditation apps available for your phone or iPad.

Organic Produce

No-Cost Holistic Living 2 | The Organic Beauty Blog

Organic and healthy foods generally aren’t free–though if you know of a place, shout it out. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the bounty of organic food made available to us. For those of you who like to stock up on organic fruits and veggies, consider shopping wholesale. In New York, the Wholesale Greenmarket is your best bet. The vendors there grow their own produce, and “straight from the farm each morning, their products travel a very short distance ensuring premium quality, and greater food safety and traceability”. (grownyc.org/wholesale) By purchasing your fresh produce in bulk, or least in larger quantities, you’ll save both money and daily trips to the grocery store. The San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market is another example that looks great and includes a huge list of merchants who deliver fresh produce each morning (www.sfproduce.org).  A local CSA can also be a super affordable option to eat organic.  NextDoorganics is an amazing CSA delivery that sends a huge bag of local organic produce and other goodies to your door for as little as $35 a week!

To sum up, cheap healthy living is entirely possible with a little determination and research. Once you find your collection of free and/or cheap spots, spread the word and get others in on the wonders of holistic living on a budget. Enjoy your mission to locate deals and steals throughout your city, and share what you find in the comments below!

Best Workouts for Every Personality.. Which Type Are You?

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Trying to force yourself into a workout that just doesn’t fit who you are can make sticking to an exercise routine so much harder than it has to be.  Newsflash guys: working out should be FUN!!  And if it isn’t, you’re doing something wrong.  I myself always felt totally crappy after any kind of high intensity workouts.  Boot camp?  Forget about it.  I kept trying to fit myself into the mold of what I was told was good for me, until eventually, I said, “Screw it!  I love pilates, yoga, and barre workouts, and that’s what I’m going to do!”  Guess what, I am in better shape doing just those workouts than I ever was when I was trying to do more high energy, jump around cardio routines.  And best of all, I actually look forward to my workouts, which ensures that I’ll actually stick to them.  So stop trying to fit yourself into a workout personality that just isn’t you, and use the guide below to find a workout you’ll actually love!

The Pretty Pretty Princess

Best Workouts for Every Personality.. Which Type Are You? 1 | The Organic Beauty BlogYou always dreamed of being a ballerina as a kid. You’re not the biggest fan of getting sweaty or dirty or gross.  You want long, lean lines and are freaked out about bulking up.  You prefer to workout in spandex and off-shoulder tees, rather than your standard athletic apparel.  You are… The Pretty Pretty Princess.  Your best workouts might be:

  • Ballet Barre workouts like Ballet Beautiful, Barre 3 or Pure Barre feature elegant, dancer-like workouts that give you a beautiful, dancer-like body.  You’ll break a little sweat (we prefer to call it “glistening”), but the workout isn’t going to mess up your perfect ballerina bun.  Don’t let the elegance fool you, this is an amazing workout.
  • Pilates Mat or Bar workouts are awesome for getting some massive core work done, while leaning and lengthening arms, legs, glutes and improving posture without bulking.  Plus pointed toes make you feel like a pretty ballerina.

The Warrior Diva

Best Workouts for Every Personality.. Which Type Are You? 2 | The Organic Beauty BlogYou’re a total badass.  You like to sweat, punch, and kick your way through your workouts.  You’re not afraid of muscle and you want to show it off.  You dream of doing a Spartan Race.  Yoga bores the hell out of you.  You are… The Warrior Goddess.  Your best workouts might be:

  • High-intensity circuit workouts that incorporate boxing, jumprope, and light weights to give high impact results.  Aerospace, bootcamp workouts, and interval training will all give you the high-energy, sweat-inducing, blood-pumping exercise you crave!
  • P90X or Insanity are great at-home ass-kicking workouts that will give you the variety you need to stay interested, while totally kicking your butt!

The Dancing Queen

Best Workouts for Every Personality.. Which Type Are You? 3 | The Organic Beauty BlogYou love to tear up the dance floor and shake those hips.  You love So You Think You Can Dance, and pretty much every dance movie makes you well up.  Gyms and machines totally turn you off, and you’re totally bored by all that monochromatic workout gear.  High energy music gets you going.  You are… The Dancing Queen.  Your best workouts might be:

  • High-energy dance workouts like Zumba will give you the music, variety, and moves you love, while still burning tons of calories and creating beautiful muscle definition.
  • Technical dance workouts like Tracy Anderson Dance Cardio will also give you a killer workout while fulfilling your dancer alter-ego dreams.
  • Get all multi-culti with fun Bollywood or tribal African inspired workouts as well.  Those belly-dancing routines really do give you killer abs!

The Spiritual Goddess

Best Workouts for Every Personality.. Which Type Are You? 4 | The Organic Beauty BlogWorking out is all fine and good, but you want something that moves you, connects you to your higher self, and gives you a killer bod.  You get stressed out pretty easily, and can get a little spacey if you’re not grounded.  You like workouts that get you out of your head, relax you, and give you long lean lines.  You’re not afraid of pushing yourself, and love to be amazed at the cool things your body can do.  You look for inspiration everywhere, and are always striving to be a better, healthier, and kinder person.  You are… The Spiritual Goddess.  Your best workouts might be:

  • Yoga routines that bookend some intensive physical boundary-pushing with grounding meditation and om‘s.  Mix up your routine with some different types of classes… Power Vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga are awesome higher intensity workouts; Bikram will seriously get you sweating; while Hatha or Restorative yoga is great for a breath-focused, more grounding and healing workout.
  • SoulCycle is an amazing cardio workout that blends spinning with inspirational and spiritual coaching.  Classes are held in candlelit rooms and are often intensely spiritual experiences.  And of course, you burn killer calories and get an insane bod!

Which workout personality are you??

{Images: Pinterest, Victoria’s Secret, Zumba, H&M}

8 Ways to Simplify and De-Stress Your Life

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

8 Ways to Simplify and De-Stress Your Life | The Organic Beauty Blog

It is virtually impossible to prioritize your health, wellbeing, and happiness when your days are filled to the brim with excessive clutter, both physical and emotional.  Taking some steps to simplify your life will do wonders for your state of mind, productivity, and balance, and will allow you to better fill your plate (so to speak) with things that make you happy, healthy, and taken care of!

1.  Say NO!  The biggest mistake overworked, overburdened people make is saying yes to too many things.  Social engagements, play dates, work assignments, favors, the list goes on and on.  We’re all afraid that if we admit that our plate might be a little full, it makes us some sort of colossal failure.  Well, newsflash!  Taking on too much means the things you are doing aren’t getting your full attention, which significantly lowers the quality of your engagement — with your friends, your family, your work, everything!  So stop being afraid to say no.  Pick what really matters to say yes to, and get a raincheck on the rest!

2.  Make your bed.   Guess what?  Momma was right on that one (I know, it kills to admit it!)…  The simple step of making yourbed every morning starts your day off with a little more order, a little less clutter, and a little more mental space for productivity.  Our physical environment is a reflection of our mental and emotional environment, a phenomenon that goes both ways.  Having just a little more neatness in your physical space will contribute to more calm and balance everywhere else… And it literally takes but a minute!

3.  Reclaim your inbox.  Yes, I know it is super duper important that you not miss out on any of the eight billion flash sale sites that you’re signed up for, and that getting newsletters from every single store, travel site, or gallery you’ve ever visited is absolutely crucial to your feeling in-the-know in life, but all that is really just contributing to your feeling of overwhelm and stress.  When you open your inbox every morning to a barrage of (let’s be honest) totally unnecessary crap that you need to sort through to get to the one email from your friend about her upcoming birthday party, your day is simply not getting off to a great start.  Not only is this is an enormous waste of your precious time, but it also gives you the illusion that you are a lot more stressed/busy/overworked/overwhelmed than you really are!  They’re just emails!  They’re not even important!  So go through your inbox and unsubscribe to absolutely everything but the most important, life-affirming, happiness-making content (like my newsletter! Which you can sign up for right over there —–>), or make good use of the Hotmail or Yahoo account from the 8th grade, and change all of your commercial correspondence to be delivered there.  That way, you can check it once a week, or whenever you really feel like a Gilt sale will boost your spirits, and pretend that whole mess doesn’t even exist the rest of the time.

4.  8 Ways to Simplify and De-Stress Your Life | The Organic Beauty BlogQuit multi-tasking!  Ok, I could hear the collective gasp from everyone reading this.  “But Natasha!  I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life cultivating the skill of reading emails, listening to music, talking to my mother, eating lunch, and finishing my quarterly report all at once!  It’s a defining aspect of my amazing character!”  Yes, I say to you… But how well has that worked out for you so far?  Do you feel like your work, your relationships, and your self-care are all getting the attention they deserve?  Or is everything perpetually getting about 30% of your headspace?  I’ve gotta say, multi-tasking is probably the most harmful and counterproductive trend of the last two decades, and it’s time we put it to rest.  Truly successful, productive, balanced people do NOT multi-task!  They dedicate themselves fully to one task at a time, whether than be work, talking to a friend, eating a meal, or watching The Big Bang Theory.  This allows you to not only get more done (like, really done, not half-assed done), but it also allows to you enjoy what you are doing so much more.  Work on chunking your time into specific task-oriented blocks.  Carve out time for answering emails, calling your mom, eating lunch, relaxing, reading, and exercise and don’t let any of those activities overlap!  I promise you, after a week or two of living this way, your cortisol levels will go down, and your seratonin levels will go up.  Hell, you may even lose a pound or two, or get a promotion!  Everything that you do will be done infinitely better, and more importantly, you’ll feel better doing it!

5.  Write down the five things in the world that are most important to you.  This simple step will allow you to refocus your time and energy on what really matters, and let what really isn’t worth your time fall by the wayside.  Keep your list somewhere handy and read it at least once a day.  Have you done something to benefit, support, or move towards a goal related to the things on your list that day?  If not, schedule it in.  It is way too easy to waste our lives focusing on the minutia of the day-to-day, while ignoring what matters most. But luckily, it is totally up to you whether or not you live this way!  Take control of your life today.

6.  Pencil yourself in.  When you’re looking ahead at your calendar, make sure you have some you-time scheduled in every single day.  This might mean a 1 hour yoga class, or a 10 minute walk in the sun, and anything in between.  Whatever it is, make it something you enjoy that leaves you feeling more revitalized and happy.  Every day.  When you start making yourself a priority, even on such a small scale, it becomes a whole hell of a lot easier to stay in control on your time and your emotions!

7.  Delegate.  This one can be the hardest to do, but yields the highest pay off.  Allow me to let you in on a little secret… You can’t do it all.  This isn’t a criticism, it is simply a fact.  You cannot stay on top of every single little detail in your life and the lives of your family members and expect to stay sane.  It’s just not possible!  So start delegating.  Pick 3-5 of your least favorite tasks that you consistently need to accomplish and delegate them to someone else.  Hate cleaning your house?  Get a housecleaner!  Even once every other week, for $75-$100, having someone get your home into sparkling clean condition is SO completely worth it!  Can’t stand administrative tasks?  Get an assistant, or better yet, hire an intern!  There are so many smart young things out there just dying to get experience doing exactly what you do for very little money, and sometimes just the cost of lunch!  Ask your spouse to wash the dishes or take care of laundry, ask your mom to take the kids to their dentist appointments.  It’s so easy to forget that the people in your life love you and want to help you stay sane and happy!  Whatever it is, figure out who can help you get it done.

8.  8 Ways to Simplify and De-Stress Your Life 3 | The Organic Beauty BlogMake smarter to-do lists.  Once a week, write down everything you need to get done that week (of course, after having SAID NO, DELEGATED, and WRITTEN DOWN WHAT’S IMPORTANT).  Assign yourself 3-5 specific tasks for each day of the week, no more.  If you can’t fit all your weekly to-do’s into 3-5 tasks per day, you need to go back and read the list above again.  Say no, delegate, write down what’s really important, and cross some stuff off that weekly list.  3-5 tasks per day is really all you can commit yourself to accomplishing well, while still leaving yourself plenty of time for penciling yourself in and taking care of what’s really important.  I promise, this will change your life!

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How to sleep better, naturally!

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

How to sleep better, naturally! | The Organic Beauty BlogIf you have trouble falling asleep at a healthy time, the culprit is often everything that’s happening in the hours leading up to bedtime.  The late evening (on weeknights) is not a time for high energy, intensive activity, doing work, or eating heavy, hard-to-digest foods.  It’s a time to naturally wind down after your day, and start to calm the body and mind.  Follow this pre-bedtime timeline to insure a great night’s sleep, and shoot for being in bed, ready for sleep no later than 11pm.  Adjust your timeline accordingly to make this happen!

  • 3.5 or more hours before bed:  Eat a light, healthy meal that is quickly and easily digestible.  Soup, a salad, or some cooked veggies work best.  Avoid anything super greasy, fatty, salty, sugary or high in protein.
  • 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed: Turn off the TV, your phone, and any other electronic devices.  These interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, and can be really stimulating for a brain trying to gear up for sleep.  An obvious no-no is doing any work, checking work emails, or anything like that before bed!
  • 45 minutes before bed: Take a hot bath and/or drink a cup of chamomile or Kava Stress Relief teaall of which are deeply relaxing for mind and body.
  • (Optional) 30 minutes before bed:  Take an herbal sleep supplement.  If you need a little extra soporific action, opt for a natural sleep formula that combines melatonin, valerian root, GABA, hops, and L-Theanine.  My favorites are Natural Balance Herbal Slumber and Schiff Knock Out.
  • Get in bed and do this 5 minute yoga routine.  Doing some light, easy stretches before bed helps to get you out of your head, and to relax tense muscles.
  • If you’re still not ready for sleep, take out a somewhat boring book (now would be a great time to brush up on your Kafka!) and read until your eyes start closing.  Don’t read anything super exciting, engaging, or steamy (Game of Thrones and Fifty Shades of Grey are obvious no-no’s!).  And no reading on your iPad or other eReader!

Click below for my amazing, quick yoga sequence that helps to improve sleep and increase relaxation of both body and mind. Complete this routine right before going to sleep, in your bed.

An Amazing Day of Yoga

by Nkechi Njaka, MSc

Wow, what difference morning yoga makes! I had the most amazing day last Saturday–I challenged myself to double up on two morning yoga classes, which is something that I have never done before. And it was particularly special since both classes were offered in non-traditional spaces and were sized at over 100 yogis.

The first class was the Flavorpill event the Art of Yoga. My guess is that 300 or more yogis gathered at the SFMOMA for a free class taught by Elise Lorimer. We were greeted by Naked Juice reps (delicious smoothies and coconut water) and DJ J Boogie was awesome at creating a fun practice environment with music.

The class was a pretty advanced beginner Vinyasa class, which makes sense given the large group and the diverse yoga levels. There wasn’t  a whole lot of room to do crazy balances and inversions however I did feel incredibly strong and present in my practice and was able to nail a couple of balances that I have been working on for a couple weeks.

My new yoga friends from lululemon athletica (right) and I rushed from SFMOMA to SF Union Square for another amazing massive yoga class—this one being for cancer research.  Yoga for Hope is amazing event for yoga beginners and experts created from the City of Hope’s efforts to expand awareness of the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection. As an integrated wellness practitioner, I love the way that this facility incorporates complimentary and integrative therapies such as yoga and meditation in the patient treatment programs; it is so needed in the hospitals! I bet there were at least 400 people there! It was such a gorgeous, sunny day and the class was both reflective and restorative.

Last year, Yoga for Hope raised over $30,000! It was so powerful to offer prayer and acknowledgements to those we know whom cancer, diabetes and HIV have affected. I love offering my practice to others, and it was really meaningful to me to think of those in my life who have or have had a chronic illness.  The cool part about this event is that after the yoga class, there were several workshops and demonstrations offered. My favorite was the Whole Foods workshop where we could sample a delicious quinoa breakfast salad as well as organic granola and fresh organic fruit.

Post yoga glow–I was feeling extremily revitalized and amazing and I had so much of the day left! This ArielSimone headband is one of my recent favorite things to wear to class, as it keeps hair and sweat from my eyes. This top is also ArielSimone and can be worn to and from yoga over any yoga tank or sports bra–I love that it nicely converts to a casual outfit after class. It was perfect post-yoga outfit for the errands that I ran in the city before rushing off to meet up with friends.

Powerful words to reflect on….

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.

~ Denis Waitley

5 Minute Meditation for Stress Relief

Check out this super potent, stress-relieving yoga nidra from Dr. John Douillard.  You can use this exercise anytime you need to relax, unwind, refocus or center yourself.  Since it’s a seated meditation, you can even put in your headphones and do it at your desk at work!

Try it out, and post what positive results you noted!