Restorative Yoga - Child's Pose with Pillows

Sometimes we just don't have time for all the things we need to do, especially when it comes to health and wellness.  It could be a full time job just to keep up with the recommendations - weight training, cardio, yoga, meditation, etc. I do not do a full yoga class every day, but I do try to get ten minutes of "something" in everyday. I think we can all find ten minutes in our day for some yoga, stress relief, or meditation.  Many times I will add something to the end of a more traditional workout.  Today's suggestion is child's pose with a bolster or pillows.

I purposely chose a link that shows the pose with pillows as I realize most people don't own a bolster.  There are some other great postures with pillows here as well.  You can also use blankets.  Use as many pillows and/or blankets as needed to feel comfortable.

No fancy meditation technique is needed.  Just put on some soothing music.  I recommend spending 5-10 minutes in this poses, switching the position of your head half way through.   I highly recommend resting for the full ten minutes.  At a restorative yoga retreat I attended, they stated that it didn't matter which restorative pose you did, the key was the ten minutes.  It takes our bodies that long to really relax.

Take ten minutes this week to try it.  Let me know how you feel after trying this!

Read!

This week try to find some time to read.  I try to disconnect from technology and TV for at least 30 minutes before bed.  I find this relaxing.  I choose to still read real books.  I find that the light from my I Pad keeps me awake.  There is research behind this.

My ordinary person/real tip this week is Read What You Want!  It is Ok to read fluff.  This includes magazines like People.  I have found two great apps for magazines that include FREE reading material.

Zinio

Issuu

I still read books, too.  Here is what I am currently reading.

Better Than Before - from the author of The Happiness Project.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - since I'm going to Savannah soon.

At the Water's Edge - from the author of Water for Elephants.

I wrote about some of my favorite books here.

Here's another tip for you avid readers.  I like to keep track of what I want to read in Goodreads.
Then, to save money, I reserve books from my local library.

Essential Oils

One way to make your life a little less ordinary is to use essential oils.  You will be surprised by how a little essential oil can change your mood in just seconds.  You can inhale essential oils, apply them to skin when combined with an oil like jojoba, or use a diffuser.

You could spend hours trying to research the best essential oil companies.  Remember, this blog is about making small changes, so I am not going to overwhelm you with all of that information.  I will tell you that from my research, I chose to order from Rocky Mountain Oils.  I have also used doTERRA.  For the sake of ease and price, many times I will just go to Earth Fare or Whole Foods and buy Aura Cacia.

Here is how I use my oils:
I love my diffuser!!!  I don't even remember what brand it is, but I bought it off of Amazon. This might be the one.  For use on your skin, mix with an oil like jojoba, or I have even heard of mixing with vodka for use as perfume.  I have not had luck with this, as the scent seems to disappear quickly.  For that reason, I usually buy a premade rollerball from the store.  You will find them by the essential oils at your health food store.  My current scent is Dharma.

So, tip for the week - Try an essential oil!  I'll post another time about the benefits of different oils.

Surviving Ordinary

I took a break from blogging to start a new teaching job.  Blogging was fun for me, and I've decided to start again.  When I asked a friend what I could give to people through a blog, she said tips on "surviving ordinary".  I found that interesting.  I had just seen this quote from Brene Brown:

"When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary.  I see the fear of never being extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose." 

My friend and I read a lot of online content, and much is about lofty goals of finding your passion or making major changes in your life.  I think all this social media, that I enjoy so much, has made me feel guilty for feeling ordinary.  My friend and I started talking about a blog that was more down to earth, and more realistic.

So, with everything out there why should you read this?  I hope to give you a weekly simple tip to try.

That's it.  One tip - once a week.

Check out my first tip.

New Year's Resolution - Meditate

I don't really make New Year's Resolutions.  I do more of a year end review and evaluation of life.  I wrote about the process in earlier posts. This year I have more of an actual resolution.  I want to finally commit to a daily meditation practice.  I have meditated on and off for a few years, but have struggled with consistency.

I found a great graphic describing meditation.  It keeps it simple, and is great for beginners and kids.  

To keep myself consistent, I made weekly sheets to record my time meditating, along with other goals. 

How about you?  Any New Year's resolutions or goals?  Anyone want to try meditation?

Cutout Cookies Tips

I made cutout cookies for the first time.  Thanks to tips from the internet they didn't turn out half bad.

Tip One - chill the dough - I chilled mine overnight.

Tip Two - divide dough into smaller sections - this allowed me to keep dough chilling.

Tip Three - parchment paper is the best thing ever!  I rolled the dough between two sheets - no sticking!  It was also great for baking and decorating - easy transfer and clean up.

Tip Four - use an easy cookie cutter.  I remember my mom making reindeer and there were always limbs lost.

Tip Five - use a ziplock bag for decorating.  Put icing into ziplock, twist bag, and cut a small bit off of corner.

Cutout Cookies

1 1/3 c butter, softened

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 tbl milk

2 tsp vanilla

4 c all-purpose flour

1.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter.  Add sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until combined.  Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined.  Beat, or stir in flour.  Divide dough into four sections and chill overnight.  I wrapped mine in plastic wrap.

2.  Roll a section of dough at a time.  I rolled mine between two sheets of parchment paper.  Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

4.  For icing I just mixed powdered sugar with milk until I got the desired consistancy.

Reflecting and Planning

image from Pixabay

I like to take some time at the end of the year to reflect on the past year and plan for the new year.  One of the best resources I have found is from Susannah Conway.  Her Unravelling the Year workbook leads to deeper thinking. The reflection portion has been bittersweet for me this year, as much of the year involved goodbyes- the hardest was saying goodbye to my dad.

It was a crazy year.  When I looked back at the workbook pages from last year I was amazed.  In one exercise you had to draw an image of an ideal life.  This is what I drew:

This was going to be my ideal in the next few years-not this year.  At the time this was drawn my husband and I had no plans of moving.  What this picture shows is us living in an area that is in walking distance of restaurants, yoga studio, etc.  This is where we live one year later. The top corner of my picture shows me getting some help taking care of mom and dad, and being able to get some space away from caregiving. I got it, but have mixed feelings about it.

The planning portion has been hard for me this year.  I think so much happened last year that I hate to set any goals while the dust is still settling.  I may just keep it simple and try to remember to meditate daily.  (Oh, and find meaningful work-no biggie.) 

Whatever I decide I will break it into small goals like I described in an earlier post.

This year I decided to stop trying to fit myself to a certain planner, and am making my own. Martha Stewart has a great line of organization tools at Staples.  Using her small three ring binder I can customize goal sheets and clip them right in the binder.

It will certainly be interesting to see what next year brings!