10 Minute Morning Yoga

Good morning!
Do you have 10 minutes for a nice way to energize and gently wake up your body?
Here's a nice YouTube video to get you going in a positive direction today!

Have a wonderful day!

Do You Have an Exercise Plan?

How is your exercise plan going?
Are you confused and overwhelmed as to what to do?
I love having a plan for exercise.
If I don't have a plan, I struggle with getting any exercise done.
If your exercise plan is non-existence, take a little time to write a plan.

Here are a few ideas. It doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming!
1) Spend a few minutes stretching or practice yoga as soon as you get out of bed each day. There are a ton of free videos on YouTube. Beginning yoga
I always do a quick warm up first with jogging in place, jumping jacks, high knees, etc.
Stretching and practicing yoga is a wonderful way to get breath into the body as you slowly stretch your muscles from the strains of the previous day. 
2) Plan on walking each day. Pick a time that works best for you and stick with it.
I force myself to get outside in the afternoon before dinner preparations and afternoon activities.
It feels so good to get out in the fresh air.
3) Plan a walking/hiking date each week with a friend or loved one. 
4) Meet a friend for a fun fitness class. A lot of fitness studios offer a free one time trial on their classes. It would be fun to pick a different studio each week! Also, the local community education usually has good prices for their weekly fitness classes. 
5) Get a bunch of people to join a sports league-volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball. Or, rent a gym for pick-up games.
6) Take the kids to a park and ride bikes, play on the playground (amazing workout!), take a hike or go rollerblading.
7) Get a swim pass at the local pool.
8) Do 3 sets of as many push-ups, squats or jumping jacks that you can throughout the day. One exercise per day. For example, push-ups on Monday, squats on Tuesday, Jumping jacks on Wednesday. Repeat for Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
9) Try my current favorite workout! Clutch 24/7.  It is a challenging at-home workout from Bodybuilding.com. It incorporates a nice warm-up and stretching routine every day and an excellent eating plan! 

Okay, so the point is, do whatever exercise you enjoy and put it in your schedule! You know you'll feel so much better if you do! Make a plan right now! It's cheap therapy! 

Do it for the joy!

12 Ways To Get Happy!

1. Decide to BE happy! We have a choice, you know!

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

2. Be thankful! Each day, write down 5 things that you are thankful for.

3. Know that you are special! God created all of us and His work is perfect! He gave each of us gifts! Take time and ask Him to show you what your gifts are and then use them!

4. Do something for someone else! Smile at your loved ones or a stranger. Pick up your neighbors trash cans, send a card to a lonely person. It doesn't have to be grand.

5. Do something fun with a child! Sing! Play outside in the sunshine! You can always sing this song:

I am so glad that our Father in heaven

Tells of His love in the book He has given.

Wonderful things in the bible I see.

This is the dearest that Jesus loves me!

I am so glad that Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me! Jesus loves me.

I am so glad that Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves even me!

We can't help but be happy singing that song, especially with a child!

6. Exercise

7. Practice yoga and deep breathing-brings oxygen to our cells, relaxing us and bringing on happy hormones.

8. Laugh every day! We might need a little help with this. Just look again to children for inspiration on this. They are always laughing! Have a laughing party: just start laughing even if you have to fake it. Soon you will be laughing because it all is so ridiculous! Laughter heals!

9. Enjoy the simple gift of nature! Just get outside and breathe in the air, shuffle your feet through the leaves, lay down on the grass and try to look for birds. Find shapes in the clouds. Walk by the water and just marvel at all of God's creation!

10. Find someone to love! Your spouse, your children, someone else's child. Call your brother or sister and talk about old times. Take your mom or dad or grandparents out to lunch. Really think about how to find that love again for all of the people in your life. Find others that need loving and share what overflows from your heart.

11. Learn to forgive and try hard to forget!

12. Know that you are loved! God wants us to be happy!

"We love him, because he first loved us!" I John 4:19

"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:11

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall reeive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11

The Breath of Life and the Importance of Deep Breathing

Statistics show that 85% of illness is caused by stress! Just think about it for a minute. If we could control stress in our lives, we would be healthier, stay out of the hospitals more and have more time for our loved ones and the important things in life!

Deep breathing is an easy way to bring more peace into our lives and it will also energize the body and calm the nerves at the same time. Most people are shallow breathers, never realizing that they are robbing themselves of precious energy and health!

Here is one way of filling our entire lungs with life-giving oxygen according to Bragg Health Crusades: http://www.bragg.com/
Lie flat on your back, relax and then slowly inhale through your nose and do not consciously try to move the upper chest or the abdominal region. While you are inhaling, place your hands on your lower ribs, which are known as the floating ribs. Now, if you are breathing correctly, you can feel your lower ribs expand. Slowly take in a long, deep breath. When you feel that your lungs are filled to full capacity with air, then you can slowly expel the breath with a long, lip-pursed sigh.

The best time to do this is in bed, either in the morning or at night when things are quieter and we are not hustling about. And because we are 'hustling about' is the reason we need to do our deep breathing exercises! Try to make it a habit and soon you will see that we MUST do them everyday because we know that it makes us calmer and more focused. And yes, even happier!

Yoga is another way to ensure we are getting our deep breathing in as it focuses on bringing the oxygen to the entire body. It is an excellent form of exercise bringing strength as well as life-giving breath to our bodies. Deep breathing brings necessary oxygen to each and every cell in our body and if our cells are well-nourished, we stay healthy! And since our bodies are made up entirely of cells, it depends on that breath of life to keep us alive and well!

Golf, Yoga, Thrift Stores and Pride and Prejudice In Traverse City

Lenny and I were lucky enough to go with our 2 older daughters to their annual varsity high school golf tournament in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan. We arrived on Tuesday evening and I talked the team into doing yoga with me on the beach. We focused on breathing, relaxing, strengthening the spine and stretching. They had a big 2-day tournament starting the next morning and I wanted to help them relax. So, this is the scene: 8:25 pm-the sun is setting over Big Traverse Bay (gorgeous, of course). Seven teenage girls and I waltz over to the nearest beach access and politely get "kicked off" by the private condo-owners. We had to walk a block down to the boat rental area and found a tiny bit of sand to have our 'class'. The sand was cool and we enjoyed a short yoga class making use of our 'sunset salutation' while the real sun was sinking into the water. Ahh, the simple pleasures of life. We are so blessed!


Golfing on Wednesday: Girls at the course at 7 am. Gorgeous morning. Lenny and the coach are at the Coach's meeting and the girls are at the driving range feeling pretty nervous. I remind them to practice their deep breathing. It is amazing how well these girls can hit the ball. I am impressed! I don't say much else as I am not an expert. There are over 30 teams at this tournament and the place is full of color coordinating teams of very serious golfers. It's a wonderful experience for both the girls and the spectators (we get to walk the course with them). Eight hours later, it's over for the day. Ups and downs, smiles and tears-it's very emotional. Tomorrow is another day. Time for a quick nap back at the hotel, dinner with the team, the girls go to the range again and then play putt-putt. They are golfers, what can I say? I am back in the hotel room and I find Pride and Prejudice on the television! I am so excited! It is so Romantic! Absolutely, one of the BEST books I have ever read! Lenny comes in after bringing the girls to the range and I say, "Quiet! It's Pride and Prejudice!" He says, "Oh great! I suppose you want me to start dressing like those guys now!" I say, "It would be nice and you can start talking like them, too." He rolls his eyes and acts like he's not interested. Karissa and Brooke come into our room after putt-putt and I give them both a short session of reflexology. Their feet are sore from golfing all day and from all the emotions of a tough, mental game. I feel very lucky to be able to have this time with them. They watch a little of Pride and Prejudice with me. Lenny is making fun and trying to act like he knows what is going on. I say, "Shhhh, this is the part where Mr. Darcy comes out of the mist to find Elizabeth!" It is SO ROMANTIC! The girls go to bed and Pride and Prejudice ends, very romantically I might add! Ahhh, life is good! Tomorrow is another day!

This post will continue tomorrow! Until then.....