Tag: healthy

Getting Started, Mindfulness, Relationships

Eliminate “I’m fine” out of your vocabulary

coco yoga

Eliminate “I’m fine” out of your vocabulary with the ones you love.

When we give the same answer to a loved one that we do a stranger,

We are shutting ourselves out from the chance to grow a deeper connection with someone who is genuinely trying to show up for us.

FINE is not a true answer. Dig deep about what you’re feeling. What’s the truth?

Give the people around you the chance to be there.

And allow yourself to let go of any bad feelings…

Feelings don’t last forever.

Shout out to #noramcinerny for her time and energy at Bryn Athyn’s #newchurchlive (aka my second home) about this time last year.

These were some notes from her talk.

So blessed and grateful for her kind words and infectious personality. Check out Nora’s ted talk on grief it’s so worth the watch!

x Corie

Holistic Healing, Meditation, Mindfulness

Silence

coco yoga

When was the last time you sat in a quiet room by yourself?

When was the last time you were able to quiet your mind?

The world we live in is non-stop, day and night.

Things are so easily available to us nowadays; we want things immediately and done right away.

Doesn’t matter what toll it will take on our bodies or wallet…

If it makes us happy and feel good in the moment, who cares long term right?

Let’s slow our roll

This go, go, go mentally is leaving us all frantic, trying to move along with everyone else, or keep up with our own expectations…

Like wooooah, let’s take a step back before another mental breakdown happens forreal.

What can we do?

We can commit to taking time to relax our mind, body and soul daily.

Think of it as your way of organizing your inner files.

The more time you put toward it → the more clear and efficient you will be as a whole.

#normanvincentpeale recommends taking this time each day (ideally multiple times throughout the day if possible) → to sit in silence and fully relax.

Why?

Because this not only helps us make better decisions in the day to day moments…

It also calms our nerves, allows us to see things with more clarity, and strengthens our self-awareness.

It also connects us with Infinite Intelligence: where all our awesome ideas come from!

More silence, more sanity

When we sit in silence…

With the intention to quiet and relax…

Our strength is renewed.

Next time you are feeling overwhelmed, don’t take it as a negative!

It’s the world’s way of telling you that you need to SIT IN SILENCE.

Get alone, even if it’s just a few minutes a day.

Process your emotions.

Breathe.

Write things down if needed.

Carve out the time → your life, inner peace and sanity depend on it!

x Corie

Getting Started, Movement

What is foam rolling?

coco yoga

Foam rollers are used as an effective method to…

  1. increase blood flow
  2. enhance ROM (range of motion)
  3. reduce tension
  4. increase muscle length

during both warm-up and post-workout sessions.

Warm-Up Sessions

Be sure to use a foam roller for only a brief period of time to elevate tissue temperature and reduce tension.

Think light, even pressure over muscle groups that you will be targeting during your workout.

For example, it’s leg day… so I’m going to foam roll (with light and even pressure) my glutes, hips, quads, hammies, and calves within 60 minutes of my leg workout.

If you find an area of tension, fight the urge to increase pressure.

Applying pressure with a foam roller for an extended period of time during your warm-up session could desensitize the muscle and affect its ability to contract during your workout.

Post-Workout Sessions

After your workout, foam rollers are a great tool that can help reduce soreness and promote the recovery process.

Areas of tension are a main priority post-workout. My rule of thumb is to foam roll within 3 hours post-workout.

Aim to move at a consistent tempo of approximately 1 inch per second; focus on areas of tension for up to 90 seconds to allow the tissue to relax and lengthen.

If you find an area of tension that is extremely painful, take it easy and lay off some pressure.

It’s important to listen to your body, and utilizing the foam roller gives you the opportunity to hear your body from the inside out.

You’ll quickly get the hang of knowing how much pressure to apply, where, and for how long.

Foam rolling also helps promote a feeling of relaxation after a workout, an important psychological benefit.

Areas of Tension: Knots

Exercise-induced muscle damage signals the repair process.

This is when new collagen molecules are formed to help repair injured tissue…

Most likely forming adhesions (aka knots) between layers along the way.

You know what knots I’m talking about…

If you press down around your neck, shoulders, and between your shoulder blades… you’d feel ’em… super tender, may feel like a ball that is tight and/or sore.

Well the average person has knots all over their body… in our hands, around our ankles and wrists, even on our heads.

Knots are large and small in size and can be caused by a variety of activities like exercising, poor posture, bumping into something, and sleeping weird on an on-going basis.

The good news?!

Using a foam roller regularly can help minimize the risk of knots developing all together…

Which means less pain and more ENERGY!

Regular Use

With regular use a foam roller can…

  1. Reduce every day tension and muscle tightness
  2. Increase joint range of motion
  3. Enhance energy levels

To start, I’d recommend incorporating foam rolling 3-5 days a week.

The goal would be to foam roll during all warm-up & post-workout sessions.

However, when you are first getting started… let’s start small.

Let’s focus on getting into the habit of foam rolling areas of tension post-workout for a few minutes at a time.

It’s simple and will give you immediate benefits leaving you with inspiration to keep the habit going.

Plus, you can work your way up in frequency and duration at your own pace.

So with all of that being said, I would highly recommend incorporating foam rolling into your workout regime!

Do you use a foam roller? How has it impacted your life? Comment below!

Happy Foam Rolling!
x Corie

Getting Started, Lifestyle, Nutrition

Whole-food plant-based diet

coco yoga

A whole-food, plant-based diet is known to be the ticket to great health.

But what do we mean when we say, whole-food plant-based diet?

Let’s break it down:

Whole-Food

Foods that are not refined, they’re consumed as they’re found in nature.

Plant-Based

Majority of the foods consumed come from the plant kingdom.

Diet

What we eat. NOT the restriction of calories to lose weight.

Simply, a whole-food plant-based diet means the vast majority (90%+) of what you consume on a daily basis comes from whole plant foods.


Plant-Based Meals

A plant-based meal is geared toward combining fresh produce (fruits, veggies, leafy greens) with dried-nonperishables (nuts, seeds, grains, beans, herbs).

The goal is to make meal composition easy and flavorful.

The food that you have on hand should be high in nutrients and ideally be unadulterated, unprocessed and in its most natural whole-food state.

For some inspo, let’s create some meals together now…

Fresh Salad

fruitavocado
veggiebaby carrots
leafy greenfew handfuls of spinach
nutpistachios
seedsunflower seeds
grain
proteinchickpeas
herbthyme leaves
condimentshoney mustard
spicessalt and pepper

Rice and Beans Bowl

fruittomato
veggieasparagus
leafy greenpinch of arugula
nut
seed
grainjasmine rice
proteinblack beans
herbred pepper flakes, oregano
condimentsliquid aminos
spicesonion powder, garlic powder


Benefits

A whole-food plant-based diet has been shown to:

  1. Make weight loss easy and effortless (without feeling hungry)
  2. Drastically lower cholesterol
  3. Prevent AND reverse Type 2 Diabetes and dramatically improve Type 1 Diabetes
  4. Prevent AND reverse heart disease and high blood pressure
  5. Bring relief to digestive orders such as IBS, colitis and chronic constipation
  6. Slow the progression of and/or reverse autoimmune disorders such as MS and rheumatoid
  7. Clear skin issues such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema
  8. Fight against the development and progression of cancer
  9. Improve or eliminate asthma
  10. Improve immunity

…and much more.

So now that you have the basis of a healthy whole-food plant-based diet – get creative, try new recipes, and enjoy eating guilt free knowing it’s all good for you food 🙂

Let me know how you decide to eat your plants by snapping a pic and sharing your creations via email or social media🤍

Getting Started, Meditation, Mindfulness

Getting in tune with higher power

coco yoga

Take a moment. Breathe. Fill your belly with the finest and largest breaths.

Listen to what is around you.

The smallest and loudest noises.

Even in silence, there is noise. Can you hear it?

Your heart beat, so rhythmically attuned.

As everything outside of you moves in harmony, so does your heart, body and soul.

Acknowledge your small, yet important, existence.

Without the smallest of molecules we would not be.

Without the large and never ending universe we would not be.

Without one there is no other.

Without you, nothing else would be.

Without everything else, you would not be.

Practice faith.

Faith is the opposite of fear.

It’s a state of mind that keeps our energy levels high and happy.

We can attract more faith energy by…

  • Reading bible passages full of God’s love
  • Listening to scripture readings and books that teach the Word
  • Attending church (in-person or virtual)
  • Praying for yourself
  • Praying for others
  • Giving without expectation
  • Being out in nature
  • Thinking about what you love

Fill your mind with love and faith, and all hate will dissipate.

Call upon God any moment you need him.

When you are frustrated, happy, sad, angry; when you need answers, ideas or solutions.

When you simply want to feel God’s love and peace.

When you need comfort or support, guidance or forgiveness.

Call upon the Lord and he will fill these needs.

Have faith, feel faith, radiate faith.

These are some faith practices that get me through each day with strength.

I’ve found that the more I am connected with my faith…

The more I learn about myself…

And the closer I am to fulfilling my true potential.

x Corie

Ps- it’s important to keep in mind that, to me, the word God is very interchangeable. I know in my heart that something bigger is at work here.

The name / label isn’t important; the meaning and essence behind the name is what matters. All across the world, people believe. There’s so much beauty in that. Let’s hold onto it.

Healthy Habits

How to use motivators to your advantage…

coco yoga

A motivator is defined as something that provides a reason or stimulus to do something.

There are two types of motivators: pull motivators and push motivators.

Pull motivators: something you want to work toward (this is your goal: what you want). Think of these motivators pulling you toward a specific goal.

Push motivators: something you want to avoid (this is what you don’t want). Think of these motivators pushing you away from a specific outcome.

For me, a pull motivator is to have total body control, because I want to…

  • Build confidence & self-reliance
  • Build discipline
  • Practice will power
  • Work on my mental toughness

Also for me, a push motivator is losing my edge (aka advantage), because I don’t want to…

  • Lose sight of my goals
  • Fall behind on my craft
  • Become unhealthy and unfit
  • Blend in with everyone else

Defining Our Motivators

When we define our motivators, we have a clear and concise guide to work off of.

We’ll know exactly what is pulling us, and what is pushing us to achieve a specific goal.

When we fall off track (it happens!), or need some inspiration to get rolling again, reflecting back on our motivators can give us the jump start we need.

However, it all begins with answering four simple questions…

  1. What do you want?
  2. Why?
  3. What don’t you want?
  4. Why?

What If My Motivators Don’t Add Up?

Sometimes what we want and what we don’t want… don’t align.

Stay with me here…

Say you want to want to improve your relationship with a significant other (pull).

Yet don’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation (push).

It would be pretty tough to make those two work together, right?

I mean, we can all agree that improving a relationship is going to take some hard, uncomfortable conversations at times to get on the same page.

So with this conflict of motivators in mind, our next step is to rescript our motivators: see our blog post here on reworking motivators, aka values.

Motivators as an Advantage

Once you define, and possibly rework your motivators, you are equipped with more armor than the average person.

  • You know what you want and why.
  • You know what you don’t want and why.
  • You’ve developed a purpose: your daily objective.
  • You are able to react better in difficult situations.
  • You have the tools to adjust your decision making.
  • You have better insight on your thought process.



Happy soul searching (-:
x Corie