Taking a break is necessary so that you don’t actually break down. It’s the same with exercise. Getting enough rest after exercise is essential to recovery as well as performance.  Fitness expert JJ Virgin gives us the reasons why rest and recovery is important to one’s health.

Signs You Need to Rest 
Pushing yourself to your limit can be great, but pushing yourself too far can backfire. How do you know the difference? Your body offers clues. Feeling tired is one of the most straightforward signals you need to rest. Think of constant fatigue as a warning light on a car dashboard indicating low fuel.  

Soreness is another sign. After a challenging workout, feeling a little sore is normal. However, if that feeling lingers for an extended period, it's a sign that your muscles need more time to recover. Soreness is a message from your muscles telling you they need rest to repair and strengthen.  

Feeling irritable or easily agitated are also signs of mental exhaustion and overtraining....

The holidays can be exhilarating, stressful, depressing, and overwhelming. Just take your pick. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions which may result in emotional eating. That’s why this week we’re going to learn about practices that will create the right mindset for the holidays. Here’s an article from Psychology Today that talks about these practices and how we can put them in place.

The winter holidays are often an emotional time. Looking ahead to months of colder weather can bring about a more somber mood. Lack of sleep and too much rich food or alcohol can make us feel grumpy or guilty. We may face internal or external pressures to have a picture postcard perfect holiday, complete with sparkling snow, glittery ornaments, and brightly wrapped presents. We may be reminded of loved ones who are no longer with us, kids who are now grown, or we may feel more aware of our loneliness and long for a partner to share this special time. On the positive side, holidays may bring joyful reu...

Practicing gratitude is certainly beneficial to our health. It improves our physical and mental health, our self esteem, and creates better relationships. On the flip side, focusing on gratitude can be harmful if not done the right way. Here’s an article from Psychology Today that shows some of the practices that can cause negative effects instead of positive as well as steps to make sure we don’t fall into making these mistakes. 

Invalidating Your Emotional Experiences
You shouldn’t feel this way. Remember, many people have it worse than you.

Does this sound familiar? If you’ve had this thought, heard it, or said it yourself, you may have experienced a negative impact of gratitude. When you compare yourself to the circumstances of others, you risk minimizing and/or invalidating your emotional experiences.

Connie L. Habash, LMFT, states that “gratitude shouldn’t be practiced in a way that compares ourselves to others. It’s not about who has it worse or better. It’s about finding wh...

With the holidays on its merry way starting with Thanksgiving, it’s important to practice mindful or intuitive eating. When we apply principles of awareness and intuition to our food choices, we are able to feel better about ourselves. According to VerywellFit here’s the difference between mindful and intuitive eating as well as ways to incorporate both eating styles so you can truly enjoy the day and all its edible delights.

Mindful eating is any effort to bring the principles of mindfulness to our food consumption. Being in the present moment as we eat, savoring tastes and textures, and reducing distractions are all hallmarks of a mindful meal.

Intuitive eating, on the other hand, is a trademarked program developed by dietitians Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. It revolves around 10 key principles, such as rejecting the diet mentality, respecting your body, and making peace with food. These practices aim to unravel and heal unhealthy relationships with food.

Slow Down and Savor 
T...

Ingredients:

• Equal parts water and vegetable broth (see step 1 below)
• 2 pounds green beans, ends cut off
• 3/4 cup slivered raw almonds
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled & minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Fill a large stock pot with half water, half vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Make sure the amount of water/broth is at least twice as much as the amount of beans you intend to cook.
2. Gently blanch the green beans (cook them in the boiling liquid for about 3 minutes until just al dente (brightly colored and crisp)). Drain beans in ice cold water (or put them in a bowl containing an ice water bath and set aside). This stops the cooking process.
3. In a wok or large deep frying pan, heat the oil and garlic on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Don’t let the garlic brown.
4. Add in the almonds and stir for about a minute. Then mix in the lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest
...

Our bodies need food, movement and rest. Rest, however, is not just about sleep. According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, there are seven different types of rest your body needs to keep your energy levels and mental capacity high. They are:  

• Physical rest 
• Mental rest
• Social rest
• Spiritual rest
• Sensory rest
• Emotional rest
• Creative rest

How do we know if we need more rest? Health expert JJ Virgin gives us the symptoms and breaks down the different types of rest we need.

Before we dive deeper into the different types of rest, let’s look at some of the symptoms you might be feeling if you’re missing out on any of the seven:   

• Feeling tired, groggy, unfocused, or cranky throughout your day, even when getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep each night 
• Stress from feeling like your life is non-stop action and hustle from the moment you wake up till the second your head touches the pillow at night 
• Achy joints or random pain without knowing where it came from
• Difficulty...

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 3 tablespoons shallots chopped
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 2 1/2 cups fresh diced tomatoes or 16-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice in a pinch (for 8 servings)
• 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound white firm fish (sea bass, halibut, cod), cubed
• 1 pound large shrimp uncooked, peeled, and deveined
• 1 pound clams or mussels
• 1/2 pound bay scallops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped

Directions:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, shallots, saffron, paprika, and bay leaf. Cook for 6 minutes.
2. Add garlic, and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and vegetable broth. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the fish, shrimp, mussels, and scallops.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes or
   ...

Emotional wellness is knowing, understanding, and accepting the gamut of feelings we have and managing them effectively. One way of improving our emotional health is by understanding ourselves better. According to Psychology Today, we need to discover how and why our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors work. “Relationships either sustain us or destroy us, wreaking distress or creating joy as we move through our lives. Our first task is to figure out how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors work within us. Then we can apply the same task to understanding how we relate or don’t relate with others in beneficial ways.” Psychology Today recommends asking the following questions:

Behaviors
Here are some examples of behavior scenarios that we can work on understanding:

• Why do you pout, go into your room, and slam the door when someone disagrees with you?
• Why do you behave rudely knowing it upsets people?
• Why do you try and do what others want when it may harm you?
• Why are you quiet whe...

Ingredients:

•  1 pound bison (such as New York strip steak), cut across the grain in ⅛-inch thick slices (grass-fed or pasture-raised if possible)
• ¼ cup tamari, divided
• ¼ cup avocado oil, divided
• ½ large yellow onion, diced in 1-inch cubes
• 1 large bok choy, cut into 1-inch pieces, green and white parts separated
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cups snow peas, ends removed
• 2 cups cauliflower rice
• 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ⅓ cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
• Scallions for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Combine the sliced bison and tamari in a mixing bowl and allow it to marinate while preparing the ingredients.

3. Once the pan is hot, add half of the oil, the onions, and the white parts of the bok choy. Sauté for 2 minutes.

4. Once the onions begin to brown, add the bell peppers and continue to sauté for another minute.

5. Add the snow peas and sauté for 2 minutes, then ...