YOUR MIND
Opportunity Knocks All The Time
Max Steingart
The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, for time and chance happen to everyone. Take a second look at what appears to be someone’s “good luck.”
You’ll find not luck but preparation, planning and success-producing thinking. Opportunity is around you all the time, but you have to be ready for it. When your chance comes, you must have the equipment to take advantage of it.
When you’re prepared for opportunity, your chance for success is sure to come. The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.
The tide of opportunity comes to everyone. Even to you [FIRST_NAME].
YOUR BODY
Creating a Killer Core
how to build your body from the core up
When someone says that they want to flatten their belly or reduce the fat in their lower stomach area (pouch), they will often make the mistake of only working their front ab muscle group. Although this will help to tone and tighten the ab area it put the body out of balance, which can cause problems later on in life. However, if when you are working your front abs you also do stretches and muscle strengthening exercises that work your side and back muscles you will see an all around flattening and shaping.
This will not only give you more of a V shape (which everyone envy's) but it will also help strengthen your back muscles which also help to hold your stomach flat.
Stability Ball Sit-down Where you can, swap your desk chair for a stability ball—you'll force yourself to activate and hold your core muscles while at the keyboard. Start with 30 minutes, and stretch it out to an hour or more as you feel more comfortable.
Windmill Toe Touches Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, draw in your belly button, bend your knees, and touch one foot with the opposite hand. Rise to standing, and repeat with the other hand. Start with three sets of 12 reps.
Leg Balancing Standing on one foot with hands at your sides, draw in your belly button to activate your core muscles, and lean to the side of the planted foot. Hold the lean for 15 seconds, then switch to the other foot. Repeat four to six times.
On the Mat
Floor-based routines perfect for getting your blood pumping before hopping in the shower at home or at the gym.
Quadruped Position With your hands and knees on the floor (on all fours), draw in your belly button, holding your core muscles up against gravity for 15 seconds. Start with three sets of 12 reps.
The Prone Cobra With your stomach on the ground, your feet together and legs straight, and your arms at your sides, draw in your abs, squeeze your butt, and pinch together your shoulder blades to lift your chest, legs, and arms an inch or two off the ground. Hold for 15 seconds, and repeat 10 times.
Floor Bridge Lying on your back with your knees bent and arms flat on the floor (palms flat), press your torso off the ground, using your core muscles to balance for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
NOTE: With our busy lifestyles, it is easy to forget to drink water throughout the day. We need water to flush out toxins, keep our energy levels elevated and to keep our tissues hydrated. It contains no calories, so you can drink as much of it as you want to, and if you need some variety, add a lemon or lime slice to it. You can also make homemade lemonade with lemon, water and Fructevia, Steviva Blend or a dash Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder. Stevia anyone?
This information and other information is intended for general reference purposes only and is not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
YOUR SPIRIT
Regret
the weight of the past
by Madisyn Taylor
Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds. We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again. We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.
Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret. In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice. In return, we can ask for our selves’ forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long. We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness. By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know. Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it. Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present. Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.
Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today. This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future. By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.
YOUR RECIPE
Low Glycemic No Added Sugar Stuffed Strawberries
(makes 6 servings)
Serving Size: About 4 strawberries
Carbs Per Serving: 6.5 g
Prep Time:<15 minutes
Skill Level: Easy
Oh yeah!!! It's that time of the year again. Fresh strawberries are starting to show up at the farmers market and produce section. If you have never had a Mt. Hood Strawberry... you have no idea what you are missing. They by far the best darn strawberries you can find.
Here's a super easy recipe for fresh strawberries filled with an orange-flavored cream cheese. These strawberries are delicious and nutritious. And the best part is that they are low in sugar and not bad on carbs.
Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Fructevia , Steviva Blend or a dash Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder , or to taste
2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur, or orange zest
Instructions:
Cut the tops off of the strawberries and stand upright on the cut side. Make a cut 3/4 of the way down from the tip of the strawberry towards the bottom.
Beat together the cream cheese, Fructevia , Steviva Blend or a dash Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder , and liqueur or orange zest until smooth in a mixer or a food processor. Place into a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe cream cheese mixture into each strawberry and arrange on a serving platter.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
For More Low Carb and Sugar*Free Recipes Go To Steviva Recipes!