7 Poses To Help You Sleep

Some people have trouble falling asleep while others can lay their head on their pillow and be out in seconds, like me.  Either way, doing some yoga poses can help you get a better night's rest so you can wake up feeling rested and fabulous!

Below are the poses I do every night before going to bed.  They only take about a minute and a half total.  These exercises help me relax and release some stress to help me fall asleep faster and sleep deeper.  I started doing them about 2 months ago and have noticed a difference right away.  Now, I look forward to them before going to bed every night!  I even got my boyfriend to do them with me from time to time. 

1. Rag Doll

Stand with your legs slightly apart, right hand over left elbow, and bend over hips so that your head and arms hang down.  Stand for about 8 seconds while taking in slow, but deep breaths.  This pose helps ease tension in my back, neck, and shoulders.

2.  Seated Side Bend

Sit with your legs crossed, place right hand on the floor, and lean to the right with your left arm extending over your head.  Hold for about 8 seconds while breathing in deeply and switch to the other side.  This pose feels good on my neck, shoulders, and obliques.

3. Pigeon
Go down on all fours, place your left leg so that the knee is between your hands, and extend the right leg back.  Hold for about 8 seconds and switch legs.  Don't forget to breathe!  This pose stretches my hips, buttocks, and legs.

4.   Cobra

Lie down on your stomach, place your palms down on the floor by your chest, and lift yourself up while keeping your hips  on the floor.  Again, hold for about 8 seconds while taking in slow deep breaths.  This pose, more than anything, works on relaxing my ab muscles.

5. Bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent, your feet flat on the floor and your arms by your side.  Lift up your hips while keeping your shoulders on your floor so that you make a diagonal line from your shoulders to your knees.  Rest for 8 seconds while taking deep breaths.  This pose really opens up my spine, chest and shoulders. 

6. Plow

Lie on your back with your hands beside you and lift your legs up over your head while keeping your shoulders on the floor.  Hold for 8 seconds and breathe.  This pose also helps relax my spine and helps with my backaches.  It also feels good on my abs.

7. Legs-Up-The-Wall

Lie on your back against the wall so that your legs are perpendicular to your body.  Try to keep your legs as straight against the wall as you possibly can.  Hold for 8 seconds and take deep relaxing breaths.  This pose is great to do last because it's very relaxing.  It helps flow blood to the parts of the body that need it and also helps with arthritis.  Ancient Hindu scriptures also claim it helps banish wrinkles and old age!  

Enjoy!

Plant-Based Diet: Getting Started

After watching all the documentaries about switching to a mostly plant-based diet, I was convinced to change my diet.  I'm not ready to go completely vegetarian or vegan, but I definitely want to make healthier choices.  After all, you are what you eat!  I started out by having meatless Mondays, but I didn't know what else to do to make the transition easier. My sister, who convinced me to watch the documentaries in the first place, made it a little easier for me by sending me some helpful books.

I love the "Skinny Bitch" series.  If you haven't heard of them, look them up!  These books go over everything: from where to shop, to nutrition, to recipes.  If you're thinking of starting a healthier lifestyle, definitely go on Amazon and get these!  They made the process less intimidating by showing how easy it really is.  You can still eat lasagna, "meat"loaf, and "meat"balls made completely vegetarian and you'll never know the difference.  There are some great swaps out there, you just need to find out about them.  

5 Documentaries That Will Change Your Life

I'm pretty sure I know how you feel about wanting to be healthy: "it sounds like a great idea...but I'll get around to it later." Yeah, trust me, I've been there too, but here's a list of 5 documentaries on Netflix that will make you want to change now!  After watching just one I couldn't wait to include more veggies in my diet, after the second, I knew I wanted a healthier, plant-based diet.  I watched the others just because I craved more information. These made the transition to a healthier lifestyle so seamless and pain free that even my steak-loving boyfriend couldn't resist.

1. Forks Over Knives
This is probably the most interesting and my favorite!  It focuses on the studies of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.  They show through studies how degenerative diseases can be controlled and reversed in some cases, all by just switching to a healthier plant-based diet.  Definitely a good documentary to start your journey with. 

2. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

This one is about Joe Cross and his efforts to regain his health by juicing for 60 days straight.  It's amazing how quickly the human body can heal with a healthy diet, but it's still a little extreme for  me to try.  However, it still inspired me to get a juicer to include in my diet.

 3. Hungry For Change
This documentary gives you more information about the benefits of eating healthy, such as weight loss, younger looking skin, and energy.  It also discussed the ethical and political implications of our current food system.

4. Food Matters

Again, this is a documentary that talks about food being our medicine.  It focuses on raw food, which isn't something I'm willing to dive into completely, but still gives you great information.  It also touches on topics like organic food and food safety.

5. Ted Talks: Chew On This

These are series of talks from scientists, chefs, farmers and foodies about the truth of food.  It touches on pretty much all topics, like obesity in children, famine, sustainability and cooking. Very very entertaining.

Trust me, you're not going to regret watching any of these! 

They'll literally save your life.