Swiss Chard!

I echo Allison's post about spring produce coming and one of my favorites is swiss chard.  Tuesday I made a light swiss chard frittata using a recipe from Skinnytaste.com.  I've made a few of the recipes from this blog and each one has been delicious.   Check it out.

Swiss chard isn't in season in our region but it is coming.  I'm certain the farmer I buy my chard from has sprouts shooting up in her green house as I am writing this!

One ingredient of building and keeping a healthy body is eating food that is from the earth and everything on the ingredient list is easily pronounced.   Michael Pollan suggests in his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, that you eat purchased foods with no more than 5 ingredients on the list.  (Read the list of your next protein bar.)

Be healthy and think Spring!

Sleep.

It's so hard for me to get enough sleep.  It's that way for many of us and we all know it's a critical piece of a healthy body but why is it so important?

The National Sleep Foundation recommends a total sleep time of 7 to 8 hours per night for all adults...regardless of age.  That time frame allows us to cycle in and out of REM and nonREM which is an important restorative process for our bodies both physically and mentally.

So, if you don't sleep enough you feel fatigued (duh!).  Research has determined that if you feel fatigued you're less likely to exercise.  If that it's your excuse for staying away from the pilates studio grab those zzzzzzzs!

Get enough sleep.  One of the best things you can do for yourself is the cheapest.

Good night.

homer sleep

Sometimes it's lonely at the top

The above picture is of Chasm Lake, elevation 14,000 feet just outside of Boulder, Colorado.  When you get to the top of a peak all is quiet and still, there is no one around, and all you feel is openness and space.  When I'm working with clients I facilitate this experience for them.  We focus on calming and centering the mind, stopping the world, and creating openness and space through movement.  It is difficult to achieve this but through continued practice it becomes simpler and much more accessible.  As you become clearer, more centered, and more open it's inevitable that you realize how busy, cluttered and disorganized most people are.  There is no one around to experience this space and openness with you because they are too busy being disorganized and distracted!  Sometimes the path towards health and wellness can seem like a lot of hard work and it can be discouraging because there are so many people who choose not to focus their energy in this way.  It would be easier to just say "Screw it, I'm just going to be busy/distracted/gluttonous like everyone else."  However, the hard work is worth it because the view from the top is golden.  If it were easy everyone would do it :)