You are here: Home
Posted on May 7th, 2012 by in Healthy Living

Embracing the Unknown: Staying Grounded in Uncertain Times

Renée Peterson Trudeau, Guest Blogger

Are you between jobs, homes, relationships? It helps to learn strategies for sitting peacefully in limbo.

These days, we’re facing unprecedented levels of change, uncertainty, and chaos. In this post-September 11 era, in which economic volatility has become a mainstay, we’re juggling parenting our parents, managing dual-income households, navigating globalization and living farther away from our families, fighting off digital overwhelm, and, in many cases, dealing with fallout from natural disasters.

In addition to all these outward changes, we’re also being called on to transform internally. We are undergoing huge consciousness shifts, and many of us are feeling the call to evolve, and to embrace a new way of being. The majority of my friends, colleagues, clients—and even my own family—are all navigating uncertainty and experiencing some type of transition right now:

1 Comment • read →
Posted on May 6th, 2012 by in Moment of Quiet

Moment of Quiet: Colors in Motion

This week’s Moment Of Quiet is brought to us by Colors in Motion.

leave comment • read →
Posted on May 5th, 2012 by in Healthy Living

What does it mean to be resilient?

In this video series, Kripalu Healthy Living faculty member Maria Sirois, PsyD, shares her wisdom on the topic of resiliency and suggests ways to cultivate it in your daily life. Are you resilient? What does it mean to you to be flexible?      

leave comment • read →
Posted on May 4th, 2012 by in Nutrition

Coconut Water: Worth the Hype?

The coconut water hype. Yogi essential or overblown fad?

The country is experiencing a specialty beverage bonanza, with customers snapping up “functional” drinks and enhanced waters that promise to deliver better health and well-being. Coconut water has been touted as the “natural” alternative to such drinks, which are often filled with sugar or artificial sweeteners. As more and more yoga teachers are heard ending class with directives to “go home and drink your coconut water,” legions of devotees are happily shelling out up to $3 for an 11 ounce serving of the water, which is available everywhere from corner bodegas to mainstream supermarkets, yoga studios to gyms. Hollywood’s in on it, too: Spokespeople for and investors in the most popular brands—Vita Coco, O.N.E., and Zico—include Demi Moore, Matthew McConaughey, and pop singer Rhianna, as well as professional athletes like baseball player Alex Rodriguez and Celtics player Kevin Garnett. But is coconut water really better for you than regular water?

An 11-ounce container of coconut water (approximately the amount of water contained in the center of a single coconut, and not to be confused with coconut milk, which is derived from the meat of the fruit) is said to have 15 times more electrolytes—namely, sodium, potassium, and magnesium—than the average sports drink, with only about 60 calories per serving and no added sugar or fat. Electrolytes, which are lost through excessive sweating, allow cells to generate energy and move fluids throughout the body and are thus essential to muscle and nerve function. That’s why electrolytes are supplemented to sports drinks like Gatorade.

2 Comments • read →
Posted on May 3rd, 2012 by in Healthy Living

Turning Point: Q & A with Chris Martenson, PhD, MBA

Turning Point: Chris Martenson

Chris Martenson, PhD, MBA, is an economic researcher and futurist specializing in energy and resource depletion. He was one of the early econobloggers who forecasted the housing market collapse and stock market correction. Chris and his wife, Becca, are at Kripalu June 29–July 1 to teach Peak Prosperity, based on Chris’ seminal video seminar, The Crash Course.

Q Describe what you do in 15 words or less.

A I am creating a world worth inheriting, which begins by helping individuals build physical, financial, and emotional resilience in their lives.

leave comment • read →
Posted on May 2nd, 2012 by in Words from the Wise

Beginner’s Mind

“The beginner’s mind is the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity, wonder, and amazement.”

–Anonymous

At age 16, when I learned how to drive, my dad insisted that I start with a standard/stick shift. Although I had resistance at first, I warmed up to the idea and have been driving a standard ever since. I’ve owned my current car, a Honda Civic Hybrid, since 2004 and love its zippy yet eco-friendly nature. The other day, while backing out of a parking spot, I encountered a familiar problem: trying to put the stick shift into reverse was literally sticky. I usually take the gear to first then back toward reverse a few times and the problem clears up. I always assumed it was simply due to my car getting old but, as it tends to happen, a new lesson just was around the corner.

My friend Katie was in the car with me and advised that I let go of the clutch and then draw the stick shift back into reverse. It worked like a charm and I thought to myself, ‘Are you kidding me? I’ve been battling this #@** gear for years, and all I had to do was reset the clutch!?’ I was also thankful for the tip and thought about what a beautiful example it was of the benefits of employing a beginner’s open mindset.

leave comment • read →
Posted on May 1st, 2012 by in Healthy Living, Medical Insights

Sitting Pretty: Not So Much

Forget baseball. Researchers say America has a new favorite pastime: sitting.

Various studies show that Americans spend, on average, eight hours a day on our rear ends, and the effects aren’t good: A study published last month in the Archives of Internal Medicine—and corroborated recently by a similar study out of Finland—reported that the longer men and women sat every day, the greater their chance of dying prematurely, even if they spent at least part of that day working out. It’s one reason Dr. David Agus argues in The End of Illness that a sitting habit may be worse than a smoking habit.

“The body is a mechanism of movement, so prolonged sitting without breaks is very hard to sustain without consequence,” says Cristie Newhart, a Senior Faculty member at Kripalu and a Kripalu yoga teacher. Still, says Newhart, it’s not necessarily that we sit, but how we sit. “Most of us slump in our chairs and sit forward of—rather than on top of—the sitting bones,” she says. “That rounds and compresses the spine and brings stress to the low back. Such slumping can also invite shallow breathing, which can create a sort of permanent state of ‘fight or flight’ within the nervous system.”

4 Comments • read →
Posted on April 30th, 2012 by in Wake-Up Call

Wake Up Call – Finding My Guru

Tresca Weinstein, Guest Blogger I stared into the eyes of the guru, set deep within his lean brown face. I saw no particular warmth there, nor any impatience—though I had been near the end of the long line of people he was scheduled to meet with that day. Did he never tire of hearing about [...]

2 Comments • read →
Posted on April 29th, 2012 by in Moment of Quiet

Take a Moment Of Quiet

Every Sunday we provide a space for quiet, calm, and peaceful introspection. Enjoy this week’s Moment of Quiet.

leave comment • read →
Posted on April 28th, 2012 by in Life Lessons

The Power of Pause

Yogic philosophy teaches us that there is inherent balance between the body, the mind, and the spirit. This unity is our birthright. Unfortunately, as we “grow up,” our minds gain strength and overwhelm these other aspects of ourselves. The mind thinks it is in charge, and tries to run the show—it overpowers the body. And the connection to the spirit often becomes a mere whisper.

Quieting the mind, becoming present in the moment, experiencing what is rather than trying to create what might be or remaining stuck in what was, are the doorways to freedom from the busy mind. Our minds need to be trained to be an effective ally. It is our responsibility to quiet the mind by entering into the moment—the power of that pause is profound.

Here are some simple yet effective suggested practices to bring the power of pause into your daily life:

1 Comment • read →