Increase your Body's SPF

source:thundafunda.com 

Hello Lovelies, 

Hope you all having a great day and week so far. today I wanted to share something with you that I came across recently and found it interesting. and that is Lycopene. 

So what is this Lycopene thing : it is a red pigment that is found in red fruits and vegetables such as red carrots, tomatoes, watermelon and papayas, pink grapefruit. 

But the interesting point is: Consuming lycopene-rich stuff may protect against sunburn and sun-induced skin ageing, British researchers ( University of Manchester) have reported. they reported that The tomato-fed group had 33% more protection against sunburn when compared to the control group.

Unlike other fruits and vegetables, where  some nutritional content such as vitamin C is decreased upon cooking, processing of tomatoes increases the concentration of bioavailable lycopene. actually Lycopene in tomato paste is four times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes! For this reason, tomato sauce is a preferable source as opposed to raw tomatoes.

Also it is good to know that Lycopene is insoluble in water, so having tomatoes with oil-rich dishes is highly recommended since it helps and enhances Lycopene absorption. 

Other than Lycopene, there are others like beta-carotene. beta-carotene could be found in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and cantaloupes.

So you could increase your sun protection from within but don't forget Lycopene and beta-carotene are no substitute for a proper sunscreen sine they could only provide very low protection. so please don't forget to dive into that sunscreen of yours ;)
That is all for today :) have a great Tuesday everyone
Mania

30 days sugar challenge

Hello lovelies,

well as I told you, Monday was my last day of 30 days sugar free challenge. and I am very proud to say that I finished it successfully. I personally know that I had sugar addiction and never denied it, I ate at least one piece of cake everyday because first I love cakes and 2nd I love baking. I also have very soft spot for ice-creams in hot summer nights. and that's it, not a chocolate fan or anything. 

We all know that sugar is bad for the health and it causes a slow and unnoticeable damage through out the years, so I will not go into that subject.

But it is not easy to quite sugar because we all know everything with sugar taste good and makes us happy. I did not think I could do it, specially the first week was the hardest, It affected me both physically and emotionally. the first days I was literally shaking ( which started around 3 pm) and no matter how many fruits I took it was not enough. 

After a while craving was almost gone, there were still times that I really wanted something, the crazy situations were when I wanted something that I barely eat on normal days (like chocolate). but eventually you kinda forget the taste of sweet stuff and it would get easier. 

One of the hard parts was with being with friends and they were all trying not have anything sugar related in front of me, and which made me uncomfortable because I hate to be the cause of suffering in other people and I was really ok with not having sugar myself.

Now it is finished, the fist sip of sugar I had was a huge shock to me and I said " I can't have this it is too much sugary for me!!". but I am not gonna lie sugar will always will be the part of my life, however this challenge definitely affected my habit in a good way.

Now I don't crave sugar like a crazy addict, I had a small piece of blueberry muffin yesterday ( which I baked myself) and that was it as far as my cake addiction. I had Nutella  for breakfast though and a slice of Kit-Kat and that was it since Monday. 

I pay more attention to labels now, try to avoid the unnecessary sugar as much as possible. take things like pistachio, almonds, walnuts ( all those healthy stuff) as snack which are quite satisfying. 

For me this challenge was turned out to be very positive, and as I see it the less you eat the less you crave.

So break a habit and start a new step to a better health all you out there :) I am sure you will like what you see at the end.

Hope you all have a great day, and by the way here is almost 45C which is crazy for Montreal but me loving every second of it :)

Mania

Personal Trainer

This post is something that I've been meaning to do for a while. as you know I do workout quite often and I really enjoy it. it's not something that I must do, it is something that I LOVE to do. and I am not absolutely a diet person, I can not ban myself from eating something because I know myself very well and if do so, I go crazy. so if I feel like eating a cake, ice-cream, cheese-burger with fries,... I'll eat it without any regrets :)

I know a lot of people do not need to workout to keep their weight constant or stay in shape but to me doing regular exercise is not about staying thin or stuff like that. it is important to stay healthy and it definitely have a huge impact on your day to day activities.   

So to me everyone should do exercise but I don't walk around tell people that ( even my close friends)  because it's non of my business. but just to make that clear; no matter you're thin or overweight or normal, you need to exercise regularly due to health reasons.

so back to the subject of personal trainer, and why I think it's important to have one:

I consider myself a good researcher, I basically can dig anything out and I know if I want to write a routine for myself I just need to Google that. and believe me I used to do that. but sometimes you feel you're doing a really hard workout but do not see the results as you expected which was the case for me. and the reason for that is maybe that kind of workout was not suitable for you or you're maybe doing it wrong ( even just the tiniest details).

So that's why the role of a personal trainer becomes important. a personal trainer is someone who knows what works for you ( well not all of them , there is always a good and a bad in everything).  I had about 3 of those for the past 2 years and the last one who I am still working with, actually was the best for me. 

The first 2 ones, well they knew what they were talking about but honestly the program they gave me was not for me, because I absolutely hated the routines and did not keep up with them. 

so when I talked with my latest one, I told her the story and told her I need something short and effective. I don't want to live in the gym basically ;) I don't care about weight loss because it will come eventually. I just want to get rid of that "jigily movements" in my body and make stronger muscles. she did a fitness test and gave me a routine which takes about 40-45 minutes including the warm-up and short breaks between each sets.  it involves weights and fitness ball which was little hard for me at beginning but I got used to it very fast. I do the routine 2-3 times a week for 2.5 months now. 

It's been about 2 weeks now that I am getting so many complements from people that I don't know ( in the gym ) and they are like " wow you look good... or you lost weight .." stuff like that and all I can say at that moment as response  is "...... since when you noticed that .." which I don't really say and just reply .." OH thanks, that's very sweet of you !!" but I think they read in my face and add .." I take the same class as you ..". so all these comments made me think that the only difference in my workout routine was my new program and damn it's been working :) and I finally find my perfect personal trainer.
on the side note: some people are just so nice, honestly a simple nice complement can make people's day. you never know :)

so I just wanted to share this taught with you and if you 're doing your workout but don't see your preferable results maybe it is better to consult a professional. and just as final notes, be honest with them and tell them exactly what you want to achieve; tell them your habits on eating, workouts.. (even if sometimes they are embarrassing). and if you don't feel comfortable with something tell them because there might be huge chance you skip that step. sorry about this long rambling post :)

Oh and one final thing, if you are in Montreal area and looking for a good personal trainer let me know because mine did an amazing job. 

Have a great Wednesday everyone :)

Mania 

Spice of Life

Last week I was reading my June issue of Chatelaine magazine and I came across this section which was interesting to me and decided to share it with you :

"Turmeric (زرد چوبه), a staple in Indian, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern cuisins, might help regenerate brain cells, making it a promising new treatment for strokes. researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA found that a chemical component of the spice may help improve muscle control and movement in people who have had strokes"

This spice was actually was one of the first spices that I got to know. it is quite popular in our cuisine and it is used all the time. apparently it has so many health benefits like: anti-inflammatory, liver detoxifier,ability to removing amyloyd plaque buildup in the brain, ability to stop the growth of new blood vessels in tumors and so many more. 

So try to introduce it to your recipes, but if you want to use it as medicine don't forget like any other thing it has some contraindications. so to take it as medicine always consult a doctor.  

Hope you all have a nice healthy Tuesday

Mania

Breathing Practice in Yoga: Kapalabhati

In Yoga breath training is very important and essential since it is a preparation for deep meditation. I believe breath is the bridge between the body and the mind. Regulate breath, and the body and mind will follow.

There are different breathing practices in Yoga. I personally know and practiced few of them which I will write about;but it is very important to have a personal training and complete instruction in doing these practices and not entirely rely on any written words. 

Let's start with Kapalabhati:

The first time I practiced Kapalabhati I hated it. it is kinda simple but at the same time difficult ( if that make any scene at all !!) and it is very important that it is done probably. so what is Kapalabhati exactly ...

Kapalabhatiis a powerful breathing technique and will start by sitting tall in comfortable position. it is basicly sudden and vigorous exhale by diaphragm movement through both nostrils, producing a sharp "fuffing" sound. focus is not on inhalation since they come automatically and passively. we usually been doing that at the beginning of class for 50 times.  

It is interesting to know that during this breathing exercise particular movement of stomach muscles  play the most important role compared to the movement of the cage of the chest. and their efficiency will increase by continuous practicing.

A certain pressure of air during this practice helps in removing impurities in the breathing tube, so it's a kinda cleansing exercise. after a well round of Kapalabhati you really feel the difference in your normal breathing routine and the capacity of your lungs in each inhale. it has so many other benefits which I think would be different for everyone like toning abdominal muscles, emptying emotional junk, throwing out negative thoughts. but as i said before its effects varies from person to person.

Kapalabhati is great breathing exercise but as I said at beginning it should be learned form an expert specially for people suffering from heart problems, lung troubles, blood circulation diseases, pregnant women who should perform under the care and guidance of trainer. 


wish you all a wonderful day 

Mania

30 Day Yoga Challenge experience

I did start my 30 day Yoga Challenge at Feb 12  ( related post here) ;which was doing one session everyday, my whole challenge sums about 35h and 20 min of Yoga in 30 days.I also kept my regular workout sessions. 
The heart of the my challenge ( or any other one as a matter of fact) were commitment and focus. it means making a promise to yourself, and follow it without any excuse for failure. and that was my goal; I personally enjoy doing Yoga ( I've been doing it about 4 times a week for more than 2 years). Yoga for me was more than a physical practice from the beginning and it had incredible effects on  my life. this is my personal experience and as I said before it won't be the same for everyone. if you started Yoga and you did not feel anything else other that its physical effects it's ok, maybe it is not the right time for you or not the right instructor and many other reasons.   
Before I started my challenge I sat and analysed my personal schedule and figured out a perfect program for 30 days that could work for me and highlighted the classes that I could take or the ones that came as back-ups in case some emergency came up. few months I received an offer from a Yoga studio which was one month of unlimited yoga classes for 18$, it was pretty good deal ( the studio was close to my work place so I took some sessions there during my lunch breaks). there they had Yoga-Wall studio which I never tried before, superb opportunity for me. 

Here is the picture that I took with my cell. in most of the poses the wall used in the place of floor, poses like hanging downward dog , back stretching, hanging back bends, flying. I loved it , at first it takes time, because it is important to gain trust on the straps, there are poses that sole of the feet are on the wall and body is completely is parallel with the floor and the only thing is keeping you up there are the straps. I fell down once from straps when I was going for the twist pose because I was kind of afraid that straps would fall of the hooks. but trying Yoga wall was a nice experience. 

I am not those people who suffer doing Yoga I always make sure I am breathing comfortably; from the start, I never pushed myself in any pose, if my body wasn't ready to do it I didn't care;and since I started Yoga from beginner's level I know the levels of most poses, so sometimes I do the advance version sometimes I do the most basic one. as one of my Yoga instructors says all time, being advance in Yoga does not mean do the poses in extreme it means knowing your options. I did get better in some postures, the ones that I never expected from myself , like; 

Bakasana, Crane pose; for me happened out of the blue. from the first sessions I always practiced by alternating my feet, and suddenly that day both of them were up and I really did not need to bring it down, this is where I can go so far comfortably.one of the important points of this pose is to have a Drishti in front of you, because we all go where we look, so look front :)

I can do a full Chaturanga now and go deeper in so many other postures. Practicing Yoga help to be more flexible and also helps to get stronger muscles. it  also let us practice patience and helps  to know our body, our limits better. 

Some poses looks very simple but all Yoga postures are about details, like the way body is facing, position and direction of the knees, position of toes, neck , shoulders, even our gaze; paying attention to them is necessary to avoid any pain or injuries. All I can say that the challenge was hard but very effective and I am happy I did it. after I finished my challenge I am back to my 4 times a week yoga routine.


Final Note: 
Challenges of these kinds also could help to create a habit. habits are powerful, and once they formed they play a great role in influencing the direction of our life. Habits could be both bad and good, and it is intresting to know that creating a good habit has the the same procedure as creating a bad one. I am sure you all heard this quote by Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."


But don't set or have unrealistic goals or expectations. whatever you commit yourself to, do it for 30 days and you will improve your chances of turning it to a habit. It does not guarantee that you keep that habit for life, but it will be a step in a good direction. so take the leap, and make sure you enjoy your journey throughout of your challenge.


Wish you all a great day,
Mania

Best well-rounded Home Workout

If you don't have much time exercising, or not sure if you could stick with your gym and don't waste your membership, or lots and lots of other ifs; then one of the best solutions for you is to do home workouts. I tried this method few years ago and also last summer ( for the days that I missed my gym workouts). the best workout would be the one that includes both cardio and weight training and it does not take more than 30 minutes ( because honestly if it gets longer it would be harder to stick with it)  . 

I tried a few workout DVDs, like "Skinny Bitch Fitness Body", "Billy Blanks workouts", "Budokon Beginning Practice" and others that I don't really remember their names. but one of the best that I tried so far is "Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred". 

30 Day shred is an awesome workout! Jillian is one of the trainers in the show "The biggest loser" and I think she has another show ( I don't know the name). it is said that the workout operates on the principle of muscle confusion to tone and slims the body quickly. It is designed in 3 levels; and each level should be done in 10 days.
What you need is 2 dumbbells, don't get heavy ones, ,start with something low and increase it as the days goes by and your muscles get stronger; . I started by level 1 and for each moves she gives 2 options, one for people that are very fit and of course one that I used :) let me tell you it is a very challenging 30 minutes, and you should not skip any seconds of it, since it is already short. at the beginning days you don't notice anything regarding the weight loss and that is normal since you are developing muscles and reshaping your body but don't get discouraged and continue your workout. If after 10 days you think you need more time, feel free to stay there ( in the 1st level) till you mastered that level.
At the end of the workout you would feel more toned, stronger and more in shape. and I am sure you will be glad you tried it. One of the best things that I got form the workout was that I am able to do push ups now, which I had never done  in my life before :). 
Final comments: 
Choose a place that you could finish the workout with interruption.  If it's too hard, start without weights and it might be very hard for people that did not exercise for a long time.     
So have you tried Jillian's or any other home workouts, and what do you think of them?!
Love,
Mania

30 Day Yoga Challenge

Today is Monday, and working is really hard after you worked most of the weekend.Saturday we went to help one of our friends with their movings. they were moving to another city about 2 hour drive from ours. so we had kind of a mini trip too. so by the time we got home and went to bed it was after midnight so technically Saturday was gone without me noticing. Sunday was more fun though we went to our friends house for lunch ( big fun) and for afternoon we went somewhere else for birthday party. so basically we were not home that much this past weekend. and now I am so tired I couldn't go out of the house, so will be working from home and hit the gym afternoon. talking of gym, there is something that I want to talk about. This clip is really describe  my mood on Friday afternoon and Monday morning, funny!

A few weeks ago I decided to start a "30 Yoga challenge". the inspiration came from a dear blogger that I  am following for more than a year now. she started hers in mid January and I think she is at her last 10 days now. 

The challenge is to take 30 yoga sessions in 30 days. Since I am not going to a yoga studio, based on my gym's program ,I probably have to do 2 ( even 3) sessions in some days so I could finish my challenge in time. I already kind of set my schedule and high-lighted the classes that I should take and some others for backups. I try to keep my own workout routine and add the yoga classes; we'll see how I could manage that with my time and energy. I don't know if you tried yoga before or not but it could be very challenging. I know it won't be easy since I follow Amber's challenge and read about her experiences but my goal is to finish this challenge ( I am sure 100% I won't quite since I am no quitter). I am very looking forward to start at Feb.12th and finish successfully my challenge in 30 days.

Here is my current workout schedule so the rest of the yoga sessions would be added to these: 

Monday: 1h of step class

Tuesday: 1 h of cycling and 1h20 min of Yoga class

Wednesday: 1 h of Aero-latin class

Friday: 1h of Aero-latin and 1h20 min of Yoga class

Saturday: 1h30 min Yoga and 1h of meditation class

Sunday: 1h20 min Yoga

This has been my program for a couple of months now; before, there were days that I did some cardio and weight exercise at the gym by myself but personally I enjoy the group workouts more. I decided to add some weight exercises to my routine cause the point is not only to get rid of the body fat but also to build stronger muscles (since I want to keep my routine I will talk to a trainer to give me a quick 30 minutes routine that I could do everyday).
So who else wants to hit yoga mats with me for 30 days!?!

Love,

Mania

SUPERjuice for women

I don't know if your mother was like mine during your childhood but she always wanning me about how women are easily get infection down their lady parts and telling me not to sit on the floor and on and on ...! Back then the first thing came to my mid was always that "why my brother can play and sit where ever he wants by I should always be careful :(". 

I know it is true though, we are very delicate, so better to prevent any damage. 

One of the most common infection women get is "Urinary Tract Infection" or UTI. It happens basically when bacteria cling to the opening of urethra and multiplies ( though this could happen to anyone, women are more at risk than men).

So what I read several years ago about UTI; "it is proven that drinking as little as 1/4 cup ( around 50 ml ) of cranberry juice can reduce the the incidence of UTI in women". pretty amazing huh!? 

This is quite effective and at the same time simple. I never had UTI but I knew someone that actually suffered from it a lot and it is because in some women local immune are less effective than others. I recommended the super juice to her but I don't know she  actually took it seriously or not. I 've been doing it for about few years now, just one glass of cranberry juice every night. 

When I decided to post this I started to look around if there are any other health benefits coming from cranberry juice and here are some:

Antioxidants, Ear Nose and throat problem, Dental Health, protection against hearth diseases,  which are most of them are related to its ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria. 

Well it turns out to be quite a juice or I rather call it SUPERjuice.

Tip: just a tiny note that better to get the ones that are sugar free or indicate "no sugar added" on them. I prefer to get my sugars from those cakes and chocolates ;)

So don't forget your SUPERjuice ladies,

Love,

Mania

YOGA series: E2- OHM

So here I am again, with the Yoga post series. this week I want to talk about OHM which is chanted in the beginning or at the end of Yoga classes (or both actually, seen all the 3 versions).

I am sure you all had affected by music at least once in your life. Music is a universal language and often it changes our mood. well OHM is a universal sound that brings us back to wholeness.

OHM symbol is a sacred syllable in Hinduism,  which I won't go into that, here. it is made up of three Sanskrit letters: aa, au and ma. 

There are so many different definitions and beliefs on this word. but I am personally aware and read about some.

One says that the vibration and movement that is caused in us by chanting OHM allows us to recognize the movement of whole universe( like setting and rising of the sun and moon, water in rivers and seas,and beating of our hearts). 

another one that I know is that OHM is an eternal sound that covers all in the past. present and future.  it is also believed that the sound of OHM covers all the sound in the whole world. 

Yeah there is a lot written about the ohm,  but easiest way to understand it is to actually do it.  

So close your eyes, in a quiet place and let your body relax and release your mind from your daily stuff. then take a full breath and slowly let the air out from your mouth with a sound of "Au" which will goes to the sound of "o" as you continue. about half way through of your exhalation, start to close your lips; by doing this the sound becomes as "mmmmm" naturally. by releasing the last part of your breath you could feel the vibration inside your . over the time the practice will be improved and you could feel the vibration all over your body and try to go deeper each time.
Hope you enjoy , Namaste!

* http://www.yogamovement.com 

YOGA series: E1- Sun Salutation

It is been almost 2 years that I started to do yoga. I don't know about other people's experiences but I saw changes in me after the very first session, which I was quite surprised. As I continued my practice on regular basis I discovered that I am building much more than a fixable body. I was getting much calmer, and felt that I am in more control over my mind and emotions. And that made me happy, very very happy.

Personally yoga worked for me and I am enjoying it a lot. I recommended it to all my friends and most of them started to practice yoga and seems they are enjoying it too. so as I say about a lot of things, try it, maybe you find something good in it, otherwise you have nothing to lose.
so here in these series of posts I will talk about my yoga journey, different yoga practices and postures. I consider myself a new yoga learner ( level 0+) so I learn these stuff from somewhere and someone else probably and them mixed them with my own experiences  :) 


let's start with a little definition first:

The word yoga has many meaning; it is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj", meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite". there is another possibility, that the word yoga derives from "yujir samadhau" which means "contemplation" or "absorption". the last definition is closer to yoga since it is through contemplation that discrimination between praktri (nature) and purusha (pure consciousness) occurs ( I read about these in some books  about yoga over the past 2 years, I will  look back and try to find the Ref.)

Sun salutation (Surya Namaskar)

The sun salutation practice is a sequence of movements that energizes the body which links body, breath and mind and it is practiced at the beginning of the class. So why the sun?

In many cultures light  is the symbol of awareness and our primary source of light is of course the sun. and one of the ways to honor the sun if by Surya Namaskar.  

It is taught by ancient yogis that each of us replicates the world at large; containing rivers, seas, mountains, starts,... the sun and the moon. However the outer sun is a symbol of our "inner sun" which is our spirit, our heart. 

it is very interesting to know that in yoga our wisdom is placed in our heart which is typically associated with our emotions, not in our brain. Actually in yoga, brain is symbolized by the moon, which reflects the sun's light and generates no light of its own. if you look at it carefully you will see why; it is true that we make our decisions by our brain but brain is limited to its knowledge ( light reflected from our brain is limited to the light that it received as knowledge). 

There are many sun salutation variations, personally I am aware (and practiced) only few versions of them but we always start and end with Tadasana (mountain pose) and you can always modify it and make your own version by adding something like chair pose or etc. 

as you move through, watch your breath closely. Slow down or rest completely if your breathing becomes labored. This is actually true for all the yoga posture, as one of my yoga instructors (Don) said "you should always breathe comfortably, if not, it is a way your body telling: you passed your limit buddy", so listen to your breath. 

Always breathe through the nose not your mouth, because Nasal breathing filters and warms the incoming air and helps to prevents any problems throughout the posture. 

Sun salutation is adoration of the light and our insight, so it is important that throughout the practice, turn our awareness inward, toward the heart and  make each movement as thoughtful and precise as possible. if your mind goes somewhere else return to your heart, which actually is a good thing, since you noticed it's gone so congratulate yourself for noticing.
Don't be hard on yourself and if you're at your first sessions ( or at any level)  never compare yourself with others, everyone has different body structure; practice and just try to listen what your body is telling you.

Hope you enjoy and Namasta ! 

* the picture had been taken form http://thefitnessworkout.com