Liebster Award

Hello all!

My friend and fellow health food blogger, Alanna (http://www.eatsrealfood.com), has nominated me for a Liebster Award! 

A Liebster Award is an award passed on among bloggers in an effort to get to discover new blogs and get to know one another. I'm so excited and grateful that this torch has been passed to me! This is how it works, I have been asked to answer a few questions about myself, and then I get to do the same to other bloggers! Here goes...

1. If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Probably rice, it's just in my Asian genes! (And I pretty much ate it everyday growing up because of my Mom and Grandma). 
2. What/where is your “happy” place? My yoga mat. No matter what has happened during the day, when I step on that mat it all flutters away and I feel at ease and happy. 
3. What is your favorite season and why? I honestly love all seasons, each one has so much different beauty to appreciate! I will say that I have a strong bond with Autumn though, I think the smell of the leaves reminds me of my High School cross-country days, and that is something that always brings a smile to my face. 
4. What is one feature that you love about yourself? My legs! Especially my calves! I used to be so self-conscious about them because I always thought they looked so muscular from all the running and weight-lifting I did, but I have come to appreciate and love everything about myself and can now say I adore them. 
5. If you could bring only one thing on a deserted island, what would it be? Oh this is a toughie, and oddly something I think about often. I think I would bring a blanket, I feel like there's a lot of uses for that!
6. Where is your favorite place you’ve ever traveled? Columbus, OH. Would move there in a heart beat if I could. 
7. What is your favorite song that gets you pumped up? Bombs Away by B.o.B featuring Morgan Freeman. Such a great song to run to (and it feels like Morgan Freeman is narrating my run!)
8. What is one current goal you have for yourself? I've been working on my patience. Driving, waiting in line, dealing with difficult customers at work...I've made some improvements!
9. What is your favorite movie? The Book of Eli or Pulp Fiction, it's a toss up!
10. Who or what inspires you? Where do I begin with this one? I feel like I am constantly inspired by something. But to name a few: my parents, my better half, the sun, the  moon, trees, my best friend, the open roads, Rachel Brathen.....I could go on, and on, and on, and on....

Now I nominate Olga Marie (http://www.olgaswholelife.com) and Jenn (http://runnderlust.com) here are my questions for you:

1. What is your favorite color?

2. If you could be any animal (other than human) what would you be?

3. What do you do to relieve stress?

4. What is one fear you have conquered? 

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

6. Cats or dogs?

7. What is your favorite quote?

8. What is your favorite book?

9. What is your favorite holiday?

10. What goals are you currently working on?

Have fun, ladies! And as always, namaste! 

Radiantly You

Hello, all! 

Lately I have been focusing a lot more attention on the personal hygiene products I have been using. I started reading the ingredient labels, and it scared me how many (and the types of) ingredients that were present in them. My girlfriend, Jaime, is an Independent Wellness Guide for Radiantly You and she offered to send me some samples of their product (which I will go on to rave about in just a minute) and I did some research on the company! Radiantly You is a line of natural personal health and cleaning products. All ingredients are certified organic, gluten free, GMO free, paraben and sulfate free! To make it better, most of the ingredients are also locally sourced! One of the samples I tried was the Lavendar Sugar Scrub. Not only does it smell absolutely delicious, but it worked wonders! Being a runner and yogi I am constantly roughing up my body, particularly my feet. After using this scrub just once I noticed a huge difference! My feet were SO soft and I didn't feel like there was yucky residue left over. There are only 5 ingredients in the whole scrub: cane sugar, pomace (olive oil), glycerin, and essential Lavendar and Vanilla oil. That's it! The glycerine acts as a moisture barrier, and is an ingredient commonly left out of "store shelf" soap. I also tried out some lip balm (and I have super chapped lips, like ALL the time) and it was absolutely wonderful. I just love that there aren't any weird crazy earth-harming ingredients, everything is all natural, you help to support local businesses, and absolutely NO testing on animals! I mean really, what more could you ask for?! 

So...Jaime and I teamed up we decided to do a free giveaway! You can enter up to 6 times! Here is how you go about entering for it: 

-Go to www.radiantlyyou.com/jay and click "catalog"

-Pick out a product you would want to try then,

-Go on Facebook and "join" Jaime's Radiantly You Group

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/radiantlyyoujay/

-Post what product you want to try on the wall. This post will give you 1 entry!

If you'd like 5 entries listen to the opportunity call THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT, 

the calls starts at 8:30 (est) and you call in then put the call on mute.  You will be hearing the founder of RY talk about the mission of Radiantly You 

and it's passion for PURITY!

{OPPORTUNITY CALL - Wednesdays @ 8:30pmEST

Call: 530-881-1300

Access code: 916401

How will I know if you listened? Simply e-mail Jaime letting her know that you listened in and you guys can chat a bit about your thoughts 😊

Jaime's Email: radiantlyyoujay@gmail.com

Good luck to all that enter, and as always, namaste! 

The Benefits of Yoga Practice

"Yoga is not a religion.  It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind, and soul." -Amit Ray

Yoga: an age-old practice with a great deal of misconceptions.  Raise your hand if you think yoga is only for the flexible, or that the sole purpose of practicing yoga is to become flexible...did anyone's hands go up?  I will admit, prior to studying yoga I too had a clouded misconception about the practice.  As a runner, I always thought yoga was just out of the question.  I couldn't do yoga! I wasn't flexible enough! Besides, what do I need to be flexible for anyways?? (I am cringing as I write this because I now realize how silly I sounded.)  There are SO many benefits to yoga practice...I mean SO SO many...way more than just being "bendy", and today I look forward to sharing my story and insights with you and I hope it may break down some preconceived notions...


   I found yoga a while back in my college years, but didn't commit to a daily routine of it until this past year.  I, like most people, began it with the intention of gaining some flexibility.  I had begun to notice how tight my hips were when I would go for a run, sometimes so tight that I had to stop and walk (and if you know me at all I rarely stop to walk...too much pride I suppose, he-he).  So I started incorporating some Sun Salutations at the end of every run, focusing a lot on the lunges (great way to open up tight hips).  After only doing it consistently for a week, I started to see and feel a change.  My hips barely hurt at all when I ran, and I noticed that my lower back felt a lot better too!  I was pleasantly surprised with my results, so I decided to take it one step further.  I found a studio I really liked and started taking formal classes, trying to soak up as much knowledge as I could from the instructors.  I began practicing at the studio and at home, delving deeper into poses and pushing myself further than I thought I ever could have.  My flexibility skyrocketed, I could touch my head to my knees....I had never been able to do that before!

   It was very exciting, but what was more exciting was what else I had gained: inner peace and self-love.  I noticed that I had became more patient, slow to anger, and accepting of others.  No longer did that anger-filled customer at work bother me, I realized their actions toward me are not because of me, but a reflection of the battle they are facing.  I became more compassionate.  I became gentler.  I loved myself and my body; which in turn led to eating healthier and nourishing my body.  When you love your body, you want to only fuel it with the best!  I cut out red meat, milk, and beer.  I increased my intake of fruits, vegetables, and water.  I began getting a minimal of 8 hours of sleep a night.  And you know what, I have never felt more ALIVE!

   It's just my opinion, but I think that is the point of yoga.  It's not about being able to do a handstand, a split, or any other pretzel-like pose...it's about loving and accepting yourself and others.  It's about being the absolute best person you can be.  It's about finding inner happiness and reflecting it out like rays of the sun.  And in time, that split will come, it's just one of the perks :).

Namaste: the divine in me honors the divine in you.

Running 101: Beginners

Hello, all!  I have definitely been lacking on my blogging, and for that I apologize.  Life gets hectic sometimes! :)

Lately I have been approached by a few people asking me for running tips, specifically,  "how do I start running?" So today I would like to address that.  Running is a sport that requires dedicated practice, constant motivation, and a whole lot of patience.  So if you are a newbie to the running scene, or you've been out of commission for a while and want to hop back on that horse, read on!

Start Slow.

Building up endurance takes time.  Do not try to do too much at once, that's how injuries happen!  I suggest a run/walk sequence.  It is great for beginners and/or runners that have been sitting out on an injury for a while.  Start by walking briskly for a couple of minutes to warm up, then run for one minute (not too fast now!), then walk another minute. Repeat, say, ten times or so.  Do this for a week and gradually build yourself up to running for two minutes  and only walking one minute.  The point is to increase GRADUALLY, do not try to overdo it!  And don't worry about speed, that will come in time! 

Keep a Journal

Keep a notebook nearby where you can jot down your runs.  You can write down how long you ran for, how it felt, if anything hurt, etc.  Keeping a running journal is a great way to track your progress and also to refer back to in case you seem to have a nagging injury.  

Stay Hydrated

There are so many reasons why staying hydrated is undoubtedly one of the most important things for runners, but to name a few: drinking lots of water will help against lactic acid build up, it will regulate body temperature, it will lubricate the joints (and running is so tough on our joints!), and it will transport all the nutrients from our food that we need for energy and good health.  Without being properly hydrated dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps, or worse could set in.

Stretch, Stretch, and Stretch Some More!

As most of you know I practice yoga just as much as I do running, and I will tell you why!  We runners have a tendency to tighten right up when we run, and it's extremely important to uncoil our muscles before and after our runs!  Stretching lightly pre-run will help reduce muscle soreness, and stretching post-run will help release lactic acid build up in the muscles.  Plus, I've noticed since I've started practicing certain yoga poses (mainly hip-openers) I've had a lot less aches and pains during my runs.

Be Patient and Love Yourself

Like I said before, building up endurance and stamina takes time.  It is important to know that if you stay dedicated to the practice, the results will come.  Don't beat up on yourself if you couldn't go as far or as fast as you would have liked to, you will get there! Hey, if it were easy then everyone would be doing it, right?  And runners certainly aren't "everybody"...we're a special kind of crazy. :)

Namaste.

The ABC's of Eating Orange

Today I want to talk about the importance of eating orange! Orange fruits and vegetables contain three things that are very beneficial for our bodies, I like to call them the ABC's:

A- Vitamin A is very important for the immune system, it can help to neutralize damage caused by free radicals in the body, and help with night vision! 

B- Beta Carotine (stemmed from Vitamin A) is what gives those clementines that bright, pretty color. Have you ever heard that eating lots of carrots can help your eyesight? Beta Carotine is why! Not only does it help with that, but it can also help protect the skin from sun damage AND delay cognitive aging! (Seriously, ladies, did you just hear that?!)

C- Vitamin C is also very important for the immune system. It also helps protect against heart disease, which we all know is the #1 killer of Americans. 

Now go eat your orange everyone! 

Side-note: If you're wondering why I shaped those clementines in that picture into a S-shape, it's because I am a SU fan. Let's go Syracuse Orange! Happy ACC Tournament everyone :)

New Beginnings

I decided that for my first ever health and wellness blog post, I want to talk about something very, extremely, INSANELY important: your self worth. So often do I see people constantly critiquing themselves; telling themselves they aren't strong enough, fast enough, flexible enough, good enough, or just simply, enough. As if outside critics aren't already rampant, sometimes our own thoughts are the harshest.

I have been an athlete all my life, I was always playing sports growing up and as I got older I got very serious about competitive running. All through high school (and some college) I was so tough on myself. I was never truly satisfied with my achievements because I always told myself that there were others out there that were better than me and that I needed to keep pushing myself to compete with them. Well let me tell you, you can only push yourself so hard until you end up hurting yourself either physically or mentally. I did both. I got caught in a whirlwind of anger, self-hate (and stress fractures) and came to hate running. I decided it was best to take a hiatus from the sport that I used to love so much and let my mind and body be at peace. I stopped running for about 4 years. During that time, I built myself back up and I found my self-worth. I found yoga, too (which will probably be a whole blog post on its own). I recently took running back up and I LOVE every second of it. I love my body, I love when I run fast, I love when I run slow, I love when I sweat, I love when I'm out of breath, but most importantly, I love myself for getting out there and just doing it no matter what the outcome is. If I run a race and don't hit the time I wished to hit? So what? I no longer beat myself up about it or try to compete with anyone else. I honor my body and I know my self worth, and you know what? 

YOU ARE WORTHY TOO. 

We are capable of absolutely anything, we need only to believe in ourselves and know that we are worthy of greatness! Please, if you are reading this and you struggle to find your self worth, contact me! 

Have a blessed day, namaste ❤️