Healthiest You Ever

“The breakfast slimes, angel food cake, doughnuts and coffee, white bread and gravy cannot build an enduring nation.”

On days you’re in a rush, blending a nutritious smoothie is a great way to provide yourself, and your family, with a potent mix of protein and vitamins that will get everyone off to a good start. Here’s a recipe that’s nutritious, delicious, and will please everyone:

1. Combine romaine, strawberries, bananas, and kefir in a blender and blend until thoroughly combined.

Having something in front of you to jump up onto, such as a platform, adds a couple of elements to your workout. It adds a competitive element either with yourself or with a training partner in that it challenges you to jump higher to get up onto the platform. It also adds a measurable element that makes jumping much more interesting. Maybe your fist platform jump is only eight inches high, but two weeks later you are now jumping onto a platform that is twelve inches high.

1. Stand in front of a platform, bench, or step (between roughly eight and twenty inches high depending on the desired level of difficulty) that has a stable surface.

2. Swing your arms down and back while bending at the knees and hips, again similar to a squat.

3. Swing your arms up and burst off the ground, jumping up onto the platform and landing with a light and controlled manner. You may choose to step down in the beginning and repeat the exercise again, or you can jump back to where you started with a smooth and controlled landing.

The progression is to increase the height of the platform as you develop more power. Remember how important the arm swing is for height. If you find you are having trouble jumping up onto a certain height, try using a bigger and faster arm swing. The arm swing tends to be forgotten about when you’re focused on jumping onto something that is raised up.

Once you are comfortable with jumping onto the platform, it is time to jump back down. You can do this in two ways. First, jump down while facing forward, again landing in a squat. Once you are comfortable with the height, jump off the platform moving backward, landing in the same spot you took off from.

“We choose and sculpt how our ever-changing minds will work, we choose who we will be the next moment in a very real sense, and these choices are left embossed in physical form on our material selves.”

Neuroscientists have discovered that people who have a more cheerful disposition and are more prone to optimism generally show more brain activity in their left prefrontal cortex. This is the part of your brain that has the most control over brain function and that processes feelings. The more activity in that region, the happier you tend to be. In fact, behavioral scientists have observed very interesting differences between optimists and pessimists. In general, they have found that optimists:

• Attribute good events to themselves in terms of permanence, citing their traits and abilities as the cause, and bad events as transient (using terms such as “sometimes” or “lately” to describe them.)

• See setbacks as surmountable and particular to a single external problem, resulting from temporary problems or other people, not themselves.

Optimism involves highly desirable cognitive, emotional, and motivational components. Optimists tend to have better moods, to be more persevering and successful, and to experience better physical health. So, come on, look on the bright side of life and be happier!

If there’s no snow for cross-country skiing, another machine that provides a great upper- and lower-body workout is the NordicTrack. The NordicTrack and other machines that simulate cross-country skiing can be very effective in improving your coordination and balance while they work to increase your stamina, build muscles, and improve your overall aerobic fitness. Keep in mind that time spent on the NordicTrack is time spent readying yourself to actually go cross-country skiing the next time the weather permits.

“Sun salutations can energize and warm you, even on the darkest, coldest winter day.”

Hot, or not, yoga can be a powerful workout. Replenish your body and refresh your senses with this sweet blend of melons, citrus, and berries. A definite “Yum!” to follow your “Om!”

1. Combine watercress, honeydew, tangerines, cucumber, and ½ cup yogurt in a blender and blend until thoroughly combined.

2. Add remaining ½ cup yogurt as needed while blending until desired consistency is achieved.

“Frustration is the first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do and if I’m completely satisfied with my pace, distance, and form as a runner. It’s only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.”

One of the great things about this sport is that you’ll burn a lot of calories even when you’re starting out. A 150-pound person can expect to burn 500 calories at the beginning and push this into the 800s as he becomes more agile and gains stamina. In this interval-style sport that provides aerobic and anaerobic benefits, you’ll run nearly 2 miles an hour and you won’t even notice it—although your heart, waistline, and metabolism will!

HEART WORKOUT

Racquetball is also a great workout for your heart. Players typically work at 75 percent to 85 percent of their maximum heart rate consistently. During the course of a 20-minute game, each player will run an average of about two miles. Men’s Health says that players burn about 794 calories per hour.

“Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.”

The traditional mantra of yoga meditation is the sound/word “Om.” The sound is meant to imitate the sound of the universe, from which everything originated and of which everything is a part. Some people think of it as the sound of God. By saying/making this sound, many practitioners believe you can feel a connection with the universe, and that is the philosophical basis of yoga (and Hinduism)—we are all one with the universe; all matter, all energy, everything is connected; everything ultimately merges together; beneath the surface of reality, which we experience with our senses, all is really just one. Some people who practice meditation like to use the mantra “One” instead of the mantra “Om” because it more directly evokes, to them, this idea.

If you choose to use “Om” as your meditation mantra, when you are relaxed and ready to begin your slow, rhythmical breathing, say “Om” slowly, as you exhale. Begin in the back of your throat, with your mouth slightly open. Allow the sound to vibrate in your mouth and become an “M” sound as you slowly close your mouth. Practice often, and the “Om” will soon resonate through your body.

If you prefer another sound, that’s fine. Simply repeat your chosen sound with each exhalation for five minutes on your first time out, then increase the time in meditation as instructed. Meditation should be an energizing spiritual reinforcement, which is important for getting stress under control. If you are feeding your spiritual side, you tend to be less stressed out by the less important things in life.