Talking Yourself Healthy
5, 4, 3, 2, 1….Happy New Year! This is the time of year when most of us begin thinking of our goals for the year ahead. The one right at the top of the list—weight loss. We prepare by buying special foods, exercise equipment, vitamins and supplements which are helpful for our bodies, but perhaps one of the most important and loving things we can do for ourselves is to prepare our minds.
Negative self-talk influences our behavior. First we indulge a little at that holiday party with a dessert. We get home, feel guilty, and eat a little more thinking, “Well, I’ve already blown it today, I may as well indulge a little more.” Or, we look in the mirror and change out of that shirt and put on a baggier one because we feel it covers up what we perceive to be our flaws.
Step One: Love the body you’re in now and give thanks for it! Our bodies were miraculously created and allow us to be with the ones we love and do the activities we desire! The law of attraction can be applied to our bodies: if we think negative thoughts about our bodies, our bodies will respond accordingly. Louise L. Hay said in her book, You Can Heal Your Life, that “The excess weight is only an outer effect of a deep inner problem. When we feel frightened or insecure or ‘not good enough’, many of us will put on extra weight for protection.”
The best weight loss tool we may purchase this year is an empty journal. Let all your feelings spill out on paper. Write down your fears, write down your insecurities. Take it one step further and ask yourself why you feel like that and what you’re trying to protect yourself from.
Your Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
CNY Healing Arts is pleased to share the information below that was provided to us by March of Dimes, working together for stronger, healthier babies.
Your healthy diet during pregnancy
It’s important to eat smart and make healthy food choices to support your baby’s growth during pregnancy. Try to eat foods from each of the five food groups every day. They provide important nutrients that you and your baby need.
In general, most women need around 300 extra calories per day during pregnancy. (One extra healthy snack, such as four fig bars and a glass of skim milk, will provide these calories.) However, the exact amount of extra calories you need depends on your weight before pregnancy. Talk to your health provider to learn more about a healthy eating plan that’s right for you. Be sure to watch your serving sizes; you may be eating more than you need to.
Remember: Fatty foods (like doughnuts and chips) and sweets (like sodas, cookies and candy) don’t give your baby enough of what he needs to grow.
Healthy eating hints
Meals: Eat four to six smaller meals a day instead of three bigger ones to help relieve the heartburn and discomfort you feel as your baby grows bigger.
Snacks: Cheese, yogurt, fruit and vegetables are good, healthy snacks. Peanut butter and nuts are also good, if you aren’t allergic to them.
Liquids: Drink at least six to eight glasses of water, juice or milk every day.
Vitamins: Take a multivitamin or prenatal vitamin every day. Ask your health care provider if you need to take an iron or calcium supplement, too.
Caffeine: Limit the caffeine you get each day to 200 milligrams. That’s about the amount in one 12-ounce cup of coffee. Caffeine amounts in coffee depend on the brand you drink and how it’s made. So check the label on the package, or ask at your coffee shop. Instead of drinking regular coffee, try coffee that’s decaffeinated (has a smaller amount of caffeine). Caffeine is also found in tea, chocolate, soda and some over-the-counter medicine. Read labels on food, drinks and medicine to know how much caffeine you’re getting.
Foods to avoid
Some foods can make you and your baby sick. Avoid these foods that can cause food poisoning or contain harmful chemicals:
- Raw fish, especially shellfish
- Soft-scrambled eggs and foods made with raw or lightly cooked eggs
- Unpasteurized juices
- Raw sprouts, especially alfalfa sprouts
- Unpasteurized milk and any foods made from it
- Unpasteurized soft cheeses, such as brie, feta, Camembert, Roquefort, queso blanco, queso fresco and Panela
- Herbal supplements and teas
- Fish that can be high in mercury, like shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. It’s OK for pregnant women to eat a limited amount of fish that have small amounts of mercury. You can eat up to 12 ounces of these fish a week. The 12 ounces can include shrimp, salmon, pollock, catfish and canned light tuna. Don’t eat more than 6 ounces of Albacore (white tuna) in one week. Always check with your local health department before you eat any fish you catch yourself.
- Raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood and hot dogs. Deli meats (such as ham and bologna) can cause food poisoning. Avoid them or reheat them before eating.
- Refrigerated pates, meat spreads or smoked seafood. Canned and shelf-stable versions are safe.
Beginner Yoga Workshop Series starting January 2012 in Syracuse
It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Our bodies and brains can become out of sync and that’s when stress creeps in. Yoga allows us to hit the reset button and restore harmony to our systems through the breath/body connection. This week, give yourself the gift of yoga and slow down your body so your mind can catch up. Stop in for a class with us – check out the online calendar for all locations.
In Syracuse starting in January we have an amazing workshop series to offer, call today to sign up and it includes unlimited classes during the month of January – 315.671.5755.
Dates: Sundays – January 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th – 1:00-3:00pm – cost $90
This workshop is designed for people looking to begin a yoga practice or get a great refresher for an existing practice. It includes four two hour classes where we’ll lay down a solid foundation to enhance your yogic experience. History of yoga, Yogic breath work, postures, proper alignment and health benefits will be broken down and discussed and put into practical application in a safe and supportive environment. Workshop taught By Trish Gallen, RYT yoga instructor and certified personal trainer, who trained at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA.
Cost is $90 for the four week course and includes the four two hour classes as well as unlimited yoga classes during the month of January 2012 at CNY Healing Arts. Space is limited. Call 315-671-5755.
This is a great gift idea for someone interested in starting yoga!!! The holidays are coming soon!! Also- GREAT for runners and athletes to add to the fitness routine. ALL levels are welcome- Yoga is for everybody! Start off 2012 with a healthy step. Yoga is happiness.
New Year’s Day Dynamic Vinyasa Class in Syracuse
Join Trish Gallen on New Year’s Day for a 2 Hour Dynamic Vinyasa Class. Start the first day of 2012 on the right foot with a juicy yoga practice. There will be plenty of sun salutations and spinal twists to cleanse, detoxify and rejuvenate your body and mind. Trish always hand picks her playlist for every yoga class so you can be sure there will be vibrant music and best of all, great company!!
New Year’s Day Vinyasa Yoga Class
Sunday, January 1, 2012 – 11:00am-1:00pm
191 Intrepid Lane, Syracuse, NY
Fee is $15 and you must pre-pay by Friday Dec. 30th to attend this special class. Call 315.671.5755 to register and ensure your spot, spaces will fill up fast!
New Year’s Eve Yoga & Kirtan Celebration – Syracuse, NY
New Year’s Yoga Kirtan Celebration
December 31st, 1:30-4pm $25/person
CNY Healing Arts Center at 195 Intrepid Lane, Syracuse, NY
Call 315.671.5755 to RSVP – space is limited so sign up soon!
Join us for this special New Year’s Eve event with Cynthia Powers-Broccoli, yoga instructor, and the incredible Kirtan band, The Now, with Mark Nanni and David DeSiro. This promises to be a powerful afternoon of giving thanks and praise through sacred chanting and yoga! Welcome 2012 in with grace and gratitude at this amazing live music workshop! It’s not to be missed! Includes light refreshments.
About Cynthia:
A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Cynthia worked for many years in New York City, Los Angeles, and London as an executive recruiter for the Financial Services Industry. Seeking balance amid a stressful career, Cynthia became a student of Yoga seventeen years ago– and her passion ignited. Yoga transformed her life. She became a 200-Hour Certified Yoga Instructor in 2005 in order to help others reconnect to their inner Guru through the healing benefits of yoga. Cynthia believes that the spiritual and sacred aspects of yoga should be honored in every yoga class. Her classes are infused with the energy and vibration of her many Gurus – Yogi Bhajan, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, David Life, and Sharron Gannon – to name a few. She teaches Yoga for Fertility, Couples Yoga, and Vinyasa Flow at CNY Healing Arts Center. She loves incorporating a mix of ancient Sanskrit chants and spiritually uplifting songs with modern, soulful music for a dynamic and fun flow class.
About Kirtan:
Kirtan is a musical call and response where the “band” calls and the “audience” responds. In reality, however, we are all the “band” and the “audience” is the Divine. We chant to the different forms of the Divine, mostly in Sanskrit. Don’t worry if you’ve never been to a Kirtan or don’t know Sanskrit: you can learn the music and the words on the spot, and although everyone is encouraged to sing, you can also feel free to dance, clap, or even just quietly meditate upon the music and the occurrence of the vibration of the mantras. Kirtan is a form of Bhakti (devotional) Yoga.
Here are a few words on chanting from a Thanksgiving message from Sai Maa Laxmi Devi: “Chanting is like vitamins or a tonic—it nurtures and nourishes our inner being, our subtle being. As when we eat food to nourish our whole body, when we chant we please the Atma. We get intoxicated by chanting our Beloved’s name. Chanting rejuvenates the whole being. Chanting brings the mind to the heart and the heart to the mind. Chanting with devotion is pure bhakti: when we get lost in the chant, our devotion has increased to a point where we become the name we are chanting.”
Why Yoga?
I’ve been a pretty active person my whole life. I was on my first swim team at five years old and I played on team sports up and into college. After college, and I guess missing some of that excitement and drive to be active, I started signing up for little road races. A few 5k’s here and there. I liked running but it was a constant struggle. It hurt, I gasped for air and I was slow. Although it was not my strong suit (to say the least), I still kept at it – even in the middle of a 3 mile loop when I felt like I was going to die, something about it kept me going. Maybe it was the buzz after the run, or the sense of accomplishment. In any event, I kept at it and in my first few years of running these little road races I began to realize that a huge chunk of my happiness was centered around being physically active. If I had a issue that I was battling with emotionally after a nice long run, I’d normally have it ironed out in my head and be a little more at peace. It had become my meditative movement and I began to need it not only for the physical benefits but, more importantly, for the emotional benefits as well.
