MISSION: CTFO
As anyone who knows me will tell you, one of my favorite responses whenever I or someone in my circle gets agitated, frustrated or all-around wound up is: "CTFO!"
Among adults only, we might say it another way, but it means "chill the 'frick' out!" CTFO is a quick way to get to the heart of the matter. The only ways to bust anxiety are to either do something constructive about the situation or let it go, remembering that in the end (and also right this second), there is nothing to lose, and you already have everything you need. If you don't believe me, go ask Jesus or Buddha.
When it comes to losing weight, scientists and yogis alike will tell you that becoming stressed out and chemical-dumping inside the body is one surefire way to ensure you store more fat. When anxiety gets the best of you, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. When too much cortisol gets released, it wreaks havoc on your digestive system, triggers your body to hang onto fat storage, raises blood sugar levels, shuts down your reproductive organs and even reduces bone formation, which can lead to osteoporosis. Too much worrying often leads to digestive disorders as well like Irritable Bowel, Ulcerative Colitis, and Crohns Disease and all the other stress-related diseases lurking in our Type-A society. Fun, huh?
When your digestion isn't working right, and your blood sugar is high, your body will store those extra sugars as body, and specifically, belly fat. Now that you're working out and eating more mindfully, add CTFO as one of your new mantras. It will help you remember that keeping yourself calm is about more than just rubbing the "whooosaaaah" out of your ears whenever times get tough. It can actually save your body, your waistline--and even your life!!
TODAY'S HEALTH TIP:
CTFO WHILE YOU EAT
You deserve a huge high-five for the healthier choices you are already making! Let's add to them another concept, one that's not so much about what to eat...but how you eat it.
As you well know, our lives are busier today than they have ever been, but making the time to relax while you eat is integral to good digestion and absorption.
If you stand or walk around while you eat, all the blood that is needed in your gut to help break down and process the food you are eating will be shunted away from the digestive system into the limbs and outer body to keep you moving. This will dramatically reduce your digestion and lead to gas, bloating and over time--weight gain.
Someone once asked Buddha, "What makes you the Buddha?" He replied, "Because when I laugh, I'm laughing, when I eat, I'm eating, and when I cry, I'm crying." Being present to what is actually happening and immersing in the experience is one of the fastest ways to CTFO, bust anxiety and with it, other forms of suffering.
Today, whatever you're having for a meal or snack, slow it down, put away the iPhone and email, sit, and focus on what you're doing--and chewing. Feel the textures of each bite and infuse yourself with the delicious flavors and living, healing energy of taking in the nourishing meal in front of you. I even like to say thanks for whatever meal I am blessed to eat, not aloud in some ritual prayer, but in my mind as I eat each bite. This mindfulness meditation will not only help you digest better, it will slow you down, so your body's fullness meter, which kicks in after about 20 minutes, can let you know when you're actually full. If you eat too fast, it's much more likely that you'll overeat.
Move in harmony with your own rhythms, go with the CTFO flow and you'll notice that everything else can wait, as you give your health the attention it deserves.
TODAY'S BONUS RECIPE:
This recipe is so warm and nourishing, it will be easy to settle into the moment, and wrap yourself in a nutritious, delicious, eating meditation.
Apple Nut Cereal
Ingredients
2 C raw walnuts
1 C raw macadamia nuts
1 C medjool dates, pitted and halved
2 apples, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 C almond, soy or reg milk
1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Combine nuts and dates in a food processor until ground into a fine meal, about 1 minute; set aside
Saute apples over medium heat in coconut oil until lightly browned, about 5 minutes
Add nut and date mixture and cinnamon to apples and stir to incorporate, about 1 minute
Reduce heat to low and add coconut and almond milk
Stirring occasionally, let mixture cook uncovered until thickened, about 25 minutes
Serve warm; 6-8 servings; store chilled in an airtight container for up to a week or two.
TODAY'S YOGA TIP:
One of the hardest skills for me to learn in my own yoga practice was to remain calm while my body underwent an intense workout. If there was such a thing as a Type Triple-A, I would be the poster girl. I used to say that with pride; now I realize that my natural go-getter personality is both a blessing, and can become a happiness-crushing curse if I let it. So I usually don't, preferring to use my energy instead to store up my previously underdeveloped ability of peaceful surrender.
Once you click into the understanding that even though you might be locked in a tough endurance contest with your yoga poses, at the same time, you are also fully able to exist within them in a state of centered, non-reactive focus. The yogi learns to be in two places at once: the active and the passive, and to aim not to allow their center to waver or stress levels to rise just because they're feeling emotions or physical sensation. Obviously, this training becomes equally as valuable when you step outside of the yoga studio.
The other day, I was walking around my kitchen during the busy morning hours when I become a short order cook because no one in my family likes the same breakfast. I was making myself a fresh fruit smoothie, while my 11 year old daughter was not-so-patiently waiting for scrambled eggs & my 13 year old daughter attempted to learn and help make her homemade oatmeal while simultaneously texting (and really just standing in the way). I was doing all this holding a baby and my boyfriend came in and said, "I'll wait, you're stressed enough" & I smiled and asked what he wanted. Doing lots of things doesn't have to mean stress.
Being busy is fine, but when you start attaching to the idea that things have to get done right, and done right now or everything will collapse, then your heart rate begins to rise. This is when it becomes a problem. You have relocated only into the task, and forgotten your ability to simultaneously CTFO at center.
Today, as you move through your poses, seek the constant still point within you, the calm center of any storm within all the movement and feelings that arise. To find this inner oasis, keep your attention fixed on the sound of your breath as it pours in and out through your nose, and through the slight resistance at the back of your throat.
Whenever your mind wavers, and starts to get all stuck and agitated on some stretching hamstring here or a really hard Crow Pose hold, gently, but insistently, return it to the breath, and remember the power you hold over your stress levels--not the other way around. Then take this skill out into your relationships and interactions, and see how you can remain in your calm breath any time challenges present themselves there too.
TODAY'S BONUS RECIPE:
This recipe is so warm and nourishing, it will be easy to settle into the moment, and wrap yourself in a nutritious, delicious, eating meditation.
Apple Nut Cereal
Ingredients
2 C raw walnuts
1 C raw macadamia nuts
1 C medjool dates, pitted and halved
2 apples, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 C almond, soy or reg milk
1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Combine nuts and dates in a food processor until ground into a fine meal, about 1 minute; set aside
Saute apples over medium heat in coconut oil until lightly browned, about 5 minutes
Add nut and date mixture and cinnamon to apples and stir to incorporate, about 1 minute
Reduce heat to low and add coconut and almond milk
Stirring occasionally, let mixture cook uncovered until thickened, about 25 minutes
Serve warm; 6-8 servings; store chilled in an airtight container for up to a week or two.
TODAY'S YOGA TIP:
One of the hardest skills for me to learn in my own yoga practice was to remain calm while my body underwent an intense workout. If there was such a thing as a Type Triple-A, I would be the poster girl. I used to say that with pride; now I realize that my natural go-getter personality is both a blessing, and can become a happiness-crushing curse if I let it. So I usually don't, preferring to use my energy instead to store up my previously underdeveloped ability of peaceful surrender.
Once you click into the understanding that even though you might be locked in a tough endurance contest with your yoga poses, at the same time, you are also fully able to exist within them in a state of centered, non-reactive focus. The yogi learns to be in two places at once: the active and the passive, and to aim not to allow their center to waver or stress levels to rise just because they're feeling emotions or physical sensation. Obviously, this training becomes equally as valuable when you step outside of the yoga studio.
The other day, I was walking around my kitchen during the busy morning hours when I become a short order cook because no one in my family likes the same breakfast. I was making myself a fresh fruit smoothie, while my 11 year old daughter was not-so-patiently waiting for scrambled eggs & my 13 year old daughter attempted to learn and help make her homemade oatmeal while simultaneously texting (and really just standing in the way). I was doing all this holding a baby and my boyfriend came in and said, "I'll wait, you're stressed enough" & I smiled and asked what he wanted. Doing lots of things doesn't have to mean stress.
Being busy is fine, but when you start attaching to the idea that things have to get done right, and done right now or everything will collapse, then your heart rate begins to rise. This is when it becomes a problem. You have relocated only into the task, and forgotten your ability to simultaneously CTFO at center.
Today, as you move through your poses, seek the constant still point within you, the calm center of any storm within all the movement and feelings that arise. To find this inner oasis, keep your attention fixed on the sound of your breath as it pours in and out through your nose, and through the slight resistance at the back of your throat.
Whenever your mind wavers, and starts to get all stuck and agitated on some stretching hamstring here or a really hard Crow Pose hold, gently, but insistently, return it to the breath, and remember the power you hold over your stress levels--not the other way around. Then take this skill out into your relationships and interactions, and see how you can remain in your calm breath any time challenges present themselves there too.
TODAY'S HOMEWORK
Stress, Stress and More Stress... Doesn't have to be Stress No More.
Today, make a list of everything you have 'to-do'. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I am queen of the to-do list. I actually have a separate book solely for to-do's. You could be more tech-savvy than me and put your lists directly on your smart-techy whatevers. The point is, take everything you have to do out of your mind and put it on paper. Before bed at night, revisit this list, not to recap everything you've missed but to add anything you've forgotten to do to today to the next day so you can clearly see that you've forgiven yourself for not finishing your tasks and you will simply get it done tomorrow. This simple action saves me loads of hours spent insomniactically stressing over things I must do.
If you are like me and have way too much on this list. You can also try separating the list into categories, Must, Want & Wish so that you know which tasks to hit first. However, no matter how busy you get, always spend a little time on those wishes. Taking care of You is the most important. So, if you notice all things related to You are at the end of your priorities, re-shift those as well!
TODAY'S POSITIVE AFFIRMATION
"I am busy, but organized and CTFO to my core!!"
Good Luck with your Day 11
and.... Happy Friday
~Stephanie Chasles
Good Luck with your Day 11
and.... Happy Friday
~Stephanie Chasles
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