One inspiring cue:
While breathing, stand and/or sit with good posture. Simple as that!!
Why?
When you are hunched over even a little, your respiratory muscles can’t move as they are supposed to. When you sit or stand with good posture, your breath is circulated as it should be through your body. Give this a try – round your shoulders forward, slump over a little bit, and try to take a comfortable and full breath. Then, try the same thing with good posture and notice the difference!
One inspiring tip:
Don’t worry about constantly holding good posture! Changing positions, especially when you are sitting at a desk, can help relieve tension in your back. The time to focus on your posture is when you are working with your breath.
One inspiring song:
“Jungle Dub” by Mollano.Bass, Ava Asante
One inspiring quote:
“The process of breathing is the most accurate metaphor we have for the way we personally approach life, how we live our lives, and how we react to the inevitable changes that life brings us.”
– Donna Fachi
Nutrition nugget:
Fiber, fiber, and more fiber! If you follow me on Instagram, you have have seen some of what I shared from Dr. Mark Hyman and the benefits of fiber. I’ve shared some essential facts about fiber before, but because I keep coming across the importance of it for general health, I want to share a bit more.
Dr. Hyman says to aim for 30-50 grams of fiber daily and states, “Soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol, blood sugar, and insulin, prevent cancer, balance hormone levels, remove excess estrogen and reduce the risk of breast cancer, make vitamins and minerals, provide food for the colon cells, and more. So it’s easy to see how crucial soluble fiber is to good health!”
Do you know how much fiber you are getting? I highly recommend you take a closer look and even track your intake by writing it down each day. It is not always easy to reach fiber goals with only fruits and vegetables unless you eat copious amounts. For example, if you have a big salad with 2 cups of romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup onions, 1/2 cup chopped broccoli, and one chopped carrot, you get approximately 7 grams of fiber. So, you can see, that if you’re trying to get 30-50 grams each day, you still need quite a bit more.
Here’s an easy way to add more soluble fiber to your diet: whip in one tablespoon of psyllium husk to your eggs when making an omelet or add it to your smoothie. In doing this, you’ve just added 5 grams of soluble fiber!
My lunch (see below) has 20 grams of fiber! You’ll find the fiber in the bread (I’ll share in the next newsletter), the psyllium husk in my omelet, kale, and strawberries. The sprinkles on the plate are oregano, thyme, and dill. In case you missed my last newsletter about the nutrient density of herbs, click here.
If you’re not used to eating a lot of fiber, start low and go slow. Add in a little each week and drink LOTS of water.