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Health & Fitness November 17, 2017

5 benefits of doing yoga in the morning

I’m a big yoga fan. The movement and breathing wakes my body up and forces my mind to start working, without the added stress of work or life’s challenges. Even a short five or 10-minute practice is enough to to wake me up and send positive vibes throughout my day. While many people say doing yoga at night is advantageous, I think doing it in the morning has just as many benefits.

Here are five benefits of doing yoga in the morning:

Peace of mind: People often start their day by thinking about all the tasks they have to complete before 5 p.m. And then we think about what we need to take out for dinner and who is going to be home and who is going to take out the dog. It gets crazy. Instead of starting your day off stressed out, a 10-minute yoga routine can help you slow down and be completely in the present. Whatever you need to do can wait. These 10 minutes are yours alone.

Focus: The peace of mind you get from practicing yoga can help you set an intention for your day. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to feel? Whether you want to maintain positive thinking, despite a meeting-packed day, or if you want to be confident during a presentation or networking event, an intention will help you create the frame of mind first thing.

Helps digestion: Practicing yoga in the morning can help your body metabolize food throughout the day. By doing gentle stretches, especially twists that massage the internal organs, the body becomes more capable of releasing toxins from the body. It also allows for the body to better absorb nutrients in food.

Better posture: Many yoga poses focus on muscles in your back, forcing you to push your shoulder blades back and breath deep into the stretch. Once you start actively thinking about how your head connects with the rest of your spine, there will be no going back. These type of exercises are ideal for those with a desk job.

Overall fitness: While yoga may not burn as many calories as running a 5k, it can help you strengthen your muscles and tone your body. Through the movement, you are essentially supporting your entire body mass using your own muscles. Whether it’s a simple downward dog or something more challenging like a balancing practice, every movement activates your core. If you are looking for something to supplement your cardio — yoga is the perfect routine.

Do you practice yoga in the morning? Let us know your favourite poses in the comments below!

Fashion January 20, 2017

Should you ditch your daily makeup routine?

A part of almost every woman’s morning routine is makeup. Whether they go for a neutral look with some concealer and blush, or opt for a more glamorous contour and fake lashes combination, it’s no secret that women spend a lot of time enhancing their physical features for both visual appeal and mental satisfaction — no woman can deny the power they feel when sporting a bold lip.

However, there seems to be a shift in beauty practices recently, as female powerhouses such as Alicia Keys and Hilary Clinton were seen at some very public events without a spot of makeup on their faces. The message behind this small change is simple; women don’t need makeup to be fierce. Its not only empowering, but rather inspirational. The no-makeup trend has created a wave on social media with both women and men either criticizing or embracing their choice to wear makeup, in addition to posting bare faced selfies for hundreds of people to view.

Brr.

Although it would be empowering to hop on to this bandwagon as a testament to 2017, going makeup free is just not something I’m ready to commit to. I personally love the transformation that comes with a good makeup look. It gives you the ability to travel eras; from a classic 1920’s winged liner and red lips look to a modern day grunge, featuring black lips and a smokey eye.

Personalities alter with makeup. Ladies can attest to the flirty side that is revealed with the right red lipstick, or the inner goddess that comes out to play with a dark, burgundy pout.

Unfortunately, I’m still at a point in my life where going bare-faced makes me feel less confident and a little underdressed. Battling self esteem issues has influenced me to hide my imperfections behind a plethora of concealer and a dash of self loathing. But the more runs I make to the convenient store across the street in sweatpants and the unwanted guest on my forehead, the more I realize the beauty that comes with going au naturel.

The vulnerability that comes with a bare face is refreshing. It allows people a more personal view into your life. Only a handful of people are able to see a glimpse of what you look like first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. And although expanding your audience to your Chanel bags and freckles can be daunting, it is something that should be on your bucket list.

Going makeup free not only forces you to build self love and confidence, its opens the door to breathable, clearer skin- in addition to more time spent doing things other than cleaning your makeup brushes, taking off your makeup, and of course the stressful morning ritual of actually putting it on.

If Alicia Keys can hit the red carpet with her perfect flaws, an army of empowered women is bound to follow. It’s time women gave patriarchy the middle finger and stopped covering up behind over priced foundation. “Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing,” as Keys so beautifully vowed.

I’m behind you, Keys- a few times a week, especially on Sundays.

Will you join the makeup free trend? Let us know in the comments below!

Health & Fitness March 15, 2016

Five ways to brighten your morning routine

Grey skies, dull commutes, and early daybreak blues — simply put, mornings can be tough. Why not allow yourself a moment of happiness in your morning routine with a few quick and easy exercises that are bound to brighten the day and start you off fresh.

1. Drink Lukewarm Lemon Water

Upon waking, your body can become dehydrated. Drink some lukewarm water with fresh lemon in the morning to increase your metabolism. This early morning habit will help burn fat while keeping muscle, and also helps alleviate the need for caffeine. It is a refreshing start to the day and helps cleanse the throat.

2. Be Mindful for a Moment

Mindfulness and meditation can help you start your day in a peaceful and happy way. That being said, some meditations can take awhile and time is often tight in the morning, so here are a few quick mindfulness exercises to get your day started. First off, do a mindful check-in. Take a moment to assess how you feel at that very moment and meditate on it. After taking time to do a mindful check-in, open your mind to good intentions for your day. Recall what you are grateful for and what your hopeful intentions are. These short exercises will help you feel ready to conquer the day.

3. Have a good breakfast

After digesting your lemon water for about 30 minutes (if possible), eat a healthy breakfast. Quick and easy ideas are smoothies that were prepped the night prior for a quick meal full of fruits and veggies. Homemade granola with dried fruits and hemp seeds is also an easy grab and can be eaten as a cereal as well. Rushing out in the morning, try making overnight oats with almond milk, bananas, and walnuts. It’s important to fit fresh fruit in your morning routine and a protein so that you can start your day full and energized.

4. Stretch

The body has been in a restful state for hours and stretching helps to reintroduce movement in a slow and relaxing way. First stretch your arms and legs prior to stepping out of bed, then do a few standing stretches to wake yourself up. Sitting cross-legged and turning your body from side to side will help stretch your spine. Yoga moves such as the cat and cow position on all fours and downward dog are quick and energizing movements to do after sleeping.

5. Be Prepared

Being prepared before the morning will not only help you sleep, but it will also create less stress when you wake up. By setting out your clothes the night prior, it saves a lot of time and energy you’d usually spend picking out an outfit for the day. Preparing smoothies or meals ahead of time will make it easier to eat healthy foods instead of rushing to Tim Horton’s for a bagel. Having completed tasks will provide enough time for a moment of mindfulness or stretching.

Hope you have a great morning!

Do you have any morning rituals that leave you feeling warm and fuzzy? Share them in the comments below!