5 Pillar Friday is your weekly roundup of insights and tips from The Life Delicious’ 5 wellness pillars:
Mindset
Movement
Nutrition
Sleep
Connection
The Life Delicious helps you create feel-good brain chemistry and hardwire healthy habits – by shifting the way you think, move, eat, sleep and connect – so you can lead a pleasurable and productive life.
MINDSET
MINDSET >>> “Committed to the manifestation of the true self in each member of the family, the awakened family paves the way for children to own, discover, and express their inner voice, through which they foster connectivity with both their own being and that of others.” Whenever I get overwhelmed by the vast minutiae of raising a child (and dog) while running a household and business – and trying to be a good partner-lover-friend-daughter-human – I try to think of these beautiful words from @drshefalitsabary in #theawakenedfamily. ⠀
MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT >>> 1st session at @AlignMethodYVR with founder Janet Kimmel! So many powerful takeaways on how to connect to your core and boost pelvic floor health: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* Healthy breathing = Healthy core function (so simple!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* Stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (ie get CALM) through your breath (I know this but sometimes lately… I forget!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* Body alignment (from your feet to your chest to your jaw) affects your pelvic floor health (which helps you exercise effectively! And not pee your pants! And other important things!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* Pelvic floor RELAXATION and RANGE OF MOTION are the missing link (we’re so focused on TIGHT we forget about balancing that with SOFT) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* #Hypopressives (aka stomach vacuum) can help you achieve not only a functional core but a FLAT TUMMY (woot woot!) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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* Exercising with your child is better than not exercising at all, but exercising with your child makes FOCUSING trickier⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Check out @AlignMethodYVR’s gorgeous studio at 2887 West 33rd Ave for private, semi-private and small group classes!⠀⠀
NUTRITION
NUTRITION >>> YUM-O! Spinach pesto tossed with sautéed cauliflower and peppers! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I had some sad-looking spinach I needed to use up and wanted to serve it in a Bronwyn-friendly package – she’s an amazing little eater but large leaves aren’t her favourite. So I thought, why not make pesto out of spinach? YES! So good. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You could put this pesto on any veggie dish to up the nutrient-density and make it crazy-tasty.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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For this simple recipe, puree the following ingredients in a blender:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2 cups baby spinach ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1/2 cup walnuts ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1/2 cup parmesan cheese⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1/4 cup EVOO⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1 tbsp lemon juice⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
salt and pepper ⠀
SLEEP
SLEEP >>> “What is the mission-critical statement here?” asks author and neuroscience professor Matthew Walker at the close of his TEDtalk, Sleep is Your Superpower: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Well, I think it may be this: sleep, unfortunately, is not an optional lifestyle luxury. Sleep is a nonnegotiable biological necessity. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"It is your life-support system, and it is Mother Nature's best effort yet at immortality. And the decimation of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a catastrophic impact on our health, our wellness, even the safety and the education of our children. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"It's a silent sleep loss epidemic, and it's fast becoming one of the greatest public health challenges that we face in the 21st century. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"I believe it is now time for us to reclaim our right to a full night of sleep, and without embarrassment or that unfortunate stigma of laziness. And in doing so, we can be reunited with the most powerful elixir of life.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Watch the video here: https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_sleep_is_your_superpower⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Here’s to our being reunited with the most powerful elixir of life, starting tonight!!⠀⠀⠀
CONNECTION
CONNECTION >>> I’m 40! I celebrated this milestone last month and am still settling into it. I’m pretty excited and grateful, but I also feel this strange new awareness that the end of my life – even if I live to 100, which I plan to – is getting closer. After 4 decades of living in it, and especially witnessing it birth a baby, I have so much love and appreciation for my body. I have a deeper connection to it and a renewed wonder and awe of female anatomy, physiology and cycles. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My body is more soft and saggy and wrinkly and veiny and cellulitey than ever, but I feel more confident and feminine than ever. So, I ordered this snazzy, sexy, electric-blue swimsuit from Monteal-based Everyday Sunday (@esmtl)!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I love that they’re Canadian, and their customer service is ridonk.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I discovered them at the @oakbaybeachhotel spa when I was there for my #OBBHxTLD wellness retreat in February and forgot my swimsuit. I bought a fierce and fabulous black one-piece with cutouts that plain-old-me never would’ve imagined trying on, but it was all they had. I love it so much!⠀⠀