Feel-Good Friday!

Happy Friday! We made it! Let's have a dance party! As dance music tastes are wildly subjective, I will not be providing music - just call up whatever you feel like dancing to right now and go to town.

All righty! The other portion of Feel-Good Friday today is this. Chances are good that you've already seen it but just in case you haven't ... this is one of those things that I'm a little bit crazy-jealous that I didn't write it myself but mostly I'm just so glad that it exists.

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday with some more fitness bidness (unless I change my mind). Now get back to your dance party!

- Sarah

Well, Duh.

Apparently my theme this week is promising one topic and then giving you another one instead. I'm keeping you on your toes! So here's what I was originally going to talk about on Tuesday but then didn't, because reasons.

Chances are really good that whatever you need to do, you already know what it is. Whether it's changing your eating habits or changing your sheets, you know what's just not working for you. Right? So fix it! Sure, Rome wasn't built in a day, but make a game plan, plot out the baby steps, follow through and you'll be great! Or decide that even though you know you need to change this you're just not invested enough to actually do it. There's really nothing wrong with that, I don't think - just be honest with yourself. I have way more respect for people who say, "I should probably lose weight, but I just love cake and cheeseburgers too much," than people who tell me that they don't understand why they're not losing weight and then later tell me about how excited they are that it's Halloween candy season and that they've eaten two whole bags of it in the last five days (seriously. I hear this kind of stuff all the time).

On the other hand, sometimes we don't know what's not working. As I've said before, it can be really hard to tell when you're dehydrated. On a personal note, when I started teaching pilates full-time it for some reason took me a shamefully long time to figure out that I'd need to majorly increase my calorie intake in order to keep up with the fact that I was now exercising a whole lot more than I had been and I was kind of a wreck for several months. When you don't know what's not working, never be afraid to ask for help. Ask your doctor, ask a health-minded friend, heck, ask me!

So there's today's super-simple assignment: identify what's not working, and fix it. Or don't! Just make a conscious decision either way.

Feel-Good Friday tomorrow! Frankly, I'd declare today Feel-Good Friday if I could but unfortunately I don't have that kind of authority. But we can make it until then. It's something to look forward to!

- Sarah

On Your Plate

It occurred to me that as far as Foodie Wednesdays go, there's not much point in talking about meals until we've established what comprises a meal, exactly. And according to whomever determines these things that seems to change on a fairly regular basis but the last time I checked a meal was supposed to be half vegetables, one-quarter protein, and one-quarter starch. I suspect that these proportions can be fiddled with a little, especially if you're vegetarian or vegan, but I think this is a good jumping-off point.

The end. See you tomorrow!

Just kidding.

My real point today is that yes, these are the proportions, but as for what actual food is filling those proportions? I encourage you to get creative with that. 

For example, "breakfast for dinner." Why is this such a big deal? Since when are scrambled eggs and pancakes only to be eaten before noon? Similarly, who says you can't eat a turkey sandwich for breakfast if that's what you feel is your best morning fuel? Find what works best for you and who cares if it's conventionally agreed upon!

Along the same lines, meal size. Not everybody does best with dinner being their largest meal of the day. I hear a lot that the optimal meal sizes are a medium breakfast, a large lunch, and a tiny dinner, but that has never worked for me at all - all a medium-to-large breakfast does for me is make me want to laze around the entire rest of the day. Really what I need is five or six equally-sized small meals taken in 2.5-3 hour intervals, but that's me. You're probably different, and that's okay!

So to heck with convention. Listen to your body and find what works best for you, even if it's not what everyone else thinks you should be doing (that applies to a lot more than meals when you get right down to it, no?). I know I've said it before, but it always bears repeating - when your body is properly fueled, many other things will start functioning more effectively for you too.

Tomorrow? Full disclosure. That's all I'm saying right now.

- Sarah

I Tried Really Hard Not To Call This Post "Go With the Flow," But I'm Afraid I Failed

So the topic that I alluded to yesterday? Yep, changed my mind - which we are all allowed to do from time to time. We'll get there at some point, but today is for talking about what makes you happy.

"Hobby" is such a trivial word, isn't it? I wish there were a different way to talk about the things we love to do in our spare time, because they really are hugely important. Some people are lucky enough to do what they love for a living, but even they cultivate other pastimes on the side and as for everyone else, well, I firmly believe that they (you?) need those side pastimes in order to truly live.

What I'm talking about here is not that sort of "whee, I'm having fun!" kind of happiness, by the way - I'm talking about flow. I'm talking about finding and engaging in activities that make you feel more alive and yourself and real than, say, washing the dishes or driving to work. Unless you can find a state of flow in washing the dishes or driving to work, in which case you should really be the one with the blog here, probably.

From the Wikipedia article I linked to above: "the hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task," and seriously, what is the point of being alive if you can't find joy in at least one moment every day? Okay, that might be a little dramatic and a bit of an overstatement - some days are just going to be straight-up free of happiness and all we can do is power through and come out the other side, that's just a damn fact - but I think an unfortunate number of people live their entire lives like that and it makes me incredibly sad.

So because the very last thing any of us want is for me to be sad, here's today's assignment: spend a little time this week in a state of flow. If you don't know how to get there, then your assignment is to figure it out. Surely you know what you like to do, right? Or you have an inkling? Go ahead and do it, and let yourself get immersed. Don't worry about what anyone else might think about it, this is your flow, not theirs. Then start carving out regular bits of time for yourself for this ... what shall we call it? "Flow-time" is not good at all, but I'm not coming up with anything better. Leave a suggestion in the comments if you have one! Anyway. Regular bits of time to let yourself flow. Your self will thank you, and the rest of the world will find ways to thank you too.

Foodie Wednesday tomorrow! How exciting is that? So exciting. See you then.

- Sarah

Catching Zzzs

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was fabulous, and that you did fabulous things for yourself.

So remember when I said last week that a lot of things can contribute to your fitness regimen not achieving what you'd like? Well, here's another one and I can just about guarantee that you're not expecting it (much like the Spanish Inquisition. Sorry, that was terrible, but I couldn't resist. Anyway).

Sleep. For real.

Lack of sleep sends your metabolism into stress mode, wherein it assumes that something terrible is either happening or about to happen and so it not only conserves calories but also makes you crave more calories to ensure that you'll be adequately fueled during the ongoing/upcoming catastrophe. Additionally, if you're exhausted and therefore cranky you'll probably crave "comfort food" in an effort to stave off said crankiness.

So ... get more sleep! Yeah, I know, sometimes it's really not that easy but it's important to try. Noisy neighbors? White noise machine. Snoring bedmate? Earplugs, or possibly a visit to a sleep apnea specialist or an ear, nose, and throat doctor if the situation is really dire. Uncomfortable bed? Add a topper, or get new pillows. Also, many of my colleagues swear by essential oils and I've found that they really are onto something there - a little lavender or vetiver on the soles of your feet can do wonders when nothing else is working. 

On top of the metabolic benefits, more sleep is a good way to improve so many other things - your skin, your brain function, your general outlook. Much like drinking more water and breathing more deeply, getting more and better sleep is a relatively minor act that has such major results you'd be silly not to at least give it a try. Heck, take a nap right now! (don't tell your boss I told you that)

Tomorrow, we're getting obvious. Join me then to find out just what the heck I mean by that.

In the mean time, have a lovely day!
- Sarah

Feel-Good Friday!

We made it through another week! Huzzah! To celebrate, today's Feel-Good Friday is all about you. Yes, you.

What's going to make you feel good this weekend? Hot bath? Fabulous meal? Making some art? Two hours doing absolutely nothing, with the phone turned off? Set an intention for your weekend, find that one perfect activity or event or feeling that's going to send you into Monday morning full of as much joy and well-being as it's realistically possible to experience on a Monday morning, and then make that thing happen! Feel free to share it in the comments, if you'd like. And I'll see your happy selves back here on Monday to talk about more fitness stuff.

Have a gorgeous weekend!
- Sarah

Check Yo' Head

You know that thing about the power of positive thinking? I tend to find it a little reductive and airy-fairy; I'm someone who needs a little cynicism and darkness for the same reason cake and cookie recipes need salt, so people who are just nonstop wall-to-wall relentlessly happy get right under my skin and make me wonder what they're hiding. But at the same time ... I have to admit that they kind of have a point.

Not so much with the "everything's going to be just wonderful!" garbage. Because it isn't. Life is kind of a jerk sometimes and there's just no getting around that. But in the small day-to-day moments a little thought readjustment can go a long way. 

Think about how you talk to or about yourself. Do you often find yourself saying things like "oh, I'd never be able to do that" or "I'm really bad at this" before you even try something? And if you do, do you ever give yourself a chance to prove yourself wrong?

Today's exercise: choose a goal that you've had for a while that you just haven't been able to reach, and then think about how you've talked about it to yourself or others. Be honest. Are you trying to lose weight but also saying that you don't have the willpower? Are you trying to learn a foreign language while talking about how you're probably too old to really do it? Are you vying for a coveted position and telling everyone that your fellow candidates are way better than you? What purpose does that possibly serve? Self-deprecation has its place, but save it for after the goal is attained for pete's sake! My rule of thumb is that self-deprecation after the fact can be charming but self-deprecation before anything even happens is nothing but you roadblocking yourself. Also? Stop worrying if people think you're arrogant. Simply stating that you think you can do something is miles away from arrogance and any grown adult who doesn't recognize that is riddled with issues that you don't need to be dealing with anyway. 

Inject some hope and light into your everyday language! Instead of "I can't" say "I'm going to try." Instead of "I don't" go for "I haven't yet." Instead of "it probably won't happen" try describing yourself as "cautiously optimistic." I think you'll be amazed at what you can do.

Feel-Good Friday tomorrow! It's going to be excellent. See you then.

- Sarah

It's Snacky

I did a few plays with a guy who referred to low-quality things as being "snacky" - I'm not sure as to the origins of that usage and I'll admit to having adopted it for myself because it's pretty fun to say, but I also don't know if it's terribly accurate because snacks? Are awesome, done correctly.

Here's the thing - it's really easy to eat something tasty but nutritionally-flimsy and call it a snack, but that is not a snack. That is a treat. And treats are wonderful but they're not going to adequately bridge the gap between mealtimes, which is the purpose of a snack. Let me get a little deeper with that: snacks are for keeping your metabolism functioning at optimal levels between full meals, so what you want in a snack is relatively even amounts of protein, (good) carbs, and (healthy) fats. And that's really easy to do! An apple with some peanut butter and maybe a few crackers if you, like me, need bread to function. A cup of yogurt topped with a handful of nuts. A boiled egg and half an avocado, sliced or mashed, on toast. Any well-constructed trail mix. The possibilities are really literally endless.

As to when you need a snack? Generally mid-afternoon and possibly a couple hours after dinner if you eat early. Basically when you're hungry, but also look at the intervals at which you're eating your full meals - most people maintain optimal metabolic levels by eating every two and a half to three hours, so if you eat breakfast around nine and lunch at noon then you probably don't need a mid-morning snack, but if lunch is at noon and dinner is at eight then you might throw in two snacks in between to keep yourself going. They don't have to be big, either, especially if you tend to eat big meals, but just a little well-balanced something is going to help you out immensely. Good metabolism = healthy you = happy you. We haven't even scratched the surface yet of all the ways adjusting your eating habits can help you out in other areas of your life. But we'll get a little closer every Wednesday!

More immediately, tomorrow we're getting into your head. It should be fun!

Have a beautiful day.
- Sarah

Eight Glasses?

When someone tells me that they feel weirdly tired or excessively hungry or just kind of out of sorts, the first thing I ask them is how much water they've been drinking lately. Then they look at me like I have an asparagus fern growing out of my head, and I don't really blame them but seriously! Drinking more water will cure a lot of what ails you!

Dehydration doesn't always register as thirst - in fact, by the time you feel thirsty chances are good you're already pretty far down the dehydration road. Before that it tends to register as fatigue or hunger or a dull but stubborn headache, or quite possibly something else entirely for you what with the fact that we're all different and whatnot. So next time you feel inexplicably weird try drinking a large glass of water and see if that doesn't help! If nothing else, drinking more water keeps your skin nice and helps with a lot of your important bodily processes (dang, I really know how to make it sound exciting, no?).

As for staving off that inexplicable weirdness? There are a lot of different rules of thumb regarding how much water we all need, and honestly I don't know if you can get too hard-and-fast about it given how many different factors contribute to our hydration levels, but I think the best one might be the simplest (apologies in advance to those of you with delicate sensibilities): as long as your pee is clear you're fine. What I recommend is getting yourself a good-size water bottle and carrying it around with you all day, drinking from it when it feels correct and necessary. It won't take too long to get a feel for how much water you generally need.

"But I don't like water!" My knee-jerk response to that is that I don't like waking up at 6:30 am but I do it because my livelihood depends on it. My friendlier and possibly more constructive response is that there are plenty of things you can do to make it more tolerable: add sliced citrus fruit or cucumber or a drop or two of essential oil (make sure it's made to be ingested, for pete's sake!), or even one of those weird little flavor packet thingies if that's what it takes to get and keep you hydrated. Just figure out what you need to do and then do it and go on with your bad non-thirsty self!

Foodie Wednesday tomorrow! Are you excited? I sure am.

- Sarah

Do Whatcha Like

Are you stuck in a rut, workout-wise? Do you feel like what you're doing just isn't working? There are a lot of factors that can contribute to that, and I'll be covering more of them on future Mondays, but today I want to look at some fundamentals.

First of all, there's a misconception that cardio is the biggest fat-burner. Not necessarily! An elevated heart rate does burn fat but not as effectively as increased muscle mass, and most of what we think of as cardio exercise doesn't build muscle. Your body will thank you in a lot of other ways if you're on the treadmill or whatever three to five days a week, but if that's all you're doing and you're not seeing the results you want consider adding some kind of strength building exercise on one or two other days. And when I say "strength building" I don't mean lifting weights, unless that's what really works for you. Lifting is great, but lots of other activities build strength as well - really, just find something you like to do that makes your muscles feel sore and incorporate it into your weekly regimen.

So, staying with the notion of "what really works for you" - I have a theory, possibly crackpot, based on what I've observed in myself and my friends and clients that if there was a sport or activity you did when you were young it essentially "trained" your muscles to process information a certain way. This can show itself in reflexive movements (I can always tell who's a rower by what happens when I put them on the pilates Reformer in a certain position) and it can also shows up in how a person's body responds to their workout routine. I was a dancer from age 7 through college, and the few years that I was neither dancing nor doing pilates were the most out-of-shape years of my life despite the fact that I was either in the gym or running at least three days a week; pilates uses the muscles very similarly to classical dance, and once I got back into a regular pilates practice I was back in shape very quickly. On the other hand, friends and clients of mine who played football or soccer have used pilates to supplement their workouts but they've needed to find regular regimens similar to whatever they did to prepare for their seasons starting in order to really see results.

It's all anecdotal evidence, really, and it's my way of offering you a jumping-off point for finding your ideal workout. Because seriously the most important thing is to find something you enjoy! If you don't like it you won't stick with it and then you definitely won't get in shape. So if you enjoyed playing a certain sport when you were a kid, find an adult league nearby, and be willing to consider a similar sport if the exact one isn't available (kickball instead of soccer, softball instead of baseball, rugby instead of football, etc.). If you swam, get a membership at a gym with a pool, dancers can seek out yoga or pilates or even adult dance classes, former equestrians can literally get back on that horse! Just find something that you'll look forward to doing on a regular basis, and your body will reward you handsomely.

And hey, if for some reason you're having trouble thinking of something to try, feel free to contact me! I'm always happy to help with questions like this.

As for tomorrow? Well, I hope you're thirsty (actually I really hope you aren't, but we'll get to that tomorrow)! See you then, and I hope your week has started well.

- Sarah

Feel-Good Friday! So what if it's the 13th!

Today's Feel-Good Friday is all about sharing the love and pointing you toward some other blogs and posts that I think you might enjoy.

First up is Oh Noa. Most of the time her writing is straight-up goofy, silly fun but every now and then she goes ahead and drops some cold hard TRUTH that's exactly what I've wanted to say but she says it better (fair warning: she is really profane. Doesn't bother me, but it might bother you):

• Rally Hard
• Suck It Up, Buttercup 

Next, Thug Kitchen! Excellent vegan recipes with the bonus of a pretty original writing voice. Again, pretty profane, but the photos are gorgeous and the recipes, as I said, are really good even if you're not vegan.

And last but most certainly not least, Heal Yourself, Skeletor. This is one of the most insane things I've ever seen (stills from He-Man cartoons captioned with positive affirmations), but it's also weirdly helpful, perhaps because it's so ridiculous. 

And along the lines of sharing the love, here's what you can do for me today: find a way to put a little good out into the world, whether that's paying for the person behind you in the coffee line or helping your neighbor weed their garden or doing something for a loved one that you've been putting off for some reason. Do it selflessly, with no expectations of anything in return, and you might be surprised at what happens next.

Have a beautiful weekend, and I'll see you Monday to talk about fitness!
- Sarah

Out Of the Closet

You know that one piece of clothing? Yes you do - the one that lurks in your closet or drawer until you notice it and think "why don't I ever wear that?" so you put it on and about half an hour after you leave your house you remember exactly why you never wear it. The waist is a little too small or the armholes feel weird around your shoulders or there's just something wrong with it somehow and wearing it makes you uncomfortable and crabby.

Go find it right now and put it in your donation or consignment pile (you do have one, right? Start one if you don't and let Nightmare Garment be the inaugural item). I'm serious, if you hate wearing it there is no reason in the entire world for you to keep it.

"But it was expensive!" Except that you're not wearing it, so you're still not getting any value out of it. Whereas if you take it down to the consignment shop you can make a little money on it and also not have that "damn, I spent a lot on that thing, I really ought to wear it" feeling every time you see it.

Sentimental value? Nope. Because regardless of how you feel about whoever gave it to you, wearing it makes you miserable and do you really want to associate that feeling with someone you love? Moreover, do you think they want you to feel like that when you wear something they gave you? I'm pretty sure that if they really love you they don't want that at all, and walking around all day feeling like a cat wearing a bowtie is not a good way to honor your loved ones. If you're really worried about it, call up the person who gave it to you and ask permission to send it out into the world. Chances are good they don't even remember giving it to you. Take a picture of it if you really need to remember it and then send it on its way.

But if you just can't, for whatever reason, get rid of it? Find something else to do with it, whether that's framing it as artwork or turning it into a quilt or a pillow . It is simply not functioning as clothing for you anymore, so it doesn't need to take up closet or drawer space. Things that take up physical space take up mental space as well, and as you clear those spaces in your home you'll also clear space in your mind, thus freeing up mental energy for more interesting and rewarding purposes. Give it a try today, see where it takes you!

Another Feel-Good Friday tomorrow! We'll cap off what I hope has been, for you, an excellent week and head into our weekend with some fun and frivolity. See you then!

- Sarah

Talkin' Turkey (or beef, or tofu, or eggs, or ...)

No recipes today - we're spending this Foodie Wednesday talking about the importance of protein! Exciting!

If you're a sentient human being you need protein just to maintain a reasonable quality of life - without it, your hair falls out and your body eats its own muscles in order to get enough energy and that's just unpleasant. And if you're following any sort of exercise program you need protein even more, because protein is what builds and repairs muscle tissue not to mention gives you the energy to exercise in the first place. Muscle tissue burns calories, so the more muscle you have the more calories you're burning, so by properly fueling your body you're creating this lovely positive cycle wherein your protein intake helps with your weight loss and you're just nonstop winning (at least in the muscle-building/weight loss regard). I work with so many people who would be so much happier with their workout results if they'd just let themselves take in more protein. Cut your calories elsewhere!

So how much do you need, really? I should probably warn you, there's math involved.

• If you are sedentary, uninterested in gaining muscle mass, and pretty generally healthy you need about .36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight.  
• If you are active (either as an athlete or as someone who's trying to lose weight), it's anywhere between .8 and 2 grams per pound - you'll want to play around with it to find your best level, but start on the low end and increase until you start seeing your desired results.
• Recommended intake for those who are injured is pretty similar to the recommendations for athletes, about .7 grams per pound of body weight, which makes sense since a body that's repairing an injury and a body that's building muscle mass are both in an anabolic state of tissue repair.
• For the elderly, a baseline amount of .5-.6 grams per pound is recommended, of course increasing with the individual's activity level. Interestingly, I had a very difficult time finding an actual definition of "elderly," so I can't help you there.

As for when you should be ingesting your protein? Again, you'll want to play around with it to find what works best for you but definitely start your morning with at least a little bit (there's a reason why omelets keep you going so much longer and more efficiently than pancakes), and within 30 minutes after you exercise have a snack comprising more or less equal parts protein, carbs, and healthy fat (try to skew more protein, less fat but still keep a bit of a balance, if that makes sense). As I said above, play around with it, find what works best for you both in terms of amounts and of variety, and don't be surprised if you see major changes in your energy level and body composition.

Tomorrow we're back on the situation-improvement train, and that train is making a stop in your closet. As for whether it's for boarding or disembarking, you'll just have to find out then.

Have a beautiful day!
- Sarah

Not Guilty

I don't believe in guilty pleasures.

Seriously, I don't. If it makes you happy and it doesn't hurt you or anyone else why on earth should you feel bad about it? Because someone else doesn't think it's cool? Newsflash: once you're old enough to rent a car (probably earlier than that, but let's be generous here) it doesn't matter one tiny little bit if you're cool or not. Real adults, in my experience, value authenticity over persona any day of the week, and someone who's going to write you off just because you still love car-dancing to the Backstreet Boys or whatever is probably not a long-term friend prospect anyway for a lot of other reasons, chief among them the fact that they are clearly no fun at all. So go on ahead with your car-dancing and your pink-wine-drinking and your eating of non-organic vegetables and whatever else someone is trying to make you feel bad about for no other reason than that they have nothing better to do. Haters to the left, as the kids say (are the kids still saying that?). Enjoy the hell out of yourself, life is a tremendous gift and it's too damn short.

HOWEVER.

Notice the qualifying phrase up there: "if it doesn't hurt you." There are the things that you love that you're not "supposed" to, like big loud stupid pop music or drugstore romance novels - things that if consumed in excess won't hurt anything except maybe your eardrums or your given amount of bookshelf space or the super-refined tastes of those around you (which, again, don't matter anyway). And then there are the other things, the foods or intoxicants or what have you, that will definitely hurt you if you overindulge but which are so easy to turn to when you feel like you need a treat. It is very, very important to draw a distinction between "this makes me happy" and "I am unhappy, and I'm hoping that this will make me feel better," because this is where treats become crutches and crutches, over time, become harmful. If you are fundamentally unhappy, no amount of cupcakes or cheap wine or time at the casino is going to make you feel better. They will, however, start to negatively affect your health and that in turn is not going to do anything good for your fundamental happiness.

I have no easy course-correcting suggestions here. I'm not sure they really exist, to be honest. I think maybe in this case the best you can do is practice a little mindfulness - ask yourself if that "treat" is really what you need right now. Maybe it is! But maybe what you actually need is a hug or a walk around the block or to put on your favorite song as loud as you can stand it and sing along at the top of your lungs. Maybe it's just as satisfying to buy a bunch of flowers rather than that bottle of wine, and maybe what you really need to do is clean your house. You can reward yourself afterward! But maybe you'll find that you no longer need to.

I have to acknowledge also that maybe there's something going on in your life for which you're using those treats as a band-aid, maybe a toxic friendship, an unhealthy living situation, unpleasantness at work, or something along those lines. If that's the case, please take care of yourself and figure out what you need to do to handle whatever it is that's hurting you. Nothing is insurmountable, and even if something is terribly difficult in the short-term the long-term rewards are so very worth it. And never be afraid to draw on a trained professional's help with a situation you're not sure how to navigate. That is, after all, what they're there for. I'll say it again: nothing is insurmountable. 

Tomorrow is Foodie Wednesday! As for today, well, enjoy it and be truly, deeply good to yourself. 

- Sarah

Stand Up Straight!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a lovely weekend.

If your mother is/was anything like mine (and frankly, you could do a whole lot worse) (hi Mom!), she was consistently reminding you to stand up straight. Now, I have no idea what our mothers' objective was in this, but we have to admit that they were on to something. Because good posture is the next step you can take in making your whole deal better.

Modern life promotes a really dreadful body position: if you work at a desk, drive a car, or use your cellphone for anything besides talking you're regularly encouraging your spine and hips into an unnatural and uncomfortable question-mark shape that, due to a lot of biomechanical factors that are a little too boring to get into here, gradually becomes ... not your natural shape, but the shape your body most wants to revert to even though it's not the healthiest place for you to be. Over time this shape has a highly negative effect on our organ function, an effect we can glimpse even in the short term: try doing last Tuesday's breathing exercise from a slouched body position. Not so easy, is it? Or think about how you feel after you've eaten a little too much - do you want to slump over, or do you want to stretch out as long as you can just to give your stomach a little more room? And those are just the obvious examples - every single organ in your body is happier when you give it that extra space created by a nice long spine.

I'm not going to give you a set number of times for today's assignment, just do this whenever you think of it: lift up through the top of your head like there's a string attached to it and someone above you is pulling on that string. Once you've found that length in your torso, engage your abdominal muscles by pulling your bellybutton in toward your spine and give your shoulders a big roll up and back, feeling your shoulderblades flatten against the back of your seat (if you're sitting down, of course. If you're standing, just let yourself experience your chest and shoulders opening up). Take a few deep breaths here for good measure! Notice how much better the world looks when you yourself are walking tall.

Tomorrow I'm talking about guilty pleasures, and probably not in the way you're expecting. I'll see you then!

- Sarah

Feel-Good Friday!

You will find absolutely nothing of substance here today. It's Friday, we made it through the week, it's time to let our hair down and get a little goofy and maybe have another dance party.

If a dance party really isn't your thing (and by the way, if it isn't we should have a conversation about that because I would like to understand your strange and alien point of view), here is a picture of Lily the kitten in her favorite sleeping position: 

If on the other hand you are a Dance Party Believer, here is your soundtrack for today: 

Enjoy! Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll see you on Monday when we'll talk about the next thing you can do to improve pretty much everything. I know, right?!

- Sarah

There's No Place Like ...

You know that thing that Oprah perpetuates about how "your home should rise up to meet you"? I want to agree with that but first of all I'm not entirely sure what it actually means and secondly I think it sets up some unfortunately unrealistic expectations. It's always sounded so aspirational to me, like your home should be full of only the best whatever, and I don't know about you but a rather large percentage of the stuff in my living space came from Target. And I LOVE Target, but you know Oprah's not about shopping there. Why in the hell do I keep talking about Oprah? Whatever, back to the point, I do think that it's important for one's home to be a comfortable, cozy haven, whatever that means for you. My apartment is tiny, in a not-great building, with hideous dropped ceilings and at least 40 years' worth of peeling paint and I currently only have enough comfortable seating for myself (I haven't found another armchair that suits me and I do not believe there to be a sofa in existence that's small enough to fit up my narrow-ass staircase). But my apartment also has huge windows and glorious light and pretty wood floors, and everything in it follows the William Morris principle of being either beautiful or useful or both. Walking through the door and up the stairs usually makes me happy, and when it doesn't it's pretty easy to figure out why (usually it has to do with clutter that's been allowed to roam free or a garbage can that's due to be emptied). 

So here we are with the next thing you can do to create positive change for yourself: how do you feel about your home? I'm not even talking about decorating or anything, just one gut-level thing: how do you feel when you're about to walk in your own front door?

If you love coming home every day, that's fantastic. Share your secrets in the comments!

If you're more ambivalent about your living space, try to identify why. Is it messy? Does the paint color or furniture arrangement just not work for you? Do you have a whole art collection waiting to be framed or hung? Does it smell weird? Is it just ... stale, somehow? Find one thing you can change, easily and cheaply, in the next few days and see what happens to your mindset when you make it happen. That one thing might be enough or it might lead you to more little changes, but either way be proud of yourself. And enjoy your "new" home!

Tomorrow is Feel-Good Friday! I'm looking forward to it and so should you.
- Sarah

Easy as Chicken

Sometimes you spend your weekend devising a lovely and nourishing meal plan for your coming week, which you then shop for and execute to utter perfection and everyone's happy and well-fed all week long and birds sing and the weather is perfect and everyone tells you you're pretty. And sometimes the universe has other plans for you and you muddle through until Wednesday or Thursday and then find yourself standing in front of an open refrigerator asking out loud to absolutely no one just what in the hell you're supposed to do with these #$%*&#$% chicken breasts. And by "you" in that second sentence I mean "me."

At one point in my life, when this would happen I would generally say "screw it" and just eat popcorn for dinner instead (I don't recommend this in the least, but I'm all about being honest with you here). But then an excellent thing happened to me in the form of this link right here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/02/05/magazine/simple-chicken-recipes.html?ref=magazine&_r=1&  Nine crazy-easy, delicious chicken recipes with infinite possibilities for adaptation, courtesy of Mark Bittman, the genius behind "How To Cook Everything" (and by the way, if you don't already own a copy of "How To Cook Everything" put it on your list. It's the best cookbook ever and it might literally change your life, no joke. I am not being paid to say that, I seriously just love it that much). 

Choose whichever recipe goes best with whatever else you have on hand, make a little extra to have leftovers on hand for lunch the next day, and you'll feel like a super-efficient grown-up person who really has their act together! And who can ask for much more than that, really?

Tomorrow I'll be talking about the next thing you can do to improve your entire situation, now that you've got your breathing sorted out. I know, it's all very exciting. See you then.

- Sarah

P.S. I just realized that this entire post reads like a sales pitch. It's not. Neither Mark Bittman nor anyone at the New York Times has any idea who I am (or if they do I don't know about it), it's just that that set of recipes has become my go-to for staving off the mid-week food-related doldrums and I hope it can do the same for you. Cheers!

In Through the Nose, Out Through the Mouth (or whatever works best for you, really)

So! Yesterday I promised to tell you the one thing you can do to improve your entire situation and here it is: bourbon! No, wait a minute, that is just about the exact opposite of the kind of advice I'm trying to give here. We're going for long-term improvements and contrary to the beliefs of many of my friends bourbon is, at absolute best, a tasty but very short-term solution.

But back on topic! Seriously, the one little initial thing you can do that's going to change everything for the better is this: change how you breathe.

I know, it's not very sexy or exciting. Sorry to disappoint but we have to take the baby steps before we can take the big steps, you know? And anyway, you know how much better you feel when you take a big deep breath and then exhale it all out? That's not a coincidence. I'll let Joseph Pilates take it from here:

"Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our very life depends on it. Since we cannot live without breathing, it is tragically deplorable to contemplate the millions and millions who have never learned to master the art of correct breathing ... Lazy breathing converts the lungs, figuratively speaking, into a cemetery for the deposition of diseased, dying, and dead germs as well as supplying an ideal haven for the multiplication of other harmful germs. Therefore, above all, learn how to breathe correctly. 'Squeeze' every atom of air from your lungs until they are almost as free of air as is a vacuum. Stand erect again and observe how your lungs will automatically completely refill themselves with fresh air. The impact of so much oxygen upon your bloodstream may at first quite naturally and normally result in your experiencing a slight sensation of 'lightheadedness' ... However, after a few days this feeling will entirely disappear." - Joseph Pilates, from "Return To Life Through Contrology"

 I'm pretty sure ol' Joe intended for everyone to breathe this fully all the time - the man had some crazy-high standards - and I will freely admit that I don't always hit that mark but I can't deny how much better I feel when I do.

So here's your assignment for today (and tomorrow, and the day after that ...): find three different moments to just sit and take five deep breaths. Close your eyes if you want to, but you don't have to. Sit or stand up tall and inhale as fully as you can through your nose, try not to let your shoulders rise but do feel your ribcage and diaphragm expand as you breathe in, and then exhale out as much of that air as possible (either through your nose or your mouth, whichever suits you better). It might make you yawn, and that is totally fine. Open your eyes, if they were closed, and go on about your day. Notice how much easier the breathing becomes over time, and observe how it changes your general outlook over the course of the day.

Feel free to comment! I'd love to get to know you if I don't already. And join me tomorrow to talk about what's for dinner. 

Have a beautiful day.
- Sarah

Hello!

So hey! Welcome! Glad you're here!

What are we doing here, exactly? Well, I want to help make your life better and every weekday I'll be posting little tidbits to help further that goal: recipes, suggestions, bits of inspiration, things of that nature. Maybe we'll have a dance party every now and then - I firmly believe that the world needs more dance parties. Actually, you know what? Go have yourself a one-minute dance party right now. Seriously. I'll wait.

 ***

All right! Wasn't that fun? So anyway, why should you listen to one single thing I have to say? First of all, I'm the lady who just gave you permission to have a one-minute dance party and I think that counts for a lot. More seriously, I'm a pilates instructor who spends a lot of time working one-on-one with people who tell me what's going on in their lives and ask for my advice and I see a lot of the same questions repeating in various forms from various people, and I know that these questions can't be specific to just my clients. People, maybe even you, want to know what they can do to make themselves happier and healthier and I can help with that. I can also tell you right now that a lot of the answers are not what you're expecting.

Speaking of answers, by the way, I certainly don't have all of them, I'm just going to say that up front. No one does, not even Oprah. But I do have a lot of personal experience with figuring this stuff out, and I've learned a great many things along the way, and I want to share those learnings with you. You see (it's going to get a little serious here for a minute, but not too bad I don't think. And there's a happy ending!), a few years ago I was terribly unhappy, and it took me a while to figure out why but what it boiled down to was that I was in the wrong town and the wrong job, I wasn't eating or sleeping as well as I could have been, and I was taking care of a lot of different people but I wasn't taking care of myself. Once I was able to name the problems I could set about fixing them, which led to me essentially hitting the reset button on my entire life. I turned my side job into a career path, moved to a completely different part of the country, and began the process of rebuilding my life to look and function exactly as I want and need it to. I'm not there yet - after all, one's life is a lifelong process - but I'm well on my way. I want to help you on your way too.

We'll kick it off for real tomorrow, when I'll share with you the main thing you can do to improve your entire situation. No joke! See you then.

- Sarah