the green monster

The time time has come to admit to myself and the the world that I have become one of those people...The kind of people who do yoga and drink green mystery smoothies.




I got inspired to start eating just a little healthier and planning my meals just a little better when I read Amy's post on planning healthy eating. I eat a lot of fruit and smoothies, so I decided to try out a couple of the recipes she included for "Green Monster" smoothies.

Now, I have always looked sideways at overly "healthy" people. You know, the people who buy large gallons of protein powder and vitamin supplements...who are ridiculously skinny and do liquid cleanse diets twice a year just to "flush out the toxins"...who run ten miles with a smile on their face, only lightly perspiring on their pastel Lululemon sports bras. Those people.

However, I am learning that not boasting the above mentioned qualities does not preclude one from having a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps, dare I say it, one might actually have the right to bodily health without owning a single item of clothing purchased at Lululemon. Just because I sweat buckets when I work out and will never feel comfortable in the crane pose, it does not mean that putting a handful of spinach and a scoop of protein powder in my smoothies is a wasted effort. Sure, I like sci-fi and photography; I'd rather sleep in than get up to go to yoga. But, these personal preferences have nothing to do with my physical health.

It seems that only certain "types" of people are expected to go to great trouble for their bodily well-being. If a person isn't sporty or naturally inclined to participate in more physical activities, it becomes acceptable, sometimes even encouraged for them to forgo any sort of exertion in the name of health. Many of my friends are of this type. Eyes roll when I order a salad or decline beers and cigarettes. Would the same actions illicit the same reaction if I were more into sports than sci-fi? If I preferred kale to Kit-Kats?

(Which leads me to another thought - are these attitudes reactions to stereotypes or simply effects of the Great American Instant Gratification Syndrome? If people expect to get what the want when they want it, do they expect others to have the same priorities? Is it somehow un-American to exercise impulse control?)

Acting contrary to people's expectations isn't easy. Peer pressure exists at any age, and being different isn't always flattering. Changing habits and lifestyles may be hard without having a huge support system, but it's important to me, and I feel that I have a right to feel good about myself.

All this, just to show you guys a picture of my gross-looking (but delicious) morning beverage. :)

life lessons: slowing down

I love all the little unexpected lessons in life. We go about our days, doing what we do, and then BAM! Lesson.



I had just started a new yoga class when a lesson hit me like whoa. This class was slower than I was used to, which was good because it gave me time to really feel what my body was doing and learn the poses more thoroughly (don't be fooled, though- I was definitely breaking a serious sweat.) About ten minutes before the end of the class we started cooling down, and the instructor told us to lie down and completely relax our muscles. And then...nothing. We just kept lying there. Doing nothing. Breathing. Probably no more than a minute into this disturbing repose, I started thinking.

It feels like we've been doing this for a really long time. How long are we going to lie here? Did she leave the room? What's going on?

After a while I finally was able to strong-arm myself into relaxation. After we all sat up and namaste'ed I looked at the clock. It had only been five minutes.

This made me wonder. Why is it so hard for me to just lie still for five minutes? What about my life is so urgent that I can't relax and release tension for a measly five minutes?

Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet recently expressed a similar sentiment when she wrote about the value of "unplugging" from social media. I feel that we as Americans have become so used to constant over-stimulation that we have difficulty slowing down and enjoying simple things. It's like food: if all you eat is chemically processed, MSG-laden "food products", then it is unlikely that you will be able to appreciate real, natural, healthy foods. Similarly, if all we experience is television, twitter, flashing lights, garbled noises, and instant gratification, how can we expect to recognize the small moments of natural awe?

So, for the past few weeks I have really concentrated on slowing down and experiencing my life instead of just trying to get through it. I have tried to actually enjoy moments of nothing instead of becoming bored and apathetic. I've been able to focus more on specific tasks, like reading and doing housework, and have been in a much more consistently positive mood (no more road rage! amazing!)

This has made a significant positive difference in my day-to-day happiness. It is a beautiful thing.

Sorry this post was so long, I've just wanted to get this off my chest. Being generally happy is still kind of a new thing for me, so I'm pretty much bursting at the seams with the novelty of it all. Has anyone else experienced this sort of realization? How do you slow down and enjoy the little moments in life?