A good friend of mine is going to get a boob job next week.
After she is done with the boob job, she’s got blond hair extensions, acrylic nails and “naughty” lips on her list. I call it “going Barbie”.
OKAY, I always respect personal choices, and I usually do support all my friends’ decisions no matter what. But sometimes I have hard times to comprehend why on earth one would want to look like majority of young girls we see on the streets each day?
When it comes to our looks, we tend to go for safer choices. Consciously or not. We want to fit in. We want to be liked & accepted.
Shall we lay all the blame on the “externally imposed social standards of beauty”?
I admire those crazy, bizarre people who make bold statements with their unique styles, proudly exposing their tattoos, piercings or rainbow hair colors. It is probably not to everyone’s taste (and why should it be?), but those guys do not give a shit, while remaining true to their own style.
Once, when I was a teenager, I dyed my hair light blue.
In those days I liked to change my hair color often, even too often. Almost every month or so I transformed into a brunette, blond or red. But I never dared to go for bolder choices.
So, my new blue hair looked great! I felt gorgeous and mysterious, and it suited perfectly my then Gothic style.
However, my school teachers did not share my enthusiasm They contacted my parents and insisted that I go “back to normal” ASAP…
Some of us have hard times accepting other people’s differences. Especially when it comes to looks.
Over-tattooed, over-pierced dudes are „negatively stereotyped“.
I felt like I had to hide my wrist tattoos when I was going for my first job interviews…
That stuff can really hurt your career (if you want to have one).
Therefore we choose to play it safe and go for what is generally considered to be „fine“.
But do we actually have a real chance to express ourselves with our appearances?
I decided to celebrate it with my favorite super delicious frozen Margarita & some yummy dark chocolate Bonbons.
Damn, it felt fabulous! Yep, those little things, that make us happy However, since I was not used to the taste of sugar any more, dark chocolate & Margarita were tasting insanely sweet for me.
So, it was an intense cleansing period for my body last month. Absolutely sugar-free, dairy free and meat-free. In fact, I took meat & dairy off from my diet already long time ago, so sugar was the only element, spoiling the picture of my boring healthy Eating…
During those 30 days I was consuming exclusively fruits & vegetables, grains & “organic” breads (I need bread! Otherwise I will disappear, losing too much weight), tons of water, herbal teas, & green smoothies.
My body was getting enough sugar from fruits like mango, oranges, & bananas.
In the beginning it was quite boring. I was missing badly my daily comfort cups of hot chocolate. I was craving for sweets in the first few days, but hopefully my determination to continue was stronger than that
It is just 30 days of abstinence, not a big deal for any of us! Right?
In the end of the first week things dramatically changed. I suddenly felt good without chocolate & other sweets. I felt sugar-free, clean & so damn proud of myself!
The results? We all know them more or less: glowing, healthy and clean skin. Shiny hair and plenty of energy. Yes it is literally so, no matter how corny it sounds.
Alright, if you think it is difficult to quit sugar in such a radical way, you can simply substitute it with agave nectar. It is still sweet (very sweet), but much less harmful than sugar itself. Just try adding some of it into your morning cup of coffee or in your afternoon tea. I must confess, I was using agave during the first two days of my challenge, but afterwards I did not need it any more.
And one more thing. I noticed, that if we set some kind of deadline (twenty, thirty or forty days) for our challenge, we will most probably stick to it till the end. For many of us it is important to know, that it is not gonna last forever, and that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”, something to look forward to.
As for me, those 30 days have definitely helped me get rid of my sugar addiction. I know I do not need & do not even want to consume it on a daily basis, but of course, I will go for it from time to time when I feel like. But I do not crave it like before.
So, if you still think, that 30 days are way too much for you, try to go sugar-free just for 7 days. Once you make it, I bet you will want to go further.
And do not give up! The beginning is always the hardest.
Morning is an important time of day. If we are happy in the morning, we will be happy the whole day. If not, well… it is most probably gonna be a shitty day!
But there are always ways to start our day nicely, and to ensure that the rest of it will unfold smoothly.
And one of the ways is of course YOGA!
YES!:)
I started “flirting” with yoga a couple of months ago: I was doing it may be one – two times per week, still remaining loyal to my home DVD work out routine. Slowly, as I was getting more acquainted with yoga itself, I was getting more involved in its unique philosophy & lifestyle, and my yoga practice became naturally daily.
I was never a morning person before, I was rather a very “convinced” night owl, and for me it was NOT an easy transition. But we can train our bodies to get used to anything, and basically, when we say we are not morning people, it is just a matter of habit and habit only.
If someone ever said to me that I would get up from bed at 5.00 am every morning, I would laugh them loud in the face, but now… I do get up at 5.00 am every morning (OK, on weekends it is 6.00 or 7.00 am. Ye, still crazy, I know!) and practice yoga!
See? If I could do that (and I am the lazy one) anybody else can!
Some people do not need more than 6-7 hours of sleep per day. In fact, I think that sleep in general is very overestimated. I even know people who sleep 10 – 12 hours per day! Oops, is that you, babe? I used to be there as well.
Again, it is a matter of habit. We can re-program, re-build & re-shape our bodies the way we want. No doubts about it.
OK, I would not sound very original saying, that yoga gives us the tools to heal ourselves on all levels: physically, emotionally and spiritually. With yoga we can lose weight, improve our skin, relieve pain, get better sleep, and so on..
Yoga means union, and when we practice it regularly, we unite our mind, body & spirit. It is an ultimate guide to self-study as well. You will be amazed to learn absolutely new things about your body and yourself.
For many months I had been doing one hour of Tracy Anderson’s work-outs daily , but still yoga practice has seriously kicked my ass with strength & balance exercises.
So, first of all let me clearly assure you, that yoga is not necessarily a “woo-woo” thing or anything like that. Nowadays we have great teachers who are able to make it simple & available for everybody, yet without losing its spiritual side.
I personally do not like “woo-ism”, and any sign of it just makes me sick and I want to run away immediately! Yes, I consider myself a very spiritual, but still very grounded person. Life is all about the Middle Way, having one foot firmly on the ground…
Now, I might sound like thousands of people out there, but I must admit, that yoga changed my life. It changed my perspective on myself, showed me what I am capable of, and made me feel the connection with my inner self (or guide) on an even deeper level.
I get less annoyed, and less annoying. Peace & love, dudes!
As I travel a lot, again my preferred method of exercising is work-out DVDs or YouTube videos. Browsing YouTube, I found absolutely amazing stuff for yoga beginners from equally or more amazing and beautiful Tara Stiles. I fell in love with her for her very grounded and practical approach to yoga teachings.
Tara actively promotes the idea that yoga is not some mysterious practice for privileged people or highly spiritual individuals, yoga is for everyone!
And Yoga IS for everyone. Or at least for anyone who can breathe, as she says.
Tara Stiles’s videos are charged with positive energy, & her exercises are very easy to follow. For me she is the one!
I totally recommend to give yourself a chance and just try one of her short videos for beginners, you will be amazed to see how your body responds to this new & maybe unusual “routine”.
So, today it is already seven days, that I practice yoga each singe morning for 20 minutes (plus my regular work-out DVD routine every evening). It feels great!
It is may be still very early to say, but something deep inside is telling me that “this stuff” is for real, and that I am seriously getting hooked on yoga, whatever it means. It is like you sense, that something is happening, and that this something is gonna be a big thing…
So, here is the link to Tara’s free short videos for all levels, you can start checking them out.
Do not miss this opportunity to challenge your body & mind. Use these You tube videos, or join (even better!) your local yoga group. Just try it, do it once. And see for yourself. You will be surprised with… yourself!
However, since I was not used to the taste of sugar any more, dark chocolate & Margarita were tasting insanely sweet for me.
