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Rise and Shine with 3 Morning Stretches

From Sharp Health News, a publication of Sharp HealthCare

A morning stretch routine is a great way to jump-start your day. You will get your circulation going, focus your mind and gently wake up your body.

Seated upward stretch. Upward stretches are a great way to wake up your whole body and get the blood flowing.

  • Sit cross-legged on the floor.
  • Interlace your fingers and raise your hands above your head, palms facing upward.
  • Elongate your spine and feel the stretch in your rib cage and arms.
  • Take a few deep breaths as you reach from both sides of your torso.
  • Relax and repeat one more time.

Forward fold. The forward fold aims to relieve tension from the back and increase the flexibility of the hamstrings and calf muscles.

  • Sit on the floor with your legs out straight.
  • Bring your arms over your head.
  • Begin to fold forward with your arms and shoulders, followed by your back and core.
  • Lower your torso as low as you can, and once you find a comfortable depth, relax your shoulders and stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
  • Slowly raise your torso back up to the starting position.

Standing half-moon. This lateral side stretch opens up the side of the body, including the rib cage.

  • While standing, lift up your arms toward the sky, interlacing your fingers.
  • Stretch upward, then slowly over to the right, grounding through your feet as you reach out.
  • Take three deep breaths.
  • Relax and slowly move your bent torso back to center
  • Repeat on the other side

The VEBA Resource Center offers Full Body Stretch Classes. Join the VRC team for a class that will leave you feeling relaxed, restored and maybe even standing up a bit straighter. Check out our calendar to sign up for an upcoming class.

5 Ayurvedic Tips for Fall

Have you ever noticed that in the fall your routine naturally changes, you crave certain foods (hello pumpkin spice EVERYTHING) and your overall mood changes? You are not imagining this — fall is a natural time of transition. The season brings with it a drier, windier and cooler environment which makes it a good time to practice Ayurveda, an ancient system of wellness that dates back 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda focuses on whole, mind body wellness not just your physical body but your mental, spiritual, emotional and vibrational health. The VRC offers five Ayurvedic wellness tips for a balanced and healthy fall season.

  1. Enjoy Nature. As the sun sets earlier, it’s important to get out in nature as much as possible. Try and make time to get into nature every day. Keep it simple. Take a drive and find a place where the leaves change colors so you can witness fall in action. Pick apples or head to a pumpkin patch. Go for a long walk with your dog or children on trails or on the beach.
  2. Surround Yourself in the Colors of Fall. Colors like red, orange, yellow and even white help to pacify some of the emotional effects from fall such as unsettledness, nervousness and anxiousness. These colors help settle anxiety and balance our emotional qualities to help us get through the fall. So, whether it’s the clothes that you wear or the decor in your classroom or home, be sure to incorporate the colors of fall to help your emotional well-being.
  3. Eat Earlier and Sleep Sooner. Follow the rhythms of natures. As the sun sets earlier, so do our internal organs. When the sun goes down, our bodies follow the circadian rhythm. Eating before the sun goes down and getting to bed earlier than you would in the summer, allows the internal body to be in rhythm with nature.
  4. Create a Morning Wellness Routine. As the seasons transition to fall and winter, create a new morning routine to help boost your overall health and well-being. Get up a little bit earlier to ground yourself with breathing exercises or a self-oil face massage. Take the dog or your kids for a walk before sitting down for breakfast to get your blood flowing.
  5.  Minimize Dry Foods. Try to minimize dry foods like popcorn, nuts, dried meat and dried fruits. Minimize salads and instead invite warmth and spice into your diet. Minimize caffeine and other stimulants to keep you grounded and whole during the fall months.

Watch these tips in our video here, and for more videos on staying healthy this fall, check out our Fall Wellness Series playlist.

Simple Breakfast Tips to Keep You Fueled & Focused

Some consider breakfast as the most important meal of the day. Start your day off right with a simple, healthy breakfast to keep you fueled and focused. VEBA’s Chef Leslie Myers offers simple breakfast tips to keep you going all day long.

  1. Have Ingredients on Hand: Every week when you meal prep, don’t just think about dinner, think about breakfast, too. Be sure to have eggs available as those can be used for almost any breakfast recipe but also add turkey bacon, whole wheat English muffins, chopped veggies and low-fat cheese to your list. If you eat dairy, don’t forget the milk (if you don’t eat dairy, buy a milk alternative).
  2. Add More Vegetables: Instead of ‘avoiding this or that’, try adding in more vegetables. Try and get a variety of colors: red peppers, green peppers, white onions, green scallions, white mushrooms, etc. to include with your omelet or breakfast skillet.
  3. Change Up the Spices & Add-Ins: Even if you use the same main ingredients every day — eggs and vegetables — you can change up the spices and add-ins to create a new taste. You can change from cumin to garam masala to oregano and basil for a new taste every day. Then, if you change up your add-ins, like avocados for omelettes or pumpkin seeds and granola for your yogurt, you’ll have something new to try.
  4. Don’t Overthink It: Your mornings are already busy enough. Save the massive breakfast feast for the weekends, and focus on creating quick, healthy breakfasts for your family. An egg omelet with whole wheat toast or a yogurt “parfait” with fresh fruit and granola are the perfect ways to start your day.
  5. Eat Together as a Family: Who says dinner is the only time to eat together as a family? This may not be possible but if it is, give it a try. You don’t need to do it every day — maybe you designate certain days your kids have to roll out of bed earlier to sit with the family — but it will be worth it. 

Breakfast is a must, and making sure everyone is fueled and fed for a focused day is so important. For breakfast recipe ideas, check out VEBA Resource Center’s library of recipes.