Yoga Poses for Office Workers

Hello Darlings!

I am on the computer constantly- both my job and being a blogger require it. So I know the slouched over, uncomfortable chair, lower back pain ‘uck’ that comes along with sitting in front of a screen all day. But just a short yoga session can ease some of that discomfort and allow your body to recoup from a day of sitting in a rather unnatural position.

The basics are also incredibly helpful for loosening the body after a day of sitting (especially downward dog!) so, I am going to teach these poses as they stem from the Five Foundational Yoga Poses. If you are new to yoga or haven’t yet taken a peek at what my alignment philosophy is you might want to pop over to that post and do a quick catch up! And don’t forget to use the foundational poses as a wonderful warm up!

Meatless Monday: Autumn Spice Almond Butter

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This week’s Meatless Monday From A-Z’s ingredient was incredibly open ended: nuts. I happen to love nuts (as ridiculous as that may sound) and add them to everything- breads, salads, whilst roasting protein- seriously everything. However, one of my favorite ways to eat them is by smothering them onto other things, aka toast. So I thought I would share an autumn twist on the traditional almond butter recipe!

Autumn Drink Series: Mulled Wine

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Mulled wine is an autumn and winter staple drink in my mind. My first recollection of falling in love with it was walking down the streets of Vienna when I was studying abroad. It was snowing, gorgeous, and frigidly cold. There were mulled wine vendors in most of the squares and we would pop from square to square sipping the hot liquid, keeping us warm as we shopped and explored. From that point on, I considered mulled wine to be one of my favorite beverages, one that I knew I had to recreate at home. Turns out it is extremely easy to concoct!

Hiking Castlewood Canyon State Park

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Yesterday Tink and I took a little day trip down to Castlewood Canyon State Park to enjoy a gorgeous autumn day! While I had intended on going down to see all of the gorgeous fall foliage that I spotted on Instagram, I was a few days too late- boo! But, nevertheless, the hike was still gorgeous and little miss Tink was super happy to hike and play in the water! Not a bad way to spend and afternoon (and keep checking things off of my Autumn to-do list!) I thought I would share a few snaps from our day, so bring on the pictures!

Tink is Queen of the World!

Yoga Poses for Runners

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I’ve often heard that yoga and running are counterintuitive. One adds stress and tightens the body, the other lubricates joints and stretches while calming the body, essentially they are each other’s antithesis. What a silly notion! I think everything is about balance; why not practice yoga to counterbalance your running, or vice versa! I’ve geared this post towards the tight runners, and have included poses that help to stretch the large muscles in runner’s legs, twist out some toxins, help the hips to open, and relieve tension.

I am going to teach these poses as they stem from the Five Foundational Yoga Poses. So, if you are new to yoga or haven’t yet taken a peek at what my alignment philosophy is you might want to pop over to that post and do a quick catch up! The foundational yoga poses are all fabulous for runners as well, creating foundation and flexibility, while building strength!

Runner’s Lunge

For some reason there isn’t an agreed on Sanskrit term for this pose, as it is variations of a number of poses, so I’ve left the Sanskrit name out! This pose is a great groin and calve stretch (which are generally tight on runners!) and also can help create strength in your arms and legs.

Udi’s Limited Edition Fall Line

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I was never really in the loop when it came to gluten free products until one of my best friends was diagnosed with celiac disease. He, in typical college-male fashion was terrible at cooking anything aside from burgers on the grill. So being the ever-so-nice best friend I am took it upon myself to figure out ways that he could eat his favorite foods without the gut-wrenching pain after the fact. I then discovered Udi’s – truly a life saver! So when Udi’s reached out and told me about their new limited edition fall line I was really excited to try their fall spiced products and share!

How To Balance Fitness and Life: Guest Post on Better With Veggies

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I have been reading Heather from Better With Veggies’ blog since before I started my own. So when she asked me and a few other lovely healthy living bloggers to participate in a guest post series over on her blog I was ever so excited!

The series is all about balancing fitness and life, and knowing that I am in the middle of a very hectic yoga teacher training program I had quite a bit to say. I would love it if you popped over to Heather’s blog, gave my post some love, and then popped around a bit- she truly is fabulous!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Beet-Carrot Yogurt Dip for Breast Health Awareness Month

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I knew I wanted to create something pink this month. However, pink isn’t exactly a color that you generally find in nature- so I was a bit stumped. That was until a fun surprise package came in the mail from Food Should Taste Good, and I just knew that I had to create a dip! I use beets as a natural food coloring and thought that their color and sweetness would pair well with fall flavors like cumin, nutmeg, cloves, and carrots. Adding Greek yogurt to the mix acted as a binder and a way to bring some delicious richness to the dip.

What I ate Wednesday: Yoga Teacher Training

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What I Ate Wednesdays are like Instagram food stalking on steroids. Which, incidentally I love. I pop by Jenn’s (from Peas and Crayons) blog every Wednesday and check out what everyone has been eating! Not going to lie, sometimes I get a bit jealous, but just as often it is super inspiring. I thought it might be fun to join the linkup this week and show what I had to chomp on during a day of yoga teacher training! Please excuse the quality- these are all iPhone shots!

How To: Keep Your Pets Safe On Halloween

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While it is known for its spooky fun, Halloween can also be an incredibly stressful time for our four-legged friends. Loud noises, hectic groups of interestingly dressed children, and tasty-treats-turned-poison can all be cause for alarm. But if you follow a few guidelines you and your pet can have a fun, safe holiday!

Meatless Monday: Savory Baked Egg Cups

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As the weather gets colder I have been trying to warm myself up in the mornings by making hot breakfasts. But quite frankly, I am not a morning person. So, having me cooking over a hot stove in before sunrise on days I have yoga teacher training isn’t a particularly great idea (think accidental burns). These baked egg cups are a great way to combat my still half-asleep clumsiness because you can make them ahead of time and just pop them in the toaster oven (read: fool proof) as you’re getting ready!

Halloween Housewares Wishlist

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I love Halloween- it is one of those holidays that you can really treat like a theme party. However, I’m not exactly a scary movie and skulls kind of decorator. I’d rather mix the more cutesy stuff (seriously, a Le Creuset pumpkin cocotte?) with spooky (but not creepy) décor.

Tarragon-Panko Baked Cod

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I usually am terrible when it comes to leftovers. Lazy me makes what’s easy or expected without putting much thought into the dish I’m creating. However, I had some gorgeous cuts of cod left over from having a friend over for Cod en Papillote and decided I needed to make them into something special but still simple. I used my cod, leftover sliced veggies and added panko to create an easy but delicious dish!

Autumn Drink Series: Chai Hot Toddy

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I am not a cold weather person- rather unfortunate, knowing that I live in Denver where winter sports are king. Don’t get me wrong, I love skiing and snowball fights, but after about an hour, I’m the one in a bikini and a furry hat sitting in the hot tub, sipping something piping hot, and being entirely too amused at my dragon’s breath. A hot toddy seems like the perfect drink to warm yourself up after a day in the cold, which apparently in Colorado, starts the first week of October (seriously snow this early? Not cool [pun intended.]) So, being the cold-weather baby that I am, I need something to stoke my internal fire; there is, after all, a reason that they call whiskey firewater!

Do It Yourself: Rustic Autumn Centerpiece

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I love decorating for autumn, which I call autumn instead of fall because as my mother says, “autumn doesn’t just describe a season but a feeling as well.” Fall is so full of color and abundance of life as the world gets ready to hibernate. Why not bring that life indoors? With just a few supplies, many of which you already have or can be found in your backyard, you can create a centerpiece that celebrates autumn and bring the beauty of the outdoors in.

Current Obsessions

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I have been incredibly busy lately. With yoga teacher training taking up over 20 hours of my weekends, plus all of the homework that comes with it, a full time job, and my gorgeous little Tinkerbelle to take care of, I’ve really had to figure out what I want to focus on. And with that, I’ve noticed that I have quite a few things that I’m a bit obsessed with. So I figured with it being Blogtober and all, that I would share!

1. Yoga Philosophy

Three Ingredient Vegan Lime Yogurt by Better With Veggies

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As an avid participant of Meatless Mondays From A-Z I’ve seen an incredible amount of delicious-looking recipes that contain tofu. I may have, until now, looked at them and said “never in a 1000 years.” I had a rather interesting experience in high school with some very gross-tasting tofu and resolved to never try it again. I had always thought it was the texture, however Heather proved me wrong! I finally decided to try a tofu recipe and LOVED IT. (Yes, all capital letters!)

Autumn Spice Baked Sweet Potato Fries

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It’s tailgate season! Which usually means lots of incredibly unhealthy (but delicious) food, cheap beer, and lots of yelling at the television. And while I can’t help with the yelling at the TV bit, (goodness knows I do when the Bruins are on) I can help with the first two. Cheap beer? Try serving a super simple and super tasty Spiced Pomegranate Martini. Unhealthy food? How about serving up some quick-to-make Autumn Spice Baked Sweet Potato Fries? You’re satisfied by same starchy goodness that you get from your typical fry, but with much less oil and a lot more flavor! Your tailgate buddies will thank you!

How Tink Stays Clean: All Natural Pet Grooming

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One of the questions I get asked over and over is “how on earth do you keep Tinkerbelle clean!?” Samoyeds like Tink are super white, incredibly fluffy, and fabulously naughty (read: mud puddles). However, as much as those three qualities sound like they make for an extremely dirty dog, Samoyeds are a hypoallergenic dog breed- they have no dander as they have hair that keeps clean much like a human’s would. But when I can’t just brush out the dirt, there are a few tools I use to keep little miss Tink sparkling!

Autumn Drink Series: Spiced Pomegranate Martini

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When I think fall, I think spices (which is why my apartment will smell like them all season!) and I put them in almost everything! Today’s cocktail is no exception. Infusing fall spices in fruit juice is a fun was to being another dimension to a standard cocktail. And the combination of autumn spices and pomegranate, a winter fruit turned out to be a match make in heaven. Not to toot my own horn, but this super simple cocktail is my favorite I’ve created for the blog so far!

Five Foundational Yoga Poses

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In yoga foundation is everything. In regards to the physical practice of yoga (asana) this is taken quite literally. Without proper alignment and a solid base many poses are rather unattainable and can sometimes lead to injury. The great thing is that our bodies are our best teachers, and will let you know if you are doing something in a way that suits you! To help along that process, I thought that I would kick off my yoga posts with five foundational poses from which you can move into any other pose! But do keep in mind that my practice is just that, a practice, and is far from perfect. Yoga for me is all about fun anyway!

Sunshine Award!

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So this is just under a month late (whoops!) but the darling Maria at Pappa Don’t Preach nominated me for a Sunshine Award! Which in a few words, is an award ‘given to those who inspire and bring ‘sunshine’ into our lives.’ I can’t get over how sweet that sentiment is. Thanks so much for Maria for nominating me!

How To: Make Your Home Smell Like Fall

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Welcome to day one of Blogtober! (Why, yes, I nicknamed the challenge I gave myself in my Autumn To-Do List- I’m a cool kid.) When I finally get over the fact that summer is over I like to jump headfirst into autumn. One of my favorite things about fall is how it smells. From the ubiquitous Pumpkin Spice Lattes (which, strangely enough, I’m not exactly a fan) to roasting pumpkin seeds, to the crisp scent of cool air, autumn is chock full of piquant spices. I love recreating that scent in the home, but feel that candles don’t do it justice. Adding a few choice spices into boiling water, however, yields an entirely different result- a delicious aroma of fall throughout the home.