Whether you call her Mom, Mother, Momma, or Mum, an afternoon tea is the perfect way to celebrate that special person in your life. It can not only be a fun and elegant occasion, but it can also offer a wonderfully relaxed celebration.
With afternoon tea, there’s plenty of opportunity to visit and spend time together and enjoy delicious food; these recipes will help you prepare an afternoon tea to nourish body and soul and to celebrate Mom in style.
By Helena McMurdo
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
In today’s fast-paced society, many of us emphasize the value of “doing” and diminish the significance of downtime—a mindset that often extends into pregnancy.
Expectant moms are frequently burdened by anxiety about managing responsibilities, whether it be maintaining workout routines throughout trimesters or focusing on household tasks during postpartum recovery. In reality, we’re not supposed to do it all (or do it the same).
Here’s how to reclaim rest and tap into the benefits of yoga during this transformative period of motherhood.
With the pace of modern life pulling our attention in various directions, we often end up in a continual state of reactivity. The pressure to be productive can impact everything from sleep quality to hormone regulation, both vital during pregnancy and postpartum to create a nurturing environment for ourselves and our little ones. Failing to allow ourselves time to heal and discover what it means to mother can lead to struggle.
How can we embrace downtime? What does it mean to truly rest? Rest isn’t necessarily about sleep quality but our capacity to simply stop and be. It’s our ability to downregulate the nervous system or take moments of conscious rest throughout the day.
Whether pregnant or caring for a newborn, carving out time for rest allows us to surrender to our circumstances. How we think and relate to ourselves and others is rooted in our capacity to rest. Practicing conscious rest in pregnancy and postpartum can take many forms, such as reading a book, meditating while breastfeeding, or gentle stretching. It means letting go of the pressure to run outdoors or clean before the baby wakes.
Author Kimberly Ann Johnson explores this in her book The Fourth Trimester: “Exercise is a healthy stress reliever, but sometimes it is the only way that women know how to regulate their stress levels. [Pregnancy] is a great time to strengthen internal practices like meditation.”
Embracing rest throughout each perinatal stage doesn’t mean giving up movement. Yoga connects our bodies and minds during this transitory time. While standard yoga centers on stretching, prenatal yoga emphasizes structural alignment and stability-focused work—from strengthening the pelvic floor to releasing lower back tension. It also includes breathwork and visualization techniques.
Research indicates prenatal yoga can reduce labor pain, lower the likelihood of intervention during childbirth, and boost the birthing parent’s immune function. Additionally, studies suggest yoga enhances psychological well-being during pregnancy and postpartum by mitigating stress and improving sleep quality.
Whether pregnant or caring for a newborn, committing to a standard yoga practice each week may be unrealistic. Instead, reframing self-care and not fixating on a previous workout routine is crucial. Smaller but more regular practices of self-care can be as beneficial as an hour at the gym. There’s no going back after having a child; you’re creating something new.
By Brittany Devenyi
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
There are certain fundamental steps needed to reach any goals. Most of us know these things, but reminders are sometimes necessary to get back on track.
These essential strategies—eating a healthy diet rich in colorful produce; exercising; getting plenty of sleep; drinking pure water; reducing harmful foods like fast food, fried food, and processed food; and eliminating habits that sabotage efforts, such as smoking and excessive drinking or eating—form the foundation for other health goals.
Nutrition and lifestyle choices play a large role in brain and mental health:
The journey to cardiovascular health also involves healthy diet and lifestyle habits:
To extend your life, what you don’t eat is as important as what you do:
By Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
Does your meal pass the rainbow test? What’s the rainbow test, you ask? Check out the colors on your plate—when it comes to fruits and veggies, the brighter the colors, the more nutrient dense your meal is. Try out these recipes—and you’ll pass the rainbow test with flying colors!
By Irene McGuinness
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
Often when we begin to reflect on the metaphysical questions in life, including “what’s my purpose?” we undervalue the role of physical health in the journey. But having the healthiest body possible allows us to more easily grow and stretch in other areas of life. Here are some key focus areas to boost physical health so you can more powerfully live on purpose.
First of all, let’s eliminate any notion that seeking out your purpose and expressing it is frivolous. American psychologist Abraham Maslow, in his famous hierarchy of needs, proposed that self-actualization is the pinnacle of a life well lived. In other words, stretching to the edges of your abilities is important for your well-being. In fact, research suggests that finding purpose can add years to your life.
As you reflect on your purpose, remember that there is no single magic answer and that your purpose evolves over time. Consider each of the facets of well-being as a jumping-off point for finding your next purpose.
One of the easiest ways to minimize physical distractions is to limit the disease-promoting toxins you expose yourself to. This includes not only harmful chemicals in foods, body care products, and home supplies but also relationships, environments, and spaces that feel poisonous.
Pay attention to how your habitual television viewing, video games, and nights out with the gang make you feel in your body. Are you light, happy, and excited or sad, depressed, and anxious? Eliminate the stress-inducing spaces and people.
The brain doesn’t benefit from the same lymphatic system that removes toxins and pathogens in the rest of your body. Instead, the brain’s “glymphatic” system rinses debris from the spaces between your brain cells. The caveat to this system is that it works 60 percent better when you’re sleeping than when you’re awake—which means sleep is a purposeful priority.
While your brain helps you with your lists and your decisions, the heart has traditionally been seen as the hub of perception and awareness. Research has shown there is a two-way street between emotional and spiritual well-being and heart health. Nourish your heart connection with mindfulness activities such as yoga, time in nature, and meditation, as well as regular exercise and plenty of antioxidant-rich foods.
Possibly the least considered yet most involved organ in your body is your liver. It plays a role in all your major life events, from digestion and elimination to circulation, detoxification, and hormone metabolism. It’s a factor in body shape, inflammation, energy levels, and mood.
Don’t panic if you’re struggling to demystify your purpose. Often, the path is revealed only after we start walking. Until clarity comes, focus on removing the physical health distractions. It’s a win/win.
By Dr. Lisa Petty, PhD
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
We often misuse the terms food allergy, intolerance, and sensitivity in conversation. Knowing what type of food reaction you’re experiencing is key for making appropriate dietary choices that address the underlying problem and foster overall health long term.
Food allergy is a pathological immune reaction against normally harmless proteins in foods, which can be life-threatening. This immune reaction can trigger acute symptoms in the gut, skin, respiratory tract, cardiovascular system, and neurological system.
Common food allergens include dairy, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and wheat.
Food intolerance is a non-immune mediated reaction arising from an insufficiency of enzymes required to break down a specific component of food. This reaction commonly causes gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
Common causes of food intolerance include lactose, gluten, FODMAPs (a group of short-chain carbohydrates), additives, and biogenic amines such as histamine.
A food sensitivity is an adverse reaction to food that is not related to food allergy, food intolerance, or celiac disease. Food sensitivities can cause digestive issues in addition to widespread symptoms such as chronic joint pain, fatigue, rash, and brain fog. If you’re dealing with chronic health concerns, it may be beneficial to investigate unidentified food sensitivities.
Begin by asking your family doctor for a referral to an allergist, which will allow you to pursue allergy testing. Skin prick tests and blood tests are commonly used to identify IgE immunoglobulin mediated food allergy. Food allergy is best managed with complete avoidance and emergency medication.
If your allergy testing comes back normal, then you might want to consider intolerance or sensitivity as the cause of your symptoms. While testing options may include hydrogen breath testing for lactose intolerance and blood testing for IgG food sensitivities, Harvard Health considers the elimination diet to be the gold standard for identifying problematic foods.
Speak with a naturopathic doctor or nutritionist for support during an elimination diet and how to implement new dietary habits to accommodate food intolerance and sensitivity. Ask about natural supports for gut healing using minerals, amino acids, and herbs.
By Dr. Cassie Irwin, ND
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine
Springtime is the perfect opportunity to start fresh by consciously pausing to rest, reflect, and recalibrate. Create space for quiet time and make the most of it. Here’s how.
Take several deep conscious breaths and reflect on your
Notice where you may be out of balance, depleted, or too full. This gives you a quick baseline, a reference point to guide you forward.
When we’ve been doing a lot, it can seem like there’s something off if we don’t continue to keep busy. However there’s so much to be learned when we shift focus from doing to being.
Judy Cashmore is a movement and embodiment teacher. She sees numerous benefits to embracing the quiet of being:
The 20th-century analyst Carl Jung posited that people either recharge themselves in solitude (introverts) or socially (extroverts). The contrasting styles are on a continuum where each person has differing proportions of each style. Thus, we may have different levels of comfort with social stimulation and also different ways of centring and recharging.
If you’re more introverted and yearning for downtime, yet still have family, work, or social obligations, try intentionally integrating boundaries and breathers. If, on the other hand, you’re more extroverted and yearning for social activity to continue, try reaching out to others and do something together.
Notice what story you tell yourself about alone time—because that story will inevitably influence your perspective. If you think there’s something wrong because you are alone right now, try reframing to encompass the notion of space for something new.
If you’ve been spending a great deal of time alone and telling yourself it’s good because it’s solitude, consider if you’re avoiding or missing something else. You might reframe your experience as a period of isolation from which you can shift.
Recognize that your beliefs affect your perceptions and thoughts—so if you want a different experience, change up your assumptions!
This season will transition into the next. Before it does, you have some space to give yourself a shake and begin anew. Take your time, and maybe appreciate yourself in the process. There is really no one like you!
By Carole Ames
Article Courtesy of Alive Magazine