And here we have... GMO food!

Well, hello there wellness lovers!

And happy Friday!

Today I wanted to share an ecard I came across via Pinterest:


















It kind of made me laugh at first... but then I started thinking how most people would actually believe a company that would say this type of thing.

Some days I really wonder about the future of humanity... I really hope Prop 37 passes in California: at least people will become more aware of the food they are consuming and feeding their families.

Have a lovely day!

xoxo,
Ashley 

P.S. Have you heard of the "Epicyte gene"? If you haven't, I highly recommend googling it.

Yoga's many benefits... and a personal journey

Greetings wellness lovers!

Today I have guest blogger, Carolyn, from Full-On-Fit, here to talk about some of the benefits of yoga, as well as share insight from her personal journey to discovering the practice of yoga!

 Photo by RelaxingMusic

My Journey to Yoga

by Carolyn Fallon

An individual’s yoga experience is something so unique. It’s a little hard to describe because it is unlike anything I’ve experienced. I am not all well versed on the technical jargon used to describe the poses or whatever, but I can give you a glimpse of what I experienced in my first yoga class.  

First, let me start off by giving you a little background. My fitness background consists of spinning and boot camp classes. I was a long-time member of a local gym nearby that offered challenging classes that really helped me take my fitness to another level. The classes are intense and challenging on so many levels. The energy levels of the classes are foreign to me and I appreciate the motivating instructors. I highly recommend any of the two classes. I have nothing but rave reviews for both.

So, why a yoga class?

Well, I feel like it’s necessary to step outside of your comfort zone occasionally from time to time. What better way to do that than experiment a little? I decided to try out a yoga class.

I had done a great deal of research on the subject of yoga. I knew it would be something totally different from anything I’ve experienced. The weight loss, inner peace and flexibility benefits were all benefits of interest to me, but the flexibility benefit appealed to me the most.

Many yoga classes are structured in a way that helps you adjust to stretching your body safely. The poses are designed minimize the risk of injury. The conditioning aspect from yoga classes can help improve your range of motion, promoting flexibility over time. Even sports teams are trying yoga. Dr. Glen Axelrod of the Center for Orthopedic & Spine Care claims, “Many professional athletic teams use yoga as an integral part of their training.”

And now the adventure: my first yoga class

It was exciting! Even though I had research it a great deal, I was still very surprised at how the experience affected me. I was fortunate enough to have a friend accompany me to this new experience. She had been practicing it for some time, so it wasn’t anything new for her. Thankfully, she was gracious enough to help me through the basics like the best attire to wear.  

Coming from a world of high impact, loud instructional group exercise format to a quiet setting was an adjustment. The people in the class were so quiet. I remember looking around and marveling at how all of the people appeared to be in their own world. The peaceful environment was perfect.

We started off with this mountain pose and transitioned into a warrior pose. I learned a new word, “asanas”, and how the term applies to all of the poses in yoga. I learned the importance of breathing and how it affects the experience. There were some hiccups along the way, but I had a supportive friend who quietly reassured me and kept me going.

I felt so accomplished finishing that class. I now practice it regularly on my own alone. There something about the yoga experience that transforms you. I love taking that time out on a daily basis to nurture myself.  

Carolyn Fallon is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well being.  She is an avid spinner, healthy cooking enthusiast and lover of life. Check out Carolyn’s blog Full-On Fit!

Have an excellent day!!

xoxo,
Ashley   

The saturated fat myth debunked in 2 minutes and 35 seconds

Hello there wellness lovers!

Today I wanted to share a gem of a video, sent to me by my lovely sister Alyssa.

It's called, 'Big Fat Lies'... the saturated fat myth debunked in two minutes and thirty five seconds, and it a clip from the documentary "Fat Head."

Guess what? Fat and cholesterol don't cause heart disease. The theory was based on bogus science from the very beginning.



Thoughts? :)

If you would like to read for yourself more information about fats, I highly recommend the following books.

"Nourishing Traditions"by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig
"Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig
"Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food" by Catherine Shanahan MD

Also, you might be interested in checking out the Weston A. Price Foundation, which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats.

If you have been reading my blog since 2010, you may remember that I was a vegan. Based on some popular books I had read, as well as a few trendy blogs... I was convinced that a vegan diet was the way to optimal health.

However, at the beginning of 2011... I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which teaches 100+ dietary theories and the idea of 'bioindividuality'. At the beginning of the program... founder/director of the school, Joshua Rosenthal, assured us that whatever dietary philosophy we were currently following, we would be experimenting with others by the end of the year. He said that vegan IIN students would be eating meat by the end of the year... and that meat-eaters might become vegan.

I remember thinking... "Yeah right, nothing will convince me to reconsider animal products." But Joshua was right...  :)

Have a great day!!

xoxo,
Ashley