Here’s some quick tips!:
Whenever possible, buy pre-portioned or individually wrapped items. Got an item in your pantry that isn’t pre-portioned? DIY! This is what those little snack-size ziplock bags were made for. It will help prevent things from going stale and keep you on the straight and narrow.
The more hydrated you are, the less hungry you will feel, so be sure to keep water near you at all times and try to sip consistently throughout the day.
Whatever it is that you cannot be trusted with? Don’t buy it.
Buy slightly healthier versions of the stuff you crave to make your indulgences a little less risky. Popcorn is better than pretzels, which are better than chips. Dark chocolate squares or chocolate-covered almonds are a better choice than candy bars, and gummy candies are better than chocolate.
Freeze baked goods so that they have to be thawed before eating, putting a dent in impulse binging. If possible, store only a couple of portions of any snack food in easy-access locations - take advantage of high shelves that require a step stool or basement storage so that out of sight can help with out of mind.
Any project that engages both hands and mind is a good deterrent. Knitting, coloring, prepping items for cooking later - do everything you can to keep active.
Stretch, do a 10-minute meditation, three yoga poses, walk some laps in your house, or go up and down the stairs.
Finally, be kind and generous to yourself and realize that there is no wagon to fall off of. If you overdo it in the morning, the afternoon is yours to course-correct. If you have a bad day, there is always tomorrow. We’re all in this together. And this, too, shall pass.
A grandiose sense of self-importance, on the other hand, can be off-putting to others and can even damage personal relationships. It can also be a sign of narcissistic personality disorder, a mental health disorder characterized by an excessive need for admiration and lack of empathy toward other people.
Self-esteem levels at the extreme high and low ends of the spectrum can be harmful, so ideally, it's best to strike a balance somewhere in the middle. Let's see how:
When you have a negative outlook, it can be difficult to see your own positive attributes. This exercise requires you to actively seek out your positive attributes so that you can improve your self-image. When you list them, also write a quick note for each attribute, outlining what it is that you love about it.
If you find more than 10 attributes, keep going. You are a unique and wonderful human being with so much to offer the world - it is important that you take the time to realize this.
Recognizing the many skills you possess allows you to see that you have great value and worth to offer. For each skill, write a brief note explaining how others might benefit, or have benefitted from this skill.
Again, if you find more than 10 skills, keep going.
The reason that this simple exercise is so powerful is that it forces you to look at your skill set from a perspective that you are not currently considering.
When you are shrouded in negativity, it is easy to forget about the things you have achieved in the past. Recognizing past achievements helps you realize that you are capable of achieving more in the future. Write a detailed account of each achievement.
If you find yourself moving past 5, keep going until your inspiration runs dry.
One of the biggest factors in self-esteem is understanding that you have the resilience required to cope with anything that life throws at you. Your past achievements in overcoming adversity enable you to see that you can cope with difficult times. For each occasion, write a detailed account of the adversity you faced and the skills and attributes you used to overcome it/them.
Remember that you do not have to stop at 3!
Do not just identify the 5 people; write a detailed account of how they have helped you. Doing this allows you to realize that other people value you and see worth in you. This is why they are motivated to help you. If you’re comfortable, send it to them - good vibes!
As always, when you hit 5, you can keep going.
When you have low self-esteem, you may feel that you offer little of value to other people. This exercise helps you to see that you offer a great deal more than you ever realized. For each person, highlight how you helped them and how they benefited from your help.
If you do not want to stop at 5, don’t.
Many people confuse gratitude and appreciation. Gratitude is simply letting the other person know that you are grateful for their help. Appreciation is taking the time to understand how you benefited from the help you received. When you take the time to appreciate, you start to realize how fortunate you are and view life in a more positive light.
Being a woman means having certain days a month painted red. Yes, we menstruate. It’s a natural, womanly process and that’s fine. No need for awkwardness, girls. It’s the 21st century and, thankfully, that’s not taboo anymore. Wait, did we just make it awkward by insisting on it not being awkward? Nah, we don’t think so, but when it comes to working out when menstruating, women can feel hesitant.
Why? Well, some women feel a lot of belly pain during their menstruation, and that makes it hard for them to focus on the training. Some other experience nausea, headaches and tiredness, and they would rather suspend training until they feel better. Take into account that exercising while wearing a tampon or a pad could be no easy task either.
Nevertheless, each body is a unique experience, regardless of general consensus, and every experience should be respected and embraced. Some women actually report no discomfort at all while they’re on their period. They keep exercising as usual and have no issues with pain or exhaustion.
It comes down to a matter of personal choice or comfort, meaning it’s up to you to decide whether you want to work out or not while having your red days. Still, we did find some cool benefits of exercising while on the first days of your cycle. Curious? Yes!
Experiencing fatigue, mood swings, cramps, back pain or headaches when getting closer to your period, and also during your cycle, can be normal, but regular aerobic exercise may help lessen these symptoms and improve circulation.
Exercise gives you a natural endorphin high, it can improve your mood, and actually make you feel better and happier. One of the main benefits of exercise while feeling even more womanly is the endorphin release and workout “high.” And since endorphins are also natural painkillers, when they get released during exercise, you may feel relief from painful periods, also called dysmenorrhea.
A study has shown that training during the first two weeks of your menstrual cycle –the first day being day 1 of your period– actually optimizes and enhances your performance, and it’s actually better than exercising in the last two weeks of your cycle.
Some women have trouble sleeping while menstruating and exercise can be perfect to help your body catch up on some well-needed bedtime. Pain and discomfort sure can take a toll on your sleep quality, and with the added mood swings (anger, sadness, heightened feelings of anxiety), you might find it more difficult to relax enough before bed to get some true sleeping time on those days.
That said, going for a long run or doing some restorative yoga poses can help relax muscle tension. Especially, trying it out before bedtime. Practice some yogic hip-openers like reclined butterfly, low lunge, or a gentle frog pose since gentle stretches and breathing help cool the body down in preparation for rest.
Doing cardio helps as well. It raises your body temperature, which is what causes the body to sweat. That post-exercise drop in the body’s temperature can create sleepy feelings, relaxing tense muscles and lifting menstrual migraines.
No problem. We know that despite the benefits, sometimes it’s hard to feel at ease doing a yoga class, running or boxing while on your period. We also know that finding a good pair of pants –stretchy but tight enough so you can move freely but keep everything in place at the same time– is key for feeling more comfortable if you like training on period days. Try our Alana pants, which also come full of social impact. Which is even better, right? And if you ask us, we believe we should continue to take advantage of the physical and mental benefits of exercise even during our periods. In fact, sticking with a routine can actually help ease some of the common complaints that accompany menstruation.
The period is a complex time for women from a hormonal point of view. Both progesterone and estrogen are at their lowest during the entire duration of the period phase in the menstrual cycle. This can make people feel tired and less energetic. Hence, avoiding exercise will not save us energy or make us feel better. Instead of ceasing all activity during your period, you can try starting a light routine on those days.
Have we all posed this question to ourselves at some point in our lives over the past few years?
We believe the answer is a big YES!
Why? It seems as if people praising this movement have found a certain kind of ease within their lives that makes their paths more enjoyable and stress-free, at least a little.
]]>We believe the answer is a big YES!
Why? It seems as if people praising this movement have found a certain kind of ease within their lives that makes their paths more enjoyable and stress-free, at least a little.
But what brings this effect can also be found in practices and routines that we would not usually associate with being mindful, since it has been painted as something out of the ordinary, something not mundane so to speak, as something a regular person could probably not do.
It is common then to turn to yoga, conscious breathing and meditation for mindfulness, but if those are not for us, there are plenty of other techniques and methods we can do to help us find calm in the midst of chaos.
According to Psychology Today, Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When we are mindful, we carefully observe our thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad. It means living in the moment and awakening to our current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.
When we practice purposely focusing our attention on the present moment and accepting it without judgment, it allows us to enjoy the little things and to put things into perspective. Taking life for what it truly is: one instant at a time.
Mindfulness is now even being examined scientifically and it has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness. Not too bad, right?
Some activities we can practice to keep us mindful other than yoga and its siblings are cooking, walking in nature, painting or drawing, spending time with animals, staring at a sunset or sunrise, writing, reading; and even some other more regular day to day tasks such as showering and putting our clothes on. Yes, you read that right.
Were those completely non-expected? At first, we thought so too, but once we got familiar with the idea of mindfulness, we understood that it is simply about noticing what’s right in front of us each single moment, without feeling anxious about what’s to come the next minute or about what already happened a minute ago.
You can develop mindfulness during regular activities as we said before. When walking, driving or even brushing your teeth. The key is to try and focus only on the present moment and not pay too much attention to everything else going on in your head.
You can ask yourself about what is happening for you right in that exact instant. Is your breathing slow or fast? Are you tired? Are you hungry? How do you feel? What are you observing?
When you concentrate on the experience surrounding you, you’re less likely to get caught up in your thoughts. Ask yourself whether it is hot or cold. What does the air feel like on your face? What sounds can you hear? What can you smell? What’s the texture of the fabric on your leggings? What’s the color of your sweater? And so on.
This is tricky to do, but try not to label things as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Just notice things and let them be. For example, instead of labelling a particular smell as ‘bad’, just notice it without judging it and allow yourself to experience it as it is.
In each activity that you develop and perform, try to become as aware as possible.
If you’re cooking at home, pay attention to the way in which you chop veggies, how the butter starts to bubble and sizzle in the fryer. Notice the aroma of some of the ingredients, look at the array of different colors inside the salad bowl. Practicing these tips will enhance your cooking experience and take you aside from your everyday overthinking.
If you don’t like cooking or can’t find the time to do it, try being mindful when walking to work or to the gym. Look at your surroundings, feel the ground your stepping in, allow your mind to feel each step you’re taking. Look up to the buildings, admire their architecture, their color, their height. Let yourself be taken aback by the number of people on the street. Keep track of your pace. These will help you focus on what you’re doing and what’s around you in that specific moment rather than letting your mind wander in the infinite sea of possibilities that the future represents, or even going back to the past to punish yourself for what went wrong or the things you could’ve done differently.
Always be aware of what you’re doing. The idea is not to let yourself get too caught up on the surroundings as to make you get too distracted and forget you’re driving or walking.
The idea is to notice the surrounding, pay attention to what you’re doing and enjoy the present moment.
Making it a priority to be mindful when exercising any activity is one of the things that will help your overall health in a fast, simple, easy way while doing regular everyday activities and without having to set time apart specifically for it.
A Call For Change
Contributor: Anonymous
When life’s circumstances present themselves to us, we are quick to judge. But sometimes life gives a second chance and waits for us to put on different lenses. Fortunately, I was gifted the opportunity to think twice, to sit and analyze, to question why, to deconstruct, go to the root and build back up, as humanely and lovingly as I could. That is how a new definition of community arose within me, making me realize that there was something to change: people need new lenses, and so do we.
When I say people need new lenses, I refer to the expectations we have of “others”, those who are not “us”, those that are the ones in need of change. Because “us” is good, “us” doesn’t need change. Right? No, not right. It’s both sides that need new lenses, new perspectives, new ways to discover, to interact.
I will not say this was an easy task, nor will I tell you that I did not refuse at first - the idea of changing, of accepting that some lenses were wrong, and accepting that those wrong lenses could be mine, was hard. That is why I fought back with everything I had: an inception of knowledge brought about by society and its stigmas, a sense of selfishness and intolerance, a feeling of self-survival against all odds. Everything I knew to be true fell apart, and in my heart, I knew I had to listen for answers.
Those answers did not come in an express shipping package, but they did have the faces of all the people I once had a chance to help, but could not; the faces of the many incorrect assumptions I had sustained throughout my life without looking for verification; and the acknowledgement of the many opportunities that were still lying ahead, right in front of my eyes.
That is why finding a mission like Alana Athletica’s was truly inspiring and eye-opening. Women are the light bearers, they bring life into the world, they bring the children that we will one day educate, the same ones who will grow up to re-shape society. Caring to empower, educate and employ those women – who have been less fortunate than others – is something one can get behind, unquestionably.
After realizing that change starts within, I brought myself to take action in my community. For those wondering, it does not necessarily mean going to a physical location. Our involvement with those around us – people and places – can take on all shapes, and it not only creates intrinsic change in the community, but it also changes us. That is probably the most important notion here - understanding the level of impact that we have on one another when we behave as one, as a whole, as part of the same system, as brothers and sisters all trying to make it, from any ethnic background, from whatever race, religion, or skin tone. We all aim for the same goal, and that is survival on Earth through love.
That is how we are supposed to truly learn, how we are shaped over and over again to become the citizens that the world needs. It is in the living of the community that one finds the keys to the kingdom, and as poetic as it may sound, the kingdom and the keys do exist, and I mean this in an emotional and spiritual sense. There is no physical throne, as we are all the same, but we exist in a physical frame, and we need to help each other coexist in it, while doing so in a sustainable manner.
But when I faced the idea of truly engaging with the community, I was afraid. Afraid of the unknown, afraid of not knowing how to help, afraid of being able to communicate, and afraid of the robot that society had raised me to be.
It was time to confront fear either way, and it was time for the community to confront it as well. You see, both sides are afraid. We humans usually reject change, and most of the time, we run away from what we do not know, from that which can turn our thoughts the other way around, from that which can hurt us and make us feel vulnerable, because it is frightening to see everything we know as normal vanish with change.
Because of my willingness to truly do something helpful, I felt my heart open. I felt open to letting the community teach me, not only about them, but about myself. I was open to change and diversity. I was open to them - the eyes I hadn’t seen, the voices I hadn’t heard, the hearts I hadn’t felt. I was ready to give without an agenda, and to share my experiences and voice as a platform for change. I believe that one connects more with others when one comes from a place within, when we reveal who we truly are on the inside and share our deepest fears and insecurities, our lifelong goals and dreams.
I first tried to put myself in their shoes as much as I could because, in my opinion and from my new way of looking at people, we can only understand somebody when we become them, when we try to perceive life from their standpoint and that of their experiences, without the footprint of our own background or subjectivity. It is very hard to do, but as we try more, we feel and understand more.
We made an effort to talk to women in the community about ways in which they could improve their family’s wellbeing. The beauty is that as they began to engage with information, they discovered more resources and knowledge to deal with everyday scenarios, and solidified their ability to apply said knowledge into creating a positive and impactful life for their families and others around them.
I have to confess that I was skeptical when it came to believing that we could actually generate change in the world, but after learning about how other people and communities come together to create impact, I was converted. I saw that it was possible, and that we only needed our own will to do it, plus human force and faith. Change not only depends on external forces, but on our own willingness and responsibility to create it.
When you are convinced that change is possible, you become its ambassador, and you preach wherever you go. But this personal stance (for me) did not come alone; it was after questioning a professor’s point of view, after she guided us to search beneath the surface, the possibilities that we had not come to understand; that I finally comprehended what my new approach was – whenever I see potential for growing, I will try to make it my mission to allow it to bloom no matter the circumstance.
We all have the need for change within us. Sometimes all it takes is to acknowledge it, and sometimes it takes a whole lot more than that. But what I am sure of, now that I had this one-to-one experience, is that it really takes one person that cares to make others care as well.
My goal now looks much different than the one I had in mind at first - I want to help people from the get-go. I want to be able to generate change from the inside out, for I believe an empowered individual can do more for others when they know they have the power and the tools to do so.
We’re all the same in our most basic fears, goals, and dreams, but it is our way of looking at the world, by means of the circumstances we grew under, that shapes our different patterns of behavior. We need to work on our understanding of those different backgrounds to be able to reach common ground through communication, so that our actions help each other thrive and create positive change.
Because whomever we think we are seeing is seeing us back; everyone we look at, looks right back at us. We are a community, a family-like community, a local community, a global community, and we need one other.
The most important takeaway from my experience belongs with those lenses that I commented on at the beginning of this reflection. Whenever and wherever we want to bring a helping hand, we need to do it from an inclusive perspective, with the understanding that we are all different, and consequently, have different ways of approaching what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, and to also understand that we can see the world, in the same way that the world sees us. It’s important to remember that we all have opinions and biases, and that they are all valid as long as they do not collide with our main goal - to help each other live sustainable, empowered, loving, thriving lives. We should make an effort to not let life feel forced to give us a second chance this time.
And what better way to achieve positive change than creating it ourselves? The idea is to pass it on, to inspire others to do so, to be the leader we so desperately look for. Being socially responsible is a great way to begin our impactful journeys.
*To become an [IMPACT] leader today, click here.
]]>But there are many different kinds of yoga practices to choose from, and we know it can be confusing to figure out which particular style is right for us. Most types of yoga are based on the same basic yoga poses or asanas, but the experience of one practice can be radically different to another.
Two of the most common yoga variations out there nowadays are Hatha Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga. Each one has a different method that makes it a unique kind of practice, each with a different result.
We wanted to bring you the basic differences between the two most popular forms of yoga, along with their essential characteristics. We hope that this will make it easier for you to know where to begin (if you haven’t already), and help you decide which one would be a better fit for you and your personal goals with each session.
Hatha is a word that comes from Sanskrit. It can be broken down into two different words: ‘ha’ which means ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ which means ‘moon.’ The word can also mean “willful” or "forceful.”
In yoga, when we talk about the Hatha yoga practice, we make reference to one of many types of yoga variations. This practice focuses on the mastery of the physical body, including all bodily functions. It also emphasizes the activation of the chakras in order to stimulate Kundalini – the primal energy force within us – and promote spiritual and physical wellness.
The philosophy of yoga tells us that Hatha yoga was originally considered as a preparation for a spiritual yoga practice since control over the physical body is believed to help in developing control over the mind and spirit.
Through its performance, we attempt to balance the mind, the body and the chakras through particular asanas and controlled, meditative breathing - which last a little longer than in other yoga classes, and function as complements of the physical movements of the body.
The earliest references to this yoga variation are in Buddhist works that date back to the eighth century, and the earliest definition of Hatha yoga is found in the 11th century Buddhist text Vimalaprabha. It defines it in relation to the center channel, or bindu, which entails the convergence point of meditation, contemplation, prayer and mantra.
Hatha yoga synthesizes elements of the famous Patanjali's Yoga Sutras – a collection of Indian definitions on the theory and practice of yoga – with posture and breathing exercises. It also marks the development of asanas into the full body 'postures' that are popularly used now. Along with its many modern variations, it is the style that many people associate with the word "yoga" today.
Builds immunity When you contract and stretch your muscles, move organs around and come in and out of yoga postures, you increase the drainage of lymph. This helps the lymphatic system fight infection, destroy cancerous cells and get rid of the toxic waste products of our cellular functioning.
Relaxes the mind and releases tension in the body Hatha yoga really encourages you to focus on the breath, which relaxes the mind. It’s an instant plus.
Tones the spine All of our nerves branch out from the spine, connecting the various organ systems to the brain. It is said that if the spine is rigid, nerve impulses cannot flow freely through the body and internal organs become weakened and subject to disease. If you keep the spine supple, the nerves remain strong.
Strengthens and tones the body Yoga poses in Hatha are weight bearing, usually held for varying lengths of time, and repeated multiple times during a practice. It is a great option for functional fitness since it allows your body to be both strengthened and stretched in positions that your body is naturally in on a day-to-day basis.
The word “vinyasa” can be translated into “arranging something in a special way,” or “connection” - like the yoga poses combined during the practice. In a vinyasa yoga class, the practitioners coordinate the movement with the breath to flow from one asana or pose to the next in a rather fast paced session.
Ashtanga, Baptiste Yoga, Jivamukti, Power Yoga, and Prana Flow can all be considered Vinyasa Yoga. "Vinyasa" is also a term used to describe a particular sequence of poses (Chaturanga to Upward-Facing Dog to Downward-Facing Dog) commonly used during a vinyasa class.
Most people equate the Vinyasa practice with the ability to sweat, which draws a lot of people to it. Since yoga is usually thought of as a more calm, meditative experience in general, Vinyasa comes as a more active version of it. Vinyasa involves a more dynamic movement flow than Hatha, but still encompassing the basic premises of the yoga practice as well.
Vinyasa allows for a lot of variety, but will almost always include sun salutations. You can expect to move, sometimes rather vigorously, from one pose to another. Whether the class is fast or slow, includes advanced poses or is just alignment-oriented, depends on the individual teacher and the specific style in which they have trained themselves.
Calm The steady cycle of inhales and exhales provides a calming, mental focal point, and allows you to feel completely present during the session.
Purification of body The ongoing movements, from one pose to another, give you cardiovascular benefit by creating internal heat. This increased circulation and sweat lead to the purification of the body, and is also beneficial to the heart.
Increase in muscle strength and flexibility The routines are a great workout for the body, especially since you have to remain moving constantly without pausing in between asanas.
Ability to bring you to the present Yoga opens you up to the moment, which is all we have. It is the doorway that takes us to experience truth and real happiness.
As we can see, in contemporary yoga philosophy, Vinyasa stands in opposition to Hatha. Hatha classes tend to focus on one pose at a time with rest in between, while Vinyasa flow classes string poses together to make a sequence. Vinyasa is a more active yoga variation, whereas Hatha is a more focused, slow paced and meditative yoga class.
At Alana Athletica, we enjoy both types of yoga practices. We believe that each one has a unique way of connecting us to our feelings and thoughts. Our pants are designed to stay moisture-free and comfy in order to provide you with an even better yoga experience. While connecting with your inner-self, the last thing you should have to worry about is your pants.
What matters most in the end is the understanding that Yoga is about getting to know yourself better and learning how to love who you are. This constant practice also helps you get in touch with the love you have to share with the world around you. Remember, we rise by lifting others (not by constantly lifting our pants) and #MoveWithImpact.
Every morning we wake up to the possibility of choosing happiness, and it's our decision whether to grasp it or not. Why should we? Well… we shouldn't exist day after day, hoping, yearning that tomorrow, or the next month, will be fruitful - we should instead make it happen today, tomorrow, and the day after with our positive thoughts and actions. Let's not allow time to pass and let life sift through our fingers, but instead take it upon ourselves to alter our behavior and make our lives a dream worth living. Let's set the bar high and lead by example.
To change the world, we must start with ourselves.
2020 is the year, our year to shake away from any drowsiness, lethargy or mediocrity. We must strive to be the best and happiest versions of ourselves today….because if we don’t, we will wake up tomorrow to find that our lack of perception has only left impotence sitting in a night stand.
You might be asking yourself, well how can I become the best and happiest version of myself? Happiness doesn’t start with a surgery, a relationship, a vacation, friends, or money. It starts with what we tell ourselves each and every day. This constant battle takes place in our minds minute after minute, and if we accept to be defeated within our own thoughts, we've already lost the war.
Thus, we must build our optimism into an unbreakable rampart, a place that the waves of negativity will not fathom to challenge. Once we have achieved this positivism and confidence, we are ready to begin working our body.
The body is a mirror of our mental wellness.
The body - it exudes the spirit beneath the skin through our posture, body language, and overall physique. Undeniably, we must accept that our mental and physical wellness go hand in hand. Reaching a state of homeostasis between these two forces, however, is no easy task.
Achieving homeostasis between the mind and body.
Achieving this equilibrium that we call homeostasis between mind and body requires some self-introspection, paired with some positive tools to transform 2020 into OUR year:
1. CREATE YOUR MOST DETERMINED SELF AND PERSEVERE
This is your year to shine - take action to be courageous, purposeful, and bold. Destroy adversity and negativity with optimism and drive. Our best selves will persevere to achieve what we want, no matter how unattainable it might seem at first. Ask youself - "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" - make sure it's YES!
2. BE YOURSELF AND REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE A BADASS
Be genuine in everything you do, from talking to your boss to posting on social media. Feel good about yourself and don't be scared to expose your true colors. At the end of the day, you are unique and people will learn to love and accept you. Oh and never forget that you're a badass - accept it, own it, act like it, and people will follow your lead.
3. REMAIN GRATEFUL
Life is beautiful and often taken for granted. Even in the gloomiest of days, always remember the positive aspects of life - those things that bring a smile to your face. Focus on the positive and destroy the negativity that can haunt your mind. Remember that you live an awesome life, surrounded by incredible friends and family. I would go as far as recommending that you start your day writing down 2-3 things in life that you are thankful for - set the tone for each day, don't let it set you.
4. SET GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM
Everyone starts the new year by setting goals, but most of the time fail to accomplish them. Stay true to your goals - yearly, monthly, weekly, even daily. Set attainable goals and a personal checklist that you can hold yourself true to. This will hold you accountable and help you structure your objectives. Once you reach them, you will feel accomplished, successful, and good about yourself - achieving your dreams is as simple as building a plan for them!
5. LAUGH AT YOURSELF
Don't take yourself too seriously. Enjoy laughing at yourself, even with others. Life is not about doing everything perfectly, it's also about making mistakes and doing stupid things. Learn to embrace these mistakes and prohibit yourself from letting them bring you down - remember that your perception of reality is your reality.
6. SHARE YOUR FEELINGS AND FACE YOUR FEARS
We all know that there's someone, probably many, that want to see us succeed in everything we do. Don't be scared to share your feelings with others. Relieve your mind and body by opening up to those who will listen - you will be surprised with how many people want to help. Seek advice and mentor ship, chances are that someone you know has lived through or experienced the challenges that you're facing. Once you face your biggest fears, you'll realize that you're stronger than they are - by a lot!
7. STAY ACTIVE, MIND AND BODY
Challenge yourself physically and mentally. Staying active is not only healthy for your body - heart, blood pressure, cholesterol, bone health, weight control, etc. - but also for your mental well-being. Burning calories and stress, all at the same time, is imperative to avoid feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or depressed. Incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity into your daily routine and you will quickly realize the benefits of staying active.
8. NOURISH YOUR PHYSIQUE
Eat well. Food is the fuel that your body operates on. Regardless of your diet preferences, make sure it's premium. I won't bore you with another lecture of what you should and shouldn't eat since you probably already know. Stay hydrated and meal prep when possible, it will help you save money and avoid calories. Your body reacts to what it ingests.
9. TUNE IN TO YOUR BREATH
Tuning into your breath is about feeling control over every aspect of your life. The power of what surrounds you is within your reach - the sky is the limit and nothing is unattainable. Make all your dreams a reality today!
10. EMPOWER OTHERS
Giving back not only empowers the person receiving, but also the person giving. No matter what you're doing, where you are, or who you're with, be on the lookout for opportunities to share - the good, the accomplishments, the stories, the money, the food, the dream, the excitement, the everything. We at Alana have the purpose to make women feel supported, confident, and empowered. Our manner of empowering women and giving back is end-to-end: we are partnering with Emerge Lanka, an organization in Sri Lanka that employs, educates, and empowers girl-abuse survivors. Through this partnership, our all-women production workforce manufactures affordably priced, high-quality yoga pants, with the ultimate goal of providing economic empowerment to global communities across the globe. When we give to others, we create a chain reaction of empowerment beyond any imagination.
It's time to go the extra mile.
So…let's be kind to our neighbors, seek good, stay focused, nurture our bodies, relieve our minds, accomplish our goals, strive for originality, and extend a helping hand. We should act with kindness without expecting approval or gratitude. Why? Because our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart, rather than a piece of our mind. After all, we rise by lifting others.
#MoveWithImpact
]]>
But today, we could not be farther away from the truth. Human Rights are the rights of the human beings. Correction, the rights of the male human being, as they have been enforced over the years.
Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights took place, we have seen an extremely poor, very questionable performance aiming to promote the protection of Human Rights in humans that are not the perfect candidate for such distinction. How come it is titled and acknowledged as Universal, but lacks the actual Universality about it? How is it possible that, as society, we still struggle with the clear delimitation of what is right or wrong within our core as individuals?
Questions that remain sometimes unasked, unvalidated, unanswered, unimportant and irrelevant when it comes to the Human Rights discussion worldwide. Why? Because of the various interests at stake. A simple answer, to an obviously not simple prerogative, but an answer that has definitely shaped, and continuous to shape the arguments made within the debate.
If we were to ask ourselves about the rationality of the issue, we could say it comes with a lot of history behind it, and a lot of male dominated history, specifically. It is something that does not have to be questioned because it has been widely known and accepted throughout life on Earth. Thus, if men have dominated most areas and arenas ever since ancient times, and we have grown and lived with that understanding, it should be normal for people to believe that they can continue to do so, if the dogma is not questioned.
Back to the field of questioning, it is important, and even more so, essential, that we deconstruct and rebuild from the ground up the ideas we have come to accept as universal, as normal, as common to all; for there lies the key to a new found understanding of the principles of righteousness and wrongness. What was right back in time is not necessarily right nowadays, and the same goes for what was wrong: some scenarios are not wrong anymore, simple scenarios such as women voting.
Women, our main concern at hand here, and the ones in charge of turning the tables around as well, because most men are doing very little to concern themselves with women issues. Women have been left alone in a battle that should belong to all human beings, a battle that not only plans to bring about change for one “minority”, but to all humans on Earth. And it is precisely because it entails a conversation that has been nipped and tucked to accommodate the interests of those who made believe they were in charge by changing the nature of things, by creating situations where others less powerful would have to succumb to the will of others, the others that took the reins of the world and made it subject of their rules.
If we start by looking at the rhetoric, we can even see how women were diminished to a minority from the beginning, even when reality is far from that. Women account for more than 51% of the entire world population (Binion, 1995,) and that is clearly not a minority, but why would men try to reduce women as an entity? Why would men want to make women look as the weak and the subjected?
There are conflicts of power and interest that come to the surface when the digging for answers takes place.
As Charlotte Bunch says in her 1990 paper “Women’s Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Re-vision of Human Rights”, women’s rights are not commonly classified as human rights, and that comes from that male dominated view that does not allow for a feminist perspective to permeate through. If we change the foundation for the understanding and application of human rights basing ourselves on the woman experience, there will be more than plenty of room for the discussion to change, for the woman experience brings a lot of questioning to the debate that would serve the entire world party as Binion stated in her 1995 paper “Human Rights: A Feminist Perspective.”
When we combine these two authors’ thesis and analyze the basis of their assumptions, we can only agree with the fact that there will be nothing more than great implications for other minorities, and even so for groups of people that are not considered minorities like men in general. Therefore, putting the social organization dogma under scrutiny, and empowering others in the process. (Binion, 1195.)
This is the feminist perspective, the one that fights for inclusion, the one that seeks equity in all realms that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has weighted on. The one that wants to change jurisprudence when it comes to the rights that should be enjoyed by all
Human Beings. The Feminist take on women’s rights is not that of an extremist, it is that of the individual who believes that equality is possible in a world where all kinds of rights are submitted to favor the oppressor when claimed, because in due justice, application of protection comes to serve the higher positioned in many occasions.
When women in different cultures, such as the Muslim or Hindu that promote the institution of Purdah, are left to the jurisprudence of the private sector and judgement because of the nature of the situations they go through, we as a society are failing to protect the oppressed. And that is a dichotomy that needs to be changed: the duality between the public and the private life, as stated by Gayle Binion in her mentioned 1995 paper, because the fact that some women’s issues can be taken into consideration under the public judgment, but some others that are equally affecting women and their rights are left for private dealing, it not only insults women as a group, but challenges the assumptions that we as a human group have failed to acknowledge from a stand-by point of view.
The lenses we wear to make discriminations of gender nature are the ones we are born with. It is not hidden that we see the world in the way we are shaped, not only physically but mentally too. It is in that sense that we, as humans, advocate for our peers, but the ones that look like us, that behave like us, that pursue the same things we do. Nevertheless, engaging with a group or another based on religion, race, sex or nationality does not entail forgetting about the existence, acceptance and promotion of other groups within societal scenarios. It is on the contrary, a motivation to embrace all kinds of life and all kinds of rights derived from it, from the individuality that we all have a right to as well.
What is fundamentally right with Human Rights in the current debate is the mere existence of the concept: the idea that as Human Beings we have certain attributions and characteristics that generate a set of rules that should be followed in order to maintain the integrity of our humanity.
But on the other hand, what is believed to be exacerbatingly wrong with the approach given to Human Rights is the fact that even though in theory it encompasses every single human being on Earth, it does not necessarily adapt to the actual needs of those supposedly protected by them. It would appear to be a world paradigm, in the sense that it has been accepted as regular and common, not to give such attention to issues that affect the minorities, since they do not pose a relevant and extra significant threat to the ones in power. It would appear as if the so-called minorities could vanish from the surface by big numbers and the need to protect them would still be threatened by the antagonism shown within the power forces.
Human Rights are Women’s Rights, Human Rights are Everybody’s Rights, not just Privileged Rights. In a world that seems skeptical and reluctant to understand it, the need for a different set of lenses is much imperative. It is the need for a different-than-male perspective that can change and transform the overrated notion of Human Rights that we have collided with for decades, and that has prevented the population groups, in most need of them, to actually fulfill their rights through objective enjoyment as stated by Donnelly in his 2013 book “Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice”
As women, we identify profoundly with the feeling of being subjected to scenarios we would not choose individually, with the feeling of underrating, with the feeling of not being able to speak up and stand for yourself without living the consequences. It is because of the nature of our gender that we know how to overcome oppression, and how to overthrow the rule of power over the weak, that we can better understand from our feminist perspective, as authors Binion and Bunch have done it, how Human Rights can be better implemented and served for actual enjoyment of them, not for merely theory to convey respect of one another.
When we talk about Human Rights, the Feminist view is one that definitely has the potential to achieve a bigger and better understanding of the way in which said rights are portrayed, defined and enforced. A feminist take on the concept and development of Human Rights would not only favor women, for that is not their only goal; it would also favor the ones who need to be favored the most because Human Rights should have been put into place to actually be enjoyed in due circumstance, not only to favor ourselves from looking like beings that have a human side in them without actually having it.
We dehumanized ourselves when we decided we needed to be protected from one another, but critically failed to assume the task of actually protecting one another. It is not a Human Right to be inhuman, it is not acceptable to be detached from what makes us who we are, from the very basic notion of humanity that we all share.
We dehumanized ourselves when we left women and other minorities to their own detriment, thinking marginalizing them would function as the translation of power to the higher masses. What we did was only fall to the lowest point of our human condition, and now it is time for checks and balances from a whole, new different set of people.
It is time for Human Rights to become human again.
#MoveWithImpact
]]>Pranayama is a combination of two Sanskrit words: Prana (breathing, air, life, vital strength, vital force) and Yama (control, extend, draw out). Its origin is traced back to ancient India, and widely used in the practice of yoga. Like the term conveys, it is the art of controlling your breath, and intentionally regulating it to produce specific results.
Overall, Pranayama has been said to have many health benefits and is supposed to help treat asthma and stress related disorders such as anxiety and depression, and even trains the lungs to improve respiratory system capacity. It also works directly on the nervous system which controls basic functions of the body such as the heart rate and blood pressure, slowing the ageing process and making your skin glow while releasing toxins. It provides stillness of mind and lightness in your body, and it helps clear blocked energy channels. Want more?
There are several types of Pranayama techniques that you can begin to incorporate into your daily routines.
Today, we’ll give you three of the most common Pranayama exercises to get you started. You'll thank us later!
Starting position: Sit on a firm chair with an erect backrest, if unable to sit on the floor. Keep the body above the waist straight and the spine upright.
Technique: Inhale deeply and exhale slowly, smoothly and continuously in a controlled manner from the nostrils with a little force, making a humming sound like that of a bee. Keep the mouth closed throughout the practice. The sound doesn´t need to be very loud, but it should create vibrations that will send a soothing wave throughout your nervous system.
Recommended practice: Practice 5 rounds per session, with a pause in-between rounds.
Benefits of Bhramari Pranayama
- Creates a calming effect on the nervous system
- Restores the elasticity of lungs and is beneficial in asthmatic conditions
- Induces meditative states to quiet the mind
- Relieves hypertension and stress
- Reduces tension and anxiety
- Helps reduce anger and frustration
Starting position: Kneel with your buttocks resting on your feet. You can criss-cross your ankles under your seat.
Technique: Inhale deeply through the nose and as you exhale, open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue and open the eyes wide, letting all of your breath go with an audible “Ah” sound. Close your eyes and bring your attention to the third eye (center of forehead) while inhaling.
Recommended practice: Repeat 2-3 times per session, and follow with a resting position such as Child’s pose or Savasana, relaxing your throat and facial muscles.
Benefits of Simhasana Pranayama
-Helps strengthen muscles in the throat
-Increases the internal temperature of the body, in preparation for more advanced Pranayama practices
- Releases inhibitions, allows one to find their true voice, and helps to get excess tension off the chest
Starting position: Lie down on your back with the eyes closed, relaxing your face and your body. You can keep the legs outstretched or bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet to your mat if that's more comfortable. If you bend your knees, let them rest against each other.
Technique: Begin to inhale and exhale deeply through the nose. On each inhale, fill the belly up with your breath. Expand the belly with air like a balloon. On each exhale, expel all the air out from the belly through your nose. Draw your navel back towards your spine to make sure that the belly is free of air.
Repeat this deep belly breathing for five breaths [this is part one].
On the next inhale, fill the belly up with air as described above. Then when the belly is full, draw in a little more breath and let that air expand into the rib cage, causing the ribs to widen apart. On the exhale, let the air go first from the rib cage, letting the ribs slide closer together, and then from the belly, drawing the navel back towards the spine.
Repeat this deep breathing into the belly and rib cage for five breaths [this is part two].
On the next inhale, fill the belly and rib cage up with air as described above. Then sip in just a little more air and let it fill the upper chest, all the way up to the collarbone, causing the area around the heart to expand and rise. On the exhale, let the breath go first from the upper chest, allowing the heart center to sink back down, then from the rib cage, letting the ribs slide closer together.
Finally, let the air go from the belly, drawing the navel back towards the spine. Continue at your own pace, eventually coming to let the three parts of the breath happen smoothly without interruption.
Recommended practice: Continue with the technique for about 10 full 3-part-breaths to complete a session.
Benefits of Dirga Pranayama
- One of the most calming, grounding breathing exercises you can do
- Helps focus your attention on the present moment
- Helps to get in tune with the sensations of your physical body
-Calms your mind and body, reducing your anxiety levels
-Promotes a full and ideal breathing
-Increases the oxygen supply to your blood stream
-Helps keep your lungs healthy
-Releases tension in the muscles
-Prepares you for deeper meditation states
Try taking (at least) between 15-30 minutes each day, whether it be in the morning, before bedtime or anytime you need it - to focus on your breath. You can also start without any particular technique, or position: just paying attention to your breath: in and out, while sitting or lying down, even while standing or walking. The idea is for you to bring attention to your mind and body, that way you feel calm and relaxaed, especially when you feel in need.
Let us start from the beginning: Asana is the Sanskrit word for “seat/posture” and it is one of the main concepts within a yoga session. In the Yoga Sutras –a collection of Indian rules on the theory and practice of Yoga compiled by Sage Patanjali– he states that poses should be steady and comfortable, firm yet relaxed to help practitioners become more aware of their body, mind, and surroundings.
The basic asanas are much more than simply stretching, though. They open the energy channels, chakras and psychic centers of the body while increasing flexibility of the spine, strengthening the bones and stimulating both the circulatory and immune systems. Pretty cool, huh?
If you practice the postures along with proper breathing –pranayama–, asanas can also calm the mind and reduce stress. With constant practice we can ensure physical and mental health overall, and the possible prevention/management of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and arthritis.
Over time, performing the poses slowly and consciously becomes a mental exercise in concentration and meditation, and your lifestyle will benefit immensely. (You’re welcome).
Without further ado, we give you our top 5 yoga postures. You can create your own beginner's routine by taking 5 to 10 breaths while holding each posture.
PS: We want to stress that you don't have to be able to perform all these poses exactly as stated. Always listen to your body and modify accordingly. We don’t want you to get injured.
Called the mother of all yoga poses, Tadasana looks easy. This two-footed stance is the foundation for many other positions that require awareness and balance. Through this pose we can find proper alignment and shape for additional movements.
How to do it: Stand with feet together and arms at your side. Ground your feet, making sure to press all four corners down into the ground. Next, straighten your legs, then tuck your tailbone in as you engage your thigh muscles. As you inhale, elongate through your torso and extend your arms up, then out. Exhale and release your shoulder blades away from your head, toward the back of your waist as you release arms back to your sides.
Consider this exercise a reset moment. Simple in design, this easy pose relaxes your nervous system and it is a great pause to take a breather during class if you need one. If you have knee problems, try to lower into this position with extra care.
How to do it: Start in a kneeling position with toes tucked under. Lower your butt towards your feet as you stretch your upper body forward and down with arms extended. Your stomach should be comfortably resting on thighs, with your forehead touching the mat.
Cat/cow is a great way to warm up your back and get your body ready for downward-facing dog, which is another asana. This pose also helps address mobility and work your core without the extra stress on your wrists and shoulders that you might feel in a down dog move.
How to do it: Begin with hands and knees on the floor, spine neutral and abs engaged. Take a big inhale, then, as you exhale, round your spine up towards the ceiling and tuck your chin towards your chest, releasing your neck. On the next inhale, arch your back and relax your abs. Lift your head and tailbone upwards, being careful not to place any pressure on your neck by moving too quickly or deeply.
One of the most recognizable poses of them all, down dog is a great way to stretch your back, shoulders, arms, hamstrings and mostly your whole body.
How to do it: Come onto hands and knees with palms just past your shoulder, fingers pointing forwards. Knees should be under your hips and toes tucked. Lift your hips and press back into a V-shape position with your body. Feet should be hip-width apart. Keep in mind, it’s OK if you can’t get your feet to the floor (your hamstrings might be too tight). Spread through all 10 fingers and toes and move your chest towards your legs.
Lying around may seem senseless, but this asana gives you one of the most meditative moments in any yoga practice. Corpse pose calms the mind, relieves stress and induces a relaxed state. No wonder why yogis are super chill.
How to do it: Lie down on your back and let your feet fall to their sides. Bring your arms alongside your torso, but slightly separated with palms facing the sky. Relax the entire body –your face included. This one is usually the final pose in a class, you can stay in this pose anywhere from 30 seconds to five or 10 minutes. Your instructor will cue you when to slowly awaken your thoughts and return to a seated position.
Happy yoging from Alana Athletica!
]]>
Saying things out loud can not only help us become crystal clear on what we want but can also make our manifestations become more powerful and fulfill themselves quicker.
The more you tell yourself something, the more likely you are to believe it and become it. On the adverse, you can also become what you don’t want. For example, if you say or think “I am fat” every time you walk past a mirror, you will begin to believe this about yourself and more often than not, you will actually begin to gain weight. Regardless of how many you diets you try or how much you workout, believing that you are fat will always give you the same results.
Let’s dig into a little scientific background. Shall we? Mantras (also known as affirmations) are a form of auto-suggestion and as they are practiced daily, they reinforce chemical pathways in the brain which strengthens their neural connections.
So the more you tell yourself “I am happy”, you are physically creating a neurological response that creates more of that feeling and thought energy.
Find a quiet, comfortable space to speak the below mantras out loud. For busy gals on-the-go, this might be your car or your bed right before you go to sleep-- anywhere that allows you to be free from distraction and in the moment. Choose two or three mantras that really speak to your soul and keep them nearby in case you need a quick reset throughout the day.
Enjoy!
To Alana, moment (from the latin word “momentum”) is MUCH more than that. If you give me a chance, I’ll happily explain what I mean.
]]>To Alana, moment (from the latin word “momentum”) is MUCH more than that. If you give me a chance, I’ll happily explain what I mean.
Life gives us opportunities.
Turns out, life gives us opportunities, second after second, to create moments. It also happens to be that sometimes, we live life on autopilot, and are unable to enjoy those moments. Hundreds of thousands of those moments become great memories day after day, and to no surprise, many of our greatest memories come from sharing a special occasion with someone.
My favorite moments, personally, are those that leave us a with a good taste – those moments that bring out a smile to our face, those moments that take us to a special place, those moments that create a special feeling. Butterflies. I undoubtedly believe in investing in those moments, creating them, and above all, sharing them.
6,000 thoughts.
Some time ago, I read that a human being has 6,000 thoughts on a daily basis, and that approximately 95% of those thoughts are neither new nor positive. They generally consist of the past or future - what we forgot to do, what we need to do, what we haven’t started doing, what we have pending, and what we should do, among others.
This leads me to think that it is human nature (our mind) that wants to escape the present, when in fact, the present is what exists to make us happy. Yoga is one of the most recommended practices for this – to feel the now, to acknowledge our breathing, and to analyze our thoughts without clouding them. It helps us remove the burden of the past, while leaving aside the anxiety of the future.
Moments worth remembering.
When I think of Alana, I think of creating moments that are worth remembering, of creating an impact. I am also fully convinced that it is in fact the perfect opportunity to help make the world a better place. The opportunity to educate, employ, and empower a woman who lives under different (most likely harder) circumstances than I do…just brings a smile to my face and a hug to my heart. Better yet, it is they who are actually creating an impact on me. So yes… I’ll keep insisting. These are MY favorite types of moments.
It's simple physics.
Physics taught me that an object without force has no moment(um). Life taught me that I should share my force with other women, especially those that need it the most, to help empower them with opportunities…the opportunities that every single one of us deserves.
Although many claim that we must give without receiving anything in return, I find it often times difficult to understand that philosophy - I believe in reciprocity, and that empowering others empowers me. Alana lets me put my own philosophy into practice.
Live the moment.
Do the exercise – live the moment. Be conscious of your breathing, create new memories, share them, and most importantly, share your force. That way, you’ll create more impact not only in your own personal life, but in the life of someone else.
]]>The idea behind meditation is not to have the perfect ritual or to replicate the same meditation every single time. The time that you set aside for meditation is specifically for you to grow and become more aligned and centered with who you truly are, what you want and how you can make the most out of the present.
Before starting your meditation it might be helpful to activate your body by taking part in light exercise, a quick yoga session, or even a light walk around the neighborhood or your office building. Awakening all parts of your body can help with maintaining circulation and will make your body feel lighter before commencing your meditative practice.
Also, be sure to put your phone on airplane mode before starting. There is nothing worse than being interrupted from reaching a higher place by an unnecessary text alert. Unplug!
15 minutes of meditation per day can make a huge difference in how you interact with others.
Much like working out, meditation takes practice, so don't expect to be the star athlete, the ultimate meditation expert, from the get-go. Over time, you will realize how peaceful you are while deepening your meditative practice.
Day by day, we work to change our hearts and minds in an effort to become more centered, less anxious, and not distracted by external vices. Meditation and mental relaxation is the key to transforming our hyper-stressed selves to confident, relaxed, and joyful individuals.
And when it comes to the National Wellness Institute, we can find Wellness defined as "a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential."
So where do we stand with all these concepts and ideas about what is supposed to be our state of wellbeing? Are we aware of what it truly means to be well, to have an overall feeling of wellness?
Whichever your answers are, it is non-refutable to say that the idea of wellness has taken the world by storm, but that it hasn’t necessarily had the same effect on all of us.
Some people are still reluctant to what the concept may bring them: an almost radical change of lifestyle. Meaning they’ll experience some sort of rewiring in their brains while adapting to the new challenges and ideas of what life can be.
We’re not saying that adapting to a wellness lifestyle is a must for everybody either, but we do believe that taking part of a journey where one becomes more in tune with our body and our mind will bring us to a much calmer, confident, capable overall state of being. True & tested, folks.
First of all, we have to break it down into different areas. The wellness world comes with different layers and/or components to it. Meaning there are different departments where we need to achieve this wellbeing status to feel satisfied and happy in life.
The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation establishes 8 dimensions of Wellness:
1. Emotional
Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships and interactions that help us feel loved and loving.
2. Environmental
Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments and surroundings that support well-being and make us feel at ease navigating through life.
3. Financial
Satisfaction with current and future financial situations. Flow in our finances, and feeling secure and stable when it comes to money issues.
4. Intellectual
Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills to put into good use, and challenge our minds.
5. Occupational
Personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work and professional occupation. Having a career/job that’s nourishing instead of draining.
6. Physical
Recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and good sleep while tending to what the body asks for in order to stay energetic and functional.
7. Social
Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system that helps us feel part of the bigger picture. Sense of community as well as helping others around us.
8. Spiritual
Expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Finding our true calling. Connecting with one’s inner identity and aligning with personal growth.
These areas of life benefit from working in the strengths and capabilities we can achieve within them, while acknowledging key elements and practices that can guide us towards supporting and enriching them as well.
The list here can go very long. Nowadays we have seen a rise in certain kinds of training, mindful exercises, better eating and sleeping habits and general self-care rituals that have made people more aware of their day to day life and more conscious of the way in which they’re living that life.
Yoga, Tai-Chi, Boxing, Running, Meditation, Pranayama or conscious breathing, Sound Baths, Vegan & Organic eating, Fasting, Juicing, Detoxing and so on are just a few of the many practices that are currently taking place in many lives. Some of them have been gaining practitioners little by little for a long time now like Yoga; some others are fairly new to the table like Sound Baths and Fasting, even though a lot of them have been practiced for over centuries in other cultures.
You see, we are so embedded in a work & social culture that it’s usually hard to find time apart for simply being alone with our thoughts. We then live anxious, sleep deprived and internally dissatisfied.
When we do yoga, we tune in with our breathing, the way our body moves, our physical strength and the way our thoughts respond to challenges. It makes us aware of our feelings as well, and connects us with our higher sense of being. It allows us to see beyond our limitations and tap into a higher source of energy. The result: you’ll leave the class feeling more capable, more confident, more relaxed and ready to take on the world.
These feelings then make you able to take on everyday responsibilities with more determination and more focus.
The same thing happens with Running and Boxing, and most sports to be honest: they bring you to a state of mind where focus is much needed and where resilience and determination play an important role. Your body releases endorphins and that puts you in an instant happy mood. When you run, you can feel how stress and anxiety are left behind little by little, and it’s like washing away all troubles, leaving you in a more positive mindframe than before.
If we talk about Meditation and Sound Baths, we can say they open your mind to endless possibilities and take you out of the physical experience for a little while. They link you to your thoughts and feelings in a way that’s hard to do when we’re focused on work or school or daily errands and struggles. Setting time apart for pampering the mind with silence and/or soothing sounds can leave you feeling like you just had a brain massage. Thus, allowing us to think more clearly and be more effective on a physical level. Tackling problems with a different perspective.
And if we include better sleeping and eating habits, the results are endless. If your body can do all it does being under little to no sleep, imagine what it can do if we give it enough, good rest: Wonders, right? And what about eating healthier, not only for a perfect body, but for its perfect functioning. If we eat foods that help us stay energetic rather than making us feel lethargic and slow, our body will respond to them with a boost in stamina and an increase in our capabilities. It’s really simple math, right?
It can feel like we’re in a race to be the best one out there, and that’s not such a bad thing if the race is with our own selves to become that best version of ourselves we want to be, but when we let this race become about everyone else we fail to find satisfaction even when we win it.
When we are at peace with our nature, when we find happiness inside first, everything around us seems to fall into place. The puzzle starts making sense and we find ourselves able to sail through life in a much easier way than before. The concept of Wellness is then a platform to start developing our potential in all areas of our lives, so we can thrive as individuals and then help others thrive as well.
In general, we can then say that Wellness is being in good physical and mental health. And because mental health and physical health are linked, if we experience problems in one area, they can impact the other. That’s why improving our physical health can also benefit our mental health, and it goes the other way around as well.
Keep in mind that the journey to feeling better and being more satisfied in life is not one to be finished in a day or two, it’s more about a change in mindset and our day to day actions what can bring us closer to developing our full potential as human beings.
Remember,
These are the final bits of Sidney Covington's interview by our collaborator Martina Castellanos. In this part 3/3, she'll discuss one of women's most important topics within the Military: Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and how success can be self-made regardless of the circumstances.
SC: I feel, with MST, it is very tricky! Because I think -even in the civilian sector -we haven’t learned how to address sexual trauma in general. We are living in a society where it depends on who committed the crime, and based on that, the punishment is decided.
So it’s really hard to find a cure or solution to MST when the government that is over us does not have a standard either. I think it is very hard, but the army can take the lead and try to figure out how to end it: things like having due process happen effectively, or creating an environment where people speak up sooner.
The thing we also have to focus on is understanding that women make up a huge portion of those who speak up about sexual trauma, but also understanding that the military is predominantly male, and there are also a lot of men who are traumatized.
Something important is getting them to speak up as well, because then we can identify trends and find out how often it actually occurs. Figure out how we can make it to where there is no stigma as to who is being sexually assaulted. That way everyone can receive some sort of justice. And the sooner we can create an environment where people are comfortable speaking, the sooner we can get to a solution.
MC: I remember once I asked a veteran if a lot of people got away with comitting rape, and he responded that the guy in the battlefield will always be chosen if he is better equipped. He does not have to be the most morally righteous. I was in shock.
SC: Yes, I have a couple of male veteran friends who have been sexually assaulted. They still haven’t spoken about it, and they probably never will. Because I feel there is another layer of complexity that's added when it is same sex or gender assault. It's almost like showing weakness -that another male could rape you.
I just feel like we need to try to build a culture where people can speak about their sexual trauma -regardless of gender. It’s really hard to address.
MC: What do more women need to know?
SC: What more women need to know is that the value in their worth does not reside in their ability to have kids, or the ability to have a spouse or significant other.
I was talking to my brother and I was like: "Nicholas, I can’t believe it. I am accomplishing things in my life, but I don’t have a family." And it was interesting because he said he had a girlfriend, "and if I didn’t have a girlfriend I wouldn’t miss it as much as you." It's so crazy to know that women are almost conditioned to believe their value and their worth is within a man.
He was like "Sidney, you have accomplished so much without a partner. Why do you feel you need one so badly now?" And I feel like women need to know that. You don’t need kids to be valued. You don’t need to be in a relationship to feel valued. You being who you are and achieving the goals you want should not be less significant because you're single or without children.
MC: Yes, I agree. For example, my cousin was not able to marry and have children, and my family always asks : "what's her problem?", and I feel like that question resonates deeply with how women are seen in society. It’s almost like women are considered broken without a male counterpart.
But I wanted to know, what is your driving force for today's success?
SC: I think my driving force is that I didn’t have anyone to look up to when I was younger. In the sense that I always had to look outside of my family, and I want to change that. Your family should be what you look up to. I mean, you grow up with them. So I want my nieces and nephews to know there is someone in the family who does great things, and they can do great things too.
MC: Yes, and I also feel like when you start at the bottom, the success is purely yours and the reward is much better. The happiness you feel from knowing that it was 100% your work ethic and dedication is amazing. How was your high school experience?
SC: My high school was interesting. I went to a predominantly white one. Often times, I was the only person of color in the classroom, which is always an interesting experience.
I grew up with my dad, who constantly wanted me to embrace and be proud of being black. Growing up I could count the times I saw a black girl in a magazine. The representation of women of color on TV wasn’t high either. So my mom went out of her way to make sure I knew I was beautiful, and that my culture was rich and beautiful. So going to a predominantly white high school was definitely interesting because I dealt with a lot of microagressions.
In my freshman classroom, I forgot what book we were reading, but the N word was used, and not like the one that is often used by, especially, black people, but the other one with a lot of historical, painful history to it, which makes it actually very painful.
I think I raised my hand to request we did not use the word in class, and before I could even say it, my teacher looked at me and said we were going to read the book the way it was written. And it's one of those really odd things when you're the only person of color, especially the only black person in the classroom, and you're being told that your experience with the word or what that word means to you means absolutely nothing. Like "your experience in the classroom means nothing to me." And I felt like I endured that a lot.
But right now I am much happier because before I didn’t know these were microaggressions, and I didn’t know one could experience trauma from racism. Since at the time I didn’t know what I was experiencing, it made it really hard to make me feel like I was part of a community or part of a school.
MC: How would you deal with these agressions? Would you fight back?
SC: In high school, that's all I did. I reacted. Especially, when your a teenager, it's more difficult for you to control your emotions. So I would always talk back, always get into arguments with teachers. It made it to where they would be like: “Oh, she's a problem student”, but it was never: "what are we doing to make this student feel uncomfortable?"
So I kind of wish there was some sort of self-reflection on the teachers' behalf to ask themselves: "why is this student acting this way?" So I'm hoping for that.
MC: Yes, I understand. When I moved from Miami to Texas, the thing I remembered the most was how students were given detention for speaking Spanish, even during lunch or recess. While in Miami, being bilingual was praised. And it shows how different environments can hinder a student's growth in the classroom.
SC: What? That’s crazy. And imagine what that does to someone's cultural identity, especially if they are a kid. That's why I am so protective of women of color, because we live in a society which tells us we are not valuable or worthy unless we adhere to whiteness.
MC: It' true. Now, to end on a rather happier note, what is something you haven't done yet, but definitely want to do?
SC: I am an adventurous person, and I want to do a lot of things. But something I want to do -that will conquer this recent fear I have developed after getting out of the military- is going bungee jumping. Now I am a lot more fearful than I have ever been in my life, and so I hope that it will activate this fearlessness inside of me!
And even though Sidney feels fearful now, we believe she is one of the most fearless, successful women we have come across at Alana Athletica. We are always proud to come into contact with women who share their stories of resilience to inspire others and become a light in the darkness.
Welcome to part 2/3 of Sidney Covington's story.
Interviewer: Martina Castellanos.
When asked if there was anything she did to cope with the common struggles that come with being a woman, Sidney replied:
SC: I think one of the things I do is talk to friends who know I have worked hard to get to where I am, because I feel like that reminder of deserving to be where you are is something important when you begin to question yourself.
I think this is very key in a sense. Talking to yourself isn’t always beneficial, I feel like sometimes it's best to talk to other people. Getting the 'you did this', 'you did that', and 'you deserve to be where you are because you have worked hard to be there' kind of lines because, sometimes, when we tell ourselves these things we may think "maybe I am being too conceited."
Sometimes we need people to remind us to be confident in our abilities and the work that we can bring forward.
MC: I agree. I feel like a lot of times, and this is just my experience, girls always have a tendency to slut shame each other, and how we value ourselves is sometimes dependant on a man. Like, who’s the guy you're with? Is he considered good in this given society? If he is, then you're doing well. I always ask myself: "why can’t my value be based solely on myself and what I can bring to the table?" I feel like girls are constantly insecure, doubting themselves.
The reason I did this interview is because women need to see other women thriving, they need to be appreciative of other women.
But moving on, what message would you give to women who want to join the army or any line of work where women are not typically the majority in?
SC: The advice I would give is "be you and be the best you." I think when I was in the military, my biggest competition was with myself because in the military, even though it is a group culture, you are still in competition with everyone. And when I stopped being in competition with everyone, it became a thing where it's like "what can I do to better myself and how can I be better at it?"
I remember one of my NCO’s, at the time I did not know how to respond to it. Now that I am older, it resonates a little bit more within me. It upset me because when I was trying to get into a position in the civilian world, or stay in the military, he told me I would get promoted faster because I was a black woman.
And I think that was crazy because I worked really hard. I used to run 17 minute 2 miles, and when I was in the middle of deciding to leave the military, I was running 13 minute 2 miles. So it was one of those things where he was saying my hard work did not matter because the only thing that was going to get me promoted was because of the fact that I was a minority woman.
It wasn’t because I busted my butt off, or because out of everyone in
my unit, I was the first person to finish my self-development courses, not even because I continued to take college classes while in the military. So I think, when joining the military, you have to be mindful that people will downplay your success because you're a woman, and be confident in yourself that you're working hard to be in the space you are in. That your promotions are not because you're a woman.
I feel like often times people will say: “the only reason you got that award is because you are a woman”, and you have to reply: “no, it’s because I did a damn good job. Because I made sure I held myself to the highest standard possible.”
So I think for women going in, just reminding them to always hold themselves to a high standard, and kind of keeping that in mind, because if you focus too much on the idea that you are a woman, I think you will start paying more attention to what men have to say about you.
Whereas, if you say "I am going to focus on myself, and pay attention to making myself better, it makes it a lot easier to be in a male dominated field."
I remember one time when I got to my 13 minute 2 miles. I was running, I was near the end, and one of my fellow soldiers, who was running next to me, had his NCO telling him: “Do not let her pass you! DO NOT LET HER PASS YOU!” And at that moment, had I been focused on the NCO saying that, I would have gotten distracted. So instead, I was like "Sidney ,keep going”, and that was literally the only thing on my mind. It didn’t matter who was running next to me, just passing them. And not because he was asking not to let me beat him, but it was one of those things where you think “what’s going to make me better and faster for myself?”, and not focusing on the fact that he’s the male and I’m the female.
There’s this whole thing where if she beats him, he’s going to look bad. You have to focus and think: “if I beat my own time, this means I’ve gotten faster and I’ve improved", and that's what matters to me. So that's what I mean by that. At moments, when you're in competition with other people or trying to become better, being mindful of the goal helps you improve yourself for yourself.
MC: Wow. 2 miles in 13 minutes! I did 1 mile in 13 minutes and I felt like a champ. But it was just P.E.
SC: In high school, I never ran. I was like "Oh, who runs? Not me." And then, to be able to run 17 minute 2 miles, and then to be able to run 13 minute 2 miles was a huge improvement. So I say, if you do something, do it for you and not for someone else.
MC: Preach. At what point did you decide you wanted to serve the country?
SC: I decided to join the military because I was a homeless college student and wanted to receive education benefits. I often tell people that a recruiter reached out to me. That’s actually not true. I reached out to the recruiter because I was looking up for options that would help pay for school, and the military was the first one.
MC: How was the whole military experience? All I know is what I have seen in the movies. Cadets getting up at the crack of dawn from their bunk beds to the sound of the trumpet. So I guess what I am asking is how was your day to day? You were a medic, right?
SC: Yes, I was a medic.
MC: Did you ever have to stitch up a wound? What’s the scariest thing you encountered?
SC: One thing that was very humbling was when I was working in the ER, and we had a patient that had come in with a gunshot wound. We didn’t know anything about this gun shot wound, it was self inflicted.
I was performing CPR training. And let me tell you, real life CPR is very hard. I remember I was stepping on a step stool because I had to be on my tippy toes to press down hard enough to be able to make it to where I was pumping blood through this patient's heart. And I think it was while I was pumping blood through the patient's heart when the doctor declared him dead, because the way the patient had shot himself, there was just no way he was going to survive.
He shot himself through inside the mouth up to his head. And I feel like that is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with because first, that was one of the first times I was doing CPR in real life. Second, it was the first time I had to deal with a patient that was declared dead, and third, I think it was the first time I learned how people use humor.
I remember when I left the room. I was so upset. And I was like "how can people be laughing right now?" At the moment, it was my first time dealing with it so I was emotionally in shock. But what I realized people were doing was that they were trying to make it easier for themselves so they could go back to work, They had to go work on other patients, and if you were to, emotionally, get drained every time you had to deal with death, how will you be able to be available for other patients?
And so I learned how somebody can use humor in what most would consider a disturbing situation. When you have to declare someone dead and then go into another room with someone who may not have a real emergency, you have to be able to cope and deal with it, on a daily basis.
MC: This, honestly, must take a toll on everyone mentally. Seeing this first hand must be on another level of disconcerting.
SC: Yes, something I have learned to do is to appreciate how people use humor, and understanding that sometimes humor is people's way of making something that heavy, a little lighter. Sometimes, we forget that people are still human,and laughter helps release endorphins, which does something that a lot of other things can’t do for us.
MC: I can only imagine. Now, on a different note, I wanted to discuss the many cases of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) in the military. How did you deal with this? What precautions did you take? Do you believe people in the military should be held more accountable for it? How can we help MST survivors properly?
[to be continued]
Curious about what a woman from the Military has to say about MST? Learn Sidney's answer in her final part of the interview next week.
Today, inaugurating our series, we welcome part 1/3 of Sidney Covington's interview by our close collaborator Martina Castellanos.
Martina Castellanos: To start off, can you tell us who you are and what you do at Senator Gillibrand’s office?
Sidney Covington: Well, my name is Sidney Covington and I am a Constituent Liaison for Military and Veteran Affairs in the Office of Senator Gillibrand.
MC: Thank you. Now, let me ask you, coming out of high school, going into college, did you know what you wanted to major in?
SC: Yes, unlike a lot of people that I know who have switched their major various times, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and that was to get my masters degree in Social Work.
MC: I know this is a very broad question, but I want to know, what’s your story? Have you had any events in your life marked you or changed who you are today?
SC: Yes, something I'm learning how to do is sharing my story. I have a friend who knows it and forces me to share it.
I was actually a homeless college student. I was working 2-3 jobs, going to school full time, and living out of the back of my Ford Focus. It was a 2007 Gold Ford Focus. It was something that completely, drastically changed my life.
Afterwards, I joined the military -something I thought I would never do. I’m from the Chicago area, so I left home and moved to Atlanta. I was chasing a dream of going to a different school outside of Illinois. And I did, but it was a struggle, and I did not realize how hard it was going to be.
One of my greatest lessons in wanting to pursue a higher education was being able and willing to be flexible and to think outside the box, because my 18 year old self -before I went off to college- would have never raised her right hand to join the military, but 19-year-old Sidney, who needed to find a solution for housing, was more than willing to do it. Having that ability to be flexible to reach your goals is definitely something very important to me.
MC: Wow, I am very humbled and honored that you shared that with me. Thank you.
SC: I think something that is interesting is being homeless. Maybe it was the mindset I was in. When you're younger you're a lot more optimistic.
I think one of my biggest struggles in life was actually transferring out of the military. I left such a structured environment. I was guaranteed a salary, I was guaranteed housing, food... And leaving the military was something like: "I’m risking losing all of that, and I worked so hard to get it. I’m risking all of this to go back into the civilian world."
And I think at one point, right after grad school, I was like: "Oh, I don’t want to do this anymore. I should go back to the military, it is going to be so much easier. I know what to expect. The military is very structured, so I know what my day to day will look like even when they throw random stuff at me. I thought it was just a lot easier." And this is when I was in that period of not having a job.
Which is why I recommend giving yourself a cushion, because there are people who will be able to graduate with a job, but there are also a lot of people who will not, and I think it was finally when I got the interview and received the job offer for Senator Gillibrand’s Office that I thought: "You know, maybe I don’t have to go back to the military just yet.
MC: Are there any specific stories about your childhood that particularly transformed you into the person you are today?
SC: Well, my childhood was not the best childhood, I guess. My dad was physically abusive and my mom struggled with mental health. So most of my life, after my parents split up, I dealt with more neglect than I did with actual physical abuse and so I think that actually made me who I am today.
I work so hard to be different, and to make it so that my future nieces, nephews and my kids know life can change. I am one of those people who believe in family curses, and I was the first person on my dad’s side to get a college degree.
I feel like that's somewhat a generational curse, where we had a history of family members not able to obtain a university degree, and I became the first one to do so. And I think just the drive of wanting something different, because I knew there was something different, is what made me become who I am.
Now I always think there is a solution, somehow. I just don't know what it is at the moment, but I'm going to find it.
MC: I understand. When I lived in Miami, my family lost our home so we had to move into my aunt's room in Texas. Even though this is nothing compared to what you probably lived through, I feel like it was the most important moment in my life because it has made me very grateful for everything.
Going through that experience showed me you need to be thankful for everything that happens in your day. When I eat, I don’t see it as just pizza or salad. I stop for a second, and I’m just genuinely grateful that I am able to have food.
What do you think is a common problem amongst women? Have you struggled with this? And how do you combat it?
SC: That's a tough question because I feel like being a woman of color is a bit different. I think something a lot of women of color struggle with is imposter syndrome, and that is something I feel like I have dealt with a lot, even in my current workspace.
Sometimes I feel I don’t belong, or ask myself "how did I get here?" I feel like that has made it so much harder, sometimes, to be able to say "I have worked hard for this and I deserve it." And I feel like that is a common trend amongst women, especially women of color.
I feel like we often feel like we don’t belong in certain spaces because often times we are the only person that looks like us in those spaces, and it's so hard to feel like you belong. So yes, I deal with that a lot. And I feel like this has been common for us. I have talked to friends, and it's a common topic we discuss. It is often times that we feel like we don’t belong in certain spaces.
MC: Do you feel like this is internal or do you feel like it's a byproduct of how people treat you?
SC: I think it's a mixture of both, there is the internalization of the oppressive sense of people looking at you like you don’t belong in this space, and people making slight micro-aggression.
MC: What do you do to cope?
[to be continued]
We all want to know how some women cope with everyday struggling, feeling like we don't belong, tolerating injustice and aggression, not to mention oppression and the pressure of doing the right womanly thing.
And on part 2/3 we'll learn how Sidney manages coping, her experience in the military and her thoughts on MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
Let’s talk HIIT
Did you know new research suggests HIIT workouts may be especially beneficial for those trying to burn fat? More specifically, the stubborn, subcutaneous, abdominal fat that sits right underneath our skin.
These studies also suggest that HIIT may help promote insulin sensitivity and even regulate appetite (Boutcher, 2011). Sweet, right?
Another wonderful thing about HIIT workouts is that they are efficient. Thanks to the high intensity under which they are performed, you can get just as good of a workout in a much shorter time period than with most training routines. Fitness figured out!
That’s why HIIT is my favorite form of exercise for a number of reasons: if you’re hitting the intensity portions hard enough, you’ll get your heart rate up way higher than with any other form of exercise, so your cardio will be on point; it is also the perfect workout when you’re short on time, traveling or when you simply can’t make it to the gym or the studio. Staying fit never seemed this easy, right?
HIIT needs the fit
Wearing the right clothing is critical during a HIIT workout. HIIT workouts are sweaty, so you need fabric that will let your skin breathe. HIIT exercises involve a wide range of motion and explosive movements, that’s why flexible yet flattering material is a must.
So if you’re looking for high quality, affordable and even socially conscious activewear -each legging purchase supports abused women in Sri Lanka through education, employment and empowerment- Alana Athletica’s leggings [worn below] are the perfect match for both HIIT workouts and sweaty yoga flows.
Check out Alana Athletica’s story! It’s all about empowering fitness.
Now that you’re equipped with the right pants, and ready to incorporate some HIIT workouts into your exercise routine, check this no equipment needed, total body HIIT workout that I prepared for you, including some of my favorite high intensity exercises.
Complete each cardio interval for 45 seconds, then do 10 reps (with each side, as needed) for the exercises in between. One full time through will take you about 10 minutes. So for a 30 minute workout, shoot for 3x through, resting for 1 minute in between each set.
Please note I am not professionally trained in exercise physiology nor a personal trainer. Rather, I just love working out, and enjoy creating workouts of my own and sharing them with you to help you stay fit!
Let’s hit those high intensities together and fitness away!
The HIIT workout
1. HIGH KNEES ~ Drive the knees to the chest, running in place. Keep the entire core engaged, chest up and open, back straight.
2. SIDE PLANK NEEDLE THREAD ~ Start in a low side plank position with your elbow underneath your shoulders. Extend your opposite arm towards the sky, chest open. Look up towards your extended hand. Engage your core, lifting up from the lower hip. Thread your elevated arm underneath your torso, engaging the obliques and maintaining the lift at your hips. Return your arm towards the sky. Complete 10 reps on one side, then switch to the other side.
3. SQUAT JUMPS ~ Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and lower to a squat position. Keep weight towards your heels, and avoid letting your knees go past your toes. Chest stays up, hands at heart’s center. Explosively jump straight up towards the sky, extending arms by your side, squeezing glutes. Then, land back on your squat position and repeat without stopping.
4. PUSH-UPS ~ Begin in a high plank position, arms and feet shoulder width apart. Lower all the way down, elbows in, hovering above the earth. Keep neck in line with spine and core engaged. Don’t let your hips or lower body sag or lift too high –your body should stay in one long, even line. Extend back up to high plank.
5. PLANK JACKS ~ Begin in a high plank position, hands underneath shoulders, feet shoulder width apart. Similar to a jumping jack, jump feet in and out, keeping core engaged. Keep your booty in line with the rest of your body, avoid letting your hips sag or your booty rise up towards the sky.
6. PLEA LUNGES ~ Start standing with feet shoulder width apart. Shift your weight into your planted foot, and lunge diagonally behind your planted leg. Keep the chest up, core engaged and avoid letting your planted knee go past your toes. Return to a standing position. Complete 10 reps on one side, then switch to the other.
7. MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS ~ Start in a high plank position, hands underneath shoulders. Alternating legs, drive your knees towards the opposite shoulder. Suck your belly in, hips in line with the rest of the body. Mountain climbers can be done slow and controlled or as fast as you can for more cardio.
8. ARMY PLANK ~ Begin in a high plank position, hands underneath shoulders. One arm at a time, lower down to your forearms, then back to your high plank. Continue this, alternating which arm lowers and pushes up first. Engage your core and keep your neck in line with the spine.
9. BURPEES ~ Begin standing. Lower down to the ground, jumping your feet behind you into a high plank. Jump your feet back towards your hands, then explode up, landing low to the ground again. Repeat without stopping. Be as explosive as possible!
References
Boutcher, S. H. (2011). High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise and Fat Loss. Journal of Obesity, 2011.
About Natalie
Natalie Betzer is a holistic wellness consultant and nutritionist in the making. Natalie uses a holistic approach to create custom-tailored wellness and nutrition plans for her clients. Her mission is to inspire and empower you to live a fit lifestyle of optimal health.
]]>
We are sometimes so absorbed trying to do a good job or make a lasting impression that we forget to take time to check in with ourselves, relax and wear our best selves.
But instead of simply complaining about it, we decided to take action and find ways to deal with it, like a boss babe.
Here are our top 5 stress-breaking rules for everyday life:
Rule #1: Focus inward
Meditation is a broad term that is oftentimes unhelpful until broken down into smaller levels of intention. The first thing you want to do is become aware of your breath by deeply breathing in and out. You can even say these words to yourself as you inhale and exhale: in and out.
Intentional breathing helps ensure that your body is getting enough oxygen, while keeping you physically grounded and in the present moment. That thirty page document due on your boss’s desk by the end of the week becomes trivial when you have completely shifted your focus from external matters to your internal self.
Take this moment to really check in with yourself. You will begin to notice positive changes in your daily interactions with those around you.
Rule #2: Make an effort to unplug
Turn off all electronics and really focus on bringing your positive energy into the mix. Life, at its best, is happening right in front of you, and practicing gratitude can do wonders, eliminating stress and anxiety.
Powering down allows you to create your own reality, rather than allowing stress to consume you.
Often times, we are so tapped into technology that we become FOMO (fear of missing out) dependent, succumbing to the inevitable addiction to social media, rather than creating a social presence.
Rule #3: Get up and going
Physical activity is meditation in motion. Become active and focus on your body's movements. This will help you concentrate, increase your energy levels and fuel your optimism.
If you're not able to squeeze a quick workout session during your workday, how about a nice walk outside? Become one with nature and make it a point to experience and enjoy your surroundings.
And if you're not feeling it, it might be that you’re not wearing the right outfit! Get yourself a pair of the comfiest leggings ever, and lift your spirits through support, confidence and empowerment.
Rule #4: Drink something soothing
If you can’t seem to get out of the office, out of other daily commitments such as school, or even away from your desk, you can definitely make a warm cup of herbal tea to soothe your worries.
Here’s a quick list of teas to choose from:
Rule #5: Talk it out. Write it out
There’s nothing wrong with going back to basics. Talking and writing out your thoughts and emotions are a great way to express yourself, while sorting through your areas of discomfort, clarifying any issues taking a toll on your mental state.
By getting those worries and tension out of your system, you begin a cleansing process where a powerful sense of relief takes over, making you feel calmer about the issues that are consuming you.
If no one is available to talk, you may want to consider journaling. There are thousands of people who keep a daily journal handy in case they need to release their stress-creating thoughts.
Did you know eating a cup [approximately 150g] of blueberries a day reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease by up to 15 per cent? Now you know! And that’s just one of their many benefits.
According to Alanna Waldron, a New York City based RD and wellness coach for New York Presbyterian at Columbia University Medical Center, a cup of blueberries contains barely 70 calories with 24 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, which may help your hair shine and your skin glow. Cool, huh?
But what’s cooler is that their blue color comes from the plant compound called anthocyanin -containing antioxidant properties (flavonoids) as well- which can help prevent disease too. One too many benefits to count, I’d say!
And there’s more, this superfood has also been tied to improved memory. What?! Raise your hand if you wouldn’t mind a little bit more of ‘remembering errands’!
Several studies also suggest that blueberries reduce DNA damage, which is known to be the leading cause of aging and cancer. I’m now seriously getting out of bed and going to the farmer’s market to get some of this. I’ll live forever like the Oasis song [kudos to the old souls who got the musical reference xD]
So, to make it easy, simple and fast to absorb all the nutrients and fast track to a better, healthier version of you, we’ll just put this Blueberry Smoothie recipe over here and leave slowly.
Smoothies can be a great option for an easy, nutritious breakfast, an afternoon snack or a delicious late-night dessert. This Blueberry Smoothie offers protein from Greek yogurt, plenty of antioxidants from the blueberries, and all that for just 280 calories. Isn’t that a pretty good deal?
Here is what you’ll need:
1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
2 tsp ground flax seed
1 frozen ripe banana sliced
2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp maple syrup or to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
And the easiest instructions ever:
Add everything to a blender and process until smooth. Divide between two tall glasses and voilà! Smoothie for you and your late night cravings.
Scorpio Season is finally here, gals! And you know what that means: New Moon in Scorpio, Halloween and every other dark, witchy and spooky thing there is. It also means mysterious, passionate and extra sexy season, just to name a few.
It’s our favorite sign from the zodiac. That’s why we decided to pay it homage and jump on a Witchtown bound, one-stop-only broomstick to deliver you the witchiest blog ever!
Let’s get into bewitchsness
A new moon entails new beginnings, it’s energy meant for starting new projects and going into new endeavors, and Scorpio’s vibe is all about bringing self-transformation, healing and rebirth from the ashes like the Phoenix.
It’s all about reconnecting with your deepest core, making peace with your raw desires and finding value in who you truly are on the inside. We know it’s said with a few words, but we also know it’s easier said than done. Still, there’s no more unfruitful job than the one not done, right?
So we’ll use this new moon taking place in beautifully intense Scorpio for a letting go ritual: it’s about time you get rid of what no longer resonates with the true you.
Shall we, witches?
First, you need to get on your comfiest black leggings and tee, put your hair in a bun, and gather your ingredients.
For a witchy, Scorpio ambiance:
☾ Candles
☾ Music.
☾ Sandalwood incense
☾ Some Sage or Palo Santo
For Potion-Making:
☾ A glass of wine
☾ And the rest of the wine bottle, of course
And for Intention-Setting:
☾ Pen and crayons
☾ Lots of paper
And now...
Light the candles, turn up your volume, pour that wine and start by cleaning your spaces. Burn some Palo Santo or Sage around your house while visualizing all unwanted vibes being expelled out. Then light your Sandalwood incense and leave it in the room so it can continue cleansing away your space and your aura as well.
Sit on your favorite spot and bring out the pen, paper and crayons. We’re going to design our own board of intentions, sort of like a vision board, but this time we’ll actually write action plans next to each goal instead of just putting images together. Thinking + doing hand in hand, baby.
This is something you can do for every new moon, every month. But remember every new moon takes place in a particular sign out of the twelve, and that’s the available energy we should make use of at the moment.
This Sunday, October 27th at 23:38 hours ET the New Moon will happen in Scorpio. This is the time and date the moon will perfect itself within its new phase. Remember the moon spends around a week in each of its 4 phases, and around 2 and a half days on each sign. Reaching peaks in each of its 4 phases. And it is around that new phase peak [you have a window of 16 hours: 8 hours before and 8 hours after its peak] where you want to do this ritual, to make maximum use of the energy. It works by taking a mindful moment to think about your intentions for the month ahead in terms of Scorpio vibes.
We already described a couple of Scorpio’s traits, but they are more than that.
Here’s, summed up, what you should be working on for intention-setting:
☾ Self-acceptance: understanding your deepest desires because they make you who you are. Discerning between what you truly want and what you think you want as a result of societal programming. Releasing fear of what others may say. Embracing your nature.
☾ Control releasing: the only thing we can control is our reaction to our life experience. Being aware of that helps us let go of the need to control situations and people in our lives. Something much needed to achieve peace of mind.
☾ Inner transformation: going deep inside yourself and owning up to what you need to change in order to find the best version of yourself. Shadow becoming light. Pain becoming healing. Reality changing through your personal power.
This is simply the broader picture.
You can let your intuition guide you towards what you particularly need within these categories and dig deeper for a better understanding of your process. It also helps to look at the astral house where this New Moon falls on for you. The subjects the house reigns over will give you a glimpse on the areas of your life that will have the spotlight on for the next month.
Once you’ve done deep thinking about your intentions, write them down on a piece of paper, and next to each one, write an action plan you can develop to put intention into motion. Use as many crayons and images you can. The more invested you are on your intention list, the more you’ll bring it to life. Let your mood be happy while writing your intentions. Feel yourself open to what’s to come, to all the possibilities, and to your willingness to put in the work needed.
After you finish, you can include a self-care ritual to top-off your night. Like a bubble bath, cooking yourself a homie meal or simply looking at yourself in the mirror and loving the soul in there. Yes, let that sink in for a minute.
You see, this new moon will face the opposition of Uranus in Taurus, asking us to reflect on how we treat ourselves vs. how we treat others. Self-value over the value we give others. Meaning we can’t put value in someone else if we don’t value ourselves first. Self-esteem. Healthy boundaries in relationships.
So go ahead and self-care the hell out of yourself, literally, and indulge in what pleases your earthiness with acceptance of who you really are deep down. No shame, no fear, all you. Embrace your dark side so you can see your light differently. That’s Scorpio’s mantra. It’s a new you, unafraid, unapologetic, because what’s real in your world if you aren’t real yourself?
And what’s even more real than embracing the fact that you love wearing leggings everyday, right? Here are some black everything outfit ideas to inspire you for this dark season.
Halloween Outfitting with our star: the black legging.
Who said spooky AND comfy couldn’t be a match? We didn’t! Read this:
☾ Black leggings, a black crop tee and a broom (and you’ll be posing as a basic modern witch.) You know, black, long dresses are so sixteen hundred.
☾ Black leggings, a white tee and a cape. In case you’re longing for blood and want to be Dracula for the night. You know what we mean.
☾ Black leggings, black booties and a black blazer, plus a little bit of green paint. Voilà. You’re Frankenstein.
☾ Black leggings + a long, black hair, braided wig and you’ll be a 2019 Wednesday Addams.
With our black leggings you don’t have to bust your brain to get a halloween costume, and the best part, you’re being a good witch at the same time by helping women thrive with your purchase.
]]>
But why National Period Day?
For pushing against period poverty issues, demanding actual social change around it, getting period products to be more accessible for every woman and ending the #TamponTax.
Period Facts Served
Did you know 35 U.S. states still demand a sales tax on period products because they consider them non-essential items?
1 in 4 women find it hard to afford period items given their lack of income.
And with the first city-wide study done on period poverty, we even found out that 46% of low-income women had to choose between a meal and period products. That’s almost half of the women struggling with low-income living, almost half.
Code Red understood, now what?
#NationalPeriodDay is just the beginning of a year long campaign to elevate the problem of period poverty on a national scale. We need open conversations about period health and we need solutions to period poverty, with clear policy-making for period products to be freely accessible in schools, shelters and prisons, plus the elimination of the tampon tax in the states still reinforcing it.
Tomorrow, there will be several #PeriodDay rallies held around the country, and we need everybody to take part in them. It’s like they say: the more the better, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re the woman still in menstruating age, a man, or someone long past their red days, we need you to help us raise our voices.
And while you’re at it, rallying for a good cause, supporting women, you’ll be getting a good workout. And even if you’re on your period right now, and feel like walking a mile long is not something you would choose on these days, we’re here to tell you it’s time to end the stigma and feel all the benefits of staying body active while on your period.
Working out + period days = better sleep, relieving symptoms, endorphins and women empowerment. Yes, you read that last phrase right. Exercising during your red days also means feeling more empowered.
Because yes, being a woman means having certain days a month painted with the color of passion. Yes, we menstruate. It’s a natural, womanly process and that’s fine, but when it comes to working out when on their period, women tend to feel hesitant when they should be feeling empowered.
Why? Well, some women feel a lot of belly pain during their period, and that makes it hard for them to focus on the training. Some other experience nausea, headaches and tiredness, and they would rather suspend the training until they feel better. Take into account that exercising while wearing a tampon or a pad could be no easy task either.
Each body is a unique experience, regardless of the general consensus, and every experience should be respected and embraced. Some women actually report no discomfort at all while they’re on their period. They keep exercising as usual and have no issues with pain or exhaustion.
It comes down to a matter of personal choice or comfort, meaning it’s up to you to decide whether you want to work out or not while having your period on your door. But, we found some really cool benefits of exercising while on the first days of your cycle. Curious? Yes!
Alleviate PMS symptoms? I’ll take two, please
Experiencing fatigue, mood swings, cramps, back pain or headaches when getting closer to your period, and also during your cycle, can be normal, but regular aerobic exercise may help lessen these symptoms and improve circulation.
Hello, endorphins!
Exercising gives you a natural endorphin high: it can improve your mood, and actually make you feel better and happier. One of the main benefits of exercising while feeling even more womanly is the endorphin release and workout “high.” And since endorphins are also natural painkillers, when they get released during exercise, you may feel relief from painful periods, also called 'dysmenorrhea'.
Performance goes up
A study has shown that training during the first two weeks of your menstrual cycle –the first day being day 1 of your period– actually optimizes and enhances your performance, and it’s actually better than exercising in the last two weeks of your cycle.
Better sleep nights
Some women have trouble sleeping while menstruating and exercise can be perfect to help your body catch up on some well-needed bedtime. Pain and discomfort sure can take a toll on your sleep quality, and with the added mood swings (anger, sadness, heightened feelings of anxiety), you might find it more difficult to relax enough before bed to get some true sleeping time on those days.
That said, going for a long run or doing some restorative yoga poses can help relax muscle tension. Especially, trying it out before bedtime. Practice some yogic hip-openers like reclined butterfly, low lunge, or a gentle frog pose since gentle stretches and breathing help cool the body down in preparation for rest.
Doing cardio helps as well. It raises your body temperature, which is what causes the body to sweat. That post-exercise drop in the body’s temperature can create sleepy feelings, relaxing tense muscles and lifting menstrual migraines.
Not convinced yet?
No problem. We know that despite the benefits, sometimes it’s hard to feel at ease doing a yoga class, running or boxing while on your period. But, we bet there is nothing more rewarding than getting out, raising your voice and expressing your opinion to support social impact while getting a workout of it, and wearing our social impact leggings.
It’s no secret that finding a good pair of pants –stretchy but tight enough so you can move freely but keep everything in place at the same time– is key for feeling more comfortable when training on period days, and our Alana pants are designed for exactly those moments.
Empower yourself, empower your period and empower other women while wearing empowering pants.
See you at the rally tomorrow!
#PeriodsWithImpact
References
National Period Day. (2019) In Period, The Menstrual Movement. Retrieved from https://www.period.org/nationalperiodday
Exercising during your period. (2017) In Health Line. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-during-period
Why exercising on your period is a must. (2018) In The Fixx. Retrieved from https://flexfits.com/blogs/thefixx/exercising-on-your-period
]]>
Men are little by little raising their voices to support women. They are realizing that their mothers, their aunts, their sisters, their wives, their daughters, their cousins, their friends and every woman they know have a chance of becoming a statistic of sexual assault.
A scenario that needs to come to an end, but that will not be possible if men never join us, women, in our fight. The problem here is not against men, but about the way that a man’s issue has been turned around to be made a woman’s one.
It’s imperative that we acknowledge that it’s not women’s way of dressing or their being alone in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even their choice of drink that makes them vulnerable; it’s the behavior of the man who assaults her and who threatens her integrity what causes the problem. It’s the way we have raised our children to become the men they are today.
Common to our society is the issue of sexism. Men are taught, from a very early age, to be manly, to not cry, to behave dominantly at all costs over women, and this should not be the norm. Men should be able to be sensitive, to understand a woman’s humanity because she is human, not only because we are their mothers or sisters. Men should be able to respect a woman’s dignity as much as they do it with their own gender.
Yes, we know that men are also subjects of sexual assault, and it is something women also fight for, but the number of women falling under the category is way more overwhelming.
The statistics show why fighting for women’s protection is far more urgent than men’s. Note that we’re stressing it is more urgent, not more important.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, sexual assault in the United States goes as follows:
“1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.”
The difference in numbers between women and men is outrageous.
“51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance.”
Being an intimate partner does not entitle a person to force themselves on their significant other. The act of intimacy has to be consensual EVERY SINGLE TIME. Otherwise, let’s call it what it is: rape.
“In 8 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator in some way. 8% of rapes occur while the victim is at work.”
Knowing that in most cases the perpetrator is someone known is frightening. People you trust, people you may even care about, people you talk to and interact with: they become the ones who hurt you.
“Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women will be subjected to some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.”
Women who are viewed by men as part of a group considered a minority have higher chances of becoming victims. Let’s change the narrative by protecting women of all fronts, not just one group.
We need to improve our law enforcement practices, we need better protection for the victims, and a higher and greater disposition on behalf of everybody to believe women who report abuse and assault.
It’s unacceptable to learn that “rape is the most under-reported crime, with 63% of sexual assaults not reported to police.” All because the victims feel they will be dismissed.
They think they won’t be taken seriously or, even worse, that they will be blamed for it in return. They believe their families will accuse them, while their lives shatter.
Among other statistics, we found the cost and impact of sexual assault in the United States:
“The lifetime cost of rape per victim is $122,461. Annually, rape costs the U.S. more than any other crime with $127 billion, followed by assault with $93 billion, murder with $71 billion, and drunk driving, including fatalities with $61 billion.”
Then, why is rape being so swept under the rug? Why is it being put as false, as misleading, as dismissible? One really wonders.
“81% of women report significant short or long-term impacts such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Health care is 36% higher for women who were physically and sexually abused as a child.”
Let’s keep in mind that becoming a victim of abuse does not only affect someone physically. The implications are emotional and mental, as well as financial, social and more.
“20% - 25% of college women are victims of forced sex during their time in college. A 2002 study revealed that 63.3% of men at one university who self-reported acts qualifying as rape or attempted rape admitted to committing repeat rapes.
More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault. 27% of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact. Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment.”
The rape culture has become so intimidating that coming forward with an accusation has far more implications and consequences for the victim than for the actual perpetrator.
This is one of the main reasons why women decide to not report any circumstance regarding sexual assault or harassment. The general feeling is: “They won’t believe me.” It’s not fair to have girls and women threatened by their own silence.
If you have been a victim of any kind of harassment or sexual abuse or assault, know you are not alone and you have nothing to fear. Justice should be on your side and help is available. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You were in no part whatsoever to blame for what you had to go through.
Report the situation. You may be helping to save other women from going through it all with the same perpetrator.
Here are some online resources you can access if you want to get help or report a crime, because sexual assault IS a crime:
https://greatist.com/live/sexual-assault-survivor-resources
https://www.nsvrc.org/survivors
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/projectsafe/supporting-survivors/
https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/adult-survivor-resources-and-support
https://www.publichealth.org/resources/sexual-abuse/
Remember, you are not alone. Everyday more and more people are joining the fight to help and protect women. We are proud to be on that list, and we encourage you to become part of the solution too.
At Alana Athletica, we empower, educate and employ victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, with your help when they buy one of our pants.
Each pant sponsors self-defense classes, training, and education for many women. By helping them gain financial independence and education, we are supporting their families and communities as well, seeding the path for personal growth and success.
References
Sexual Assault in the US. Get statistics. (2018) in National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Retrieved from https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics
]]>
Healthy breakfasts and the açaí bowl
You may be wondering about the benefits of an açaí bowl, but we’ll let you wonder no more.
The Açaí berries are a Brazilian ‘superfruit’. They're native to the Amazon region where they're basically a staple food. They’re a dark, purple fruit packed with a lot of nutrition along with many health benefits.
Thanks to their high antioxidant content, açaí berries have many potential health perks. They're loaded with powerful plant compounds that could have benefits for your brain, heart and overall health. They also deliver healthy fats and fiber, making them one of the so-called superfoods.
Being a nutrient-dense fruit allows it to help improve cholesterol levels, have a possible anti-cancer effect and boost brain function. Who doesn’t want all these added bonuses?
Ready?
Whether you love mango, always crave bananas or would rather prefer kiwi, here are 3 versions of an açaí bowl for you to quickly prep while keeping yourself on the healthy line:
Bowls that mix in a simple, fast and nutritious way with ingredients that have no second guessing. Because eating healthy shouldn’t be a choice, it should be a must, and not because it’s the trend, but because it’s what we have understood that it is what’s best for our bodies and our health.
At Alana Athletica, we want to empower you to take care of yourself. We want to help you stick to your healthy decisions and motivate you to stay on track, not only with your physical exercising, but also with your eating habits and your overall wellness.
First things first: what is a chakra?
The word ‘chakra’ comes from Sanskrit and means ‘wheel’, because it literally spins around. But what is that which spins around? We can say that chakras are energy centers that move inside of us.
You know it’s no secret that the Universe is made up of energy, with our bodies holding no exception.
Each one of us has 7 main chakras spinning and rotating through our bodies. They are our life force, or ‘prana’*, and they start at the base of our spine, moving all the way up towards the top of our heads.
They provide the necessary amount of energy we need in order to feel a balanced mind, body and spirit. If any of them are out of alignment, we can feel a little out of order in the area that chakra rules, whether physically, mentally or spiritually.
What to expect from a chakra alignment?
I remember going from completely oblivious in the chakra arena to becoming their official spokesperson. Yes, you’re looking at their forever running ad, no joke.
I’d heard about chakras before, without having a clue of what they actually were or how they functioned. But later on, I had the chance to learn a little bit more about their roles in our bodies, and even came to feel them for the first time. Let me tell you how AMAZING it was! I honestly felt the wheels spinning inside and a warm feeling where each chakra is located.
Life Altering
After my experience, I was converted. Laugh all you want, but I wanted to find out more! That’s how I came across a chakra workshop where they were teaching how to align them with yoga.
At the moment, I was a newfound yoga lover in the making, and thought to myself: “this workshop is perfection.” You know that feeling when you find all the ingredients for your favorite recipe just sitting in your pantry? Yup, like that.
So there I was, with yoga poses on one hand and my chakras on the other, feeling bliss. The class taught us about each chakra and gave us a yoga sequence to help put our different energy centers back into harmony.
I cannot begin to tell you how this former skeptical person (hi!) felt after finishing with that yoga practice. My entire body felt as as a feather, and my mind was clearer and calmer than ever. I was happy and joyful. My spirits had been lifted and I couldn’t feel any more fulfilled, almost as if I could take on the world by myself.
After my life-altering experience, feeling the benefits of chakra alignment, I knew I had to share with the world. Here I’m delivering some easy yoga poses for you, with each one of them balancing one of our main seven energy centers.
Yoga away!
7 Yoga Poses for Chakra Balancing
The Mountain Pose for the Root Chakra
The Root Chakra, or Muladhara -by its name in Sanskrit-, is located at the base of our spine. This chakra channels grounding energy from Mother Earth to help us feel more connected to it, safe and provided for.
When our Root Chakra is out of alignment, we experience imbalance in our physical body, and our sense of security. Our emotions and our financial troubles heighten. We feel unstable. However, when balanced, we feel confident and have a better sense of belonging and accomplishment.
The Mountain Pose is a great posture for us to connect to Earth’s energy through all four corners of our feet, and to invite that energy upward to feel grounded and to nourish our entire body.
The Revolved Triangle Pose for the Sacral Chakra
Our Sacral Chakra, Svadhisthana, is located in the pelvic area and it is our playful, creative center. Home to our self-expression, emotions, pleasure and creative energy which helps us enjoy life on Earth.
If it is imbalanced, it can make us feel sexually frustrated, emotionally repressed and unable to find our passion in life. But when balanced out, the Sacral Chakra allows us to connect deeply, easily with others and find joy in everything.
The Revolved Triangle Pose stimulates the abdominal organs to get this play energy to circulate within our Sacral Chakra, allowing us to remain in the present moment.
The Boat Pose for the Solar Plexus Chakra
Our 3rd chakra is the Solar Plexus, Manipura, found in the center of our belly button, extending up to the breastbone (where our two ribs connect in the center of our chest). This chakra is where our self-confidence, identity, personal power and vital energy are born.
If our solar plexus is at odds, we can experience low self-esteem, stress, depression, general lack of motivation. When in harmony, we feel more confident and capable, our energy levels rise up.
Since this chakra is located near the navel, the Boat is a great yoga pose to help activate our core and our internal fire to align energy blocks or imbalances.
The Low Lunge Pose for the Heart Chakra
Our 4th chakra belongs to the Heart: Anahata, located right over our pulsing organ, down to our breastbone and up to our throat. This is where unconditional love, compassion and kindness are empowered. Including self-love and love for others. Reason why this chakra is also associated with health and healing.
Keeping the Heart Chakra nourished also allows us to remain capable of giving and receiving love, as well as developing our spirituality. In the case of an imbalance, we can lose our sense of connection with others and start lacking love for ourselves.
The Low Lunge pose invites our heart space to open, and is the focus of this pose, providing alignment for our Heart Chakra energy.
The Easy Pose for the Throat Chakra
Our Throat Chakra, Vishuddha, possesses the energy that helps us speak and communicate in an authentic way with ourselves and others. It impacts our originality, our ability to speak the truth and our confidence to speak publicly.
When it falls out of place, we can experience ear, nose and throat problems. It can prevent us from accessing our sense of communication with the world. Our words seem to have no real outlet. But when perfectly rotating, we can easily express our thoughts and opinions, speaking from a place of truth.
Using the Easy Pose along with mantra chanting is a beautiful practice to open the Throat Chakra and help keep its energy flowing.
The Dolphin Pose for the Third Eye Chakra
Now, onto our Third Eye Chakra: Ajna chakra. It is situated at the brow point, and it’s known as our “all seeing eye”, the spot of our intuition. We can access clear thoughts and self-reflection through our third eye, as well as inner guidance to help us on our life path.
When it’s running slower or faster than normal, we can experience confusion and even physical symptoms such as headaches, migraines and dizziness. In full alignment, we see things clearly and without them being fogged up by our opinions, ego or past.
The Dolphin Pose increases circulation to our face and brain, which in turn stimulates our Third Eye Chakra.
The Butterfly Pose for the Crown Chakra
Our 7th, and highest chakra, is the Crown Chakra: Sahaswara, spotted at the top of our heads, radiating down to the place between our eyes and extending infinitely upward and outward, putting us in contact with the energy of the rest of the cosmos.
This chakra is said to be pure consciousness energy, which is in everything and everywhere. It connects us to our entire universe. So when our Crown Chakra is misaligned or overactive, we may feel spiritual distrust, a sense of negativity about life, and disconnectedness from our bodies and earthly matters. An aligned Crown Chakra brings peace, joy, serenity and positivity to our lives.
The Balanced Butterfly Pose invites us to enable our concentration and to find peace and balance, which is perfect to align Sahaswara.
The art of mind, body and soul
Knowing and understanding how to balance our main seven chakras with yoga allows us to practice these poses whenever and wherever we can to encourage a more aligned, connected and vibrant energy flow through our bodies.
We love bringing you life hacks for a happier, healthier version of ourselves while helping empower and educate women through our activewear.
[Prana*: breath, considered as a life-giving force. Prana is seen as a universal energy which flows in currents in and around the body.]
It is not the clothes, it is the people making them and wearing them. It is not even about selling more, it is about being able to empower more, create more jobs and make this world more of what we dream of.
This is why we came to be. This is our story.
]]>Insert needle into fabric, 1/2 an inch starting from the interior. Pull the thread through the fabric to stitch upwards, then direct the needle downwards. Adjust the stitch, locate the lever, and pull the thread. Monitor the tension levels, press the fabric, use the conveyor, roll and insert the bobbin. Choose a medium length stitch, align the fabric under the needle, and do it again, again and again. One more time.
It is an art,
but in art there is always controversy.
There are people who will pay fortunes, and then those who will pay cents, for the same piece. Help us do a quick exercise: imagine a white frame and canvas, with a blue circle in the middle. Now put a price on it.
How much would you pay to have it hanging in your living room? Now, go ahead and multiply that by 1,000 or even more. Turns out, that is the value of the piece. Only because its artist has a couple of works in the Louvre, sitting right next to the Mona Lisa.
The reality is that the true ‘value’ of this work of art no longer belongs to the piece itself, but instead to an emotional, social and cultural sentiment. Having that white canvas hanging in your living room positions you quite well within social ranks, or so we dare to think.
But back to the original art –that of the needle, the impactful original art that Alana truly appreciates... the strands of thread being interposed on one another, stitch after stitch, inherently creating meaningful impact and adding real value.
Rewind a couple years, maybe decades, and there we were, two children having to experience, first-hand, how our mothers, aunts and sisters would wake up to insert needles, pull threads and align fabric, all with no hope in sight.
So much effort. So much value. So many beautiful garments that disappeared into boxes, almost as quickly as the food that was stored in our refrigerators.
Hours in the day would vanish, orders would get bigger, fabric would run out, and seasons would fly by. The sacrifice, the effort: nowhere reflected. Change had to be made.
We understood, front and center, how difficult it was to get up every morning before the sun rose to dedicate hours, years of talent and effort to something that lacked the right support, the opportunity and the compensation. Something that only empowered shareholder pockets.
In our native Sri Lanka, there are millions of women working in these factories. Factories that manufacture garments for the world’s biggest fashion names [think of one, and they will likely have operations in the country]. Factories that shelter themselves with the right ‘branding’. And when we talk ‘branding’, we do not mean colors, seasons or outfits. The branding that we are talking about is the one in which they use slogans like “EMPOWER”, when in reality the only empowering taking place is that of owners. In fact, behind these names there is, many times, an operation that DEPOWERS opportunity, talent and growth.
But decades later
Remember the two children from the beginning? This is them now, minus the fancy corporate jobs and the realization that living what people like to call “the American dream” wasn’t enough [although enough for the pocket, not enough for the heart].
Hundreds of -job assignments, networking hours, learning opportunities, tough bosses- decisions later culminated into a spark of light.
Three founders, one dream.
Three founders. One pen, one paper and one dream. This time a dream big enough for the heart: the dream of doing something bigger than ourselves. The dream of creating [impact].
Countless of sleepless nights later, with ideas over ideas hammering into our heads, we finally found a way to educate, employ and empower women who are struggling to stay afloat day after day, women who most likely cannot even fathom a life filled with opportunity.
Each stitch with purpose
We brought together art, talent, passion, quality and transparency [in our business, NOT in our yoga pants] to create the world’s first social impact activewear, enabling change for women in need. Many of them, sexual abuse survivors in our native Sri Lanka.
To put this into perspective: 2 out of 3 women in Sri Lanka are victims of domestic violence, victims of sexual abuse. We are committed to being the helping hand for these women, humans like you and me.
We then gave each stitch a purpose, we gave each piece of cut-out fabric value. Our philosophy is true empowerment, to be the engine that transfers energy to those who truly need the boost, to those who were stripped from living a life filled with opportunities, just because.
Let’s talk literature
At the beginning, we talked about, the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, now it is only fair that we talk about the literature:
“Women empowerment is the process through which women acquire all types of tools and capabilities that enable them to assume a more prominent and active participation in society, both at a personal level, as well as political and economic.”
“Women empowerment consists of instilling greater self-confidence, security and power to make decisions, to solve problems, to be independent, to fix.”
Many of us do research about the definition of women empowerment, but the truth is that theory and facts are easy to read –the challenge starts when one decides to put things into practice.
One more quick exercise: How many companies use the word ‘EMPOWER’? How many of these companies TRULY EMPOWER? Right! That is what we are here to change.
How many companies realize that women have distinct curves? How many focus on promoting and bringing out the most important curve of them all: the smile? How many foster diversity, inclusion? How many? Not enough. The final count should be ALL.
Today, our message is to you, woman.
We are working for you to wake up every day with a dream, we are working to stripe you of responsibilities that, often times, aren’t your own, to take away the stereotypes you carry [because you were told to], and to give you a reason not to give up, because your smile can inspire a thousand more.
We do not want to just represent the core values of yoga or being active, but instead, of humanity as a whole, of right action, advocacy and ethical foundations.
The story of the Colombite woman is complex and paradoxical. Taking into account the historic and ingrained cultural attitudes surrounding ‘accepted’ behaviors, the effects of sexism are clear. Call it the “act like a lady, earn like a man” option.
Within the reading, you may find a tone of sarcasm; one suggestive of an ‘annoying, nosy aunt voice.’ Please, do know this is intentional, meant to convey the authenticity in the lives of Colombite women.
All about expectations
A girl is expected to perform in school with aspirations of higher education, but not so much that she thinks she is above any man she marries. If she is more educated than her mate, how will she willingly submit to him?
She is also expected to find something to study inside the country, while boys are sent away —allowing boys to access more acceptable options in pursuit of a higher education. A woman is expected to find something more ladylike to educate herself in, like Business Administration or Law.
She is expected to study right here in Lanka, under the nose of her 56 cousins and the watchful eye of her neighborhood patrol. She is only a girl after all, and too much independence is completely unnecessary and not encouraged.
Certain career choices are considered too manly. Becoming a pilot is not the best career for a girl, for example. It would require too much time away, and anything that might keep her out past 8 p.m. makes her character questionable.
Cultural traditions posing as law
In Sri Lankan culture, we have a saying: “he’s a boy —he can get away with it, but you’re a girl —your character cannot be questioned.” A woman is supposed to choose something where she makes good money, but has time for her family: a type of choice more acceptable.
The rare few that “rage against the machine” and break through their cultural bonds are the ones blessed with open minded parents. These parents believe women can brave a foreign nation with their dignity intact, while managing their independence without shaming themselves or their extended family.
Now, the crucial element in understanding Sri Lankan culture is understanding that when we say family, we mean extended family [which would normally consist of a few dozen blood relatives and their cats]. It is like this: when in trouble, you have 56 lifeboats to save you, and once you have been rescued, you wish to have drowned.
No respect for personal space, only because we care
It is very clear that these issues reflected in our cultural norms and expectations of women and young girls transcend poverty lines and gender politics. We are a close-knit culture that has no respect for women’s personal space, opinions or boundaries, but it is only because we care.
Offenses such as physical or sexual abuse, and domestic violence are considered impolite conversation. Small communities where everyone is a friend or family cannot tolerate scandal. Ans as shocking as it may be to imagine that these atrocities occur in an honor-based society, it is the reality.
Future hopes
But could there be change in the future? Shifts in cultural attitudes and behavioral norms take time and an enormous amount of effort., but it is possible.
Knowing this, Alana Athletica was founded on core values of women empowerment. Sharing women’s personal, impactful stories and increasing awareness around injustice, abuse and the complex lives of Sri Lankan women will continue to be a priority for our team. Women’s voices must be heard for positive change to occur.
Offenders walk away with the silence of the victims —bought by the society that empowers them. The ‘hush’ is maintained and the offenders keep offending. Domestic violence is, therefore, an issue that transcends a woman's level of education.
Now onto the story of Dilani
Dilani, 34, is a medical professional educated in one of the most prestigious universities in India. Once she returned to the country, her parents gave into pressure from family who were ‘concerned’ for the future of an overly independent young woman. She was introduced to a well-off son of an aunt's family friend.
He was deemed the perfect match for her family. He was well groomed and seemed to be the epitome of a gentleman. Dilani, too, came to believe that he was ‘mr. Right’.
But the nightmare began a few months after the nuptials. In the beginning, she was verbally abused for being out on night shifts at the hospital. After the verbal violence intensified, the physical assaults started. Dilani was shocked the first time it happened. Her in-laws called her ‘an insubordinate wife.’
Her husband’s outbursts became more frequent —and without remorse. Her behavior was seen as unbecoming of a good wife. She was told that she could carry on a private practice, but was banned from working at a hospital. She was blamed for the abuse by her immediate and extended family. Her workaholic lifestyle had ‘driven’ her husband into the arms of another.
It ended in a messy divorce, with Dilani being blamed for it all. Labeled a woman who couldn’t keep her man happy, she was judged as a failure in her society. Her offense: having more to contribute to society than to her domestic skills.
Unwanted outcomes
Marked by her culture with the label of divorcée, she was expected to conform with the needs of a man. When she refused, she was branded and discarded. It is a sad reality that unfolds all around in respectable Colombite society.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. It is a culture that shelters and protects its females, but at the same time subjects them to a form of gender politics that an outsider would struggle to grasp. It is a culture where a woman is sexually assaulted every 4 hours, and one in 3 women have been physically or sexually assaulted in their lifetime, a culture that has to change.
We have to determine how we, as a society, have gotten it wrong, and what comes next. We have to become an impactful force that drives positive impact through positive change.
Alana Athletica is here to change these harsh realities with your support.
Each piece of Alana Athletica’s [impact] activewear collection supports women across three transformative social causes:
One [EDUCATE] garment sponsors private tutoring for 5 lives in Sri Lanka.
One [EMPLOY] garment provides employment and prevents hunger for 4 lives in Sri Lanka.
One [EMPOWER] garment teaches self-defense to 7 lives in Sri Lanka.
Want to change the world? Let’s do it together, one yoga pant at a time.
[*names have been changed to protect identities as requested.]
[**Colombite: an individual hailing from Colombo; the privileged 3% or so of Lankan society.]
Within our business practices, we educate, employ and empower women who have survived abuse. All this while committing to diversity, inclusion and creating true impactful connection.
So we’re bringing you our blog series to hold every word we truly care about. Words which become people, words that embody our nature, words we know you care about too.
In this two-part blog, we provide you with the insights and impactful personal stories of women in Sri Lankan society.
With this first issue, we are honoring Razana* and Geetha*: two Sri Lankan women who ventured into the Middle East to support their families, both facing different destinies.
-
Culture is described as ideas, customs and social behavior from a particular group of people or society. All of these qualities determine the characteristics of the participant individuals: male or female. Yet, within many cultures, there are strong biases towards females.
These biases are pre-programmed into the behavior of people through centuries of cultural evolution; and to address these biases, we must understand cultural patterns. This can only be achieved through the observation of norms and accepted behavioral practices.
And it is by recognizing the impact of these cultural patterns that we are taking the first step toward positive change.
A Sri Lankan betrayal
The tale of Sri Lanka began over 2,500 years ago, with the betrayal of a woman: her name was Kuvenia, a princess of the Yaksha tribe. She was seduced, betrayed and abandoned by Vijaya, the first King of Lanka.
She provided information that helped him to overthrow the kingdom —and conquer Lanka. After she had risked so much to commit espionage for him, Vijaya banished Kuvenia and her offspring from the kingdom. She, and her children, were discarded. In the opinion of the King of Lanka, Kuvenia had outlived her purpose.
The betrayal is legendary, but it did not keep Sri Lankan women from power indefinitely. Far from it, in fact, centuries later, the country gave the entire world its very first female head of state.
It happened in 1960: a tiny island nation, no bigger than the state of California, greatly impacted the world by placing Sirimavo Bandaranaike at its helm.
Chandrika Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was a woman that had faced great tragedy in her life: months before the election, her husband was assassinated in their own home. He was widely expected to lead the nation of Lanka, but instead, Sirimavo –his wife and mother of their three children– stepped up to the challenge. The nation embraced her as its leader.
Her daughter Chandrika followed her mother’s footsteps, and was elected President in 1994. Chandrika Bandaranaike was one of the first female presidents in the world. This placed Sri Lanka at the foremost of nations with women in seats of power.
We were an example to the world. An island nation was paving the way for women in politics —where just a mere 30 years before that, women suffrage fought an uphill battle for the right to vote.
It is a prestigious picture: one we are immensely proud of as a nation. But like any story, there is a flipside to the fairy tale. Yes, the Princess fought valiantly, and the battle was won.
But what with the war?
This war is the silent war that every Sri Lankan woman fights daily. Some more fiercely than others, others more silently than most —and many without the power to stand for themselves and impact others.
Even though Sri Lanka gave the world its first female Prime Minister and President, the total female representation in parliament today is only 5%. It seems counterintuitive. But even with the election of women in the highest offices, cultural ideas about the ‘place’ of women continue to be sexist [similar to most of the world.]
A Lankan woman is told that politics is a man's job. Rather paradoxical, isn’t it? Have we forgotten where our political prestige is derived from? Enter gender politics and socioeconomic norms —these combined bring culturally-appointed roles for women.
Our culture, like many others, shares double standards. A woman is not considered her man's equal. She is expected to obey her husband and carry his progeny, all while subjected to his rule, and even enduring domestic violence.
Ironically, this subordination is our Lanka's biggest export, reeling in $7B per year.
Women feeling forced to be treated as objects
Female domestic workers are shipped in hordes to the Middle East to cater to an ever-growing demand. In fact, these females are the backbone of our volatile economy. Yet, they are second-hand citizens in the eyes of many: they have no secondary education, no social standing and are subject to the whims and abuses of the men that dominate them, domestic violence once again in the picture.
And because domestic skills make her a marketable asset, she is packed off to a foreign country where she is a fish out of water, possessing no knowledge of Middle Eastern culture or practices. She is thrown into the deep end and expected to not just survive —but to thrive.
Her thriving not only determines her own life span, but the life of her family too. It is a strange, terrible state of codependency. The alleged weaker sex in a society takes on the burden of supporting said society.
Life unworth living?
The harrowing scenarios that these women experience are sometimes difficult to fathom: beaten, burned, and sexually and physically abused by their masters. Many of these women return to Sri Lanka with their own personal horror stories to share. Some even disappear without a trace, and others suffer in silence for the love of their families.
The Sri Lankan woman endures the unendurable –with the knowledge that her children will be fed and educated, and therefore possibly blessed with a better future. A future, hopefully, far better than her present.
Razana Nafeek
The story of Razana Nafeek was one of such stories that shook our nation: Razana was still a minor when her parents forged her passport so that she could travel to the Middle East and seek employment to support her family.
While employed as a domestic worker, a four-month old infant died under her care. A postmortem was never carried out after the death. Razana Nafeek said that a confession was coerced out of her while she was under torture.
The government of Sri Lanka and many human rights groups requested clemency for Razana. despite their efforts, she was sentenced to death and was beheaded in 2013 in Saudi Arabia.
There was no fair trial, no support and no mercy shown in spite of her age. she was simply erased from the world. her only crime? Being young and needing to support her family.
The realities of many
Geetha* was a woman who ventured to the Middle East. the reason? Helping her family. She married young but, unfortunately, her husband couldn’t support her with their growing family. So at the age of 23, she left him and her two young children to seek employment in Kuwait.
Geetha was abused from the start —she was beaten with footwear, forced to work close to 20 hours a day, and sexually abused by the men of the household where she was employed.
When Geetha returned to Lanka, she had changed. She was a shell of her former self —one that traded her dignity and virtue in exchange for money. Did she have an alternative? Could she watch her children starve? Would she do it again?
According to Geetha, it was really not up to her. She didn’t have a choice. A wretched example of a life lived solely in service of others.
A task hard to see through
Sitting down and talking to these women can be a hard task. Understandably, they are hesitant to share such personal and often painful stories. They are afraid of being ridiculed by their community, and, due to the ingrained cultural attitudes present in society, there are often feelings of shame.
This makes it all the more important to ensure these stories are being heard and shared.
At Alana Athletica, we believe in change through impact by empowering women and promoting awareness, and in alignment with our core values, we feel that bringing the stories of injustice and abuse that so many women and girls have faced, and continue to face, is a critical step in improving the lives of women and girls here, and around the world.
Thus far, our trip into Sri Lankan culture has focused on women from lower income families, who have had their fate enforced on them. but this is only a piece in the story of the plight of women here. The flip side takes a turn towards the Colombites** —the privileged 3% of the country, the educated Sri Lankan women with 'options.'
Continuing our story in the second issue of the Sri Lankan woman, we will explore the lives of Colombite women, including the story of Dilani*.
Alana Athletica is here to change these harsh realities with your support. each piece of Alana Athletica’s [impact] activewear collection supports women across three transformative social causes:
One [EDUCATE] garment sponsors private tutoring for 5 lives in Sri Lanka.
One [EMPLOY] garment provides employment and prevents hunger for 4 lives in Sri Lanka.
One [EMPOWER] garment teaches self-defense to 7 lives in Sri Lanka.
Want to change the world? Let’s do it together, one yoga pant at a time.
[*names have been changed to protect identities as requested.]
[**Colombite: an individual hailing from Colombo; the privileged 3% or so of Lankan Society.]
It’s officially summer, we’re feeling it, the words matched the vibe… ok! bad joke. nevermind.
But basically yes, we said it. the words you’ve been waiting for all year: it’s summa time, gurls! plus today the entire planet is doing yoga as you read, whether outdoors here in the north, or wearing warmers underneath down south.
]]>When: the date is June 21st, and in case you haven’t checked your calendar, that’s today!
Where: yoga-wise, the location is set for the whole world. yes, yoga day has been an internationally celebrated day since the United Nations declared it an official holiday 5 years ago.
But summer solstice wise, although solstices happen at the same time around the world, the northern hemisphere we’ll be the one welcoming the summer season.
Meaning the southern part of the planet –that’s south of the Equator– will be celebrating the arrival of winter.
[singing break]
–‘cause you’re hot, then you’re cold.
you’re yes, then you’re no.
you’re in, then you’re out.
you’re up, then you’re down–
It’s officially summer, we’re feeling it, the words matched the vibe… ok! bad joke. nevermind.
But basically yes, we said it. the words you’ve been waiting for all year: it’s summa time, gurls! plus today the entire planet is doing yoga as you read, whether outdoors here in the north, or wearing warmers underneath down south.
Can we say –not counting Christmas and my birthday– that today is the best day of the entire year? what are YOU waiting for to join in on the fun? ok, finish reading this and then you have permission to go. cool? cool!
Now, onto why: because of climatology, astronomy, duh!
But going deeper into the subject let us learn a little: twice each year, the Earth's axis is tilted the most closely toward the sun, making the hemisphere closest to our bright star, at the moment of the solstice, the one that sees its longest day.
Which right now, we already told you, is the northern one. can you hear us scream “yass”? sorry for you, southern hemisphere winter gals!
And because India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the idea of an International Yoga Day during a speech at the UN General Assembly [UNGA] on September 27, 2014.
A draft resolution on the subject was then introduced afterward by India's Ambassador to the UN, Asoke Kumar Mukerji, receiving support from 177 nations, the highest number of co-sponsors for any UNGA resolution ever. cool, huh?
But what’s cooler is the meaning of the word yoga. It comes from Sanskrit and means to join, unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. namaste.
What a better way to pass a resolution for its worldwide celebration than almost all countries in the world uniting to sponsor it, right?
The coolest of it all? honoring the amazing art of yoga on the same day we embrace longer days, white leggings and summer jams.
And if you’re looking to make today more than good, add a yoga day shopping spree to your cart. better yet, make it a shopping spree full of impact.
]]>