Just Breathe

We may be smack in the middle of a global economic crisis, but moms, probably more than anyone, can attest that life does go on:  Diapers need changing, bellies need to be fed, laundry needs washing and folding. And you need a good night’s sleep so that you can be your best self for you and your children. But if worry has lead to too many nights of tossing and turning, then you’ll want to check out Dana Sullivan’s article for two simple yoga moves that can help lull you back to slumber-land.

Speaking of simple, that’s the theme this week—we can’t control what’s happening with the economy. But we do have a choice about what we eat and what we feed our kids or how we exercise. And we can also get smart about saving money, and groom our own eyebrows thanks to advice from Celebrity Beauty Stylist Rita Ragone!

Be Well,

Maureen Connolly
Editor, Real Savvy Moms.com

Yoga Moves For A Good Night's Sleep
By Dana Sullivan

One third of American adults are losing sleep over the economy, according to a poll released Monday by the National Sleep Foundation. "It’s easy to understand why so many people are concerned over the economy and jobs," says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, in a press release. "But sleep is essential for productivity and alertness and is a vital sign for one’s overall health."

If you’re tempted to use medication to help you sleep, there is a healthier, drug-free alternative that gets a thumbs up from many sleep experts: Yoga. “The rationale for using yoga to treat insomnia is based on good evidence that people who have trouble sleeping are chronically ‘aroused’,” says Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D., a neuroscientist who studies the effects of yoga on insomnia at the Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine. “Insomnia sufferers tend to have higher levels of cortisol [the “stress” hormone] and adrenaline than average,” he explains. A typical insomniac also has a faster heart rate and higher body temperature than average. “People who can’t sleep are also very emotionally responsive,” says Khalsa. Since regularly practicing yoga lowers arousal levels, it makes sense it would be an effective tool for insomnia, he says. Here is one asana, or pose, called the reverse platform, plus one breathing exercise, called the shabad kriya, that Khalsa recommends doing daily.

• Reverse platform – before sleep. Lie down on your back. Leave your arms by your sides and bring your heels toward your buttocks. Raise your hips and waist by putting all your weight on your shoulders. Do not grab your ankles. Hold yourself in this position for five minutes, inhaling fully and slowly. Relax back down. Repeat once or twice.
• Shabad Kriya – before sleep, and upon awakening in the middle of the night. Sit with a straight spine, your head erect and chin lightly tucked in. Place your hands in your lap, palms up, right hand resting on top of left, so the tips of your thumbs touch and point forward. Look downward past tip of your nose. Inhale in 4 equal segments through the nose; simultaneously but silently, say Sah Tah Nah Mah with one syllable for each stroke of the breath. Then hold the breath by lifting and suspending the motion of the chest. As you hold the breath mentally repeat the phrase four times -- Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah Sah Tah Nah Mah – for 16 equal beats. Exhale in two equal and powerful strokes out the nose; as you exhale, silently say Wah-Hay on the first segment out, and Goo-Roo on the second stroke out. Continue breathing and chanting for 5 to 31 minutes, as long as it takes you to feel relaxed. At the end, inhale deeply and hold for 10 seconds. Exhale, and let your breath relax to your normal patterns for a few minutes.

Mix Up Your Movement
By From the Trainers at NYC's Nimble Fitness

When it comes to exercise, we tend to gravitate toward workouts that we know we can excel at which is why they appeal so much to us. But performing the same kickboxing moves over and over, or running the same 3-mile loop at the park, for instance, doesn’t challenge your body. You’re hardening established neural pathways, instead of creating new ones. You’re also making strong muscles stronger and tighter, and keeping weaker muscles weak. Do it enough, and your body will change its shape in response to your activity. Unless you’re training for a competition or have a specific goal, like running a half-marathon, your goals should be balance and strength in your entire body.

Shake up your routine—and discover how challenging yourself in different ways makes you feel better and makes your workout time much more effective.

Rita to the Rescue: Blooming Brows
By Rita Ragone, Real Savvy Moms Celebrity Hair and Makeup Expert

Well ladies, the brows have it for spring! It’s official- the thicker, wider, sexier brow is back. Think Kim Novak from the 1950’s in Vertigo; Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Salma Hayek, almost anywhere in her career except for Frida (too scary!) and any Brooke Shields photo from the ‘80’s. Remember how sultry their eyes looked? But there is a fine line between caterpillar brows and groomed, perfectly arched eye frames.

The trick is this: gently tweeze or have your professional wax only the stray hairs under your natural brow line. Instead of creating the arch right above your pupil, extend it to the outer edge of your iris (the colored part of your eye). This widens the length of your brow naturally, creating an uplifted effect (think instant eye-lift!), and bringing out the shape of your peepers in a gently sexy way. You can fill in any blanks with a great powder shadow and a slanted brow brush (taupe for blondes, soft cocoa browns for brunettes, espresso for darker-haired ladies). You can follow it up with a brow mascara (a great one is Bobby Brown’s Natural Brow Shapers) and you’re done! ‘Til next time.

Get Smart About Nutrition
By Emma Buckley, TV Host of “Real Moms”

March is National Nutrition month, which focuses on raising awareness of the importance of eating healthy and getting active. This year, the message is simple, eat more fruits and vegetables, reduce sugar and saturated fats and eat lean meats and wholegrains. Every child needs appropriate amounts of calories, protein, minerals and vitamins to grow. MyPyramid.gov is a wonderful resource for information on diet and portion size as well as great snack ideas which active kids need plenty of.

As a mom first and nutritionist second, I want my son to have all of his nutritional needs met through his diet, but I believe there’s more to meal time than just nourishment. Meals are a time when we can sit down together as a family, I can be a role model with the food choices I make and we can discover new tastes, textures and flavors together. Children learn by example, so have a sound attitude towards your diet and your little ones will too.

Award-Winning PBS Kids Series Franny’s Feet Now on DVD

Franny’s Feet is a delightful animated preschool series that features exciting stories of a little girl whose fantastic feet take her on magical adventures. The journey begins every time Franny tries on a new pair of shoes in her grandfather’s repair shop. In each episode Franny travels to a different part of the world where she meets fascinating characters with unusual problems. The first title in the series, Franny’s Feet: Princess Franny features six “frantastic” episodes from the series.

Franny’s Feet was a finalist at the 2007 New York Festival for Children’s Program, as well as the 2006 winner for Outstanding Product by the iParenting Media Awards. It was also featured in the 2006 Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.

Avail from Peace Arch® Home Entertainment; $14.99 SRP. Check online and major retailers.

Empowering Days for March 2009
By Ellen Whitehurst

In like a lion and out like a lamb? But what about those other two bffs, the tigers and bears, oh my? Oh, right, the bears are sitting firmly on the Dow which leaves time for that tiger, tiger burning bright to even leave the mystically inclined William Blake scratching his metaphysical dead poet head. Where’s the love? Trillion (yes, I said TRILLION!) dollar bail outs, automakers speeding towards bankruptcy and double digit unemployment driving a failing economy towards depression. Friends in foreclosure, well, the ones that have lost their jobs that is. All others just worried about ALL same. What’s a girl to do? Oh, right, I forgot, just gin and bare it. But once the vermouth runs out won’t we still be asking ‘where’s the love’? Or barring that, where’s the luck? Well, I can tell you, that last part’s here, in March, on a couple of critical days that can turn your personal tide. March. Luck. Apropos. And, I promise, even if this month does come in like a lion while looking into the eye of that proverbial crouching tiger, there are a couple of hidden dragons waiting at the end of the month that will make those little lambs look like pikers. I swear, there a few days end March that will bah bah blow your doldrums and your fears away. For a little while anyway. And while we’re sucking the literary life out of the whole zoo metaphor; in this month of the Fire Rabbit be wery wery careful investors not to get burned. This rabbit doesn’t even know Alice and yet it appears to jump big into the hole before burrowing further into Aragorn’s earth. This always indicates a volatile period for the stock market. Oh, really??? And also says it’s likely to head south. Oh, really???? There is a conflict between metal and earth this month (watch out Frodo) that could cause an overall sense of irritability and possibly some stomach trouble. Oh, rea…..forget it, you get it. Don’t eat too much meat and lavish attention of family and friends. These are some wooly good ideas. For more about what YOU can expect in March, log on to www.ellenwhitehurst.com!

March 1....Whenever we have Mercury chatting up Mars it’s a darn good time to follow suit and talky talky talk. Only leave the hand gestures to the women on Bali while you do what you tell your kids to do and USE YOUR WORDS. Forget about washing than man right out of your hair but please do go ahead and use the soapbox. These first few days of March sees energies completely ALIGN with intention, especially when your words are concerned. Let the thoughts and the deeds all follow; in this case, ready, fire, aim. On March 1 and 2 the energies amplify the power of the spoken word. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Horton might hear a Who but the where, when and how are all up to you. Affirm, affirm, affirm. Out loud. Out loud. Out loud.
“The floodgates of my good now open.” Thanks for that Florence Shinn.

March 6…Venus, the planet of love and money, not the flytrap, goes retrograde today and stays put until April 18. Looking for love in all the wrong places. No, that wasn’t a question, it’s an astrological observation. Light those two pink candles in the back right of your bedroom but bring the heat after the middle of next month.

March 8-10…First cranky ass Saturn opposes the sunny, well, Sun and then there’s a Full Moon in Virgo? Oh come onnnnnn. Just remember that God is in the details. Every last one of them. Check and recheck. And then check again. Maintain order, obedience and discipline. Or at least stock on bottles of good scotch to barter in case we can’t stay civil. Seriously kids, follow the rules. Even though (wink, wink) we KNOW they’re made to be broken. Not the time. Clean out old emails, texts and voice messages.

March 11…Ahhhhh, thanks Venus SEX-tiling Jupiter. Have a smoke you two and, well, thanks so much for the release! Gather ye rosebuds and all your friends too! Simply glorious. Put a bowl of five apples on the kitchen table.

March 18…Mercury and Saturn are at it again. Break it up you two will ya? For all the rest of us, don’t sign contracts. For ANY reason at all. When you do sign though use the Feng Shui prosperity signature. Purple ink and slanted up and to the right.

March 22…One of the previously mentioned great days. Sudden flashes of insight and intuition pushes you past procrastination and right into the waiting arms of action. Dahling, where have you been all my life? Dream big while Mercury conjuncts Uranus. I swear he’s not an a-hole after all! And, so, it begins……………..

March 26…THE SUPER STELLAR DAY! Get the link for this super special information when you sign up for my newsletter at www.ellenwhitehurst.com! Believe me, this month, it’s really worth it.

March 28…Mercury conjunct Venus, more fun with Dick and Jane and any other friends you can think of. Get up and out and shake your booty. Wear red. Even though it’s March and you should be wearing green. Wear red.

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