Author: Alice Cappato

Let’s hug! But, what if hugging included yourself?

Yes, the question is relevant. Think about it. Very often the love we express through hugs is projected towards the outside of us: to our partners, to our children, even our parents, siblings and friends. Yet, how much does the theme of this month, ‘let’s hug’, also include embracing the love for our life, embracing every part of ourselves without compromising, and declaring that hugging is just as much about self-love as it is about compassion for others?

Hugging does not just include a physical component. Yes, putting the arms around someone else already allows us to determine a certain degree of intimacy between two people in their relationship with each other. Or, how often do you hug strangers? Mind you, maybe this is what the world needs right now: more hugging strangers. But that is a question for another time.

If you hold someone, it implies that you have a deeply rooted emotion for the receiver of your hug. The bodies touch on a heart level, so your act is out of compassion and righteousness. An intimate act of joy, of love; of demonstrating your feelings for, and sharing with someone.

Now question this! Hugging is about the word “embracing”, and pulling someone closer to you. Yet, how close do you let the person who really is closest to you, inside?  Of course, I mean to say how close do you really let yourself in? How often do you hug your own soul?

Self-love, and embracing (aka hugging) yourself in all your glorious mess and perfect imperfections, is not an act of selfishness or egotism. Quite the opposite. Where love prevails, there is no ego. And where there is love, it just is. Meaning that you also honour yourself, and show just as much compassion towards you, as to someone outside of you.

Can you learn self-love? Yes. Can you feel self-love? Yes. Can you accept self-love? Yes. The teachings of Kundalini Yoga, as brought to us through Yogi Bhajan, give us many holistic approaches, technologies, meditations and lectures on how to overcome the ego and act from a place of compassion and love.

Love what you understand is very different than what love is. In the 1994 Espanola lecture, Yogi Bhajan talks with his students about the subject of love. I would like you to read this extract and reflect upon what it means to you personally:

“You have sensual love, you have sexual love, you have personal love, you have conditional love, you have unconditional love and you can call the love with anything. Actually, love is a self-acknowledgement. When I love myself, I can be so rich, I can love everybody. The depending love, that because you love me, you depend on me and I love you, I depend on you and because I expect, in business now I expect this, you expect this, this is not, that is not love, that is called, what you can call it? Softening the way. Meaning something different, doing something different. Love is the most abused one word in the human vocabulary. Because first condition of love is when you are in love or you love somebody you have no question to be asked. Where there is a question there is no love. Where there is a condition, there is no love. Where there is an expectation, there is no love. Where there is jurisdiction, there is no love. Where there is a territory, there is no love. Which can be defined and have dimension has no love.”

Love has no conditions and no expectations. Is this new to you? If you put expectations onto your love, then it’s not love.

Life is a flow of love, only your participation is requested. Love is an experience of oneself within oneself. It is self-fulfilment, it is self-attainment, it is self-containment, it is self-enlightenment, and it is self-beauty. The love you feel for yourself is gorgeous, beautiful, and blissful. Like the beautiful person you are.

As a Kundalini Yoga teacher and a Life Coach, the number one thing I recommend to anyone who wants to change their life is to practice meditation. No, you don’t have to be a monk, and it does not matter if you have never meditated before. You can learn. Scientifically speaking, meditation has many benefits, and even as little as a couple of minutes a day can really help you improve Your Life.

What are 10 minutes of your day? They are nothing in comparison to the manifold results of the experience. If you don’t have just 10 minutes of the day to yourself, to sit in silent with yourself and listen to your breath and your heartbeat, then what is Your Life – what are you –  worth?

You are everything and everything is you. Embrace yourself – and when you hug someone you love, don’t forget to include yourself in your compassion.

May the longtime sun shine upon you!

 

Melanie Reid – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux December theme – Let’s hug

 

 

Hugs to you!

There have been notes in the social media, especially on Facebook how women need to be hugged on daily bases. Coming from Northern Europe, we do not give kisses to the cheeks when meeting up with friends, we usually hug close friends. We hug each other when someone is not feeling well, we congratulate each other with a hug and moms usually welcome their kids back home with a big hug.

When watching the international news, especially the USA market, speaking about hugging might be considered also offensive. It is necessary to mention that hug is not always well perceived either. A hug can be sign of possession or domination. A hug can make someone also feel uncomfortable. Should you feel uncomfortable being hugged, it is always fine to state your feeling. No-one should feel obliged to be hugged.

My eldest son is one of those people who is not keen on being touched. His personal space is very important to him. He does especially not like kisses on the cheek. I ask him always his permission to give a hug. Every now and again out of the blue I feel his arms around quickly. Those are precious memories. My younger son is the complete opposite to his older brother. He could hug all day long. He does not mind to be kissed on his cheeks either. Regularly the little one comes and puts his arms around and says “mom, I really, really love you!” It does feel nice.

Being hugged in safe environment makes one feel good. Comforting words together with a hug makes the world feel a much better place. And sometimes there is no need for words. Just a hug to show love.

Who will you hug today?

Kristel Weinreich

Owner at Lumo and HealthyLux Contributor

HealthyLux December theme – Let’s hug

 

 

Indian Beetroot Paratha

Autumn is here and the colors of the nature inspire us to replicate them in our food.

Indian cooking is a lot about different colors, spices, aromas.

Today we will be learning how to make Beetroot paratha. Beetroot has lots of health benefits. This recipe is very simple and you can make this in no time.

INGREDIENTS
1. Beetroot- 1/2 cup
2. Wheat flour- 1 cup
3. Ginger paste- 1 tbsp or fresh grated ginger 1/2 inch
4. Green Chillis- 1 (Finely chopped)
5. Ajwain (carom seeds)- 1/4 tsp
6. Salt- 1tsp
7. Oil- 1 Tbsp

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Peel off and grate the beetroot or you can also use a blender to blend it.
2. In a bowl take wheat flour, beetroot, ginger, green chili paste, salt, ajwain (carom seeds) and oil.
3. Mix all the ingredients, add water as needed and knead the dough.
4. Make small balls from dough.
5. Take one ball on the rolling board and dust some flour then with the help of the rolling pin roll like a small round of 3-4 inch. Repeat the steps for remaining dough balls and keep aside.
6. Heat a flat bottom non-stick pan and place the beetroot paratha on it. Cook for about 30 sec and flip on other side.
7. Apply oil on top and again flip the paratha cook properly on both side.

Beetroot paratha is ready. Serve it with Pickle Tangós Red Chilli Pickle 😉

 

Pallavi Srivastava- HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at Pickle Tango

HealthyLux November theme – Autumn colours

 

Autumn Winter Trends 2017

Style it up and turn fabulous!

Read some healthy styling tips for the Autumn Winter Trends 2017 by Neha Bhandari and feel great!

I feel silly talking about Autumn Winter Trends for this year when now it feels like spring in Luxembourg! What a lovely warm sunny weekend we had!

Well, the only issue is if you go shopping now, all stores are stocked with the Autumn Winter collection & I would like my readers to be well versed with the latest trends to make the best choices!!! So, in spite of how sunny, warm & beautiful it looks outdoors i am filling you up with the latest of a/w 2017!

Without further ado, here are my favorite picks for the season!

  • Feathers frills—- In cocktail dresses too

  • Red – Head to toe

  • Vintage florals– Especially roses!

  • Office wear—Business suits with Styled-up tailoring. More Power to Women!

  • Polka dots – in black & white! Size does not matter!

  • Silver & gold- Go all out with the optimism and high shine of the Space Age

  • Corduroy is back— Dust & bring them out!

  • Large baggy sweaters to scoop up this Fall.-Lively colors, vivid patterns in these heritage knits —-All reflecting the optimistic mood & It’s current obsession with craft and culture.

  • Sloganeering on clothes!

  • Velvet Everywhere- Your go-to look for a winter wedding this season- A lush velvet floor length gown!

 

 

Neha Bhandari – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at StylizedU

HealthyLux November theme – Autumn colours

 

Get some sleep

Ahh sleep! It seems like being a new mom and having a goodnight sleep is quite of a tricky combination. Or is it just me?

These past few nights have been quite of a challenge as my baby is currently going through a developmental leap, and it seems she’s very eager to practice her new skills during the night. Party time in the crib for her, but not so much fun for mama. And so I have seen first hand how lack of sleep can affect us. And you guessed it – it makes a tremendous difference when we have good quality sleep. So let’s talk about the importance of a goodnight sleep today, and how we can make sure we get it. I will share with you what I do to get a few good hours of sleep even during these challenging days as well.

What happens in your body when you don’t sleep enough?

Apart from the obvious effects lack of sleep has on us, such as tiredness, grumpiness and lack of concentration, there are other even more surprising effects it can cause us. Lack of sleep can lead to a series of health problems such as heart issues and increased blood pressure. Lack of sleep can also alter our glucose tolerance. This means the body will have more trouble recognising the glucose floating around in the blood, and instead of putting it in the cells of the body, where it can be used to fuel activity, it will be left in the blood, thus rising our blood sugar level. This can increase the risk of diabetes. The impaired glucose tolerance coming from lack of sleep can also make us feel more tired and hungry (remember the body is not properly fuelling our cells), which will make us eat more. And as we eat more, but the body is not making proper use of the excess of calories, you guessed it – we gain weight. I hear many people saying “Oh well, I don’t sleep much, but at least it helps me lose weight”. Now you know how untrue this statement is!

As we tend to get more agitated and stressed, our heart rate goes up. Sleep deprivation tends to impair the proper secretion of cortisol. Going on a few nights without proper sleep will increase your cortisol levels especially in the evening and it will take the body longer to bring them down. This on the other hand will make it harder for you to relax and drift into a peaceful sleep. And so a vicious circle can begin. The higher level of cortisol on the other hand increases our risk of diabetes and weight gain. Not nice. Cortisol levels are linked especially to retaining belly fat. So if you are having trouble losing the weight around your waste, maybe it would be a good idea to check the stress levels in your life!

Just as important is the effect lack of sleep has on our immune system too. During the night the inflammation rate in our body increases to support our body to form an initial response to bugs and invaders. This enhances the immune function in our body. But when our sleep is disrupted this inflammatory state gets imbalanced, which disrupts the proper functioning of our immune system and can lead to chronic illness.

No need to mention the other aspects of sleep deprivation and how it impacts our entire life – because of tiredness we will be more prone to skip a workout or a social gathering. Because we will feel more foggy we will become clumsy and our performance level will decrease as well. And lastly, lack of sleep will result in puffy eyes and skin that is more prone to aging.

While I am not trying to depress you with all of this, I simply want to make you aware of just how important it is to sleep. ☺

How to make sure you get a good quality sleep?

I have mentioned this already a few times in my recent posts. And there is a reason why – this is the little secret that helps me get a few good hours of sleep every night! It’s called establishing a good evening routine. This is really important, as it will signal your body that it’s time to relax and to get into a sleepy mode. So what I do is I start with a warm self-massage or I dry brushing before I take a shower. I then take a nice shower, put on soft cotton pajamas and make myself a hot tea. I normally read a book or have a conversation with my husband while I’m drinking my tea. Then I go to bed – lights out and I’m out too. It has taken me a while to stop a very unhealthy habit of always checking my phone or to watch a show before bed. But since I have stopped I noticed how my sleep got better. I fall asleep quicker and deeper. So try to stay away from electronics in the evening. They can really contribute to sleep trouble.

Another thing I try to do as much as I can is to sleep when baby sleeps. I know, this is easier said than done. But if I haven’t had a good night sleep, I always sleep during one of her daily naps. Mostly it is her second nap. So while she is having her first nap I can do other things (like writing this blog post :)).

The third thing is that I have learned to go to bed early. This one is tricky because you might think – oh the baby just fell asleep so let’s just hang out. We surely do this when she is sleeping well through the night, but when I know she is in a more difficult period, I go to bed within two hours after I put her down. This way I do get a good amount of sleep hours.

So if you take anything out of this post let it be this – recognize the importance sleep has on our health and wellbeing and make time for downtime every day. Establishing a good evening routine (just as you did for baby) is a guarantee you will improve the quality of your sleep as well.

What do you do to make sure you have a goodnight sleep?

 

Vesela Savova Drews – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at Plateful nutrition

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep

 

The Five Steps to Getting Your Baby to Sleep through the Night

If your baby or toddler is having trouble sleeping through the night, the first thing you should know is… you’re not alone! Studies show that up to 30% of babies have sleep problems, and that 75% of parents would like to change their babies’ sleep habits.

The good news is that there are some quick and easy things you can do – starting tonight – to help your little one starting sleeping all through the night… and taking long, restful naps during the day!

So, as promised, here they are: The Five Steps to Getting Your Baby to Sleep through the Night!

Step 1: Choose an early bedtime.

The best time to put your baby or toddler to bed is sometime between 6 and 8 o’clock in the evening. This ensures that your child will be able to get a solid 11-13 hours of sleep during the night. (And yes… that is how much sleep children should be getting every night up until the age of about 10.)

Step 2: Put your child to sleep in the same place every night.

Whether your child has a room of their own or shares a room with parents or siblings, it’s important that you put your son or daughter to sleep in the same place every night (and for naps during the day as much as possible.) Putting your child to bed in a familiar place lets them know they are safe and that they are in a place where sleep is expected of them.

Step 3: Create a predictable bedtime routine.

Consistency and predictability are really important to babies and toddlers. When they know what to expect at bedtime, it makes it *much* easier for them to make the transition from waking to sleeping – and that’s why creating a bedtime routine is so important!

A good example of a bedtime routine might be something like this:

  • 6:20 p.m. Bath time
  • 6:35 p.m. Put on pyjamas
  • 6:40 p.m. Nursing or bottle (NOTE: Do NOT let your child fall asleep while feeding!)
  • 6:55 p.m. Story or songs
  • 7:00 p.m. into crib or bed

Your bedtime routine shouldn’t take more than about 45 minutes, and it’s VERY important that the routine is the same every single night. The repetition and predictability are what let your child know that he or she will soon be expected to fall asleep.

Step 4: Put your baby to bed AWAKE!

If you’ve been rocking, nursing, or otherwise soothing your baby to sleep, this is going to seem like a tough one… but it’s actually the most important step! It’s only by letting your baby fall asleep WITHOUT your help at bedtime that he or she can learn the skills necessary to stay asleep through the night.

Step 5: If your baby wakes up during the night, wait a few minutes before intervening.

Everyone – babies and adults alike – will actually wake up several times every night. For most adults, these wakings are so brief that we don’t even remember them the next morning. However, many babies will immediately start to fuss or cry when they wake up.

This is simply because they haven’t learned how to fall asleep on their own. If a baby has been nursed or rocked to sleep at bedtime since birth, it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t know how to fall asleep independently. The good news is that many babies can figure out how to get back to sleep within just a few minutes of waking up in the night!

If your child continues to fuss or cry for more than a few minutes, you’ll want to go in and offer some comfort, but it’s important to let your child do the work of falling back to sleep. You can speak softly to your child and do some gentle rubbing or patting, but you should avoid picking your child up and rocking or nursing back to sleep.

So there you have it… the 5 most important things you need to know about getting your child to sleep through the night. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that every child is a little different – there’s no “magic formula” that will work 100% of the time for every baby!

My passion (and my profession) is helping parents like you develop customized plans for solving child sleep problems, so if you have any questions about what you’ve just read, please feel free to get in touch!

All the best and Simply trust your baby 🙂

 

Elena Werner, HealthyLux passionate contributor

Elena’s Sleep Champions

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep

Sleepless Autumn

It’s back to the grind, whether it’s work or school. Returning from a sunny, relaxing summer holiday and stepping into a cold, wet and windy autumn can be depressing. All the hassles and frenetic activities have returned. With all this chaos comes a stressful environment.

We go back to our usual routine, which is tiring. Nonetheless, this is our life. So, at the end of the day, when we finish dinner, get the kids tucked into bed and finally have a few moments for ourselves we find it hard to put the day behind us as there is always something left unfinished. There is not enough time in the day to get everything done.

Now it’s time to get ready for bedtime. “Oh, I need to check my messages one last time.” “I forgot to get the report finished for tomorrow.” “Did I remember to take the clothes out of the dryer?” All of these unfinished things are going through our heads.

How are we going to relax and fall asleep if we have all these thoughts going around in our minds?

Well, it’s time to take “me time” and learn to take these moments to step back, forget about your busy day and all the things you have not quite finished, and relax. I know that is hard to do. We are so used to going, going, going. But it tires us out. People are not robots. We cannot be running and working 24 hours a day. We need our time to relax and get a good night’s sleep to be ready for the next day.

How do we do that? First, make a cut-off time for you to shut off your phones, computers and the television. Keep your electronic devices out of your bedroom. Dim the lights in your room and allow yourself to fall into a more calming atmosphere. Sit quietly and sip a hot chamomile, peppermint or valerian tea, or if you are not a tea drinker, a warm cup of milk with honey. Take a nice long shower or a warm, lavender bath.

Now, when it’s time to go to bed, lie down quietly and relax. Put all the business of the day behind you. Don’t think about all the things you need to do tomorrow. That is for tomorrow, not right now.

Meditation, mindfulness and gentle EFT tapping are great tools for relaxation at bedtime. Tune into your breathing and tune into your body. Listen to your breathing, feel your breathing as it slows down and your chest goes up and down. The more you tune into and focus on your body and breathing, the more relaxed you will be. Before you know it, you will be fast asleep and energized the next morning.

 

Natalie Bachiri – Tap Into Your Happiness

HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep

 

Mood and food: the dangerous links

Another stressful day at work, and you feel like eating that entire chocolate bar in one? You can’t get the thought of ice cream out of your head, because you are feeling blue today? Or perhaps, food has lost all its taste after a bad argument with your boyfriend? A new project at the University of Luxembourg is investigating the brain processes linking negative mood with unhealthy eating behaviours. Participants will receive individualised feedback on how mood and food go together in their own eating habits, as well as a reimbursement for their time.

Negative and even positive mood often influence the way we perceive food, which foods we choose to eat, and how much we enjoy them. This “emotional eating behaviour” can go in both directions, with some people eating more when experiencing strong negative emotions, and others losing their appetite all together.

In some cases, negative mood can lead to binge eating, a behaviour in which individuals eat an unusually large amount of food in a short period of time, while losing control over what and how much they are eating. Feelings of remorse after the binge may then lead to compensatory behaviours, such as fasting, excessive exercising, or self-induced vomiting. This can be a sign of eating disorders, such as bulimia nervosa. Although the number of people diagnosed with bulimia nervosa appears to have declined during recent years, it is still a serious condition, often with long-lasting health consequences.

Current research project at INSIDE Research Unit

Researchers are only beginning to understand the link between emotions and eating behaviour. Eating may improve mood, and food, which tastes good, is certainly rewarding, ultimately making us feel better. Nevertheless, studies investigating daily mood and eating behaviours, have shown that these effects can be short-lived. This is especially true in dieters, because the bad conscience of having broken diet rules may eventually settle in.

The EMO-EAT project, led by Prof. Claus Vögele and coordinated by Dr Annika Lutz, is a collaborative study with the Eating Behavior Laboratory of the University of Salzburg (Prof. Jens Blechert), and funded by the National Research Fund Luxembourg (FNR) and the Austrian Research Fund (FWF). It investigates the brain mechanisms associated with negative mood while being confronted with tasty foods. To learn more about eating disorders, a major aim of the study is to compare women with bulimia nervosa and women with no eating-related issues.

We are now looking for participants who would like to be part of our quest for a better understanding emotional and bulimic eating behaviour, thereby contributing to improvements in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. The main part of the study consists of a laboratory session in which brainwaves are recorded, and the use of a Smartphone App to record mood and eating behaviour in daily life.

Get in touch!

We are looking for female participants who:

• Are at least 18 years old

• Speak German or French or English

All participants will receive detailed feedback on their eating behaviours. In addition, you will be reimbursed for your time with gift vouchers worth EUR 150.

If you are interested, please get in touch with Dr Annika Lutz, coordinator of the research project.

Email: Annika.Lutz@uni.lu

Or fill in the registration form on: https://insideblog.uni.lu/participants/

 

Small Business & Crafts Fair

– WHEN: 24 SEPT 2017 – 11:30-16:30

– WHERE: Restaurant FirWatNet in Cents

– WHO: WeOrganize.lu is organizing a fair supporting the craft and small business community of Luxembourg

Come and shop local! There will be unique products of the highest quality for all ages, tastes and interests! … and delicious food and refreshments by Restaurant  FirWatNet , 14o rue Cents in Luxembourg.

Come, see and try for yourself and meet all these talented people!

FREE  ENTRANCE  for customers

VENDORS INFORMATION:

-For those who want to promote their small business book your table at info@weorganize.lu

ASAP, limited space!

All info on www.facebook.com/weorganize.lu

Like our FB page to get all info on all upcoming events

 

Vesela’s approach to a healthy lifestyle

Give a short description of what you do

My name is Vesela Savova Drews and I am a certified Diet & Nutrition Advisor. I run www.platefulnutrition.co and I’am passionate about nutrition, health food and cooking. Besides offering health-coaching sessions I also organize cooking and nutritional workshops for companies and private individuals.

Why, in your opinion, should people give up the food and activities they like to live healthier?

I don’t think we should “give up” anything in order to live healthy. In fact, this kind of notion is the most misleading one and it acts as a barrier to try and make a change. Living healthier is associated with increased energy and vitality, with better health, and better looks. So in fact by living healthier one can only gain more of life! It takes a bit of effort in the beginning as with any type of habit change, but the results are so worth it, that you will never look back to your previous habits with regret or nostalgia!

Why and how did you accept to live healthy?

Again, I didn’t have to accept to live healthy. I wanted to live healthy! As it happened I realized how much better I felt and that hooked me for life! It all started by going on an Easter lent 5 years ago. I’ve never been on a diet before and frankly never really put much thought into what I eat and how it makes me feel. Changing my diet for lent opened up a new world for me as for the first time I was conscious of my food choices. I started noticing changes in my energy level, mood and sports performance. It was like a whole new world opened up to me. The realization of how food can impact so much in ones life left me exhilarated! And so I started being interested in nutrition. It was a natural process, I didn’t force myself and never did anything that my body or mind was rejecting. I think this is a very important concept in making long-lasting changes.

Is it challenging, expensive and time-consuming?

Changing a habit and altering your diet can be challenging in the beginning. There is always a bit of resistance. The body wants to save energy and work on autopilot, so it craves routine. So the first few weeks of establishing a new routine can be a bit difficult and confusing. But once you get past them you will realize you have formed a new habit – a healthy one. And eating healthy becomes a second nature. Once there, it is no longer challenging and time-consuming. Eating healthy is not more expensive than eating junk food or eating out several times a week. Cooking at home saves you money, and with practice – time, and it offers you more nutrition as well as control, as you know what exactly goes into the food you eat.

Does it really work?

Absolutely!

What was the key factor that lead you to start a new healthier life?

First it was curiosity. I knew lent and fasting are important subjects in many cultures and religions and people have been doing periods of fasting for ages. So I wanted to see what that was all about. Then it was excitement as I started to see why they do it. And as a result I noticed that I felt so much better that I decided to keep eating in a certain way. Since then my skin has cleared up (I used to have really bad skin), my weight is stable, and my energy levels are higher. Why would I ever want to go back?!

 

Vesela Savova Drews – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at Plateful nutrition