You don't need a gym for these 10 exercises!

Earlier this week, freelance writer and fitness enthusiast Tania Dakka offered five tips for balancing work, fitness, and life in general.

Now’s a great time to go over some exercises for those of you working to find that balance.

If you’re just reading this, chances are you’re still looking for that balance, right? You haven’t quite mastered it (or, at least, reached the point where you’re comfortable juggling it all), so a list of exercises you can do in 10 minutes will definitely come in handy!

Guest post by Tania Dakka, the Fit Freelancer.

*~*You try so hard to stay zoned in on your fitness goals. But everyone around you pulls at you.

“I need my shirt!”

“Get me this project by tomorrow morning.”

“Can we have your homemade lasagna for dinner tonight?”

Family needs you. Clients demand more than they should. And you have exactly zero time to do what inspires you most.

Any fast food junkies out there?

Any fast food junkies dealing with depression?

According to scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada, there’s a direct connection between fast food and commercial baked goods and the risk of developing depression.

Fast food consumers are 51% more likely to develop depression than people who never or rarely eat fast food!

The study also showed:

…those participants who ate the most fast food and commercial baked goods were more likely to be single, less active and have poor dietary habits (eating less fruit, nuts, fish, vegetables and olive oil). It was also common for individuals in this group to smoke and work over 45 hours per week.

So, if you’re consuming a lot of fast food and aren’t really sure how to break the cycle (or have tried and failed), these tips might help you:

Kyczy Hawk, yoga instructor and author of "Yoga and the Twelve-Step Path"

Last week, I shared information about yoga and addiction recovery – specifically, five ways yoga can help addicts in recovery.

Fortunately, Kyczy Hawk stumbled across the piece.

Hawk, a San Jose-based yoga instructor who focuses on addiction recovery, is also the author of the recently published “Yoga and the Twelve-Step Path,” and agreed to a quick interview to provide Your Body, Your Mind readers with some firsthand insight about the different kinds of addiction, the dangers of feeling disconnected and separate, and how yoga can help people during the addiction recovery process.

Alicia Sparks: What led to your decision to start practicing and teaching yoga?

Kyczy Hawk: Many years ago yoga presented itself as a non “exercise” form of physical movement and health. Years later I again stepped onto the mat in both physical and psychic pain. I had plateaued in my recovery journey – I am a person in recovery – and I felt disconnected.

Are you a recovering alcoholic or drug addict? Have you thought about incorporating yoga in your recovery?

Maybe you should give it a try.

That, for many people, yoga is an effective way to manage mental health issues like anxiety and depression is no secret; however, according to Jennifer Garam’s Sun Salutations in Sobriety, people also use yoga to break through the “spiritual wall” many recovering addicts hit and continue on their sobriety path.

Apparently, this isn’t a new or secret idea, either. Sarah, the nine-year sober New Yorker quoted in the article, started using yoga during her seventh year, and folks like Rolf Gates, Nikki Myers, and Tommy Rosen write about and teach yoga programs designed for people in recovery.

(Of course, you can Google just about any combination of “yoga and sobriety,” “yoga and recovery,” and “yoga and addiction” and you’ll find tons of related blogs, forums, and programs.)

So, why is yoga working so well for people in recovery?

Breakfast is my meal. I’m not sure why, but for as long as I can remember I have loved breakfast with my whole heart and soul. Brunch is even better.

I’m often mystified by people who routinely skip this meal. Whenever I skip breakfast, I become an angry, headachey hunger monster who can’t perform simple tasks. My mood darkens and I dislike everyone. I mean, really dislike them. And then eat 100 cookies for lunch.

Now that I’m gluten-free, finding satisfying breakfast choices is a bit more challenging – especially because I often need to eat breakfast on the run, or at least have something portable to bring to work. Are there ways to eat a healthy, gluten-free breakfast on the run?

I mean, of course!

Happy Friday, readers!

Okay, okay – technically it’s not May anymore, but we had our last Mental Health Month 2012 Challenge on Tuesday, so we have to have a Weekly Weigh-In, right?

Right!

Tuesday I challenged you to learn a new recipe – one that’s healthy for both your body and your brain.

Because this week was a busy one for me, I chose to learn a snack recipe. It’s a vegetarian recipe for nachos. WebEcoist calls them 3-Minute Healthy Nachos (they took a little longer for me – sometimes I’m all thumbs!) and I think you’ll like them whether you eat meat or not!