Hello readers and friends,
Just wanted to share with you news of my blog moving to it’s new home–She Knows Yoga! (and meditation and Pilates, etc..)
Beginning Monday, December 1, you’ll be able to find me at She Knows Yoga.  It’s been wonderful these past few months getting to know all of you, sharing ideas and information. 
The topics at She Knows Yoga will follow much of what you have been reading on Grounded Fitness.  But, as always, I’ll be making room and opening up dialogues on many topics realted to what I call the “lifestyle.”  I’m really excited about it, and so looking forward to …read more

Got a headache?  I do tonight.  Here’s what I am going to go do right after I log off.  It has really helped me in the past, hope it works wonders again tonight.
It’s called the Supported Headstand, or Salamba Sirsasana.  And it goes like this:
-Put a pad or your mat on the floor, and kneel down
- Clasp your hands, intertwining your fingers. Set your forearms on the floor
-Roll your upper arms slightly outward, while pressing the insides of your wrists firmly into the floor
-Position the crown of your head on the floor.  Gently push your hands together, and cup the back of your head with …read more

Well, it’s not earth-shattering news, but apparently, there is a new category for folks who are vegetarians MOST of the time :-)  You’re called flexitarians, and around Thanksgiving, I have to admit, I become one of you, too.
 In fact, the food industry is targeting these folks, providing vegetarian fare with just a wee bit of protein on the side.  Flexitarians could and would be considered vegetarians most of the time.  But when a slice of meat or fish passes under their noses, they don’t say no.  And restaurants and grocery stores are beginning to package food and menu items just for …read more

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve already seen a fair number of pretty cold days.
For me, this isn’t such a bad thing.  I use this time to turn my thoughts inward, and that normally benefits my practice and my outlook. 
What I do find helps make the transition to these homebound days a little easier is turning a private space within my home into a meditation and practice room.  I can’t move everything out.  I know that.  But I do spend a few days each year clearing out things I don’t need, moving them into another space, …read more

I can be one anxious person.  Doesn’t always matter what the topic is, before I know it, I am internally tied-up in knots. But I do have a secret weapon to fight off the stress–the Bow.
Well, the Archer’s Bow, actually.  Appropriately named, because when you do it correctly, your body will look like an archer’s bow. 
Here’s how it goes:
-Lie on your belly with your arms alongside your torso, palms facing up
-Slowly exhale and bend your knees, bringing your heels as close as you can to your buttocks
-Take your hands and grasp your ankles
-Inhale and lift your heels away from your …read more

That’s right.  Got the results from my physical last week, and they were awesome. I am never sure–at least not since my bout with breast cancer a few years back–how the test results are going to come out.  But I felt pretty good going in, and I have been working hard to change my diet, de-stress whenever possible, and just plain take care of myself.
After meeting with my doctor, one message came through loud and clear–my diet is doing amazing things for my health.  I grew up a die-hard, meat-eating carnivore.  In my late 20s I changed that up somewhat, my thirties, even more so.  …read more

Whether you’re on the vegetarian track or would like to be, rice is a great way to add important B vitamins and fiber to your diet.  It is an important part of the daily diet of over half the world–and a sacred ingredient in places like Tibet and Indonesia, where the rice goddess Dewi Sri–and rice– are believed to have a spirit and a soul.   There are a ton of varieties to choose from–about 120,000 to be more precise.  So how do you choose?
Well, it isn’t easy, but each rice has its own set of culinary qualities.  Here’s a rundown of …read more

My sister is a nutritionist who is so meticulous about food that sometimes I need to take a nap before going to a family dinner at her home. 
She asks so many questions about what I’m eating, I feel like I need to be read my rights :-). But this weekend’s “serving” of  nutritional knowledge may just alter my shopping habits a bit.  Just a bit…
She told me I am at an age (thanks a lot–and no, I am NOT–and to all her friends out there, she’s only a year younger than me) where I need to be stocking up on “functional foods.”  Sounded kind of painful to …read more

Cruising around the internet today, just checking out what’s new, I came across a sort of surprising story. A push for yoga to become an Olympic sport. Hmm.
Not exactly sure what I think about it at the moment.  In competitive yoga, yogis take the stand and perform a three-minute routine of seven asanas or postures.  Judges score each competitor on alignment, grace, stability, confidence, balance and presence. 
Competitive yoga is not an entirely new concept.  Olympic yoga would most definitely be taking it to the next level.  I thought about it, and about the lifestyle, and I am not so sure.  Should yoga be about …read more

It’s a common belief that many of my friends share–if you follow a vegetarian diet, you won’t be able to get as far with strength training and athletic pursuits.
Wrong. True, it is going to be a bit more complex to attain the level of protein in your diet that your body looks for when you’re undertaking a strength traning regimen. But it isn’t impossible.
Many experts recommend 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.73 grams per pound). There are ways for you to get enough protein to reach this recommended amount with low-fat dairy products and …read more