19 Sep
Blog

Instant Pod Review: A Simple Way To Start Your Mornings

Instant Pod

Instant Pod coffee and espresso machine

"Nothing is easier, more user-friendly and space-saving than the Instant Pod."

  • Space saving design

  • Bride quick coffee

  • Minimal maintenance

  • Large water tank

  • No way to dispense more water

The small appliance manufacturer Instant Brands, which is known for its exquisite line of instant pots, conquers the market for slow cookers and pressure cookers and branches into the world of coffee preparation. The Instant Pod comes at an irresistible price point of $ 119 and looks extremely enticing as a 2-in-1 system. He can prepare both coffee and espresso in one user-friendly machine. With this combination, other popular brewers are sure to run for their money.

Easy to use

I might not be a coffee snob, but coffee is the first thing I have on my list every morning before I start work. With that in mind, I prefer something that is quick and easy and doesn't need a lot of tidying up afterwards. You know what? The Instant Pod is the kind of machine I need to get started because brewing a cup of joe is so easy and straightforward.

Instant Pod dispenses coffeeJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Whether you prefer coffee or espresso, it has you covered because it can brew both. When you open the top lid, two compartments become visible, one for coffee over one of your favorite K-cup trays and the other for espresso over the spherical capsules from Nespresso. Whatever you prefer, you slide it in, close the lid, put your mug / mug in the appropriate place, and then choose a drink size. You have three options for coffee: eight, ten or twelve ounces. For espresso fillings, you also have three to choose from: two, four, or six ounces. That's it!

In less than a few minutes, you'll have a fresh cup of coffee or espresso to wake you up – and there's little to do! Sure, a few drops may splash inexplicably, but you can remove the plate from the base and rinse it off quickly. Thanks to its simplicity and ease of use, you can still be half awake and make a cup of coffee with ease.

Great taste

Coffee snobs will argue over what is the best brewing method to get the richest and boldest taste of your coffee, but the K-cup I brewed came out exactly how I like it. There is no harsh or bitter taste. Despite the injection of hot water into the plastic cup, the result is no different from any other Keurigs I've used in the past – and that goes for reusable K-cups with their own grind, too.

Instant Pod Review holds cuoJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

If you prefer espresso drinks, the Instant Pod does the job with almost any of the original Nespresso capsules. It should be noted, however, that it will not accept Vertuo capsules (due to the slightly more elongated shape). The only missing option with the Instant Pod is the ability to manually dispense hot water. If you just want to add a little more water to dilute the drink, there is no option here for that.

The design saves space

Compared to the first Keurig single-cup coffee mug I used, the Instant Pod is space-saving with its slim design, although it is a bit deep in terms of front-to-back measurement. Even so, the all-plastic construction feels solid and includes a pull-out tray for this espresso brew. In addition, used Nespresso capsules are disposed of in a compartment inside the machine so that you do not have to take them out after each infusion.

It's a low maintenance machine that I love.

If you're the kind of person who drinks a cup of coffee every day, the Instant Pot is more than enough to get you through a work week. This is because there is a 68-ounce water tank in the back of the coffee maker that can be removed for quick and easy refills and cleaning. Like I said, it's a low-maintenance machine that I love.

Our opinion

One-cup coffee drinkers will absolutely fall in love with the Instant Pot, even more so if it can brew either coffee or espresso. The price is accordingly $ 119, making it an easy investment that will keep you powered up in the morning.

How long it will take?

While it's mostly made of plastic, there's little to worry about as it will remain stationary wherever you place it. If you are worried about something going wrong, such as For example, the touch-sensitive control panel comes with a one-year limited warranty that covers manufacturing defects.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, but you won't find the same space-saving design, ease of use, and minimal cleanup that the Instant Pod offers. Other combo machines that can be used to brew coffee and espresso are also expensive, costing easily over $ 200. They are also more traditional breweries, which can be more complicated to operate.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. You get the best of both worlds without having to spend a fortune.

Editor's recommendations




16 Sep
Blog

Train for Explosive Power With This Simple Dumbbell Exercise

When you start building explosiveness with weights there is always someone chirping about Olympic lifting moves. However, learning to ride Olympic lifts is a slower and more arduous process than anyone who has never tried it would think. There are more setbacks than breakthroughs. I should know that I've dedicated a decade of my life to Olympic weightlifting.

When you have the time and energy to devote yourself to it, it can be rewarding and spiritually engaging. If you want to train explosive skills now, there are better options. The dumbbell power shrug is one of your best options.

To train explosiveness, stick to basic movements and learn to train them remarkably well.

If you want to learn more about the principles that form the basis of any movement, check out my two-week, in-depth online course that teaches the immutable principles of all barbell lifts. How to restore your body's resilience and control is about to begin.

You don't need a lot of equipment or coaching for an exercise like a dumbbell power shrugand you can customize it to suit your needs and make it harder over time.

You can create a foundation of athleticism, coordination, and explosive potential in the gym for any other physical hobbies you enjoy, but you need to understand how first.

The benefits of the dumbbell shrug

The dumbbell power shrug builds athletic strength.

There aren't many exercises that will work out these traits in the gym except when throwing or hit heavy med balls.

The benefits of training for explosive force

Unless you're doing a sport that requires explosive movements, you may not be interested in an exercise that develops that skill.

The ability to move quickly, move, or catch when you trip, or change direction is an explosive move. It's a physical ability that we often overlook. However, this is not only important for younger people trying to participate in physical exercise.

With age, the ability to explode decreases before other physical traits such as strength, flexibility, and even muscle mass. Unless you're very explosive at first, that drop will be an even bigger problem.

One of the greatest risks of injury in old age is the loss of this explosive reflex.

If we trip and you cannot move your feet fast enough to catch yourself or reach out your hands, you will be injured. Knee, hip, and back injuries from falls can be reduced as you age by adding explosive workout to the mix.

If you are younger and want to be more capable, this is a great tool that doesn't involve learning new or complicated skills. If you want to train that hard, all you have to do is crouch properly and remember how to jump.

The best part about this exercise is that almost every muscle that starts in the lower body and moves up the chain has forceful contact.

The sequence of movement teaches coordination, which in strength training can generally only be learned by engaging in Olympic weightlifting.

A group of trainers close to me call this coordination the chain of command.

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

The idea is that large muscles should fire before smaller ones during complex explosive movements. For the power shrug, the largest and strongest muscles in the lower body fire when you crouch and stretch up.

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

When you reach the top of the movement and deploy, the traps should twitch at the same time as your ankles deploy. However, these smaller muscles only work after the larger muscles initiate the movement.

How to do the dumbell power shrug

You need a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand.

  • Grab it and get up. Then fold over and crouch down so that the dumbbells are somewhere between your kneecaps and ankles.
  • Press firmly against the floor as if trying to drive your ankles through the floor. (This will keep you in contact with the ground longer and prevent you from getting on your toes prematurely as many do when they think of a jump action.)
  • Keep pushing through your feet firmly as you extend, remembering to stretch your body for as long as you want to jump and hold your head against the ceiling.
  • Keep your arms long and your elbows relaxed.
  • Push even harder through the top of your knuckles, remembering to shrug your shoulders to your ears. If you focus on pushing hard through your knuckles, You will hit the balls of your feet, but your toes will not lose contact with the ground.
  • Time your shrug with the exact moment the heels lift off the floor.
  • Once you are fully extended, immediately drop your heels again and crouch again.
  • Try to do this as a continuous, fluid motion with no rest for the set number of repetitions.

variation

When you're comfortable, change it up by starting from the floor. Touch the dumbbells to the floor on each rep.

This deeper squat is harder than you think. It would be helpful if you had enough hip mobility to squat so low with good posture and so you can train the hip muscles differently.

Mistakes to Avoid

A big mistake is to let your entire foot off the ground and bounce. Use light weights and it's no big deal, but start grabbing heavier bells and it could hurt you.

When you ride hard like you should, your heels will leave the ground, but always keep part of your foot in contact with the ground.

One off-balance landing after an actual jump and you see a foot or ankle injury.

A more advanced dumbbell power shrug

Once you have trained the movement and gradually gained weight, you can challenge yourself at various tempos.

You can eccentric (lower) the weight into your squat position before extending it as quickly as possible. Or you could do something like a 3 count eccentric, with a break down below for another 3 counts.

A basic move like the power shrug makes it easy to modify and more challenging so you can keep training hard.

15 Sep
Blog

Train for Explosive Power With This Simple Dumbbell Exercise

When you start building explosiveness with weights there is always someone chirping about Olympic lifting moves. However, learning to ride Olympic lifts is a slower and more arduous process than anyone who has never tried it would think. There are more setbacks than breakthroughs. I should know that I've dedicated a decade of my life to Olympic weightlifting.

When you have the time and energy to devote yourself to it, it can be rewarding and spiritually engaging. Now, if you want to train explosive skills, there are better options. The dumbbell power shrug is one of your best options.

To train explosiveness, stick to basic movements and learn to train them remarkably well.

If you're interested in learning more about the principles that form the basis of any movement, check out my two-week, in-depth online course that teaches the immutable principles behind all barbell lifts. How to restore your body's resilience and control is about to begin.

You don't need a lot of equipment or coaching for an exercise like a dumbbell power shrugand you can customize it to suit your needs and make it harder over time.

You can create a foundation of athleticism, coordination, and explosive potential in the gym for any other physical hobbies you enjoy, but you need to understand how first.

The benefits of the dumbbell shrug

The dumbbell power shrug builds athletic strength.

There aren't many exercises that work out these traits in the gym, except when throwing or hitting heavy med balls.

The benefits of training for explosive force

Unless you're doing a sport that requires explosive movements, you may not be interested in an exercise that develops that skill.

The ability to move quickly, move, or catch when you trip, or change direction is an explosive move. It's a physical ability that we often overlook. However, this is not only important for younger people trying to participate in physical exercise.

With age, the ability to explode decreases before other physical traits such as strength, flexibility, and even muscle mass. Unless you're very explosive at first, that drop will be an even bigger problem.

One of the greatest risks of injury in old age is the loss of this explosive reflex.

If we trip and you cannot move your feet fast enough to catch yourself or reach out your hands, you will be injured. Knee, hip, and back injuries from falls can be reduced as you age by adding explosive workout to the mix.

If you are younger and want to be more powerful, this is a great tool that doesn't involve learning new or complicated skills. If you want to train that hard, all you have to do is crouch properly and remember how to jump.

The best part about this exercise is that almost every muscle that starts in the lower body and moves up the chain has forceful contact.

The sequence of movement teaches coordination, which in strength training can generally only be learned by engaging in Olympic weightlifting.

A group of trainers close to me call this coordination the chain of command.

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

The idea is that large muscles should fire before smaller ones during complex explosive movements. For the power shrug, the strongest muscles of the lower body fire when you crouch and stretch up.

Work out for explosive strength with this simple dumbbell exercise - fitness, kettlebell, flexibility, dumbbell, explosive strength, eccentric workout, quads, upper traps, hip mobility, repetitive pace, resilience, overhead medicine ball slam, shrug

When you reach the top of the movement and deploy, the traps should twitch at the same time as your ankles deploy. However, these smaller muscles only work after the larger muscles initiate the movement.

How to do the dumbell power shrug

You need a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand.

  • Grab it and get up. Then, fold over and crouch down so the dumbbells are somewhere between your kneecaps and ankles.
  • Press firmly against the floor as if trying to drive your ankles through the floor. (This will keep you in contact with the ground longer and prevent you from getting on your toes prematurely, as many do when they think of a jump action.)
  • Keep pushing firmly through your feet as you extend, remembering to stretch your body for as long as you want to jump and hold your head against the ceiling.
  • Keep your arms long and your elbows relaxed.
  • Push even harder through your knuckles at the very top and remember to shrug your shoulders to your ears. If you focus on pushing hard through your knuckles, You will hit the balls of your feet, but your toes will not lose contact with the ground.
  • Time your shrug with the exact moment the heels lift off the floor.
  • Once you are fully extended, immediately drop your heels again and crouch again.
  • Try to do this as a continuous, fluid motion with no rest for the set number of repetitions.

variation

When you're comfortable, change it up by starting from the floor. Touch the dumbbells to the floor on each rep.

This deeper squat is harder than you think. It would be helpful if you had enough hip mobility to squat so low with good posture and so you trained the hip muscles differently.

Mistakes to Avoid

A big mistake is to let your entire foot off the ground and bounce. Use light weights and it's no big deal, but start grabbing heavier bells and it could hurt you.

When you ride hard like you should, your heels will leave the ground but always keep part of your foot in contact with the ground.

One off-balance landing after an actual jump and you see a foot or ankle injury.

A more advanced dumbbell power shrug

Once you have trained the movement and gradually gained weight, you can challenge yourself at various tempos.

You can eccentrically (lower) the weight into your squat position with 6 counts before extending it as quickly as possible. Or you could do something like a 3 count eccentric, with a break down below for another 3 counts.

A basic move like the power shrug makes it easy to modify and more challenging so you can keep training hard.

04 Sep
Blog

Can Hydration Be As Simple As Listening To Our Bodies?

One of the most critical medical interventions of the 20th century is a saline solution. Chances are if the hospital takes you in and gives you an infusion that delivers the saline solution directly into your veins. Saline is one of the earliest products to be shipped to disaster sites and is at times so in demand that the drug companies that make saline are suffering from shortages

We need salt and water

Saline is just a fancy name for salt water, and the saline you get at the hospital is 0.9% sodium chloride. A few years ago, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) recommended using oral hydration whenever possible due to the lack of saline solution. Oral hydration is a quirky term for drinking.

Most of us naturally get the right amount of water and salt by drinking and eating water. We need both water and salt to maintain adequate blood sodium levels of 140 millimoles of sodium per liter of plasma.2 This number is finely tuned; Falling below 135 mEq / L can lead to a variety of problems, including:

The medical term for this is hyponatremia. 3

Several things cause hyponatremia, including persistent vomiting and diarrhea. It can also occur in endurance athletes who drink too much. When an athlete uses more water than they excrete through sweat and urine, the total body water increases compared to the total exchangeable sodium

How much is enough

This leads to an interesting question: how do you know if you are drinking too much water? And how much water should you drink?

Maybe not eight glasses a day, suggests Eduardo Dolhun, a doctor with a special interest in dehydration. (He also founded Drip Drop, an electrolyte powder5 that contains an accurate proportion of electrolytes specifically designed for oral rehydration therapy, so there may be financial bias.) "Do you see the Maasai walking with bottles of water?" He asks in James Hamblin's book, "If our bodies could talk." 6th

He has an argument. I looked for pictures of Kenyans exercising and couldn't find a single picture of someone with a water bottle. The Kenyans are among the fastest people in the world. Although their climate is relatively temperate (they exercise in the mornings and late afternoons when it's often in the low 50s and 60s F), it's also high altitude and they don't move slowly.

Fascinated, I carried out a PubMed search7 to find out what drinking habits Kenyans have. It turns out that researchers have found that Kenyans are hydrated with ad libitum fluid intake on a daily basis. Ad libitum fluid intake means that you can drink, whenever you want, how much you want. They also eat little processed foods, including lots of vegetables and the occasional glass of whole milk. Hence, their eating habits may meet their daily needs without too much additional tinkering

It's worth noting that urinating and thirst are the ways we regulate our fluid status. We also have the built-in ability to know what type of drink we need intuitively– The taste buds in the mouth send messages to the brain about how much salt to consume and how much water is needed. These messages cause a cascade of predictive reflexes that send information about when to start and stop drinking. This happens before the water gets into the bloodstream. These signals come from both the gut and the brain. 9

Drinking in modern culture is not necessarily based on thirst. It is based on:

  • Pleasure (alcohol, hot chocolate, or lemonade on a summer day)
  • To cheer us up (caffeine)
  • To calm us down (chamomile tea)

We can either prevent thirst signals (drink because we feel like we should) or ignore thirst signals, just as we learn to ignore other interoceptive signals such as pain, tenderness, or hunger.

Listen to our bodies

Interoceptive signals are your internal cues about how you are feeling. Much like information from the external environment, such as what you see, hear and smell, affect your sense of security and play a large role in your movements and behavior, so does your conscious and unconscious interpretation of your interoceptive cues.

Perhaps part of what takes us out of our physiological point of equilibrium is a departure from listening. When we reconnect with the ability to pay attention to what our body demands, the solution often shows up immediatelywhether it is drinking water, a specific food or a specific exercise.

Listening is easyand simplicity is often confused with a lack of depth, as if the simple solution cannot be the real solution because it is too simple. Instead, we look for complexity, and within that complexity we may lose touch with what we need.

Improvisational movement

When was the last time you sat on the floor and allowed yourself to move to see what came up? And maybe you allowed yourself to move around in a way that felt good and nutritious instead of fighting your initial instincts because you weren't sure they were right?

  • Food can show up as strengthening or stretching.
  • A nutritious movement can also show up as a gentle movement that doesn't fit exactly in a box but still feels kind of supportive.

You can try this now. I'll take a break from writing and do it with you. I usually do this for the length of a song, but if music isn't your thing, set a timer for four minutes and see what happens. And if you've never made improvisational moves and don't know where to start, pick a body part and start moving it. See the movement develop, spend time with what feels interesting, and see where it takes you.

How was it? How are you feeling now compared to four minutes ago?

I feel so much better and I didn't even know I wasn't feeling right before. The first song was too short (two minutes) so I played two songs, or about six minutes.

I started with stretching and rolling movements for my legs, which were sore from my workout two days ago and turned into a fascinating upper extremity strain, exploring leg mobility. My legs feel less sore, I feel more energetic, and I feel more connected throughout my system.

When things are so out of whack, you can't remember how to listen to your internal cues, and you can't tell when you are thirsty or when to use broccoli. Take a moment to pause and listen. Honor what you hear and see what happens.

Fred Rogers once said, "I feel so strong that deep and simple is much more important than flat and complex."

Perhaps learning to apply this rationale to ourselves is the ultimate biohacking technique. Or maybe that's too easy.

References

1.U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., "Announces Some Persistent Bottlenecks Associated with IV Fluids," Press Release, 2018, Jan. 16.

2. Parsons P. E., & Wiener-Kronish J. P., 2013. Chapter 45: Hyponatremia and Hypernatremia. In B.W. Metzger and K.D. Liu (Ed.), "Critical Care: Fifth Edition", pp. 322-328. Elsevier. Google books.

3. James L. Lewis III, MD. Hyponatremia. On Merck Manual Professional Version. 2020.

4. Hew-Butler, Tamara et al. "Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia: Update 2017," Frontiers in Medicine, Volume 4: March 21, 3, 2017.

5. DripDrop, ORS, "Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) are a breakthrough science that treats and prevents dehydration for millions of people worldwide." Accessed August 30, 2020.

6. James Hamblin. "If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Using and Maintaining a Human Body." Double day. 2016.

7. Fudge B.W., Easton C., Kingsmore D., Kiplamai F.K., Onywera V.O., Westerterp K.R., Kayser B., Noakes T.D., & Pitsiladis Y.P., (2008). "Elite Kenyan endurance athletes are hydrated with ad libitum fluid intake daily." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2008 Jun; 40 (6), 1171-1179.

8. Christensen, Dirk L. "Diet intake and endurance performance in Kenyan runners." Equine and comparative movement physiology 1, No. 4 (2004): 249–53.

9. Popkin B.M., D'Anci, K.E. & Rosenberg, I.H., "Water, Hydration and Health". Nutrition Review, Volume 68 (8): 439-458. 2011.

03 Sep
Blog

Can Hydration Be As Simple As Listening To Our Bodies?

One of the most critical medical interventions of the 20th century is a saline solution. Chances are if the hospital takes you in and gives you an infusion that delivers the saline solution directly into your veins. Saline is one of the earliest products to be shipped to disaster sites and is at times so in demand that the drug companies that make saline are suffering from shortages

We need salt and water

Saline is just a fancy name for salt water, and the saline you get at the hospital is 0.9% sodium chloride. A few years ago, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) recommended using oral hydration whenever possible due to the lack of saline solution. Oral hydration is a quirky term for drinking.

Most of us naturally get the right amount of water and salt by drinking and eating water. We need both water and salt to maintain adequate blood sodium levels of 140 millimoles of sodium per liter of plasma.2 This number is finely tuned; Falling below 135 mEq / L can lead to a variety of problems, including:

The medical term for this is hyponatremia. 3

Several things cause hyponatremia, including persistent vomiting and diarrhea. It can also occur in endurance athletes who drink too much. When an athlete uses more water than they excrete through sweat and urine, the total body water increases compared to the total exchangeable sodium

How much is enough

This leads to an interesting question: how do you know if you are drinking too much water? And how much water should you drink?

Maybe not eight glasses a day, suggests Eduardo Dolhun, a doctor with a special interest in dehydration. (He also founded Drip Drop, an electrolyte powder5 that contains an accurate proportion of electrolytes specifically designed for oral rehydration therapy, so there may be financial bias.) "Do you see the Maasai walking with bottles of water?" He asks in James Hamblin's book, "If our bodies could talk." 6th

He has an argument. I looked for pictures of Kenyans exercising and couldn't find a single picture of someone with a water bottle. The Kenyans are among the fastest people in the world. Although their climate is relatively temperate (they exercise in the mornings and late afternoons when it's often in the low 50s and 60s F), it's also high altitude and they don't move slowly.

Fascinated, I carried out a PubMed search7 to find out what drinking habits Kenyans have. It turns out that researchers have found that Kenyans are hydrated with ad libitum fluid intake on a daily basis. Ad libitum fluid intake means that you can drink, whenever you want, how much you want. They also eat little processed foods, including lots of vegetables and the occasional glass of whole milk. Hence, their eating habits may meet their daily needs without too much additional tinkering

It's worth noting that urinating and thirst are the ways we regulate our fluid status. We also have the built-in ability to know what type of drink we need intuitively– The taste buds in the mouth send messages to the brain about how much salt to consume and how much water is needed. These messages cause a cascade of predictive reflexes that send information about when to start and stop drinking. This happens before the water gets into the bloodstream. These signals come from both the gut and the brain. 9

Drinking in modern culture is not necessarily based on thirst. It is based on:

  • Pleasure (alcohol, hot chocolate, or lemonade on a summer day)
  • To cheer us up (caffeine)
  • To calm us down (chamomile tea)

We can either prevent thirst signals (drink because we feel like we should) or ignore thirst signals, just as we learn to ignore other interoceptive signals such as pain, tenderness, or hunger.

Listen to our bodies

Interoceptive signals are your internal cues about how you are feeling. Much like information from the external environment, such as what you see, hear and smell, affect your sense of security and play a large role in your movements and behavior, so does your conscious and unconscious interpretation of your interoceptive cues.

Perhaps part of what takes us out of our physiological point of equilibrium is a departure from listening. When we reconnect with the ability to pay attention to what our body demands, the solution often shows up immediatelywhether it is drinking water, a specific food or a specific exercise.

Listening is easyand simplicity is often confused with a lack of depth, as if the simple solution cannot be the real solution because it is too simple. Instead, we look for complexity, and within that complexity we may lose touch with what we need.

Improvisational movement

When was the last time you sat on the floor and allowed yourself to move to see what came up? And maybe you allowed yourself to move around in a way that felt good and nutritious instead of fighting your initial instincts because you weren't sure they were right?

  • Food can show up as strengthening or stretching.
  • A nutritious movement can also show up as a gentle movement that doesn't fit exactly in a box but still feels kind of supportive.

You can try this now. I'll take a break from writing and do it with you. I usually do this for the length of a song, but if music isn't your thing, set a timer for four minutes and see what happens. And if you've never made improvisational moves and don't know where to start, pick a body part and start moving it. See the movement develop, spend time with what feels interesting, and see where it takes you.

How was it? How are you feeling now compared to four minutes ago?

I feel so much better and I didn't even know I wasn't feeling right before. The first song was too short (two minutes) so I played two songs, or about six minutes.

I started with stretching and rolling movements for my legs, which were sore from my workout two days ago and turned into a fascinating upper extremity strain, exploring leg mobility. My legs feel less sore, I feel more energetic, and I feel more connected throughout my system.

When things are so out of whack, you can't remember how to listen to your internal cues, and you can't tell when you are thirsty or when to use broccoli. Take a moment to pause and listen. Honor what you hear and see what happens.

Fred Rogers once said, "I feel so strong that deep and simple is much more important than flat and complex."

Perhaps learning to apply this rationale to ourselves is the ultimate biohacking technique. Or maybe that's too easy.

References

1.U.S. Food & Drug Administration. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., "Announces Some Persistent Bottlenecks Associated with IV Fluids," Press Release, 2018, Jan. 16.

2. Parsons P. E., & Wiener-Kronish J. P., 2013. Chapter 45: Hyponatremia and Hypernatremia. In B.W. Metzger and K.D. Liu (Ed.), "Critical Care: Fifth Edition", pp. 322-328. Elsevier. Google books.

3. James L. Lewis III, MD. Hyponatremia. On Merck Manual Professional Version. 2020.

4. Hew-Butler, Tamara et al. "Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia: Update 2017," Frontiers in Medicine, Volume 4: March 21, 3, 2017.

5. DripDrop, ORS, "Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) are a breakthrough science that treats and prevents dehydration for millions of people worldwide." Accessed August 30, 2020.

6. James Hamblin. "If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Using and Maintaining a Human Body." Double day. 2016.

7. Fudge B.W., Easton C., Kingsmore D., Kiplamai F.K., Onywera V.O., Westerterp K.R., Kayser B., Noakes T.D., & Pitsiladis Y.P., (2008). "Elite Kenyan endurance athletes are hydrated with ad libitum fluid intake daily." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2008 Jun; 40 (6), 1171-1179.

8. Christensen, Dirk L. "Diet intake and endurance performance in Kenyan runners." Equine and comparative movement physiology 1, No. 4 (2004): 249–53.

9. Popkin B.M., D'Anci, K.E. & Rosenberg, I.H., "Water, Hydration and Health". Nutrition Review, Volume 68 (8): 439-458. 2011.

01 Jul
Blog

Acne Skin Care Routine: Three Simple Steps

Outbreaks are the worst. These unwanted guests emerge (literally) out of the blue and tend to go beyond their reception. While almost everyone experiences an outbreak in their life, acne is a chronic condition for some that continues into adulthood. And if adult outbreaks are not enough, finding an acne solution can be both stressful and disappointing. Before you throw in the towel, fight your breakouts with this three-step acne skin care routine from Eminence Organics.

Skin care routine for acne

Take the guesswork out of finding an acne solution Acne Advanced 3-Step Treatment System. Dermatologist Dr. Kally Papantoniou tells Hustle and bustle: "Acne skin care will focus on these four goals: cleansing, exfoliating, controlling bacteria, and maintaining a healthy skin barrier with good emollients." This three-step acne skin care includes a cleanser, face mask and moisturizer to treat acne and prevent future breakouts in 28 days.

Watch this In The Mix video to learn why Senior skin care trainer Natalie Pergar recommends using the Acne Advanced Treatment System to cleanse your complexion:

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjnGlxZIQno (/ embed)

First step: cleaning

One of the most common mistakes in acne skin care: over-cleaning and over-removal. disc says: "Anyone with persistent acne should avoid cleaning their skin too often (more than twice a day), especially if you use a cleanser with a high concentration of astringents like alcohol or strong detergent surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate." Instead, opt for a gentle cleanser that removes impurities and replenishes the skin in one easy step.

Enter, Acne Advanced Cleansing Foam. This light liquid foam cleaner gently removes oil and removes clogged pores without affecting your skin's moisture barrier. Encapsulated salicylic acid (a BHA) exfoliates the skin, clogs the pores and offers temporary protection against breakouts. At the same time, a natural herbal mixture soothes the complexion and Provitamin B5 maintains the moisture balance. Vanessa T. says: “I remember that this would happen to other products: you came out of the shower and your face would be completely dry. Not this one. That's great."

Pro tip: Always (always) remove your makeup before going to bed. Dr. Papantoniou advises: "If you take the time to really take care of your skin at night, your skin can react and repair in the evenings during the restful hours of sleep … Never sleep with makeup."

Product selection

Acne Advanced Cleansing Foam

VIEW PRODUCT

Step two: treat

Follow your cleaning with an acne face mask. Beauty editors and dermatologists agree that treatments with effective ingredients like clay and sulfur are the best choice against breakouts. These acne ingredients not only fight pimples, they also prevent them from coming back and keep the skin clear for longer.

Acne Advanced Clarifying Masque is poured with not one but three types of cleaning clay. Together, they pull out impurities and absorb excess oil without removing the necessary moisture from the skin. Sulfur has natural antibacterial properties that help remove acne-causing bacteria from the pores and prevent the formation of new bacteria. Dermatologist Mona Gohara tells Marie Claire: "A characteristic feature of sulfur is its keratolytic properties, which enable it to break down the keratin in your skin. If excess sebum and bacteria clog your pores and cause a cit, the pore lining will not peel off properly, resulting in the formation of keratin. Sulfur helps regulate dandruff. “Add basil oil to soothe the complexion and you get a clear and calm looking complexion.

Pro tip: Skip the toothpaste trick. Dr. Joshua draftsman and Kenneth Howe say Women's health that ingredients that are not intended for skin care can irritate and dry your skin, which ultimately leads to more breakouts. If you're ready to swap home remedies for gentler solutions, you're in luck: Acne Advanced Clarifying Masque can also be used as a spot treatment. Christina B. tell us: "Before bed I apply it to all the breakouts I have and in the morning they are 80-90% gone, if not complete. "

Acne Advanced Clarifying Masque

VIEW PRODUCT

Step three: apply hydrator

Hydration is the key to keeping acne-prone skin under control. DR. Eric Shweiger says to Bustle: "Even if it doesn't seem intuitive, don't stop hydrating if you have oily, acne-prone skin. If you skip the moisturizer, your skin dries out and bounces off with more oil production, which can actually lead to more breakouts. ”

However, not all moisturizers are created equal. When it comes to acne-prone skin, it's best to choose a weightless formula that moisturizes the skin without blocking it. The last step in your acne skin care is Acne Advanced Clarifying Hydrator. This ultra-light lotion is mixed with lotus extract, encapsulated salicylic acid and zinc hyaluronate to fight breakouts, reduce shine and moisturize the skin. It gets a soft, matt finish.

Pro tip: Resist the urge to pick. Picking and poking your pimples can leave long-lasting scars that are difficult to remove. If damage has already been done, Acne Advanced Clarifying Hydrator is on your side. This light hydrator is formulated with bearberry arbutin to reduce the appearance of acne-related dark spots and scars.

Product selection

Acne Advanced Hydrator

Acne Advanced Clarifying Hydrator

VIEW PRODUCT

Learn more about other people's experiences with our Acne Advanced Treatment System: Other people's experiences with our Acne Advanced Treatment System:

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FIrIK6Yc5s (/ embed)

Do you want to improve your acne skin care? For best results, combine the Acne Advanced 3-Step Treatment System with one Pro salicylic acid peel treatment at your preferred Eminence Organics partner spa. Given current events, we recommend reviewing the instructions from local health authorities before planning your visit.

We would like to know something about your acne skin care. Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments and join the conversation on social media.

This entry was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and completeness.

20 Jun
Blog

Memento Mori: A Simple Practice for a Complex Time

There is nothing safer in life than the certainty of death. It is the great balance of the world and it is blind – whether a person is rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, good or bad, wise or ignorant, Every living being that experiences life must also experience death. Anyone who wants to improve must be aware of death and mortality.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

Does that seem bleak?

It doesn't have to be if you have the right attitude. You can choose to live relatively comfortably, avoid most of the risk of harm, assume that the story is about heroes, and arrive at the bank of death relatively safely and intact without being involved in the work of a cause be greater than your existence. At the same time, you experience the burden of regret never knowing the true extent of your skills.

On the other hand, you can choose to leave a legacy that is shaped by a life that is lived with deep purpose, meaning, moral character, beliefs, compassion and courage and is strong enough to inspire people for a long time after your flesh and bones have returned to dust and particles silence.

Countless people in human history have thought about death in order to experience life and live it to the fullest. The practice has had many names in many languages ​​over the millennia, but nowadays it is mostly referred to as Memento Mori.

A short story from Memento Mori

Memento Mori translates: "Remember you have to die"Practice has a very long history that crosses cultures, continents, religions and philosophies: from the ancient philosophers of Greece to Roman generals, Buddhist monks to Islamic Sufis – meditation on death made it possible for everyone to pursue life.

In Plato's Phaedo, the great philosopher Socrates says before he dies: “… whoever lived as a true philosopher has reason to be in good spirits when he dies, and that is what he can hope for after death. Receive the greatest good the other world … Because I believe that the true student of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other people; They don't notice that he ever pursues death and dies … "

The example that Socrates gave during his life and before his execution would leave a lasting legacy throughout western civilization and would result in the birth of many different schools of philosophy. One school in particular – Stoicism – became known as a practical school of philosophy that emphasized the importance of thinking about death. The extant writings of the old Stoics are full of exhortations to remember death and the three most famous Stoics:

  1. The slave epictetus
  2. The Roman statesman Seneca
  3. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius

Everyone has something to say about death.

"Everything you see will soon perish. Those who witness this doom will soon perish themselves. Die in extreme old age or die before your time – everything will be the same. "- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.33

"Keep the prospect of death, exile, and all of these obvious tragedies – especially death – in front of you every day and you will never have a bad thought or wish for anything too much." – Epictetus, Enchiridion, 21

"I I try to live every day as if it was a complete life. I don't snatch it up like it's my last; However, I consider it as if it could even be my last. This letter is written to you in this sense, as if death would call me up as soon as I wrote it. I am ready to go and I will enjoy life just because I am not worried about the future date of my departure. “- Seneca, letters from a Stoic, letter 61

The ancient Romans also practiced contemplation of death, where Memento Mori was a Latin phrase.

Memento Mori comes from a Roman tradition in which a general would take part in a triumphal march through the city, after returning to Rome after a significant victory. To be the subject of such a march was a great honor and the wish of many ambitious soldiers.

When the triumphant general was carried through the city in his horse-drawn carriage to the great applause and praise of the people of Rome, a slave would stand behind him, holding a crown over his head and whispering: "Answer post te. Hominem souvenir. Remember death! "

"Look behind you. Remember you are mortal. Remember you must die!"

This tradition was an opportunity for the general to hold a big celebration, and it enabled him to advertise himself, which could prove useful if he were to apply for political office one day. It is a bit difficult to run for office when none of you have heard.

The purpose of the slave whispering in his ear was to keep the general's ego and perspective at bay throughout the celebrationso that he does not forget himself and does something shameful and insulting to the gods.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

A few hundred years later, in the late Middle Ages, Memento Mori had developed into an art style known as Danse Macabre or the Dance of Death. At this point in history Europe had just been devastated by the Black Death pandemic, with the most deaths ever recorded in human history. Everyone was talking about death.

The Danse Macabre was a meditation on the universality of death:: No matter how rich or how poor you are, death comes for all of us. Art usually shows a personification of death (a skeleton or a corpse) leading people from different stages in life – typically the Pope, King, Emperor, worker and child – to their graves in a dance.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

In the 17th century, Dutch artists used a style of still life painting known as Vanitas art (from the first chapter of Preacher, "Everything is vanity") as Memento Mori. The artwork showed skulls, rotting fruit, candles, hourglasses, dead and withered flowers and more on tables as powerful images to remind the viewer of death.

By the 19th century, Memento Mori had gone from painting to jewelryPeople from all walks of life wear rings with skulls, coffins, the words "Memento Mori" or a combination of the three as a permanent reminder of the wearer's mortality.

Although not nearly as widespread in the minds of the general population as it used to be, Memento Mori is experiencing a modern revival. People buy Memento Mori medallions to carry in their pockets, constantly reminding them that one day they will die. Well-known personalities like Tim Ferriss, Casey Neistat and others wear a Memento Mori medallion, and even Memento Mori rings are making a comeback.

I am part of this modern revival.

Memento Mori and The Twelve Labors Project

Memento Mori is the tool I use to overcome the challenges of my life and find the inspiration to overcome every obstacle I see in front of me. When I face physical challenges as part of my Twelve Laboratory project, Memento Mori is what keeps me on the ground, focuses on the present, and makes me aware of what's really important in a universe that seems to be unraveling.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

In 2016, for my fifth job, I went alone into the barren wilderness of the northern Mojave Desert to alert veterans to suicide by pulling a 2.5 ton pickup truck through Death Valley. With a landscape as beautiful as bleak, My only companions during the 22-mile challenge were stones shaped by the desert wind and rain over the millennia, dunes reflecting the blinding light of the sun, the scorching heat that burns everything that comes down to the valley, and mine Thoughts.

Every mile I drove through the desert was one of the 22 lives lost every day from veteran suicide. With every step I took and every inch of soil I won, Death Valley tried a little more to convince me to remove the chest strap and complete the challenge. It got hotter and drier as the trip progressed. The loneliness that I experienced during the challenge naturally forced me to face the worst of myself – my doubts, my fears, my insecurities and everything I had ever regretted in my life.

I took a step and heard a voice: "Give up! It's no shame to stop. "

I would take another step and say to myself: “Memento Mori! Remember you must die! Remember why you are here! "

Thinking about my mortality and remembering those we lost through suicide reinforced my steps and made the seemingly impossible possible. The dichotomy between death and the present moment became more obvious than ever and opened my eyes to perspectives and insights that had never occurred to me. It was the catalyst I needed to regain my momentum and accept my destiny from moment to moment with all my heart and relentless determination.

Just being in Death Valley with a 2.5 ton pickup on your back is a surefire way to face your mortality Memento Mori's practice allowed me to focus on a goal that was bigger than me. I didn't seek recognition when I was dragging a truck through the desert.

I wanted to raise awareness of an alarming problem that troubles veterans. Whether I finished the job or someone else was irrelevant as long as people were made aware of the cause that spurred the challenge. I could have died at any time during my hike through the desert – I could really die any moment – the recognition, the awards, after that everything would be meaningless to me.

However, the cause would live on.

"For fame. Look at their thoughts, the way they think and what they're looking for or avoid. And see how, like drifting sand, constantly overlays the previous sand, what we did in our lives is very quickly covered by subsequent layers. "- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.34

How Memento Mori can track action

Memento Mori is not just a tool to motivate yourself to pull a truck through a hellish landscape.It can also act as a catalyst for motivation and productivity every day.

Delay is a challenge most people face every day, and I'm no exception. Why get out of bed every morning to face an uncomfortable world when you can already find comfort under the covers? Why do anything at all??

What kind of life would that be?

"It is like this: we do not have a short life, but we make it short and we are not badly looked after, but we are wasteful." – Seneca, On the shortness of life

Seneca knew that we so often waste lives holding on to idleness and comfort that only distract us from realizing our highest potential. A life lived in search of comfort as we postpone our duty is a life in which we waste the limited time we have. Find comfort in the uncomfortable and remember that you have to die: why waste your time on trifles when your time is short?

If you want to achieve certain fitness goals, Memento Mori is the motivator you need to get to the gym (or your home gym for now) and achieve those goals. When you wake up in the morning, confirm to yourself that you will do anything to achieve your goals, regardless of the obstacles you may face. Remember your mortality and that you would rather not spend the precious time you have left watching TV or sleeping.

I tell myself that every day before I exercise, and you can tell yourself that too.

If you want to eat healthier, Memento Mori can help you develop healthier eating and drinking habits. Life is short – do you want to spend your last moments in a drunken haze?? I doubt that.

Sure, we're all destined to die someday, but that doesn't mean we should use every moment we have for hedonistic activities. The cake is good, but should we eat it with every meal? Of course not. Excessive consumption of unhealthy food and drink only leads to death more quickly, while healthy habits help to last a lifetime and reach your full potential.

After all, a healthy body ensures a healthy mind.

Memento Mori and world events

The world is currently experiencing turbulence that has not been felt for a long time. Climate change causes extreme weather conditions that have led to intense droughts, massive forest and bush fires and hurricanes. Mankind has never seen anything similar since biblical times.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic in which COVID-19 is spreading in cities reminiscent of the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. Governments are using the pandemic's fear and distraction to push agendas at both ends of the political spectrum.

Law enforcement agencies are being investigated further in cases where excessive violence and lack of human decency have resulted in inadequate death. These things happen in an atmosphere of violent unrest and peaceful protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

Some social problems are conflicted with broader issues to encourage movements and attacks against certain groups. In contrast, other important topics are drowned out by a deafening silence only because of their lack of utility or sheer convenience within the popular narrative.

As Americans with deep love and hope for this country, which happens to be a colored person, let us step through these troubled waters together. I believe that the greatest opponent of justice and inequality for all people is the unrecognized unions between indifference and leadership, ignorance and power, and apathy and fear.

In the words of American writer and activist James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

We must have the courage to fight and dissolve these shadow alliances today and after, long after the media has moved away, and it is no longer a trend.

As Og Mandino once wrote: "Tomorrow can only be found on the fool's calendar."

Memento Mori as a practice in this complicated time in history enables us to face our fears, mistakes and failures individually and as a country. These events force you to act with a sense of urgency, not a place of hate or revenge, but a place of compassion and compassion, provided that this day, this hour, this moment is all we have.

Tomorrow is not a promise, just a thought– an assumption of an uncertain future time and an uncertain future place in the present.

These measures include defending the right of people to criticize and peacefully protest our country's shortcomings, while supporting the constitutional principles on which America is built – all with the same touch of passion and unreserved conviction.

We all die from a chronic illness called life. In truth, we lose every second of laziness, delay, or indifference that belongs to death forever. Every opportunity to do good in the world, regardless of race, politics, religion or social class, becomes a gift if we accept the fact that every person on earth will one day experience the same loss of loved ones and sufferings as you will experience. It makes sense to be kind to everyone we meet in these complex times when we remember that death is the final judge.

Of the four stoic virtues, wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice, Marcus Aurelius considered justice to be the most important of all.

"And a commitment to justice in your own actions. Which means: thinking and acting lead to the common good. What you were born for “- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.31

Given a type of turmoil that we haven't seen in generations, Memento Mori can be the guide that helps us navigate the current climate. Every time you see current events in the news or witness injustices, you have a choice of action or inaction. If we think about our mortality, we can see the big picture, face injustices like a true stoic, and present solutions based on reason and sound judgment.

We have to die, it's true, but do we have to die if we haven't done anything for the common good? No. Our life makes sense if we live by our principles and stand up for what is right and good in the world. Death comes to everyone, for sure – there is no point in worrying about when or how it will come when the most uncertain part of life is how we want to live it.

After all, death is just the end assuming that the story is only about you. Our good deeds and strength of character are immortal and stand as living monuments in those we inspire – more powerful than mere words on a tombstone can ever be.

There is a Greek saying that I think illustrates the point I want to make wonderfully:

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in the shade of which they know they should never sit."

Maybe we're not all old yet, but if we want our society to grow, then we are We must plant the seeds of justice and love so that future generations can enjoy the shade of these trees. This is a decision that we must make, being fully aware of the fact that death will come to all of us at some point, but the consequences of our decisions continue to live in the world and affect future generations.

"You can leave this life at any time; Keep this in mind in everything you do, say, or think. “- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.11

If we follow Marcus Aurelius' advice, we can make the inevitability of our lives affect our way of life. With every decision we make and every action we take, we can look at them in the light of our death before we make that decision or take that action. Ask yourself the following questions:

"Do I want to be remembered as the person who turned away from injustice?" "Do I agree to be the cause of inequality and suffering?" "Do I really feel indifferent to the plight of the oppressed?"

If society does not have adequate leadership, you must learn to follow your principles to guide yourself. Living by your principles can make you stand alone against a crowd. it can lead to fear and doubt and will almost certainly relieve the pressure of individual members of society on you – but you must remain determined.

If you can't stand firm in your beliefs as you try to improve society and collapse at the first sign of a setback, or join the crowd when it violates your principles, then you have not represented anything. In Chapter 24 of the Enchiridion, Epictetus has the following to say about the good of the community:

"Well, what will my job in the community be? & # 39; Whatever position you can hold as long as you keep the man of trust and integrity. If you lose your zeal to be a public benefactor, which one Benefit you in the end will you be in the community if you have become shameless and corrupt? "

For this purpose, we must assert ourselves against indecency in the form of violence and unrest. What would you hear if you walked around your community and told people that you robbed their businesses for their benefit and destroyed their real estate to protect their rights? It is Victims of violence and theft are unlikely to be grateful, don't you think?

Memento Mori can be the catalyst for action, but it can also be the catalyst for reluctance. Use it to remember what kind of behavior people should remember. Just as you can ask yourself questions to take action, you can also ask questions that encourage reluctance:

"Do I want to be remembered as the person who destroyed a person's livelihood?" "Am I willing to sacrifice my beliefs just to satisfy the mob's lust for violence?" "Will that help my case or hurt it?"

Memento Mori will be the guide that reminds you that there is always a bigger picture and that it is not always wise to act, just as it is not always wise to remain inactive. The epictetus in chapter 33 of the Enchiridion again exhorts us to be firm in our beliefs:

"Choose the type of person you want to be and stick with it, whether alone or in company."

When you've decided who you want to be, Memento Mori will help you stick to it and remind you when to act and when not to. It takes courage and sacrifice to do something bigger than yourself, but you will not lose yourself in the lower instincts of the ego as long as you remember:

"Look behind you. Remember you are mortal. Remember you must die!"

19 Jun
Blog

Memento Mori: A Simple Practice for a Complex Time

There is nothing safer in life than the certainty of death. It is the great balance of the world and it is blind – whether a person is rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, good or bad, wise or ignorant, Every living being that experiences life must also experience death. Anyone who wants to improve must be aware of death and mortality.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

Does that seem bleak?

It doesn't have to be if you have the right attitude. You can choose to live relatively comfortably, avoid most of the risk of harm, assume that the story is about heroes, and arrive at the bank of death relatively safely and intact without being involved in the work of a cause be greater than your existence. At the same time, you experience the burden of regret never knowing the true extent of your skills.

On the other hand, you can choose to leave a legacy that is shaped by a life that is lived with deep purpose, meaning, moral character, beliefs, compassion and courage and is strong enough to inspire people for a long time after your flesh and bones have returned to dust and particles silence.

Countless people in human history have thought about death in order to experience life and live it to the fullest. The practice has had many names in many languages ​​over the millennia, but nowadays it is mostly referred to as Memento Mori.

A short story from Memento Mori

Memento Mori translates: "Remember you have to die"Practice has a very long history that crosses cultures, continents, religions and philosophies: from the ancient philosophers of Greece to Roman generals, Buddhist monks to Islamic Sufis – meditation on death made it possible for everyone to pursue life.

In Plato's Phaedo, the great philosopher Socrates says before he dies: “… whoever lived as a true philosopher has reason to be in good spirits when he dies, and that is what he can hope for after death. Receive the greatest good the other world … Because I believe that the true student of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other people; They don't notice that he ever pursues death and dies … "

The example that Socrates gave during his life and before his execution would leave a lasting legacy throughout western civilization and would result in the birth of many different schools of philosophy. One school in particular – Stoicism – became known as a practical school of philosophy that emphasized the importance of thinking about death. The extant writings of the old Stoics are full of exhortations to remember death and the three most famous Stoics:

  1. The slave epictetus
  2. The Roman statesman Seneca
  3. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius

Everyone has something to say about death.

"Everything you see will soon perish. Those who witness this doom will soon perish themselves. Die in extreme old age or die before your time – everything will be the same. "- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.33

"Keep the prospect of death, exile, and all of these obvious tragedies – especially death – in front of you every day and you will never have a bad thought or wish for anything too much." – Epictetus, Enchiridion, 21

"I I try to live every day as if it was a complete life. I don't snatch it up like it's my last; However, I consider it as if it could even be my last. This letter is written to you in this sense, as if death would call me up as soon as I wrote it. I am ready to go and I will enjoy life just because I am not worried about the future date of my departure. “- Seneca, letters from a Stoic, letter 61

The ancient Romans also practiced contemplation of death, where Memento Mori was a Latin phrase.

Memento Mori comes from a Roman tradition in which a general would take part in a triumphal march through the city, after returning to Rome after a significant victory. To be the subject of such a march was a great honor and the wish of many ambitious soldiers.

When the triumphant general was carried through the city in his horse-drawn carriage to the great applause and praise of the people of Rome, a slave would stand behind him, holding a crown over his head and whispering: "Answer post te. Hominem souvenir. Remember death! "

"Look behind you. Remember you are mortal. Remember you must die!"

This tradition was an opportunity for the general to hold a big celebration, and it enabled him to advertise himself, which could prove useful if he were to apply for political office one day. It is a bit difficult to run for office when none of you have heard.

The purpose of the slave whispering in his ear was to keep the general's ego and perspective at bay throughout the celebrationso that he does not forget himself and does something shameful and insulting to the gods.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

A few hundred years later, in the late Middle Ages, Memento Mori had developed into an art style known as Danse Macabre or the Dance of Death. At this point in history Europe had just been devastated by the Black Death pandemic, with the most deaths ever recorded in human history. Everyone was talking about death.

The Danse Macabre was a meditation on the universality of death:: No matter how rich or how poor you are, death comes for all of us. Art usually shows a personification of death (a skeleton or a corpse) leading people from different stages in life – typically the Pope, King, Emperor, worker and child – to their graves in a dance.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

In the 17th century, Dutch artists used a style of still life painting known as Vanitas art (from the first chapter of Preacher, "Everything is vanity") as Memento Mori. The artwork showed skulls, rotting fruit, candles, hourglasses, dead and withered flowers and more on tables as powerful images to remind the viewer of death.

By the 19th century, Memento Mori had gone from painting to jewelryPeople from all walks of life wear rings with skulls, coffins, the words "Memento Mori" or a combination of the three as a permanent reminder of the wearer's mortality.

Although not nearly as widespread in the minds of the general population as it used to be, Memento Mori is experiencing a modern revival. People buy Memento Mori medallions to carry in their pockets, constantly reminding them that one day they will die. Well-known personalities like Tim Ferriss, Casey Neistat and others wear a Memento Mori medallion, and even Memento Mori rings are making a comeback.

I am part of this modern revival.

Memento Mori and The Twelve Labors Project

Memento Mori is the tool I use to overcome the challenges of my life and find the inspiration to overcome every obstacle I see in front of me. When I face physical challenges as part of my Twelve Laboratory project, Memento Mori is what keeps me on the ground, focuses on the present, and makes me aware of what's really important in a universe that seems to be unraveling.

Memento Mori: A simple exercise for a complex time - fitness, fitness, meditation, motivation, focus, ego, mind-body connection, self-confidence, inspiration, delay, mindfulness, goal planning, life challenges, fitness motivation

In 2016, for my fifth job, I went alone into the barren wilderness of the northern Mojave Desert to alert veterans to suicide by pulling a 2.5 ton pickup truck through Death Valley. With a landscape as beautiful as bleak, My only companions during the 22-mile challenge were stones shaped by the desert wind and rain over the millennia, dunes reflecting the blinding light of the sun, the scorching heat that burns everything that comes down to the valley, and mine Thoughts.

Every mile I drove through the desert was one of the 22 lives lost every day from veteran suicide. With every step I took and every inch of soil I won, Death Valley tried a little more to convince me to remove the chest strap and complete the challenge. It got hotter and drier as the trip progressed. The loneliness that I experienced during the challenge naturally forced me to face the worst of myself – my doubts, my fears, my insecurities and everything I had ever regretted in my life.

I took a step and heard a voice: "Give up! It's no shame to stop. "

I would take another step and say to myself: “Memento Mori! Remember you must die! Remember why you are here! "

Thinking about my mortality and remembering those we lost through suicide reinforced my steps and made the seemingly impossible possible. The dichotomy between death and the present moment became more obvious than ever and opened my eyes to perspectives and insights that had never occurred to me. It was the catalyst I needed to regain my momentum and accept my destiny from moment to moment with all my heart and relentless determination.

Just being in Death Valley with a 2.5 ton pickup on your back is a surefire way to face your mortality Memento Mori's practice allowed me to focus on a goal that was bigger than me. I didn't seek recognition when I was dragging a truck through the desert.

I wanted to raise awareness of an alarming problem that troubles veterans. Whether I finished the job or someone else was irrelevant as long as people were made aware of the cause that spurred the challenge. I could have died at any time during my hike through the desert – I could really die any moment – the recognition, the awards, after that everything would be meaningless to me.

However, the cause would live on.

"For fame. Look at their thoughts, the way they think and what they're looking for or avoid. And see how, like drifting sand, constantly overlays the previous sand, what we did in our lives is very quickly covered by subsequent layers. "- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.34

How Memento Mori can track action

Memento Mori is not just a tool to motivate yourself to pull a truck through a hellish landscape.It can also act as a catalyst for motivation and productivity every day.

Delay is a challenge most people face every day, and I'm no exception. Why get out of bed every morning to face an uncomfortable world when you can already find comfort under the covers? Why do anything at all??

What kind of life would that be?

"It is like this: we do not have a short life, but we make it short and we are not badly looked after, but we are wasteful." – Seneca, On the shortness of life

Seneca knew that we so often waste lives holding on to idleness and comfort that only distract us from realizing our highest potential. A life lived in search of comfort as we postpone our duty is a life in which we waste the limited time we have. Find comfort in the uncomfortable and remember that you have to die: why waste your time on trifles when your time is short?

If you want to achieve certain fitness goals, Memento Mori is the motivator you need to get to the gym (or your home gym for now) and achieve those goals. When you wake up in the morning, confirm to yourself that you will do anything to achieve your goals, regardless of the obstacles you may face. Remember your mortality and that you would rather not spend the precious time you have left watching TV or sleeping.

I tell myself that every day before I exercise, and you can tell yourself that too.

If you want to eat healthier, Memento Mori can help you develop healthier eating and drinking habits. Life is short – do you want to spend your last moments in a drunken haze?? I doubt that.

Sure, we're all destined to die someday, but that doesn't mean we should use every moment we have for hedonistic activities. The cake is good, but should we eat it with every meal? Of course not. Excessive consumption of unhealthy food and drink only leads to death more quickly, while healthy habits help to last a lifetime and reach your full potential.

After all, a healthy body ensures a healthy mind.

Memento Mori and world events

The world is currently experiencing turbulence that has not been felt for a long time. Climate change causes extreme weather conditions that have led to intense droughts, massive forest and bush fires and hurricanes. Mankind has never seen anything similar since biblical times.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic in which COVID-19 is spreading in cities reminiscent of the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. Governments are using the pandemic's fear and distraction to push agendas at both ends of the political spectrum.

Law enforcement agencies are being investigated further in cases where excessive violence and lack of human decency have resulted in inadequate death. These things happen in an atmosphere of violent unrest and peaceful protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

Some social problems are conflicted with broader issues to encourage movements and attacks against certain groups. In contrast, other important topics are drowned out by a deafening silence only because of their lack of utility or sheer convenience within the popular narrative.

As Americans with deep love and hope for this country, which happens to be a colored person, let us step through these troubled waters together. I believe that the greatest opponent of justice and inequality for all people is the unrecognized unions between indifference and leadership, ignorance and power, and apathy and fear.

In the words of American writer and activist James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

We must have the courage to fight and dissolve these shadow alliances today and after, long after the media has moved away, and it is no longer a trend.

As Og Mandino once wrote: "Tomorrow can only be found on the fool's calendar."

Memento Mori as a practice in this complicated time in history enables us to face our fears, mistakes and failures individually and as a country. These events force you to act with a sense of urgency, not a place of hate or revenge, but a place of compassion and compassion, provided that this day, this hour, this moment is all we have.

Tomorrow is not a promise, just a thought– an assumption of an uncertain future time and an uncertain future place in the present.

These measures include defending the right of people to criticize and peacefully protest our country's shortcomings, while supporting the constitutional principles on which America is built – all with the same touch of passion and unreserved conviction.

We all die from a chronic illness called life. In truth, we lose every second of laziness, delay, or indifference that belongs to death forever. Every opportunity to do good in the world, regardless of race, politics, religion or social class, becomes a gift if we accept the fact that every person on earth will one day experience the same loss of loved ones and sufferings as you will experience. It makes sense to be kind to everyone we meet in these complex times when we remember that death is the final judge.

Of the four stoic virtues, wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice, Marcus Aurelius considered justice to be the most important of all.

"And a commitment to justice in your own actions. Which means: thinking and acting lead to the common good. What you were born for “- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.31

Given a type of turmoil that we haven't seen in generations, Memento Mori can be the guide that helps us navigate the current climate. Every time you see current events in the news or witness injustices, you have a choice of action or inaction. If we think about our mortality, we can see the big picture, face injustices like a true stoic, and present solutions based on reason and sound judgment.

We have to die, it's true, but do we have to die if we haven't done anything for the common good? No. Our life makes sense if we live by our principles and stand up for what is right and good in the world. Death comes to everyone, for sure – there is no point in worrying about when or how it will come when the most uncertain part of life is how we want to live it.

After all, death is just the end assuming that the story is only about you. Our good deeds and strength of character are immortal and stand as living monuments in those we inspire – more powerful than mere words on a tombstone can ever be.

There is a Greek saying that I think illustrates the point I want to make wonderfully:

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in the shade of which they know they should never sit."

Maybe we're not all old yet, but if we want our society to grow, then we are We must plant the seeds of justice and love so that future generations can enjoy the shade of these trees. This is a decision that we must make, being fully aware of the fact that death will come to all of us at some point, but the consequences of our decisions continue to live in the world and affect future generations.

"You can leave this life at any time; Keep this in mind in everything you do, say, or think. “- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.11

If we follow Marcus Aurelius' advice, we can make the inevitability of our lives affect our way of life. With every decision we make and every action we take, we can look at them in the light of our death before we make that decision or take that action. Ask yourself the following questions:

"Do I want to be remembered as the person who turned away from injustice?" "Do I agree to be the cause of inequality and suffering?" "Do I really feel indifferent to the plight of the oppressed?"

If society does not have adequate leadership, you must learn to follow your principles to guide yourself. Living by your principles can make you stand alone against a crowd. it can lead to fear and doubt and will almost certainly relieve the pressure of individual members of society on you – but you must remain determined.

If you can't stand firm in your beliefs as you try to improve society and collapse at the first sign of a setback, or join the crowd when it violates your principles, then you have not represented anything. In Chapter 24 of the Enchiridion, Epictetus has the following to say about the good of the community:

"Well, what will my job in the community be? & # 39; Whatever position you can hold as long as you keep the man of trust and integrity. If you lose your zeal to be a public benefactor, which one Benefit you in the end will you be in the community if you have become shameless and corrupt? "

For this purpose, we must assert ourselves against indecency in the form of violence and unrest. What would you hear if you walked around your community and told people that you robbed their businesses for their benefit and destroyed their real estate to protect their rights? It is Victims of violence and theft are unlikely to be grateful, don't you think?

Memento Mori can be the catalyst for action, but it can also be the catalyst for reluctance. Use it to remember what kind of behavior people should remember. Just as you can ask yourself questions to take action, you can also ask questions that encourage reluctance:

"Do I want to be remembered as the person who destroyed a person's livelihood?" "Am I willing to sacrifice my beliefs just to satisfy the mob's lust for violence?" "Will that help my case or hurt it?"

Memento Mori will be the guide that reminds you that there is always a bigger picture and that it is not always wise to act, just as it is not always wise to remain inactive. The epictetus in chapter 33 of the Enchiridion again exhorts us to be firm in our beliefs:

"Choose the type of person you want to be and stick with it, whether alone or in company."

When you've decided who you want to be, Memento Mori will help you stick to it and remind you when to act and when not to. It takes courage and sacrifice to do something bigger than yourself, but you will not lose yourself in the lower instincts of the ego as long as you remember:

"Look behind you. Remember you are mortal. Remember you must die!"

15 May
Blog

Ultimately, It’s You and Simple Discipline

The basic mechanisms of weight loss are simple: calories have to be less than calories. You have to eat less than you spend. Yes, the foods you eat, metabolism, hormone status, stress, digestion and genetics also play a role. However, you will never find out if this is a problem at all unless you actually make an effort first. If you stick to the basics, you will likely see improvements.

Ultimately, it is you and simple discipline - fitness, nutrition, fitness, rest and relaxation, exercise, weight loss, hormones, responsibility, discipline, metabolic conditioning, digestion, calorie counting, lifestyle behavior

The problem with successful health change is not how it is done, but how it is done. If you show up every day and get the job done, you will get results. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of discipline, commitment and consistency to make these simple changes.

You may think it would be nice to make a change and become a healthier version of yourself (good for you). However, if you are not ready to go into work, absolutely no one can do anything to help you – no matter how much money you spend or how many different plans you try.

What can you do to commit yourself and apply the discipline required to achieve your goals? I'm glad you asked.

Increase your responsibility

Look closely in the mirror and decide if this person looking back at you is doing everything in their power to show up every day. Do you consistently take care of business?? Do you feel responsible for doing what you know you need to do? Or are you sleeping in there, halfway through your training and eating crap that isn't even considered food?

You are an adult:

  • You have to make a decision to make the next right decision.
  • You have to choose to provide your body with whole, nutritious food.
  • You have to choose to move your body instead of sitting on your ass.
  • Now you have to decide to make the changes that will enable you to live a long, healthy and independent life.

It is 100% up to you, not your trainer, not your spouse, not your doctor. You. People can give you the tools you need to succeed, but it's up to you to implement them.

Do you do everything to become the best version of yourself?

Time is a resource, not an excuse

"I have no time." How many times did you say it Be honest with yourself. What don't you have time for? Don't have time for social media? Doubtful. Don't you have time to watch TV again? However, when it comes to having time, eating well and staying active, the time continuum suddenly disappears and there is no additional second to be found.

It's never about having time. It's about saving time and making your health and life a priority. I guarantee that you will find time to eat (otherwise you would go hungry and we would not have this conversation). Why not make it nutritious?

Regarding movement, nowhere is it written that you have to perform any task that the seated man knows. Get up and move. It's incredible how much you can do by standing and walking – that alone will make a big difference in most people's lives. Workouts don't have to be long to be effective. You just have to take the time. You have to make it a priority.

What I'm up to here is that everyone is busy. Everyone has the same 24 hours a day. It is up to each of us to determine how we will spend this time. If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, the things that promote that lifestyle are high on your list. You will find the time to do what needs to be done. Period.

Check your discipline

Finally, I want to talk about discipline, especially about self-discipline. The discipline you hold over yourself to do the right thing, even if it sucks.

Successful changes do not require magic. it takes discipline.

  • The discipline necessary to go to bed at a decent time so your body gets the rest and relaxation it needs to live another epic day.
  • The discipline needed to get your ass off the chair, throw a few weights around, or go for a walk, even if you don't feel like it.
  • The discipline to prefer lean protein and vegetables to fatty, cheesy pizza because you know you will feel good about this choice.
  • The discipline of saying no to something that doesn't help you achieve your goals, and the discipline of doing things that want you to.

If you don't have the discipline, you will have a hard time making these difficult decisions.

Ultimately, it depends on you and the decisions you make every day. You can choose where you are or you can choose to change. The strength lies in you, your honesty with yourself, your priorities and your discipline.

In the words of the wise little green man: "Don't do it, there is no attempt."

It's time to take responsibility for yourself and make it happen. You choose.

15 May
Blog

Ultimately, It’s You and Simple Discipline

The basic mechanisms of weight loss are simple: calories have to be less than calories. You have to eat less than you spend. Yes, the foods you eat, metabolism, hormone status, stress, digestion and genetics also play a role. However, you will never find out if this is a problem at all unless you actually make an effort first. If you stick to the basics, you will likely see improvements.

Ultimately, it is you and simple discipline - fitness, nutrition, fitness, rest and relaxation, exercise, weight loss, hormones, responsibility, discipline, metabolic conditioning, digestion, calorie counting, lifestyle behavior

The problem with successful health change is not how it is done, but how it is done. If you show up every day and get the job done, you will get results. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of discipline, commitment and consistency to make these simple changes.

You may think it would be nice to make a change and become a healthier version of yourself (good for you). However, if you are not ready to go into work, absolutely no one can do anything to help you – no matter how much money you spend or how many different plans you try.

What can you do to commit yourself and apply the discipline required to achieve your goals? I'm glad you asked.

Increase your responsibility

Look closely in the mirror and decide if this person looking back at you is doing everything in their power to show up every day. Do you consistently take care of business?? Do you feel responsible for doing what you know you need to do? Or are you sleeping in there, halfway through your training and eating crap that isn't even considered food?

You are an adult:

  • You have to make a decision to make the next right decision.
  • You have to choose to provide your body with whole, nutritious food.
  • You have to choose to move your body instead of sitting on your ass.
  • Now you have to decide to make the changes that will enable you to live a long, healthy and independent life.

It is 100% up to you, not your trainer, not your spouse, not your doctor. You. People can give you the tools you need to succeed, but it's up to you to implement them.

Do you do everything to become the best version of yourself?

Time is a resource, not an excuse

"I have no time." How many times did you say it Be honest with yourself. What don't you have time for? Don't have time for social media? Doubtful. Don't you have time to watch TV again? However, when it comes to having time, eating well and staying active, the time continuum suddenly disappears and there is no additional second to be found.

It's never about having time. It's about saving time and making your health and life a priority. I guarantee that you will find time to eat (otherwise you would go hungry and we would not have this conversation). Why not make it nutritious?

Regarding movement, nowhere is it written that you have to perform any task that the seated man knows. Get up and move. It's incredible how much you can do by standing and walking – that alone will make a big difference in most people's lives. Workouts don't have to be long to be effective. You just have to take the time. You have to make it a priority.

What I'm up to here is that everyone is busy. Everyone has the same 24 hours a day. It is up to each of us to determine how we will spend this time. If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, the things that promote that lifestyle are high on your list. You will find the time to do what needs to be done. Period.

Check your discipline

Finally, I want to talk about discipline, especially about self-discipline. The discipline you hold over yourself to do the right thing, even if it sucks.

Successful changes do not require magic. it takes discipline.

  • The discipline necessary to go to bed at a decent time so your body gets the rest and relaxation it needs to live another epic day.
  • The discipline needed to get your ass off the chair, throw a few weights around, or go for a walk, even if you don't feel like it.
  • The discipline to prefer lean protein and vegetables to fatty, cheesy pizza because you know you will feel good about this choice.
  • The discipline of saying no to something that doesn't help you achieve your goals, and the discipline of doing things that want you to.

If you don't have the discipline, you will have a hard time making these difficult decisions.

Ultimately, it depends on you and the decisions you make every day. You can choose where you are or you can choose to change. The strength lies in you, your honesty with yourself, your priorities and your discipline.

In the words of the wise little green man: "Don't do it, there is no attempt."

It's time to take responsibility for yourself and make it happen. You choose.

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