Sharing 10 of my favorite core muscle stretches. 

Hi friends! How’s the morning so far! I hope you’ re having a great day! We’re spending the morning at the beach and looking forward to a fun hike this afternoon.

For today’s post, I’m sharing 10 of my favorite core stretches!

The core muscles are central to almost every movement we make. These muscles include the abdominal muscles, back muscles, and pelvic muscles. Stretching the core muscles can potentially prevent injuries (research is mixed, but it feels good!), and improving flexibility and mobility. Despite their importance, core muscle stretches are often overlooked. It’s important to remember that in order to have full strength and function, you need to be able to RELAX the muscle; not just contract it.

Today, I’m sharing a roundup of core muscle stretches that you can easily add to your routine to keep your core strong and flexible.

10 Core Muscle Stretches

Cobra Pose

The Cobra Pose is a great stretch for the abdominal muscles and lower back.

How to Do It:

Lie face down on the floor with your hands under your shoulders.

Slowly lift your upper body off the ground, extending your spine.

Keep your elbows slightly bent and your hips pressed to the floor.

Hold the pose for 20-30 seconds, then gently lower yourself back to the starting position.

Benefits:

Stretches the abdominal muscles

Improves flexibility in the spine

Strengthens the lower back

Cat-Cow Stretch

The Cat-Cow Stretch is excellent for increasing flexibility in the spine and stretching the abdominal and back muscles.

How to Do It:

Start on your hands and knees with your wrists aligned under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.

Inhale as you drop your belly towards the floor, lifting your head and tailbone upwards (Cow Pose).

Exhale as you round your spine towards the ceiling, tucking your chin to your chest (Cat Pose).

Repeat this sequence 10 times.

Benefits:

Enhances spinal flexibility

Stretches the core muscles

Improves posture

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Sharing some questions that I received about our Spain trip!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How was the weekend? We spent some time in Aulani, which was an absolute DREAM. P and I are huge fans of lazy rivers, and we pretty much love Disney anything.

For today’s post, I’m sharing one last Spain recap. I’m sorry I’ve dragged this out so much, but I’ve had a lot to say! I can already tell you that we’ll definitely back and I’m scheming to see how much time we’ll be able to spend out there. The Pilot will be retired from the Air Force in January (!) so that opens up a lot of options. Fitnessista in Sevilla has a nice ring to it, just sayin.

Here are the questions you sent in on IG!

(dress on sale here!)

Spain Q&A post

Any issues with language barriers? I’d love to visit but nervous about it!

So my family speaks Spanish, and I minored in Spanish, so I understand it pretty much perfectly. However, I don’t have a ton of experience or confidence speaking Spanish. Growing up, I’d always respond to family members in English, and in college, we spent so much time studying Spanish (reading novels, analyzing poems, writing essays) but very little time actually practicing. Getting more comfortable speaking Spanish has been a huge goal of mine, so I started taking weekly Itaki private lessons in January. It’s made a huge difference and I don’t freeze up like I used to!

It was pretty amazing to get to practice in Spain, and I also found that they’re extremely patient and I think they appreciate the fact that you’re trying to speak their language.

If you don’t speak Spanish but would like to, I highly recommend Italki. You can also download this audiobook for phrases to know while traveling.

What made you pick Sevilla to visit over other cities in Spain?

We have good friends there, so that was the main focus of our trip! They have lived in Sevilla for the past year and absolutely love it, and we knew we wanted to make a visit (and also give P the chance to see her best buddy in the whole world). Next time, we’d absolutely love to see Madrid, Barcelona, and head over the Portugal.

How/why you picked the area you went to and how the food was?? I’m half Spanish

We stayed close to our friends in Alfalfa Plaza. It was a great location, close to tons of restaurants, cafes, and shopping.

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend?

Aloha from one of our favorite places ever! We’re here for a couple of weeks to enjoy some beach time, shopping, luaus, and all of the poke bowls. 🙂

I’ll share all the details in an upcoming post, but here are some pics from the adventures.

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If you love gummy bears, you can make homemade gelatin gummies for gut health. They are healthier than store-bought ones because you can: make them yourself, include organic ingredients, and avoid artificial dyes and flavors. Learn how to make homemade gelatin gummies here.

Hi hi! What are you up to this week? I feel like this week is bananas, but I’m looking forward to a much-needed haircut tomorrow. My hair is getting outta control. This is so random, but the Whole Foods cashier asked for my hair routine. It made my whole night, especially when I was running around like a stressed-out greaseball trying to assemble some items for dinner. I admitted that I don’t wash it a ton, use cheap shampoo and conditioner, swear by Moroccan oil, and that I think including collagen and gelatin in my routine has made a difference.

Collagen is super easy to implement in my morning coffee, but lately, I’ve been finding more creative uses for gelatin. I’m sharing one of my faves in this post!! I asked Mia if she’d help me out with a gelatin gummies recipe for the blog, and she shared her go-to recipe with me.

Grassfed gelatin gummies

Grassfed gelatin gummies make a great healthy snack for you and your kids! Grass fed gelatin has a ton of health benefits. It can help to repair gut lining and support healthy hair, skin and nails. It’s good for your joints and is an easily digestible protein for those suffering with tummy troubles. It isn’t a substitute for meat, but it’s a great way to sneak in extra amino acids, especially if you don’t eat nose to tail.

Read on for a healthy homemade gummy recipe your kids will LOVE (you too!) and what makes these even better than store-bought versions.

Homemade gelatin gummies for gut health

Collagen vs. gelatin

Gelatin and collagen are similar, but just a tiny bit different. Collagen is the most abundant form of protein in our body, and is made up of amino acids that affect our connective tissues, hair, skin, and nails. Gelatin is hydrolyzed collagen, meaning that it’s been cooked to break down to smaller particles. Gelatin makes the gel-like substance when mixed with water, while collagen does not. They can both be used to promote healthy skin, hair, nails, connective tissues, joint function, gut health (from forming the tissues that line the gut), and immune function. <— our gut health dramatically impacts our immune system!

Benefits of homemade gummies

Our kids LOVE store-bought gummies, but so many of them are filled with less-than-ideal ingredients, like food dyes, artificial flavors, corn syrup, and wax. It’s not to say that they never have these things – I’m an “all things in moderation” type person- but if I can find a better option that they like, I’m going for it. They’re big fans of the Annie’s fruit snacks, but they

Hi friends! I have a new podcast episode live and am so excited to have Dr. Liz Lyster on the show today.

167: Menopause, bioidentical hormones, and women’s health with Dr. Liz Lyster

Here’s what we talk about in today’s episode:

– Why is menopause happening earlier and earlier?

– What are some signs that you’re in perimenopause

– Should women with cancer in their family be scared about hormone replacement?

– Her thoughts on bio-identical hormones, including pellet therapy

and so.much.more

Here’s more about Dr. Lyster and her background:

Dr. Liz Lyster is an OB/GYN medical doctor, best-selling author and speaker, and an expert in perimenopause and menopause. In her private practice in the San Francisco Bay area, she helps women and men in midlife and beyond lose weight, have more energy, increase their motivation and drive, and generally feel great.

She graduated from Cornell University, went to medical school at UC Irvine, and got her Masters degree at UCLA in Community Health Education.

Dr. Liz walks her own talk – when she turned 50 a few years ago, she celebrated by climbing to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Dr. Liz has two awesome young adult sons, and enjoys hiking and Argentine tango with her amazing husband.

Connect with her on her website and on Instagram.

Partners:

I’ve been using Nutrisense on and off for a couple of years now. I love being able to see how my blood sugar responds to my diet and habits, and run experiments. You can try out Nutrisense here