Features

Grunty Crush of the Week: Nicci Morris on Keeping it Zen

Author ByStarr
Nicole Morris
Photo Via Nicci Morris

I stumbled upon the featured photo (pictured above) in a Facebook group and found it so striking that I couldn’t resist reaching out to find out more about the woman in the image. Her name is Nicci Morris, and she’s a writer, editor, entrepreneur, yogi and new mom who makes it a priority to find daily zen amid bedlam.

I asked her to share her tips for practicing yoga successfully, making time for workouts even with a baby, finding peace when life gets hectic, and how she brings foodies together in the name of love.

How has fitness played a role in your life? Were you active as a child or did you get more involved in pursuing your well-being as an adult?

I was relatively active as a child. I ran track and played softball for a little while. I wish I had been more active though. I was more into writing and reading. As I got older, I became more interested in fitness and health. I earned my certification as a fitness trainer in my early 20s. I plan to do so again this year. Yoga instructor certification is also on my to-do list. I fell in love with yoga in 2010 and have been delving more into my practice since then. I tried Kemetic yoga for the first time last year and I definitely felt a deep mind-body connection. I plan to explore that deeper.

What’s your diet like and why does it work for you?

On a good day, I eat 100 percent plant-based. Complete veganism is my goal. I was raised eating meat so it’s a work in progress. But for ethical and health reasons, my goal is to get to the point where I don’t consume any animal products. Since I had my daughter, Amina, last August it is more important to me than ever that I am as health-conscious as possible. I want to be in great health for her and I also want to give her a good, clean start with plant-based nutrition.

 

Green Smoothie Instagram
Photo Via Nicci’s Instagram.

You’re big on morning smoothies. What are some of your favorites and why do you start your day like this?

I love smoothies. I am an early-riser, but I am so not a breakfast person. However I look forward to my morning smoothies. I keep them to a ratio of 50 percent greens, 30-40 percent fruit and the rest is nuts, chia seeds, hemp hearts, oats etc… for fiber, protein and healthy fats. Add water to get the consistency you desire and blend away. They’re filling and I’m energized for hours afterward. I can’t get enough of my NutriBullet.

Do you have any food weaknesses? If so, how do you find balance between binging and exercising self-control?

For me, it’s not so much about managing the type of food as it is about managing my emotions. I am an emotional eater/non-eater. When I have allowed my stress to get the better of me, I have struggled with over- or under-eating. Neither are the answer, so I work to keep that in check and have more patience with myself and others on this journey called life.

www.bluetreasurephotography.com.
Credit: www.bluetreasurephotography.com.

How have you been able to balance new motherhood with a zen lifestyle, work and keeping up with your practice?

Let me start by saying it is not easy. But I believe a happy mommy leads to a happy baby. I have to take great care of myself to take great care of my daughter. I have had to swap frequent 90-minute hot sessions for shorter unheated sessions at a studio closer to my home, on demand via cable and poses and stretches when and where I can.

I was not thin to begin with, so I only gained about 20 pounds during my pregnancy. I lost most of that within the first couple weeks after I had her. But I found that everything had changed. I’m still figuring out this post-baby body because I am exclusively breastfeeding and plan to for at least another six months. Just drinking enough water and eating the right foods requires serious planning.

There was an incident late last year when I allowed myself to become extremely upset. I actually felt the adrenaline and cortisol kick in and I felt the negativity of that situation move through me. The next few days I noticed a dramatic decrease in my milk production. I know it was a direct result of that stressful situation. That hit home with me and I’m so grateful for that life lesson. Never again will I allow stress – especially centered around something over which I have no control – to affect my health.

Is there an ideal body type for practicing yoga?

I’ve been the largest woman in the studio and I’ve been the smallest woman in the studio. I’ve been the only black woman in the room and I’ve been in classes where nearly everybody was black. None of that truly matters in life and it certainly doesn’t matter in yoga. Yoga is about union with your divine self. Everybody can benefit from this ancient practice. If we all did nothing more than center ourselves and remember everything can be accomplished as long as you have time and breath, the world would be a much better place.

What advice do you have for potential yoga newbies?

My advice to the newbies is to breathe deep and focus on their journey. Remember that the person in the front of the class who moves from tree to toe stand with such ease and grace was not always able to do so. Focus on your practice and your connection with your divine self. If you do that on a consistent basis, the rest will come.

But I also have advice for the instructors and the people who have been practicing for years. Be kind. Be patient. Make your studio/classes inviting and create an environment that allows new students to peel back the emotional and physical layers as they begin their practice.

While there might be books/videos that help people, I think the soul-to-soul connections work best. I also believe we benefit from having an instructor. There have been times when I was ready to go deeper into a pose, but for whatever reason I didn’t realize it. A good instructor can help you make adjustments and also push you to take your practice to another level when you don’t even realize you can.

If you run across a less-that-ideal instructor (I have and it wasn’t pretty!), don’t let that sour you. Try a different class or a different studio. You will find the right place for you.

Explain the concept behind your site, LoveandFood.com.

The mission of LoveAndFood.com is simple: To help people develop rewarding relationships by cultivating the deep connection between love and food. It’s online dating for food enthusiasts. I happen to believe people who love to cook and eat tend to be the most passionate, nurturing and thoughtful people around. Yes, I’m biased…

LoveAndFood.com

But seriously, I think of LoveAndFood.com as the modern-day twist on meeting the love of your life in the grocery store. In addition to the ability to search, flirt and chat with other members, we will also have meetups in larger markets across the country. It will be a great way to meet other singles and to support non-chain restaurants.

What are your goals and intentions for 2014?

My goals are to love well, eat well and live well.

The only thing that matters is the thing that doesn’t change. The only thing that doesn’t change is love.

Namaste.

 

Visit www.niccimorris.com for more information about this fierce yoganista.

Check out last week’s Grunty Crush, Chrissy K. Fit.

Wellness

Eight Ways to Stick to Your New Years Resolutions

Author ByStarr

Keeping Up With Resolutions

This is the time of year when New Years Resolutions are forgotten and people resume their regularly scheduled shenanigan-filled schedules, but you can still win…if you want to. For years, I’ve been that person who would jump on the resolution bandwagon, fall off then beat myself up because I hate not seeing goals come to fruition, but eventually I started revamping how I did things and it seems to be working.

My problem was that I viewed resolutions like fads. Everyone set them and then forgot about them before first quarter ended. However, after some self-reflection I realized that seeing my resolutions as on-going goals–longterm and short–was a better way to set foundations for improvements that I wanted to make in my life. Instead of starting on January 1, I began applying ideas whenever the inspiration struck and started taking steps toward getting more involved in the process and not the instant gratification of the end result happening in the blink of an eye.  Solid progress is like a garden, you must be mindful and tender in fostering its growth.

Here are eight tips for making life improvements a reality.

1. Be Patient

I struggle with this one every day. There are so many things that I feel that I should have accomplished by my age that I haven’t, and I beat myself up about them a lot. I often have to reason with myself about the fact that some things take time and some things can be accomplished swiftly but it all takes strategy. In the meantime, it’s important to reflect on what you’ve already done, what you feel positive about and be grateful for those things. It can take the edge off you beating yourself up about what you lack.

I wish it were that simple because I am the queen of ripping myself to shreds but I promise to be better about showing gratitude this year.

 2. Focus on the Process

Get lost in the journey and don’t harp on the end result. Focusing on the ending is a fast track to frustration and therefore quitting prematurely, especially if you don’t see the type of progress that you’re looking for in a specific period of time. Take it slow, be present in the now but keep the finish line in the back of your mind. Even short term milestones can be rewarding.

3. Set Goals and Cultivate New Habits

Think of goals and intentions for your personal development (whether it’s career, family, etc) and develop realistic habits that can eventually and gradually become part of your every day life. Keep practicing until they become second nature.

4. Be Kind to Yourself

Don’t beat yourself up (once again, I should be taking my own advice). If you fail, try again and keep trying until you start to achieve success or until you reach a point where you think you should reassess what you want and what you should be doing in order to win.

5. Be Authentic  

When you’re  posting that selfie of  yourself in the mirror at the gym with hashtags like, #Gymflow and #beastmode, are you working out because you want to or because it’s the obligatory “I have to work off that holiday weight and show people that I go hard thing?” If it’s the latter then you’re only wasting your time with something that won’t fulfill you.

6. Stop Comparing Yourself

There’s a popular quote floating around that goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I don’t know who said it but it’s so true. One of my goals moving forward is to force social media breaks on myself whenever I feel myself hating on someone who I think may not be as talented or who has what I think I should have or who I feel doesn’t deserve what they have. That is a toxic mode of operation. It drains your energy and redirects your focus toward building destructive habits, which means you don’t make any progress at all. Remember that people only post snippets of their lives on social media so it may seem overwhelmingly good or like their success happened overnight but in reality, you don’t know their whole story or journey. As far as people who seem less talented getting all the glory, even if you are smarter or faster or more creative, their reality isn’t going to change yours so put those tunnel vision glasses on and focus on your lane.

7. Don’t Share Everything

Sometimes all it takes is one naysayer who doesn’t get your vision or who has no visions of their own to convince you to be stagnant. These are the people who when you tell them you want to take up ballet say, “But you’ve never danced in your life?” or, you say you want to go to Japan and they reply with, “But what about the radiation? or “But you don’t speak Japanese.” That’s why you shouldn’t always share your intentions. It may be OK to share some but be mindful about what you reveal.

8. Try Again

You may have quit at the moment but if there’s something that you really want to accomplish then start again. Every day you wake up is a new opportunity to refresh and refocus.

That’s what I have for now but did I leave anything out? How do you keep yourself on track?