7 Yoga Routines To Relieve Neck And Shoulder Pain

Last updated on July 30th, 2018 at 09:11 am

Right after I posted my article on how to relieve neck and shoulder pain a few weeks ago, I hurt my neck.

I was not doing anything too wild, just turned around to talk to someone too fast (and too furious, I guess).

Isn’t it ironic, Alanis?

It is. And it sucked.

I was in pain for a few days, cried my eyes out and hated the world.

But the one thing I did, that I’m actually proud of, was going on the internet and finding tons of yoga workouts to relieve neck and shoulder pain. And like that, just in a few days – my neck was fine again.

You say a few days are too long? Well, usually it lasts longer for me.

These here are some of the neck and shoulder routines I found and I really love.

Some of them I did regularly before, some are newer to me.

Nevertheless, once you do them, you’ll definitely feel less pain and freedom in your neck and shoulders.

I chose longer and shorter yoga routines – depending on how much time you have. In my experience, the longer routines help me the most. But if you don’t have time, a quick routine will still relieve your pain.

Remember: do the exercises slowly, mindfully and don’t overstretch. Again, since the source of neck pain can be different for everyone, consult your doctor before doing any exercise.

7 Yoga Routines To Relieve Neck & Shoulder Pain

3-minute Yoga for Upper Back Tension

3-minute Yoga for Upper Back Tension by SarahBethYoga

This video is just 3 minutes long, but it’s great if you have stiff shoulders and it stretches the upper back as well.

5-minute Yoga For Neck & Shoulder Pain

Yoga For Neck Pain – Beginners 5 Minute Neck & Shoulder Pain Relief Yoga by Yoga TX

Okay, so this one is my new favorite, because it’s just 5 minutes and it stretches the neck and shoulders. I feel like new again very quickly. I’d do it whenever I find time – in the evening or in the morning, sometimes even at work. Again, go slow and be mindful.

8-minute Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Tension

Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Tension by SarahBethYoga

I loved this 8-minute long stretch. It’s quick and it again releases tension. My favorite part are the monster shoulder rolls that we do towards the end.

12-minute Yoga For Upper Back Pain

Yoga For Upper Back Pain by Yoga With Adriene

Another video mainly for the shoulders and upper back. This one was also very relaxing and just 12 min.

14-minute Yoga for Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back

Yoga for neck, shoulders and upper back by yoginimelbourne

My neck and shoulders felt amazing (I mean, compared to all the pain I had) after this routine. It warms up the shoulder and upper back and stretches the neck and whole upper body.

15 Minute Neck & Shoulder Pain Yoga Class

Yoga For Beginners – 15 Minute Neck & Shoulder Pain Yoga Class by Yoga TX

This is one of my go-to neck and shoulder routines. Whenever I have pain and think I don’t have 20 min to do the next video (which is my favorite) I do this 15 min routine. It stretches out your chest, which helps a lot with neck and back pain. You perform also some neck rolls, very slowly to relieve the tension there.

20 Minute Beginners Yoga For Neck, Back, & Shoulder Pain

Yoga For Neck and Shoulder Pain – 20 Minute Beginners Yoga For Neck, Back, & Shoulder Pain by Yoga TX

Okay, so this is my absolute favorite routine. It is 20 minutes, but it’s definitely worth it. I absolutely love it – my whole back and my neck feel amazing afterwards. My favorite move is the one before the last one. It’s the first time I had seen this posture, so I was very impressed with how good it felt. If you have 20 min, try this for your neck and shoulders.

Whichever routine you choose, I hope they do help you spend less time in pain and more time being happy and feeling amazing!

6-Minute Core And Upper Body Workout For Great Posture

This core and upper body workout is short and sweet, energizing, strengthening and can be

Free 10-Day Workout Plan For Women & Challenge Update

This is the 10-Day workout plan for women I did during my morning exercise challenge last

9 Barre Workouts To Tone Everything At Home

Tone your entire body with these free at home barre workouts. They’re low-impact, but very efficient

30 Day Morning Workout Challenge

Let’s stop making excuses and start working out at the best time of the day - the morning!

Women’s Full-Body At Home Workout To Lose Fat & Get Stronger

You can do this full-body HIIT workout at home or anywhere you want in less than 20 minutes!

Grilled Veggie Pita

My favorite things in this whole world come together in this grilled veggie pita:

Grilled veggies (duh!)
Pita (double duh!)
Hummus (now we’re talking)
Tahini sauce (oh)
Tomatoes and cucumbers (alright then)
How about some greens like, I don’t know – parsley? (Ok, fine…)

This is so so so delicious. I devoured it in like a nanosecond.

In Defence Of White Bread

I know people expect me to not eat white bread, but this one’s as white as my legs are right now. Yes, it’s summer and I’ve been avoiding the sun like the plague. This year I went to the beach once after 10am and I got sunburnt.

via giphy

My wrinkles are still thanking me. No more sun for this little vampire who eats garlic for breakfast.

#garlicforbreakfast

So, white bread.

I know it’s also not popular right now, but I crave white bread sometimes. Like every day. And when I got these pitas they were hot. As experience has thought me, you never say no to hot white bread, because it’s delicious.

This is not me after eating bread (via giphy)

How To Make The Grilled Vegetable Pitas

I actually used roasted vegetables. I know, I mislead you and now you hate me forever.

5 Refreshing Detox Water Ideas, Because Drinking Coke Is Just Sad

Here are some refreshing detox water ideas, because it’s hot outside and drinking coke is not an option anyone should consider.

I don’t know how it happened.

I fell down that coke hole and could’t get out. Last month for a few weeks in the afternoon, when it got like, inhumanely hot…I was getting cokes.

Now you might be like: OMG you write this blog about healthy lifestyle and you drink coke? What a jerk.

Well, define healthy lifestyle however you want.

To me it means eating more fruits and vegetables and not obsessing over small fall offs.

Except…

I realized coke can’t be a part of a healthy diet or lifestyle in NO WAY. I can’t make excuses for it, I just fell. And then I wanted more and more and more…It got crazy.

I had seen this infographic a million times and it meant nothing to me.

5 detox water ideas because drinking coke is just sad.

via The Renegade Pharmacist

The Mindset That Will Keep You Motivated To Eat Healthy and Exercise

Raise your hand if you’ve ever said you need to eat healthier and exercise to lose weight or change something else about the way you look.

Okay, I can’t type with one hand, but yeah me too.

This is true for my mother, my sister, my friends, every woman I know. Every woman I know has something about her body she doesn’t like and has tried to change with diet or exercise. I’m no exception.

We do what we can for a week, we eat healthy, we drag ourselves to the gym, we beat ourselves up when we can’t follow “the rules” and fall off that damn wagon, then we just continue with our lives until next time. While of course still blaming ourselves we’re not perfect and obviously unable to keep it all together.

Why doing it to lose those stupid 10 pounds in one month doesn’t work.

Losing weight, improving your skin, getting toned are not real reasons to eat healthier or to exercise every day. And unfortunately being healthy isn’t it either.

You know why?

Because there are “easier” options to achieve all of those things.

Why waste all that precious time and energy to achieve something, when you can do so without much effort and time invested?

It sounds easy enough to eat better for 3 weeks and drop 10 pounds. It’s not hard…but those 3 weeks, you’ve got to get through them, right?

You know what’s easier?

Not doing it.

The truth is, today, you can always look better or lose weight even if you don’t put in the effort or change anything about your lifestyle (at least for a brief moment). Here are some options:

plastic surgery
make up
diet pills
detox teas
go to a massage instead of doing exercise
body wraps
starve yourself instead of eating in moderation

Shortcuts don’t bring lasting change, but we try anyway

I remember, when I was a kid, my mom and dad even got some ab thing that would electrocute your abdominals, so you get abs…The infomercial showed a happy couple sitting there watching TV while getting their abdominals electrocuted. Then they smiled and showed their ripped bodies.

My mom: “I seriously can’t think of a reason how this would not work???? We obviously HAVE TO buy it.”

She didn’t put it this way, but they really got this ridiculous thing. And surprise: None of us got abs. Yes, I was 9 and I also tried it.

Trust your feelings and go for them, not for numbers.

Now, if not for weight loss or changing the way you look, why else would you want to eat healthier, exercise and live a healthier life? Here’s a reason:

To change the way you feel and the way you live your life. Every. Single. Day.

Not just the way you feel in a dress 5 months from now. But how you feel today.

I talked about this here and here, but eating healthy and working out have an immediate effect on the way you feel.

Appreciating the difference in how you feel is key to staying motivated.

So even if you don’t see changes right from the first day or week, you’ll feel different. Maybe nothing major, but if you pay attention, you’ll notice a difference. This difference in how you feel is key to staying motivated. Those feelings are going to pull you toward what you want. They will make you do what you have to do every day to get to your goal. And to stay there.

It’s frustrating when you’ve been putting in effort for a week and see just one sad pound go away. That’s why you’ve been working so hard?

Peach Smoothie – 3-Ingredients and Super Delicious

Last updated on August 15th, 2018 at 04:48 am

Got some peaches and don’t know what to do with them? Make this delicious peach smoothie!

I’m so excited for this recipe, guys! Like I actually think these pics look good and also this smoothie is taking over my life right now.

I’ve ignored peaches for a while now – I thought I’m allergic to them, plus didn’t really see the point in eating peaches when there’s watermelon right there.

Poor peaches have some competition when it’s their time to shine – strawberries, watermelon, melon, so so many delicious fruits during summer!

But this summer I found a place in my heart and mouth for peaches too – turns out I’m not allergic and they’re delicious!

Yogurt’s not cool anymore, but…

I know yogurt’s not cool anymore, but I used it to make this super simple tasty peach smoothie. And you know what? It’s my favorite smoothie right now.

If you can’t eat yogurt you can still make this smoothie with some coconut cream (top part of a coconut milk can) or coconut yogurt (other vegan/paleo type of your choice).

Have not tried this with cashews or nut butters, but might work as well.

Tomato Cucumber Salad – A Special Recipe

I don’t know how many tomato cucumber salads I’ve eaten in my life, but this one’s something special. It’s full of freshness and flavor, but also low-carb, vegan, paleo and gluten-free.

So, first of all, excuse this salad for the pictures, but it was dark while I was making it. My fault completely.

Second, don’t judge a book by it’s last page and don’t judge this salad by its terrible look.

Making a tomato and cucumber salad is pretty obvious right?

You chop tomatoes, cucumbers, some onion, add olive oil, vinegar and salt and you’re ready.

This one is different. It’s not your average tomato cucumber salad – it’s special. It’s spicy, it’s fresh and it’s flavorful.

Overnight Oats With Cherries, Banana & Nuts – Quick Vegan Breakfast

Make these easy overnight oats with cherries, banana and nuts tonight and wake up to a vegan breakfast that tastes like dessert tomorrow morning! This is the perfect on the go healthy breakfast recipe.

Been a while since I made overnight oats to be honest with you.

Probably because 2 years ago I couldn’t get enough of them. I was eating those soaked oats every single day and not just for breakfast!

No, no no.

Lunch, dessert, sometimes even a quick snack.

And I didn’t get sick of them. But then…

via Giphy

Winter came and all my overnight oats eating just stopped.

And the habit faded.

This summer, it came back and I’ve got a real easy and healthy overnight oats recipe to share.

It’s creamy overnight oats with banana, cherries, peanut butter and walnuts and it tastes like dessert. But it’s healthy. I love EVERYTHING about this recipe.

Oh the cherries… I’ve been having so many delicious sweet sweet cherries.

With peanut butter & banana this is definitely not the lightest recipe, but it’s healthy, high-fibre, high-protein and will keep you full longer.

It made me feel really satisfied and I didn’t need to eat that much later. Which, I’m trying to get fitter and control my overeating habit (especially while sitting at the desk!) – so this is BINGO.

Low-Carb Vegan Tacos Exist And Here’s The Recipe

Last updated on July 28th, 2018 at 07:55 pm

These are low-carb vegan lettuce “tacos” – soy-free, gluten-free and paleo. Yes, I created a monster. Super easy, but amazingly delicious!

Okay, everyone: relax, I’m alive.

That seagull scratch did not kill me. Try your luck somewhere else you crazy monster.

He did fly away with my pizza though. Up in the sky and left me embarrassed and paranoid to lick my wounds on the ground like an animal.

This is what I deserve? This is what I deserve after I’ve been feeding your whole family for years now?

Ungrateful jerk.

Now, back to the most important question in the history of the world:

Can you be vegan and low-carb at the same time?

via giphy

Friend, I don’t know about you, but these lettuce tacos certainly are.

And they’re so easy.

You basically put stuff into your food processor and pulse like crazy.

Or like a boss. (If I see another article about someone doing something like a boss I will vomit all over the internet)

So, these vegan wraps are ALMOST raw – no cooking and no heat.

I say almost because I used tomato paste and not sun-dried tomatoes for the nut-meat. I think soaking sun-dried tomatoes would cause me a lot of pain right now. Like when would I even think of soaking (or buying) sun-dried tomatoes?

I NEED FOOD AND I NEED IT NOW!