Hello mind, meet your body. I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Mindful meditation and physical fitness may seem like separate practices, but you can take a common thread from each system that when woven together make up a magnificent thing called Mind-Muscle Connection. The research and studies show evidence of MMC’s positive results; and although theories are not proven they are indeed convincing. An awareness of one’s body can catapult your fitness program to another level.

WHAT IS MMC?

It’s pretty straightforward. When performing a specific exercise, you direct your attention to the principal muscle group with deliberate physical contraction through visualization. Like playing darts, you are aiming for a bullseye, but to make the target it takes hand-eye coordination, concentration and lots of practice. MMC is simple to achieve; our body comes prepared with capabilities because our brains neuro function can control the flexion of our muscles. The only possible hurdle, as with any new venture, is that it takes time and patience to develop.

5 BENEFITS OF MMC

1. IT HELPS DEVELOP MORE ACUTE BODY AWARENESS

2. IT PROMOTES STRENGTHENING AND PROTECTION OF JOINTS AND LIGAMENTS

3. IT IMPROVES BRAIN COORDINATION, CONTRIBUTING TO PERFORMING LIFE’S DAILY ACTIVITIES

4. IT DECREASES THE RISK OF INJURY

5. IT IMPROVES BALANCE AND CORE STABILIZATION

5 TIPS FOR USING MMC

1. SET INTENTIONS

You may think your workout begins when you walk through the doors of your gym or fitness class, but the magic starts way before with an inceptive thought—that moment when you schedule that pivotal date for your sweat session. Be sure to have a clear vision of your workout goals. Write down the plan, such as what muscle groups you will focus on each day of the week. The more specific, the better. This will allow you to consciously create a new visual habit.

2. SLOW AND STEADY

Slow and steady wins the race and finishes the strongest. Practice working out with slow actions plus a theme based on quality, not quantity. Executing correct form while working out is an essential component, not only to prevent injury, but to successfully perform an exercise. Slow down the tempo of a single move, so your mind is given the proper time to make connections. Do this with an emphasis on the “eccentric phase” of your exercise, which is the lengthening period of muscle contractions and usually the most neglected. Resist the temptation to be lazy; give every movement, beat, and breath a purpose executed with control.

3. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

If you’re having trouble focusing during your workout, it might be time for a change of scenery. It’s easy to get lost in a classroom full of bodies, and to get distracted by life outside of your exercise class. Being inspired by a fave instructor or workout buddy is a good start. Surround yourself with people or an environment that supports your cause to be more focused. If you find you are easily distracted working out by a window, for example, move to a different section. Don’t hide in the back of a class— get to the front of the room!

4. FEELING IS BELIEVING

We often rely on visual proof and seldom acknowledge our inner wins. Since MMC is internal, try to redirect your energy inward and turn away from external distractions, such as mirrors. Focus on feeling your body vs. looking at your body. Sometimes mirrors are unavoidable, so close your eyes and try to feel (not look!) while doing your reps, riding a bike (stationary of course) or even other daily tasks.

5. THE MORE THE MERRIER

Throw more workouts into your repertoire that incorporate Compound Exercises. These are moves that recruit many muscles at one time, forcing you to stay aware and keep you in a constant thought process. The primary muscles that contract during a movement create an apparent feeling of heaviness—maybe it’s from a free weight, your own body or gravity. When weight and force are combined, it’s natural for your concentration to wander to the strongest muscle group. Switch your focus to weaker muscles first to distribute the balance thus making the move compound, a.k.a. giving equal attention to all areas in action.

Happy Warrior Wednesday Food Athletes!

xo jessi xo

Happy Holidays Athletes! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you. I’ve had some trials and tribulations, but I am pushing through during this festive time of year to put smiles on faces and nutrients in our belly. Oh, speaking of belly and bowl-full-of-jelly, it’s not too late to make a batch of Santas favorite cookies. My recipe is so easy and takes less than 20 minutes to bake. It’s a perfect family activity for Christmas Eve.

This is such a fun idea for an already delicious oatmeal snack, and if you are new to Smash Mallow, I am excited to introduce you to this original magical spin on this beloved fluffy treat the marshmallow. Peppermint Bark is a wonderful winter candy. Chocolate infused with a fresh candy cane smooch of flavor screams holiday cheer.

So I decided to put these classic flavors into my fave oatmeal cookie recipe. Yup! I did that. Candy Cane Smash Mallows and Dark Chocolate chopped up and sprinkled into my cookie dough make a melt in your mouth X-mas show stopper. I do feel it’s my duty and in the spirit of giving the gift of health, the oats and flour fall on the low glycemic scale. Plus, marshmallows are a gluten-free treat making the essential mix of this cookie on the “healthier” side of the treat-O-meter. Good for Santa’s heart and gut cause of the fiber count. #santaigotyourback

Cookie Dough:

1 Cup Whole Oats
1/2 Cup Spelt Flour or Whole Wheat or a combo.
1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon/ Ground
1/4 Nutmeg
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Ghee or your fave butter
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
Splash of Maple Syrup
Candy Cane Smash Mallows
Dark Chocolate (any kind at 70% or more, roughly chopped)

Making the dough:

Mix dry ingredients with fork or sifter so it can be ready to go while creaming the sugar and butter.

Next, cream the sugar and ghee. I start by mashing granules into the butter with a fork, and this begins to soften. Once all the sugar is in the butter, I use a wooden spoon to finish the cream process, and it will turn into a lighter brown and look like whipped butter. You should get a good arm pump from the combining, and you’re welcome, you have now earned your cookie for the day.

Combine ALL of the wet ingredients.

In portions add the dry to wet and mix.

No need to overdo it, we are not looking for whipped, so mix to combine thoroughly and then stop.

Add Oats and combine either by hand or wooden spoon.

Here is where a portion is subject to interpretation. Big cookies or small, this recipe should give you 14 cookies if you scoop a tiny bit larger then the size of a tablespoon.

Bake at 315- (always remember that ovens can produce different temperatures and cook times can vary.) I suggest doing a bake test

For 8 minutes and the cookies will begin to spread and that’s when I carefully place the chopped Smash Mallow and Chocolate pieces towards the center of each cookie.

Finish baking around another 8 minutes and then you can give it a final turn on the cookie sheet for maybe 5 minutes more. I eyeball those lil cookies as they bake, but some of my batches have turned out crispy, and some have been almost oatmeal- cake type texture.

Baking is a science and things like butter being too soft, adding less butter, change the ratio of Spelt flour to Whole grain, little things like this can change hie the cookie transforms. With cookies, it’s sort of, well, not a big deal but if you were doing a cupcake, I would be more responsible as far as following directions go.

This cookie recipe is hard to fuck up so don’t stress if you are not a “baker” I’m so not one and my cookies taste amazing! People have said so. Haha!

Thank you all for sticking with me so far, through the ups and downs. I appreciate this gift I get, and that is the opportunity to share my life with you through my passion for food and fitness.

I wish you happy, healthy, holidays and a New Year filled with kindness and love,

xo Jessi xo