28 Lessons That I Learned In 28 Years & Cocktail Dress Giveaway

Today I am celebrating 28 years since I was born to planet Earth.

Birthday celebration 2011. It was the biggest vegan cake I ever got to hold!

I feel young, powerful, capable, and strong. I am learning to trust the process and to enjoy it. Every day I am learning about myself, about life, and about my amazing body. Today I would like to share 28 lessons that I learned so far.

Also as a special gift for your attention and inspiration, I would like to offer you a chance to win an amazing cocktail dress from Von Vonni that you could get just in time for the New Years party.

I believe that every woman deserves to be beautiful and to wear clothes that makes her feel gorgeous. I am happy and honored that my friends at Von Vonni agreed to share the gift of beauty with Spinach and Yoga followers. Ladies while you are my tribe, guys, I invite you to participate and to give a gift of beauty to your wife, girlfriend, sister, or mother.

The details of the contest are below.

For now, let’s get back to lessons.

28 lessons that I learned in the last 28 years

  1. My body is my teacher. She knows better than anyone else. But it is helpful to read and listen to others to get ideas about what to try. However my body is the one who has to decode whether a new practice works for her.
  2. Relaxation is more important to being at a comfortable weight than exercise. It helps to be in-touch with myself and avoid stress-induced cravings
  3. Deep breathing is the best anti-emotional eating and overeating healing tactic
  4. Nothing makes me feel better than my yoga in the morning. By now I let go that of the concept of what a yoga practice should look like because just as food, it is highly individual, changes with seasons, current situation, and the internal state. It takes practice to be able to tell what your body needs on any particular day but once you know, it’s priceless
  5. Nothing tastes as good as feel light and energetic feels. Lightness, energy flowing through my body, being inspired and feeling fresh is way better than the taste of any cheesecake. Sometimes however, I need to remember the way my body feels after eating certain things to know the difference:)
  6. Cooking is best when it is not rushed. It shouldn’t feel stressful. It is a fun experiment. If you feel rushed, it is best to keep very simple and spend extra time relaxing instead of chopping!
  7. Simple is often best. The fewer ingredients the better. Before I . used to think that the more herbs, spices, veggies I add, the better. Nutrition was more important than taste. Now I often. think of what I can take out, how I can simplify a recipe. Less is best, it’s easier to make, easier to digest, and my taste buds become more attuned to simplicity.
  8. Multitasking creates stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. It is the opposite of productive. It is best to set clear priorities and tackle one task at a time.
  9. Clothes, food, and exercise are all highly individual choices where generalizations rarely work
  10. Digestion is a cornerstone of health. It needs time, deep slow breaths, and major chewing!
  11. Every human being has an amazing story to share. You just need to listen
  12. The way you eat is just as important as what you eat
  13. There are no thing more important than relationship with yourself and others around you. Relationships determine your success, happiness, and impact
  14.  A warm oil massage is a great stress-relieving practice
  15. Self-care practices have to be included in every day. Even 5 mins can make a difference.
  16. It is better to let food rot in the trash than in your stomach. Often we feel obliged to finish food on the plate or not to throw out leftovers but more often than not we would feel better off eating less and having fresh food.
  17. Thoughts are food for the mind. They should be clean, healthy, and mostly positive.
  18. Every food has its own specific personality. The more we eat of a certain food, the more we absorb its qualities. While caffeine is likely to produce an anxious go-getter who can rarely sit still, lots of creamy ice cream or baked desserts will produce a heavy sluggish person.
  19. The type of movement we choose effects our personality. Yogis become calmer and more gentle, cross-fitters are more aggressive and robust, dancing adds femininity. Having a clear idea of how you want to feel as a final result helps to choose the type of movement that will help you get there.
  20. Our brain is often more powerful than drugs. I hope at some point to master the placebo effect without the sugar pill. Whatever we expect and believe in, comes to life if there is more certainty than fear. Fear is the worst feeling. Guilt follows close after
  21. You and I, we have the right to choose positive people who re-charge us and avoid negative ones as much as possible. Your community makes up your life. Choose it wisely. They say you are the average of those who surround you.
  22. The habit of visualizing how I want to feel during the day first thing in the morning is one of the best habits I learned.
  23. My body deserves to be dressed in the most fitting flattering clothes. I can’t get upset at my body for not looking good in something that doesn’t fit her shape. The way you dress, will in a large part determine how you feel. At this moment of my life I am aiming to wear clothes that make me feel light, comfortable, and feminine.
  24. Everything that surrounds you effects the way you feel: smells, colors, people. You need to be aware of those effects to truly create the environment where you feel you best
  25. A healthy body is very forgiving of occasional bad food
  26. For some reason I like myself in old picture more than in recent ones. We tend to be more critical of the present state but the past always seems good. Which means that at some point in the future you are very like to look at the present and think that it was great. Why not do it now instead of waiting?!
  27. Overeating good food can be worse than eating a little bit of bad (imho)
  28. Even when you can’t control the situation, you can always control the breath. Deepen it and enjoy it

Giveaway details:

The winner will get a Von Vonni Transformer dress in navy blue in a modern minimalist style ($120 value). The brand loved by Serena Williams and Kendall Jenner. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It can make you look like a Grecian goddess or an avant garde rock star.  It drapes, twists, and cinches in many ways and lets you create the look you want for the day or night. It can be worn in over 25 different ways ( see the “how to” video below)

How to Win a fun Von Vonni Transformer dress ($120 value)

  1. Like Von Vonni on Facebook
  2. Like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook
  3. Post a comment below telling us what you learned about you and your health last year
  4. Share on facebook that you entered a giveaway tagging @VonVonni and @Spinachandyoga. You will get 1 additional entry for posting about the giveaway on facebook so it will double your chances of winning!

Sample facebook messages:

  • Just entered an awesome giveaway from @spinachandyoga to win a beautiful transformer dress from @VonVonni
  • Fingers Crossed! Hopefully I can win my navy blue gorgeous dress from @VonVonni and be the prettiest girl on New Years eve! Thanks @spinachandyoga for this giveaway!
  • @Spinachandyoga is celebrating her birthday and hosting an awesome giveaway from @VonVonni dress collection! Luck is better be on my side!

The winner will be chosen using www.random.org on Dec 4th and will be announced on facebook and in the newsletter. Make sure that you subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss the news!

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