Tag: Nadirah A. Shakir

Advanced Weighted Bridge

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Advanced Weighted Bridge

One of the hardest parts of the body to tone is the glutes! Thank goddess for the bridge! The bridge is a very simple move that can be done almost anywhere. It can also be combined in a superset routine if you want to rev up your lower body exercise regimen. The wonderful thing about the bridge is that it is not only great for the glutes but it is also a stabilizing exercise which means it works wonders for the lower back and the core/abdominals!

Begin by laying flat on your back with your knees bent. If you do not wish to use weight, keep your arms flat on the sides of you. If you want to use weight place a bar mid thigh. You can also use a dumbbell or a medicine ball and place it right between your thighs or knees. Lift the bottom of the ground/floor and squeeze the glutes on the way up. The only thing that should be on the ground/floor is your shoulders, neck, head, and soles of your feet. Hold the contraction for a minimum of 3 seconds and then lower your but back down to the ground/floor. Repeat for 20 reps, for about 3 sets and feel the burn!

Bottoms Up! Nadirah A. Shakir

Embracing the Relationships Around You

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So many single people are obsessed with being in a relationship. It’s as if they don’t meet Mr. or Mrs. Right their entire existence is irrelevant. They can’t eat. They can’t sleep. They can’t even go out to a social event without looking for their soul mate. I understand the basic human need for companionship and relationship. The desire to connect and share our hearts and lives with another soul is an innate trait that most human beings have. What’s unhealthy though is the yearning—the obsession to have someone–anyone, which drives people to make deplorable relationship choices. Also, entering into relationship because of a need—financial or other, will only lead to disaster. No one can learn our lessons for us or do the work for us. We have to do it ourselves.

One of the most loving things single people (all people for that matter) can do for themselves is to obtain a deeper understanding AND acceptance of themselves. You’ll be surprised at how many single people who are desperate to get into a relationship, haven’t the foggiest idea what makes them happy. Furthermore the desperation to be in a relationship leads them to compromise their very own happiness. The relationship will not last and if it does the energy will be toxic. Also, trying to hide behind personas and adhere to roles for the sake of obtaining a relationship will choke at ones life force as well.

One of the things that I do as a happily single individual is embrace the relationships around me. If you are single (or not) and desiring a sacred union you should too. Here’s why. The Universe is always sending someone to share in love with you. It may not be the type of relationship that you are looking for but the energy for giving and receiving is always there. Furthermore allowing yourself to be open to those around you will help you better prepare for “THEE” relationship you are wanting. When you see every relationship as a relationship that can assist you in becoming the type of person you would like to “be with” some day then you are on your way to sharing life with that special someone. In the meantime, just chill, love, and get to know you. Do some of the things that you dreamed of doing, and more importantly pay attention to the people around you. Someone is always trying to love you. Just look.

For further insights on self love, relationship, and inner confidence read pages 27-30, and 141-142 in my memoir Before You Work Out, Exercise http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000141255/Before-You-Work-Out-Exercise.aspx.

Wishing you unconditional love and fearless self acceptance, Nadirah A. Shakir

Learn To Love Your Period

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Learn To Love Your Period. It is NOT a Disease.

I was getting my eye brows waxed the other day in the nail shop when I over heard a conversation that a mother and daughter was having. “This damn pill ain’t working,” the daughter hissed at her mother. The mother looking empathetically at her daughter begin flipping through her purse in search of a STRONGER pill. “Here take two of these,” the mother said, handing the pills to her daughter. I dropped my head so low I almost messed up my wax job. The daughter swallowed the two pills and settled herself in the chair next to me waiting for the comfort of the pills to kick in as nail tech started to clip away at her cuticles. I looked at her, and she looked back at me. I smiled empathetically, and she opened—“I hate my period!” I smiled again, understanding that most women feel this way. I wanted to say so much to her, but I could tell she was frustrated. I could also tell that she had become accustomed to taking drugs to minimized her menstrual cramps and other symptoms that may be due to her monthly menses. So I held my tongue.

I remember back in high school when I used to get cramps associated with my period. On one particular day I told my physical education instructor that I would not be participating in any physical activities because I was cramping. HE told me that exercise, and foods rich in minerals especially potassium, would off-set menstrual cramps. In other words he was telling me that my cycle was not an excuse to sit out an entire class period. I listened to my instructor and I went into the locker room and got dressed and then got physical. In almost no time my cramps were gone, and I didn’t cramp at all any more that month. After I noticed the difference I began to get more active as a way of life, and must say that even today I do not have menstrual cramps, very little water retention unless my diet is completely off target, and my period is still regular. I DO, however have chocolate cravings, so I will treat myself to some dark chocolate during my cycle, but that’s about it.

All of the hormonal craziness that is believed to be associated with our period is really NOT craziness at all. Essentially this “craziness” is really womens’ intuition, and spiritual and emotional connectedness to herself and her surroundings. When a woman is on her period she is more intuned with herself, nature, and the Holy Spirit. This craziness is not really craziness at all, but is a surge of spiritual/kundalini energy that is emerging from her womb and circulating through AND out of her body, and yes I do experience this. Most women, like my sisters in the nail shop have not been taught that their period is a blessing as opposed to a curse, so they buy into and believe that they are “crazy” at this time, when in fact they are more in tune with them-selves and the world around them. In addition to that, most women have not been taught how to harness that kundalini energy around the time of their cycles so they become scattered and thrown off kilter. It is wise for women to take special care of them selves year round, but especially during their periods. Moderate exercise, prayer, meditation, deep breathing, back, hand, and feet massages are wonderful during this time, and a diet rich in minerals can do well to comfort the spirit of women on their menses, and yes, eating dark chocolate under a beautifully lit moon will do wonders for grounding your energy and calming your mind. So…the next time your period comes on rub your tummy and welcome it, and if you have a significant other have them rub your tummy, and then rub your feet and welcome it too!

Blessings, Nadirah A. Shakir

Grounding Yourself for Optimal Health

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sand in hand

“Grounding Yourself for Optimal Health”

Do you ever feel like your life is going so fast that you just can’t keep up? Sure you have! That’s called life! Often times, when we feel this surge of energy, or this exhilarated flow of life speeding up, things are more than likely going well. The Universe has/is providing for us new opportunities for further growth and success. In some cases there can be a series of stressors that have our head spinning as well. In any event, when life starts to go so fast that you just can’t keep up, go ahead a give yourself permission to slooooow down.

How can you slow down? You can slow down by engaging in an activity that grounds you. A grounding activity is an activity that you do where you become fully present in that moment. It slows the heart rate down. It relaxes the mind, and the muscles of the body also become relax. In other words, you become fully present in the moment. For me, getting out into nature helps me ground myself. The sea has a calming effect on me that relaxes my entire muscular and nervous system. There’s an exercise that I like to do when I visit the sea. I like to consciously connect with the rhythm of the ocean—the waves, and then I like to breathe with the moving water. I can’t began to tell you how wonderful I feel after about five minutes of doing this. I also like to play in the wet sand–pushing my feet into the mud—making mud balls—carving my name into the sand. I find that doing something silly like playing in mud helps me nurture my inner child which is very grounding! One way to quickly become grounded is to forfeit all the seriousness of adulthood and let your child play! For others, a walk under a full moon, or the warm sun may be grounding. Baking a cake or making love with a partner who you share a wonderful connection with can be healing. Praying, deep breathing, a great workout, running, talking to a therapist or a coach, journaling, and list goes on and on and on! You know yourself best, so do what works for you. If you are not accustomed to grounding yourself try my two personal favorite—journaling about your feelings, and taking a solitary trip to the sea. Either of these activities will provide the healing-reflective space for you to remember and conger up new ways to ground yourself.

I wish you peace today and everyday. Nadirah A. Shakir

Light Therapy & Healing

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Ancient healers used light therapy to heal the body of sickness and disease. Modern healing practitioners such as myself still use this very easy and affective method of healing as well. I like to think of white light as the pure energy of the Holy Spirit. When I am using light to create balance in my own body, I often start with white light. This can be done by simply meditating on white light or you can use a candle to help you stay focused, as some may find it difficult to capture an image of white light mentally in the beginning. Breathing deeply, while mentally focusing on the white light will immediately bring calm to your body and your spirit. You can use the white light of your mind to wash your body internally and externally by simply choosing an area of concern with in your body and mentally placing the light there. Hold the white light in the area of concern and breathe. As you inhale imagine that you are pulling the “growth, discomfort, pain, irritation, etc. out of your body. As you exhale imagine that you are breathing new, healing energy into the area of concern. You may also find it helpful to invoke a higher spiritual power of your choice such as Goddess, Christ, Allah, Buddha or whomever you feel positively spiritually connected to. Allow your self to be fully present for the experience. This mean finding a quiet and comfortable place where you will not be interrupted for about 10 minutes. After you are done with the meditational-healing, wrap your self in the healing white light mentally, and embrace it throughout your day affirming all is well.

Below is a simple affirmation of healing that you can use daily from Nadirah A. Shakir to you. Be blessed.

“The healing light of Pure Spirit resides in me. It circulates throughout my entire body easily and effortlessly. It dissolves all blocks, growths, and discomfort. I express that purity and power right now. Thank you Pure Spirit.”

Chakra Power

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chakras

I wish more people understood how they can utilize the power in their bodies. When I speak of power I’m speaking in terms of energy. I want to help you grasp the concept of energy in the body so I’ll keep it simple. We all have a chakra system. There are seven major chakras in the human body. They are the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and crown chakra. Each chakra governs a spiritual idea, an emotion, an organ, a color, and musical vibration and much more. Right now for simplicity sake let’s focus on the spiritual idea.We have the root chakra which is located at the base of our spine;it’s spiritual idea is groundedness. To be grounded means that you are comfortable in your earthly shell, and you understand your connection to Mother Earth. The sacral chakra is next. It is located in the pelvis. It’s spiritual idea is pleasure. There are many ways to experience pleasure. The primary focus of the sacral chakra though is sensuality and sexuality. The chakra of the solar plexus sits over the stomach. Place three fingers horizontally over your navel and you will connect with the landmark of the solar plexus. The spiritual idea of the solar plexus deals with personal power, a healthy sense of self, and confidence. Then of course we have our heart chakra which is located in the middle of our chest, just above our sternum. I consider myself a heart-centered person so during meditation I focus on the middle of the chest but slightly to the left where the heart is actually located. I instruct my clients to do the same during a session. The heart chakras’ spiritual idea is love. The fifth chakra is our throat chakra. The throat chakra is located at the medial clavicle, just below the Adams apple for men. The spiritual idea of our throat chakra is expression. Then we have the famous “third eye”, which is referred to as the brow chakra, located between the eyebrows. The spiritual idea of the brow chakra is intuition. Lastly, we have the seventh chakra which is the crown chakra. Our crown chakra sits at the top of the mid brain, dead center of the parietals. Our crown chakra connects us to the Divine.Now that we have a general overview of the Chakra system, I’d like you to consider this. If one of your chakras is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you might be challenged with health issues or life issues for the correlating Chakra. For example, if your heart chakra is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you could have trouble in relationships. If your throat chakra is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you could have recurring sore throats, or unexplained coughing. While there may very well be other causes which affect life circumstances and health conditions it is a blessing to know that we do have some control of what is manifesting in our bodies as well as in our lives. We have nothing to loose and everything to gain by simply meditating on these areas in our bodies daily and applying loving thoughts and touch to each chakra. What’s the worse thing that can happen…we might actually heal something before it can manifest?!

Daily Affirmative Prayer by Nadirah Aqueelah Shakir

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Have you ever wondered how to pray? Have you ever been apprehensive about praying? Have you ever wondered who and what you may be praying to? I think at some point in our lives we all have. Prayer can be different things for all of us, but in it’s simplicity prayer is simply aligning our minds and hearts with the Divine. We may call the Divine God, Allah, Buddah, Krishna, Goddess, Jehovah, or whatever. The truth is God answers and shows up by the name that we call it. What do you require in your life at this moment? Do you require peace? If so call on God as Divine Peace. Do you need money? Call on God as the Supreme Provider or Divine Substance. Do you require love and acceptance? If so call forth Divine Love. Remember God is all there is, and all that there will ever be. Connect with God by opening your mind, body, and heart to all the Power that God is. When you pray, join minds with God. In other words concentrate on the name that you are calling God, and give thanks in advance for the assistance of The Divine; because once you connect All-Mighty God takes action.

 

Below is a simple prayer to assist you in making contact with The Divine.  Have a blessed one! Nadirah A. Shakir

 

Divine Love flows through me.

Order my thoughts, actions, words, and reactions so that I become a reflection and expression of your pure, bright light. Divine Love help me release all thoughts of lack, limitation, fear, false-judgment, and grudge-fullness so that I can move speedily into your free flow of abundance.

Divine Wisdom is my guide.

Speak into my heart, mind, and soul. Let me become sensitive and obedient to your voice, and your direction.  Help me make wise choices and decisions for a richer, orderly, and peace-filled life. Help me break the chains of confusion, and procrastination. Make me a fearless and strategic thinker so that I can create for myself the prosperous life, the life that is natural, the life that you ordained for me.

Divine Power strengthens me from my core.

Give me the strength that I need to carry out the vision that you have placed in my heart. Give me the courage that I need to cast away all fear and doubt. Give me the discipline I need to stay on course.

Divine Substance provide for me

Place everything I need to live a prosperous life in my path. Give me this day and every day my daily bread. Place in my path all of my necessities, and the desires of my heart. Send to me helping angels, creative ideas, a free flow of interest free cash money, perfect health, working relationships, and jobs that not only provide in abundance but work that is pleasing and honorable to YOU.

This is the prayer that I pray today. This is the prayer that I accept today. In the powerful name of All-Mighty God I declare it to be so. Amen.

 

 

Good nutrition is NOT a mission!

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I was talking to a friend the other day, and he was telling me how he’s ready to rev up his workout regimen. He went on to ask me to design a meal plan for him. I began by asking him the typical stuff about his goals, his stats, and his medical history of course. He was in good health, and basically he wanted what almost everyone in America wants. He wanted to loose some fat, keep a decent amount of muscle, and have more energy. I told him I’d have the meal plan to him in about a week or so. Then he went on to tell me how hard it is for him to eat healthy because of his schedule, and how he only has forty five minutes to eat lunch when he’s at work…blah, blah, blah. I had to cut him off. “That’s no excuse,” I interjected. Then he sort of cut his eye at me. I cut my eye back and then I asked him some rather annoying questions like, how long does it take to eat, can’t you get a salad at any fast food chain now-a-days. Then I told him how I was pulled out to dinner a couple of nights ago, and how the restaurant had this whole menu dedicated to low fat, and low carb dieters. Even if they didn’t have a menu that accommodated my needs I could still order grilled salmon, steamed broccoli, and a baked sweet potato. My friend had to agree with me because what I was saying was completely true. Let’s face it. We are the ones who drive to the fast food window and super-size everything. We are the ones who ask for extra cheese. We are the ones who ignore the grilled chicken combo that CAN come with a baked potato, and opt for the classic crispy with large fries. I know I’ve done it before, BUT if you want to get into tip top shape you are going to have to sacrifice the savory dishes for clean eats. It’s as simple as that, and as far as preparation goes, it really only takes 1-2 hours a day once or twice a week to prepare your food for the entire week. So don’t make excuses! Just get into the habit of making healthier choices when you eat out OR prepare your food at home and take it with you so that you are not tempted to mess up on your diet. When I pulled out my lunch box and handed him a container of grilled chicken pasta sautéed in olive oil and apple cider vinegar he understood what he had to do—stop making excuses and commit to a healthier diet. I’ll be posting the recipe for my grilled chicken pasta soon! Stay tuned!!

The Importance of Quality Protein & Branch Chain Amino Acids Post Workout

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Eating healthy on the go can be challenging. One of the things that helps me stay in shape is having a protein shake handy after every workout. What I do is simple. I pre-blend 2 scoops of my favorite whey protein supplement along with 1 or 2 tablespoons of my favorite branch chain and I put it in the freezer the night before. The following morning I grab it and throw it in my gym bag. It works wonderfully, because by the time I’m done training my protein is nice and chilled and my body is oh so ready for it! Having a quality branch chain and protein supplement immediately after every workout will prevent muscle break down, and aid in muscle growth and repair; and that is exactly what you want if you are trying to burn fat and keep muscle. We need healthy muscle so that we can burn fat. For more information on nutrition tips for busy athletes visit me here often! Train hard, and train smart…that’s where your nutrition comes into play(-;

Getting Physical for Equilibrium

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Many people use exercise as a way to distress, and get or keep themselves in alignment. It’s no wonder that as soon as life takes an unexpected turn and things get off normal track, many people find their way back by revamping a schedule that incorporates some type of physical fitness. “I just feel better after a really good workout,” is the mantra that is often heard after a long run, an intense weight training session, or a grounding yoga class. Why is this so? Why do people just feel so darn good after a workout? There are many reasons why, but perhaps the most fundamental reason why people feel so good after a workout is because they have done what is absolutely natural. They have nurtured themselves on all levels—mind, body, and spirit. They have made the mind body connection by thinking about and then performing the exercise, and they have refreshed the spirit through breath. Although physical exercise may appear to be just physical or external it is not. When entered into consciously exercise/physical activity becomes a powerful avenue for healing and restoring balance. So, the next time you opt to push your workout to the bottom of your list of “things to do” remember that exercise is not only good for the body, it does wonders for clearing and aligning the mind, and rejuvenating the spirit.