Healthy Living & Mindfulness

When we interviewed Karina Blackwood about her life, work and wellness practices, she had a lot to share about living life to the fullest and doing what makes you both happy and healthy. Take a look at her tips and tricks to heal your body, raise your energy and keep a smile on your face! Karina, could you share with us what it is you do during your week and a little about why you do it? “I do everything that I have time for. I wish there were 48 hours per day, not just 24! I wish we could sleep less and be more productive. I’m so in love with everything that I do: teaching yoga, practicing yoga, practicing astrology, reading people’s birth charts, teaching Pilates, taking Pilates classes, finding new, healthy products, and going to workout classes. I really love helping people. I also manage two more Instagram accounts for clients. All of these things take a lot of energy, but yoga helps, and I love it too.”  We know you have a popular Instagram feed, but you also run a very informative blog. Do you use these to help people? “I get a lot of DMs from my followers. I want to answer them all, but sometimes it gets challenging to keep track of all of them. It helps me to understand what people want to know, what they need my help with and what questions need to be answered. This is how I came up with the idea to start a blog. I feel like I can explain everything in one blog post with detail and give people what they need. I got a lot of questions about Terra Origin, and I feel like I need to write a blog post about you! I guess a lot of people have a leaky gut issue. Since I also had an issue with my gut, I know how irritating and uncomfortable it can get.” We would be honored for you to include us on your blog! Do you have a particular Terra Origin product that is your favorite? “Healthy Gut is amazing. No matter what I eat, if I add this powder to my food, I know it won’t upset my stomach. After three days of trying the powder, I felt my digestion improve, and I felt better overall, less bloated and more energetic. Your products are truly amazing, and I believe the products can help a lot of people.” Thank you so much! Can you tell people how the Healthy Gut supplement fits into your lifestyle and what it has done for your wellness goals? “I love eating sweets first thing in the morning. I think I developed this habit after I learned that if you eat sweets in the morning, it’s better for your body (than eating them later in the day). Sweets, even fruits, create fermentation in your gut which is not healthy. This is why dietitians recommend eating sweets on an empty stomach. Your stomach is the emptiest when you wake up. I find sweets (when eaten in the morning) give my body time to burn all the extra calories during the day. I think for me, I fell into an unhealthy behavior with this habit. Terra Origin products are helping me get better with my bad habit. Now I have a sweet, veggie smoothie with Healthy Gut powder, and I don’t crave sweets anymore because Healthy Gut powder is already sweetened with stevia.” We’re so happy to hear this is helping you start your days off right! Is this the type of advice you share with your many followers? “I share so much with them! I share my whole life with people who trust me and who follow me. I’m an open person, and if someone asks me something, I’ll give my honest opinion or advice about anything. The message that I try to give to people who follow my journey is to stay healthy whatever it takes. I feel like staying healthy and making better choices every day can be overwhelming, and the results are not always seen right away. I try to cheer people up and show them some fun ways to be healthy and happy. I really believe in astrology and the power of the Universe. I use this power to help my followers and teach them how to use it.” What are some of your own healthy and happy habits that keep you on your wellness journey? “Adding Terra Origin powder to my morning smoothie! Going to bed early, waking up earlier. I practice three rounds of Sun Salutations everyday, even when I don’t have time or feel tired. Meditation, I love guided meditation.” With so much fitness and lifestyle advice available today, is there anything in particular that you would change in how people approach personal wellness? “I would add some healthy humor to it. I would do something fun to motivate people to go to the gym or drink kombucha instead of beer. I would teach kids from an early age that strawberries are tastier than chocolate and that jumping jacks are the best thing they can do when they are stressed. I hate jumping jacks! Ha-ha-ha.” Sounds like solid advice! Along your own journey, have you had to overcome an major health, fitness or food challenges that altered your lifestyle? “I feel like I'm overcoming them every day. If you have a choice to go to the gym or to sit on a couch and watch your favorite show what would you choose? Would you rather eat healthy oatmeal or sugary, fat pancakes? I challenge myself every day, and every day if I make the right choice, I reward myself. I had a big digestion issue a while back, and I couldn’t eat anything without feeling nauseous. A traditional doctor said I had IBS, gave me a list of antibiotics and said I have to be on the FODMAP diet for the rest of my life. I refused to accept that verdict, and little by little with the help of holistic practitioners and changing my diet and lifestyle tremendously, I got better and better, but it was a long battle. It took me over a year to heal. And now I support myself by taking good and natural supplements, drinking water and watching what I eat.” Wow, that must have been a difficult journey. Is there a particular recipe you’ve used along the way that you would like to share with us? “According to Vedic astrology, you can balance the planets in your birth chart by adding certain foods into your diet. For the moon, these foods are coconut, almonds, honeydew, nutmeg and yogurt. This is why I like to make this balancing smoothie for your moon cycle.”                                 1 cup plain, unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk, or yogurt                               1 big handful spinach                               2/3 cup frozen blueberries (“I just love them.”)                               1/2 medium sized ripe avocado                               1 tablespoon chia seeds                               1-inch piece of fresh, peeled turmeric                               1 quarter lime, juiced                               Nutmeg to taste “I add Terra Origin Healthy Gut powder, but of course it is optional. Add all the main ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend on high until smooth.” That sounds delicious. We will definitely be giving that one a try! Before we go, is there any other advice you would like to share with our readers? “I want the readers to know that there are a lot of opportunities for you to stay healthy and well balanced. You have to find what makes you want to stay on the right path. For me it’s people who I look up to. Maybe it’s your gym buddy or a person who you follow on Instagram; maybe it’s your health adviser or an astrologist. Find a person who motivates you. There are a lot of ways to do what you love, be healthy and live your best life.” Thank you so much Karina. To get more of her great advice and life tips, follow her @blissedhappiness or jump over to her blog.