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The 10 Minute Guide to Mind-Body Exercise

2/25/2019

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There’s more to exercise than losing weight and building bigger biceps. What’s going on above the neck is just as important. The state of your mind is closely linked to the state of your body.
 
Mind-body fitness, like mind-body medicine, honors the connection between your physical and mental wellbeing. Learn how to integrate outer movement and inner focus with these suggestions for peaceful and empowering workouts.
 
General Principles Behind Mind-Body Exercise

  1. Pay attention. As you would imagine, mindfulness creates the foundation for integrated workouts. Let go of daily concerns. Be aware of your movements, thoughts, and feelings. Enjoy the changing sensations.

  2. Breathe deeply. Abdominal breathing is one way to calm your mind and energize your body. Experiment with three-part breath filling and expanding your abdomen, your lower chest, and finally your upper chest. Reverse the flow as you exhale.

  3. Relieve stress. Physical activity is a constructive response to tension. Exercise lowers your levels of stress hormones and raises your endorphins.

  4. Be flexible. Listen to your body to tell when you’re ready for a change from your planned workouts. Maybe you need an active rest day doing gentle stretches instead of your usual run.

  5. Practice deliberately. There’s a natural tendency to gravitate towards tasks we’re already good at. You’ll make more progress if you structure your workouts to target the areas where you want to grow.

  6. Boost your immune system. A little time at the gym can help you manage chronic conditions and catch fewer colds. You may even recover from surgery faster.

  7. Develop spiritually. Incorporate your beliefs into your routine. Study chakras or give thanks to the Higher Power of your choice for your body.

  8. Feel happier. Twenty minutes of exercise can enhance your mood for up to 12 hours, according to one University of Vermont study. Plus, those effects seem strongest when you start out feeling blue.

Specific Workouts for Mind-Body Exercise

  1. Practice yoga. Yoga’s original purpose was to condition the body to be comfortable in seated meditation. You can experience benefits whether you follow the spiritual teachings or just like downward dog.

  2. Do Pilates. Pilates is much younger than yoga, but many of the exercises are similar. It may be a good option if you’re less interested in the spiritual aspects of yoga.

  3. Study martial arts. Meditation in motion is a term often used to describe martial arts, as well as yoga. Tai Chi can be an especially good choice for seniors because it’s gentle and challenging.

  4. Take a walk. Treadmills have their place, but heading outdoors makes exercise seem like less work. Aim to take more steps each day.

  5. Dance around. Dancing gives your whole body a workout while your mind is busy learning the steps. Take a class that suits your ability and plays the music you love.

  6. Work on balance. Remember balance while you’re training for strength, aerobic capacity, and flexibility. Being steady on your feet sharpens your thinking, and may even help you to live longer. Ride your bike or try standing on one foot while you’re on the phone.

  7. Sit and meditate. Have you been dreaming about a workout that would let you remain sitting down? You’ll probably need to do more than meditate, but some advanced practitioners believe that a supple body is one result of deep and prolonged contemplation of virtuous objects.

Train your mind and your muscles. Mind-body exercise will enhance your mental and physical fitness. Taking an integrated approach to your workouts allows you to enjoy exercise more and achieve the long-term results you need for greater health and wellbeing.
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Accept Responsibility for Your Life and Regain Control

2/18/2019

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There’s a comfort that comes from having an excuse for the challenges in your life. Whether you can blame your issues on poor parenting, a boss that hates you, or the universe in general, it’s soothing to have an excuse. However, that excuse has a cost. By putting the blame and responsibility outside yourself, you take away your power to change your situation.
 
Is everything your fault? Of course not. But it is your responsibility. If you don’t fix it, who will? Even if you had horrible parents, there’s nothing they can do about it now.
 
Choose to see everything in your life as your responsibility and start making some changes. You’ll eventually enjoy the power that comes with responsibility.
 
Accept responsibility for your current situation and take control of your life:


  1. Be aware of how you’ve contributed to your own challenges. Maybe you made poor decisions. Maybe you failed to take action. Look at the least satisfying parts of your life and determine how you created them. Be sure to also look at the great parts of your life and give yourself some credit, too.
  2. Build your self-esteem. The more self-esteem you possess, the easier it is to deal with life’s challenges. If you’ve been avoiding responsibility, your self-esteem has been suffering. Taking responsibility builds self-esteem. They go hand-in-hand. Remember all the wonderful things you’ve accomplished in the past. Imagine how great you’ll feel when you turn your life around.
  3. Remember that not everything is within your power to change. You can’t make your boss like you. But you can find another job. You can’t make your spouse stop drinking. But you can demand that they seek help and choose to leave if they don’t comply. In the end, you can only control yourself. Avoid worrying about the things that are outside your control.
  4. Take responsibility for the little things. The big things are more exciting, but the little things are important, too. In fact, not taking care of the little things often leads to the big things. Take responsibility for the everyday tasks that you face on a regular basis.
  5. Be the best version of yourself. Hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else would ever demand of you. This is the ultimate way to take control, because you’re accepting the highest level of responsibility. Being the best version of yourself means doing what needs to be done whether you feel like it or not.
  6. Avoid blaming yourself. Taking responsibility and taking the blame are two different things. Does it matter who’s to blame? You’re taking care of business, so it doesn’t matter if it’s your fault or not. You’re solving the problem, regardless of the cause. Blaming yourself makes you less effective.
  7. Expect to be uncomfortable. Taking responsibility is the opposite of avoiding responsibility. Why did you avoid responsibility? Because it’s more comfortable than being responsible. With responsibility comes discomfort.
 
Take comfort in the fact that your discomfort will provide significant rewards. Do you think that ultra-successful people deal with more or less discomfort than the average person?
 
It’s natural to avoid responsibility whenever possible. Accepting responsibility results in more work, at least for the time being. It can mean less work down the road, though. Handing challenges today ensures that they don’t grow into even bigger challenges later.
 
Failing to take responsibility comes with a heavy cost. You feel as if you lack the ability to change the course of your life. You lose respect for yourself and increase the likelihood of suffering from depression.
 
It’s time to take responsibility for your life and regain the control that’s so important to your success!


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The Stress Mess: How Stress Messes With Your Health

2/11/2019

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We all have some level of stress, right?
 
It may be temporary (acute), or long-term (chronic).
 
Acute stress usually won’t mess with your health too much. It is your body’s natural reaction to circumstances, and can even be life-saving.
 
Then, when the “threat” (a.k.a. “stressor”) is gone, the reaction subsides, and all is well.
 
It's the chronic stress that's a problem. You see, your body has specific stress reactions. If these stress reactions are triggered every day or many times a day that can mess with your health.
 
Stress (and stress hormones) can have a huge impact on your health.
 
Let's dive into the "stress mess."
 
Mess #1 - Increased risk of heart disease and diabetes
 
Why save the best for last? Anything that increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes (both serious, chronic conditions) needs to be discussed.
 
Stress increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes by promoting chronic inflammation, affecting your blood "thickness," as well as how well your cells respond to insulin.
 
Mess #2 - Immunity
 
Did you notice that you get sick more often when you're stressed? Maybe you get colds, cold sores, or even the flu more frequently when you are stressed?
 
Well, that's because stress hormones affect the chemical messengers (cytokines) secreted by immune cells consequently, they are less able to do their jobs effectively.
 
Mess #3 - "Leaky Gut."
 
Stress can contribute to leaky gut, otherwise known as "intestinal permeability." These "leaks" can then allow partially digested food, bacteria or other things to be absorbed into your body.
 
The stress hormone cortisol can open up tiny holes by loosening the grip your digestive cells have to each other.
 
Picture this: Have you ever played "red rover?" It's where a row of children hold hands while one runs at them to try to break through. Think of those hands as the junctions between cells. When they get loose, they allow things to get in that should be passing right though.  Cortisol (produced in excess in chronic stress) is a strong player in red rover!
 
Mess #4 - Sleep Disruption
 
Stress and sleep go hand-in-hand, wouldn’t you agree? It’s often difficult to sleep when you have very important (and stressful) things on your mind.
 
And when you don't get enough sleep, it affects your energy level, memory, ability to think, and mood.
 
More and more research is showing just how important sleep is for your health.  Not enough sleep (and too much stress) aren't doing you any favors.
 
Stress-busting tips
 
Reducing stressors in your life is an obvious first step.

Can you: 
●Put less pressure on yourself?
●Ask for help?
●Say "no"?
●Delegate to someone else?
●Finally, make that decision?
 
No matter how hard you try, you won’t eliminate stress altogether. So, here are a few things you can try to help reduce its effect on you:
●Deep breathing
●Meditation
●Walk in nature
●Unplug (read a book, take a bath)
●Exercise (yoga, tai chi, etc.)
●Connect with loved ones
 
 
Stress is a huge and often underappreciated factor in our health. It can impact your physical body much more than you might realize.
 
Stress has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes, affect your immune system, digestion and sleep.
 
There are things you can do to both reduce stressors and also to improve your response to it.
 
You can ditch that stress mess!


Recipe (relaxing chamomile): Chamomile Peach Iced Te
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Serves 1
 
1 cup steeped chamomile tea, cooled
1 peach, diced
 
Place both ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add ice if desired.
 
Serve & enjoy!
 
Tip: You can use fresh or frozen peaches.
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