Well...another year has come and gone. As with any New Year, the feelings of anxiety and pressure to BE BETTER than we were last year come with it!! My advice from last year really hasn't changed...just "FLOAT" [sit back, take some deep breaths and ease yourself into the New Year]. I really think it is important not to make too many promises you can't keep [you know...the "let's not be perfect let's be REAL Beautiful" thing we try to achieve better too!!]. It is just such a typical thing to do after all of the celebrating and extra treats during the holiday season. Often the strict plans and goals after the holiday force us into automatic failure and depression...thus, increasing our desire to crave the sugary and salty foods that caused us to make such unattainable goals in the first place.
My approach to the New Year is to take life in BALANCE: Do some exercise, eat some good/healthy food and treat myself a little too. This helps to ease me out of holiday mode back into my regular routine once holidays are past. This approach also helps me to gain some control over my food and activity choices. One of the added approaches I adhere to over the holidays is to continue to keep some of my healthy routines going through the festive season. YES, I love pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing as much the next guy, and I choose to just enjoy them without too much guilt. I can do this because of the commitment I make to not completely forgo any MOMENTS OF HEALTH during the festive season. DON'T completely throw away your regular health routines over the holidays!! This one POWERFUL DECISION will make the difference between a painful recovery from the holidays and a fairly uneventful one.
FREE HEALTHY DETOX FOR THE NEW YEAR
One of the best ways to cleanse and repair the damage done to your body, mind and spirit from all the celebrating over the holidays is to just eat high nutrient-dense foods with lots of fibre and drink lots of water. Taking in nutrient dense food, fiber and water helps to naturally cleanse our systems of toxins, unhealthy cholesterol and sugar. Try out some of the healthy food choices related in this sample 3 Day Cleanse provided by GAIAM; a great resource for healthy living choices.
Enjoy a New Year that has more BALANCE and less PRESSURE!
KEEP STAYING REAL BEAUTIFUL...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Immunity, Hormones, Aging
With flu season upon us it is nice to know that there are some exercises that can actually improve and support our immunity!! Check out this amazing yoga sequence that helps to heal the glands in our body that control our immunity. PLUS, an added bonus, at the same time this sequence helps to balance our hormones and slow the rate down in which we age. Gotta LOVE this...easy, effective and time efficient health! Enjoy!
IMMUNITY, BALANCED HORMONES AND AGING
Keep staying REAL Beautiful!!
IMMUNITY, BALANCED HORMONES AND AGING
Keep staying REAL Beautiful!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I am I not perfect I am REAL Beautiful group on facebook
COME AND JOIN MY GROUP "I am not perfect I am REAL Beautiful" ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION TO KEEP YOU STAYING REAL BEAUTIFUL!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Free, Easy, & Effective Health Tip
Free & Easy Health....this is what I like... and I have spent many years of my life researching health tips that are free, easy and effective... you and I are similar I bet... we don't have time & money to waste!!
Remember... the things we choose to do in life should never be about being PERFECT...Perfection is not good for our health. We live in a world that makes us feel we are not good enough unless we are PERFECT in all things. I am the first to admit, I am not perfect....I have trouble balancing all of the things I have in life to be responsible for...but, finding easy, time efficient and effective things to maintain some level of health in this fast-paced life, have helped me to feel more balanced and healthier than I would be without them. I hope this tip does the same for you, as it does for me.
Health Tip #1: Sip a cup of tea
Sounds simple enough, right? You are correct ...except there is something you have to add to this simple activity for it to really be effective & healing!!
MINDFULNESS...
I can't stress the meaning of this word enough...it is the MINDFULNESS in sipping the tea, that actually powers the health & healing in this free, easy & effective health tip.
An example of the meaning of MINDFULNESS...
MINDFULNESS:
1. Stop everything you are doing and sip the tea of your choice...all tea is healthy [green tea even better].
2. While you are waiting for the tea to cool enough to drink, don't let the steam that is escaping from the cup go to waste...breathe the steam in & out as deeply as you can...
3. Close your eyes while you take in the healing & warmth from the steam leaving the cup.
4. Go a step further with me and really make a ritual out of this tea sniffing & sipping moment by ...adding a candle, soft music, a warm blanket, a heating pad to soothe tired muscles, the smell of peppermint oil [or any aromatherapy of your choice]...now you have made the 10-15 mins. you spend on tea sipping worthwhile. No time-wasting going on here...let me explain.
Let's look at the healing benefits of ritualistic tea sipping...for lack of a better way of saying this!!
The word "Synergy" comes to mind when I try to explain why adding these other details to your tea sipping is critical.
SYNERGY is defined as: things that work together so the total effect is greater than the sum of the two (or more) parts ...or the sum is greater than its parts. Just sipping tea is o.k...but, sipping tea while you are mindful by adding other elements to it will have a larger impact on your health & well being! I have always loved this word and its meaning...it makes me realize that if I do things in the right way, I can actually cash in on more of the benefits that I might not otherwise capture..., just by creating synergy. Synergy has been proven over and over in research ...related to the understanding of the way our body works, alone! There are so many synergistic events taking place in one simple body movement ..if you knew the events that took place in your body so that you could pick up a pen off a table in front of you [we all take this for granted], you would be completely fascinated!. These amazing events are all happening behind the scene, inside your body where you can't even see them. Unless you have studied anatomy & physiology in some depth...you might never realize this fact!
So...now sipping on a cup of tea may have more benefits than you realized...
1. Green tea by itself, has large health benefits [high in antioxidants that reverse disease in the body caused by free radicals].
2. Deep breathing the steam from the tea while it cools...increases oxygen that helps to detox & de-stress your body, and increases the release of healthy hormones and chemicals that can be naturally released in the body to make us feel calmer, healthier, more balanced and mentally stable....wow!
3. Aromatherapy has been proven to calm the mind, body & spirit...& reverse the release of bad or unhealthy chemicals in the body...as related above.
4. Since we are all energy...Music is a vibrational energy that influences the release of healthy chemicals in our body..choose the music that heals you!
5. I am not an expert on the healing research connected to sitting surrounded by candlelight...but from my own personal experience, I feel a burning candle is soothing and symbolic of all that seems to be good [peace, happiness, health & healing]!!
PLUS...Now this is were things get even better, easier and more effective... for FREE!!
Each of the things you choose to add to your tea sipping will synergistically interact with each other to multiply the healing power behind each individual element added to the ritual...
Now that is time worth spending...or "Time Well Wasted" for all you Brad Paisley fans out there!! Gotta love "synergy"!!
Remember the meaning of "synergy'...and please share some of your own easy, free and effective strategies for reaching health and well being for all of us to use...all of our ideas together, will be POWERFUL!
Remember... the things we choose to do in life should never be about being PERFECT...Perfection is not good for our health. We live in a world that makes us feel we are not good enough unless we are PERFECT in all things. I am the first to admit, I am not perfect....I have trouble balancing all of the things I have in life to be responsible for...but, finding easy, time efficient and effective things to maintain some level of health in this fast-paced life, have helped me to feel more balanced and healthier than I would be without them. I hope this tip does the same for you, as it does for me.
Health Tip #1: Sip a cup of tea
Sounds simple enough, right? You are correct ...except there is something you have to add to this simple activity for it to really be effective & healing!!
MINDFULNESS...
I can't stress the meaning of this word enough...it is the MINDFULNESS in sipping the tea, that actually powers the health & healing in this free, easy & effective health tip.
An example of the meaning of MINDFULNESS...
MINDFULNESS:
1. Stop everything you are doing and sip the tea of your choice...all tea is healthy [green tea even better].
2. While you are waiting for the tea to cool enough to drink, don't let the steam that is escaping from the cup go to waste...breathe the steam in & out as deeply as you can...
3. Close your eyes while you take in the healing & warmth from the steam leaving the cup.
4. Go a step further with me and really make a ritual out of this tea sniffing & sipping moment by ...adding a candle, soft music, a warm blanket, a heating pad to soothe tired muscles, the smell of peppermint oil [or any aromatherapy of your choice]...now you have made the 10-15 mins. you spend on tea sipping worthwhile. No time-wasting going on here...let me explain.
Let's look at the healing benefits of ritualistic tea sipping...for lack of a better way of saying this!!
The word "Synergy" comes to mind when I try to explain why adding these other details to your tea sipping is critical.
SYNERGY is defined as: things that work together so the total effect is greater than the sum of the two (or more) parts ...or the sum is greater than its parts. Just sipping tea is o.k...but, sipping tea while you are mindful by adding other elements to it will have a larger impact on your health & well being! I have always loved this word and its meaning...it makes me realize that if I do things in the right way, I can actually cash in on more of the benefits that I might not otherwise capture..., just by creating synergy. Synergy has been proven over and over in research ...related to the understanding of the way our body works, alone! There are so many synergistic events taking place in one simple body movement ..if you knew the events that took place in your body so that you could pick up a pen off a table in front of you [we all take this for granted], you would be completely fascinated!. These amazing events are all happening behind the scene, inside your body where you can't even see them. Unless you have studied anatomy & physiology in some depth...you might never realize this fact!
So...now sipping on a cup of tea may have more benefits than you realized...
1. Green tea by itself, has large health benefits [high in antioxidants that reverse disease in the body caused by free radicals].
2. Deep breathing the steam from the tea while it cools...increases oxygen that helps to detox & de-stress your body, and increases the release of healthy hormones and chemicals that can be naturally released in the body to make us feel calmer, healthier, more balanced and mentally stable....wow!
3. Aromatherapy has been proven to calm the mind, body & spirit...& reverse the release of bad or unhealthy chemicals in the body...as related above.
4. Since we are all energy...Music is a vibrational energy that influences the release of healthy chemicals in our body..choose the music that heals you!
5. I am not an expert on the healing research connected to sitting surrounded by candlelight...but from my own personal experience, I feel a burning candle is soothing and symbolic of all that seems to be good [peace, happiness, health & healing]!!
PLUS...Now this is were things get even better, easier and more effective... for FREE!!
Each of the things you choose to add to your tea sipping will synergistically interact with each other to multiply the healing power behind each individual element added to the ritual...
Now that is time worth spending...or "Time Well Wasted" for all you Brad Paisley fans out there!! Gotta love "synergy"!!
Remember the meaning of "synergy'...and please share some of your own easy, free and effective strategies for reaching health and well being for all of us to use...all of our ideas together, will be POWERFUL!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Successful Minds are REAL Beautiful video
Have a look at my new video "Successful Minds are REAL Beautiful"...this video has been created to bring awareness,knowledge,and hope to all women who struggle with not feeling o.k. about who they are!! Celebrate who you are TODAY and say with me over & over " I am not PERFECT I am REAL Beautiful"!!
Enjoy! Please pass the MESSAGE IN THIS VIDEO below on to all the women you know...
Successful Minds are REAL Beautiful video
Until we meet again...
KEEP STAYING REAL BEAUTIFUL!!
Enjoy! Please pass the MESSAGE IN THIS VIDEO below on to all the women you know...
Successful Minds are REAL Beautiful video
Until we meet again...
KEEP STAYING REAL BEAUTIFUL!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Attended the Eating Disorder Week Awareness breakfast at the Hilton brought to us by Hope's Garden [www.hopesgarden.org] in London, Ontario. Loved Sophie Gregory Trudeau's message to get "still with yourself" and "celebrate YOU" better! Click the link below for A POWERFUL MESSAGE!!
POWERFUL MESSAGE
POWERFUL MESSAGE
Friday, January 8, 2010
HAVE A REAL Beautiful NEW YEAR!
O.K....I know what you are thinking! It is hard to get so quickly in line with the idea that this will be a REAL Beautiful New Year. It is only just beyond the first week in January and we are all just trying to float into the New Year after the holidays. Yes..."the holidays" that we go almost crazy to prepare for and that come and go in a flash. Many of us are glad to see them go and get back to our "normal' routines. But this process can be so challenging for many of us. The New Year brings a little pressure for us to reflect and come to terms with all of the things we really didn't accomplish in the last year. As much as there may be things we have accomplished...we tend to focus on the things we did not. Well...this is not all bad. It is a good idea to hear those reminders in our minds about the wishes, dreams and goals that have been not been reached in the past year...but only to a limit. I believe our need to be PERFECT drives us to have way too much guilt and remorse over the things we have not accomplished. STOP the guilt right now!! It really is not worth it...honestly. It only takes way your energy to focus on one or two of those things left undone. LET IT GO!
I often use and apply the "FLOAT" strategy in times of transition such as; starting back to school, beginning a New Year, starting a new job, or implementing a new goal. To FLOAT means to take a couple steps back from whatever you are doing and let things unfold and happen on their own while you get back to basics. Gently ease yourself into a routine before you take on more challenging tasks... Just like a bike chain that has just been oiled...it takes a couple turns of the petal to lubricate the chain before the bike will function properly and ride smooth.
Another important fact to remember is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We are all feeling silmilar to one degree or another. It is normal to feel out of sync, nervous or a little anxious at the begining of a New Year, new task, new job...and so on. KEEP THIS IN MIND THOUGH: The physiological sensations that happen in our bodies when we feel anxious [for what ever reason] will automatically connect with all of our negative memories of the times we have failed/our imperfections, times we have been stressed, or times when we were anxious beginning an unfamiliar task for the first time. It is natural that we will feel some anxiety...just as a performer will feel anxiety before the stage curtain is opened, so do we feel similar sensations during the situations I have related above.
I think most of us tend to connect with all of our personal imperfections in times of re-adjustment, re-grouping or beginning an unfamiliar task. The physiological sensation connected to nervousness/anxiety [called "flight or fight" response] can be confusing if you are not educated on its purpose in the body. When you feel this kind of anxiety, your body may just be providing the energy required to complete a task...not necessarily fleeing from a dangerous situation. One of the most critical reasons why the "flight or fright response" exists is to protect us from harm or danger. Our body miraculously adjusts and releases hormones [adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol], re-shunts blood away from our brain and digestive systems to our extremeities, and increases our sharp sense of awareness & instincts; all to provide us with the power/energy, awarenss and intincts to remove ourselves safely from a threatenig situation to a place of safety....once again, our body is so amazing!!
BUT....
It is important to understand how your body works in this regard, in that, as much as this is a critical life saving response in our body, it is both a blessing and a curse. In our fast paced society with its unreal expectations that escalate levels of stress for us all, many of us are releasing our "flight or fright hormones" on a regular basis. This reality means we are at risk for negatively impacting out physical and mental health and our risk for illness. Our immune system becomes weakened, our ability to see and think in positive ways is diminished because the flight or fright hormones cause the mind to focus on perceived threats, therefore, it is in the mode of focusing on danger, threat, negative energy, and so on. YOU can see how this can make it next to impossible for one to see things in a more positive light or feel at peace. This is where the miraculous ability of our body turns on us if we are not careful.
Think about it...If you are someone who is living in "survival mode", otherwise known as "flight or flight", you would need to find an outlet to release the toxic hormones that are building up in your system so that you can bring your mind, body and soul back to a place of calm so that all systems within the body can work as they were really intended. If you don't release these hormones from your body with a good run, walk, massage or workout of some kind, these hormones become toxic, stay floating around in your body and keep you in survival mode...not o.k. for your physical and mental health.
So...my advice for a REAL Beautiful New Year is to remember how your body works in regards to danger, threats and stress...it responds the same way for all three of these concerns. Do what is necessary to bring your body back to balance so it is not negatively affected by stress hormones and you will see how much more calmly & peacefuly you will greet the New Year. FLOAT first and then pace yourself with regular checks to make sure you are in balance....
REMEMBER: There will always be times when we cross the line and get out of balance...we are human. But often, less is more: that is why I believe as well that moderation seems to be the key to health & life often...eat, drink, work, play, exercise, spend, save, talk, remain silent, worry, reflect, ...all in moderation. It seems when we go beyond moderate limits consistently in any one thing, the good that that thing brings begins to backfire.
Until next time...
A quote from James Allen
”The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom”.
Make this a REAL Beautiful year! I think YOU deserve it. ..take care of your mind, body & soul.
I often use and apply the "FLOAT" strategy in times of transition such as; starting back to school, beginning a New Year, starting a new job, or implementing a new goal. To FLOAT means to take a couple steps back from whatever you are doing and let things unfold and happen on their own while you get back to basics. Gently ease yourself into a routine before you take on more challenging tasks... Just like a bike chain that has just been oiled...it takes a couple turns of the petal to lubricate the chain before the bike will function properly and ride smooth.
Another important fact to remember is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We are all feeling silmilar to one degree or another. It is normal to feel out of sync, nervous or a little anxious at the begining of a New Year, new task, new job...and so on. KEEP THIS IN MIND THOUGH: The physiological sensations that happen in our bodies when we feel anxious [for what ever reason] will automatically connect with all of our negative memories of the times we have failed/our imperfections, times we have been stressed, or times when we were anxious beginning an unfamiliar task for the first time. It is natural that we will feel some anxiety...just as a performer will feel anxiety before the stage curtain is opened, so do we feel similar sensations during the situations I have related above.
I think most of us tend to connect with all of our personal imperfections in times of re-adjustment, re-grouping or beginning an unfamiliar task. The physiological sensation connected to nervousness/anxiety [called "flight or fight" response] can be confusing if you are not educated on its purpose in the body. When you feel this kind of anxiety, your body may just be providing the energy required to complete a task...not necessarily fleeing from a dangerous situation. One of the most critical reasons why the "flight or fright response" exists is to protect us from harm or danger. Our body miraculously adjusts and releases hormones [adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol], re-shunts blood away from our brain and digestive systems to our extremeities, and increases our sharp sense of awareness & instincts; all to provide us with the power/energy, awarenss and intincts to remove ourselves safely from a threatenig situation to a place of safety....once again, our body is so amazing!!
BUT....
It is important to understand how your body works in this regard, in that, as much as this is a critical life saving response in our body, it is both a blessing and a curse. In our fast paced society with its unreal expectations that escalate levels of stress for us all, many of us are releasing our "flight or fright hormones" on a regular basis. This reality means we are at risk for negatively impacting out physical and mental health and our risk for illness. Our immune system becomes weakened, our ability to see and think in positive ways is diminished because the flight or fright hormones cause the mind to focus on perceived threats, therefore, it is in the mode of focusing on danger, threat, negative energy, and so on. YOU can see how this can make it next to impossible for one to see things in a more positive light or feel at peace. This is where the miraculous ability of our body turns on us if we are not careful.
Think about it...If you are someone who is living in "survival mode", otherwise known as "flight or flight", you would need to find an outlet to release the toxic hormones that are building up in your system so that you can bring your mind, body and soul back to a place of calm so that all systems within the body can work as they were really intended. If you don't release these hormones from your body with a good run, walk, massage or workout of some kind, these hormones become toxic, stay floating around in your body and keep you in survival mode...not o.k. for your physical and mental health.
So...my advice for a REAL Beautiful New Year is to remember how your body works in regards to danger, threats and stress...it responds the same way for all three of these concerns. Do what is necessary to bring your body back to balance so it is not negatively affected by stress hormones and you will see how much more calmly & peacefuly you will greet the New Year. FLOAT first and then pace yourself with regular checks to make sure you are in balance....
REMEMBER: There will always be times when we cross the line and get out of balance...we are human. But often, less is more: that is why I believe as well that moderation seems to be the key to health & life often...eat, drink, work, play, exercise, spend, save, talk, remain silent, worry, reflect, ...all in moderation. It seems when we go beyond moderate limits consistently in any one thing, the good that that thing brings begins to backfire.
Until next time...
A quote from James Allen
”The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom”.
Make this a REAL Beautiful year! I think YOU deserve it. ..take care of your mind, body & soul.
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