health

Finding Your Exercise Groove

July 28, 2015 by Joni Leave a Comment

Sustainable Exercise is the Goal

I truly believe exercise consistency comes down to mindset and how what you associate exercise inside your beautiful brain. If you need to push yourself to exercise, it is very difficult to make it sustainable. Let’s face it; any chance you get will be a good one to avoid it.

Tony Robbins talks about the push and pull factor. You need to move away from the push and into the pulling force. To find out what you really associate something with, especially if it’s something you say you want to be doing but don’t seem to be doing, he has 4 questions you can ask yourself ( he calls this the pain/pleasure questions):

1. What pain do you associate with doing it?
2. What pleasure do you associate by not doing it?
3. What will it cost you if you don’t do it?
4. What will you get if you do do it?

I used these 4 questions to get my meditation practice to a consistent level and it worked! Take some quiet time to really look into these questions.

Making time for exercise

While I agree with this suggestion, there’s another huge factor to consider; your already busy schedule. The trick is not to ADD exercise to your already full and exhausting day, but see what you can CROWD OUT in order to get consistent exercise into your schedule. Is there anything you can delegate, give up or hire out in order to have time for exercise? Don’t get up earlier and lose sleep or give up your lunch hour because that will exhaust you more in the long run. Once you finagle your schedule to include consistent exercise, put it on your calendar, and treat it like any other important appointment.

Find something you enjoy and make time for it. Explore. If it is yoga then find a series you enjoy on video/TV or go to a studio. If it’s kayaking then find a way to incorporate it into your week. Just like food there is no one way. Don’t force yourself to do exercise you hate. It won’t last and you will not make the time for it. I speak from experience!

How much time is necessary?

Remember exercise is all about health not about weight loss. Yes, exercise helps, but food is by far the best mechanism for weight loss. Think short bursts or ‘moments’ of exercise. This is your minimum target. It doesn’t matter how you get that exercise but 10 minute minimums are your minimum goal with at least one dedicated exercise session lasting 30 minutes in any one week. This will circulate your blood, get your lymph system active, and stretch your muscles a bit.

Set the number of minutes that you want to achieve each week. 90 minutes is the low end of the recommendation for good health. We’ll start there. In a week that could be:

6x10mins and 1×30 mins = 90 mins = Goal Reached.

You might want to do 3×30 minute sessions and you will reach the 90min goal in just 3 days – better yet you might really prioritize and do 30 minutes a day (maybe 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at lunch or in the evening) with one day off and really see results with 180 minutes of exercise a week.

Your exercise can be at any pace from walking, rebounding on a mini trampoline to jogging or lifting weights, but if you get huffy puffy that would be great (huffy puffy is when it is a little bit difficult to talk while exercising).

Make exercise a priority

Prioritize your exercise program, because in the end it is simply a choice. You either choose to make it a priority or you choose not to make it a priority. Let’s face it, the exercise needed for good health is not hard. Now, go get that beautiful body moving!

Start a Gratitude Practice

December 2, 2014 by Joni Leave a Comment

Gratitude. It’s not just for social etiquette.

As tiny humans, from the time we were able to interact with adults, we are taught to say thank you. Thank you is drilled into our heads as a polite thing to say. It’s part of the social norm, the social etiquette of a civilized society. We recite from rote and pay no mind to what it really means to us physiologically.

Recently, the science, yes, I said science, of gratitude has really blossomed. Positive Psychology is a relatively new field in science that looks at how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. Gratitude plays a big role. Doesn’t matter how young, old, sick or tired you are – gratitude helps. Even “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a Rather Large Amount of Gratitude” (A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh).

Benefits of Gratitude

Increases your happiness
Protects you from stress and negativity
Reduces your materialism
Leads to better relationships
Improves sleep quality and duration
Increases immunity

Really want to understand how scientists study the relationship between gratitude and biological responses in our bodies? Watch Dr. Wendy Mendes of the University of California, San Francisco, discuss her research, “Effects of Measured and Manipulated Gratitude on Biomarkers of Health and Aging.” Super interesting and proof positive that gratitude makes you healthier while making your life sweeter!

Barriers to Gratitude

There are barriers to gratitude and they are self-imposed. Before you read further, promise to be candid with yourself and see if there is something you can improve upon in this list.

Thoughtlessness – Ouch! None of us like to feel like we are thoughtless, but when we run the gerbil wheel of life instead of mindfully walking our own path things are forgotten. For example:

• Too busy doing
• Not understanding where true help comes from
• No time to dedicate to others
• Not paying attention to others’ feelings, comments or behaviors

Discontent – Follow me here and ask yourself the question, “How can I share true positive feelings if my mind is cluttered with negative emotions?”

Selfishness – Another ouch! Be honest with yourself and see if you have any of the following habits.

• Disregarding team efforts
• Taking credit on the back of others
• Motivating by personal gain
• Disrupting conversations or meetings
• All day on the phone with no respect for others

Gratitude Practice

Something so simple can garner huge benefits in living a more sustainably healthy and happy life. Living an attitude of gratitude is not difficult, but may feel awkward at first. Remember, as humans, we tend to gravitate to the familiar – whether it is good for us or not. This includes our thoughts. Try these tips to flex that gratitude muscle inside. Dust it off and work it out real good! You will see and feel results. Others will notice it in you too. Once you see and feel the difference, don’t stop. Push through the pull of ‘normal’ and create a vibrant new normal for yourself.

1. Journal – Scientists have found keeping a gratitude list can increase your well-being and significantly increase your happiness. There is data showing daily or even weekly gratitude journaling is helpful. It’s a good practice to take 10 minutes a day to write down things you are grateful for and that bring you joy. They can be big or small as long as you tune into the feelings of gratitude for having them in your life right now.

2. Meditate – Dedicate a few minutes each day to gratitude. If you are new to meditation there are powerful guided meditations centered on gratitude to get you started. This short video by Brother David Steindl-Rast is fabulous as well. Great reminder – watch it and bookmark that baby for future reference!

I have faith in your ability to adopt an attitude of gratitude. My heart swells with gratitude that you are here reading this – right this very moment. Peace and blessings…

6 Reasons for Dry Brushing Your Skin

June 13, 2014 by Joni Leave a Comment

Did you realize that our skin is our largest organ? Think about that for a minute. How well do you protect and give it the loving attention it needs? Our skin takes fabulous care of us! It functions as both protection and a mode of elimination. Dry brushing is a method of daily hygiene that has many benefits – below you find just a few!

Dry Brushing Benefits

Removes dried, dead cells that block the pores. Daily brushing allows the skin to breathe easier and increases its ability to eliminate the waste products of your metabolism.
Increases circulation of the blood and lymph vessels that lie close to the surface of the skin. The blood, fluid, and its contents are returned to the heart for redistribution or elimination.
Increases the nutrients to the skin. By clearing out stagnant materials, there is an increased oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, and other nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc… are brought to the area.
Removes waste products of cellular metabolism through blood vessels.
Decreases the workload on the rest of the body.
Warms the skin.

Convinced you should add this to the daily regimen?

dry brushing tools — Always opt for natural bristled brushes.

Tips to get started dry brushing:

Always use a natural bristled brush. (Just say NO to synthetic!)
Use a firm upward stroke. (Brushing toward your heart facilitates better blood and lymph circulation through the body, which doctors agree is important for better health.)
Start at your feet and work up the entire body front and back. (Concentrate on areas where lymph nodes are prominent; back of knees, inner thighs, under arms. Avoid brushing the more sensitive skin around your breast!)

Once you make this a habit, you will be rewarded with softer skin and better functioning lymph system.