What’s YOUR Strategy for a Healthy Future? What if it’s the WRONG Strategy?

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America on DrugsI went out for a bike ride this afternoon… and my thoughts were laser-focused on the opportunity we have tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the annual summer ‘festival’ in our town – a BIG shin dig with hundreds and hundreds of people strolling through the streets. We’re having an Open House in our practice, with a major focus being the introduction of The Innate Lifestyle Program to the many new folks we’ll meet.

I’ve spent the last month or so venting to my dearest hubby about how frustrating it is to KNOW that you’re holding the key in your hand… the key that could literally save someone’s life… save MANY lives… yet to have people just pass it by. Too many people are doing NOTHING … or equally, if not more, dangerous, they’re doing the WRONG things… following the wrong advice so commonly given in the wrong paradigm.

We see people taking SO much more medication than ever before… being diagnosed with SO much more “stuff” than ever before… doing absolutely CRAZY forms of ‘doctor-recommended’ treatments. It’s just totally insane.

Yet they think WE’RE the loopy ones. I seriously don’t get it.

Evidence-based science fully supports the fact that our environments (internal and external) will determine our gene expression… will determine whether we’re healthy or sick. What shapes your internal environment? Your lifestyle choices.

Doing “nothing” is not an option. Health doesn’t just happen if you wish for it hard enough.

It’s not enough to ‘just’ work out… or to ‘just’ eat healthy… or to ‘just’ manage your stress. You need to tie it ALL together… consistently, for an extended period of time. THAT’S how you’ll create health and avoid illness. It’s not rocket science.

Anyhow, back to the bike ride.

As soon as I walked into the house, I sat down at the computer and typed out some of the thoughts I’d been having on the ride… trying to get them in some logical order. Trying to see if they might finally make sense to someone ELSE other than my husband and I and our current Innate Lifestyle Program members!!

Here’s the string of thoughts…

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you can clearly see that we’ve got BIG problems with our health. Statistics don’t lie. Just look at your own family and friends… we’re not getting any healthier.

What we’re doing clearly isn’t working.

Health doesn’t just ‘happen’. It requires deliberate action.

Are you taking action? Or are you just waiting for a diagnosis of some illness before you get off your duff and DO something? How do you think that’s going to work out for you?

What is your strategy for a healthy future? (Do you have a strategy?) What is your strategy for avoiding chronic illness?

What if your strategy is the WRONG one? What if it’s the same one that’s allowing so many people to get sick NOW?

What are you doing each and every day that is BUILDING your health… and decreasing ALL your risk factors for disease? Does treating the symptoms and popping pills BUILD better health and make you stronger for the future? By the way, do those drug commercials sound remotely SAFE or SANE to you??? Try “watching” them with your EYES CLOSED… just LISTEN… ignore the actors paid to look happy, healthy, and ‘healed’. LISTEN.

Do you think you need to do something BIG and extravagant and difficult in order to achieve better health or to regain the health you’ve already lost?

Guess what? It’s the simple steps… the RIGHT steps… made consistently over time that will create the massive transformation you need to secure your healthy future.

The right steps – based on scientific evidence, not marketing hype. Real people are getting real results… real transformation. They’re figuring out how to keep on building health and avoid sickness for LIFE. They OWN that now – they have the right strategy and the right plan of action.

This is the plan for getting your health back – for getting your LIFE back.

No matter where you are – currently ‘healthy’ or currently sick – you’ve got to keep BUILDING HEALTH in order to create a healthy future. Make sense? Even the ‘sickest’ person has only ONE way back to health – BUILD more health! Make more healthy choices. Do whatever else you feel you need to do… but the ONLY WAY OUT for good is to BUILD health! It’s so simple… but the so-called experts are missing it! Build health – or you don’t get to HAVE health!

Every day that you do NOTHING or do the WRONG thing is another day you’re moving in the WRONG direction.

Maybe you just didn’t know… nobody told you. We’re telling you. Are you listening? Are you ready?

Why on EARTH would you wait any longer?

Your solution is here. Right now. It’s not hard. It’s time. It’s YOUR time.

The Innate Lifestyle Program – give us 12 months – we’ll give you a Lifetime of Better Health!

(If you’re “local”, we’ve got two upcoming free seminars to fill you in… to set you on the right path. Whether you join the program or not, you’ll never see your health the same again. Join us on Thursday August 12th at 6 pm or Tuesday September 14th at 6 pm)

See… my BRAIN gets a work out when I exercise, too!! ; )

Healthy Rituals to Start the Day in a De-Stressed Way!

imageslake

imageslake

I was just thinking how much more I enjoy mornings from spring through fall.

We are blessed to live on a beautiful lake, and I take full advantage of all its tranquil powers as often as possible! Very early each morning, I have a treasured little ritual where I walk out on the dock amidst all the sounds of nature waking up… and I actually breathe!

It’s amazing to me how quickly I can get caught up in the craziness of the day, and forget to breathe! All the more reason that I truly cherish my moments on the dock. I feel deeply relaxed, renewed and peaceful.

This is when and where I find it the easiest to connect to God, to connect to nature, to give thanks, to pray for all that’s on my heart, and to gain the strength – and sanity! – to move forward as the best version of myself possible. I pray, I visualize, I do affirmations (silently or very, very quietly!), and I listen to the life happening around me. I also enjoy sitting out there and meditating, but that usually only happens on non-school mornings!

I know I’m a better person as a result of these rituals… I have better responses to what’s happening around me… I feel better equipped to handle “life”!

Ahhh… so nice.

Too easily, we can overlook this component of our health and wellness. I know I have. We suffer for it. We end up in a chronic physiological stress response, regardless of how well we’re doing with nutrition or exercise. We need balance, and the consistent addition of purity and sufficiency, in our emotional, mental, and spiritual lives as well in order to experience radiant wellness.

(By the way, in the winter, I still do morning rituals… from the comfort of a cozy blanket, sitting inside!)

Do you have your “dock”? What do YOU do… where do YOU go each day to get right with yourself and the world around you?

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Working Through Stress ~ Choices, Intention & Gratitude

A few months ago, we made a big decision in our family. It was a decision that didn’t come easily… there were many pro’s and con’s on each side of the ‘argument’. Ultimately we “had to do what we had to do”, for now anyway.

When I have the presence of mind to step outside the situation and become an observer of my life for a little while, I find the whole thing pretty interesting! It’s providing me the perfect opportunity to practice what I preach on many levels.

Since I wasn’t 100% behind the decision we went with, of course I’ve experienced much stress surrounding this issue for the past couple months.

Sound familiar? How many times have I urged readers here, “Your beliefs and your actions/behaviors have got to be aligned with each other in order for you to have success… and less stress.”

Yep. I know this!

I keep trying to be OK with our decision… to embrace it. But since I haven’t done so fully, the gap between what I truly believe and want, and what we’re feeling we ‘need’ to do right now, is causing stress. My beliefs don’t fully align with our actions. Recipe for stress!

The challenge, of course, is that the other option wasn’t perfect either!! Figures. Either way, I would be experiencing some stress in the gap.

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me how we were doing with our decision and our big change. I moaned about it for awhile. Pathetic! That didn’t make anything better.

Then I resolved to saying, “Ah, it’ll be all right… I just need to get used to it. I’ll get used to it… just a little more time.”

On my way home after having that conversation, I was thinking about what I had said. I thought, “Well, that’s pretty lame! ‘I’ll get used to it’?! Right! I’ll get used to it once: (a) I lower my standards, and/or (b) I start caring LESS about the situation!!”

I pondered that for a few days, wondering if that’s how we all feel on some level, conscious or not, when we do things that aren’t necessarily our first choice. We lower our standards, or resign ourselves to less caring about the situation.

I don’t have the answer, by the way… I was just wondering! lol!

After a few more days of realizing these “in-limbo” feelings are really quite useless, I remembered that I always have a choice. This time around, I have a choice in how I’ll feel about the whole scenario, and what I’ll focus on the most.

It would be SO easy to focus on all the things that are clearly not ideal… are not as I wish they could be. Great. Where will that get me? I’ll continue to convince myself that “I’m right”… but I’ll also continue to be stressed out, negative and feel like crap about this decision!! Not health-promoting, to say the least.

In every situation there ARE blessings. I really had this lesson reinforced as I walked my mom’s breast cancer journey with her. Sometimes we have to look a little harder for those blessings than other times, but they ARE always there.

It takes intention.

In the weeks that have passed since this little self-help-talk to myself, I’ve shifted my focus… for the most part! I’m making the effort to intentionally choose to focus on “the good stuff” about our decision each day. Some days, it’s a BIG stretch to find the good stuff… but I find something! Our decision has caused some stress, some discomfort and some uncertainty… like most changes do, but it has also opened up some new doors that were previously closed.

I guess I’m just thinking about the various paths we can end up on in this little journey of ours. Some planned, some planned for us, some that completely blind-side us! We may take a little time to find our groove on the new path, but if we open up to the opportunity and the blessings, and keep an attitude of gratitude surrounding the situation, pretty soon we find a groove that can work for us… at least on some level!

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“Just One Thing” ~ De-Stress by Shifting Your Thoughts to Gratitude

Recently, I was teaching a seminar on the incredible power of our thoughts, our beliefs, our self-talk and our emotions and how they all directly affect our level of health.

Mounting scientific evidence has clearly demonstrated for years now that the old adage “it’s all in your head” is truly ridiculous. What’s going on in your head is a dangerously underestimated piece of the Health & Happiness Puzzle! Gone are the days of blowing off ‘positive thinking’ as a New Age mentality or hippie mantra. What you consistently think about, talk about and emote WILL shape the outcome of your health… and your life.

Better take it more seriously. Time to be responsible with what you’re allowing IN, and what you’re allowing to cultivate in that pretty little brain of yours!

Yes, you need to fuel up with the right nutrition in order to build a healthy body and brilliant brain. Yes, you must move regularly in order to function properly and feel your best. BUT, you can do these two things ’til the cows come home… and if you’re in a cycle of Stinkin’ Thinkin’, you will not experience optimal health and happiness. Your negative thoughts, attitude, emotions, beliefs, and self-talk will make sure of that. Time to shift thoughts – time to take control of what’s going on in between your ears!

If YOU don’t determine what goes on up there, who does?! That’s a scary thought!

This is an overwhelmingly large topic to address here. So, for the purpose of this brief article, I simply wanted to share a revelation that one particular seminar attendee experienced. It was a breakthrough for him. In the past, this same little gem has gotten me through the toughest time of my life, too. I figured I’d better share it!

This gentleman was sharing with me that he was going through a very, very challenging time in his life. He had suffered a knee injury while on vacation  many years ago and is still experiencing significant pain as a result. All medical testing has told him that it’s a degenerative condition and there’s not really anything they can do at this point, other than medicate him.

(By the way, in the field I’m in, I see a lot of people with pain issues and chronic illness issues. This man is not alone. In fact, I’ve had a very similar conversation with a handful of people in the past month alone. I just chose to share HIS particular situation because he gave me permission to!)

Anyhow, I noticed that in the time that I’ve known him, he has become quite skilled at listing all the things that he CAN’T do anymore because of his injury. Over and over again. He would talk about every possible negative association to this injury possible. He no longer plays the sports he loves. He no longer rides his motorcycle. He has a hard time getting up and down stairs. He doesn’t want to go on vacation in case he gets hurt again. He can’t do much as far as exercise anymore. And more…

Now, he has pain almost all the time – with some good days mixed in there, too – so I can understand his enormous challenge in overcoming this type of thinking. Again, like so many others in his shoes, he expressed that “the pain is always there… it’s a constant reminder of how everything went wrong and all the things I can’t do… how can I possibly think “happier” thoughts when the pain is always there?! This has ruined my life! How can I think about being “happy” when this pain is always lurking?”

Good question.

My full response was MUCH longer than what I’ll say here (Gee, imagine that!), but ultimately, I asked him to shift his focus with me… right then and there. I wanted him to tell me something he was thankful for. In fact, I said “Snap out of it… for just a few seconds, at least.” I understand that he’s got a big battle to deal with now. I understand that his life isn’t what he had envisioned. I understand that he has had to change his lifestyle. BUT… does all that mean that he can’t still choose happiness?

We talked about how things could have been SO much worse, as far as his injury is concerned. We talked about the relative significance of a non-life-threatening injury as compared to all the atrocities in the world. We talked about what good could possibly come from re-hashing the details and negativity of the injury and its subsequent lifestyle changes.

In fact, we talked about how his constant focus on and attachment to his injury was his choice. It IS possible to feel pain and NOT be overcome with negativity, frustration and hopelessness. It IS possible and I believe it is NECESSARY.

Holy cow!! I asked him, “How much more of your life are you going to throw away by allowing this to go on?” You are the ONLY one who can shift your thoughts on this. If you don’t I can guarantee you’ll spend the rest of your life exactly like this – negative, pissed off (sorry), sulking, brooding… and in PAIN! Your body simply cannot heal effectively when you’re full of toxic emotions.

Man, I tell you, he was hard pressed to come up with some positive things in his life! That’s how deep the negativity was running. I had to gently prod him and remind him that he was a great man… an ALIVE man! That seemed like a pretty important starting point! He has an incredible, loving, supportive wife. He has a close-knit family that he sees regularly. He loves his new job – he gets to make a difference in our world and our planet. He and his wife have financial security. No one in his family has any chronic or life-threatening illness. He’s a talented musician, artist and writer. He has a fabulous circle of friends… and on and on. He’s truly a great guy.

Funny how one knee had clouded his thinking so severely.

God puts us here to shine our greatness all around us… NO MATTER WHAT. Our core values can come shining through the murkiest conditions. They MUST come through… or else what. What?! What else are you gonna’ DO? Be angry your whole life?!

We talked about the transformational power of GRATITUDE. Having a grateful heart changes everything. Everything. It’s one of the most important things I can possibly recommend to anyone suffering on any level. Gratitude lifts us to a higher level. Up there, there are more important, loftier things than physical pain.

No, the pain may not go away as soon as you’d like… or maybe not ever. So… who will you BE in spite of the pain? Who will you BE along with the pain? Who will you BE in order to overcome the pain?

Allowing so much focus on the negatives directly sabotages a grateful heart. Likewise, a grateful heart overpowers toxic thinking 100% of the time. It’s not even a fair contest!

It’s not always easy. But it IS simple. You can go into “training” right now. This might be a new skill for you… to shift your thoughts to those of gratitude and appreciation rather than focusing on all the worldly trials and tribulations of our days. Sure, those will always come up. But once you develop this skill of finding the blessings in spite of it all, those trials and tribulations are far more manageable.

So, what happened to the gentleman from the seminar? In the weeks since our discussion, he has made the consistent effort to begin and end his day by affirming all that he is grateful for and all that he has to appreciate.  In return for his investment, he is beginning to notice a lessening of his pain… but more importantly, a significant improvement in his overall outlook and attitude! He says that he feels consistently joyful for the first time in years.

I feel the same way every time I remember to do this during moments of stress. It’s like a secret formula for living a happier life!

Each day… as often as you can throughout your day… look for the blessings. They ARE always there. A grateful heart is a key to overcoming stress, pain and any negativity. What an amazing gift we’ve been given!

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Healthy Mindset Theme of the Day… Let Your Greatness Shine!

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Copy of P1030993

Each day, the kids and I talk about a “big idea” for the day. We talk about some theme or character trait or mindset that we can focus on in an attempt to lift us up from low level stinkin’ thinkin’ and stress. They’re learning that THEY decide the type of people they will be… their circumstances, surroundings and other people do not dictate that.

It’s a work in progress, for sure!! (As it is for many of us grown-ups, too!)

This morning on the way to school, I was sharing the idea with them of  “Letting your greatness shine”. We talked about how God places greatness in each and every one of us… and it’s up to us to let it out. We talked about situations that they might encounter throughout a typical school day, and how they could make a different-than-usual choice in that circumstance… one that would allow their inner greatness to shine through.

It was really a wonderful ride to school this morning. One of those moments that made me feel like there’s still a shred of hope for that elusive Mother-of-the-Year award to find me one of these decades!

Once we were in the school, I was helping my son get situated in his Junior Kindergarten class room. I could tell that his anxiety over mommy departing was once again building up. I simply smiled at him and said, “Remember what’s inside you, OK. You can do this.”

His teacher overheard and asked, “What’s inside you? What’s mommy talking about?”

He quietly responded in a very shy voice, “I have greatness inside me. Today, I’m going to let it shine… even if I’m sad or miss mommy… I’m going to look at the sunshine and remember that MY light is just as bright!”

Awwwww… I just wanted to squeeze that little guy to pieces right then and there! I gave him a quick little kiss and a big hug… then scooted out of there before he could see the tears in mommy’s eyes.

It made my heart SO happy! : )

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Healthy Mindset and Emotional Balance

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Being completely healthy includes our emimages meditationotional, mental, social and spiritual health in addition to our physical health.

Health is a state of consistent homeostatic cell function… a state of consistent overall balance.

Emotional and mental health doesn’t mean that we never have stressful moments… or days… or weeks… or chapters of our life! No. Stress if part of life.

Just like we do with our nutrition and exercise if we expect better health, we need to fill up with the “good things” in those areas first in order to experience optimal function and health. In the areas of mental and emotional health, it means we need to “plug in” to whatever fills us up. We need to nurture ourselves – our souls, our spirits, our minds.

Whatever this means for you, whether it’s prayer, meditation, relaxation, journalling… whatever it is that fulfills you, centers you, balances you, restores you and reconnects you, THAT’S what you need to do. Diligently.

The stress of life will always be there. Sure, you can probably get rid of some of it. But some will remain. How bland life would be if it were all smooth sailing! (I’d be willing to try it out, though, if God’s looking to run a little experiment!)

When we’ve consistently been building our solid foundation for mental and emotional balance, we’re able to see the stress through different eyes. Maybe we don’t respond to it the same way anymore. Maybe it doesn’t throw us so far off track. Maybe we’re able to see the light sooner. Maybe we’re able to climb back on board and get back to creating happiness more effectively.

In some personal way, having a rich, solid foundation of faith, balance, peace, gratitude, love and joy, seems to get us through those tough times with fewer battle wounds.

We’re only given what we can handle. Each challenge shapes us. Every challenge and painful experience is an opportunity for our greatness to shine through… an opportunity to become the person God would have us be. I sometimes think that the deeper and more raw the pain is, the richer and more profound the blessings are. We are all so blessed, no matter what.

God is so good.

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Word & Thought of the Day ~ Patience

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Copy of P1040706

Yesterday, our word and focus of the day was Patience.

I knew that after being gone for a few days, that getting back into a routine could potentially be a catalyst for sibling battles! These two spend a LOT of time with each other!

So, we started off our day talking about patience. (Funny how quickly I lost mine yesterday! That God can be such a funny guy!)

Anyhow, we discussed some of the classic points regarding patience ~ patience being a virtue, all good things coming to those who wait, etc. Really, I wanted them to understand, once again, that they play a direct role in their emotions. How they react to situations or other people is completely up to them.

So, a pretty neat thing happened for them last night. For a good part of the past year, the kids have been asking us if we could get a kitten. My husband and I have been dragging our feet on this for a variety of reasons. We’ve asked them to just “chill” with the asking… so they have (for the most part).

Yesterday, one of our practice members came in and told hubby about a “very cool kitten that you have to see.” Long story short, she IS a really cool little kitten… and she should be an official member of our family later today!

The kids are thrilled, of course! We made a point to tie in the word and thought of the day so they could see that patience doesn’t mean “it’ll never happen”… it just means “chillaxing” for a bit and staying positive… assuming the best. Taking a deep breath and slowing down on the reactions and trying not to force situations.

As usual, the lesson applies to ME as much or even more so than the kids!

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Happiness is Part of Being Healthy. Choose Wisely!

Choose happiness!
Choose happiness!

Choose happiness!

Here’s an attitude adjustment for the day:

If it is to be, then it is up to ME!

What are you waiting for? Nobody’s going to hand you your ideal life on a platter! You’ve got to create it!

Want health? Create it. Make healthier choices.

Want happiness? Create it. Choose happiness… no matter what.

Sound too simple? It probably is! What are your options? Choosing sickness and stress and sadness and negativity? NAH! Choose what you want… over and over and over.

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Motion is Life ~ Cardio Work Outs

I did a nice little running work out while I was visiting my homeland over the weekend!

Running on the same roads that I used to run over and over again years ago while I was growing up is always a trip! I never quite know exactly how it’ll affect me… sometimes it’s a trip down memory lane with lots of cracking up about fun times… sometimes it’s just hard to run down the same road that mom and I spent so many hours on together, walking, talking, laughing, loving. There have been some painful runs since mom died.

This time, apparently it inspired me to pretend I was back in high school and doing my track work outs! A completely different type of pain!

I went out for a nice 3.5 mile run… no hills at ALL where I grew up.

On my way back, the track team sprinter in me made an appearance! I did 1/2 dozen 100 meter full-out wind sprints… right where I used to train “back in the day”.

Did I say “full-out”? Yeah. The next day, my thighs were laughing!

I’m not sure if it was just because of the sprinting, since I DO do sprints pretty regularly. Maybe I pushed it even harder than usual, or maybe it was because of going on a run first, or maybe it was because I hadn’t had much protein for the previous 18 or so hours, or maybe it was because of the intense resistance training work out the day before running, or maybe it was because I had already been running up and down “the field” for an hour, playing soccer with the kids.

Who knows! All I know is that I felt like a teenager again when I was running! That was a blast!

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Healthy Mindset Shift

What you think about the most, and how you talk to yourself, determines your beliefs.

Your beliefs determine your behaviors – your choices.

Your behaviors/choices determine whether you will be healthy or sick.

Idea:

Start talking to yourself differently about healthy lifestyle choices.

“I love how I feel after I exercise!”

“I love how great I feel when I eat fresh, pure foods!”

“I feel so relaxed and peaceful when I wake up and find something to be grateful for!”

“I love going to bed earlier – I feel so much better in the morning!”

You get the idea…

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BettER Health Doesn’t Need to be HardER

Science has proven that our genes do not determine our level of health or whether or not we will develop chronic illness. Our genes do not make decisions.

Although you may have a genetic ‘code’ for a chronic  illness like cancer, or heart disease, or depression, etc., you won’t necessarily EVER express those illnesses. Just because the gene carries that message doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

It’s clearly our environment that will determine whether or not your genes will express their message. Our environment is created as a result of how we eat, how we move and how we think (or adapt to and respond to the world around us).

This is known as the science of Epigenetics – how environment determines our health.

Regardless of how many people in your family have or have not developed a certain illness, YOUR health is up to YOU and the environment you create.

We all know examples of how this works both ways. We all know someone who comes from a family with a long history of certain chronic illnesses, yet that individual has never developed any symptom of the illness. On the other hand, most of us can think of someone we know who was the “first and only” in their family to develop a particular chronic illness.

That’s because chronic illness isn’t genetic, the way we’ve always thought.

So, what does this mean for you… today?

It means that every healthy choice you make matters. Every time you choose purity and sufficiency over toxicity and deficiency in the way you eat, move or think, you move TOWARD health and AWAY from chronic illness.

While “being healthy” may seem like an overwhelming task, getting healthIER is something you can chunk down into simple, easy, better choices.

You can choose to have a few sips of water here and there throughout your day. You can choose to add fresh fruit to your breakfast. You can choose to add a salad to your lunch or dinner. You can choose to pack some healthy snacks to eat at work rather than junk from the vending machine. You can choose to find something positive about a seemingly negative situation. You can choose to get outside for a break rather than turn on the television. You can choose to hug a loved one when you get the chance rather than take the relationship for granted. You can choose to go to bed a few minutes earlier rather than watching the late night ‘bad news’. You can choose to go for a walk while you’re eating your ice cream cone rather than sit on the bench. Sometimes you can even choose love over winning every argument or having the last word!

HealthIER isn’t necessarily hardER!

Begin by adding more “good” to your day. Don’t stress about the toxic choices you might be making. Focus on proactively, intentionally choosing GOOD. Little bits at a time.

Those little, simple choices will add up over time. Your current health is the result of the choices you have made thus far.

The better choices you make today will result in your better health in the future.

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Time for Some R & R!

Ahhhh… vacation has arrived!

Many years ago, one of my greatest mentors taught me that we should design our day-to-day lives in such a way that it has a “vacation feel” to it.

Not that we need to sprinkle sand beneath our feet or put umbrellas in fruity drinks on a daily basis… unless that floats your boat!

He was referring to how so many people live their lives constantly awaiting their next vacation… trudging through their daily monotony, just awaiting their next escape.

He suggested that we quit wasting the opportunity to create a fabulous life, here and now. Life is short. Each day has its blessings… whether we’re going into work and partaking in our usual routine, or we’re on a fabulous trip to a dreamy destination.

I’ve taken his recommendation to heart for quite a long time… and I feel like I’ve done a pretty darn good with it. I keep my eye on the “prize” – simple, joyful blessings, even in the midst of my usual routine. I’ve mastered the creation of “vacation-like moments”… at least fairly regularly.

BUT, lately… man, oh, man… I’ve been SERIOUSLY wanting a getaway!! I have officially met my maximum level of work, projects, pressure, expectations, and so on!

Enough already!

So… here I am, in one of my most favorite places… Northern Michigan.

Ahhhh….. about an hour before we got here, I finally took a deep breath and began to CHILLAX, as my peanut gallery likes to say!

It’s time to re-create some of that balance, peace and restoration that I’ve inadvertently allowed to get out of whack in recent weeks!

I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Exercise – Tying It All Together

I’ve written much about the various types of exercise that meet our body’s innate genetic requirement for movement. But, I’m often asked “How do you tie it all together?” or “How do you fit all those types of exercise in?”

I’ve said it many times before – I’m not the fastest, the fittest, the strongest, the leanest, and I don’t think I’ll be in the Olympics anytime soon, but I DO love to exercise and I DO make sure that it’s a priority in my life.

In this article, I describe how I fit 4 major types of exercise into my weekly schedule. Hope this helps you in some way.

Enjoy!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Exercise—Tying-it-All-Together&id=2224526

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Can Being in a “Funk” Sabotage Your Weight Loss Efforts?

There are times when we get stuck in a rut… we get ourselves into a “funk”.

At least that’s true with me!

Sometimes we lose our motivation, inspiration, or self-discipline to keep doing the things we know are good for us… and to avoid doing the things that aren’t so good. Oftentimes this is the result of stress.

I think it’s all part of the human story. How boring would it be to be perfect ALL the time? Sheesh! (I’d be willing to be the recipient of the perfect life for a little while for you though, just for experimental purposes!)

In many cases, when we find ourselves in this “funk”, we can end up in a vicious cycle of stress-poor choices- weight gain-loss of health-more stress-more poor choices… etc.

It’s called the Physiological Stress Response.

This is an article I recently wrote on the subject of being in a “funk” and the relationship to weight gain. Enjoy!

http://www.neuro-vision.us/ad/Article/Can-Being-in-a–Funk–Sabotage-Your-Weight-Loss-Efforts-/14627

The Importance of Morning Rituals

Here’s an article I recently wrote that describes the importance of consistent, proactive morning rituals in my life.

Rituals help you maintain a happy, healthy, fulfilling life. They can also be used as a tool to help you overcome a major life challenge or chronic stress.

My morning rituals were the number one thing I turned to in order to re-create my happy, healthy balance following the most stressful experience of my life.

Click here to read the article, or cut and paste this address into your address bar:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Ultimate-Tips-For-Creating-Unlimited-Health,-Happiness-and-Balanced-Living—Morning-Rituals&id=2151950

Create a Fulfilling Week… and Life!

I love the start of a new week… so much hope and anticipation!

I have a routine I go through each weekend that I’ve come to depend on for helping me create fulfilling days, and weeks… and life.

I plan.

I’m sure you’re thrilled by the excitement that “planning” stirs up on in your soul! Stay with me…

Each weekend (usually Sunday nights before bed) I sit down with my planner for a few minutes to lay out my upcoming week. I go into quite a bit of detail in my book “Nurtured” about this, so I’ll keep it real simple here.

The first thing I do when I’m looking at my upcoming week is to make sure I block off time for appointments and commitments that require a specifically scheduled time. E.g. an appointment with your favorite Chiropractor, a conference with your child’s teacher, a meeting, an event your child is participating in, and so on.

The very next thing I do is add my “Big Rocks” to the weekly schedule. Many of you are familiar with the ‘rocks in the jar’ analogy that author Steven Covey brought to life. Your ‘rocks’ are your most important priorities: your most significant priorities and roles in life. ‘Pebbles’ and ‘sand’ are less significant relationships and roles that still need to be in your jar to complete it.

The point is to place these rocks in your Jar of Life first before all the less significant things fill up your jar and you’re left wondering what happened to your week!

So who and what are most important to you? That’s the first thing to think about. Then, go out of your way to schedule these priorities… NOT prioritize your schedule. Big difference. Make your schedule revolve around the most important things in your life.

For example, in any given week, I intentionally carve out time for: my own morning rituals (spiritual/mental/emotional nurturing), dedicated time for my marriage; time to spend with the kids ONLY focusing on the kids and playing with them; a family ‘adventure’ or experience (could be as simple as going for a nature walk or renting a family movie and making popcorn); regular time to spend with my dad; time each day for exercise; time to write, and so on.

Notice, I don’t place things like laundry, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, answering emails, paying bills and running errands on this list! Those are the pebbles or sand that fill up the rest of your jar. That’s the stuff that works its way into our lives one way or another, whether we like it or not!

My point is to not let these types of things get in the way of nourishing your most important relationships and roles. Yes, they need to get done. There’s always something that needs to get done. But if that’s at the center of each day, each week… I think that’s how we end up feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, exhausted and unfulfilled. We’re not feeding our heart and soul.

We can end up toxic and deficient in this area of our life as well. In order to restore balance, we need to add purity and sufficiency to our life’s priorities! More time, more focus, more love…

You know the story – at the end of one’s life journey, it’s unlikely anyone is thinking, “Shoot, I really wish I would have spent more time watching television, surfing the internet and dusting my house!” Instead, the focus always comes back to what we love the most. What makes our hearts sing.

So why wait until the end of the journey? Anyway, who knows when the end of the journey will be! Make a commitment to plant those big rocks smack dab in the center of your schedule each and every week… and stick to that commitment.

Then, as you’re spending time with those big rocks, make sure you’re fully PRESENT… not just going through the motions so you can check this off your to-do list! No. Create the time in your life for these relationships and priorities AND fully nurture them in the moment.

I often ask myself, “Who am I BEING while I’m so busy DOING?” This is my own slip & check! If I don’t like the answer, I know I’ve forgotten about some big rocks. Time to re-focus.

So, this week, figure out who and what are most important to you… and get those in your schedule. It might only be a few minutes of purposeful, focused nurturing… but those can be precious moments. These are the ‘pearls’ of life. When you string together enough of these precious moments, you’ve created a beautiful strand of ‘pearls’ that is your very fulfilling life!

Have a great week!

What Does “A Clean Bill of Health” Really Mean?

A little while back, I had the honor of doing a health and lifestyle consultation with an old friend of mine. I hadn’t seen him since college. He’s a vibrant, dynamic, gregarious “young” man of 40-ish years.

 

During the course of his consultation, he shared his health concerns and challenges with me, as well as his stresses. He’s in a crisp white-collar position, at the helm of a highly successful company, overseeing hundreds of others like him.

 

Although he is being quite handsomely rewarded for his time and effort, his stress levels are truly through the roof! He works insane hours – not so much because he ‘has’ to, but because he feels he ‘needs’ to in order to stay ahead in his business. Most week nights he doesn’t get home to his wife and young children until after 8 p.m. and is back at work by 7 a.m. or earlier the next day.

 

His candle’s flames are about to meet right in the middle!

 

He came to see us because he has finally had enough of his physical aches and limitations. He has some rather chronic challenges, including severe headaches and pain in a variety of places.

 

As always, I dug deeper into the patterns of his lifestyle: his nutritional choices, his movement, his mindset, his stress levels, his sleep cycles, his ‘down’ time, and so on. Time and time again, he’d actually interrupt himself to reiterate how completely stressed out his was!

 

As far as nutrition goes, he felt he was on the right track because he had started a weight management program to help him lose the extra pounds he had gained in recent years. He was logging everything he was eating. Good start. But, he was choosing things like egg whites only, diet foods, diet pop, “protein” milk for breakfast with his cereal (“for the fiber”), as well as more salads and wraps (than burgers, etc.) from fast food restaurants for lunch. His new favorite dessert at lunch is the apple “fries” from McDonald’s… ‘cuz they’re ‘healthy’.

 

Sometimes, it’s very challenging to only gather information on the first visit! I just wanted to start helping him right away!  I knew him “back when”, so I felt especially inclined to help him look and feel the way he used to. Patience…

 

Next, we got into movement and exercise. “I don’t”, he said. “You don’t what?” I asked. “Move – at all” he said! “Oh.” He explained that he sits in his car for almost an hour on his drive, then he sits all day long at work, then in his car again for his hour long drive home. He fully admitted that he knows he should exercise, but he just doesn’t. He used to, many years ago. I remembered him as an athlete. But not now. Not for a long time.

 

I’m thinking, “Houston, we have a problem.”

 

This is the part that really irked me…

 

When I thought we were nearing the end of our consultation, he shared with me that he’s doing really well though because he was recently given a “clean bill of health”. I began to wonder, in my curious little mind, what kind of a moron would give this guy a “clean bill of health”??!! He’s eating fake, toxic foods; not moving at all; stressed out to the gills; has chronic issues with headaches and some other physical pain; drinks a LOT of coffee; smokes… and that’s “healthy”??!!

 

It gets better.

 

Apparently, his company sends its top level executives to this fancy schmancy private medical clinic for their annual check-ups. It’s one of these up-and-coming diagnostic centers where you spend the entire day there going through a variety of medical tests in posh surroundings. Then you sit down for a “board meeting” with the doctors at the end of the day to review your test results. As you can imagine, these places are quite popular with the “in” crowd. I like to call them the “elite diagnostic day spas”! Much pomp and circumstance!

 

After going through umpteen blood tests, urine tests, and scans of all sorts, his team of doctors reported that everything looked pretty good… except his cholesterol. It was ‘borderline’ high. They suggested that he “lay off the smoking”. Then his doctor said, “I’d like you to start taking Lipitor for the cholesterol. Here’s a prescription.”

 

My friend asked the doctor, “But I thought you said it was just borderline… do I really need to take this?” Doctor-for-the-elite said, “Absolutely. We want to keep it borderline or less… we don’t want it to get any higher. We’ll follow up. If it gets higher, we’ll up your dose.”

 

So, my old pal concludes his story with, “So, that’s it! I’m good, according to “XYZ Clinic”… and they’re the best, so they would know!”

 

Huh?

 

You have NO idea the dizzying number of thoughts, questions, remarks, concerns and outbursts that were swimming through my head as he finished this story! Just breathe….

 

As far as my friend goes, he’s doing better. He’s taking baby steps toward adding truly healthy choices to his lifestyle. I won’t even attempt to detoxify his off-kilter mindset that places such ridiculous paradigms of “health” on a pedestal. As long as he’s getting healthier, that’s what matters most… for now.

 

The bigger problem is the countless numbers of people – in the regular “slum dog” clinics, doctors’ offices, hospitals, all the way up to these executive clinics – who are being led to believe the exact same thing.

 

If these tests aren’t showing anything outside of the parameters we’ve been taught are normal… then you must be healthy. Don’t do anything… yet. Once you teeter outside the parameter, then we’ve got a potpourri of drugs for you to choose from!

 

This is the mindset… the paradigm. There’s no need to “do” anything until there are test results that directly connect to a specific classification of drugs we can use to change the test result. These isolated tests are next-to-never combined to give a picture representative of overall physiological function… or health. They’re simply snippets of a system here, an organ there… scattered bits of information.

 

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s only this friend… and every other friend of mine who has shared their ‘health’ stories with me… and hundreds of our practice members… and my own parents… and far too many of my loved ones. Yeah, maybe it’s just us.

 

Time and time again, I hear the same story. And it almost NEVER includes, “I’m not going to give you any drug AT ALL for this test result which shows a change in your (cholesterol, weight, discomfort, blood pressure, moods, sleep, headaches, menstrual cycle, sexual function, energy, etc.). Instead, I want you to take the next month and do this: exercise daily – resistance training 3x/week, cardio 3x/week, and do some stretching daily, and yoga-type movement several times per week; cut the crap out of your diet this month – lay off fast food, pop, diet foods, fake foods – eat real, whole food that is fresh and as pure as possible, drink nothing but pure water this month; go to bed every night by 10 or 10:30pm; every morning, put something positive and inspirational in your brain before ever starting your day and do something every night to relieve your stress of the day; take no medication whatsoever, unless it is unequivocally keeping you alive! Come back in a month, and we’ll re-evaluate. I don’t ever give someone drugs unless, (a) I know they’re making excellent lifestyle choices consistently, and they still need some medical assistance temporarily, and (b) I’ve run the most appropriate tests and I know exactly what the test results mean, as far as your overall health and function.”

 

The story, sadly, normally includes drugging before making lifestyle changes… or instead of making lifestyle changes. Or, drugging before the test results are even back from the lab.

 

We’re not sick because of a shortage of medication in our systems. We’re sick and dysfunctional because of our toxic and deficient environments (internal and external) and toxic and deficient lifestyle choices: how we eat, how we move, how we think, how we handle stress. Drugs cannot fix that.

 

Countless scientific journals for years now have reiterated that virtually every disease we’re suffering from today is a “disease of lifestyle”… an extremely low percentage (less than 1%) are truly genetic. That means that the answers – the “cures” – lie in our lifestyle choices and our environment.

 

Conventional, allopathic medicine is not the correct paradigm to turn to in order to create health. It is the perfect paradigm to turn to for emergency care, traumatic care and for life-saving procedures when lifestyle changes are too little, too late. My family has been on the very grateful receiving end of excellent medical care in these cases. I believe the people in that paradigm are great people. I even believe the paradigm is a great one… WHEN it’s used properly. Unfortunately, I see massive abuse of power and information in that paradigm. People, like my friend, are the victims.

 

I know when to use this system, and when to avoid it like the plague. To get the right answers, you’ve got to ask the right questions… to the right people… in the right paradigm.

 

I’m wondering what would have happened to my friend, had he not decided to do something more proactive about his health and lifestyle. I completely understand the concept of “watchful waiting”. But putting someone on drugs, and making virtually NO lifestyle recommendations, and just waiting for things to get bad enough to “do something” is not an intelligent choice.

 

A somewhat paramount understatement!

 

You know what? On a certain level, I completely understand that traditional docs aren’t giving lifestyle advice. That’s not their area of expertise… so why should they dabble with it? Fair enough. If you’ve primarily studied pathology and symptoms (and how to change it with drugs and surgery), as opposed to studying normal, healthy physiology (and how to create that), we shouldn’t expect you to give us answers that will create health. We should expect you to tweak our symptoms primarily using drugs and surgery. Fair enough, again.

 

I just wish more innocent “consumers” were aware of this when they turn to the perceived one-and-only source for “health” information and care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Best Time to “Treat” High Blood Pressure?

A few days ago, I accompanied my dad to an appointment with a cardiologist. It was the first time he had ever been referred to a specialist for the heart.

 

The extremely short version of the story is that my dad’s health is not as great as it should be. He had managed prostate cancer with holistic means for approximately 6 years. Then, 2 years ago, the proverbial poop hit the fan. His prostate had enlarged to a size that caused a major blockage to his urethra and ultimately sent him into kidney failure.

 

He was immediately put on hormones to help shrink his prostate, and had surgery a few months later.

 

Then, mom got sick. As dad was starting to feel better, it became apparent that mom was dying. His stress levels for the past couple of years have been astronomical, to say the least.

 

He started having some “dizzy spells” during these 2 years, but more frequently since mom passed at the end of 2007. He’s had all sorts of tests, but nothing ever shows up as being causal in nature. This time around, his doc sent him to see the aforementioned cardiologist.

 

As a side note, I’d like to comment that parents are very difficult to raise these days. Both my mom and my dad like to “hide” things from me when it comes to their health… because they “don’t want to worry me.” Mom kept a lot from me in her last year… God love her! Dad is just as big a brat! I had no idea he was having these “episodes” for over a year!!

 

So, the cardiologist…

 

My internal red flag went up when this gentleman walked into the examination room to greet my father and I. I’d say he was in his late 30′s to early 40′s. Overweight and out of shape. Right off the bat, I’ve got another voice in my head… the sassy, skeptical one that is now questioning every single thing this “expert” is going to say!

 

Yes, in the case of health, I do have a tendency to judge the book by its cover. I simply have issues with someone doling out any health advice, when it looks like they’re in need of a transformation themselves. I don’t mean to sound judgemental, but c’mon! Walk the talk. (Unless… you’re talking a talk that is completely ineffective, inaccurate and outdated!!!)

 

OK, back to the story. Cardio man asked dad several questions, examined him, asked him some more questions. He told dad that his blood pressure was up “a bit”. Dad was alarmed, and a tad offended! He has always had low blood pressure. The doc said, “Well, it’s not REALLY high (Yes, it was!)… nothing to be too alarmed about yet. Plus, I don’t prescribe any medication for high blood pressure until your blood pressure is consistently high or on the rise for several readings. We’ll just monitor this and see how it goes. Then we can do something if need be.”

 

Huh? Did he really just say that?

 

I turned to my dad and quietly said, “You know dad, you haven’t been exercising consistently for months, you’ve gained weight, you’re drinking more coffee than ever before and you’re stressed. Don’t you think that has a lot to do with it too? You could completely turn this around in a few weeks!”

 

I was hoping the good doc would chime in and agree that proper, consistent exercise, excellent nutrition and stress management are the most powerful ways to correct blood pressure imbalances.

 

Nope. He quickly said, “We’ll just see how it goes the next time I see you.”

 

You have simply got to be kidding me!!!! Is THAT how we handle high blood pressure… we just wait until it’s high enough to warrant taking drugs? What about lifestyle changes? What about making proactive healthy choices BEFORE it’s too high?

 

I left the door WIDE open for this guy! Rolled out the red carpet for him to lay it on my dad! There was not a single mention of exercise, nutrition, stress, sleep, etc. to my dad. Nada. I just kept thinking, after the appointment, Thank God dad has a “team” to support him: my hubby and I, his other Doctor of Chiropractic, his naturopath, his massage therapist, etc…. people with the knowledge and experience to help him BEFORE drugs become his ”only option”.

 

But I felt so sad for the countless others who have visits in doctors offices like that every single day… being led to believe that the only possible choice is medication.

 

It’s truly criminal.  The skewed information. The “God complex” of conventional allopathy. The ineffective paradigm of “sickness care”. I know that one day, we’ll look back on this type of treatment approach and shake our heads (OK, many of us are already shaking our heads!!), but how many have to suffer in the meantime?

 

I know there ARE great allpathic docs out there, who ARE practicing from a different paradigm… or doing their very best within the confines of their traditional paradigm. We are blessed to have them. Unfortunately, when I experience yet another visit with a doctor like I did the other day, that “some day when we shake our heads” can’t come soon enough.

 

Until then, I’ll just plug away at moving well, eating well and thinking well… and teaching others to do the same. There are no guarantees in health, or in life. But when we do RIGHT enough, LONG enough, the end results become more predictable.