Enough with the Unproductive Thoughts Already!
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Don’t you think it’s amazing how much we all spend in self-analysis (and other-analysis)? As if finding out the “why” is going to somehow fix the issue. It won’t!
It is also amazing how much we worry about the future, making up scenarios that may or may not happen, and then ruin a perfectly good present moment with them. If we are on auto-pilot that badly, how seriously should be take our own thoughts? Not very.
The problem lies not with the fact that you have recurring unproductive thoughts. The problem is that you take them seriously.
If you’ve been sabotaging yourself with thoughts that won’t lead you anywhere but down, the solution is not to fix or stop the unproductive thoughts; the solution is to find new equally true thoughts as quickly as possible. Eventually, they will drown out the old ones. If habits of thought are that fickle, how seriously should you take them? After all, they are just well-practiced habits—not the truth.
It is time for you to stop fixing the pot holes on the road to “ick” and start building a new road that leads somewhere more productive. Catch yourself worrying today, and know that you are simply projecting a possible outcome that is not even true, worrying about it NOW as if it is.
What about all the other fictional outcomes that are wonderful; how come you didn’t choose to give attention to them? They are just as real, right? There’s no time like the present!
Jennifer Hough
Bones: It’s All About Structure
Filed Under Naturopathy | Leave a Comment
How many bones does it take to form the human skeleton? Upon inspection, the skeleton looks to be rather a large puzzle with each bone meticulously and precisely fitting into the next. There can’t be more than, say, 100, right?
You might be surprised to know that from the tiniest bone in the ear canal to the largest bone in the thigh, the body is comprised of approximately 206 bones. The skeleton and its intricate structure provide the foundation for muscle attachment, organ placement and protection, storage of vital minerals, and production of red blood cells.
Bones provide a site for muscle attachment, without which movement would be impossible. During youth, our bones are softer and more flexible, allowing for bones to continue to grow and harden, a process that continues throughout puberty. As adults, the goal of bones changes to one of density and strength.
Certain minerals—calcium, phosphorous, magnesium for example—are vital to bone longevity and health. Unfortunately as we age we are bombarded with constant barriers that target the very essence of bone integrity.
The key to a long-term healthy relationship with our skeleton is a balance between proper nutrition and exercise. To achieve this balance one must be keen to potential issues that can develop at any time and circumvent them to prevent problems down the road.
As we age, vital minerals are leached from the bone; calcium, an important mineral, helps keep bones dense and strong. There are many causes of bone demineralization; with a little education, reversal is possible.
Nutrition and Supplementation
The hormone estrogen helps lock in bone calcium but as women enter menopause, the production of estrogen is markedly reduced. Therefore, estrogen is a key player in bone health. Without it, bones become brittle and less flexible, leading to osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fractures. To prevent osteoporosis and its related problems, supplementation of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K should become part of a woman’s daily regimen.
Exercise
Coupled with proper nutrition is the necessity of a regular exercise routine that is tailor-made to meet the needs of the individual. If you belong to a fitness center, gym, or recreation center, I recommend spending a little money to have a consult with a personal trainer. They can design a program that will meet the needs of your particular body. A good program will include age-related activities to help not only strengthen bone but vital organs as well. You will feel better, sleep more soundly, and gain a new sense of inner strength and happiness as exercise aids in the production and secretion of hormones that regulate our emotional cycle. For example, when I am feeling particularly lazy or cranky, I will go downstairs and get on our treadmill. Usually within 10–15 minutes I feel a surge of energy and vitality that lifts my mood up and out of my body. My lazy and heavy feeling is gone and my body feels rejuvenated, my mind a bit clearer, and my fatigue, eliminated.
I also love to walk and usually will take one of my three dogs out with me. In the past however, and you might experience this too, if you have dogs, they love to pull! It is difficult to enjoy even a power-walk with an animal that wishes to control the intensity and location of the trip! Well I found this wonderful product at the local pet market. It is a belt that goes around your waist and attaches to a leash that allows the dog more freedom of movement without the pull and frees your hands to hold weighs, a water bottle, etc. I love it because it gives me back the control over my dog. I think he loves it too, because he doesn’t pull me.
If you have difficulty balancing on a bicycle you can purchase a tricycle (a larger version of your first bicycle). They are designed for the older adult, with a larger more comfortable seat, side-view mirrors, ergonomically designed handlebars and even a large rear basket (so you can travel to the local market without the need for a car). They are fun, cute-looking, and provide a sense of stability for those with inner ear problems and other balance-related issues.
Even workout wear and accessories are being designed with the older adult in mind. No matter what decade of life you are in, there is no reason why you can’t get outdoors and enjoy the scenery. And for those of you who hate the taste of regular tap water, you can now get designer water with added exotic flavors, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get moving because it’s all about the bones.
Dr. Linda Mundorff
Who Do You Trust?
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Trust is such an interesting topic. Some of us make it the basis for everything—you know, figuring out who you can trust and who you cannot. Here’s the deal for me: If you can trust yourself to listen to your own internal guidance, then you’ve got it. You will even know what to do with people who don’t yet trust themselves.
Who do you trust fully? Most of the time when someone has a “trust issue,” it’s because they were in a situation where they gave their power away to someone and then got really upset when the person did not do what they wanted. They perceive that as “being burnt.”
But you see, when you trust yourself, you would never give your power away to anyone else or make your happiness contingent on another person being a certain way. We all do unconscious stuff; it’s really how we re-organize our beliefs around those subjects that matters. I think you can fully trust the Universal Laws. And you can trust that every single one of us is going to be human. How are you going to deal with that?
Don’t cut out of your life all the people you think you can’t trust. Just learn that you can trust them if you use your wisdom to create acceptable and agreeable parameters. My goodness, most of the world can’t even trust themselves to follow their heart—so your circle of friends would get pretty darn small!
Trust yourself. Boy, it would be exhausting to make trust a huge issue in your life. Try this instead: Make finding peace a huge issue. And then deal with other humans in a way that brings you peace. Be clear, share with them how you would like to be treated, do not test people. Just train them about who you are. It’s much less labor-intensive.
Jennifer Hough
Cold Hands and Feet
Filed Under Dr. Zoltan Rona (MD) | Leave a Comment
Q: In the winter my hands and feet are always cold. Is there anything I can do about this?
A: Ideally, find the cause of the problem before trying any natural remedies. Cold hands and feet could be the result of poor arterial circulation, medical conditions such as Raynaud’s disease (a hypersensitivity to cold temperature), low thyroid function, estrogen dominance, weak adrenals, mercury amalgam toxicity, low blood sugar episodes, the side effect of certain drugs (e.g. blood pressure pills), smoking cigarettes, inactivity, and stress.
Until you can determine the cause with the help of a natural health care practitioner, avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks, pain killers, etc.) because it constricts blood vessels. Avoid both first- and second- hand cigarette smoke for the same reason. Dress more warmly, stop wearing tight-fitting clothing, and get more aerobic exercise. If you have the time, practice some form of stress control like biofeedback or meditation. Reflexology, massage therapy, shiatsu, physiotherapy, and different forms of chiropractic and acupuncture could all be helpful.
Some nutritional or herbal supplements can improve circulation and warm up your hands and feet regardless of the cause. The most impressive of these is cayenne pepper (capsicum), which can be taken both internally (two to three 500 mg capsules about 20 minutes before exposure to the cold) and applied topically (sprinkle about an eighth of a teaspoon into each shoe and/or glove).
Other supplements which have been documented to improve circulation and help cold hands and feet are:
• ginkgo biloba (50–500 mg daily)
• ginger root (500–3000 mg daily)
• panax ginseng (50–500 mg daily)
• niacin/vitamin B3 (100 mg or more daily). Niacin can produce a significant hot sensation, rash, and itching in some people. An alternative way of taking niacin without these side effects is to use flush-free niacin (inositol hexaniacinate), 500–3000 mg daily.
Dr. Zoltan Rona
References
http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C221250.html
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/6054-1.asp
Getting Motivated
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I think that one thing we all forget is that we can’t just decide to be motivated, and then there it is like magic. Motivation is a self-sustaining form of energy. The more you do to achieve it the more of it you will have.
Motivation is the product of doing the things that you need to do to get where you want to go. Motivation is not something that you wake up with and then miraculously start doing the things. To find you inner motivation you must first find your inner will.
Here are 10 things you can do RIGHT NOW to find the will to do the things you need to do to make change right now! Try very hard not procrastinate as this will serve to defeat your will. These inner battles waste a lot of energy.
1. Decide what you want and write it down in a place you will read it daily. A screen saver, sticky note, or bathroom mirror. An external reminder of what you want will help you to incorporate what you need to get there. For example: I want to fit back into my jeans by November. Rather than walking aimlessly to the fridge, you will have purpose and intention. This will help you to get out of autopilot and into conscious choice-making around food, fitness, and relationships.
2. Write a list of tasks that you will need to do daily, weekly, monthly to achieve this goal.
3. Go to bed earlier. This is specific for new moms. A tired person can’t think straight. If you need to be up in the night then you need to go to bed earlier. No excuses.
4. Set yourself up for success. Don’t put yourself in positions that don’t support your goals. Surround yourself with people who model the behaviors that will help you stick to your guns.
5. Take educated action. This doesn’t mean just do what you think you need to do. Inform and educate yourself on the “right ways” to get the job done. For example: So many woman still think that cardio alone will help them lose the fat, or that abdominal exercises will give them a six pack. Both of these facts are simply untrue, yet people waste endless hours on the treadmill of activity that is direction-less. This of course is discouraging and far from motivating.
6. Know your pitfalls and address them from the outset. For example, if you work well in groups, create one or find one.
7. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Write out your schedule weekly. Today’s busy mom can’t just hope to squeeze it in.
8. Set realistic goals. Doing so will help you have achievements. Achievements are a source of motivation.
9. Don’t bombard yourself with toxicity. Too much TV or too much wine. Activities that don’t inspire you are just that: uninspiring. Instead, why not try something totally new that you’ve never done before? It could be meditation, or it simply may be a new recipe. Get enlightened by all the wonderful things around you that can help you be the best you possible.
10. Celebrate your success. Not just at the end, but celebrate the everyday successes and don’t hold back. Really let loose and screech with joy if you can. When you get up and go the distance for the day, take it into account!
Cheers,
Andrea Page
Getting Over It
Filed Under Meditation | Leave a Comment
Going, going, going on beyond, always going on beyond, always becoming awakened.
— One of various possible translations of the Prajna-Paramita mantra
A popular phrase in American humor in the late 1990s is “Get over it!” This command is usually delivered after a brief description of someone else’s hangup. Its implication is that the person in question is hanging on to a mental condition that would best be given up. The delivery is usually on the rude side, but humorous.
In the tradition of “Just say, ‘No.’” and “Just do it.”, this imperative assumes the speaker knows better what you should do than you do. More often than not, that assumption is probably right. Otherwise it wouldn’t be funny. The statement has an edge to it. When it is directed at you, you may feel dismissed or disrespected. I’d like to help you get over that.
Let’s consider the possibility that getting over it is the best advice you can get. When directed at you, the phrase assumes you are nurturing some faulty belief about yourself or the world around you. It doesn’t matter what “it” is. If you are clinging to past hurts or holding on to unrealistic beliefs, you are either experiencing pain or giving pain to someone else and living in delusion.
Through experience, each of us acquires beliefs about ourselves and our world. Often these beliefs give us pain. They may be about our not being good enough or about the inadequacy of our world. Sometimes they are expectations that our needs will not be met. When we habitually revisit these negative beliefs they reinforce our expectations. In fact they have the quality of self fullfilling prophecies. To be sure, if you think little of yourself or believe the world is evil and dangerous the natural way of things will support you in those beliefs. How can you have healthy relationships if you do not esteem yourself? How can the world support you if you are afraid of it?
I encourage you to get over the beliefs that cause you pain. That’s easy to say and hard to do. So, I have some suggestions as to how you might do it.
Suggestions:
Know yourself
• Practice meditation and active mindfulness to develop awareness and clarity of mind.
• Learn to recognize your internal states. Meditation helps with this.
• Notice your negative expectations. Try giving them up.
Slow down
• If you are always in a hurry, how can you notice what’s going on around you and inside you?
Be positive
• Buy in to a positive belief system. There are plenty around and they are free. If your beliefs make you feel bad, consider exchanging them for some better ones.
• Don’t take your beliefs too seriously, especially when they are based on somebody else’s experience and not yours. Be willing to give them up when you get new information that fits better.
• You deserve to be happy. (Notice your response to this statement. If it doesn’t ring true for you, what belief are you hanging on to that says otherwise? Can you give up that pain generating belief for one that will allow you to be happy?)
Be humble
• While it’s true that you are a glorious creation of a magnificient universe, so are the rest of us.
Be here now
• Live in the present as much as possible.
• What you did before cannot be undone.
• What was done to you before cannot be undone.
• You can only change your present response to the experience.
• You are responsible for your response in this moment.
• Living in the present moment is usually less painful than reliving your past hurts or envisioning your fears.
Put it in perspective
• Misery results from clinging to your pain.
• Recognize that the present is not the past and the future is what you make it.
• You are not powerless.
• The universe is not out to get you.
• Hope comes from willingness to look forward.
• Joy comes from satisfaction in the present.
We are getting over it. We are going on. Always moving on, always living Now.
Tom Barrett
The Power of One? Or the Power of the Universe?
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Think about how often we go after a dream or even a to-do item as though the completion of that thing means that we are good, worthy, or just plain productive. Living that way is pretty tiring.
However, if you look at every pursuit as an act of creation that expands everyone else’s capacity to create fulfillment as well, then you are tapping into the infinite. See, if you can humbly own that what you do has the potential of making a difference, no matter how mundane, then the way you do it will change.
If you go after your dreams for your own validation or triumph, you are attracting the power of one. If you pursue your dreams knowing the effect that your expansion and creation will have on the world, then you have infinite power. By the way, it can be the same dream.
The Universe will always support the actions that are taken in the spirit of Truth. And the truth is: we are one, and we affect each other. Humbly accept your role as a contributory human being, and you will access the power of the Universe.
I did a little experiment lately with the strength of the human body, using muscle testing. When individuals thought of a goal in terms of how it would serve them and their immediate life, their muscles were very weak. When individuals thought of a goal (same or a different one) in terms of how it would impact their world and how it would create possibilities for everyone, their muscles were strong as a horse.
Infinite power happens when you humbly come from the knowing that we are all connected and that your joy and fulfillment only expands that possibility for all people.
It is all about you and your heart’s calling. And only then can it be all about us because your heart (not your head) is what connects to the infinite where we all like to play.
Jennifer Hough
Abdominal Separation Identification in Pregnancy
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Are you concerned about abdominal separation? Do you know how to address it?
During pregnancy, most woman separate down the middle of their rectus abdominus (the six pack) a small amount. A small amount of separation is normal but pregnant women should take a preventative approach to prevent further separation that can lead to complete separation.
At Fitmom, we recommend having your abdominals checked by a trained expert or caregiver one time in the first trimester, twice in the second, and three times in the third. By doing so, you and a trained expert can decide how to approach abdominals throughout pregnancy. Postpartum women should have their abdominals checked to assess the remaining separation to determine how to best rehabilitate or close the opening.
For an example of an abdominal separation check that you can ask your caregiver to provide, click here.
Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on the MUST DOS and DO NOT exercises during pregnancy to stabilize your core and protect it from severe separation. I will also provide the most important things to focus on for postpartum abdominal separation recovery.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
The Climb from Here
Filed Under The Winner Within | 1 Comment
So, what’s necessary to make the next move up?
We are all used to setting goals—short-term goals, long-term goals, financial goals, health goals, and vacation goals. The list goes on and on. Once the goal is set, the process to breathe life into it can seem daunting at times. The question arises: “Based on where I am now and my experience of the past, how can I make this or that happen?”
Recently it became very clear where we are compared to where we want to be. I was helping my son (about to turn 4) with his letters. After great effort he was able to spell the letters (somewhat abstract) of his name. There scrawled on the page before me and his beaming mom was the name “Jonah.”
Looking down it struck me how much he has to learn in his yet short life and how far he will one day go. That distance traveled already for most of us is great. The distance we have traveled, the skills we have mastered, the triumphs we have tasted and the knowledge we now have to invest into the next good idea or the next ambitious project will be supported by all that we have.
Take a moment and give thanks for all that you now process and all that you have to invest into tomorrow. The distance you have traveled is now what makes tomorrow possible.
Randy Taylor
Preventing Economy Class Syndrome: Supplements
Filed Under Dr. Zoltan Rona (MD) | Leave a Comment
In addition to the vitamin K-producing supplements mentioned in my last blog (Preventing Economy Class Syndrome: Nutrition), calcium supplements can also contribute to increased blood clotting. This is because it plays a role in the activation of prothrombin as a cofactor with Factor XIII, as well as in the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin. You may want to avoid taking a calcium supplement before a long-haul flight.
There are a great number of nutrients that work like anticoagulants (help prevent the blood from becoming too sticky or to clot less easily) in high doses. Some of these nutrients work by preventing platelets from sticking together, while others work by decreasing the blood levels of certain clotting factors or proteins. The net effect is referred to by most laymen as “blood thinning.”
Most doctors will recommend various forms of aspirin to prevent blood clotting. The best-known natural alternatives to aspirin are:
• Garlic oil
• Omega-3 EPA oils (flax seed oil, rice bran oil, cod liver oil, salmon oil, and many others)
• Wheat germ oil
• Primrose oil
• Black currant oil
• Olive oil
• Soybeans
• Sunflower seeds
Other well-documented ways to prevent DVT are:
• Vitamin E (400–800 IU daily)
• Ginkgo biloba
• Nattokinase
• White willow (a herb from which aspirin is manufactured)
• Bromelain
• Proteolytic (protein-dissolving) digestive enzyme supplements
• Witch hazel
• St. John’s wort (hypericum)
• Butcher’s broom
Most of these are available from your local health food store or supermarket. Since no two people are alike, the recommended effective amounts are highly variable. Discuss your individualized strategies to avoid “economy class syndrome” with your natural health care provider.
Dr. Zoltan Rona
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