Testimonial – Dance Class

Here is another great testimonial for all of you out there that are scared or a little nervous to venture into dance classes.  No matter what level of dancing you have, even if you have no experience, our dance class is about coming together and working hard to accomplish a common goal.  Come out have fun, do your best and enjoy something new and exciting.  Here’s what one of our recent dance class attendants had to say…

“I took Erica’s dance class and am so happy I did!  Erica is truly dedicated to her student’s success.  Rhythm has never been my strong area, so I thought I would try her dance class to see if there was any hope for me.  While I found the first two classes challenging, by the 3rd class I really started to prove that there was a dancer hidden inside this body after all!”

If you would like to send in a testimonial, please do!  to info@violetquartzwellness.com

Testimonial of the day :)

Here a testimonial Erica received the other day… Thought it would be nice to share the positive energy and show you how others are benefiting from Erica’s personal training efforts.

“Its such a great experience working with a trainer who is as invested in helping me obtain my physical goals as I am . Erica’s commitment to helping me accomplish my goals has been profound and highly effective.  I love the results and feel great!  Thank you Erica for your dedication to my overall wellness. You are so appreciated! :)”

Reiki Treatments – Try something new

Have you tried energy work?  You’d be surprised what this can do for your mind, body and soul…

Reiki is the application of life force Energy to the chakras or main energy centers of the body. This initiates a cleansing within a persons energy system which can be experienced as a release of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy blockages. This release is felt as a healing and allows one to connect with their true self thus enjoy a state of balance, happiness, and relaxation.

Come visit the studio for a energy treatment from Reiki Master and Teacher Erica Otto – Balance and align your soul.

The Four Agreements – Become a white magician

Quote from  The Four Agreements By: Don Miguel Ruzi

“All the magic you possess is based on your word, and you cast spells all the time with you opinions.  You can either put a spell on someone with your word, or you can release someone from a spell.”

Next time your having a conversation with someone, be aware of what magic your words are working… Be aware of where your words are coming from as they will either put a spell or release a someone from a spell…. Remember to choose your words wisely, have them always come from a place of love, light and respect.

xo

Body Awareness

As you progress along healthy lifestyle changes you can not help learning more about your body and build body awareness. Body awareness is not only proprioception (knowing where where your body is in relation to itself in space), emotional state, and frame of mind. This is a useful full tool for many reasons; firstly being body aware in an exercise context will award you greater in gains in stability and proper form.  From an emotional standpoint the ability to identify where feelings arise can assist in navigated them more proactively.

A great body awarenss building exercise is as follows:

Sitting on your chair eyes closed, bring attention to your breathing, do not controll it, just observe.

Switch your focus to your buttocks in the seat, feel the chair support you. Feel your cloths on your back, the fabric, the weight of your clothing.

Bring your attention to your heartbeat, feel it pulse through your body, nourishing it.

Choosing a relaxed and peaceful emotional state slowly bring your attention back to your breathing. Count back from 10 and slowly open your eyes.

 

Remember awareness is what is fostered in meditation, so take some time to tune and and find a moment of inner peace…. every day.

 

Latest research

Exciting news for those of you trying to reduce your waistlines…

Obesity is a prevalent public health problem associated with a number of severe health effects and those over 40 are at increased risk of being overweight. This risk may be due to a decrease in energy expenditure, reduced energy requirements, or an increased susceptibility to excess energy consumption in this stage of life. Increasing daily water consumption is widely recognized as a weight loss strategy, yet there is actually little data to support this. From studies that are available, it has been shown that:

  1. Energy intake (EI) is significantly lower in water drinkers than non-water drinkers (1),
  2. substituting water for energy-containing beverages decreases self-reported EI (2)
  3. increasing self-reported daily water consumption by 1 litre or more in overweight women is associated with increased weight loss (3), and
  4. water consumption with a meal reduces ratings of hunger and increases ratings of satiety (4,5).

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that pre-meal water consumption would lead to greater weight loss in older overweight and obese individuals consuming a hypocaloric diet. The secondary objective was to determine if water intake before a meal to reduce meal EI is sustained after a 12-week period of increased water consumption in older overweight and obese adults.

  • Both groups (with and without water prior to eating) experienced significant weight loss but a greater decline in weight (44% greater) was found for the water group.
  • The decline in total fat mass was greater for the water group.
  • Mean daily EI, energy and ED (energy density) from food, and beverage ED declined similarly in both groups.
  • Total dietary ED from food and beverage declined more in the water group as compared to the non-water group.
  • The water group participants demonstrated greater increases in water and total fluid consumption than the non-water group participants.
  • There were no differences between groups for all other outcome measures.
  • No gender differences were found for measures in the groups.

 

Special offer

To introduce some of the new techniques I learn while away at my course I am offering a special promotion. The first 4 people to email me who are in the Sqamish area will get a complementary functional muscular and motor pattern imbalance assessment this Saturday.

To find out what that it click here.

violetquartzwellness@gmail.com

 

Latest research!

A study has just been published about the training effect on mucked tendons. When starting a weight training program initial changes in strength are displayed in the nerveous system; more
efficient neural conduction and mucle recruitment. After 8 to 12 weeks and consotstent loading the mucles would then hypertrophy or grow. However tendon tension increases which are necesary to be able to effectively lift heavier weights without injury takes 11 to 16 weeks. Therefore it is important to start gradulally to build up tension in the tendons for safe lifting.

The most interesting applications of the study are in regards to the detraining effect. After 1 month of not training the tendon becomes slack and you lose your gains, where as mucsle takes 2-3 months. If you stop training with weights you have to give yourself time to rebuild tendon tension when starting back up again to prevent injury.

 

Intention

Here are a few excerpts from an article on intention

It’s time to change the way we think and speak about our dreams. Transforming a conversation, just like manifesting a dream, begins by setting an intention. Your intentions will assist you in taking greater control of your life.

A working definition for intention is: “to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim.” Lacking intention, we sometimes stray without meaning or direction. But with it, all the forces of the universe can align to make even the most impossible, possible. My intention is to transform the conversation around dreams from fear and doubt, to hope and possibility, followed by action and results.

For example:

  • Before you get out of bed, you can intend to have a fun or productive day.
  • Before you leave the house, you can intend to have quality time with your family or roommate.
  • Before you start your car, you can intend to have a safe ride to work.
  • Before you enter your workplace, you can intend to learn something new or be helpful.
  • Before the meeting begins, you can intend to be brilliant or calm.

First Steps:

1. Get clear about something you want and write it down.

2. Share your intention with someone in a way that will supportively hold you accountable to taking action.

3. Do something today to demonstrate your commitment to your intention.

4. Acknowledge that you did what you said you would and then, take the next step.

By setting an intention, you make it clear to yourself and others, just what you plan to do. Set an intention to redefine what it means to be serious about your dreams.

 

Source article.