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Tag Archives: Breathe
Stairway to health
The stairway to health is a program designed by the Canadian public health agency to provide support and resources to encourage Canadians to get active and increase their daily physical activity. Something as simple as taking the stairs throughout your workday can do a lot in helping you reach minimum physical activity requirements (30-60 min a day, everyday). Here is on of the “stairway to health” fact sheets:
There are a variety of benefits to programs that encourage the use of stairways, as part of physical activity in workplaces, or other settings. These benefits may include improved morale, a sense of well-being, higher energy levels and improved team building. Below are the measurable benefits that are indicated in research on stair use.
- Canada’s Physical Activity Guide recommends that Canadians accumulate 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.
- Stair climbing is possible in many workplaces and requires no special equipment in order to participate.
- There is evidence to suggest that moderate intensity lifestyle activities like taking the stairs may be more successfully promoted than structured vigorous intensity exercise programs (Kerr, 2001).
- Stair climbing can be accumulated across the course of the day, making a significant contribution to 30 minutes of daily physical activity (Kerr, 2001).
- Stair climbing interventions typically result in a 6-15% increase in use of stairs.
- A significantly lower risk of mortality is indicated in studies where participants climbed more than 55 flights per week. (Paffenbarger et al. 1993).
- Stair climbing requires about 8-11kcal of energy per minute, which is high compared to other physical activities (Edwards, 1983).
- Active Stair climbers are more fit and have a higher aerobic capacity (Ilmarinen et al, 1978).
- Even two flights of stairs climbed per day can lead to 2.7 kg weight loss over one year (Brownell, Stunkard, and ALbaum, 1980).
- There is a strong association between stair climbing and bone density, in post-menopausal women (Coupland et al. 1999).
- Stair climbing programs can improve the amount of ‘good cholesterol’ in the blood – HDL concentrations (Wallace and Neill, 2000).
- Stair climbing increases leg power and may be an important priority in reducing the risk of injury from falls in the elderly (Allied Dunbar Survey, 1992).
- Because stair climbing rates are currently very low, increasing population levels of stair climbing could lead to substantial public health dividends (Kerr, 2001
- Because stair climbing is an activity with which we are all familiar, participants have a high level of confidence in their ability to participate in the activity (Kerr, 2001).
For more information and resources click here.
My word of the year; abundance
Yesterday I was sharing a meal with a friend, and at the same time picking up some flower essence to support my goals. You may ask what a flower essence is, here is a description fromMarrisa’s website who is the one I get such things from:
Flower essences are energetic remedies made from flowers. They are similar to the idea of homeopathy, yet different. Many people are familiar with the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy as it is the most common and oldest commercial flower essence. It is used for stress, upset, fear, trauma, shock and grief. It is also often used for pets when they are stressed with a trip to the vet, fireworks, lightening or other trauma.
The one I am currently using is abundance. As I was explaining why I was using it, I realized as I spoke it had much deeper significance than I originally intendend. My friend asked me if this was my word of the year, since resolutions are still somewhat on our minds. In that moment I decided that yes, this is my word of the year.
Abundance in health.
Abundance in love.
Abundance in time.
Abundance in fun.
Abundance in friends.
Abundance in wealth.
Abundance in success.
What would you choose your word of the year to live by to be?
This gives me hope for the future… just amazing
I was in the grocery store yesterday and I picked up a copy of the new National Geographic because the feature interested me. The article looks at bionics; have a look yourself, truly amazing. Some people really are changing the world.
Do not forget to post a comment, and send me your testimonials. 🙂
Stretching and meditation
Yesterday I wrote about all the components of fitness, but today I wanted to further emphasize the importance of stretching. When we stretch our bodies we invite relaxation, not only in the body but also the mind. Those who come to my stretch class know that by the end of the class the mind is quieter, thoughts are more calm, and your body feels great! In a gym setting you will see people stretch 10-15 seconds, muscle their way into it, but he reality is that a stressed out muscle can not relax therefore can not stretch. Comparatively a stressed out mind can not relax and therefore can not expand and grow.
Stretching the body allows you to be present within it, check in with yourself if you will. Expanding the mind offers the opportunity to explore yourself. The next time you are in a yoga or stretch class, relax. Do not force it, just be, and see where your flexibility of body, and openness of mind takes you.
Happy stretching.
Benefits of napping
I am not a morning person, as my clients know 9 am is the earliest I will train, but I am happy to work well into the evening. We all have different sleeping patterns and getting enough of it is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. One of my favorite sleeping behaviors is napping; often given a bad rap, nothing beats a nap to get you back on your feet when feeling tired mid day. We often relegate napping to young children and the elderly, but napping can provide many benefits. The average recommended napping duration is about 20 minutes. Here is a great link with lots of useful information on napping.
Happy sleep!
Relapse: Returning to older behaviors, learning opportunities, transcendence
Along the way to permanent cessation or stable reduction of a bad habit, most people experience relapse. In fact, it is much more common to have at least one relapse than not. Relapse is often accompanied by feelings of discouragement and seeing oneself as a failure. While relapse can be discouraging, the majority of people who successfully quit do not follow a straight path to a life time free of self-destructive bad habits. Rather, they cycle through the five stages several times before achieving a stable life style change. Consequently, the Stages of Change Model considers relapse to be normal.
There is a real risk that people who relapse will experience an immediate sense of failure that can seriously undermine their self-confidence. The important thing is that if they do slip not to give up and fall back on the unhealthy habits. Rather, they should analyze how the slip happened and use it as an opportunity to learn how to cope differently. In fact, relapses can be important opportunities for learning and becoming stronger.
Relapsing is like falling off a horse the best thing you can do is get right back on again. However, if you do relapse, it is important that you do not fall back to the precontemplation or contemplation stages. Rather, restart the process again at preparation, action or even the maintenance stages. People who have relapsed may need to learn to anticipate high-risk situations and more effectively, control and navigate environmental cues that tempt them to engage in their bad habits . It is important to learn how to handle unexpected episodes of stress without returning to the bad habit. This gives them a stronger sense of self control and the ability to get back on track.
If you have relapsed here are some questions to ask yourself:
- What factors were involved in your setback?
- How can you prevent self sabotage?
- What did you find encouraging at the onset of your initial change?
- Do you have a support network to turn to when the going gets tough?
- What strategies can you devise to support your new habits?
- What is the next step in your action plan?
- What did you do to reward yourself with for your small victories and accomplishments?
- What did you learn from this experience?
That covers all the stages of change model, however there is another stage which is not formally part of the model which needs to be mentioned. It is sometimes called transcendence. This is when we have been in the maintenance stage for a prolonged period of time and the unhealthy behaviours are far and well behind us. It is as this point that we can have successfully completed a lifestyle change. Transcendence is change at its best, it is actual transformation.
Maintenance: Maintaining the behavior change
Maintenance involves being able to successfully avoid any temptations to return to the bad habit. The goal of the maintenance stage is to maintain the new status quo. People in this stage tend to remind themselves of how much progress they have made. People in maintenance constantly reformulate the rules of their lives and are acquiring new skills to deal with life and avoid relapse. They are able to anticipate the situations in which a relapse could occur and prepare coping strategies in advance.
They remain aware that what they are striving for is personally worthwhile and meaningful. They are patient with themselves and recognize that it often takes a while to let go of old behavior patterns and practice new ones until they are second nature to them. Even though they may have thoughts of returning to their old bad habits, they resist the temptation and stay on track.
Tomorrow, relapse, which I am sure is the stage which everyone wants to read about.
Action/Willpower: Changing behavior
This is the stage where people believe they have the ability to change their behavior and are actively involved in taking steps to change their bad behavior by using a variety of different techniques. This is the shortest of all the stages. The amount of time people spend in action varies. It generally lasts about 6 months, but it can literally be as short as one hour! This is a stage when people most depend on their own willpower. They are making overt efforts to quit or change the behavior and are at greatest risk for relapse.
Mentally, they review their commitment to themselves and develop plans to deal with both personal and external pressures that may lead to slips. They may use short-term rewards to sustain their motivation, and analyze their behavior change efforts in a way that enhances their self-confidence. People in this stage also tend to be open to receiving help and are also likely to seek support from others which is a a very important element. Hopefully, if the are successful in this stage they move to maintenance. More on that tomorrow!
Contemplation: Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure of wanting to make a change
In the contemplation stage people are more aware of the personal consequences of their bad habit and they spend time thinking about their problem. Although they are able to consider the possibility of changing, they tend to be ambivalent about it. In this stage, people are on a teeter-totter, weighing the pros and cons of quitting or modifying their behavior. Although they think about the negative aspects of their bad habit and the positives associated with giving it up (or reducing), they may doubt that the long-term benefits associated with quitting will outweigh the short-term costs. It might take as little as a couple weeks or as long as a lifetime to get through the contemplation stage.
If you find yourself in the contemplation stage it may be helpful to write out a balance sheet with pros and cons, thus allowing you to see cost/ benefit balance and giving you an accurate idea of where you stand in terms of moving to the the next stage of change.