KINESIOLOGY + WELLNESS COUNSELLING by ERICA OTTO
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. 🙂
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.
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!
Life is amazing and unexpected. Yesterday I gave a reiki treatment to someone and the shifts were so powerful, and the emotions so deep, that it reminded me what life is really about. We get caught up on the little things of everything day life we forget to look at the bigger picture. One thing I found myself saying also directly applied to me. Trying to do good for others we let our feelings and emotions fall by the way side. Remember; YOU are the most important person in your life. Make yourself happy first, and your joy will have a spiderweb effect, expanding out to those around you. There is a distinction between being selfish and self-full; shelflshness is at the cost of others well-being and happiness. Self-fullness is making yourself a priority, before you reach out to others. What will you do for yourself today?
Lack of energy is equatable to lack of vitality. Vitality give us the ‘umph’ to live our lives to the fullest. As the month progresses some with exercise resolutions start to lag behind and eventually fall out of the race. As we return to our very busy lives we find once the initial drive to exercise is gone we tend to feel tired, especially after a long work day, and will be ‘too tired’ to get physical activity. Sitting all day will invariable make you feel tired, you have not used you body, your mind is overworked etc. There is a distinction between fatigue in the body and lack of vitality. Fatigue is defined as mental or physical weariness, such as after a few circuit classes, your body would be fatigued and it may be a good idea to relax and let the body recover. However, if you feel tired becasue of a long stressful work day, you would find greater benifit in engaging in some exercises rather than decomporssing at home on the couch. Not only would you feel better about yourself, you would sleep better and neutralize stress hormones.
The next time you are faced with the choice of doing some physical activity or veging on a couch examine where the desire to go home is coming from, and act accordingly. See you at class. 🙂
Awareness is crucial to understanding ourselves; body, mind, and spirit. If we know and can identify what we feel in our bodies not only can we use it as a tool to support change, but also develop a and internal barometer to help us navigate through life. For example; Initially you becoming aware of a pain in your knee, after some time you realize there is a pattern to the level of pain and life’s activities. You take steps to neutralize the pain though physical therapies and may or may not see improvements. Now lets say you do not see improvements after a period of treatment; perhaps there is more to the knee pain than the physical symptoms would suggest. It may be that you experience knee pain when you have decision to make about life’s direction. Because we do not live in a vacuum, it is most likely to be a combination of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual matters.
I realize this is heavy stuff, and the big picture can be overwhelming. So for today and the week to come I will discuss awareness, and provide exercises  in bringing it into our lives.
For today we will start with the physical and since resolutions are still the topic ‘du jour’, I wanted to give you some exercises that would not only be useful in address big picture issue, but also helping you to continuing to do good work and maintain your resolitions.
Today let’s look at hunger versus craving and lack of energy versus fatigue. The difference between hunger; my stomach is growling time for some tasty food, and a craving; I want some potato chips, or cookies as it may be, is that hunger arises to fill a physiological need, whereas a craving typically arises out of an emotional need, usually stress. The next time you feel yourself wanting to eat examine where those urges are coming from and bring awareness to your food choices. You will find by bring your attention to the difference you are likely to make healthier food choices.
Tomorrow; lack if energy vs. fatigue.
As some of you may already know I have been perusing the web to find great personal training quote to share and inspire you all as you sweat  away. In the procress I found a variety of ‘common sayings’ which personal trainers use; and to my amusement I have also occasionally thrown some of them out there. Here is a sample:
The proverbial “we”, as in we are going to do……
This is going to be fun!
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Can’t means won’t, and won’t means push-ups. Â (I may start using this one)
The interesting thing was that it brought my attention to the phrases I use the most during my sessions, and I realized my catch phrase if you will would be “oh, this is one of my favorite exercises”, which really struck home the fact that I love to move, and be active. This lead me to examine my catch phrases in other areas of my life, and the language I use to speak to myself. I found that sometimes I was really negative when it came to talking to me and the way I perceived my world. All this to say, your reoccurring thoughts give you insight into how you really are and how you really feel. be careful what you tell yourself because it will become your reality if you say it to yourself enough. If you find your self saying I am tired, all of the time, you will become tired. So the next time you go to say or think to yourself negatively, STOP yourself, and choose your language carefully. Through language we define our perceptions, and our perceptions are how we experience the world.
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:
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 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.
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!