Recently a friend introduced me to notes from the universe from tut.com; they are daily e-mails which remind you of the big picture. I highly recommend it, check it out. Always an inspiring message.
Notes from the universe
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Tag Archives: Dreams
Tricking yourself into staying; when motivation is nowhere to be found
The follow excerpt is from another blog that I follow. I wanted to share it with you because I could not have said it better myself.
Does your training ever leave you feeling like you’re participating in a science experiment with a sample size of N=1? There are training routines to plan and track, data points to be harvested and analyzed, and a constant quest for innovation to reach your personal limits. Sometimes these factors make training exciting. And sometimes they make training seem incredibly boring and like a chore.
When you find yourself fishing for the snooze button on your alarm instead of springing out of bed to assault the day and the training you have so carefully carved out time to execute, you could keep doing the same old thing. But the same old thing is why you’re lying in bed listening to your alarm squawking and cringing instead of rushing full force into an awesome day that you can’t wait to start and a training session that will invigorate you and help advance every area of your life.
Don’t let your training routine be something you dread. When it is, turn it into a game and trick yourself into staying fit even when you’d normally want to bail. There are many ways to achieve this goal, but here are a few of the quickest, easiest ways to keep it fresh and playful.
Unless you’re a professional athlete, remember that this isn’t your job. It’s something you do electively because you enjoy it. Keep that thought in the front of your mind and visualize the moments you’ve most enjoyed in training, the times you’ve overcome your inertia or personal limits and gone to a higher level. That’s fun. That’s the attitude you want to have every day. Cultivate it, visualize it, experience what it feels like and carry it with you so it’s accessible every time you want to just say no to training.
When all else fails, promise yourself a reward. Been dying to eat a bowl of ice cream? Need a new pair of shoes? Want to watch your favorite television show later in the day but feel guilty about making the time to do it? Take anything you’d really like to do and promise it to yourself if you complete every workout seven days in a row or for two weeks or a month or whatever. Write down the reward, what you have to do to achieve it, and make it happen.
Moderation, rest and it place in creating sustainable change.
mod⋅er⋅a⋅tion /ˌmɒd
əˈreɪʃən/
–noun
| 1. | the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance. |
| 2. | the act of moderating. |
| 3. | moderations, British. the first public examinations at Oxford University for the B.A. degree in mathematics or in classics. |
—Idiom
| 4. | in moderation, without excess; moderately; temperately: to drink in moderation. |
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, even the healthiest foods, exercises can become dangerous and harmful when we abuse them, not only can it become an obsession, but it can also have detrimental effects in the body, thus in the energetic system and so on. Often when trying to maintain healthy habits we begrudge ourselves small slip ups, we feel we must be on the ball one hundred percent of the time, when in fact our changes would be more sustainable if we accept that we will falter, thus we should take it easy, be kind to ourselves and start with small steps. Taking breaks and taking stock are an important part of the process. It is comparable to what happens in the body when exercise training. There is a prescribed rest interval for different types to training which yield different adaptations. When training for increased strength and size, you would not use a rest time appropriate for endurance training. Furthermore you would not for go the rest period all together since it would limit the change in the muscle over time.
If we apply this principle to life and making changes in our lifestyle or perception then it stands to reason that depending on our goals and aspirations, different paths will be appropriate for different types of people. Do not compare your journey to that of another, we are all unique. take your time, as a wise person once said it is not the destination that matters but the journey there.
Olympic spirit
The olympics are fast approaching, and the flame will be in Squamish in nine days. It is very exciting to be on the world’s stage; show off our beautiful town and get wrapped up in the energy of the Olympics.
I am very proud to say that Rob will be the RCMP representative greeting the torch when it lands in Lion’s Bay on the 4th.
I encourage you to step out and participate, not only for this event, but also throughout February; it is a once in a life time opportunity to be shared with people from all over the world.
For more information on the torch relay click here.
Heart Quiz
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?
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!
YOU are the VIP!
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?
Appreciation
When I went to write my blog today, I was drawing a blank, I do not have a useful tid-bit of information or something inspirational to post. So I thought, to maintain my momentum in daily blogging what on earth could I share? Thus I share some personal insight. Today I realized that I am deeply grateful, from the bottom of my heart for all the amazing people I work with. So to you I give thanks, you make my work absolutely wonderful, you allow me into your lives which are all rich and interesting, you teach me about the kindness of the human heart, and the drive to succeed and be healthy. You give me your support, and in-turn enrich my life. You rock!