September 10, 2011

Hello,

I mentioned in the last issue that I'm working on having articles on my website describing just about every type of massage/bodywork/somatics I can think of. Only one new article this month: Breema Bodywork.

However, I updated three pages so that they now contain more substantial information: Tui Na Chinese massage, Deep Tissue Massage, and The Trager Approach.

Health Tips

1. At first, don't make your fitness plan overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems most people have when starting a fitness program is rapidly losing motivation after only a few weeks due to having an overly ambitious fitness plan. Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming) and two days per week of 30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines) is adequate in the beginning.
2. Set realistically attainable goals.
3. Set exercise appointments with yourself. Use your calendar to set appointments for exercise - and then stick to them. You wouldn't miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you? So don't miss your exercise appointment with yourself. Nothing is more important than your health.
4. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Get educated on how to exercise correctly.
5. Never do a traditional sit-up. Unless you are a super athlete with an incredibly well-developed midsection, sit-ups can lead to a strained lower back and possibly lumbar injuries. But it gets worse. Rather than affecting your abdominal area, sit-ups can shift exercise tension to your hip flexors - which defeats the purpose.
6. Enjoy yourself. Pick activities you enjoy. Make exercise your personal time.
7. Never skip breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you've got to eat breakfast.
8. Eat regularly throughout the day. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it's being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat and using lean muscles for energy expenditures. Therefore, your body fat remains essentially the same and you lose vital fluids and muscle instead. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes and the less fat you burn. Eat three nutritionally balanced meals each day and at least one or two healthy snacks. This keeps your metabolic furnace stoked, so you burn more at a faster rate.
9. Eat fat to lose fat. Your body needs healthy fats for a bunch of reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin. The distinction you must be aware of is the difference between healthy "good" fats, and dangerous "bad" fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats like olive, peanut, and canola oil, avocados, all-natural peanut butter, and nuts, plus omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel. Bad fats are partially hydrogenated fats and trans fats.
10. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. When you don't drink enough water, and substitute diuretics like coffee, tea, and caffeinated sodas, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn't flow properly, and your digestive system doesn't operate smoothly (among other problems).

Read a longer interview with Personal Trainer and Exercise Kinesiologist David Grisaffi.

Aromatherapy Links

Some aromatherapy articles I've come across that have useful information:

Using Lavender to Relieve Allergy Eyes

Essential Oils for Acute Bronchitis

Small Doses: Aromatherapy for Children

You can order essential oils from the Young Living site (Please use Sponsoring Distributor Member Number 1030500 or contact me for more information.)

You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. I also offer Freelance Writing Services.

Visit my Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Blog.

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only. Consult a professional healthcare practitioner as appropriate.

Carol Wiley, Bold Visions LLC, PMB 211, 10115 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle WA 98133
Young Living Independent Distributor 1030500