Benefits of Meditation

First off there is a reason why meditation has been around for literally thousands of years. It is an amazing practice, packed with so much healthy, positive energy!

The word meditation comes from 16^th century Latin meditat (contemplated) and meditari (measure) It is now known as to think deeply, to focus, be still, be silent, to be in the moment and is used as a form of relaxation and spiritual practice.

Meditation can involve focusing on your breath, your body and sensations, or on a word or phrase known as a mantra. Meditation is turning your attention away from distracting thoughts, everyday life and focusing on the present moment and just being in the moment. People are starting to get a better understanding of why it is so beneficial for so many areas of our lives. Meditation and mindful practice has so many benefits from dealing with illness and disease, pain relief, getting a more restful night’s sleep, helping with depression, gaining more control of a person’s emotions and daily interactions with others in business and personal lives. The list of benefits from this amazing practice goes on...

Let’s define mindfulness which is what you are striving for in meditation: Finding the mental state of peace by focusing on one’s awareness of the present moment. Accepting your thoughts, feelings and sensations of your body.

There are so many reasons why you should actually incorporate meditation into your daily life. These are just a few!

* Meditation is said to have four key elements that help us in different ways. The health benefits of mindfulness are self-awareness, body awareness, regulation of your emotions and your attention.

* Meditation lowers stress. Meditation and mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, it’s also linked with reducing Cortisol. Meditation can help reduce belly fat and inflammation caused by higher levels of cortisol in the body caused by daily stress. Stress is one of the leading causes of depression, illness and disease.

* Meditation helps you learn to breathe better. Meditation teaches you how to breathe better and actually helps your lung function. We live in a society that is so stressed out, in a rush and too busy, so busy in fact that we actually breath in shorter breaths, meditating teaches you how to take deep oxygenated breaths that are healthy and life giving.

* Meditation helps us connect with who we really are and what we really want in life. Being mindful of your thoughts can help us see beyond those rose-colored glasses when we need to really objectively analyze ourselves. It helps us to stop and be in the moment, which in turn brings things to the forefront and gives us the ability to think about things in our lives and make changes where it may be needed to increase the quality of our lives. It also gets us to step away from the cell phones and calm our minds and give our neck and upper back a break too!

* Meditation could possibly help people with arthritis and joint issues. A study in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Disease shows that even though meditation may not help to lessen pain for people with rheumatoid arthritis, meditation can help to lower stress levels in the body which could in turn help with negative effects of the disease and it's symptoms.

* Meditation makes music beautiful and relaxing. According to a study in the journal, Psychology of Music, meditation improves our focus on music and sound, helping us to truly enjoy and experience the music that we are listening to during our meditation experience! Have you ever noticed how soothing the music sounds when you are meditating or getting a massage? Now learn to listen to more calming and restorative music on your down time and even in your car driving, add a few deep breaths and you are on your way to living healthy already!

* Meditation can help you sleep better. Meditation and being mindful can help us control our emotions and moods, it can also help us to get a better night’s sleep. People who reported higher levels of mindfulness after meditating felt more peaceful and had better control over their emotions and behaviors throughout their day. Meditation helps you handle stress better in turn helping you to get a good nights’ sleep.

* Meditation makes you a better person! That’s right a better you! Meditation helps us physically but it also benefits people we interact with. Researchers from Northeastern University along with Harvard University found that meditation is linked with more virtuous, “do-good” behavior in people. Further studies have shown that when you do good for others you feel good and that makes you happy, healthy and positive.
* Meditation can make cancer diagnosis and treatment just a little less stressful. Learning to meditate and breath properly may help reduce the stress when going through cancer treatments and related therapies.

*Helps you to cope with loneliness and fear.  Loneliness can be dangerous to the body through the mind and emotions because it is known to raise risks for a number of health conditions due to depression. Mindful meditation can help if you feel alone especially among the elderly population, which helps boost their health overall. It also helps with fear and mental health conditions.

*Meditation and exercise can help raise your immune system. When practiced together over your week, these two healthy practices pack a major wellness punch! Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Health found that people who engage in these practices miss fewer days of work from acute respiratory infections, and also experience a shortened duration and severity of symptoms. That is just another reason to add meditation to your health and fitness routine.

* Meditation helps with weight control. Trying to shed a few pounds to get to a healthier weight is tough. Meditating and Mindfulness training is considered to be an excellent addition to fitness routines and weight loss goals. Many people eat due to stress because meditating is a proven stress relieving practice it can help in a well-planned weight loss program too.

*Chakra Clearing. Meditation with the added practice of Chakra Clearing is an amazing practice and one that I do daily to remove any negative energy I may have picked up throughout the day. Chakras are beautiful colored energy wheels located throughout or body. Chakras are where the life force energy is stored in our body, this energy is also known as "Chi" or "Prana" Chakras are responsible for the flow of energy throughout our entire body, when our Chakras become dirty or develop wholes in them from daily interactions and stress they will finction at a lower level and with low energy, this low energy can stop the free-flowing,  healthy energy in our bodies and therefore cause illnesses, diseases, low energy, depression and even pain.

Meditation is a simple way to improve all areas of your life. You can choose a program that is 8 minutes to 60 minutes in duration, the choice is yours. I always recommend smaller periods of time until you can sit calmly without thinking about all the things on your “to do” list. The benefits of Meditation are endless! Remember the whole point of meditating is to center yourself, be still, quiet and to find YOUR state of calm.

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Power Foods

My Favorite Power Foods. Power foods are the ones that make you stronger, rev up your metabolism, burn fat and make you feel healthy and fit!

While there is no real definition of a “Power” or “Super” food, these healthier choices are a great source of antioxidants, a substance that protect our bodies from cell damage and helps prevent illness and disease. There are a number of common foods that provide these nutrients.

Here are a few of My Favorite Power Foods and the benefits they can provide to you and your health and wellness.

Bananas: This is an easy to grab and eat fruit, contain fiber and potassium and they also help keep your electrolytes balanced, pick a banana instead of a sports drink.

Raisins: A natural energy boost, grab a handful before a longer workout to keep from dragging. Keep them in your car or in your desk at work.

Oatmeal: Full of soluble fiber to fight cholesterol and helps burn belly fat too! Make sure to choose a natural unsweetened, steel cut variety, add honey or fruit to sweeten.

Eggs: Eggs have a rich source of leucine, an amino acid that helps repair muscle.

Salmon: The list goes on for this power food! Salmon is he # 1 source of omega-3, the fatty acid that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Salmon also strengthens muscle tissue. Choose wild caught not farm raised.

Pistachios: One of my favorites when I am hungry and do not have time to grab a snack! This little power food helps curb post workout hunger and is a convenient snack to keep handy when you are on the go.

Spinach: A TRUE super food! Packed with multivitamins, A, C, K and folate, which is a great mood booster too! Spinach can be added to smoothies, eggs, salads and sandwiches. Sauté spinach in coconut oil with a little sea salt. Yummy!

Turmeric: This spice is amazing and proven to ease joint pain. My dog gets a teaspoon everyday in his food for arthritis and I have seen a major difference in his condition.

Cherries: They help you sleep I have tried it and it works! Cherries also neutralize free radicals, which help you recover faster.

Avocados: Loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber, which help you stay satisfied longer. They are not as high in calories as you might think, a quarter of a medium sized avocado is only about 50 calories and worth it!

Berries: I love them all but blueberries pack more antioxidants than most fruits, the reason why studies suggest they can keep your heart healthy, boost brain health and fight cancer too.

Soybeans: High in fat burning protein and fiber. Healthy as a snack, check out your freezer aisle for an organic non-GMO brand.

The list can go on, I also recommend adding Cucumbers, Papaya, Watermelon, Lemons, Honey, Beets Ginger, Greek Yogurt, Whole Grains and more to your diet!

Remember the start of a healthy lifestyle is proper nutrition and effective fitness routines. If you want to maintain a healthy, positive and happy lifestyle you need to commit to better food, exercise and health choices. Stay away from processed foods and remember just because a label says all natural or healthy does not mean that it is, we as consumers have to educate ourselves on what is actually healthy for us, I have seen many people think that they were eating healthy and actually gaining weight due to processed food choices that claimed to be healthy, 68% of Americans are overweight or obese, the main reason more of us are developing diseases such as diabetes, and at younger ages. Educate yourselves now and feel healthy and fit tomorrow!

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Benefits OF Menopause

Menopause! The Elephant in the Room?

Why do I still meet and speak to women who are ashamed of or afraid to talk about Menopause? It is not the beginning of the end! Women have more than one-third of their life ahead of them after menopause, so why do so many women act so dramatic about Menopause? In my opinion the menopausal transition is a good time for lifestyle changes that could help women make the most of the years ahead of them. A time to finally take care of YOU! Yet the stigma of menopause looms dark and drippy over our beautiful female heads!

The reality is by talking about menopause and going after it 100% you can actually make all the difference during this time of your amazing life!

Let me start by saying this; the last thing a woman should do is let the fatigue, bloated feeling and depression make them slow down and not exercise! THIS is the time to boost your fitness routine and adjust your food choices, nutritional intake and calories as well as change your skin care routine. Yet I see so many women doing the opposite because they are being told that this is “normal” for women going through peri-menopause and menopause! That is simply not true and unacceptable! Women need to embrace menopause and own it!

There are some illnesses and medical conditions that are associated with menopause such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke breast cancer, ovarian cancer and depression but these are also part of the aging process then to menopause specifically. Women going through menopause tend to gain weight because of the declining estrogen levels in their body. Increasing activity levels, adding more exercise and strength training can help avoid weight gain and bloating while increasing muscle mass, strength and flexibility. Regular exercise benefits bones and heart health, helps control weight gain, and it improves your mood and decreases fatigue and depression too. Women of ALL ages who lead a sedentary lifestyle often suffer from chronic back pain, poor sleep, circulation issues, weak muscles, and depression. They are also more likely to have heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, risk of cancer and osteoporosis.

Your nutritional needs change after menopause too. You should have up to 1,200 mg of calcium per day. I always recommend a blood test at your yearly female wellness exam to check your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and bone formation and it reduces the risk of spine and bone fractures. However, keep in mind that too much calcium or vitamin D can cause kidney stones, constipation, or abdominal pain, especially if you already have kidney problems so be sure to consult your physician before taking this or any new supplement.

Then there are the dreaded HOT FLASHES! The worse of all menopause symptoms simply because they are present whenever they feel like rearing their ugly head to us, like in the middle of a corporate meeting or presentation perhaps? I have been taking a simple formula of flax, borage and fish oil by Barleans every morning for years and believe that it helped me never really get hot flashes. Reduce alcohol consumption, alcohol especially wine can really bring on hot flashes and that dreaded “beet red” look. Learning to breathe is a must! Deep breathing helps with hot flashes. Deep, slow breathing for 15 minutes 2 times a day can significantly reduce hot flashes.  If you feel one coming on while at an important event simply breath it out!

Good nutrition, daily physical movement, strength training, exercise and positive energy are key for a smooth transition into menopause. Adding these new routines to your life will absolutely help with the following:

*Improve hormone health

*Weight loss, decreased bloating and inflammation

*Reduce hot flashes

*You will look and feel younger

*You will enjoy better sleep

*No more fatigue

*Helps to beat the terrible foggy brain feeling

*Kicks depression to the curb

*Reduces stress and anxiety

*Cuts your risk of heart disease

*All will boost your self confidence

*Being active will help to get you social again without feeling bloated and cranky

*Get moving and stop driving yourself crazy with overthinking it all!

There are other methods that you can try to help you stay healthy after menopause and reduce the most common symptoms such as yoga, meditation, Reiki healing, natural supplements and reduced alcohol consumption. If you smoke you should quit ASAP, smoking is a major risk factor in heart disease. Decrease your sugar intake as well because menopause tends to cause sugar cravings, this is a terrible cycle to get caught up in because sugar can actually increase many of the typical menopause symptoms.

One topic that never seems to be addressed enough is skin care. It is very important to revisit your skin care needs at this time due to the hormonal changes of menopause. Facials and dermabrasion are a great addition to your skin care routine if you do not already get them I advise adding them to your anti-aging routine for exfoliation and vibrant looking skin. The products that used to work may not cut it any longer with the decrease in estrogen there is a need for more moisture for dryness and vitamin C for dark spots. I love Shira products they are all natural, organic and provide amazing results!

Menopause is a natural stage in a women’s life. Try looking at this stage of life as a time of freedom and unlimited opportunities to start new things and take time for YOU!

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