Namaste

This blog post has reference to my religion. I am not trying to force what I believe upon you. I feel that it ties in with Namaste and is a very important subject that applies to mental health.

"I honor the place within you where the entire Universe resides; I honor the place within you of love, of light, of truth, of peace; I honor the place within you, where, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us"   -- Mahatma Gandi 

Namaste is the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us. In Yoga, we use Namaste to begin meditation and to become unified. However, if you stop and think about it, shouldn't we think of Namaste always? Each day we have multiple opportunities to build friendships, help others, strengthen ourselves, and succeed. We cannot go through life alone. We are here on earth to help and support others. By serving others, we in turn receive. We begin to understand who we are we have purpose. We then have the confidence to achieve our dreams and our goals. It builds trust, it brings love, and it unifies us.

I am a girl, and lets face it, there are forces out there trying to bring us down. Telling us we can't, telling us we aren't pretty enough, telling us we aren't skinny enough, and even telling us who we should be. I feel that it is more prevalent in women than in men, but sometimes we all can become down.

I feel that I have been blessed because of the religion that I have had in my life. When I was a young woman I would stand each week with the other women in my ward and say "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love him..." As I think back, I really didn't understand the power in that phrase. I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father. He knows me, he loves me, and I have a divine purpose! So powerful! It gets even better though; it's not just me who is a daughter (or son) of God, it is EVERY person that I meet! EVERY person that I walk by is a child of God, EVERY person I see has a divine purpose, and EVERY person I meet has light and love in them, but do they know that? Do they have the confidence to be themselves and to love life? I am not too sure each person does. It has taken me a while to truly accept who I am and that I don't have to be a stick to be pretty. I don't have to have the latest fashion to fit it. I don't have to be sad when I am alone. I have a purpose. I know I have not even had a glimpse of the potential I have with that purpose, but by helping others, I have found out who I am. I have been assured that I have a divine purpose. I have grown to love others and have peace and be happy!

Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all understood Namaste and used it in our everyday dealings? YOU have a purpose. YOU have potential. YOU are beautiful. YOU are here because others need you. Namaste brings peace, love and happiness to you and others around you.

Challenge: Write down one thing that you are good at (don't compare how good at it you are with anyone else!) and share it with someone. Write down how you feel after you help that person so you will remember it. 

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is designated Breast Cancer Awareness month. Our community has a "Break for Breakfast" each year where women can grab a sack breakfast and get some facts about breast cancer. It's a fun health promotion program that is intended on educating the community about beast cancer. I was sitting here thinking that I am a health science major and as part of that I need to do my job to bring awareness to individuals therefore, another blogpost :) The American Cancer Society has a great website that is user friendly. There they have facts about different kinds of cancer and preventative measures to take with each one. Since this post is about breast cancer, that is where I will be focusing, but you can find more on their website. Here are some breast cancer facts that I found interesting:

• Most masses are not cancerous
• Most breast cancers are invasive
• Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women
• In 2011, about 2,140 cases of breast cancer were expected to occur among men
• Approximately 2.6 million US women with a history of breast cancer were alive in January 2008 more than half of whom were diagnosed less than 10 years earlier
• Breast cancer incidence and death rates generally increase with age
• Breast caner incidence rates are higher in non-Hispanic white women compared to African American women for most age groups

Preventative measures should be taken starting at age 20. Doing a breast self-exam helps you to know if an abnormal lump appears and you can catch it early. Here you can find out how to perform that.

While you are in your 20's and 30's you should have a clinical breast exam every 3 years. I remember my women's health teacher telling me that if you have a history of breast cancer then you should have one 20 years before that detection. (i.e. if your aunt was diagnosed with cancer at age 39, then you should have one at age 19). It is recommended that women 40 and over have mammograms yearly. 

There are five things that the American Cancer Society want you tell your friends about breast cancer:

1. All women can get breast cancer--even those who have NO family history of the disease.
2. The two most important risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and growing older.
3. Women diagnosed with breast cancer early, when the cancer is small and has not spread, have a high chance of surviving it. Getting a mammogram is the best thing you can do to help find breast cancer early. If you notice any breast changes, tell you doctor without delay.
4. You can help reduce your chances of having breast cancer by doing regular physical activity, keeping healthy weight, and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.
5. Through early detection and improved treatments, more women than ever are surviving breast cancer and celebrating more birthdays.

You can estimate your risk for developing breast cancer here. You can also find a risk assessment tool on the National Cancer Institute's website. 

Early detection is the best protection. My sister is in the Radiology program and she came home the other day and told me that her professor said that 1 in 8 of you will get breast cancer. That is crazy! We do live in a day where quick fixes are what we want. In order to be completely healthy, we can't rely on that. You have to constantly work at it. Even if you are a health freak, you are not exempt from getting cancer or different diseases, it just is a preventative measure. Please do your best to be healthy and educate yourself and others about breast cancer. Here is another website you can use.

Challenge: Do a preventative measure that will help you to detect cancer early. If you are not 20 yet, talk to your family to see if there is a history of breast cancer--or any cancer. Educate those around you so they can live longer lives!

Meditation

Sorry I have not written lately, I have been busy planning a wedding. Through this process I have not been doing so well with my personal wellness. One area that I have really noticed that I am struggling in is meditation. I have come to realize that I NEED to meditate in order to function properly. I was thinking of a semester that was crazy busy, but I had a goal to meditate 30 minutes each day. That semester was one of the best semesters I have ever had. I didn't even have a headache that semester. I functioned properly and everything seemed to get done.

Meditation is a wonderful stress reliever. Let me tell you, planning a wedding is VERY stressful at times. Stress can take a toll on your health. I was reading about Meditation on the Mayo clinics website. They gave a list of types of meditation. My favorite way to mediate is by doing Yoga. I never thought I would like yoga because it is too slow. I live at a very fast pace and try to shove as much in a day as I possibly can. Yoga was the perfect medicine for me. After I do some yoga exercises, I feel like I can conquer the world. No problem is too big that I can't solve. Here are some of my favorite yoga poses. You can get these poses and more at www.yogajournal.com 

Warrior Pose

Step by Step

Stand in Tadasana [fancy word for stand upright]. With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down.

Turn your right foot in slightly to the right and your left foot out to the left 90 degrees. Align the left heel with the right heel. Firm your thighs and turn your left thigh outward so that the center of the left knee cap is in line with the center of the left ankle.

Exhale and bend your left knee over the left ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. If possible, bring the left thigh parallel to the floor. Anchor this movement of the left knee by strengthening the right leg and pressing the outer right heel firmly to the floor.

Stretch the arms away from the space between the shoulder blades, parallel to the floor. Don't lean the torso over the left thigh: Keep the sides of the torso equally long and the shoulders directly over the pelvis. Press the tailbone slightly toward the pubis. Turn the head to the left and look out over the fingers.

Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.

Lord of the Dance Pose

Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee. Press the head of your right thigh bone back, deep into the hip joint, and pull the knee cap up to keep the standing leg straight and strong.

There are two variations you might try here with your arms and hands. In either case, try to keep your torso relatively upright. The first is to reach back with your left hand and grasp the outside of your left foot or ankle. To avoid compression in your lower back, actively lift your pubis toward your navel, and at the same time, press your tailbone toward the floor.

Begin to lift your left foot up, away from the floor, and back, away from your torso. Extend the left thigh behind you and parallel to the floor. Stretch your right arm forward, in front of your torso, parallel to the floor.

The second option with the hands is to sweep your right hand around behind your back and catch hold of the inner left foot. Then sweep the left hand back and grab the outside of the left foot. This variation will challenge your balance even more. Then raise the thigh as described in step 3. This second variation will increase the lift of your chest and the stretch of your shoulders.

Stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Then release the grasp on the foot, place the left foot back onto the floor, and repeat for the same length of time on the other side.

Full Pose

For the full pose, perform step 1 as described above. Then turn your left arm actively outward (so the palm faces away from the side of the torso), bend the elbow, and grip the outside of the left foot. (You can also grab the big toe with the first two fingers and the thumb.) The fingers will cross the top of the foot, the thumb will press against the sole. Inhale, lift the left leg up, and bring the thigh parallel to the floor. As you do this, rotate the left shoulder in such a way that the bent elbow swings around and up, so that it points toward the ceiling. It requires extreme flexibility to externally rotate and flex the shoulder joint in this way. Reach the right arm straight forward, in front of the torso and parallel to the floor. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, release, and repeat on the second side for the same length of time.

Cat Pose

Step by Step

Start on your hands and knees in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor.

As you exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to your chest.

Inhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees.

Challenge: Take a few minutes out of your day to meditate. Try different types and see what way works best for you. I know it will help improve your well-being. I am up for this challenge, are you? 

Eating Intuitively

I started reading this book about weight loss called Intuitive Eating. I am really loving the principles that lay the foundation of this weigh loss program. I do not believe in all the diets that say "Loss up to 10 lbs in one week!" Although you may have lost those 10 lbs, it's most likely water weight instead of fat. 

One thing that sparked my interest and made me want to write was a little section about willpower. I have always been taught that if you want something, it requires a little bit of willpower. Tribole and Resch define willpower as an "attempt to counter natural desires and replace them with proscriptive rules." When one goes on a diet, this is exactly what they are doing. The diet says not to eat carbs, so you are countering your bodies need for energy by replacing your carbs with protein or something else. Willpower is not a part of the Intuitive Eating program. The book explains that listening to your personal signals will reinforce your natural instincts rather than fight them. When you fight them, you are setting yourself up for a backlash--which is also talked about in the book. You may start to rebel against these rules or overeat after you finish the diet. 

Successful weight loss occurs gradually, but remember, the number on the scale doesn't matter; how you feel matters. Hopefully I will be able to write some more insights about this book on the blog, but if not, I am sure you can pick it up at your community library. I have already ordered a copy for myself.

Challenge: Get rid of the scale and start listening to your body and what it is telling you it needs.

Tasty Treat

I LOVE my sweets! Sometimes it seems like I crave a cookie right when I wake up. It's a terrible thing. However, I have found that if I have fruit around I will eat that when I have a sweet tooth and it takes the craving away. Lately I have been making a smoothie with frozen fruit and orange juice. It makes for a great snack or a healthy breakfast to start your day.

Makes approximately 12 oz
1 1/2 cup frozen fruit (I use a Dole mixed berry blend of strawberries, pineapple, peach, and mango)
3/4 cup orange juice

This 12 oz smoothie is 180 calories. You can try any kind of fruit you want. Today I even put a banana in it. This kind of treat is especially good on a hot summer day :)

Challenge: Try eating a fruit next time you have a craving for something sweet.

A parent's guide to exercise

I found this video on Youtube and thought it was quite humorous, but really these are good tips if you want to help your kids (and even yourself) get in shape. Enjoy!

Challenge: Implement these exercises in your child's life and even in your own life.

Courage to start

I saw this on Everyday Health's Facebook page and thought I would share. This is so true. You never know what you can accomplish if you never start. You don't know the lives you can touch, the places you will go, the people that will come into your life, the goals you will accomplish, etc... so if you don't know, why not try and see what will come of it?

Challenge: Have courage to start/change/do something new.