Love Yourself

Lately I have been reading a lot of marriage/family books... maybe because that is the point in my life where I am at right now, but they are also really interesting. I borrowed one from my mother-in-law and as soon as I started reading in one of the chapters I knew I had to write a post. It's taken me a while to finally write this, but better late than never.

In the book Married for Better, Not for Worse the Gary and Joy Lundberg give you an exercise to do that I feel can be applied to wellness. They say,

When you step out of the shower look at yourself in a full-length mirror. Really do this--it's the beginning of being able to be comfortable with seeing and being with yourself as you are. The first time you do it just look yourself in the eye and say, "Hi," then get dressed. Do this again a few more times and don't look for imperfections and pick yourself apart. Soon you will be more comfortable looking at your whole body and will be able to accept yourself as you are. This exercise is to get you beyond being critical of your body and getting to the point when you can say, " I like me. I'm glad I've got a body and I'm glad that, for the most part, it works. I'm just fine the way I am." That doesn't mean you may not work on making a few changes if you need to, but that is not the main focus here. It means you can accept yourself and are happy to be you, just as you are.

I really feel that this is one of the underlying causes that our society feels we need quick fixes--plastic surgery, fad diets, lap band surgery, etc... We are not truly comfortable with who we really are so we try to be like everyone else or how people are portrayed in the media. When you love yourself, you are more likely to have confidence, go out there are follow your dreams, make new friends, and serve and love others. I'm not saying that there may not be things that you want to change; there is always room for improvement! Whether you need to lose 5 lbs or 100 lbs or just want to be more fit, we need to love ourselves as we go through the process. If we don't love ourselves, then where is the motivation going to come from when our other motives fail us? Love you for you and enjoy the journey!

Challenge: Next time you shower do the exercise the Lundberg's suggest. Really look at yourself and love  who you really are.

Quick Workout

The other day I wanted to work out but didn't want to get in my car, drive into town, and get on a treadmill to run. I made up a quick workout to get my heart going and get my workout in for the day.

Warm up
March in Place
Gets you moving and starts to warm your body up. Get your knees up and do for 30-60 seconds.

Windmills
These also get your heart rate up and is a good dynamic stretch for your arms/upper body. Do about 30-60 seconds

Jumping Jacks.
These are good because it gets your heart rate up and they get you warm. I did 100 but listen to your body. If you have a hard time doing them, try a couple sets of 15 and then work your way up from there.

The workout (repeat through 2-3 times)

Push-ups
Builds up your upper body. Again if you are just beginning don't push yourself too much, but push enough. I did 15 girl push ups

Bicycle
This is the most effective ab-exercise for you. It builds your legs and your core. It helps your "muffin top" and helps you to build up your leg flexors (important for trail runners). I do 20 on each side

Plyometric Squats
It's like a squat but explosive! Here is a good example of how to perform them. Don't do too many or you won't be able to walk the next day (I may have pushed myself too much) I would suggest doing about 10 this first time.

Plank
Builds upper body and core strength. Shoot for a minute your first time and build from there. I also do the side plank on both sides. I am not very strong on my sides so I do it for about 45 seconds.

Mountain Climber Twists
I LOVE THESE! I would always have the people I trained perform these! Why? Because 1-they are my favorite and 2- They build upper body strength, your core, and your leg flexors.

Plyometric Lunges

Again it's explosive! 

Repeat. If you don't want to do the Plyo's, just do a regular squat and lunge. It still works your bottom!

Cool down
VERY IMPORTANT! You need to stretch the muscles you just warm-up. It helps to prevent muscle stiffness and injuries. I stretch my arms, back, chest, legs, sides, neck, everything. Here is a website with some really good stretches.

Challenge: Get up a 30 minutes early and do these exercises. Modify them to YOU! If you only can handle doing it once through. AWESOME! That is one more than you did yesterday. Always think of what you do and not what you didn't do.  

Vitamin D

We have all heard how important Vitamin D is for our Calcium absorption. I have learned about Vitamins multiple times in my nutrition classes, but today I learned something new.

Vitamin D can also help fight against the common cold, ease low back pain, and help you be positive and happy! Are you getting adequate amounts in your life? Check the RDA for Vitamin D to see.

I take a Calcium supplement that has Vitamin D in it because I don't like milk. So I kill two birds with one pill. You can get Vitamin D a few other ways though. The best way is from the sun. However if you live up north then you probably don't get enough. You can also get it from foods such as: 

1 TBS of Cod Liver Oil

3 oz of cooked Salmon

3 oz canned Tuna

1 cup Fortified Orange Juice

1 cup Fortified Milk

1 large egg (be sure to eat the yoke because that is where Vitamin D is found!)

There are also other Dietary supplements out there that you can take. So maybe if you are feeling a little moody or your health is not up to par, see if you can get a little more Vitamin D.

Challenge: Observe how much Vitamin D you are getting and see how you can improve. Go learn about it for yourself too! There are many good reliable resources out there.

When all else fails, Drink Water!!

So my mom sent this to me in an email and it said that it is from a Cardiac Specialist. I have heard some of these before, but I thought passing on the information wouldn't hurt :)

Drinking water at certain time maximizes it's effectiveness on the body:

• 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs
• 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
• 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
• 1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Hopefully that helps ya a little. I also know that drinking water after waking up helps you lose/maintain weight as well because it helps hydrate you and makes you fill like you are full so you don't eat so much. Now go drink a glass of water and enjoy your day!

"I AM AWESOME!"

I just read a blog from a woman that was very inspiring and it applies to wellness. She talks about being positive and thinking good about yourself. If we are always thinking the negative, then how are we ever going to feel good about ourselves? How will we have the motivation to work out or to eat better? How will we have the confidence to perform well in our career or think clearly? Being Positive is one of the keys to improve your emotional health and overall wellness. Here is the link to her post. It is a little long, but WORTH the read.

A story that popped into mind while I was reading is from my cousin. She went into Subway to get a sandwich and the kid behind the counter was very precise about putting her sandwich together. After he got her order right he he wrapped it up nicely and said to himself, "I am AWESOME!" I wonder what his emotional health is like.

Challenge: Put at least two "Drops of Awesome" in your bucket right now.

The key to success

To Be successful, all you have to do are two things: 1) Do the work when you feel like it; and 2) Do the work when you don't feel like it. - Peter Vidmar

I came across this quote today and started to think about it. To be honest, I really have never had a hard time working out and working on my wellness. However, lately it has been so hard. Why? There could be many reasons, but the main one is that I just don't feel like it. I make up excuses and then the day is gone and I tell myself I will do it tomorrow. Finally I got sick of that so I made a goal for myself. It is still hard, but I gotta do the work when I don't feel like it because that is what brings me one step closer to my end goal. So what are you trying to work on?

Challenge: Remember this little advice from Peter Vidmar next time you don't want to work towards your goal.

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.