The Tale of Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandchild about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, “My child, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, doubt, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

One is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, forgiveness, truth, compassion and faith.”

The child thought for a minute and then asked, “Which one wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Grow a garden of wellness

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This time of year, I reflect on a female client who was troubled by chronic illness. At  forty four years old she had been out of work for some time because of chronic conditions relating to diabetic complications including coronary surgery, thyroid issues, fibromyalgia and generalized pain with anxieties. For her spouse,  also a client and employee in this program, it was frustrating because the situation had gotten to the point where she could barely leave the house ‘except for doctor visits.’

I honed in on a good opportunity to explore a new path to wellness in her life. She was often regretful of her past because she was missing so many of the ‘good parts’ from before the diabetes spiraled into this physically debilitating and mentally draining disease. Together, we simply began to look for opportunities, and set small, attainable goals to be well again and agreed to not harp on the past.

There were simple changes and little exercises that could
bring physical mobility back. Incremental, sustained practices that seemed so small that they were a little silly. Already working
with many doctors and therapists, she decided to create an Action Plan bringing all of the professionals into the loop about each other using a notebook. Many patients do not realize this, but your doctors may not know about the other doctors if YOU, as the MEDICAL consumer, do not COMMUNICATE with them effectively, and follow-up often. 

One of the activities my client missed so much was gardening, “The
time spent in the yard getting some sunshine and cutting flowers to regularly have around the house.” These everyday actions ‘hurt’ her beyond the desire to enjoy this wonderful hobby because she could not even walk off her porch, use tools for pruning or bend over for any amount of time.

The opportunity for action Her loving husband had a strong desire to see these negative changes reverse and would support her by purchasing some inexpensive clay pots, a bag of soil and seeds.  Please see this support for the sacrifice it was, they were spending so much money on doctors and medications that they thought they couldn’t spend anything extra out of their monthly budget towards much else; however, they felt they could manage this opportunity. Together, they set out to create a Flower Pot Garden on the porch. At the very least, she would spend some time each day outside tending to the seedlings with her husband’s help. Within a few weeks they would have fresh herbs for cooking and flowers for the table which was her Ultimate Goal from this plan.

Immediately her mood lightened because regular sunshine and a new found focus will do just that for mostly everyone. During the first two weeks she felt ‘a good change physically’ in her hands. Planting small pots of seeds allowed her hands to gain some small motor mobility so they felt stronger. Plus, spending time outside gave her the confidence to actually walk off the porch and stroll around the yard. Her pain level dropped, or maybe her focus shifted, either way, her progress was positive and palpable.

 

Fresh cut flowers around the house add color and lighten the mood!

Soon, there were fresh flowers in the house again, and their meals contained the vegetables and herbs grown right on the porch. The new way of gardening felt good and she continued to make more action plans for small changes that continued to make a daily difference.

Focusing on what you can do NOW, not what you should have done then, is the reality of coaching. Looking to the past to make adjustments will aid the changes to your new daily routine creating wellness in ways you may not have imagined.

Important Side Note: Bringing all the doctors into ‘the-know’ was accomplished. The couple’s communication to the doctors brought about discovery that some medicines were counteracting the others. The importance of becoming an active consumer of modern medicine is key learning for many people. This couple found that the monthly out-pour of money was unnecessary on all those prescriptions and were able to take a little financial breather too.

Over time, there were new plans and goals: the focus on cutting
all the animal fats from the diet began, and a progressive shift to weight loss happened within a few months. Eventually, she lowered her Total Cholesterol while shedding a few pounds while discovering that her children, who are really grown ups, would still come for Sunday dinners and didn’t mind meals that did not involve slabs of ribs and fried chicken. Simply said, her children were happy to see their mother feeling better which meant those meals were brighter family events.

It’s spring, plant some seeds, play in the dirt and grow your own garden. Take advantage of every opportunity to change the outcome for yourself working with a health coach can help you set small attainable goals that are life altering, after all, it’s your life each and every day, your reality. Remain inspired.

 

Embrace-Change-Inspire

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Three of the most wonderful words in any language. The sounds ring and resonate when spoken and they are my favorites to share!
em·brace
sounds like: əmˈbrās
verb
1.
hold (someone) closely in one’s arms, especially as a sign of affection.

synonyms: hug, take/hold in one’s arms, hold, cuddle, clasp, squeeze, clutch; More
2.
accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.

synonyms: welcome, welcome with open arms, accept, take up, take to one’s heart, adopt; More
noun
1.
an act of holding someone closely in one’s arms.
“they were locked in an embrace”
synonyms: hug, cuddle, squeeze, clinch, caress, clasp; bear hug
“a fond embrace”
2.
an act of accepting or supporting something willingly or enthusiastically.
“their eager embrace of foreign influences”

change
sounds like: CHānj
verb
verb: change; 3rd person present: changes; past tense: changed; past participle: changed; gerund or present participle: changing
1.
make or become different.

“the ferns began to change shape”
synonyms: alter, make/become different, adjust, adapt, amend, modify, revise, refine; More

noun
noun: change; plural noun: changes; noun: Change; plural noun: Changes
1.
the act or instance of making or becoming different.

in·spire
sounds like: inˈspī(ə)r/
verb
verb: inspire; 3rd person present: inspires; past tense: inspired; past participle: inspired; gerund or present participle: inspiring
1.
fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

synonyms: stimulate, motivate, encourage, influence, rouse, move, stir, energize, galvanize, incite; More
create (a feeling, especially a positive one) in a person.

synonyms: arouse, awaken, prompt, induce, ignite, trigger, kindle, produce, bring out; literaryenkindle

animate someone with (such a feeling).

give rise to.

synonyms: give rise to, lead to, bring about, cause, prompt, spawn, engender;

2.
breathe in (air); inhale.

source: Dictonary.com

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Noise Clutter Stress

News. Fake news. Commercials. Buy now. Save now. Do this. Don’t do that. Go here. Stay there. Share this. Win that.

Enough I say! Turn off the noise, get outside and just be. To remain positive, to stay in forward motion I think we all just have to climb out of the hole we have dug ourselves into and recenter.

Marketing works, especially when there are a whole lot of dollars pushing it in front of us all the time. The best solution for conscious well being is to turn it off, turn away and focus on your primary life- the one right in front of you. Rediscover your very own mission! Is it your family, your neighbors, your best foot forward at work, making your home a happy place or your business a success by your own standards?
Decluttering your mind from from hearing senseless noise that only serves to confuse you and redirect you can be the best thing you can do to remain in forward, positive motion.

Now, let’s just clarify here. I am not saying become a self-indulgent ass or to ignore your fellow humans, I am actually encouraging the opposite. Choose what matters most and be attentive to the purpose of being truer to it.

Too many of us become bogged down, far too cluttered with noises pulling us in more directions each day then our brains can process with clarity. Media. Phones. Tablets. TVs. AIs. FB. Twitter. Insta. Tumbler. Behanced. LinkedIn- wow, I say LINKOUT! All of this things that could be worthy for a moment, in repetitive, bombarding motion as distracted, daily mind numbing consumption creates uncontrollable stress. The human mind cannot process it all without a physical response. Emotional, real behavior. It simply weighs us down with consistant fight or flight responses to almost everything we are seeing. With each clanging, processed ‘noise’ we produce an instinctual, physical release of a stress hormone called cortisol to help protect us from harm on a very primordial level which becomes over used and over stored in our bodies to result in painful, physical stress symptoms like weight gain, irresponsive immune reactions and over production of other hormones.

The simply stated physical result? We become clouded and confused. Irritated, aggrivated and more. We cannot be fully focussed on starting and living this next moment with purpose that brings out the best we have to offer when we are in a constant state of stress. We are literally, physically poisoning ourselves. Is the really what we want? Does it really make us better?

It’s not to wonder that stress has become the most used word for our children and ourselves. Overwhelmed is a truly powerful state of being, yet we are consistently referring to it as the daily state of our life. Let’s give ourselves the break.

Deep breath. Turn it off and center.
The purpose is stay positive. Smile and laugh more often. Want to feel better right now? Just turn everything off, walk away from the device, go outside, stroll down the street or go lay down in the grass for just a few minutes. Listen to wind. Watch and hear the trees whistling. Smile at someone or just smile on purpose.

You will be amazed at how good it makes you feel.

Here’s the deal

Surprisingly lovely succulent- Stonecrop

So, I often say that I am honest to a fault and sometimes it doesn’t win me friends, but here’s the deal:

Weight is an issue. Excess weight costs money in more ways than simply filling the refriderator every few days. Clinical obesity costs everyone big time! Sometimes I think about the Disney movie “Wallie” where the robot is left on earth to function while the people have lost their minds and bodies to excess weight and mind numbing monitor control (aka: computers, TVs, and other tech devices) and I can’t help but think about the scariness of that prediction. We have become a society so full of “feelings” that we don’t want to speak up for the right way to live. Healthy lifestyles full of good nutrition that fuels us to be active and productive and positive each day are what we should be striving for.

The latest survey about the staggering numbers of weighty trends in USAToday’s article, Obesity rate may hit 42% by 2030, should have EVERYONE thinking.  If company’s are falling prey to excess health claims tied to chronic conditions fueled by sedentary lifestyles and those companies can’t afford to help folks with their medical bills the way they used to, then what is going to happen to the largest employer in our country…the government, when they can’t afford this either.  Folks, we are all paying and we have to take control of the excess weight before it controls us.

On a personal level, lets think about your daily nutrition. If junk food is full of empty calories and you are consuming it often then of course you will still be hungry all the time and looking for more to eat. Your body needs nutrients that give it empowering energy. If you are a person who simply can’t stand vegetables I have a couple of ways to approach it: 1. Get over it and get on with it…you needs them. Drinking glasses of metamucil to poop and still continuing to eat fatty fried foods is not the answer to cleaning your system. Sorry, it’s true. You must intake valuable nutrition becasue, well, you are valuable and want to be full of life and comfortable as you age.  2. Understand that eating IS the issue. If you’re taste buds no longer “crave” good foods, it’s likely you have changed the nature of those taste buds yourself and it’s time to reverse and reteach yourself some basics.  When you eat refined, pure white sugars all the time then your sugar receptors are constantly screaming at you to get more sweets! A sugar withdrawl is much like a drug addits withdrawl only YOU have to coach yourself through it…you can’t be locked up in jail for too many snickers!  You have to understand that your body doesn’t “need” it, you just have conditioned it to want it all the time because of the sugar rush that “gives” you energy.

I was so sad the other day at work when a young mother was looking for a “snack” because she hadn’t eaten breakfast and was starved. I offered her a tangerine and a honey toasted granola. She honestly replied, “Oh, that’s not enough, I have a Snickers in my bag and that should satisfy me. It has everything I need.”  After talking about the actual nutrition in her bar, she learned that sugar is not a good calorie for fueling an afternoon at work. She also discovered that the tangerine was sweet and tasted refreshing, like juice.

Self Promotion or Self Preservation

Remember the Forest Gump Movie?
Since life is like a box of chocolates, should you just wonder what you’re gonna get or are you better off just taking what looks good? In Forward Motion helps explore those options with exceptional lifestyle truths. When you get what you want then you need to learn to enjoy those moments; when you don’t get what you want then you need to learn how not to chose that particular thing again and move on.
Cliches are cliches because they are truth to many.
Remember, mistakes are our best teachers and live In forward motion.

Should you drink more water?

The flat answer is YEAH, drink more water! Hydration is critical to health, and Americans simply don’t drink enough water. We drink and eat everything else, we are hungry all of the time, full of cravings and constantly looking for energy in the wrong place (the cabinet or refrigerator) not at the water cooler or the tap!
Healthful amounts of water are crucial to metabolism, skin, organs, weight control, stress levels, fitness and overall health…just to mention a few benefits.

When you are well hydrated you can focus better on everything, wake up feeling refreshed, digest your food with ease, look younger, recover better from fitness endeavors, have energy for your family and hobbies, feel less overwhelmed all the time, have fewer headaches-backaches-overall muscle aches…and the list goes on. Downside, you may use the potty more often, but that’s life!

 Below find a hydration calculator…it’s spot on for recommending the proper hydration for you weight. The only point I get frustrated with is discussion about where you can get added hydration from in your diet…absolutely a good 20% of your water comes from veggies in a healthful diet, but beyond that all your hydration should come from good ol’ water (not sodas or juices these products simply add calories and cause issues). Eat good food, drink lots of water- take care & be well!

Let’s work together! Grab a health coaching session today!

Here’s the Hydration Calculator, it only takes about 1 minute of time to get educated.
More about hydration on this blog 

Cut the CRAP-Simple Eating Tips

Simple Eating Tips- 1-2-3-Eat from the Earth!

  1. Eat more vegetables than fruit
  2. Eat more fruit than fats
  3. Drastically limit refined/processed sugar, meat, cheese & dairy (animal fats)

Cut the CRAP (caffeine, Refined Sugars, Alcohol & Processed Food-stuff!)

Be proactive- Choose products like Almond Milk , Whole Grain breads, brown rice & “foods without labels” . Limit sugars, sweets and additives (man-made chemical preservatives, or GMOs).

Simple steps- Do not replace or change everything all at once.  Make a few choices, see what you like. Think of food as a part of your lifestyle, not something that defines your life.