Sometimes I stay right at home, but I set boundaries around my time and energy by screening my phone calls, spending very limited time on the computer, and not accepting any requests that don’t support my overall well-being. This time is spent slowing down mentally and physically and doing things that make me happy and feel relaxed. Even though I am at home, I let my family and friends know up front that I will not be available during this time.

I highly recommend not taking your laptop on vacation and keeping your cell phone off as much as possible. If you must check for messages, check your caller id directory list at night, as this will minimize your impulse to return calls.

I plan a retreat once a year; one that will revitalize and seek renewal of the mind, body and spirit. For example, I went to a spa in Green Valley, Utah–we hiked in the canyons every morning. I practiced meditation and yoga, met and connected with new people, attended nutrition and cooking classes, and ended each day with a relaxing spa treatment. This type of vacation creates lasting results to your overall well-being. I also take at least one long weekend (Thursday or Friday thru Sunday) every quarter to create enriching experiences. Are you ready for a great summer vacation? Try some of the tips below to get started.

1. Don’t spend more money than you budget. Taking a vacation can be as easy as sitting in the hammock in the back yard. But if you’re going to be making your way to a summer resort, make sure you have all the funds you need to do what you want so you won’t be stressed financially.
2. Wherever you are, make sure you laugh each day. Laughter truly is one of the best medicines for lightening up our lives and helping us to feel a sense of joy every day.
3. Do something you’ve never done before. A change is as good as a rest they say, and there’s nothing more exhilarating than trying out an activity you’ve never pursued–especially while on vacation. Whether it’s scuba diving, trying a new food or learning a new board game, let your imagination run with ideas about how to spend some of those lazy summer days.  
4. Stay true to your health. Whether you’re on vacation or at home or work, it’s important to keep your health regime going on a consistent basis. Go ahead and indulge while you’re on vacation, but do keep at least the basics of your daily health routine in place so your body and mind aren’t confused or overwhelmed by a sudden change. Remember that your quality of life is important, so keeping your routine going whether day-to-day or on vacation will serve you well in the long run.
5. Give yourself 2 or 3 days after you come back from vacation before returning to work if you can. Going from major relaxation back to a hectic pace overnight can rev your body and mind up too soon.  Having a day or two to unwind after your vacation helps the transition.

2.  To spring clean your body, give it a break from rich and complicated foods by either cleansing or fasting for a short period of time. cleansing means paring down your food to just simple fruits and vegetables, lots of water and perhaps whole grains. Fasting means
limiting most foods and drinking lots of water, fresh vegetable and fruit juices, teas and soups. Without much energy going toward digestion, more energy is available to the rest of your body and mind. Cleansing and fasting can sharpen your concentration, help you gain insight and promote spiritual awareness. It can also bring improved immune function and better digestion.

3.  While you’re cleaning out your body and home, don’t forget to spring-clean your heart. Throw away negative thoughts and habits you’ve been harboring that no longer serve you. A clean, open heart will allow you to receive all the good that awaits you each and every day. If your heart and mind are cluttered, there is no room for life’s gifts and surprises to enter.

Take a moment to think about a time in your life when you made a successful change or developed a new habit. What was your motivation for the change? What was your attitude at the time? What obstacles or barriers did you have to overcome? Your level of readiness to change will determine how successful you are, and how much time it will take. Once you make the decision to change, you must practice that new behavior one day at a time until it becomes a habit – a lasting change.

What allows some people to change, while others don’t? According to Dr. James Prochaska, developer of the “Stages of Change Model,” people cycle through a very distinct set of stages when making changes in their lives – from not being interested in making any changes, all the way through to maintaining a change after it’s already been made. This is the real challenge for everyone, because resistance is always the initial response to making a change. Sometimes people don’t see the positive side of change until it’s shown to them (or until they are forced to realize it on their own). Change is a choice. It’s something we decide to do. The same goes for wellness – it’s a choice, and once you have decided to change, you’ll feel better.

Embracing the concept of change is a big thing, because interestingly, many people think they don’t have a choice when it comes to change. Why? For some it’s fear, guilt, love, pain, time management or even a court order. What motivates one person may not be the same thing that gets another person to act. Everyone reacts differently to changes whether voluntary or mandatory.

To start making a change, let go of certain assumptions or ways of doing things, to make room for new ideas. Work on this one day at a time until you feel comfortable. This often comes into play when I work with sedentary people to increase their activity level (people who work a lot and don’t have a lot of time to exercise). One of my clients’ complaints was, “I don’t want to take an hour or 30 minutes to walk.” My solution was to suggest several two-minute intervals that would equal 30 minutes throughout the day — just stand up, walk around and visit people throughout the office, for example. The result was successful. She exercised and actually became more sociable as a result! Once she became comfortable with walking, I got her up to 10-minute intervals three times a day. Now she’s walking 30 minutes at one time and enjoying it. This all took place over the course of a few months.

To make a lasting change, you start wherever you are and stretch a tiny bit more each time. If you fall off the wagon, or experience resistance, identify the cause or circumstances– who you were with, where you were, or your emotional state. The key is to get up and get back on the path again. You may go back and forward a few times because making a lasting change is hard. Your level of readiness to change will determine how successful you are, and how much time it will take. But you need to be ready, able and willing to make change happen.

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Be the first to watch the trailer here:

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

The National Wellness Institute suggests selecting one item a day and looking for ways to incorporate it into your life…don’t worry about doing them all at once!  Sometimes moving slowly in small steps can be the fastest way to achieve a
goal!

1. Make more friends: Keep the friends you already have close to you, but be open to meeting new people and forming new relationships.
2. Enjoy alone time: Take advantage of opportunities to meditate and listen to nothing other than your thoughts.
3. Exercise: Studies have shown that physical activity can improve your mood and enhance your quality of life.
4. Seek pleasure: Don’t let your responsibilities control your life. Take time everyday to do something you enjoy.
5. Find a passion: Create a bucket list of things you want to do and accomplish in your lifetime. Developing a list of things you want to do gives you something to strive for each and every day.
6. Prepare for problems: It is a false hope to believe that everything in life will go smoothly every day.  Plan for some things to not go well from time to time. Being prepared reduces the impact of when things do not necessarily go as planned.
7. Seek constructive criticism:  Ask others around you for their input about the work you are doing, who you are as a person, etc. Do not take offense to their opinions, but embrace them and use what they say to improve you.
8. Take risks: Encourage yourself to step out of your comfort zone and take healthy risks. Accomplishing tasks you never thought you could is extremely gratifying.
9. Manage your success well:  Embrace your successes and be proud of yourself when you do well, but do not let it overwhelm you. Instead, use your success to help others.
10. Remember, you are never alone: Adulthood can be difficult for everyone; never think you are the only one struggling. It is very healthy to discuss your emotions with friends and/or explore therapy options to share your stresses with an expert. They are here to help.
11. Write! Instead of letting stress and fear overtake your mind; write them down on a list. Then, write a list of things you are grateful for. Your list of stress and fears will become nothing more than words on paper, and your list of positive things in your life will remind you how blessed you really are.
12. Protect yourself from ”Debbie Downers”; most everyone knows someone who is always in a bad mood, upset about something, frustrated with life, etc. It is important you do not let these people have a negative impact on your mood. Listen to what they have to say, and try to help if that is something you are comfortable with, but if the situation becomes too much, don’t be afraid to walk away and take some time to preserve your own happiness.

Let us know what you thoughts about this blog entry

Source: www.medicinenet.com

Loving yourself is about taking a realistic look in the mirror and accepting the person that you see there.  None of us are perfect, but we need to learn to accept and cherish who we are.  It is often our flaws that make us unique and special.

This Valentine’s Day, regardless of what you are doing with the other loved ones in your life, take a moment and do something for yourself as well.  Do something that will make you smile.   Be good to your body by eating something healthy.  Pamper yourself and make sure that you truly appreciate who you are and what you have done in your life.

Happy Valentines Day!

The ability to drive a car without realizing you’re actually driving it can be used as a metaphor for life. Many of us go about our lives half-awake, half-conscious, or with our eyes half open not even realizing we’re doing it. We pay attention to the bare minimum, and ignore the things that create discomfort, conflict, pain, or boredom. We rely on our automatic pilot to get us through our day-to-day activities, falling further asleep at the wheel of life.

We sit in front of the television in a daze for hours at a time. We don’t really listen to our friends and family when they are sharing stories about their day. We read the words in a book, but don’t fully pay attention to what the author is saying. We fill our lives with activities that create stress and anxiety, and we ignore the pain in our backs that indicate that our well being is at risk.

We grow accustomed to ignoring the warning signs that say “Hazard Ahead” or “Slow Down.” We do our best to “get through” life’s circumstances, but don’t put energy into making things better. We numb ourselves to the world around us and to our internal world of thoughts, feelings, and sensations until the discomfort becomes so extreme that we can’t ignore it any longer.

Unconscious competence serves an important purpose that we may have grown accustomed to using far too often. It would be exhausting and stressful if we had to pay attention to every detail, stimulus, or input that we encountered every moment of the day. That’s why our brains and bodies are capable of processing information at an unconscious level – thankfully. Unconscious competence allows us to put our attention selectively on matters that require greater focus. This has many benefits, but the ability to rely on unconscious competence can negatively impact how we live our lives.

Over reliance on unconscious competence teaches us to not pay attention to the warning signs that change is needed. This is one of the reasons that it is difficult for most people to find life balance. We get in the habit of being out of balance, of enduring the discomfort that we’ve created in our lives, and not being motivated enough to make necessary changes until we cannot ignore the warning signs any longer – physical pain, obesity, divorce, financial problems, over-working, substance abuse, and so on.

Finding fulfillment and satisfaction in how we spend our time and making conscious choices that create a happier life is what finding life balance is all about.   This is when we no longer rely on unconscious competence, but instead live a life of complete awareness, intention and fulfillment.

Alfalfa sprouts = 40%

Artichoke =29%
Asparagus = 25%

Avocado = 22%

Bamboo shoots = 26%

Beet Greens = 22%
Broccoli = 49%
Brussel sprouts = 49%

Cabbage, Red = 20%

Cauliflower = 27%

Celery = 10%
Chard, Swiss = 24%
Chives = 18%
Collards (leaves) = 48%
Collard (stems) = 36%
Cress = 26%
Cucumber = 10%
Dandelion Greens = 27%
Eggplant = 12%
Fennel = 28%
Garlic = 20%
Kale (leaves) = 60%
Leek = 22%
Lettuce, Boston = 12%
Lettuce, green-leaf = 42%
Lettuce, iceberg = 27%

Lettuce, loose-leaf = 13%

Lentil = 30%

Mustard greens = 22%

Okra = 24%

Onion (green) = 15%

Parsley = 36%

Pepper, green = 12%

Pepper, red = 14%
Pepper, red hot = 13%
Radish = 10%
Rhubarb = 11%

Seaweed, Dulce = 25%

Spinach = 49%

Turnip greens = 30%

Watercress = 22%
Wheat grass = 25%
Zucchini = 26%

Adapted from Get Naked Fast by Diana Stobo