FROM:  Steve

Here is another piece of helpful information about how to live a happy, healthy life.  The other morning when I sat down to spend a few minutes in quiet meditation I found myself  having some worry thoughts, particularly about money and my lack thereof.  These triggered some nagging feelings of fear and were pretty uncomfortable.  Sometimes they are pretty hard to get rid of.  Does this sound familiar to you? 

Well, when I do  my morning meditation I usually start with a few minutes of slow deep breathing.  I did so that morning and found that the worry thoughts and feelings of fear went away!  I found this interesting and rather surprising.  In fact, I played with this for a few moments.  I felt the fear begin to return when I stopped concentrating on slowing my breath and then fade away again when I returned to the slow conscious breathing.  This was pretty dramatic.  Now I had been aware that whenever I get agitated or afraid that my breathing gets faster and shallower and that just adds to the stressful feelings.  And then it dawned on me that when I consciously slow down and take deeper breaths, my bodymind starts to relax and I feel better.  I can actually do something to make the anxiety and fear go away! 

Do you have worry thoughts that lead to fear feelings that “bring you down” for however long you let them?  Well, here is something that you can do to take charge of the situation. 

TAKE SOME SLOW, DEEP BREATHS!

You will find that fearful thoughts are incompatible with deep breathing.  Fritz Perls, the famous psychotherapist who developed gestalt therapy, said “Fear is excitement without the breath.”   In fact, have you noticed that when you are afraid that many times you find yourself actually stopping breathing– holding your breath?  The best thing you can do to ease the stress is start breathing again and try to take slow, deep breaths and you will notice a shift.  Your bodymind will release the fear and you may remain with a feeling of excitement which is just an increased state of awareness, but unburdened by fear.

So whenever you feel anxious or fearful or panicky and you notice your breathing getting faster and shallower (high in your chest), consciously slow your breathing down and let the breath fill your lower chest and belly fully like water filling a vase.   Notice how your feelings and even your thoughts “slow down” and begin to shift to something else, something that feels better and allows you to think more clearly (your brain & body are getting more oxygen).  Things don’t look so scary or stressful anymore.  Keep up the slow, deep breathing for as long as you need to and get on with your life–happier and healthier!!

FROM: Steve

I just heard that in the United States 80-85% of all doctor visits involve problems related to STRESS!  No surprise, eh?!  While it is difficult to actually remove the stress in our lives the most effective treatments include ways to deal with the stress on a daily basis and thus reduce the harmful effects..

The best, quickest, and most effective thing you can do to take charge of your stress is to Take a Deep Breath!

Now there is a certain way of doing this that insures that it will be effective. 

Here are three tips for doing it well:

1.  Breathe with your belly.  A lot of people tend to breathe using mostly their upper chest, especially in tense situations.  Think of a tense situation that just happened in your own life.  Try to picture it in your mind and pay attention to how you felt and how you were breathing at the time.  If you weren’t paying attention to how you were breathing then, do a quick bodyscan right now and see how you are breathing right now as you reproduce the incident and feeling.  Are you breathing faster and higher in your chest?  Most people do when feeling stressed.

So it is better to breathe from your belly.  When you breathe in allow the air to fill your lower chest, pushing down your diapragm and letting your belly expand instead of your chest.  Then gently push your breath out by letting your belly settle back to it’s normal position (or you might want to contract your belly a bit past normal to help push the last little bit of breath out).  Try it a few times.  Do it slowly and smoothly. 

 2.  Slow your breathing to 10 or fewer breaths per minute.   This is important and not particularly hard to do.  Pay attention to splitting each breath into two parts–the Inbreath and the Outbreath.  Now take a breath and let it out fully.  Then when you begin taking the next inbreath start counting slowly to 5 (representing 5 seconds).  When you get to 5 roll smoothly into your outbreath and count slowly to 5 again.  Repeat this several times.  This rhythm represents a breathing rate of 6 full breaths per minute.  You should not feel out of breath and you most likely will feel a sense of relaxation as your blood fills with oxygen and carries it to your brain resulting in clear, calm thinking.   Try it, you’ll like it!

3.  Take a deep, full relaxing breath whenever you feel stressed!  This will take some awareness on your part.  You will need to pay attention to when you are in a stressful situation and feeling tense.  One way to tell is by noticing if you are breathing shallow and fast (this is how the body automatically deals with stress, called fight or flight breathing).  When you notice this stop and take several (or at least one!) deep breaths as described above.  There doesn’t need to be a big dramatic shift.  In fact no one need know or even notice the change in your breathing.  But what they may notice is how much more calmly and efficiently you act!!   As a nurse, I got into the habit of stopping outside the door to my patient’s room to take a slow, deep breath before I entered.  I noticed my subsequent time with the patient went much smoother and calmer! 

And finally, you may want to practice this deep therapeutic breathing for a longer period of time each day.  Try sitting somewhere quiet and peaceful and breathe like this for 5 minutes or even 10 mintes, if you have time.  After a few days you may notice your frantic reactions to stress melt away.   You will feel healthier and actually be healthier!  Try it!

FROM:  Steve

To take charge of your health we have established that it is better (easier) to use the “A” word instead of the “E” word (Activity vs. Exercise).  And we need to get moving every day, especially if we have  been sitting or standing around most of the time and have gained a few pounds as we’ve grown older.   So how do we think about what we need to do to feel and be healthier. 

Fitness is the answer!!  Our goal is to increase our fitness.  Research has shown that fit men and women of all ages have stronger hearts with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease–that means less chance of a heart attack.   This also means higher quality of life, which in my book equates with happiness!!

I recommend a simple method to get fit and maintain your fitness and here it is:

     Do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most (five or more) days of the week.

Let’s examine this prescription for fitness a little closer.  The italics highlight three important steps here.

1. Do 30 minutes of physical activity each day.  Research has shown that you don’t even need to do it all at one time.  You can split it up into 2-15 minute periods or even 3-10 minute periods. 
2. Choose moderate-intensity activities.  Moderate-intensity physical activities are equal in effort to a brisk walk, walking a mile in 15-20 minutes.  If you walk, you may need to work yourself up to speed in this case.  But in general, this is a healthy pace.  However, you can do other moderate-intensity activities like:  Bicycling (10-12 mph), dancing, gardening and yard work,  golfing (without a cart), hiking, playing actively with children, raking leaves, playing volleyball, or even washing and waxing your car.
3. Be active most days of the week.  If you can be active to this level every day, then that is GREAT!  But research has shown that you can achieve fitness by being physically active as little as 5 days per week.

Remember the most important way to achieve fitness, as in any skill, is to practice, practice, practice!!!  The activity outlined here is simple.  But the hard part is to DO IT!!!  Get started and don’t stop!  Make it a part of your daily life.  Commit your self to a life of active living and you will experience a long , happy, healthy life! 

 NOTE:  Research supporting this model of fitness was reported by Steven Blair and colleagues at the Cooper Institute, Dallas, Texas.

FROM: Steve

For those of you who need some concrete motivation to take charge of your health and get up and get moving, the evidence from scientific studies is as solid as a rock:  Physical activity is crucial to good health and overall well-being.  Here’s what we know for sure:

1. People who are phusically active are less likely than people who are inactive to die of heart disease and some types of cancer, such as colon cancer.
2. As they get older, active people have a better quality of life and suffer fewer disabilities than inactive people.
3. Physical activity helps keep blood pressure down, minimizes bone loss as we age, and lowers the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes.
4. Physical activity helps people maintain their weight effectively.
5. People who are regularly active report feeling  less stressed and more able to cope with life than when they were inactive.  They are less likely to feel depressed or anxious than sedentary people.
6. Many people in physical activity studies report feeling more energetic and productive than before they increased their activity.
7. People who become physically active often report sleeping better than when they were inactive.

And finally,  daily physical activity could help you ward off cold and flu bugs.  Not long ago, exercise physiologist David Nieman and colleagues, studied 32 women–some who got no exercise and some of whom took up walking as daily activity.  After 12 weeks, the nonwalkers reported twice as many days with cold or flu symptoms as the walkers.  Blood tests showed that the women in the walking group had boosted their immune systems.  Since then, many other studies have shown that moderate physical activity–a 30-minute brisk walk repeated on most days of the week–can bolster the body’s immune defenses.

Need I say more?!  Take care and be well!

From: Steve

So with the start of 2010 you may have decided to take charge of your health for the new year and the rest of your life.  You have some great thoughts and may have even made some plans to do some great things for your health like get moving more, eating better, breathing more consciously for alertness as well as relaxation.  Sounds good!  So here a few thoughts to help you on your way.  I heard these a few years ago and want to share some of them with you.

What a sublime joy it is to be on your way, momentum becomes your partner.  By filling your moments with effective and productive action, you put time itself on your side.  Your world can change in an instant from dismal to hopeful when you start making the real effort to do something about it.  Certainly there will be frustrastions, but even one or two small setbacks can inspire you to move on.

Get on your way and you will discover conditions and events moving you forward, conditions and events you previously thought would have only held you back.  Get on your way, and you will soon be turning liabilities into assets–weaknesses into strengths.

Express your committment to make something positive happen by actually beginning to do it.  You can think and plan and hope and  dream, yet the real fulfillment begins as soon as you get on your way.

So join me and get moving now.  Let’s work together to make our lives the best that they can be.  Namaste.