Here's to your health

I don't normally blog about specific health information. But I came across an article written by Dr. Christiane Northrup today and I had to share it. Although she is an Ob/gyn and writes books titled Women's Bodies/Women's Wisdom (which I do recommend), the information she provides in this article is really for anyone.

Please take a look, also you can catch her on TV talking about this very topic.

Here's to your health!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiane-northrup/osteoporosis-treatment-a_b_585528.html

Spring Into Action

Spring is here!

Which also means spring cleaning.
This can be an overwhelming process for some of us. Whether you are cleaning out a single closet or the whole house, or getting your garden ready to bloom, spring cleaning is a great time to practice your organization and prioritization skills. When you look at that clutter do you stand there envisioning all the steps you will take or do you jump right in? Jumping right in may seem like the best way to go sometimes but that can also be more time consuming and stressful.

Here are some tips for spring cleaning that will enable you to focus and enjoy it.
First, prepare your materials (garbage bags, new boxes, donation bags, etc.). Once you have all of these items ready, it's just a matter of filling them up as you go. If you are doing this alone, choose an area that you can handle in a couple of hours. When you come across items that you are not sure what to do with try this; think about how long it's been sitting in that closet. If it's been there for a year, two years, but you haven't really missed it, you probably don't need it taking up any more space (this does not apply to sentimental items, of course).

Having your bags and boxes prepared in advance allows you keep the mess to a minimum as you go through all your old belongings and decorative items. Instead of having all these items strewn about the room, they are already placed where they need to go. This will minimize the stress and sense of being overwhelmed you may get from looking at all that stuff that you need to dig through. Your garbage is already bagged, your donations are already bagged or boxed and you've repackaged the remaining items in a more efficient and space saving container as you go along. Now all you have to do is put those items back in the closet and you're done.

Of course going through these items may be a trip down memory lane so enjoy that. Handle these objects, rememeber why you have them. Let them bring you back. Be in that moment. No matter what you decide to do with some of these items take the time to enjoy them and appreciate them all over again.

If you really feel lost in this process, especially if you need to clear out an entire house, you can hire a professional organizer. Often they will give you tips on how to maintain order, specific to your home.

New Workshops Scheduled

I have two new workshops scheduled and I'm very excited about them. Both are taking place at the Center for Relaxation & Healing at Plainsboro. But you don't have be involved with the center to attend these workshops. These two workshops are all about becoming empowered in the everyday.

Workshop 1: Creating Positive Relationships with Food - February 22, 2010 from 7:00pm to 8:30 pm. This workshop is about you finding your inner strengths and the truly unlimited options that you possess to cope with stressful and emotional events in your life.

Workshop 2: Creating Your Visual Empowerment Map. My previous post referred to this as a Visual Empowerment Plan. I have decided to go with "map" because it's more intuitive. March 7, 2010, from 11:00am to 1:00pm. This is a 2 hour workshop, hands on, where you get to start creating your VEM.

RSVP and registration is required for both workshops. Please go to my website to the Calendar tab for more details. See you there!

Holidays Are Coming; How Are You Preparing For The Stress?

From 2004 to the present, finances have been the #1 cause of stress. As the holidays approach our stressors are exacerbated by demands to buy gifts, entertain, etc. Credit card debt, the poor economy and family responsibilities seem to conspire to increase our stress level. Many people cope with stress by making unhealthy food choices, among other behaviors . Poor coping behaviors don’t actually reduce our stress. In fact, they can add to it.

This holiday season is an especially difficult one for many of us. Business has slowed down, some people are out of work and yet the demands remain. You might be asking yourself how you can get your holiday shopping done without breaking the bank, without disappointing your children or other family members. Demands to conform or to buy the latest hot item for your kids may be undermining your ability to effectively deal with stress. Parental guilt caused by not buying that item is short term. Setting realistic financial goals for your holiday spending is the first and most important step and will have long term effects including teaching coping strategies to your children.

Here are a few of the most common tips to reduce holiday stress:

Identify the stress, evaluate your responses to that stress, make changes where necessary incrementally, first one behavior, then the next. Only by recognizing and tackling these issues one at a time can you make real and lasting changes. When you feel that you must change it all overnight you increase your stress and anxiety.

As I said before; set realistic goals for what you want to achieve this holiday season. Being realistic, not being drawn in by marketing or media messages, about what you need or must have will help you stay on track. If finances are an issues create a budget and stick to it.

Keep it in perspective. Check your stressors over the long term, where to do they fit in, how impactful are they really? If the stress you are feeling is restricted to this holiday season then you can let it go more easily. The impact is minimal and studies show that even under stressful conditions most people feel good about their holidays with family. Knowing that you will too can help alleviate some of the stress and anxiety of entertaining.

Remember what’s really important this holiday season (hint: it’s not in the amount of money you spend).

In these difficult times our family and friends and the support we give one another is priceless and that’s what makes holidays memorable!

Holistic Health Fair

Short notice...I am scheduled to be part of the Holistic Health Fair in Kendall Park NJ at the VFW on Henderson Ave. This Sunday October 25 from 11a - 5p. Also I will be giving a lecture on Successfully working through holiday stress. Please join me.

Wellness Workshop

My next workshop is coming up soon, again at the Sayreville Public library. This workshop is free as well, just like the last one. The focus of this workshop will be on using food as a coping mechanism. However, that's just a portion. The workshop is going to be devoted to total wellness, including what types of stress trigger some very unhealthy responses and how to change them.

The workshop is September 26, from 1p to 3p. I hope you can join me.