Here is the third installment of my favorite Facebook posts from the last week (ok, I was a bit late with this one so it’s the last week+) in the world of wellness.
To start us off,
some thoughts on health and wellness
I just started a new quarter at school and one of the discussion topics this week is on how we define “health”. I think it’s important to realize that “health” is not the absence of disease, rather health should be defined as a measure of happiness, of meaning in one’s life, of wellness. Wellness does not just look at how we are physically or biologically, it also takes into account our mindsets and our social relationships and how all of these things are interrelated. As long as we are alive, we have a measure of wellness within us. My goal here at My Cuppa Jo is to help guide you along a path to being optimally well; in mind, body, and spirit.
Now on to the posts from the week (or week+, if you will)
Nourish
I’m starting up a new “food of the week” sort of deal where I’ll highlight one food, sharing it’s nutritional benefits as well as some recipes and other useful information. This week it was one of my favorite fall fruits – PEARS! Tasty flavanol powerhouses that are loaded with antioxidants. As a bonus, recent research as come out that links eating pears (and apples and grapes) with a lower risk of diabetes.
How can you prepare those tasty pears, you ask?
A delicious and nutritious dessert option is poached pears and NomNom Paleo (one of my favorite recipe sites!) showed us how to prepare this fall comfort food (if you have kiddos she even tells you how she got her kids involved in the prep! Click here for the deets).
and on eating out….
I talked about what usually derails us. Eating out doesn’t have to mean eating unhealthy. If you’re trying to eat more whole foods, stick with protein and veggies and you should be alright. It’s the starches (think bread and pasta) that are more processed and tend to sabbotage our best efforts.
and on a not so fun note….
I also talked about a bit of an uncomfortable topic (if you know what I mean) – BLOATING. The biggest culprits tend to be dairy, gluten or grains, artificial sweeteners, beans, or cruciferous veggies (like cabbage and cauliflower). If you experience bloating on the regular, try eliminating one from your diet for a couple weeks and see how you do. Still bloated? Try eliminating the next one on the list and see if it helps.
Move
I posted a couple fun facts about body weight exercise – how it can help keep us (or get us!) lean, fights of inflammation (and therefore fights off a whole host of bad stuff like obesity and cardiovascular disease), and changes the way our brains respond to stress, lowering our anxiety and decreasing our risk of depression. Not only that, the immediate benefits of even just a little bit of movement last for up to an hour afterward. That’s pretty freakin’ awesome.
and
I was so excited to see an Egoscue workout posted by Experience Life Magazine! The Egoscue method is what I use for my own chronic hip and back pain -and it has worked wonders for me. When I do it consistently, I’m pain free! Check out the posture recovery workout here – it’s awesome and has some of my faves (strangely enough, elbow curls does wonders for my SI joint pain!). One of my other favorite exercises is cats and dogs – here’s a video link explaing how to do it:
and
I talked about how kids have the right idea when it comes to playing sports and being active. Kids say they do it because it’s fun, they get to hang out with there friends and make new ones, they learn new things and get better at them, it’s thrilling and exciting. Last on the list? Winning and getting physically fit. It seems as adults we have it all backwards! We try to get physically fit and often torture ourselves. Let’s flip the script back to the good ole playground days and move for the fun of it again!
To end this section with some words of wisdom from Michael Jordan – “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
Who doesn’t want to be like Mike?
Restore
A bit of restoration during your workday can be taking your lunch outside and dining al fresco. Getting outdoors during your workday lowers stress and blood pressure and elevates mood. Taking outdoor breaks during your day helps, too. And an added benefit is that the more natural light exposure we get throughout the day, the better we sleep.
Speaking of sleep…
People who get at least 7 hours of zzzzzz’s a night have healthier hearts. Sounds like an early bedtime is a good idea!
and more on relaxing…
I asked you folks how you like to relax. A bubble bath? A massage? Curled up with a good book? A digital media/screen fast? A walk in the woods? A nap? Lying in the sand at the beach? Tai Chi? Meditation? Quiet contemplation? Breathing exercises? Whatever your method of choice, it’s important to have some time for yourself each week to restore your mind, body, and spirit.
Sometimes it’s hard for us to take care of ourselves but we’re better spouses, parents, friends, family members, coworkers – you name it – when we take a little time for ourselves.
Reconnect
“A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world.” – Leo Buscaglia. Drop a friend a line to let them know you’re thinking of them.
Sometimes we screw up. When we do, we should say we’re sorry as soon as we realize we messed up. We all screw up from time to time and when we do, it’s important to make it right. From Mind Tools, here is a list of how to do just.
Thanks for reading my post. And thank you for letting me be a part of your journey toward optimal wellness. As always, feel free to leave a comment, send me an email, or hit me up on facebook or twitter!
Photo Credits: morgueFile free stock photos
