Got a Cold?

Over the last few weeks a number of people in my office have come down with colds so I thought this would be a good time to mention a few natural remedies to help combat the common cold.

Astragalus – builds up the body’s resistance to colds and flu by stimulating the immune system to help kill and protect against viruses. It also helps protect the liver and builds up the blood.

Goldenseal – a natural antibiotic and anti-viral. It boosts the immune system, helps the mucous membranes, and relieves upper respiratory infections and sore throats.

Garlic – boosts the immune system, relieves respiratory infections and helps fight infection from bacteria and viruses.

Ginger – a natural anti-inflammatory that eases headaches and muscle pain with anti-viral properties to kill cold viruses and relieve strep throat.

Willow bark – a natural painkiller to relieve fever, mild headaches and inflammation associated with colds and flu. My favorite as an alternative to aspirin, ibuprofen and other over-the-counter pain relievers.

My Mother swears by the following remedy – to a cup of tea, add a shot of rum, some fresh lemon juice and honey.  Delicious!

Lemon – is a good source of vitamin C.  It has long been thought to boost the immune system and shorten the duration and/or prevent the common cold. It helps acidify the body, stimulates digestion and elimination, and acts as a natural antiseptic.

Honey – is an anti-bacterial, soothes the throat, and is a good source of antioxidants. Raw, unfiltered honey provides the most benefit.

All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Please consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition.

Mitigate Midlife Challenges by …

… Being More Optimistic!

Many of life’s greatest achievements unfold through the can-do attitude that comes from optimism. As Thomas Edison said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” It’s that attitude that led him to patent over 1,000 inventions including the light bulb.

You can choose to become more optimistic by increasing your awareness of your negative self-talk and changing it to something more positive. Try to see the best in people and situations every day.  This may be difficult at first but the more often you do it, the easier it will become. Keep in mind that you are only human and are going to face challenges.  View these as learning experiences that will help you grow and evolve as a human being. The key is to learn from the past, apply that knowledge to the present and be optimistic about what the future holds.

So remember that an optimistic attitude …

• May help reduce your risk of dying from heart disease and other causes, according to many studies
  
• Enables you to take risks, innovate, communicate, and be creative
  
• Makes you more productive and allows you to achieve greater things
  
• Helps you reach peak performance, while creating a can-do culture around you
  
• Allows more of your brilliance to shine through
  
• Helps you release negative events rather than internalizing them
  
• Gives you more confidence and hope in the future so that you are more ready to take risks and cope with failure
  
• Lets you positively influence your environment
  
• Gives you the ability to accept change and view life through the lens of “the glass is half full” rather then half empty
  

Tips for Healthy Work/Life Balance

The first step involves self-reflection. If you are a workaholic who is caught up in too much work and too many personal commitments here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself:

Am I being honest with myself? 
The first step in curing any addiction is an honest self-appraisal.  We all suffer from feelings of insecurity at certain times.  The workaholic deals with these feelings by proving that he/she can work harder and faster.  What insecurity is hiding behind all the running around?  Are you only worthwhile if you achieve things? 

How can I take more of a holistic approach? 
Attend to your personal as well as professional goals.  Focus on being a person first – play, laugh, dream, revive your curiosity.

Am I focusing on what is truly important to me? 
If you only had one more month to live, what would you do?  Don’t wait – do it now!

Am I living from my heart or my head?
Don’t continue to be seduced by power, money and size.  Let the less fortunate, the humble, sick, or very old teach you about matters of the heart.  They will accept you for who you are – they probably won’t be impressed by your achievements.

Do I understand that life is an ongoing project? 
Tell yourself that it’s okay not to complete everything today.  Practice leaving partially completed work on your desk.  Remember, life is a journey, not a destination.

Self reflection can sometimes take some digging to get to the core issue but it’s worth it if it leaves you one step closer to living a happier life!

Baby Boomer Health Tip: Breathe for Stress Relief and Anti-Aging

Deep breathing provides the body with numerous benefits. It is a simple but very effective method of relaxation.  It is an easy stress reliever that has numerous benefits for the body, including oxygenating the blood (which ‘wakes up’ the brain), relaxing muscles and quieting the mind. It can help you reduce muscle tension and manage the effects of the fight-or-flight response on your body. This is particularly important if you need to think clearly and perform precisely when you are under pressure.

Breathing exercises are especially helpful because you can do them anywhere, and they work quickly so you can de-stress in a flash.

As we go through life we pick up bad breathing habits. Being in a hurry most of the time, the increased stress of modern living and negative emotional states (anger, excitement, frustration) all impact the way we breathe, causing it to be shallow and fast. We become more fatigued since oxygen is important to energy production and our immune system is impaired so that we are more susceptible to disease.  Shallow breathing has also been linked to dizziness, fatigue, stomach problems, gas, sleep disorders, anxiety, muscle cramps, and chest pain

Degenerative diseases and premature aging start with low oxygen levels so start today with this simple exercise.
 
Place a hand on your abdomen, below your navel. Inhale slowly and deeply, feeling your abdomen rise beneath your hand as you fill with air. Exhale slowly, feeling your hand sink as you use your diaphragm to push the air out. Continue to breathe this way, focusing on using your diaphragm instead of your chest to move the air in and out of your body.  Remember to breathe through your nose, not your mouth.

Now take a number of deep breaths and relax your body further with each breath.  That’s all there is to it!

Procrastination – What Do I Tap On?

Following on from my last two posts about Procrastination…

Now that you know EFT can help you eliminate procrastination, how do you come up with the phrases to use while tapping?

Here’s what you do:

• Ask yourself – What is the potentially difficult situation?  What am I procrastinating about?
• Establish the root fear or limiting belief that’s holding you back from __________(the situation)? What am I afraid will happen if I do  _________?   (It may be fear of success, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of doing it wrong, fear of asking for what you want, fear of saying no to someone, etc.)

Let’s pick fear of failure, just for argument’s sake.

• Think back to your childhood. What is the earliest memory you have of failing at something? Write it down.
• Write down ALL the events in life in which you can remember that feeling of having failed (your parents, kids in grade school, high school, the dating years, sports tryouts, career, etc.)
• Now, think about what MEANING you created about yourself as a result of each of those incidents. (I’m not good enough … I’m dumb … I’ll never be good at writing … When I start something new, I fail … i’m not cut out to make a lot of money, etc. Really spend some time on this, because that’s where the core issue lies.
• Then, make a separate list of how these MEANINGS you created have stopped you in life. What behavior did you take on? Did you stop reaching out? Did you stop taking chances? Did you retreat into a hole? Did you hold back from taking advantage of opportunities that could have advanced you? Write them all down.
• You took on this behavior to avoid feeling __________? (like an idiot, sick with anxiety, not good enough)

Now that you have a list of beliefs and emotions, use EFT to eliminate them. Take action now and free yourself from what is holding you back!

To Learn More About EFT and Download a Free Manual, go to http://budurl.com/WorldCenterforEFT

Eliminate Procrastination with EFT

Is something holding you back from realizing your full potential or making the changes you say you want to make?  Has your creativity come to a standstill?  Do you feel blocked in your motivation to achieve your goals?

Lasting Emotional Freedom Is Now At Your Fingertips!

In my last post I talked about procrastination and mentioned a tool for helping you eliminate it.  That tool is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

EFT is the doorway to freeing yourself from the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living a more fulfilling life.  In essence, it is a psychological version of acupuncture without the needles.  Instead, you “tune in” to your emotional issue while stimulating stress relief points by tapping on them with your fingertips.  This provides a meridian “balancing effect” that replaces emotional distress with a form of peace.  While the process is not perfect, it often works where everything else fails.

EFT can help you break out of the procrastination mode and become more motivated to achieve your goals.  Begin by using it on such limiting beliefs as I mentioned in my last post.  Then tap on all those other beliefs you might have around the issue. 

If you are new to EFT, you can find a summary page of the tapping points and the appropriate phrases on the Resources page of my website – http://www.blueprints4change.com/pdf/EFTprocedure.pdf

… and procrastinate no more!

Midlife – Eliminate Procrastination and Start Living the Life You Want

Have you ever put off your most important tasks until later and then later and later while you are busy with less important issues?  Do you find it difficult to make decisions? Maybe you’ve been called lazy because you hope that you may have more time and be in a better mood in the future to start a project and do it properly? Perhaps you have a belief that you don’t deserve success!

If you’ve spent the first half of your life being plagued by procrastination, perhaps now is the time to change your thinking and deal with this compulsion so that you can live a more productive second half of life.  A hidden self-sabotaging program lies at the root of procrastination.  This program is fueled by self-fulfilling prophecies and beliefs such as

I don’t deserve it
I’m not acceptable
I’m not good enough
I don’t belong
I’m not wanted
It’s always my fault
Life is a struggle

Many of these self-fulfilling prophecies were created before birth, at birth or during our earliest days.  Becoming aware of these negative beliefs that create our indecision and anxiety about completing our goals is the first step in ridding ourselves of this troublesome behavior.

If you find yourself using any of the typical “procrastinator phrases” such as

I wish I could
I should
I shouldn’t
I have to
I had better
If I don’t
I probably will
I hope to
Maybe I will
I think I could
I’ll try
I need to
If only I could

Replace them with the following instead

I will ______ because I want to
I will definitely _____
I am confident that I can _____
It’s in my power to _____
I choose to _____ now
I know I can _____

Consider how your life might change if you were to stop procrastinating.  The things that are holding you back most are the ones which will free you the most – once you take action.  Take that action now! 

In the next post I will talk about a tool that you can use to help get rid of your “procrastinator beliefs”.

Pay It Forward in Midlife

The first half of our lives is usually about US – careers, success, family, the big house, the new car.  During the second half of our lives we realize that giving back is more important – helping others, the environment and the planet. When I came across this quote today, it seemed to say it all!!!

May I be a passage of life-enhancing virtues:
Compassion, love, peace, and happiness
Harmony, courage, encouragement;
Truth, trust, comfort and support,
Health, wellbeing and wisdom.
That I may generate, nurture, and multiply these virtues
Like golden flowers in my inner-garden,
And hand them to all beings I encounter
In order to help enhance the quality of their lives.
In further hopes that some of these beings will decide
to nurture and multiply these virtues as well
And pass them on to others.           
— Bhavatu Sabba Mangalam

Give Yourself Permission to Take a Break

Back from Oz

I just returned from a few weeks visiting family in Canberra, Australia. You may have noticed the gap in blog posts!!!

It was a busy time particularly as most days were spent driving more than 20 miles, each way, from where we were staying at my niece’s to my mother’s place in the city. In the past we’ve been able to stay together in one house but due to family relocations, this is no longer possible.

One of my passions is being as healthy and fit as I can be.  Consequently, I take a portable yoga mat whenever I travel for more than a few days. I have found yoga to be of tremendous benefit, not only for mind/body balance but also for keeping my body limber and free from most aches and pains. Especially helpful as we age!

So, as usual, my yoga mat accompanied me to Australia but not once did it see the light of day. I just couldn’t seem to find the extra 30-45 minutes to get into my practice. Initially this really bothered me and I felt rather guilty.  After contemplating the issue for a few days I realized that spending quality time with my mother, whom I only see every two years, was more important.  I was letting my I should be doing yoga get the better of my I want to be spending time with Mum.

Sometimes we allow our shoulds to overcome our wants. So I gave myself permission to let go of the guilt, be in the moment, and enjoy the precious times with family. Yoga would still be there when I returned home!

Have you forgotten the last time you took a break without feeling guilty? 

The last time you were out of sorts because you felt you should be doing something else?

Don’t let guilt deprive you of life’s beautiful moments. Give yourself permission to take a break and lighten the load of guilt and frustration, replacing it with all sorts of wonderful, positive feelings like joy, fun, connection, friendship and love.

Stress Management: April Taxes the Body, Mind and Soul

When faced with stressful situations such as doing the paperwork for the dreaded annual tax return (which we’re probably all doing right now), studies have found that blood clotting factors associated with increased risk of heart disease are much higher than in calm periods.  Blood platelets increase in numbers as does their tendency to clump together. Levels of clot-promoting factors jump.  These changes in blood during chronic mental stress associated with increased workload may provide one of the links between mental stress and heart disease.  Blood coagulation is just part of the picture. Mental stress has other damaging effects. Arteries constrict and become more susceptible to blockage, blood pressure and cholesterol levels increase, sleep and diet patterns change.  Midlife is the time when we start to notice these health issues.

Each of us operates a machine so incredibly complex that researchers are continually making new findings about it.  We often read of things we should do to keep the machine – our bodies – running well. 

Wellness is not just a body issue.  It is a holistic concept.  Anything short of that is incomplete and ultimately ineffective.  We need to look at the whole person – the body, mind and spirit.  Just picking the dimension of wellness that you like or that is convenient and minimizing the others doesn’t work in the long run.

*** Imagine each dimension of wellness in your life like a spoke on a wheel.  Draw a picture of your wellness wheel, extending your nutrition spoke, your physical fitness spoke, your personal growth spoke, your spiritual development spoke, your play spoke, your community involvement spoke, your work spoke, etc out as far as you feel you have developed it and practice what you preach.  Does your wheel look like it would roll reasonably well?  Or does it have numerous jagged edges?  Would it not roll at all? Where do you need to put more energy to make the wheel more balanced? ***

Living only for this moment, with the intention of making it the fullest moment possible, will help you to achieve a better quality of life in all the areas of your “wellness wheel”.  There are many things that we think about in a minute of time.  We see our new experiences through glasses that have been molded by our old experiences.  We look to the future with uncertainty, hopes, fears and excitement and we tend to take things for granted if we are not fully focused on experiencing life in the current moment.  We need to learn to savor every moment as it happens, keeping our minds completely in the present, as much as possible.  This is not easy, but the payoffs are tremendous. 

The past is behind us, and if you think about it, no longer exists, except in our minds.  The future does not exist either, because we are not there yet.   Most of us base our current fears of what will happen in the future on experiences we had in the past. Some of us cannot get over the memories of past experiences. We may become fearful that these experiences might happen again.  Being in this situation only robs us of being able to enjoy life in the current moment, so we need to make a choice on whether we want to allow the past to color our current experiences, or whether we want to take control and remain focused. 

Living in the moment does not necessarily mean living as if there is no tomorrow.  You still need to plan for the future.  Conscious living means becoming aware of all the choices we have and acting on them. It involves the realization that we don’t have to run our lives on automatic pilot.

Just remember that YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE RIGHT NOW.  Spend your time thoughtfully and appreciate every moment (good or difficult) and you will fill your life with value and purpose, rather than letting years and experiences go to waste.