Archive for June, 2009

Eat to Lose Weight

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Skipping meals seems like a natural way to lose weight,especially woman-eating-saladsince we’ve all heard that to lose weight, you need to take in less calories than you burn. It’s actually not that simple. When you skip just one meal, your body panics and turns on a stress response through the sympathetic branch of your nervous system called the “fight or flight” system. This response tells your body that it is in a life-threatening situation. Your body then responds to this alarm by telling your liver to release stored sugar from your liver (in the form of glycogen) to raise your blood sugar.  In response, your pancreas releases insulin to help balance out your blood sugar. When skipping meals or eating too many carbohydrates ( or in the absence of protein and fat) this stress response is turned on over and over again causing you to become insulin resistant which causes more and more calories to be stored in fat cells. Any time you miss a meal your body increases the release of fat storing enzymes. When this happens, the amount of fat burning enzymes are decreased. Remember, if your body is in a stress response, the last thing it will want to do is lose weight. It’s going to hold on to whatever energy it gets, because it doesn’t know when the next meal is coming to replenish it’s fuel.    

The key to losing weight is to keep your blood sugar balanced, to eat the right proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrates for your biochemical needs, to maintain a level of physical activity that is right for you, and to have a system in place to manage the stressors in your life that are affecting your body. To learn more about how your nutrition and lifestyle are affecting your health and may be preventing you from reaching your wellness goals, our Wellness 101 Workshop is a great place to start.  Always feel free to call us for a complimentary phone consult. Our goal is to always help you help yourself.

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To breathe or not to breathe

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

breathingTo breathe or not to breathe during an exercise that is the question.  You’re probably thinking… of course you should breathe during an exercise and you are correct.  However, did you know that most people breathe incorrectly when performing an exercise? Many times individuals breathe in when they should be breathing out and vice versa or they also hold their breath.  This is an important topic of discussion and within this blog article we will be discussing why breathing correctly is important as well as give you examples of when you should be breathing in verses out.

When taking a breath in, the body moves into what we call axial extension meaning that the body is expanding.  You can feel this by closing your eyes and taking a deep breath in, feel how your chest inflates and the spine gets taller.  Now, let the air out and feel your chest collapse and your spine begin to round, this is called axial flexion.  This is how the breath moves in our bodies naturally and it is this movement that needs to be replicated when performing an exercise.  There are exceptions to the rule and we will touch upon those later in this article.

Let’s take a body row for example.  When performing this exercise you hold cables in both hands, you pull with your arms by bending your elbows and squeeze the shoulder blades.  The proper breathing sequence for this exercise is to breathe in as you pull the weight back and breathe out as the weight moves back to the start position.  If you are not sure why look at the movement in a mirror.  As you pull the cables back your chest is expanding. Therefore you should take a breath in and when you move back to the start position your chest is collapsing therefore you should be exhaling.  Let’s take a lat pull down as our next example.  When do you think you should be breathing in verses breathing out…if you said breathe in as you pull down(chest expanding) and breath out as you move to the start position- arms over head (chest collapsing) then you are correct.

Performing proper breathing is vital to having a safe workout and what I mean by this specifically is that your body systems are programmed and have set ways of doing things naturally hence what naturally happens when you breathe in and out.  When you hold your breath or breathe improperly during an exercise neurologically as well as muscularly you begin to work against the body and this is how muscle spasms and injury can happen, not to mention breath is healing and helps to move stagnant energy.

Now, there are exceptions to the rule and these are for when you are performing difficult movements such as lifting heavy weight in a dead lift or performing power exercises such as weighted wood chops.  When performing such exercises there is a point of the movement that we call the “sticking point”- where there is a greater load placed on the body and in certain situations you want to breathe out at the sticking point regardless of axial extension or flexion.  For more information about proper breathing techniques during exercising visit a C.H.E.K. practitioner in your area or contact us here at Replenishing Soul.

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The Chakra Energy System: The Seventh Chakra

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

 

253_chakra_chart_-_ancientThroughout your body you have seven main energy centers called chakras that spin in a circular motion and are located along your spinal column up to the crown of your head. Each chakra radiates a different energy frequency of vibration, and is represented by a different color of the rainbow that resonates at that same level of vibration. Each chakra main center is connected to your being on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. On the physical level each chakra governs a main organ or gland, which is then connected to other body parts that resonate the same frequency. Your chakras are interdependent on each other for harmony and balance.

 

Medical science has proven that toxins, which include negative thoughts, poor food choices, chemicals and preservatives, lack of sleep, and various other forms of internal and external stress influence your body. These constant forms of “pollution” can cause your chakras to become imbalanced, which may eventually affect you on a physical level. When unbalanced, your chakras can be either too open or too closed. By understanding the chakra system and working to bring it into balance you’ll be able to help improve your own state of health and well being.


Understanding the Seventh Chakra: The Crown Chakra

The crown chakra is synonymous with infinity. It symbolizes self-realization and enlightenment. It is only by working through the other six chakras that you get to this ultimate goal. Achieving balance at this level has been described as “bliss, rapture, and ecstasy”.

The crown chakra  is located at the top of your head. On a physical level, this chakra governs your upper skull, skin, cerebral cortex, and pineal gland. Physical dysfunctions that can result from an unbalanced crown chakra include sensitivity to pollution, chronic exhaustion, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease. Emotional disturbances include depression, obsessional thinking, and confusion.

Is Your Seventh Chakra Balanced?

 Select the group of words that best describe you: 

1. manic depressive, confused sexual expression, frustrated 

2. constantly exhausted, no sense of belonging, can’t make decisions

3. magnetic personality, at peace with self

 

*If you chose #1, this chakra is too open, meaning it’s spinning too fast.

*If you chose #2, this chakra is blocked, meaning it’s spinning too slowly or not spinning at all.

*If you chose #3, this chakra is balanced, meaning it’s spinning at the correct speed and maintains equilibrium. 

 

Try the Following Daily Affirmations to Help Balance Your Seventh Chakra:

(from reference below)

“I am starting to accept myself as I am.”

“I am a unique, radiant, loving being.”

“I choose to live my life from a place of love and contentment.”

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in meeting the needs of those we love, that we forget to love and honor ourselves. Take the next couple of weeks to pay attention to how your body is feeling, and determine what your seventh chakra needs are. Feel free to contact us with questions or to learn specific exercises you can do to work on balancing your seventh chakra. For those of you in the area, our Restorative Yoga Class that meets every Sunday incorporates several chakra balancing poses (see events page for more information).

Write in and let us know your feeling or experiences. We’d love to hear your story.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Simpson, Liz The Book of Chakra Healing, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 1999

 

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Healing emotional pain

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

dvbrokenheartEveryone at some point in their lives will experience pain. Pain is there to let us know that something physically, mentally or emotionally is wrong and this pain should never be ignored.  Pain many times manifests itself physically but what many do not realize is that physically there is nothing wrong, no bones are out of place or muscles have been pulled and nothing anatomically can be found, no cancer, no ulcers etc… but yet the pain resides.  You go from doctor to doctor, they cannot find anything wrong with you, and then you begin to ask yourself “Am I going crazy”?  You know what you feel is real but yet nothing can be found.  The answer is no, you are not going crazy. The pain that you feel is real. However, there is a good chance that the pain that you are feeling is emotional stress.

Emotional pain can be a difficult symptom to track.  Some days you may feel fine and other days the pain in your back, neck or stomach may be repaying you a visit. Emotional pain can come from many different types of stresses such as:  low self-esteem, not doing what you love, staying in a relationship that is not serving you or just being in a situation that you know in your gut is just not right.  Other things you may notice is that something in your life is missing or you are just not being true to yourself.  Regardless of what your situation is you need to listen to this pain and find ways and professionals who can help you. Massage therapists, acupuncturists, spiritual healers and life coaches are examples of individuals who have the tools to help heal emotional pain in a safe and nurturing environment.

When healing emotionally you are forced to look at yourself as well as revisit your past, this can be scary and many times uncomfortable.  You are forced to see the good and bad within yourself or possibly someone else that may have brought you harm and even though this is not a pleasant place to explore, the growth and the positive outcome that comes from emotional healing and self-exploration is a gift like no other.  When you heal yourself emotionally you physically begin to feel lighter because you finally have released an idea, belief or past memory that no longer has served you and you begin to attract what you want in life because your vision is clearer and there is nothing standing in your way.

If I have just described you within this blog, then sit down and make a list of what you want in life and see how that compares to your current situation.  If you are not living your life the way that you imagine and are suffering from “pain”, now is the time to begin to take action on yourself for yourself! Remember pain should never be ignored!

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