Is Your Mind Spinning? Breathe, Pause Quietly, and Reflect on Your Beliefs, Values and Wants with One-to-One Wellness Coaching.
" . . . There are so many people that are dissatisfied and feel a lack of control over their lives. The things that matter most in life are too often held hostage to the things that matter least."
Hyrum W. Smith
By establishing our personal values we have a deep sense of who we are, what we believe and why we believe it. Our life roles reflect our core values. We do not fear what others think and do not need to look and live like the rest of the world. In short, values represent true freedom. We can then say, "I have my act together. I know where I'm coming from, who I am, what I believe, and where I'm going." We must define and understand our wants, needs, values, and goals in order that we might "live our lives as we plan them rather than by accident".
We may begin by defining our core values, but a definition of values first:
A value is an attitude or character trait that is important to us. A value is something you would say about yourself when you think about the person you want to be. Values are what you are drawn to or eager to do. Values are different for everyone. Values can be harmful when taken to extreme; then, they are no longer positive. Values lead you to "who" you are. Only when you know "who you are", are you able to know "what" you truly want.
Values are not morals; morals are defined as "principles of right and wrong in behavior" or "conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong". A value isn't morally right or wrong. There is nothing virtous in values. What is to be admired is one's commitment to their values. Values are intrinsic in nature. They come from within and are not based on what other people want or think. Because they come from within, core values can be sustained over a lifetime because they are of high importance to us. Intrinsic values are those qualities or experiences that bestow on us the passion to live and operate at a higher level of existence. If one stays focused on their values, life becomes much simpler; one becomes "authentic" in all of one's life roles.
Too often, values are squashed or repressed by unmet needs, tolerations, weak boundaries, money, other obligations and lack of clarity. The consequence of unclear values is that we get distracted from our goals and needs, we constantly change our plans and strategies, and we lack purpose and vision.
Matching our lifestyle with our true personal values is often a challenge; there are several reasons: for each role in life we have different governing values. There is not a list of good and valuable values we all should have. Many of our values are deep within us. Truly living our values drives us to more than what is urgent. Unless we know what we want and where we are going in life, other people's agendas and demands can control our life. Identifying our values creates a sense of integrity that we have reclaimed ourselves.
Values originate from: genetics, culture, experience, our different roles in life, observations, interactions, and experiences and perceptions we may not remember.
As this resonates with you and you would like to further explore positive change, e-mail pam@pamholtonetoone.com or call 260/749-7226 to learn more about Wellness Coaching.
More soon on the difference between needs, wants, values and beliefs, how values and beliefs influence behavior, and how we may begin to define our core values.
Remember . . . breathe, pause and reflect.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Energize You and Your Posture with Corrective Exercise!
I posted on September 21: What IS healthy posture, why is it important, and why you may be a candidate for Corrective Exercise to improve posture reducing pain, inflammation, fatigue in the body/mind. As promised, common causes of postural deviations follow:
Pain
Smoking
Learned postural habits
Lack of voluntary, deep, diaphragm breathing pattern
Activities of Daily Living such as sleeping/sitting/standing/functional motion/work and exercise postures/prolonged or repetitive tasks like working long hours on a computer
Footwear that does not promote healthy foot positioning, like wearing heels, ill-fitted shoes
Problems with the upper body, spine, and lower body, such as your choice of footwear with heels affects every part of the body by creating poor posture
Stress and anxiety (Perception and response to past, present and future life experiences)
How can we restore our body/mind to healthy posture? By first learning through Corrective Exercise what healthy posture feels like in your body using a simple self-assessment tool while in standing, seated and sleeping positions. The next step is to begin to evaluate any activities or footwear that negatively affect this new healthy posture and to begin to focus and modify these factors through awareness (mindfulness).
An individualized Corrective Exercise Program will take you to the third, but not quite final, step in your new, energized, pain-free, less stressed body and life! (More to come on this in next Corrective Exercise blog.)
The final step? Practice, practice, practice and love living each day of your life!
Embrace this day.
I posted on September 21: What IS healthy posture, why is it important, and why you may be a candidate for Corrective Exercise to improve posture reducing pain, inflammation, fatigue in the body/mind. As promised, common causes of postural deviations follow:
Pain
Smoking
Learned postural habits
Lack of voluntary, deep, diaphragm breathing pattern
Activities of Daily Living such as sleeping/sitting/standing/functional motion/work and exercise postures/prolonged or repetitive tasks like working long hours on a computer
Footwear that does not promote healthy foot positioning, like wearing heels, ill-fitted shoes
Problems with the upper body, spine, and lower body, such as your choice of footwear with heels affects every part of the body by creating poor posture
Stress and anxiety (Perception and response to past, present and future life experiences)
How can we restore our body/mind to healthy posture? By first learning through Corrective Exercise what healthy posture feels like in your body using a simple self-assessment tool while in standing, seated and sleeping positions. The next step is to begin to evaluate any activities or footwear that negatively affect this new healthy posture and to begin to focus and modify these factors through awareness (mindfulness).
An individualized Corrective Exercise Program will take you to the third, but not quite final, step in your new, energized, pain-free, less stressed body and life! (More to come on this in next Corrective Exercise blog.)
The final step? Practice, practice, practice and love living each day of your life!
Embrace this day.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Be Happy and It Will All Take Care of Itself!
As a Wellness Coach, I encourage clients to improve their "happiness quotient" by eliminating tolerations and getting their needs met. By looking at the interpersonal aspects of our lives we see what it is we are tolerating, and by recognizing our unmet needs, we can then put a plan in place to live more happily. These interpersonal aspects may include love or fear, conflict skills, conflict resolution, communications skills, connectedness, community, support, inclusion, friendship and last - but certainly not least - play.
A facebook friend recently posted this song by Natasha Bedingield.
The lyrics for "Happy" follow:
Landlords knocking at my door cussing me out
Got laid off my job the night before
Can't figure how I'm gonna fix tomorrow
When yesterday's still a mess
Can you tell me what's the point man
It all seems meaningless
I wish that I could step away and breathe
This world's trying to swallow me
Clear away the clouds inside my head
Someone just tell me
That it's ok now
What are you worrying about
Got my dreams, got my life, got my love
Got my friends, got the sunshine above
Why am I making this hard on myself
When there's so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy
People lie, people hide, people cry, people fight
And they don't know why
If fear is all that we should fear
Then what are we so afraid of
'Cause fear is only in our heads
Any day I'll go bad thinking bad
Everyone is against me and the world wants to fight me
Preparing to battle an enemy unseen
During my stressing I'm blinded to the lessons
That could be a blessing if I'd be confessing
That the enemy I'm trying to beat is hiding
Inside of me
Keep your grind on girl . . .
It's your love,
It's your world
May you be happy in mind, body and spirit!
As a Wellness Coach, I encourage clients to improve their "happiness quotient" by eliminating tolerations and getting their needs met. By looking at the interpersonal aspects of our lives we see what it is we are tolerating, and by recognizing our unmet needs, we can then put a plan in place to live more happily. These interpersonal aspects may include love or fear, conflict skills, conflict resolution, communications skills, connectedness, community, support, inclusion, friendship and last - but certainly not least - play.
A facebook friend recently posted this song by Natasha Bedingield.
The lyrics for "Happy" follow:
Landlords knocking at my door cussing me out
Got laid off my job the night before
Can't figure how I'm gonna fix tomorrow
When yesterday's still a mess
Can you tell me what's the point man
It all seems meaningless
I wish that I could step away and breathe
This world's trying to swallow me
Clear away the clouds inside my head
Someone just tell me
That it's ok now
What are you worrying about
Got my dreams, got my life, got my love
Got my friends, got the sunshine above
Why am I making this hard on myself
When there's so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy
People lie, people hide, people cry, people fight
And they don't know why
If fear is all that we should fear
Then what are we so afraid of
'Cause fear is only in our heads
Any day I'll go bad thinking bad
Everyone is against me and the world wants to fight me
Preparing to battle an enemy unseen
During my stressing I'm blinded to the lessons
That could be a blessing if I'd be confessing
That the enemy I'm trying to beat is hiding
Inside of me
Keep your grind on girl . . .
It's your love,
It's your world
May you be happy in mind, body and spirit!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Cooper Aerobics - Ace Your Next Race with Strength Training
Cooper Aerobics - Ace Your Next Race with Strength Training
Runners! Remember your strength training to run with ease and protect from injury.
Runners! Remember your strength training to run with ease and protect from injury.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Why Corrective Exercise for Posture?
And why is healthy posture important?
The answer to the first question (but more to come in future blogs):
With aging, body injuries/surgeries, life experience trauma, illness, or most commonly poor posture due to chronic body positions (for example, too much sitting at the keyboard or anywhere), healthy fascia (one of the types of soft tissue) becomes shortened, more solid, and "disorganized". Because the body (below the brain) has a connection with your neurological and brain self, the mis-alignment of the fascia can result in seemingly unrelated restrictions, pain, inflammation, and stress in seemingly unrelated responses on other areas of the body. A restriction in the neck, for example, will often be relieved when a restriction in the low back is corrected. These restrictions in the fascia can be positively altered with the simple three part program of Corrective Exercise allowing you to posture well with reduced pain, inflammation, stress, and improved function of your body.
The answer to the second question, why is healthy posture important:
Posture refers to the position of the human body and its orientation in space. Posture is a state of skeletal and muscular balance and alignment that protects the supporting structures of the body from progressive deformity and injury. Whether a person is exercising, walking, standing or sitting erect, lying, squatting or stooping, good posture allows the muscles of the body to function with maximum efficiency and balance and reduced stress.
Proper posture reduces stressful forces and awkward positioning on the joints, muscles, and other soft tissues of the body. There is an optimal posture for any given body task. Deviations from optimal posture are aesthetically unpleasant, adversely influence muscle efficiency, and predispose individuals to joint and muscle pain or neurological conditions. Postural deviations may be temporary or permanent. If they are temporary and caused by muscle or fascial imbalances, they can be changed with appropriate Corrective Exercise. When the body is in neutral alignment (good posture) the body works most efficiently and provides a stable base for movement (good balance and function). The nerves and the internal organs are able to perform their functions most efficiently as well.
Common Problems Associated with Poor Posture:
Reduced lung function.
Back, neck, shoulder, knee, hip, and foot pain
Headaches
Plantar fascitiis, tendonitis, bursitis
Fibromyalgia
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Joint degeneration
Bone degeneration
Inflammation throughout the body and its systems (for example the cardiovascular system)
Loss of strength and flexibility
Poor balance and a predisposition to falls
Nerve compression - numbing or tingling
Fatigue
Increase in stress perception
More to come next week regarding common causes of these Postural Problems and how Corrective Exercise may be your first step to restoring your body to a healthy posture and you to a healthier, happier life!
And why is healthy posture important?
The answer to the first question (but more to come in future blogs):
With aging, body injuries/surgeries, life experience trauma, illness, or most commonly poor posture due to chronic body positions (for example, too much sitting at the keyboard or anywhere), healthy fascia (one of the types of soft tissue) becomes shortened, more solid, and "disorganized". Because the body (below the brain) has a connection with your neurological and brain self, the mis-alignment of the fascia can result in seemingly unrelated restrictions, pain, inflammation, and stress in seemingly unrelated responses on other areas of the body. A restriction in the neck, for example, will often be relieved when a restriction in the low back is corrected. These restrictions in the fascia can be positively altered with the simple three part program of Corrective Exercise allowing you to posture well with reduced pain, inflammation, stress, and improved function of your body.
The answer to the second question, why is healthy posture important:
Posture refers to the position of the human body and its orientation in space. Posture is a state of skeletal and muscular balance and alignment that protects the supporting structures of the body from progressive deformity and injury. Whether a person is exercising, walking, standing or sitting erect, lying, squatting or stooping, good posture allows the muscles of the body to function with maximum efficiency and balance and reduced stress.
Proper posture reduces stressful forces and awkward positioning on the joints, muscles, and other soft tissues of the body. There is an optimal posture for any given body task. Deviations from optimal posture are aesthetically unpleasant, adversely influence muscle efficiency, and predispose individuals to joint and muscle pain or neurological conditions. Postural deviations may be temporary or permanent. If they are temporary and caused by muscle or fascial imbalances, they can be changed with appropriate Corrective Exercise. When the body is in neutral alignment (good posture) the body works most efficiently and provides a stable base for movement (good balance and function). The nerves and the internal organs are able to perform their functions most efficiently as well.
Common Problems Associated with Poor Posture:
Reduced lung function.
Back, neck, shoulder, knee, hip, and foot pain
Headaches
Plantar fascitiis, tendonitis, bursitis
Fibromyalgia
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Joint degeneration
Bone degeneration
Inflammation throughout the body and its systems (for example the cardiovascular system)
Loss of strength and flexibility
Poor balance and a predisposition to falls
Nerve compression - numbing or tingling
Fatigue
Increase in stress perception
More to come next week regarding common causes of these Postural Problems and how Corrective Exercise may be your first step to restoring your body to a healthy posture and you to a healthier, happier life!
Fall Is A Time To . . .
Save The Date for a special One-to-One Event! Sunday, November 13, 2011 from 2:00 to 4:00pm at Pine Valley Country Club. Plan to celebrate, learn and share! A warm thank you to Daryl Yost, client extraordinaire, for inspiring and hosting this gathering. Look for your invitation after October 1.
Read the One-to-One blog. Simply type in pamholtonetoone.com, click on blog on the right side of page. Read to educate (click on links posted in blog), be inspired and empowered!
Evaluate the need for new footwear (not just exercise shoes). We may have a bonfire for all shoes that lead to pain, stress, and dysfunction in your bodies!
Plan your winter (more indoor that outdoor) physical activity agenda. If you need suggestions from me, simply ask.
Replace dead batteries in heart rate monitors.
Inflate all stability balls and myofascial release balls. If you would like me to do it, simply ask.
Ensure you have all the body work (exercise, etc.) tools you need: medicine balls, DVD's, tubing, dense foam rollers, etc. If you are unsure or need a piece of equipment, simply ask.
Enjoy life, be happy be healthy and cultivate peace.
My best to all of you this day and all days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
