The 12 Moves to Wellness
Winter may not yet be official, but there is
no question that year-end is quickly
approaching. Many of us feel overwhelmed by
our to-do lists and do not want to add more
to that list with New Year’s resolutions or
other such self-imposed undertakings. Being
a fan of
simplicity,
I’ve composed a bit of a song. You’ll
probably recognize the format as
“The 12 Days of
Christmas”, so go ahead and
sing it!
Or skip to the end of this article to
read about the steps and why they are
helpful.
For my 1st move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Drink lemon water in
the morning.
For my 2nd move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Eat a real breakfast
and drink lemon water in the morning.
For my 3rd move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Laugh at yourself,
eat a real breakfast, and drink lemon water
in the morning.
 For
my 4th move to wellness my doctor said to
me,
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 5th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 6th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 7th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Take the stairs,
sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
 For
my 8th move to wellness my doctor said to
me,
Make things fun,
take the stairs, sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 9th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Be inspired,
make things fun, take the stairs, sit on the
floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 10th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Be enamoured by your
breath, be inspired, make things fun,
take the stairs, sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
 For
my 11th move to wellness my doctor said to
me,
Set an alarm to go to
bed, be enamoured by your breath, be
inspired, make things fun, take the stairs,
sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast, and
drink water lemon in the morning.
For my 12th move to
wellness my doctor said to me,
Get acupuncture,
set an alarm to go to bed, be enamoured by
your breath, be inspired, make things fun,
take the stairs, sit on the floor.
Be here, right now!
Try something new,
laugh at yourself, eat a real breakfast,
and…
Drink water lemon in
the morning!
1. Drink water lemon
in the morning
Lemons are rich in
vitamin C and citric acid. Adding it to warm
water and drinking it first thing in the
morning helps stimulate the liver to produce
bile which aid digestion. The vitamin C
helps stimulate your immune system and
promote the healing of connective tissue,
bone, and cartilage.
2. Eat a real
breakfast
As you may have
already notice, “breakfast” can be broken
down into the words “break” and “fast”. So,
breakfast breaks the fast that you have been
on (unless you are a late night snacker!)
since your last meal before bedtime. Many
know that breakfast is said to be the most
important meal of the day, but many of you
still don’t eat a good breakfast. Coffee is
not breakfast and coffee and a slice of
toast barely qualifies. A good breakfast
will consist of protein, good fats, and
complex carbohydrates. Go to my blog for my
favourite breakfast, hot quinoa cereal. (http://www.activetcm.com/blog/2010/11/28/my-favourite-breakfast/)
3. Laugh at yourself
There are times when
being serious is important. But sometimes we
take things too seriously when it would be
okay to laugh or at least take things in
with a lighter mood. Being able to laugh at
ourselves takes the pressure off a bit. We
can't be perfect and some things will always
seem to challenge us. I like the Q-TIP
mentality: "Quit Taking It Personally". So
use a Q-TIP and stop nitpicking yourself.
4. Try something new
We’ve all been on autopilot at some point in
our lives. You get to work and then realize
that you don’t recall any of the journey.
Routine can be good. But too much routine,
too much structure, too much sameness is
just that…”too much”. You needn’t turn your
world upside-down to try something new
(though you could choose to if it suits
you). Perhaps it’s as simple as taking a
different route to work, going to that new
restaurant that you’ve been meaning to check
out, or even brushing your teeth with your
non-dominant hand. Doing something new will
stimulate your brain and keep the world
fresh for you. For more on this topic, check
out coach Anne Whitmore's article:
http://divafish.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/
5. Be here, right now
Trying something new
has another benefit. We tend to be more
present in the moment when we are doing
something new. That makes sense because we
have to focus more on something when we
don’t know it well. Well, one benefit of
being present, being here at this moment, is
that we are
more likely to be happy. So, if you
would like to be happy, be present.
6. Sit on the floor
One of my yoga
teachers, Chris Duggan (the one who inspired
me into a regular yoga practice
www.chrisduggan.net), told me that when
he asked one of his teachers what he thought
would be the best pose for his knees and
hips, he was told to sit on the floor. You
might have thought he’d say pigeon pose or
something to that effect. But no. Sit on the
floor. It sounds simple, but it makes sense.
Many populations spend a lot of time sitting
on the floor and their elders move very
well. They can squat, they can bend, they
can sit on the floor, and even more, they
can come to standing after sitting on the
floor!
7. Take the stairs
It’s easy to take the
escalator or elevator, but it uses the wrong
kind of energy. It doesn’t use your energy.
Climbing or descending the stairs powers up
your legs and improves your cardiovascular
health. Don’t have time to go to the gym
often enough? Take the stairs. The rain made
you leave your bike at home? Take the
stairs. You’re feeling stressed and
frustrated? Take the stairs. The exercise
will give you a boost of endorphins, feel
good hormones.
8. Make things fun
Just a spoon full of
sugar helps the medicine go down. Mary
Poppins said so. I’m not recommending you
take a spoon full of sugar to help you do
whatever you don’t like to do, but you get
the idea. I hate housework. So, when it’s
time to dust I call a friend and talk and
dust. Need to vacuum? I dance and vacuum
(thankfully with no one able to see me!).
Dishes? Crank up the music and sing! I was
inspired to write about making things fun
and about taking the stairs because of this
wonderful idea that someone had and put into
action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpmhWXfHdM
9. Be inspired
And, speaking of
inspiration, check out this 91 year old
woman who is competing in track and field
events and has been doing so since she was
77!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes
10. Be enamoured by
your breath
Another yoga teacher
said this in class. I’m enamoured with this
quote. In yoga we are often reminded to pay
attention to our breath. It is an essential
part of yoga. But this description just made
me think about my breath differently. Being
enamoured by your breath is a more passive
form of loving your breath or focusing on
your breath. It feels more like the breath
is in control of the mind. The breath is so
entrancing that your mind can’t help but
focus on it. And we all know how important
our breath is. So, breathe deep and be
enamoured by your breath.
11. Set an alarm to go
to bed
Many of us set an
alarm to get up in the morning. Without that
alarm we may sleep in and miss appointments
or be late for work. But how easy it is to
let time slip by us as we stay up too late
and consequently do not get enough sleep.
So, why not try setting an alarm to go to
bed? When that alarm goes off, shut off the
light and close your eyes.
12. Get acupuncture
Have pain? Digestion
off? Sleeping poorly? Feeling stressed,
anxious, or depressed? Tired? Acupuncture
and Traditional Chinese Medicine may be able
to help you. But, what if you’re feeling
well? Do you need to wait until you’re sick
before you get treatment? No, absolutely
not. In fact, the ideal way to use
acupuncture and TCM is to get regular check
ups and treatments. That may be once a month
or with a change in the seasons. Prevention
is key!
If you want to
comment on this article, click on this link
to comment via my blog:
http://www.activetcm.com/blog/2010/11/29/340/
What do
the
Alternative
Flu Shot
and
S.A.D.
Treatments
Have in
Common?
Both can be treated
with biopuncture.
Biopuncture is the
injection of microdoses of sterile biologic
remedies. I use homeopathic-like medicines
and B12. To read more about biopuncture,
click
here.
The alternative flu
shot is a choice of the suitable immune
system homeopathic remedy that suits you. It
can be used in addition to the conventional
flu shot or as an alternative. To check out
my past article on this topic, click
here.
S.A.D. stands for
Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is a mood
disorder in which people experience symptoms
of depression year after year during a
specific season, usually the dark winter
months so it's often called the winter
blues.
S.A.D. can cause
severe depression, social withdrawal,
fatigue and lethargy, sugar cravings, weight
gain, and an increase in sensitivity to
pain. For some, using an SAD light, a
full-spectrum 10,000 lux (measurement of
brightness) light box, is enough to make a
significant change. For others, more is
needed.
Biopuncture options
include the injection of remedies that can
help improve mood, regulate the hypothalamus
and adrenals, improve energy, and improve
sleep-wake cycles.
Contact me if you
would like to learn more:
drcarr@activetcm.com
|
Welcome back to 
It’s
beginning to look a lot like…it’s time to get
your health plan for 2011 into action! You might
be thinking it’s too early for New Year’s
resolutions, but have you looked at the calendar
lately? If you don't like the thought of New
Year's resolutions because they feel cliché
and so easy to break, call these your health
goals, intentions, or whatever works best for
you. Read my article below to find out how you
can have a healthier future, sooner than later.
The
Green Zebra Guide is a big book of coupons for
organic and local and environmentally friendly
businesses. Buy a book for $20 and you will get
more than your money's worth back in savings.
Not only that, but it will benefit two
charities. The book is published by TB Vets,
which provides funding for BC hospitals and
employment for people with disabilities:
