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Tag Archives | healthy living

Listening to Our Body

Listening to Our Body
Listening to Our Body: The Art of Being Human

Listening to our body is a vital skill that we develop over a lifetime. We awaken to the subtle cues within us as we mature and we make better decisions about our health.

Ultimately, the decisions we make about our health significantly impact our quality of life and our longevity. Listening with an ear of love and respect will make health a fun, joyful, and important endeavor throughout life.

Understand more from listening

For instance, learning to listen to our body provides immediate benefits including: Firstly, we gain the value of knowing how to interpret the information, Secondly, we prevent illness and respond at the onset, Thirdly, we provide our own unique self-care, Fourthly, we understand our body’s signals, and finally, we practice prevention and because of it, we create ideal health.

Undoubtedly, “listening to our body” is an inward skill that most folks don’t take the time to develop before illness occurs. The immediate value of this awareness is often not seen until it is too, late.

Therefore, grab a notebook and let’s explore the value now so you can decide what’s right for you. You will likely have questions of your own. Please post them below or feel free to e-mail me directly at E-mail.

Start where you are:

Most of us range in our body awareness somewhere between fear (disease obsession) and denial (I’m fine or it won’t happen to me) and therefore, most of us are somewhere on that continuum. As a result few live in the middle ground.  Therefore, have a sense of your overall health and learn to listen to your body to prevent disease and for the best health possible. In conclusion, every human being has to interpret the information we get from listening to our body accurately because we can make good health decisions when we do.

Learn the Language of Your Body

Unfortunately, we are not taught to listen to information that our body gives us we risk our health. Because our body speaks to us with feedback for our health and well being, above all we need to hear. Some learn this early in life, others grow into this intimate dialogue. In conclusion, your language is unique to your body.

Why listen?

For example, have you ever ignored a baby that was hungry or wet? How long could you listen to it scream before you needed to respond? Our bodies are like screaming babies sometimes. Naturally, we want to soothe the discomfort. Ultimately, we give ourselves what we need. However, sometimes we ignore the cries for too long and we create imbalance.

We are constantly getting cues and clues as to what is happening inside of us, but we are often moving too fast to interpret this important language. Imagine if you were listening however and could hear exactly what your body needed. How would you feel after all, if you could self-assess and know how to heal your own pain, upset, emotion and stress? You can!

A great conversation, if you listen

Are you in conversation with your body! What is it saying?

If it is in pain it will let you know. If you are not using the bathroom regularly, it is letting you know that something is not balanced. If you have fever, your body is alerting you to an infection. If you are dizzy or lethargic, you could have low blood sugar or be dehydrated.

In conclusion, here are so many cues and ways your body is communicating if you would learn to listen. Because you are a miraculous living organism of synapses and processes, you deserve to hear and understand.

We have to learn to interpret what the body is saying.

To better understand the cues and messages your body is sending, click here to schedule a consultation with renowned spa owner, Darci Frankel and her amazing team, and begin your journey to health and wellness.

At every step of the way, the body gives us information.
As a result as soon as we start to listen, we can begin to heal, change, or grow.

For instance, in July of 1984, Jim Fixx, an avid runner and author, sadly, died of a heart attack. People were shocked. They exclaimed, “he was perfectly healthy!”

Actually, he was not!

Because Jim’s arteries for example, were (in the process of) clogging for years. In fact, three of the main arteries to his heart were seriously clogged; shockingly, one was 95% blocked, the second 85% blocked, and the third was 70% blocked, so a heart attack was not so far off. In conclusion, and with great respect to Jim and his family, there were most probably signs!

In conclusion, had he been more adept at listening to his body, treatment may have been possible. Alternately, exercise and eating well are not always a guarantee of health. Therefore, we must listen more adeptly.

Great health begins with good listening

Luckily, no one goes from perfect health to terminal disease overnight. Disease is progressive and most can be prevented when we listen to the body’s cues and unique language. Above all, we need to interpret the body’s subtle sounds and whispers. Alternatively, sometimes we need a professional to diagnose what we could not hear.

Listening for solutions

However, if Mr. Fixx slowed down and tuned in to his needs, he may have realized that his body was communicating. As a result, he may have changed his diet to decrease inflammation. For instance, he may have used meditation or yoga to decrease stress.

In addition, studies show that inflammation and ‘bad’ fats are the cause of arteriosclerosis.  

After all, you know your body. You know what it feels like to feel good, and when you just feel off in some way. Have a “go to” plan that brings you to your center.

Hearing from wholeness

Similarly, when something feels off to me, I remember what our old friend Smokey The Bear used to say: “Stop, drop and roll.” Especially, because I sense pain in my body, I literally stop, drop and roll: I stop and become aware of what is hurting or out of alignment. For instance, I drop any expectation and relax, not trying to figure out what’s wrong. In other words, I give myself what is needed, even a few minutes to roll on an exercise ball to stretch and work out any knots.

Because, once I am relaxed, for instance, I can assess and respond: Perhaps I need water or a snack. Perhaps a massage is what is needed. A nap, whatever, may be appropriate. Alternatively, some exercise or longer stretch will do the trick. In conclusion, I do what I must to hear more clearly. As a result, I take responsible, appropriate action.

Ultimately, we know what we need. We must slow down, take time to give ourselves the necessary attention. Ask for help from appropriate practitioners and naturopaths, and envision our ideal health as we journey towards it. Health is a state of mind, a state of being in the body, and a respectful alignment between the two.

Check in with yourself regularly

 Next time you have an ache or pain, take pause, and a few breaths to center yourself. Take an honest look at what is really happening inside. Give it to yourself.

For example, you can’t know everything going on inside of you at all times. However, you can learn to listen better all the time.

Therefore, my friend, Deepak Chopra would take this moment to remind us of the tens of thousands of bodily functions going on: For instance, the heart is beating, the nerve synapses are firing, the gallbladder is secreting bile, while the arteries are all pumping blood, the temperature is being regulated and listening to our body, knowing this is all happening, lets us honor the micro changes in the environment through the senses.

In other words, the awareness of the miracle of the human body and our awe of it being in good working order therefore, is a great place to begin to hear what is being communicated. What cannot be heard can be explored through routine health exams, blood tests, hormone panels, and therapeutic/natural health care. In conclusion, there are no excuses for not hearing our bodies.

3 valuable life lessons:

  • Firstly, listening to my body is important
  • Secondly, doctors aren’t G-ds
  • Finally, medicine has limits.

Recently, I listened to my body. Here is what I heard. What are you hearing?

The other day I took a dip in the ocean and I loved it! I felt amazing and I was happy the whole day. The next day, I felt unusual pressure with an uncomfortable sensation on the side of my neck. Luckily, I paused and took notice because I’d never felt that before. So, I rubbed the area a bit and felt I needed some water.

I needed something; some kind of self-care, for instance: I went for a walk while taking deep breaths as I did. Although subtle, something was still off. However, I felt vulnerable and a bit feverish, as a result, I noticed that my mind became a little agitated; jumping from topic to topic.

Eventually, as I walked and did some movements to align my neck, something clicked into place. However, a few hours later, I felt throbbing in my left ear. Finally, I remembered water getting in that ear the day before.

Intuitively, and together with this information, I deduced:

It is the start of an ear infection! “Let me nip this in the bud! “

After that, I put peroxide in my ear and some essential oils BEHIND it on the mastoid bone I was able to ward off infection. (NEVER put essential oils in the ear).  It worked! Luckily, the pain went away and I am better today because listening to the subtle cues of our bodies saves time and money, and prevents pain and illness!

In conclusion, because I listened to my inner guidance and took the time to hear what was being said, a major medical malady was averted.

Ultimately, if you listen, your organism will communicate with you.

Develop your inner intelligence in 4 steps:

  1. Clean up your doorways of perception with a daily routine: Consider using a neti pot to clear head & sinus, Meditate, and eat a clean organic/free range diet, hydrate, avoid sugar, etc.
  2. Listen to subtle cues in your physiology. Listen and respond. Your inner intelligence rewards and acknowledges you with information.
  3. Pause and listen deeply when something feels misaligned
  4. Practice moderation in all that you eat, think, and do

Grab your notebook and let’s take 3 minutes to do this listening practice.

Meditation to Practice Listening (9 min)  https://hanaleidayspa.com/meditation-1/

Let’s take it to the next level!

Self-Care Questions to ask

  1. Do I need to rest and honor my body or push myself harder?
  2. Am I getting the suggested 7-9 hours of sleep daily?
  3. Would more or less exercise make my body feel better?
  4. How is my appetite? Am I hungry, or thirsty? Am I fueling my body?
  5. Do I know and honor my limits?
  6. Am I hungry, angry, lonely, tired? (H.A.L.T) Inquire. Listen. Respond.
  7. When you hurt yourself stop immediately. Assess. Ice. Rest. Elevate. Compression. Follow up with a doctor.
  8. Stop immediately. Assess. Ice. Rest. Elevate. Compression. Follow up with a doctor.
  9. How is my mood? Allow yourself to feel the emotion.
  10. Can I focus my attention on what is in front of me? Address your distractions.
  11. Am I sore, injured, or, is what I feel signs of natural aging? We need to keep active and learn to accept aging?

In conclusion, if you liked this, you will love:
10 Keys to BEING Seriously Healthy

and

DIY Hanalei Day Spa

10 Keys to BEING seriously healthy

Keys to BEING Seriously Healthy part 1

Healthy lifestyleWe all want to be healthy, but we might not know what to actually do. In this 3 part series, I give you the 10 keys to being seriously healthy. I help you to gain a deep understanding of the foundations in truly BEING a healthy person. I have been practicing Ayurvedic Medicine for about 25 years, and I constantly learn, so I can bring you the best, most time-tested truths, based on volumes of research.

Join me on this journey through the 10 keys, so you can BE seriously healthy!

I’m going to go through each of the 10 keys, and explain them in detail. You can watch the videos and I will also go into more depth in a series of 3 blogs. As you hear each of the keys, you will probably intuitively know that these points are true. We’re just taking this time together to review, asses and refine where you are at with each key, and which areas you need to improve upon. Then, you will take this knowledge and turn it into wisdom by empowering yourself to make some life-altering changes.

Because ‘action’ is the thing that turns knowledge into wisdom.

Listening to our body

The first important point is to listen to our body. We sometimes get so caught up in life that we forget to listen. When we get sick, have aches and pains or an illness, it is our body’s way of communicating and asking for your participation and cooperation.  When we listen and cooperate with our body, we can learn how to restore balance and improve our health.

By honoring these messages,  we can turn an illness into a constructive time of restoration, healing, and revitalization.

Get a pen and paper ready, because, in each key, I want you to honestly rate yourself on a scale of 0-10.
If you are really being honest and true to yourself, where are you? I want you to be rigorously honest with yourself here.

Here is the video, but I flesh more out in this blog post.

Key #1 Healthy diet

Our bodies respond quickly to nourishing healthy foods. A healthy diet includes the highest quality foods. These are the best for the body and brain and include healthy un-saturated fats. We’re talking about 100% organically grown foods, grass-fed/pasture raised meats, neuroprotective fats which all protect our brain, body and nervous system. Coconut or olive oil & avocados are a great example of healthy neuroprotective un-saturated fats. Other healthy choices include wild salmon, eggs and dark leafy vegetables. Another category is the anti-aging free radical scavenger, potent antioxidant polyphenol foods, such as blueberries, turmeric, green tea.

Healthy oils

According to AARP, 93 percent of Americans are concerned with their brain health, but few understand how to protect it. Have you been deceived into thinking that canola oil is healthy? Or that coconut oil is not healthy!? If you want to have a healthy diet, you need to be able to identify healthy oils. Here are a few tips to do just that!

  • Rapeseed oil AKA Canola oil is NOT healthy oil, it is genetically modified not one, but twice! Once to lower the acid level so it doesn’t kill from heart disease, then a second time to make it roundup ready!
  • Check the ingredients in your salad dressings (even at the health food stores) and everything in supermarkets, you will find canola is in everything!
  • Studies have shown that rats fed canola oil get fat and Altzheimer’s.
  • Healthy fats for a healthy body and brain are, coconut oil, Avocado, ghee, olive oil, even duck fat are all good oils.

Farm raised Salmon facts

  • healthy oilsFarm raised salmon are given supplements made from petrochemicals, to enhance its color.
  • They are full of harmful toxic contaminants.
  • Fish farms cause environmental damage.
  • Dr. David Katz, director of Yale prevention research says that farmed salmon contains antibiotics, toxins, pollutants, and calories.
  • Farm raised salmon contains harmful, inflammatory fats that harm your health.

Drugs in our meat

The meat industry does not publicize its use of antibiotics and other drugs.  There is an increasing amount of evidence suggesting that the use of antibiotics in foods pose grave health risks in humans.  For instance, animals develop antibiotic resistance over time, which is passed to humans who eat them.  The New England Journal of Medicine found that people who developed Cipro- resistant bacteria had acquired that from eating pork contaminated with salmonella. Do you know that farm raised meats to contain antibiotics and growth hormones which creates antibiotic resistance & increase in growth tumors?

Sugar is as addictive as cocaine

Remember, there are some foods (substances and people) that look, smell and feel good in some way, but the net effect can be harmful to our health. Take sugar for example, do you know that studies show that sugar is more addictive, and causes more deaths than cocaine! Sugar has the same effect as some hard drugs. Such as heroin and cocaine, in that it strongly spikes dopamine.

When sugar is fed to lab rats, they consistently consumed larger and larger portions upon scheduled reintroduction.  When the sugar was taken away, the rats were restless, showed signs of anxiety, lowered dopamine and were unwilling to move about in their environment.

There are 10 times more sugar related deaths in the US then cocaine-related deaths. Sometimes I hear people talking about ‘rewarding’ themselves with some sugar, candy or a smoke. Is it really rewarding to create harm to your body? Is that a reward?  Do you want to eat antibiotics with your food?

I encourage you to do some research into this on your own. Given these facts, you may want to consider really being mindful and more selective about what you put in your body.

If you are rigorously honest, rate yourself on the area of healthy diet on a scale from 0-10?

Key #2 Self  Talk

We feed our bodies with healthy food, what are we feeding our minds with? Do we choose, 100% organic, healthy and kind words? Or do we just take in any junk thoughts because that’s what’s there? We have been taking a look and refining our food choices, but have you ever stopped to question the quality of your self-talk? Think about it, the words that we say to ourselves can be nourishing and contribute to our health too!

I eliminated sugar from my diet 3 years ago, but I am not hard on myself if every six months or so I have something with sugar in it. I take some supplements to counteract it and move on. The other day, I ate some Strauss strawberry ice cream. It definitely has sugar in it, and it was delicious! But the next day, I literally felt depressed, for the first couple of hours, I didn’t realize what was happening. I’m not the ‘depressed’ or melancholic type, so I quickly realized what happened. I have detoxed my body completely of refined sugar, so I can really feel it when I do take some in. So my immune system was negatively affected and I could feel it.

Remember, when our body is affected, our mind is too. They say that sugar suppresses the immune system. I said some kind things to myself acknowledging and accepting my mistake, gave myself a hug, and I moved on to do my day, which turned out to be a great day! Have you ever made a mistake with your diet, lifestyle choices? How did you treat yourself? Read more about studies on being kind to yourself here.

Pithy questions to contemplate

If you constantly say that you are getting old, or are stupid, or if you make a mistake if you can’t remember something, is that an example of healthy self-talk? Does how you think about yourself make a difference? Do you treat yourself well or poorly? What do you affirm about yourself? Do you realize that when you say something to yourself over and over, you believe it?

How our body looks and feels is a byproduct of how we treat ourselves.

Our cells eavesdrop on everything we say!

Ikea conducted anti-bullying experiments in some schools recently. They brought two plants into the school, and play a recorded loop of compliments and, words of praise and appreciation to one group, and unkind, toxic phrases to the other group. The children could hear and see the plants.

The plants that received kind words looked all green and full, they thrived! While the other group of plants were significantly smaller, shriveled and literally looked sad. It’s the same with humans, our cells hear everything we say.

Are you kind to yourself without exception?
Or, are you only kind when you are doing good?
When you make a mistake do you berate yourself?
Do you create inner toxicity?

Please rate yourself, an honest self-evaluation from 0-10 what is your self-talk like?

Key #3 Exercise

The next key is Exercise This includes all forms of movement. Exercise stimulates feel-good hormones such as serotonin, increases neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, stimulates venous and lymphatic circulation, brain-derived neurotrophic factors which are responsible for making new connections in the brain. As a culture, we HAVE to move. In our culture, we spend so much time sitting, they coined a new disease ‘sitting is the new smoking’. There are studies that show active people are depressed and have less anxiety less than inactive people. In a recent blog entry, I talked a lot about this important Key to being Seriously Healthy.

Try these ideas, and let me know what you are doing to get moving!

  1. Find more ways to incorporate activity in your day.
  2. Set a timer, at the top of each hour, get up and move.
  3. Take a call standing and have a meeting while walking.
  4. Do this minute desk workout with me!
  5. Activate/flex the muscles of your quads, hamstrings, and abs at your desk, or on your commute.
  6. Walk to lunch.
  7. Sit up straight.
  8. Rock your baby and do lunges.
  9. Go for a walk instead of watching tv after dinner.
  10. Have a simple exercise routine that you can do on a call or webinar (they won’t even know). Push-ups, lunges, triceps extensions on your chair.
  11. Halftime at a sports event or-or Intermission of the school play is a great time to take a power walk for 5-10 minutes.

Exercise creates healthy brain- body connections

Our children need to put down the devices and go out and play, barefoot!
So they make as many brain-body connections early on as they can. The same is true with us, we need to go outside and enjoy nature and soak in the sunshine!

Take frequent movement breaks, do this 5-minute desk workout with me!

Do you get enough exercise? Rate yourself from 0-10.

These are the first 3 of the 10 keys to being Seriously Healthy. Let’s make some positive changes together! Take a look at how you rated yourself and choose some areas to refine and up-level your practices. I really, really, really want to know what you are letting go of and what you are refining!

 

Create optimal health during the transition of seasons

Everyone loves summer, with the long days, lots of outdoor time and communing with nature. As we bid farewell to the high heat of summer, we begin to mindfully transition to Autumn. We mentally and emotionally prepare ourselves for the more internal reflective state of mind that the eventual winter will bring with the change of seasons and the gentle turning of the earth.  Ayurveda teaches us how to create optimal health and take special care of our bodies during the transition of the seasons.

The cool fall air was nectar…
~Stephen Connella

This is because these transitions are delicate and unstable times, we are neither here nor there. We are no longer at the place we were, nor are we established in the new situation. This is called sandhi, the junction, the joint/the in-between place. In the same way, the joints of our body are more delicate than the long bones.  If we don’t promptly eliminate the excess that the previous season brought to us, (in this case, excess heat) this excess will cause problems, the root causes of disease…
In this way, Ayurveda teaches us to live in harmony with nature, working hand in hand.

“We have our part in the preservation of our health,
the prevention of disease, we can promote longevity
and Ayurveda shows us how!”

The high heat of the summer subjects us to an accumulation of heat in our bodies (even though we naturally tend to favor cooling foods in the summer, such as watermelon, juices, and salads.) Ayurveda texts teach us how to eliminate these excess ‘doshas’ or heat and stay out of the doctor’s office. Symptoms of excess heat can be; irritability, prickly heat rash is common, loose stools, rashes, irritability, anything with an ‘itis’ indicates inflammation, acid indigestion, and acid reflux to name a few. Which is why the end of each season is the best time eliminate the build-up from the previous season and to receive Pancha Karma if we can. Ultimately we want to promptly eliminate the ‘heat of summer’ so it doesn’t cause damage.

Create optimal health during the transition of seasons…

I will give you two lists, the first list contains a few simple, easy things you can do to eliminate some minor excess heat, the second is more of the warrior path, it’s not for everyone, but those who are really motivated, really need it or are superheroes of their own health and well being.

Simple (armchair want to be healthy) tips to eliminate excess heat, prevent that Summer heat from lodging into your system:

(Do these only for the next 2 weeks during this transition)

  1. Drink celery juice over the course of 3 days, celery juice is extremely anti-inflammation and pulls extra heat out of the liver and intestines. you can mix it with apple which is also cooling, and dilute a bit too.
  2. Add cilantro, or juice it! Cilantro is supercooling to the system!
  3. Have a few raw salads (at lunch) with organic coconut oil, nothing spicy for a few days.

Superhero, warrior, protector of your health, tips:

Do this for 5 days ASAP
Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or doing the salt water cleanse.

  1. Use the power of routine. The ayurvedic routine is an influential tool in itself – and allows you to harness the power of daily cycles of Nature. Wake up before 6 AM, eat your main meal at midday, go to bed before 10 PM – all are very important points for balancing the three fundamental mind-body principles of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
  2. Kitchery Mono diet
  3. Daily Abhyanga
  4. On day 4 do a salt water cleanse, email me for instructions.

If you need more specific help or guidance, I have a few spaces available for consultations in the next 2 weeks.

I care about your well being, let me know how this goes for you!
With warm aloha,

 

 

 

You may also enjoy:

  1. Clear your Head! Neti reduces brain fog!
  2. An Ayurveda Consultation with me, HealthConsultant808@gmail.com
  3. Cleansing Toxins Through Breathing Video

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