Tips For Heart Healthy Month

Written by: Debbie

Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.

~Dalai Lama

Fifty years ago our then president, President Lyndon Johnson declared February as American Heart Month. Since that time, the rate of deaths in America caused by cardiovascular diseases has dropped by almost 1 million people per year. February is also the month for lovers with Valentines. So it seems only natural to focus on the heart and how to help keep yours healthy. The American Heart Association recommends seven activities: exercise, eating better, losing weight, managing your blood pressure, reducing your blood sugar and stopping a smoking habit.

Maintaining good emotional and mental health is just as important as your physical health

Learning to express your emotions is not only good for your relationships, but can improve your overall health. The brain is a muscle, and just like other muscles in the body, the brain needs to be exercised to stay healthy. Tapping into emotions and learning how to communicate them effectively works those brain muscles, helping to keep them alert and healthy. In addition, expressing your emotions will help you maintain a healthy emotional balance, which will have a positive effect on your relationships with others.

Our bodies reflect what we think about and focus on

I have mentioned previously that holding on to anger can affect your weight. Excess weight is a strain on the heart and the brain! One of the best things you can do for your heart, your brain and your emotions is to move! Get out there and play. This year for Valentines why not take your one true love on an active date, whether it is bicycling, walking through a park or a round of golf? I am a big believer that giving activities as a gift is a great way to give something memorable. Imagine giving tennis or dance lessons to your sweetie. You can attend together and keep the spark alive, while improving your health.

If there isn’t a special someone in your life right now, treat yourself to some loving. Get out and volunteer. Nothing makes the heart feel better than doing a good deed and helping others who are in need. Use the day to celebrate the gift of giving. Often what happens is the volunteer gets as much (sometimes more) benefit as the recipient. I even know of a couple who met while volunteering, that was an unexpected benefit for sure!

Use this month and the heart healthy awareness as a way to start healthy new ways of thinking. Write down things that you are grateful for before bed at night. You will sleep better and awaken feeling more upbeat. If you have that someone special, begin to make a list of all the ways you love them. Find reasons to smile and to laugh, every day. Share those with family and friends.

Get a stress-busting hobby

You can’t avoid stress entirely. It’s part of a normal life. But you can choose how you deal with it. Managing stress in a healthy way, whether it’s meditation, yoga, or knitting, is really important. Hobbies are often thought of as activities for people who lead quiet, relaxed lives. However, people with full, busy, even stressful lives may need hobbies more than the average person, and benefit greatly from having hobbies in their lives.

One study found that those who engage in physical leisure activities for at least 20 minutes once a week are less susceptible to fatigue. Other research found that enjoyable activities performed during leisure time were associated with lower blood pressure, total cortisol, waist circumference, and body mass index, and perceptions of better physical function. Such activities were also correlated with higher levels of positive psychosocial states and lower levels of depression.

Make changes, pick just one to start. Notice how much better you feel after the change becomes a part of your routine and then you can add another. I encourage you to listen to hypnosis audios for a change of heart as well. Hypnosis can assist you in making those changes a permanent part of your life. A heart healthy and happy life!

Pretty Little Bre

Written by: Debbie

A year later and still sending me new clients!

No Excuses

Written by: Debbie

I often tell my sons, excuses only please the one who is making them. When we don’t live up to our responsibilities, it is time to take inventory of ourselves and figure out why. Are the expectations more than we are capable of or are we choosing to let life’s circumstances control us? Is it time, perhaps to re-group, reorganize or rethink our priorities?

This has been the case with me. I can give you a list as long as you like as to why I allowed myself to fall off the wagon when it comes to managing my weight and my health. The truth is, I did not treat myself and my body with the love and respect I deserve. I choose to let life get in the way. So, I am done with excuses and reasons. Only a few days into my resolve, I am already feeling better.

I have been juicing again, oh how I love fresh carrot, celery and whatever veggies I have on hand in a juice. I really do like the taste! (My youngest son thinks I am a bit daft for that, but he is a teenager.) I am following through with lots of water, slow eating and stopping when I am full. My body is responding with a very clear thank you! I am feeling more energetic, sleeping more soundly and even my clothes are more forgiving!

I am using my own audios to enhance my resolve. I enjoy the power that hypnosis gives me. What an awesome gift it is. I am motivating myself with self hypnosis to get out and move. It is feeling so much better to respect myself. Seems others respect me more when I do this as well. Isn’t it funny how that happens?

Monday Morning Musing….

Written by: Debbie

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Florida. Chamber of Commerce weather, even. So, my husband and I decided to take advantage of that and rode our bikes up to Innisbrook to lay by the pool. The ride was more difficult than I remembered. I wore a one piece swimsuit, poolside, black. I made sure our chairs were right next to the pregnant woman. All the signs were there, I was feeling uncomfortable.

Yes, I eat healthy foods. I eat slowly, placing the fork down between bites. I stop eating when my body signals it is full, not stuffed. I drink lots of water. Most of the time. Lately, not so much and now I was aware of that. It is time to get back to feeling as healthy and lean as possible. I feel better when I am following proper eating and exercise guidelines. I know that. Yet, I let it slide.

One recent morning I was out walking when a neighbor stopped me. He asked,”Why do you walk, aren’t you a hypnotist? I thought you would just imagine the weight away!” He was serious. If only it were that easy. Yes, hypnosis is a weight management tool in my arsenal, however, I follow the same guidelines I give my clients. Lately, I guess I thought I could get away without doing so and it has shown up on the hips!

So, I am listening to my audios again, reinforcing good habits. I am remembering to focus on health and being committed to myself, rather than on fat and loss. I forgive myself for past mistakes, moving forward, towards good health. I can’t change yesterday, I can only start from where I am right now.

Because of this awareness, I have decided to make it easier for anyone else who wants to make changes as the summer is approaching. I am offering my Lean, Healthy You audio at the discounted rate of $17.00. That is a savings of $6.77! This is available at my website for a limited time.

Join me, begin taking steps towards a healthier, happier you. When you begin your quest, drop me a note and let me know how you are progressing. We can share our victories and even our challenges. Let’s make this the summer of a Lean Healthy You!

Lean Healthy You

Written by: Debbie

It has been understood for some time that cardiovascular health is at risk with excess belly fat. Now there is more bad news. Recent studies have revealed that a large gut in midlife will increase the chance of dementia in old age. The research suggests that abdominal fat is a bigger risk factor even that family history is. To read more about the study that was posted in the Journal of Neurology go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23800703/

Right before summer time, we are already feeling snug in our clothes after a winter of covering up with layers of clothing. Now more guilt is heaped upon us! There is good news, however. Belly fat will go away with a proper diet and exercise. I am a big believer in committing to a lifestyle change, for good health. Diets don’t work. I have said that forever, now even one of the big diet programs is using that as their advertising. A real commitment to living healthy is what will make the difference. Weight management through hypnosis is an amazing way to create success.

Yesterday, I had a marvelous woman in my office, named Kellie. (She has given me permission to use her name.) Kellie had purchased my Lean Healthy You audio online and listened to it for a few weeks. She laughed as she told me the story of how her husband commented on her dress. Kellie was dressed and ready for church. This was a dress that she had always felt pretty good in. Her husband told her it no longer looked good on her. Her thoughts, unfortunately went straight to the negative. She thought she must be too fat. Then she looked in the mirror and realized her dress was too big. It hung on her!

So, Kellie was ready for more changes and was going to be traveling through my neck of the woods. She called on her way in to Florida and set up an appointment for a hypnosis session. We created a personalized audio in the office. I can’t wait to hear her results on this one.

Kellie called me later in the day with more good news. She had purchased an audio for test stress. She was about to take an exam in order to get her license for her profession. Her previous experience testing was not so good. The call was to tell me she had not only passed, but had gotten 91% correct! She called me before she called her husband. I laughed, then told her she needed to call him. I had a gentleman who used the test stress audio for his exam and did the same thing. When he received the results, he called me right away. Before he called his wife. I encouraged him to call her immediately, after all, those who live with us deal with the pre-test experience and deserve to be in on the celebration!

Stress and DNA

Written by: Debbie

Scientists have confirmed what the overwhelmed have already known. Stress increases aging. Want proof? Just look at the aging that occurs in our presidents after four years in office. Increasing scientific evidence suggests that prolonged stress takes its toll on the body, in other words there is no separation between mind and body. According to a study done at UCSF, our bodies respond to our psychological environment. It was further reported that chronic stress may modulate the rate of cellular aging by affecting molecules believed to play a key role in the weakening of the immune function.

Our DNA is affected by stress. Researchers examined structures inside cells called telomeres, the caps at the ends of chromosomes. These are the molecules that carry genes. In a study at UCSF with two control groups, the findings reported that the telomeres of women with the highest perceived psychological stress showed the effects of the equivalent of approximately 10 years of accelerated aging. This was compared with the women across both groups who had the lowest perception of being stressed.

I have a dear friend who last year went through tremendous stress in her life. She dealt with the difficult illness and eventual death of a friend/mentor. Her teaching career, which had always been her passion, became more about numbers than the sharing of information with a new regime taking over the college. Her family dealt with an upheaval and her health is challenged by a chronic illness. Those of us who love her, became concerned.

She was fortunate, she was able to retire and move to the mountains for 6 months of the year. She spent time hiking and reflecting. She took time to heal. Upon her return, I could not believe it was the same friend. She looks ten years younger and is more like herself once again.

We don’t all have the good fortune of retiring and moving away like that. However, imagine making the choice to change the stress in your life today. Reduce stress by 10% at first and then continue to reduce stress 10% at a time until it is manageable. Begin with deep breathing. It is a physiological impossibility to feel stress and breathe deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Humor is our friend. Through humor we are able to re-frame a situation and quiet the inner critic. This allows you to gain perspective and release endorphins, the feel good chemicals of the brain. Personally, I remind my son every morning on his way to school to find a reason to smile and laugh. I ask him after school, did anything happen today that made you smile?

Hypnosis is an awesome opportunity for stress relief. Picture and imagine sitting someplace safe and allowing your thoughts wander to comfort and serenity. Allow your muscles to relax, releasing tensions and tightness. Then just imagine that everything in your world is right. After all, in this moment, it is. I think I will go relax into a hypnotic state myself now……..

Heal Faster With Hypnosis

Written by: Debbie

Yesterday, I picked up a new copy of Prevention Magazine. (The February 2008 edition.) I love to read through them and then leave them in my office waiting room. They often have an article or two that strikes a chord with a client of mine and at times will walk out of the office as a result. This is a great thing, as I encourage my clients to read healthy lifestyle articles on a daily basis, keeping their mind set on health and happiness.

Perusing through the magazine later in the evening, I was delighted to see page 31. Under the heading of Health, there is a snippet that is titled Heal Faster with Hypnosis. The article explains that just 15 minutes of hypnotherapy can reduce the amount of anesthesia needed during surgery and the pain, nausea and fatigue afterward. It sites a study done at the New York City Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

I have worked with clients in a pre-op situation and given them audios to listen to post-op. The results have been phenomenol. They report feeling less apprehensive going into the surgery and not going through the same “let down” after the surgery.