Tag: Health

Your Body Is Beautiful… As Is

Most of us would change something about our bodies if we could.  We (too) often speak harshly about ourselves: Gross. Fat. Ugly. Flabby. Eh, this part is ok. But this part, disgusting. Too big. Too small. Too short. Too tall. Body image is a reflection of our thoughts and belief systems. It is also an indicator of the amount of self love we possess. Stories we have been told. And lies we believe. The weight loss industry rakes in billions each year. People try one diet after another. They ride the wave the media makes.  Everyone wants a quick fix to look "good," whatever…

Read more

Why Are You Reluctant to Stop Doing It All?

When the behaviors of a Type A are out of control, we can take responsibility for situations and outcomes, for the feelings and experience or others, and for absolutely everything around us. We think everything is our responsibility, and thus, within our control to affect. We fear if we don’t take care of everything needing to get done, there will be horrible consequences. The stress coming from being overtaken by our Type-A tendencies, eventually takes a toll on our mood, mental clarity, relationships, work satisfaction, and our health. The goal of this book is to help reduce these negative side effects of…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

Can I Heal Myself with My Thoughts?

"I have an auto-immune disease and I'm always sick. I feel so poorly most days that it's hard to think positively. How can I possibly use my thoughts to heal myself, when I can't get out of the rut I'm in? And I beat myself up for feeling so poorly, which just makes things worse." ~ Emily, Burlingame, CA Dear Emily, Thoughts control your stress response. When your stress response is hyper-activated, the immune response is triggered to produce more inflammation. With more inflammation, your immune cells begin attacking, and in your case, they attack you. The more you beat yourself up for not…

Read more

Beyond Money and Power

Lately I have been experiencing a ground swell of desire for a new way to be and live. I expect to see this from my clients, however I am seeing it in places and people I would not expect. Arianna Huffington shares her thoughts about redefining success in her new book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom and Wonder. Instead of focusing solely on money and power, she calls us to look to a third metric centered on the quality of our lives. A relaxing weekend at a friend’s summer house becomes a discussion…

Read more

Bouncing with Style: Getting Back on Track

A few weeks ago I was on a roll. I was working out, eating healthy, working hard and parenting at my best. Then a truck came again, in the form of an ex-relationship rearing its ugly head, and ran me over. It knocked out one of my kids and flattened the other. So I found myself in “Stop! Assess! Manage! Survive!” for a few weeks while I guided our tippy family ship into safe waters. It took all I had to keep a baseline going in my business, handling the emotional fallout for my kids, and you guessed it –…

Read more

School of Human Potential: How Can I Serve You?

One simple question can literally change your life: "How can I serve you?" I am using the word literally very specifically, so please allow me to explain. It all started with Neale Donald Walsch at the Celebrate Your Life conference sharing his belief that "your life is not about you...but who you touch and in how you touch them...." Whether you agree with that statement and to what extent is beyond this particular post. What is, on the other hand, is an interesting perspective and a question that occurred to me while thinking through Neale's speech. In our lives, we most…

Read more

School of HP: 5 Things Your Body Needs To Be Healthy

Every time we go on a beach vacation, to Mexico for instance, we end up at an all-inclusive resort.  We love it because everything is taken care of. We don’t need to worry about cooking or what to do at night because all is provided. Just relax and recharge for a week or so and enjoy. Our kids love it, our friends love it, and we love it.  There is one thing in particular, however, that I found intriguing, which made me understand what the body needs to be healthy and in proper working condition. Here is how that realization…

Read more

A Stressed Out Baboon

We all complain about stress, but what is it really? National Geographic did a wonderful report on what stress is by not only looking at humans and our environment, but also through baboons and science. In watching specific tribes of baboons who ate the same food, lived in the same area, and experienced the same natural threats, scientists found it was not environment but social interaction and social rank that caused stress. The baboons that experienced stress and the physical symptoms of stress were those on the bottom of the food chain. They were the weak males being picked on by…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Stay Positive?

"I'm dealing with difficulty in my life right now that is affecting my health. I'm normally such a positive person. This situation is really taking its toll on me and I just don't know how to stay positive anymore. What can I do?" ~ Sally, Green Bay, Wisconsin Dear Sally, The best thing for staying positive is to remember that what we focus on expands, so here are a few great tips. Music is amazing for raising our vibration, our mood even when we don’t feel well or positive. Force a smile on your face, it will immediately change the physiology…

Read more

Bouncing with Style: Better Boundaries

Yesterday I read a book about boundaries. Why? I had to for one of my upcoming shows.  Much to my delight, I started understanding what that bandied-about term meant in relation to me, my family and friends, and my kids. Even my dogs will benefit from my reading the material. We hear a lot in the media about boundaries. Gotta set boundaries. That’s a boundary violation. I have firm boundaries.  I have no boundaries. But what does that really mean? I started thinking about how boundaries are being erased as we groove into a society where personal choice often trumps the rights…

Read more

Health and Wealth Because of a Little Blue Dress

About a month ago, I was in New York City and stopped into Loehmann’s, an off-price store known for great deals on high-end merchandise. I stumbled upon the perfect little blue cocktail dress at the right price and bought it, even though I had no idea where I would wear it. This dress was a designer dress and the original price was over $2000, but it was discounted to only $180.  The dress is gorgeous and the perfect color for me. The only thing “wrong” with it, is that it’s the wrong size (or I am), but I bought it…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Stop Being Depressed?

"What is the spiritual solution for persistent depression that has been longstanding and difficult to understand in terms of why it is present?" ~ Lulu, Cape Coral, FL Dear Lulu, Depression plagues many individuals. I resist cookie-cutter responses because there can be multiple factors contributing to the problem: situational, medical / chemical, and, of course underlying these, karmic. It does no one any good to ponder the causative “why” of depression because that is effectively crystal ball gazing in hopes that a response will provide relief. It won’t. Unless one is a genuine master able to identify specific karmic origins, none can…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Have More Energy?

"I am a procrastinator, sleepy, always tired, and I am 20. How can I end this permanently?" ~ Tina, Baltimore Dear Tina, I think we can all identify with being sleepy and tired, and with procrastination. Kudos to you in advance for reaching out for help. Being sleepy and tired can be symptoms of an underlying problem, so have your health checked with a professional. That being said, I've found the following things to be of great help to creating unlimited energy. Get 7-8 hours of restful sleep each night. Insomniacs, use lavender oil! Start and end the day with gratitude,…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

Can My Thoughts Heal My Body?

"I have a chronic disease and want to be healthy. I have heard that my thoughts can control my life so I should be able to heal myself. How can I heal myself if I don’t have the energy to get out of bed?" ~ Elese, Paris, France Dear Elese, Healing chronic disease is a dual process… body and mind, physical and mental. Take one step at a time. Take charge of inflammation by utilizing a strict anti-inflammatory diet. Your body knows when you cheat! Eliminate foods to which you are allergic or sensitive. Consider strenuously limiting or omitting sugar and…

Read more

Providing Motivation for Staff and Colleagues

By Grahak Cunningham. Whether you are a manager, business owner or employee, everyone wants to have a good day at work. This article aims to look at some ways to motivate yourself and/or your staff and how to avoid the opposite. What prevents us from having a great day Most of us have a position of employment which involves being repetitive on some scale. Regular work place, regular work hours and regular repetition of the same tasks. Without the right mindset, it is a simple recipe for losing satisfaction, motivation and fulfillment in a workplace, either yourself or your staff.…

Read more

No Pain, No Gain: Is This Quote Motivational or Problematic?

By Grahak Cunningham. "No pain, no gain" has been yelled at us by personal trainers, business motivational speakers and keynote speakers. Explained to us by life coaches, business trainers and wellness practitioners. Sold to us by investment bankers and probably chanted by tomorrow's future champions. In business it means investing now for rewards later. Putting time, effort or finances into something to get the future results. On a personal level at work it might mean working harder (though not necessarily smarter). You’ll have longer hours, no weekends and plenty of stress and no doubt achieve good results, earn your bonus…

Read more

Relaxation and Wellness Through Exercise

We have all come home from a run or the gym and felt the wellness benefits, both physical and mental. Sweating out the problems of the day, we can feel pleased with ourselves and leave the worries and stresses of everyday life behind. Something about it invokes a clarity in our mind and hearts. So what is the connection between exercise, relaxing ourselves and general wellness and how can we enhance this? Firstly let us look at situations where things just aren’t happening. Losing Motivation Mental stress causes real problems when we are attempting something. I see it all the…

Read more