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Focusing on sustainability in many areas of life is a key part of maintaining our overall health and wellbeing. While sustainability often sounds like an
overwhelming task, there are many small things you can do each day to live a more sustainable life. Check out the following tips for helping reduce your impact on the environment: ~ Choose reusable! Instead of single use plastics, opt for reusable items instead ~ Recycle! Make sure you are disposing of recyclable materials properly. ~ Bring lunch from home instead of going out ~ Get creative to limit food waste.
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Many studies have shown the benefit that nature has on our overall health and well-being. But what if you can’t get outside on a regular basis to reap the rewards nature has for us? More recent studies have shown that bringing nature inside to us has similar positive effects on health. Try bringing the outdoors in by:
~ Adding plants to your home or office ~ Listening to nature sounds ~ Facing a window or nature scene These simple tasks can help to boost productivity and focus, lower stress levels, and promote feelings of relaxation and calm. Self-care is an essential part of our health and wellness. Unfortunately, it is one of the first things to fall by the wayside in times of stress or uncertainty. Ignoring self-care can lead to chronic stress, burnout, and depression. Simple things, done each day can help improve our self-care habits and improve our health and wellness. Look at the ideas below for ways you can practice self-care each day.
~ Go for a walk ~ Journal ~ Meditate ~ Go out in nature ~ Listen to your favorite music/song ~ Do something creative ~ Reach out to your support network Self-appreciation is a reflection of our inner sense of well-being. Having low self-appreciation can have many negative impacts on our overall health and
well-being. Low self-appreciation can negatively impact our relationships with others and ourselves, our ability to do our jobs, and both our mental and physical health. While developing a greater self-appreciation can be difficult, there are some simple things you can do each day to help. ~ Challenge negative thinking ~ Identify situations or conditions that tend to deflate you ~ Take a step back. Observe your thoughts, actions, and situation from an outsider’s point of view ~ Practice self-care Identifying and expressing our emotions in a healthy way can help us to better manage the way we are feeling and the impact those emotions have on us and our surroundings. Identifying what we are feeling in the moment allows us to take a step back and make a rational choice instead of letting emotion be our guide. Being able to identify our own emotions also helps us to develop better emotional intelligence which can help improve your relationship with yourself and others.
Use the following practice to help you identify your emotions: ~ Write down three positive and three negative emotions you felt today. ~ Now think of different words to describe those same emotions. Feeling like you’re in a slump? Research has shown that expressing gratitude on a daily basis can improve your energy levels and mood as well as help you get more sleep, boost your immune system, and lower your risk of disease. Try this “Three Good Things” practice to help cultivate gratitude in your own life.
3 Good Things Practice: ~ Take out a piece of paper ~ Write down 3 good things that you are grateful for today ~ Keep up the practice for at least 2 weeks before reflecting on your experience When we are feeling anxious or scared, we tend to breathe quicker, shallow
breaths. This leads to a lower concentration of carbon dioxide in our blood causing us to feel lightheaded, clammy, sweaty, and have tingly fingers or toes. Learning how to control our breathing can help us better manage the emotions we are feeling. Next time you are feeling anxious, scared, or upset try this: ~ Sit comfortably. Close your eyes if you want to. ~ Breathe slowly and steadily in through your nose for a count of 4. ~ Hold your breath for a count of 2. ~ Breathe out slowly and steadily for a count of 4. ~ Repeat for a few minutes. Snacking at work can have a huge impact on our health goals. Stay on track
with your personal health goals with these office snacking tips: ~ Not an option to remove office candy, sweets, or salty snacks? Store in opaque containers and/or place them in low traffic spots. ~ Keep a few of your favorite snacks on-hand for convenience. ~ High fiber snacks (like nuts, fruit, whole grains, & veggies) will curb your hunger for longer! Eating well doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out these tips for eating well while sticking to a budget.
~ Meal plan: o Plan your meals before you shop based on what is on sale/in season, meals you actually enjoy cooking and eating, and ingredients that can be used in more than one meal. ~ Grocery Shopping: o Make a list and stick to it. o Shop at home first. Use ingredients you already have in your pantry instead of buying new. o Shop in season. o Buy bulk when appropriate. ~ Skip eating out. Preparing your meals at home can cut food costs dramatically Did you know the average American consumes a total of 350 calories a day
from added sugars? In one year, most Americans will consume anywhere between 80-150 pounds of sugar! Consuming this much sugar can put us at higher risk for developing things like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems. Try out these tips for reducing your added sugar intake: ~ Choose plain water or carbonated water with lemon instead of a soda or juice. ~ Buy plain varieties of products like yogurt or cereal and add fruit as a sweetener. ~ Avoid making treats an everyday food and reward yourself with non-food rewards. ~ Enjoy desserts occasionally, a smaller portion will help keep calories down while still satisfying your sweet tooth. Mindful eating can help you enjoy your food more and reach your health goals. Try:
~ Taking note of the color, texture, and smell of your food before taking a bite. What do you notice that you haven't noticed before? ~ Chewing each bite entirely before having another bite. Notice how the food's taste and texture change with each chew. ~ Enjoy an entire meal free of distractions. Just you, your thoughts, and your food. Resistance training helps maintain and combat the loss of muscle mass that occurs as we age. In addition to increasing our muscular fitness, resistance training can help prevent osteoporosis, decrease our risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, and lowering body fat. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that resistance training be done at least two (non-consecutive) days each week. Each workout should consist of 8-10 exercises and 8-12 repetitions for each exercise.
Did you know we sit an average of 12 hours each day? Research suggests prolonged sitting is wreaking havoc on our health. Excessive sitting is cited as a key risk factor in 4 of the top 7 killers: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. It is also linked to obesity. Lower your risk, sit less, stand up more, and keep your body moving. Standing, for even short periods of time, also can increase focus, alertness and productivity. Stand up to sitting during your workday with these tips:
~ Take a walking break, alone or with a coworker ~ Stand, stretch, jump, walk, or get moving at least once every hour ~ Take the stairs, even if it’s just one flight ~ Walk to speak in person instead of emailing ~ Stand up or walk in place while on the phone We all lose motivation from time to time. When you are feeling unmotivated, try one of these strategies to get yourself back on track toward your goal.
Put your goal on the calendar where you can see it every day. Make working toward your goal a habit built in your routine. Plan for imperfection and do not let it derail you. Set small goals to build momentum. Track your progress so you can see results. Reward yourself for the little wins as well as the big ones. Embrace positive peer pressure and encouragement. Practice gratitude (including for yourself). Do mood lifting activities and self-care. Change your environment so you keep creativity flowing. Remember your “why” and let that be the beacon that guides you. Box breathing:This technique can help return your breathing pattern to a relaxed rhythm. It can clear and calm your mind, improving your focus.
Alternate nostril breathing:This technique is said to be effective in balancing the nervous system and is a good idea to try before meditation
Try it:
Interval or interrupted breathing:In this type of breathing, the student is instructed to pauses and hold the breath during the inhalation or exhalation, or both. It is a good way to begin to learn to control the breath, especially if you are looking to try more advance yoga breathing techniques.
Try it:
Ujjayi or “victorious” breath:This type of deep breathing allows you to slow and smooth the flow of breath. It is often used in flow classes to help students regulate their breathing as they move through the poses.
Try it: Constrict the muscles in the back of your throat and breathe in and out with your mouth closed. Some say this breathing technique sounds like Darth Vader; others say it sounds like the ocean. In any case, the sound should be audible to you only; your neighbor doesn’t necessarily need to hear it. Abdominal Breathing:Also called diaphragmatic or belly breathing, this is the most common breathing technique you’ll find in basic yoga. It helps foster healthy, efficient breathing in general.
Try it:
Yin YogaLooking for a new kind of stretching experience? Yin yoga is aimed at stretching the connective tissue around the pelvis, sacrum, spine and knees to promote flexibility. Poses are held for a longer amount of time in yin yoga classes, generally from three to five minutes. It is a quiet style of yoga and will quickly show you how good you are at sitting still.
Restorative Yoga:If you are looking for a little more relaxation from your yoga class, restorative yoga is for you. This yoga style usually involves a few restful poses that are held for long periods of time. Restorative poses include light twists, seated forward folds and gentle back-bends, usually done with the assistance of many props, including blankets, blocks and bolsters.
Bikram or Hot Yoga:Like the heat? Bikram yoga is a set series of 26 poses performed in a room heated to 105 degrees, which is said to allow for deeper stretching and provide for a better cardiovascular workout. Unlike most yoga classes, Bikram classes are always done in rooms with mirrors. Hot yoga refers to any yoga class that is done in a heated room — generally from 80 to 100 degrees.
Iyengar:Love learning about how your muscles and joints work together? This is the yoga for you. Iyengar yoga focuses on the precision of your yoga poses. Iyengar classes are known for their use of props, including blankets, blocks, straps and bolsters, to help students do poses that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. Classes can also include ropes that are anchored to the walls to do inversions and other poses. They also tend to include breathing exercises and references to yoga philosophy.
Vinyasa or Flow:These classes usually consist of a fairly energetic flowing sequence of yoga poses that will include — depending on the level — advanced poses, such as arm balances, headstands, shoulder stands and handstands. Many vinyasa classes have musical accompaniment of the teacher’s choosing.
Power Yoga:As its name suggests, power yoga is a challenging style of yoga aimed at strength-building. These classes will include advanced poses and inversions like headstands and handstands that require a lot of strength.
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