Tag Archives: Wellness

Training for Longevity

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When it comes to health, wellness and fitness, we often train for events during specific times in our lives or try to lose weight for special occasions in our lives, whether it’s a 10k run, a bike race, a tennis tournament, a wedding, a milestone birthday, a family reunion or something else. However, what if we focused on training for longevity? What if our ultimate goal was to increase our lifespan and live healthier, happier and more productive lives? Sounds pretty compelling to me!

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60% of the factors that correlate to an individual’s health and quality of life point back to their lifestyle. And the lifestyle choices we make can impact our biological age, giving our cells the opportunity to actually be younger than our chronological age if we choose healthy behaviors. Therefore, let’s consider the following four lifestyle factors we can prioritize at any stage in life, to increase our longevity and overall wellbeing.

1. Fitness and Movement: One of the single most important secrets to longevity is having a consistent fitness regimen, which includes daily movement for at least 30 minutes, most days of the week. Ensuring we’re getting cardiovascular activity for stamina and positive heart health, strength training for muscle mass, bone density and an increased metabolism, and stretching for flexibility and mobility, are key. As we age, our muscles can start to atrophy, our metabolism and digestive systems can start to slow down, and we can lose flexibility and functionality in our bodies.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Regular exercise can combat all of these changes, so we can keep our muscle mass, metabolism and digestive systems intact. Find activities you enjoy such as walking, hiking, biking, swimming, Pilates, barre, yoga, dancing, bootcamp, weight, resistance and bodyweight training and more. If you enjoy what you’re doing, have a community of accountability partners, see and feel results, you’re more likely to keep going.

2. Nutrition and Healthy Eating: Another important element for longevity is our nutrition and our behaviors around healthy eating. While it’s okay to occasionally indulge so we can enjoy life, being disciplined about what we put into our bodies most of the time is important for disease prevention and management. Eating nutrient-dense, plant-based, whole and natural foods will allow us to feel and function at our best. Prioritizing fruits, vegetables, protein, fiber, whole grains and healthy fats can help optimize our health.

It’s also important to ensure we’re staying hydrated, by drinking half our body weight in ounces of water. For example if you weight 120 pounds, you’ll want to drink 60 ounces of water a day. If you’re in hot weather, exercising vigorously or sweating profusely, you may need more, and may need to replace lost electrolytes as well. In addition, taking supplements can help increase your nutrition. Check with your doctor to determine if taking a multivitamin or specific vitamins such as vitamin B, C or D, magnesium, zinc, omega 3- fatty acids, etc., are needed to round out your nutrition.

3. Mindfulness and Stress Management: In order to live longer, practicing mindfulness and managing stress on a daily basis is also critical. Stress can increase cortisol in our bodies and prolonged or chronic stress can lead to many physical and mental diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety and more. Take the time to understand the cause of the stress and determine if it’s day-to-day stress that can be managed, or if it’s more severe. If it’s more severe, seek professional help through your healthcare providers as needed.

If it’s day-to-day stress, focus on meditation, yoga, journaling, calming music, talking to a loved one or spending time in nature. Protecting our physical and mental health from unhealthy stress is another important part of training for longevity. Managing our stress through mindfulness practices, along with healthy nutrition and daily movement, can put us in a positive position for creating a longer lifespan.

4. Recovery and Sleep: As we get older, we often start to understand the importance of recovery and sleep. However, these are important behviors to learn at any age. When you’re physically active or feel any ailments or injuries in your body, take the time for physical therapy, massage, cold plunging, steam room and sauna treatments, foam rolling and more. These practices can help soothe your muscles and joints and help promote healthy blood circulation, cell turnover and more.

In addition to recovery practices, getting sufficient sleep of seven to nine hours of REM, deep and light sleep is also important for longevity. We need quality sleep to manage our blood sugar, inflammation, muscle repair, heart health, memory, cognitive functioning and more. Practicing good sleep hygiene and setting consistent bedtimes and wake-up times are all ways to promote healthy sleep to increase the quality and quantity of our life.

These four lifestyle factors can go a long way in increasing our longevity and lifespan, so try incorporating as many of them into your daily life as you can!

In a Slump? Here’s How to Find a Wellness Community to Fight the Winter Blues

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Staying motivated to keep up with your health, wellness, and fitness regimen can often be a challenge, especially during the winter months. When the days are short, the temperatures are cold and the weather forecast calls for snow or rain more often than you’d like, it can be difficult to exercise outside or want to go to the gym. However, there are ways to fight the winter blues, and finding a wellness community can help you to do just that. Here are four ways to find a wellness community to help get you out of that winter slump!

To read the full article, click here.

Interested in Trying a Plant-Based Diet? Here’s How to Get Started

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It’s a new year and a great time to focus on your nutrition. According to the Whole Foods Market’s Trends Council, there will be a greater focus on plant-based foods with simple ingredients in 2024. As the American diet has typically consisted of foods high in sugar, sodium, refined grains and saturated fats, and obesity rates continue to rise, it’s important to prioritize healthy eating for disease prevention and management, longevity and an overall healthy lifestyle. If you’re interested in getting healthier and trying a plant-based diet, below are four tips on how to get started.

To read the full article, click here.

What Is Bodyweight Training, and Is It Effective?

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Predictions are in for wellness trends in 2024, and according to Mindbody, strength training is expected to surge! Bodyweight training is a form of strength training.

So, what exactly is bodyweight training, and is it effective? According to the Harvard School of Public Health, bodyweight training is beneficial because it’s convenient, functional and good for your overall health. Following is an explanation of this popular form of exercise, thoughts on how to maximize its effectiveness and examples of exercises you can do while at home, work, traveling or anywhere!

Bodyweight training allows you to use your own body’s weight to create resistance against gravity. You don’t need any fancy equipment, and you’re able to naturally build strength, which can help with performing everyday activities and tasks.

Bodyweight training is effective because you can increase your muscle mass, metabolism, caloric burn rate, bone density, stability and stamina, which can help prevent against heart disease, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and more. It’s also efficient, because you only need to do it two to three times per week to see a positive impact on your muscle fibers. You’ll be changing your entire body composition, as you build muscle and burn fat.

Here are different types of bodyweight exercises you can do to strengthen your upper body, lower body and core. Aim for three sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise.

Upper Body:
1. Push-Ups – this is a tried-and-true upper body exercise that works your chest, shoulders, back and core. You’re essentially pushing your entire body weight in consecutive ranges of motion. It’s important to be on the palms of your hands and the balls of your feet, while keeping your back straight and spine neutral in a high plank position. Keep your core tucked in and lower your chest to the floor, as you bend your elbows and then come back up into a high plank position. You can also modify by doing the push-up on your hands and knees.

2. Tricep Dips – this exercise effectively targets the back of your arms. Take a seated position on your mat and keep your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands and elbows facing straight behind you with your elbows in towards your body. Lift your bottom off the floor and lower it down and up while bending and straightening your elbows. Pull in your core as well.

3. Plank Taps – this challenging exercise will surely improve your upper body strength using your own body weight. Start in a high plank position, and using your core and upper body, lift each hand up one at a time and tap the opposite shoulder, while holding your plank. The key is to keep your core engaged and your hips facing down towards your mat, while maintaining your balance with only one hand down at a time. You can also modify this exercise by dropping down to your knees.

Lower Body:
1. Squats – this is a classic lower body exercise that works your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, inner and outer thighs. Bring your feet shoulder-width apart in a standing position, bend your knees and lower down and up in a squat position. Remember to keep your knees behind your toes and point your bottom back. Try to keep your knees soft and come down as far as you can without compromising your knees or alignment, and squeeze your glutes when you stand back up.

2. Lunges – this bodyweight exercise works your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calf muscles. Begin in a standing position and bring one leg back at a time. Drop your back knee towards the floor and keep your front knee behind your toes. Tuck in your core and squeeze your glutes as you lunge back, down and up. Then switch legs.

3. Leg Lifts – there are three variations of this exercise to work your outer thighs, inner thighs, glutes and hamstrings. You can lift one leg out to the side at a time to work the outer thighs, one leg up at a time with your toes turned out to work the inner thighs and one leg up and behind at a time to work the glutes and hamstrings. Make sure to tuck in your core, squeeze your glutes and lift from the hip for each variation.

Core:
1. Mountain Climbers – this exercise can comprehensively work your core, hitting your upper and lower abdominal muscles and your obliques, which are the sides of the abdominal wall. Start in a high plank position and bring one knee into your chest at a time. You can also bring one knee across to the opposite elbow at a time. Make sure to keep your core engaged, bottom down, back flat and spine neutral. You can add a bounce for higher intensity or take the bounce out for lower intensity.

2. Reverse Crunches – this bodyweight core exercise targets your lower abdominal muscles. Lay on your back with your hands at your side. While pulling in your core and flexing your feet, lift your bottom off the mat and your legs straight up. You can tap your feet back down on the ground with bent knees or extend your legs out in front of you before lifting back up.

3. Russian Twists – this core exercise targets your obliques, the sides of the abdominal wall. Sit back at a 45-degree angle with your knees bent and your feet together. Keep your hands clasped together and twist from side-to-side with your core engaged. You can keep your feet on the ground or lift them off the ground for a greater core challenge.

Bodyweight training has many health benefits and is an efficient, effective and convenient way to incorporate strength training into your fitness regimen, anytime and anywhere!

 

Three Tips for How Corporations Can Invest in Employee Wellness Programs Amidst Recession Concerns and Budget Cuts

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It’s been a challenging time in the workplace. With ongoing concerns about a looming recession, layoffs and budget cuts, employees and employers alike have been under a great deal of pressure and stress. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, 77% of workers surveyed expressed experiencing work-related stress. And while companies may naturally think it’s best to cut out employee wellness programs during these challenging economic times, it could be detrimental to employees and organizations as a whole.

As we’re nearing the end of the year, now is the time to prioritize employee wellbeing, mental health, physical health, happiness, connection and engagement. Times of uncertainty are when they need this type of support the most. Following are three tips for how corporations can invest in employee wellness programs amidst recession concerns and budget cuts. These tips don’t necessarily cost more money, but rather focus on shifting culture, budgets, priorities and approaches to work.

1. Focus on a company culture reboot:  Company culture is critical in creating a sense of wellbeing in the workplace. It truly starts from the top down. Encourage leaders and managers to have open lines of communication with their employees, including regular personal and professional check-ins with their direct reports. Asking employees how they’re feeling, how their families are doing and how things are going with their jobs and careers can make them feel respected and well-regarded.

Also, ensure managers are encouraging employees to take care of their physical and mental health through regular exercise, proper nutrition, adequate sleep and creating work-life balance boundaries in their schedule. Provide resources in the workplace to encourage these healthy behaviors and demonstrate them as leaders within the organization. Be sensitive to what time of day (or night) emails are being sent out, whether deadlines are realistic and feasible and discerning which meetings are necessary and productive and which ones aren’t.

Focus on team-building, strengths, connection and fun as well. The more employees can feel connected and that they’re a part of a mission bigger than themselves, the better. Allowing them to utilize their strengths to add value to their teams and ensuring they’re having fun, can make a positive impact as well.

2. Shift budgets to reflect priorities:  When a recession looms, companies immediately think about downsizing and cutting costs. However, not every cost can or needs to be completely cut if it can be redirected and invested towards long-term productivity, growth and strong performance. People are the biggest assets a company has, therefore, investing in them can go a long way in successful outcomes, even in the midst of challenging economic times. Therefore, think about where spend could be redirected into employee wellness programs. Are there administrative costs that aren’t serving the company well anymore? Are there partnerships that no longer make sense? Are certain marketing activities no longer generating an ROI?

These costs don’t necessarily have to be cut completely. Perhaps they can be reduced and some of those costs can also be shifted to employee needs. Ultimately, this is a customized decision that each organization will need to make. Therefore, it’s important to take the time to evaluate the bigger picture in addition to the specific financial details, and determine what will make the most sense.

Another option is to pilot a shift in budget into an employee wellness program to see how it works. Ideally test it out for three to six months and then go from there. Oftentimes, working with an employee wellness vendor can be more cost and time effective than doing it in-house because you don’t have to pay an annual salary and benefits and add more work to an employee’s already busy plate. For this reason, consider working with a wellness vendor to help create the most efficient and effective program possible, which is also designed to integrate with the company culture and address individualized employee needs.

While this may be a new approach for many organizations, it’s an important one to consider.

3. Integrate hybrid approaches to both work and wellness:  Now that the world has mostly taken a hybrid approach to life, also taking a hybrid approach to both work and wellness is a smart move. It’s important to embrace the new normal and figure out how best to operate within in. Part of placing employee wellbeing at the center of a hybrid approach is working with them to create flexible and reasonable working arrangements that help meet company goals, offer opportunities for collaboration, team-building and camaraderie and also consider the needs of employees.

Whether it’s meeting in person for executive summits, offsites, team meetings or other important events, being clear on when it’s most beneficial for employees to be physically present in the office or elsewhere is important. However, mandating employees be in the office for a certain number of hours each day and days per week can cause stress and anxiety and decrease productivity rather than increase it. Allowing employees to work remotely in ways that work best for them, while also still communicating when it’s most critical to be in person, can build trust and loyalty and bring out the best in them. They’ll be able to better balance their careers with their families, as well as their personal and professional commitments. This approach could also allow companies to reduce some of their commercial real estate costs in certain areas.

The same approach applies for wellness programs. Having a hybrid offering of both onsite and virtual fitness and yoga classes, as well as coaching and workshops on nutrition, mindfulness, mental health, financial wellness and more, can provide an opportunity to meet employees where they are. Taking this flexible approach could increase employee engagement, both in their work and the wellness programs offered to them. And having a mix of virtual and in-person wellness offerings could also provide companies with some cost savings, given virtual options may have fewer overhead costs. Leveraging AI technologies in the employee wellness arena can also help with cost efficiencies.

Overall, regardless of what’s happening in the economy, develop a culture built on hard work, productivity, trust, collaboration, communication, connection, wellbeing, fun and balance. Rethink budgets to support company priorities and take a hybrid approach to best meet employee and company needs.

 

Four Ways to Maintain Personal Connections During the Pandemic

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Americans are experiencing elevated levels of depression, anxiety, fear and social isolation during the pandemic, according to recent data from Healthline.

This is truly an unprecedented time, and the path forward remains unknown. Medical experts, scientists, researchers and government and business leaders continue their efforts to make sense of the coronavirus, figure out how to get it under control and eventually rid the nation and world of its negative health, economic and social impacts.

In the meantime, while it’s critical to obey the shelter-in-place orders and protect our physical health, it’s equally important to safely maintain personal connections amid the pandemic to protect our mental and emotional health. Following are four ways to do just that.

To read the full article in the Los Altos Town Crier, click here.

The Power of Journaling

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Journaling is such a powerful tool to have in life and now more than ever, it has the potential to help us get through the challenging times we’re facing in the world today. According to Pyschology Today, journaling is beneficial for our mental and emotional health and it can also have a positive impact on our physical health as well. Journaling can reduce stress, anxiety and blood pressure and can boost our immune systems, moods, mindset and self awareness.

I’ve been journaling for over 20 years. I recently went through all of my old journals for inspiration as I’ve been working on writing my first non-fiction book this summer. It was a deeply emotional, sentimental, enriching and motivating experience and really took me down a path of self discovery and rediscovery.

Throughout the years, I’ve journaled about my personal relationships, faith, core values, college and graduate school experiences, internships, jobs, motherhood, the struggles and opportunities I’ve experienced with being first-generation-born Indian-American, insecurities, fears, burnout, career transitions, goals, dreams, passions, travel destinations, bucket list experiences, dissapointments, failures and broader topics around racial injustices, women’s rights, affirmative action and more.

In reading through these entries, it’s been amazing to see how much has changed within myself and the world and yet, how much is still the same. What was powerful for me to see about myself is the fact that my faith, core values, personal relationships, passions, career dreams and desire to help others and make a positive impact on the world haven’t wavered at all over the years and are still every bit as important to me today as they were back then. Those are the foundations of who I’ve always been and always will be and that was a very empowering realization.

I also realized by journaling, I was manifesting all the wonderful things that have happened in my life, such as moving to and living in California, meeting and marrying my husband, going to college and graduate school, becoming a mother to my two sons, pursuing my passions around health, wellness and fitness and communications through speaking and writing, becoming an entrepreneur, founding and building my company, Passion Fit and the exciting corporate career I had for many years prior in digital media and marketing.

These were not accidents. They were all a part of my destiny and came into existence through hard work, a belief in myself and faith that I was capable of making these things happen, despite the fears and insecurities I had along the way.

From a broader perspective, I also was able to see that while we’ve made some progress in areas like women’s rights and racial injustices, we still have so much further to go and there are still so many glaring issues in these areas within our society today. It made me realize how long it can truly take for deep change and growth to occur and how many lives are still being impacted every single day. It has made me want to do more to help promote change, justice, respect, equality and peace for everyone in society and the world and I truly hope we’re able to continue to grow and get to a much better place in this lifetime.

With that, I want to encourage you all to journal and write about the things that mean the most to you and even look back at what you may have written about in the past. It will help you be more reflective during this pandemic, economic crisis and difficult time within our society. And hopefully you’ll be able to look back in 20 years and marvel at how much has changed and how much has stayed the same as well.

3 Tips for Productivity in Quarantine for Working Moms

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Happy Wednesday! Since we’re at the mid-week point, I wanted to talk a little bit about productivity. With all that’s happening around us in the world, many of us working from home and having our families home with us this summer as well, it can often feel hard to be productive.

A typical day for me often involves teaching a livestream fitness class for my students in the morning, then doing a video conference call with one of my wellness consulting/coaching clients and spending the rest of the afternoon and early evening working on my marketing plan for my company, writing for my book and blog, taking a call with a vendor or business development partner and preparing for and doing a virtual speaking engagement.

On top of that, I’m planning and preparing meals for my family for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the day, helping my kids with questions on summer school or online summer camps, playing referee when my kids start fighting or arguing, doing laundry, doing dishes, spending time with my husband and kids in our backyard and more. Whew – I’m exhausted just typing that all out!

However, in order to stay motivated and productive, I highly recommend these three tips that work really well for me and many of my clients:

1) Make a list of your top three most important goals each for work and home and get laser focused on only getting those things done for that day before you move on to anything else.

2) Block time in your calendar to stay organized and map out what your day will look like.

3) Remain flexible and expect interruptions to come up with work, the kids, within the household, etc., but don’t let that throw you off task. Work through the chaos and then keep going!

I hope that helps and I hope you all have a productive day. Now let’s all get back to work!

Healthy Smoothie Recommendations and Recipe

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Happy Monday! If the last few months have caused you to put on some weight in quarantine, there’s no time like the present to start making healthier choices. I love smoothies and I’m always playing around with different recipes that minimize sugar and calories and maximize nutrition and taste.

The key is to keep it simple and incorporate whole and natural foods from the key food groups rather than including processed foods that are likely high in artifical ingredients and are loaded with sugar.

Here’s one of my new favorites that I made this morning. Combine the following ingredients:

  • 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 cup of organic blueberries
  • 1 cup of organic baby spinach
  • 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips

And then mix it all together in your blender…and that’s it!

This smoothie has about 300 calories and helps you start off your day with fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, complex carbohydrates, calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins D, K, A, B, E and C and lots of antioxidants.

Let’s start the week of strong and healthy you guys…we can all do it!

Why Education, Empathy and Kindness Are Now More Important Than Ever

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I love this picture. It represents what life should look like — a diverse group of children holding hands, smiling, playing outside and peacefully enjoying life together as friends.

Unfortunately, we aren’t always seeing pictures like this in 2020. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic, economic crisis, political upheaval and continued racial tensions and injustices happening across the country on a daily basis. The reality of our country and world right now truly breaks my heart. And while we can’t control everything happening around us, we can each do our part to control what we can, which includes education on important topics such as African-American history, pandemics, medical science and economics, practicing empathy and kindness towards others and standing up for causes we believe in.

Education:

In addition to what we may have already learned in school, taking the time to continuously educate ourselves can increase and improve our understanding, perspective and decision-making in various life situations. For example, if we truly take the time to research and read about slavery, racism and the amount of inhumane treatment African Americans and other minorities have faced throughout history and in many cases, are still facing today, we can help educate others, lead by example and treat everyone equally and with respect, volunteer our time and donate to causes to ensure history doesn’t keep repeating itself over and over again.

If we study the history of pandemics and medical science to understand how previous viruses and illnesses had spread, how they were medically treated, how vaccines were researched, tested and administered and how societies eventually dealt with them in day-to-day life, we can be more aware of the similarities and differences to what we’re experiencing today with Covid-19. This level of knowledge can hopefully ease our stress and worries and give us hope and faith that we’ll figure it out again and eventually overcome the hardships we’re facing now.

If we educate or refresh our knowledge of economics and the history of increasing unemployment rates, stock market crashes and the downfalls of many businesses, we can work together as a country and world to figure out how best to balance slowly opening up the economy in stages, while still maintaining sheltering-in-place a little longer to further control the spread of Covid-19. As we know, trying to solve for two competing priorities isn’t a black or white scenario and will likely require further education, collaboration and some trial and error.

Empathy and Kindness:

In addition to being educated, taking the time to reflect upon our own experiences can go a long way towards practicing empathy and kindness towards others. For example, I grew up in a mainly Caucasian community in the Midwest, as a first-generation-born Indian-American, in the ’80’s and ’90’s. Therefore, I know first-hand, what it’s like to experience discrimination, have periods of your life when you want to look like everyone else to fit in and be judged or treated differently at times because of the color of your skin. Therefore, I have so much empathy for African Americans, Indians, Asians, Latinos, Hispanics and other minorities who have had similar or even worse experiences and as a result, I support causes and organizations that promote diversity.

Also, my husband is Caucasian and our kids are mixed, therefore, we focus a lot on teaching about empathy, kindness and respect towards all people in our household. I’m thankful we live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is diverse and filled with people from all over the world, interracial marriages and mixed kids, so our kids can grow up in an environment where they don’t feel singled out or different from everyone else in the way I often did as a kid.

If we’ve ever experienced illnesses or diseases ourselves or through our loved ones, we can also learn to practice empathy and kindness towards others, especially while Covid-19 continues to spread across the world. I’ve experienced upper respiratory illnesses, including sinus infections, allergies and asthma, on a pretty ongoing basis and feel so much empathy towards anyone experiencing Covid-19. Therefore, I want to do everything I can to practice kindness and contribute to charities and research funding to help physicians and other health care workers, patients and any other groups of people working on the front lines to fight the virus and keep everyone healthy and safe.

In addition, if we’ve lived through an economic crisis before and/or had our jobs or companies impacted as a result, we can put ourselves in the shoes of those who have lost jobs or who’s companies are struggling or shutting down. I lived and worked through the dot com boom and bust in San Francisco and Silicon Valley in the early 2000’s and know how difficult these uncertain times can be. Therefore, I’ve been trying to support and promote local businesses, help loved ones find jobs through my professional network and continue to build and grow my own company to help others. I also hope and pray for the economy to recover in time.

While it’s no doubt a difficult time in the world right now, let’s all do our part to get educated, practice empathy and kindness towards others and leverage all of these things to take action and stand up for what we believe in. We owe it to those in our communities, our families and ourselves to make this world a better place.

 

Pumpkin Packs Surprising Nutritional Benefits

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Now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are on the horizon, pumpkin season is officially here. While many people simply think of it as a treat to enjoy in pies, ice cream and spiced lattes, or a decoration to carve and put out on the porch, pumpkin, a type of winter squash, is considered a superfood.

Pumpkin has many surprising nutritional and health benefits you may not be aware of. Be sure to check with your doctor for any dietary restrictions, but following are five benefits to take note of that may encourage you to add more pumpkin into your life all year long.

To read the full article in the Los Altos Town Crier, click here.

5 Ways a Consistent Yoga Practice Can Transform Your Mind, Body and Life

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According to a study by the Yoga Alliance and Yoga Journal, the number of people doing yoga over the last several years has increased from over 20 million to 36 million. While yoga has become a very popular form of exercise, it’s not just a passing fad, as it’s been around for centuries and originally was founded in India. Therefore, in honor of National Yoga Awareness Month, here are five ways a consistent yoga practice can transform your mind, body and life.

To read the full article in Thrive Global, click here.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy: Five Ways to Leverage Positive Psychology

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According to the recently released Gallup World Emotions Report, Americans are among the most stressed and worried people in the world at 55% and 45%, respectively. Causes for these negative emotions include workplace pressures, especially for women and working moms; increased competition within companies, schools and universities; frightening news events; political upheaval; and an overuse of social media and technology.

Now more than ever it’s important to prioritize health and well-being to overcome these statistics and help create a brighter, healthier and happier future for our country. While stress is an inevitable part of life, it can be managed effectively with the right tools.

Following are five ways to leverage positive psychology to decrease stress and anxiety and increase happiness and well-being.

To read the full article in the Los Altos Town Crier, click here.

Self-Love vs. Self-Care and Why We Need Both

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We often hear about the importance of practicing self-care in order to enhance or improve our well-being. While self-care is extremely important, it’s critical to understand how it differs from self-love. Ultimately, to be whole as people, we need both.

When we practice self-care, we’re likely taking care of ourselves by doing specific things. That might include activities like exercising, getting a massage, taking a nap, eating healthy foods, getting together with friends, enjoying a cup of tea or coffee, reading a good book and more. These are all really important ways to prioritize our needs, our health and our happiness at a high level. We should absolutely make the time to do these things on a regular basis, especially if we lead busy lives that involve not only tending to our careers or volunteer work, but also taking care of others in our family.

However, if we don’t truly love ourselves unconditionally from the inside out, these activities won’t allow us to fully feel at peace with ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Self-care, in and of itself, may provide a temporary sense of happiness and wellness in the short term, but we need to have a deep sense of self-love in order to have true joy, happiness and peace in our lives in the long term.

Self-love isn’t always easy to obtain and can often be dependent on or influenced by life circumstances, past events, personality traits, family dynamics and other natural tendencies. It may take years to truly feel a sense of self-love, but the more we can prioritize it and practice it, the better. This could come through regular self-reflection, journaling, practicing mindfulness, talking to family, close friends and possibly even a professional. It can also come from reminding ourselves every day of our positive traits and being empathetic towards ourselves for our negative ones.

Different life situations can also test our self-love, but staying authentically true to who we are, loving and believing in ourselves, having confidence in our abilities, having self-respect and not allowing self-doubt to take over, are all ways to allow our self-love to still shine through, even in the toughest of situations.

Remember that we’re all human and we can often be our biggest critics. However, the more we can practice self-love each day and couple it with ongoing self-care as well, the more we can create long-lasting love, happiness, peace and empowerment in our lives!

 

Nutritious Meal Planning Benefits Busy Families

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Daily life has become busier than ever for most families, which can often make eating nutritious meals more challenging. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, typical American diets far exceed the recommended levels of sugar, sodium, saturated fats and refined grains, and fall short of the recommended levels of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

While it may require a small time commitment, organization and planning, it’s possible for families to beat these statistics and eat healthier foods on a regular basis. Below are four meal-planning ideas for busy families to do just that, all strategies I use for meal planning and cooking for my family as well.

To read the full article in the Los Altos Town Crier, click here.

Five Ways Functional Fitness Can Help Increase Quality of Life

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According to a recent survey conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine on fitness trends in 2019, functional fitness ranked in the top 10. Being physically fit isn’t a nice option to consider – it’s vital to maintaining a high quality of life at any age. Therefore, here are five ways functional fitness can do just that:

1. Core strength: Participating in functional fitness exercises that are in a standing position or on the mat and that strengthen the core, can help protect your lower back from injuries. The core is such a central component of the body and strengthening it and using it when you do things like bend over, get up from a seated position or sit down, can allow you to move more easily and reduce the chances of any strain in the lower back area.

2. Upper body strength: If you’re a parent who needs to lift a heavy baby or toddler, car seat, diaper bag, outdoor chairs, coolers or other items, having upper body strength can really go a long way in making these daily tasks easier. Using light to medium sized hand weights or your own body weight to work the biceps, triceps, pectorals, deltoids, trapezius and latissimus dorsi, can really help build muscle and increase bone density.

3. Lower body strength: You may often find yourself in situations where you have to walk up several flights of stairs if an elevator isn’t available, walk up a hill to get to a certain destination or climb up a ladder to reach something. Having lower body strength and stamina in your legs can really help make these tasks easier. Doing squats and lunges to work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, inner and outer thighs, can train your body for these tasks and also build muscle and bone density.

4. Cardiovascular strength: If you want to be able to chase after your kids at the park or go hiking, biking, swimming, dancing or skiing with your family and friends on the weekends or on vacation, these activities will be much more enjoyable if you have the cardiovascular training and strength to do them. Taking circuit training, HIIT or bootcamp classes, running or walking are all great workouts to prepare your body for these activities.

5. Flexibility: Being able to do household chores, gardening, reaching for things and simply going about your day to day life is easier and pain free when you have increased flexibility. Stretching on a daily basis in the morning or after a workout or taking yoga classes a few times a week, can help with reducing tightness and increasing flexibility in your body to enjoy your daily life and prevent injuries.

Try to incorporate these functional strength, cardiovascular and flexibility exercises into your schedule a few times a week and you’ll start to see an increase in your quality of life in no time!