Tag: #love

Fitness

Give Yourself the Gift of Sweat

mardeecalkins

It’s a busy time of year,  but don’t forget that breaking a sweat most days does amazing things for your body and your mind.

Let’s start with what exercise does to you physically. It helps to control weight. I’m not a big believer in “calories in, calories out,”  because our bodies utilize nutrient-dense foods so differently than calorie-dense foods, so let’s move past that way of thinking about exercise and get down to the science of what it creates when you start to breath hard and sweat.

Exercise helps your body to use stored fat as fuel and it gets your heart rate up while flushing your body with fresh oxygen, which rejuvenates the blood and the cells, bringing health to every area of the body. This same process reduces blood pressure and helps relieve stiffness in the arteries. Exercise reduces myocardial damage, it decreases inflammation and improves the immune system’s function. The body can heal so much faster with better circulation. It decreases liver issues and improves insulin sensitivity, reducing your risk of diabetes.

In addition to the phenomenal physical benefits of exercise, it also improves brain function, reduces anxiety and depression by producing serotonin in the brain, which is the same thing that most antidepressants do. The mental benefits of exercise far outweigh the physical and that’s why so many people get addicted to exercise. We start to crave those feel-good hormones once we get a taste of them and that’s a craving we want to indulge. Getting up and working out in the morning can change your entire day. It gets you started with a feeling of accomplishment. You’ve set off all those beautiful endorphins and there’s nothing you can’t do once you finish your workout.

Working out is hard and that’s why we feel so good about ourselves when we’re done with that thirty minutes or hour of breathing heavy and sweating good. We did it! Having one thing everyday that you have total control of is the most wonderful “you time” you can have. It will make you a better mother,  husband, dad, wife, employee, sister, daughter, son- just a better YOU all the way around. Whatever kind of exercise gets you feeling good, do it, don’t wait, don’t be too busy. We have to make time for ourselves even during the holidays and the time you spend working out is not just about you, it’s about every other person you care about, too.

What are you going to do to break a sweat this week?

wellness

Living With Intention- 5 Simple Steps

mardeecalkins

A favorite phrase I use when teaching fitness is by Joseph Pilates, (I’m paraphrasing) “Movement without intention has no value.” It’s impossible not to think of how that carries over into every moment of the day, if we’re living consciously or want to live consciously. Here are some ways that every day can have more value, more awareness and more intention in everything we do.

1. Breakfast- I find that if I start my day with a cookie (even a healthy cookie, and that does happen) the rest of my day is shot. I know there are many common sense reasons having to do with the chemical reactions in my body, but there is unequivocally a thought process for the rest of the day that says “oh well, I had cookies for breakfast.” On the other hand, if I start my day with eating a healthful, fuel-filled, nutrient-dense breakfast, I find myself craving healthy foods for the rest of the day. And worst of all, if I skip breakfast, I tend to have no appetite. Not eating breakfast (within 1 hour of waking) is the fastest way to gain weight and it’s so disrespectful to my body. Eating with intention is probably the most important thing we do because it fuels our lives.

2. Kindness- I love to listen to a positive, inspiring book on Audible on my way to work. This inevitably makes me a better person in every circumstance. It is my intention to be kind and helpful to everyone I see (even the person that cuts me off on the road), but it’s not always easy. Listening to positive messages of love and acceptance helps me to remember that the best I can be is when I find patience, understanding and positivity within myself and offer that to anyone and everyone else.

3. Exercise- If I can just do some intended movement before starting my day, I’ll move better the rest of the day. Being a fitness teacher is gift from that perspective, but I have a lot of days that I’m working from home or on the computer. Consciously getting up, moving and caring for how my body works makes me more productive, thoughtful, creative and free all day, even if I don’t break a sweat. I’ll do a plank to down dog, a back stretch, maybe some lunges and hip flexors stretches, any movement early in the day keeps my intention of moving my body in a healthy way on track.

4. Work- I work for myself, so staying focused and keeping productivity high is a must. Having a productive work day is kind of like having breakfast. If I start my day off with some work-related goals, I find I’ll not only accomplish those goals, but each goal leads me to several other things that add up to a very productive day and that helps me sleep better. Sometimes my best approach to work productivity is to make myself a list the night before on my phone and then I can check off each item through the day. It’s a great feeling when I’ve checked off every item and I’m ready for the next day, bring it on.

5. Sleep- Getting up early and to bed on time requires setting a schedule and sticking to it. Fortunately, I grew up on a farm, so getting up early was just part of the day. It’s carried over with me and getting up early makes going to bed early easy, because I’m tired. Sleep is truly everything to our health, positivity, energy levels, exercise and how our body metabolizes food. Stay busy during the day, break a sweat when you can and you’ll have a good night’s rest.

These may seem like simple things, and they are, but living with intention requires awareness in all of these areas of life and when we can set our goals and accomplish them, we are happier, healthier people with so much more to offer to this amazing world. I love the book from years ago “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” it’s so true, but live for the small stuff, it’s what makes the big stuff.

Healthy Eating, wellness

Are you eating consciously?

mardeecalkins

Are you eating consciously?

Today we run through life. We are busy, our kids are busy, work is busy, technology is busy and we seem to think we don’t have enough time for food. So we buy junk and we inhale it. So many people unconsciously drive through fast food windows and grab food and eat in their car. We grab boxes off of shelves that state silly and misleading things like “low-fat” or “low-carb.” Whatever the latest diet says is best for us.

If we are reading boxes from food marketers, we are in trouble. They do not care about our health. They care about their bottom-line, and it is large (yours will be too if you follow their advice). We must slow down and think for ourselves. Can we grow this, can we hunt this? Can we pronounce these ingredients? If you can’t grow it or hunt it, it has very little nutritional value for you. If you can’t pronounce it, you don’t have the enzymes to digest it. Are you eating nutritionally dense foods or calorically dense foods?

Your body is your vessel. It is what you are traveling through this life in. Every morsel of food you take into your precious body feeds your cells. Respect the importance of that for you and your loved ones. We are indeed what we eat. Do not allow yourself to become made of chemicals. Allow yourself to become made of positive energy. Plants that were grown with respect and care. Animals that were raised in positive environments. Fish that come from healthy bodies of water. As these natural and real foods become part of you, you will become stronger, healthier and more conscious of what it feels like to be well.

Don’t be too busy to feed yourself or your family. Take care in your choices and take time to prepare your food and enjoy it. Eating slowly and consciously with love and gratitude. Don’t wait to become sick and wonder why or what you can do to get better. Slow down, think of food as medicine and plan on health. You can save a lot of time and a lot on doctor’s bills by being conscious.