Healthy Aging (not "Anti-Aging")

Healthy Aging Rx:  Relax.  Spend some time with your feet in a tide pool?

Today is my 35th post on this blog and I am 35 years old, and in my stream of consciousness that got me thinking about healthy aging.

It seems like everywhere you turn these days there's some product or diet that promises incredible anti-aging effects ("incredible" being the operative word here).  What's up with that?  What do we have against aging?  Each of us started aging when we were born, but our perception of aging seems to change a lot through time.  When we're younger, we want to be older.  Then, at some point, we start falling into this anti-aging mindset.  To me, it seems much more productive (and sane) to see aging for what it is -- time moving onward -- and to direct our energy towards doing it healthfully.

So, what is healthy aging?

I think that healthy aging is simply this: being in the best physical and mental health possible at each age.

But how do we do that?

Well, this is the subject of entire books, but given our definition of healthy aging (above), we can safely say that the following things will help to get us there.  Eat mostly whole foods from quality sources -- grow and cook your own food when possible.  Eat only when you're hungry.  Drink tons of good, clean water.  Connect with your inner voice and pay attention to what it tells you -- ultimately, each of us is the expert about what's best for us as individuals.  Do what you love, or find a way to love what you do.  Spend some time outdoors every day.  Cherish and strengthen the positive and supportive relationships in your life.  As for the relationships that don't support you, find a way to mend them, or else let them go.  Make time in your busy life for self care -- how can you expect yourself to care for others if you don't first take good care of yourself?  Be generous.  Cultivate gratitude.  Ask for help when you need it.  Incorporate appropriate exercise/movement into your life (and be mindful that your relationship with exercise will change as you age).  Be gentler with yourself.  Show yourself the same kindness and respect that you show your partner or best friend.  Rest and sleep well.  Learn and practice ways to reduce stress.  Never stop learning new skills -- take a class or teach yourself.  Connect with your own personal brand of spirituality, whether that comes from your involvement with a community group, your religion, your connection with nature, or something else entirely.  When you find yourself stressing about your age (which seems to happen every once in a while), stop and redirect that energy -- use the moment to instead reflect back on all the beautiful, exciting, and powerful things you've done with your life so far; then decide what you'll do next, and start right away!  Finally, it's natural and good to reflect on the past and imagine what's to come, but spend most of your time each day right where you are -- be present, so you don't miss what's right in front of you.

I also think we should encourage the kids in our lives to really enjoy and embrace their age, rather than to spend so much energy wishing they were older.  How cool would it be to be able to look back over your entire life and know that you appreciated and embraced every single year for what it was and how it moved you forward?  It's never too late to start that.

I'll leave you with this thought from Andrew Weil: "Yes, aging can bring frailty and suffering, but it can also bring depth and richness of experience, complexity of being, serenity, wisdom, and its own kind of power and grace."

What's your advice for healthy aging?

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Age Well.

Midnight Canning: Blackberry Jam and Apple-Mint Jelly

Friday night I went to my good friend Sadie's house to hang out and do some canning.  We had grand plans to make blackberry jam, apple-mint jelly, pesto, and I think there was something else (clearly we never got that far).  Let me start by saying that my friend Sadie is absolutely amazing!  She has an almost-2-year-old son who, as adorable and wonderful as he is, struggles with sleep.  You moms (and dads) out there know that this means Sadie now has a less-than-optimal relationship with sleep as well.  Knowing a little about the energy needed to get through those long nights, and the days that follow, makes all the things she does seem even more impressive to me (oh, did I mention she's also writing her dissertation?).  So, when I showed up at Sadie's house on Friday night and we sat down to a beautiful and delicious, homecooked dinner (I really should have taken pictures!) made from organic ingredients, 99% of which she grew in her backyard garden, I was humbled.

We enjoyed a leisurely dinner, a little Petite Syrah (gotta get those polyphenols!), and some great conversation (including a lengthy discussion about midwives, doulas, obstetricians, cesarean sections, and womens' intuition).  Then, around 10:30pm or so, we figured we'd better get cookin'.  Where had the time gone?  Ah well, we headed out to the garden in the pitch-black darkness to collect the herbs for our jelly and pesto.  It was absolutely gorgeous outside: the stars were dense and brilliant, the night was cool and crisp (you could feel autumn around the corner), and the air smelled of mint and basil.  We spent the next several hours making blackberry jam and mint jelly, largely from ingredients foraged from Sadie's garden and neighborhood.  I cannot wait to break into a jar of this blackberry jam!  We didn't get around to the pesto, but I left with a big bag full of fresh basil and wound up making that on Saturday (Thanks, Sadie!).

Some of you may be wondering what the point of this post is, where it fits in to the general health forum we've got going here.  Glad you asked.  My Friday evening with Sadie showcased so many things that I feel are integral to good health.  To name a few... Spending time with friends and family.  Nurturing good, supportive relationships.  Growing and cooking your own food.  Eating mindfully.  The importance of good sleep.  Trying new things (for us that meant apple-mint jelly).  I enjoyed every minute of it.  And now, days later, I can still feel the benefits of spending that relaxing evening with a good friend. 

It's not just food that nourishes us.  Not even close!

What non-food things in your life nourish you?  Can you find a way to make room for those things in your busy schedule?  Isn't it worth it?

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Do What You Love.  Get Moving.  Be mindful.

Guilt and Negative Self-Talk Do Way More Harm Than a Bagel!

Yep, me again.  Two posts in one day.  A dangerous precedent, I know, but I really wanted to share my experience with CRAVINGS from earlier today.  I think it's important to post the challenging moments alongside the seemingly effortless (HA!) healthy successes.  So, here goes.

In the interest of full disclosure (because we all deviate from our intentions once in a while, and that's OK)...

Today I had an intense craving for protein. It didn't help that the owner of the coffee shop where I was working was eating (and waxing poetic about) an amazing-looking burger from the place down the street. I was unprepared (didn't bring my own food) and eventually I broke down and ordered a toasted sesame bagel with peanut butter, which is a rarity for 90% gluten-free me. I have to say that it was heavenly. And it satisfied my hunger for protein enough that I could regain focus and get some work done.

The point? Don't let your own "food rules" be so limiting that they run your life. It's okay to deviate once in a while, and it's critical that you are gentle with yourself when it happens.

Guilt and negative self-talk do way more harm than a bagel!

What's your experience with challenging cravings?

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Be Gentle With Yourself.

Free Hugs for Graduation!

You may have already seen this video: Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy, or one of the other Free Hugs video clips.  They've been circulating and they are really wonderful.  I don't even want to say that much about it.  Just see for yourself.  Trust me -- it's good stuff!  What?  You've already seen it?  Go ahead and watch it again.  Positive interactions, smiles, hugs, and even just positive thinking nourish us and keep us happy and healthy. 

"For one moment our lives met, our souls touched."  - Oscar Wilde
 

Oh right, the graduation part is this: on Sunday, July 25, we had our graduation ceremony in NYC at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  During my time at IIN, I met some really lovely people (you know who you are!) and had the rare opportunity to learn from some of the brightest doctors, healers, and teachers in our field, including John Douillard, Mark Hyman, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, Geneen Roth, Marion Nestle, Bernie Siegel, Arthur Agatston, Sally Fallon, Harville Hendrix, Neal Barnard, David Wolfe, David Katz, Barry Sears, Annemarie Colbin, Joel Furhman, Paul Pitchford, and Joshua Rosenthal. And I logged a lot of time on buses between Boston and New York!  But wow, time really flew by.  Oh, and for those family and friends who thought I was finally done with school... not quite yet.  I begin the Integrative Nutrition Graduate Immersion Program next month :-)  Lifelong learner, what can I say?

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about health coaching or about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, contact me here.  I'd be happy to talk about what I do and about my experience at IIN.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Hug Freely.

 

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Feeling Hot? Just Breathe.

A friend recently sent me an article stating that June 2010 was the hottest June on record.  Well, at least I'm not going crazy!...it really has been as hot as it's felt.  Not surprisingly, the focus of my blog and newsletter topics of late has been staying cool and feeling refreshed in this summer heat.  I've written about cooling summer foods and staying hydrated naturally, and here's one more: you can also cool down by breathing.  Yup, it's true.  Here's a breathing technique that you can use to feel cooler right now.  Keep this one in mind for easing all kinds of heat: summer heat waves (the hottest July ever?), hot flashes, or even that hot feeling that can accompany frustration.

Breathing to Stay Cool (Shitali Pranayama)

• Exhale completely.
• Before you inhale, place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower front teeth, so that your mouth does not close completely.  Curl your tongue in a U-shape between your teeth if you're able; if not, simply place the tip between your teeth.
• Inhale deeply, feeling the cool air as it passes across your tongue, to the back of your mouth, down your throat, and beyond.  Try closing your eyes and imagining the cool air traveling throughout your body.
• Before you exhale again, pull back your tongue and close your mouth.
• Exhale completely through your nose.  The air exiting your body will be warmer, so exhaling through your nose will keep your mouth and throat feeling cool.
• Continue to breathe this way -- alternate inhaling through your mouth and exhaling through your nose -- and observe your body as you cool down.

What are your tricks and tips for staying cool?  Please share.

Have you tried the Shitali Pranayama (above)?  Let us know how you like it.


Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Breathe Well.

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Ahimsa

Ahimsa.  All week long that word has been inhabiting my thoughts.  Ahimsa.  But what does it mean?

Yoga is much more than the collection of poses, stretches, and exercises that we practice when we go to a yoga class.  About 2,000 years ago in India, Patanjali codified many of the existing yoga practices into a unified text, in which the practice of yoga is described as having 8 limbs (one of which is Asana, or the physical postures you may be familiar with).  The first limb is Yamas.  The yamas are the five restraints -- essentially a list of moral and ethical rules to live by.  And the first yama is ahimsa.

Ahimsa means non-harming.  So, of course this means that we should not harm other people or animals.  It is important, though, to think about what "harming" means to us -- how might we be harming people/animals in not-so-obvious ways.  And it is also very important to remember that, perhaps above all else, we should practice non-harming towards ourselves.  Many of us have a habit of treating strangers better than we treat ourselves.  But how can we be expected to thrive and to do our best for others if we are neglecting our own needs?  Whenever I'm on a plane and they run through the safety speech just before take-off, I think of ahimsa when they get to the part about the oxygen masks.  "...if you are seated near someone who needs assistance, put on your own mask before helping others." 

So, while I think we should practice ahimsa in all areas of our lives, I encourage you to take some time to think about how your actions, inaction, and even your self-talk may be harming YOU.  Next time you can't seem to squeeze in your yoga practice, going to the gym, going for a hike, meditating, setting aside an hour to read for pleasure, cooking healthy food for yourself, or whatever your particular needs may be, ask yourself: if I was to give my best friend advice about this, what would I tell her/him to do?  Then follow your own advice.

What does Ahimsa mean for you?  

Make a list of the ways you can practice Ahimsa in your life. 

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Practice Ahimsa.

How Will You Celebrate the Summer Solstice?

A Solstice Meditation for Transformation.

Good Morning!  Today is the Summer Solstice - the beginning of summer, the longest daylight of the year, the beginning of a season of active energy, growth, and maturation.

We are coming off of spring, which is a time of intentions and ideas, of cleansing and clearing out the clutter.  Whether you did it consciously, on paper, or simply in the back of your mind, during spring you probably found yourself with new ideas about what you want to change or bring into your life.  Now (summer) is the time to make those changes happen.

Whenever we arrive at another solstice or equinox, I try to celebrate in some way.  I come up with a special event or ritual to acknowledge and harness the power of the seasonal shift that is taking place.  This year, this morning, I decided to start the day with some outdoors, sunny meditation.  I walked down to the river behind my building (with Keeley the dog) and sat next to the river, facing the sun.  The sun was already blazing and it felt warm and powerful on my shoulders.  I took a few minutes to mentally gather the major ideas, intentions, and changes I've been contemplating throughout spring.  I sat there, feeling the sun on my shoulders and face, feeling the light breeze off the water, and silently repeated those intentions to myself several times.  Then I took five or ten minutes to seal those intentions by breathing.  What a rejuvenating, powerful, and seasonal way to start the day!

Here's the step-by-step on how to practice my 2010 Summer Solstice Transformation Meditation:

• Find a place that feels right (and Solsticey) to you -- ideally this will be someplace outdoors.  If you can't get outside, then at least find a comfortable spot where you can sit facing out a window.
• Take a moment to jot down (mentally or on paper) your intentions.  This could be as simple as one thing you have been hoping to change or do, or you may have a list of changes.  Either way is fine, but it may be easier to focus on one or two of the biggies.  For example, one of my intentions went something like this: I will let go of the old stories I tell myself that hold me back and make room for the new realities that move me forward. (Your intentions can be more specific than this, but for me this intention had specific meaning.)
• Review your intention, or your list of intentions, several times so that it fills you up. 
• Once you feel that your intention(s) is strong and clear, close your eyes (if they aren't already) and begin to breathe in and out through your nose.
• At first just observe your breathing.  Are your breaths short and quick or are they long and fluid?  Just observe this for a minute or two.
• Then, when you feel ready, intentionally deepen your breathing.  Breathe fully into your belly.  In fact, you may want to imagine that you are breathing in and out through your bellybutton, rather than through your nose.
• Once you feel that you're in a nice deep rhythm with your breathing, add these silent phrases to accompany your exhalations and inhalations.
• Exhale.  Say silently to yourself, "Let go of the old" (habits, patterns, behaviors, stories).
• Inhale.  And say silently to yourself, "...to make room for the new" (habits, reality).
• As you sit and breathe your intentions, feel the warmth and power of the sun on your face, on your skin.  You may want to visualize harnessing that warmth to power your transformation.
• Repeat this guided breathing for a few minutes, or for as long as you like.

Let us know how this meditation felt for you. 

Or, do you have your own Summer Solstice ritual that you can share with us?  Please do.

I hope you enjoy this Summer Solstice Meditation.  And I wish you a happy and powerful summer of action, transformation, and fruition.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Be the Change.

Life Lessons from My Trusty VW

Over the past few days I've been dealing with an unexpected and frustrating situation with my car.  My troubles began on Sunday when I parked my car, turned off the engine, and tried to remove the key.  That's right...tried to remove the key, but the key wouldn't turn all the way into the "off" position and I couldn't get it out of the ignition.  I tried turning the car on and off, driving around the lot, shifting repeatedly between Park and Drive.  I tried to remove the key while the car was in Neutral.  I tried begging the Universe to help me out.  I tried hitting the dashboard.  Nothing!

So, what did I do?  It was Sunday (of course!) and the next day was Memorial Day (again, of course!), so I had no choice but to throw a t-shirt over the steering column, lock the car with my spare key, and forget about it.  Right?  Well, that's what I did....only to discover a couple days later (this morning) that my battery had drained and my car would no longer even start.  I remember sitting in my car at that point thinking, "I'm stranded.  I'm stuck.  What do I do now?  I feel helpless.  How do I get unstuck?"  I know, I know....you can probably see where this is going.

After hours of phone calls (insurance company, friends/family for advice, mechanics, dealership), strategizing (tow the car?  jump it and drive it to the dealer?  dealer or local mechanic?), and stressing (money, how do I get to work?, etc.), I decided to have my car towed to the dealership.  Before calling for the tow, I went down to get a few things from my car.  That's when I discovered a small (3-4mm) piece of metal that was blocking the shifter from setting fully into the Park position.  Once I removed the block, the shifter moved just a little bit further and the key was set free!  I cannot impress enough upon you how tiny this piece of metal was, how stupid I felt that it was the cause, or how relieved I felt that my transmission was not busted.  All I have to do now is wait for my friend to pop over after work so we can jump my car and I can recharge the battery.  Then....good as new.

So, what's the lesson?  Well, earlier when I was sitting in my car feeling stuck and stranded, and not knowing how to proceed, it did not escape me that this was a metaphor for how I've been feeling about certain things in my life lately.  Whether it's career, health, relationships, or something else, I'm sure you can relate.  Sometimes it's the tiniest obstacles that stand in our way.  Once you remove those obstacles, you will be set free to be happy, healthy, and successful.  But remember that after you remove the obstacle, you may need to take some time to recharge before you're good as new.

Are there obstacles standing in the way of your health and happiness?  What steps can you take to remove those obstacles?  And once you remove them, how will you recharge?

This is Ganesha, The Remover of Obstacles.










Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.

A Sense of Place and a Scarlet Tanager: Two Reasons I Got Up at the Crack of Dawn!

Yes, it's true...today I woke up at 4:45am.  Early for me.  Early for anyone!  Why, you ask?  This morning I headed down to Plum Island, Massachussetts, for a half day of birdwatching and picnicking on the beach with some colleagues from the University of New Hampshire. 

It was wonderful to smell the salt in the air as we approached the ocean.  We quietly piled out of our cars and began to test our memories -- which olivey-yellow warbler has the white eye ring? (yep, the Nashville Warbler)  We walked down the road and through the woods for hours, looking for new birds to identify and admire, and enjoying the beautiful, warm and breezy morning outside.  Lately I have been making a renewed effort to practice mindfulness meditation throughout my days, and I thoroughly enjoyed being present and mindful of every aspect of our walk: all of the gorgeous birds (including one of my favorites seen here, the Scarlet Tanager), the way the sun warmed my hair, the way the trail felt under my feet, and walking barefoot on the beach during lunch.

I personally love the ocean, especially up North.  I have always felt soothed and grounded when I smell the salty air, watch the constant flow of waves hitting the shore, or feel the ocean breeze.  Northern coastal areas are where I truly feel a sense of place.  I was purely happy being there today, and that feeling stayed with me all day, even once I found myself back in my office at the university.  And I never got that tired feeling in the afternoon!

So why am I sharing all of this with you?  To illustrate the point that good health depends not only on the food that we put into our bodies, but also on the other things in our lives that nourish us -- our environment, hobbies, relationships, physical activity, career/education, and spirituality.  In fact, my teachers at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition have asserted that these other lifestyle factors ('Primary Foods') can be even more important to our overall health than the foods we eat ('Secondary Foods').  I will return to the topic of Primary Foods in many future blog posts.  For now, I urge you to take a moment and reflect on the ways, other than eating your veggies, that you nourish yourself.

• Where do you find a sense of place?
• How do you practice self care?
• Are your relationships serving you well?  If so, give gratitude.  If not, how can you change this?
• What is the role of physical activity in your life?
• Do you love the work that you do?  If so, give gratitude.  If not, can you find new work that you love or can you find a way to love the work that you currently do?
• What is the role of spirituality (meditation, nature, religion) in your life?

 Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.