|
I took an awesome workshop with one of my favorite instructors, Erika Quest at the end of December. It was titled “Perspective & Possibility” and it was a really effective way to kind of get mentally & emotionally prepared for easing out of the holidays and into a New Year. One of the biggest takeaways for me was an introduction to the work of Susan David in regards to emotional agility. Here’s a really great Ted Talk where she really breaks it all down for us. click here and a book. click here I hope you find her work to be as helpful and insightful as I do!   Seriously though, I think we could all use a reminder to love & appreciate the body we have. It is doing the best it can, I promise. I work with all kinds of bodies, with all levels of fitness, all day- and have for years. The human body always responds better to a positive, nurturing approach rather than negative, punitive, and impatient thoughts or feedback. Aging, chronic pain, and the desire to change can be strong motivators, but sometimes they push us too hard. Feel free to take a moment to reset with some self-care. (need some help with this? click here) Still Feeling Frustrated or Discouraged? 1. Make a list of all the amazing things your body does that you might be taking for granted. 2. Focus on a part of your body that feels good today. If more than one appears, keep acknowledging them. 3. Recognize any unrealistic expectations you might be harboring and let them go! You could talk about them, write them out, or try whatever helps you see them for the nasty tricks that they are. Once you see them for the garbage that they are, it’ll be easier to throw them away. Want to know more about how that could work for you? Click here to connect with me. I offer everyone a free introductory life coaching session. It gives you a feel for what the process is like and if we might be a good fit.   What is Biohacking? Although this may seem like a simple question, there are a lot of aspects to this movement of people taking charge of their own unique biology. There are some people on the cutting edge of this movement. While what they are doing is very interesting and will probably influence how we look at self care in the future, it can make it seem like you need to invest a huge amount of time, money, and energy to get any results. That simply isn’t true. If you break it down, it really does mean that you are hacking your own biology. You are finding different ways to improve your human experience by tweaking your environment, daily habits, nutrition, movement practices, and thought patterns- just to name a few. You can go with the high tech route, using technical gadgets and testing as well as smart drugs or new treatments. Some examples would be the oura ring, the muse headband , or cryotherapy. You can also start with a simpler (cheaper) route by improving their sleep habits, adopting a meditation practice, becoming fat adapted (keto), adding in some Bulletproof coffee, or trying some intermittent fasting- then tracking their results and personalizing it as they go for optimal effects. Or- you can mix and match!  Who does it? I think on some level, everyone who is interested in feeling better or living a healthy lifestyle is doing to some extent. You don’t need a huge budget or the latest gizmo to make small, incremental changes that ultimately enhance your health and overall well being. How do I do it? You can try changing some of your habits one at a time, and tracking your results. See what gives you the most effective changes and then keep adapting different things until you get to what you might feel is an ideal balance of effort, results, and practicality. For example, if you were to focus on your sleep hygiene or habits you might start by deciding how much sleep you want to get every night. Then, try setting and ideal bedtime (10pm) and an ideal wake time (6am.) Do that for a week, keeping a journal of how it goes. After about a week, look at how it is going and adjust it so that it works a bit better for you. Once you get that pretty set you might want to look at screen time, how you wind down or get ready for sleep, eating times etc. etc. If that sounds interesting but daunting to do on your own, you can hire a life-coach. Our job is to understand your goals, facilitate strategies to achieve them, provide accountability when desired, and adapt or reroute when needed. Usually, you commit to a minimum of 6 sessions and meet on a consistent basis in order to get the most out of your investment. Want to know more about how that could work for you? Click here to connect with me. I offer everyone a free introductory life coaching session. It gives you a feel for what the process is like and if we might be a good fit.  |