Five Types of Affirmations for Empowerment
July 31, 2009
Five Types of Affirmations for Empowerment
by: Jeanie Marshall
Five categories of affirmations support you in manifesting powerful change. These five categories or types of affirmations have emerged from my consulting work with clients and workshop participants. You may work with affirmations in every category concurrently, or you may focus on a different category each day or each week. It is important that affirmations you select resonate with you, that is, that they feel natural and appropriate. In order to experience this resonance, you may need to change words in the ones listed here as examples, or let these inspire you to create ones you prefer, or develop your own from scratch.
Popular Affirmations
Many popular affirmations are beautiful, indeed, they are quite extraordinary! However, if you do not believe them, they are useless or even counterproductive. If you say an affirmation you do not believe, saying it repeatedly will not make you believe it. Actually, the repetition can build up greater resistance to believing it. Consider this example: Sam feels powerless. He has had many experiences that he can point to that justify his feelings and his belief in his own powerlessness and unworthiness. Saying “I am powerful” is less likely to erase his feelings of powerlessness than to prompt an emphatic reaction, such as, “Oh, no, I’m not!” If Sam does not deal with the resistance, he carries it with him as he lives his life.
The Right Exercise Intensity
July 30, 2009
We’ve all heard the exercise guidelines that recommend we participate in 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity 3-5 times per week. That seems easy enough to implement. Or, does it? The duration and frequency guidelines are very straight-forward and easily defined. But, "moderate" intensity is often left to interpretation. So, how do we define "moderate"?
First we need to understand that the definition of moderate intensity can be completely different from one individual to another. For example, a well-trained athlete may be in the moderate zone when running 5 miles in 30 minutes. Yet, for a novice exerciser who is very overweight, moderate means walking one mile in 30 minutes.
Don’t let this confuse you. While the intensity level is very critical in the overall guideline, fortunately it’s also fairly easily identified. The ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) defines moderate as an intensity of 40 percent to 60 percent VO2 maximum. But, since most of us don’t know how to determine our VO2 maximum, there are easier definitions to utilize.
Psychological Factors in Weight Management
July 29, 2009
To continue the educational series on your health and fitness lifestyle, this article is based on accredited college nutrition programs and literature based on proven science. My hope is to empower you to take responsibility for your nutrition plan. One does not have to become a fanatic and eat perfectly to be healthy!
How we think and feel about food is profoundly influenced by how food is used in our families as children. If food is used as entertainment a reward a bribe a punishment or stress relief, from sadness, anger, or other negative emotions, problems may ensue.
Often, people will eat when they are not hungry, only bored, sad, angry, upset, or lonely. When eating for these reasons, they usually eat foods high in fat, sugar, or both. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a meal, just be sure to get sufficient healthy food and limit your quantities of junk food.
People who eat for reasons other than hunger will sometimes feel guilty after they indulge. This will often lead to more overeating and more guilt. These people often become obsessed with food “cookie monster syndrome”. There are support groups and counseling for people who over-eat for emotional reasons.
How To Use A Journal To Cut Your Stress
July 28, 2009
How To Use A Journal To Cut Your Stress
by: Daniel Lesser
Are you looking for some inside information on journaling? Here’s an up-to-date report from journaling experts who should know.
Writing in your journal on a regular basis can actually help you prevent stress. You will learn to think out your problems in an organized way. You will learn how to express yourself and release emotions and anxieties. You learn how to manage your life more productively so you do not have such overwhelming feelings which lead to stress.
Stress can lead to certain health conditions. These health conditions make your stress worse and it is a cycle that is hard to break. When you become accustomed to journaling, you will see that your life is improving.
There are few situations that are actually stressful in themselves. It is our reactions to situations and events in our lives that create stress. Stress is compounded by work overload and not enough sleep. Your journals can help you reduce this and prevent a large majority of stress.
Lower Body Exercises For Beginning Bodybuilders
July 28, 2009
The lower body contains some of your biggest muscles which are capable of bearing significant weights. The temptation for beginners to go for broke by performing heavy squats should be resisted. To begin with you should concentrate on building the muscles safely by using machines that isolate muscle groups. The squat is an excellent compound exercise that trains numerous lower body muscles but it is one you should learn properly after spending three months strengthening the individual muscles that will be utilized later.
The muscles of the lower body can be divided into five groups:
1. Quads - this is the big muscle group consisting of four muscles at the front of the thigh. These are the primary muscles used when performing exercises such as squats, leg press, lunge and leg extension.
2. Hamstrings - these are the main muscles at the back of the thigh. These are the primary muscles used when performing leg curls.
3. Gluteals - these are the muscles that make up the buttocks.
4. Hip flexors - these are the small muscles at the front of the pelvis that allow you to raise your legs to the front.
Anamchara - Living The Real Life
July 27, 2009
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide No escape from reality."
This song goes on to advise, "Open your eyes and see."
There is much to see that is beautiful in this life. I am blessed. I get to share words of beauty with others. I get to share the seeing of the real life. This is the wonder of this life beyond the fantasy of "me" and "mine." I get to share the seeing beyond the limitation of ego.
I contend we "do" much of "our life." We do so much of our life that we get caught in a landslide. This is mostly the landslide of thought. We are encouraged to drive our life’s energy forward. We do this by thinking about "what to do," “what to be," “what to think," “what to follow.” We become a landslide of "shoulds," "must does," can’t does" and "what ifs" to name a few. We tumble down the landslide of "our life."
There is a universal law. This is the law of attraction.
Low-Carb: The Role of Insulin
July 26, 2009
There are three basic units the body uses for energy:
1. Fats
2. Proteins
3. Carbohydrates
All three can be converted to blood glucose. However, while fats and proteins are converted slowly, carbohydrates are converted quickly causing quick spikes in the body’s blood sugar levels. These spikes in blood sugar levels cause the pancreas to create and release insulin until the blood sugar level returns to normal.
Meanwhile, insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas that lowers our blood’s glucose levels is released into the blood as soon as the body detects that blood sugar levels have risen above its optimal level.
Insulin is a very efficient hormone that runs the body’s fuel storage systems. If there is excess sugar or fat in the blood insulin will signal the body to store it in the body’s fat cells. Insulin also tells these cells not to release their stored fat, making that fat unavailable for use by the body as energy.
Advantages of Time Management
July 25, 2009
Advantages of Time Management
by: Christos Varsamis
The advantages of time management include reducing stress, gaining time, reducing avoidance, while promoting reviews and eliminating cramming. Another advantage is that managing time helps us to stay motivated while we avoid procrastination.
The trick to successful time management is setting up goals that work, while having an awareness of those goals and prioritizing your list of goals. When you set up an effective time management plan, you are growing and upholding a personal commitment to yourself, with the ability to be more flexible.
When you have a great time management plan, you are giving yourself an individual chance to, to generate a timetable that works to suit your busy caseload. When you create a good plan, you will soon find time to do all the things that matter most to you in life. In addition, when you have a good time management plan, you are saving your health.
Plans have a schedule timed, which includes all the activities you are responsible to handle. Your Master Timetable should include all the most important activities you are responsible to handle. It is important that you modify this schedule according to your time changes. When you set up a Master Timetable, you will need to list the priorities first, and work your way down to the least important tasks.
Holidaze
July 24, 2009
It’s the travel time, meaning hours spent sedentary. It prepares me for the visiting, when I know there’ll be no activity. I try to see it as winding down to catch up with where our lives have gone in the past 6 months. A semiannual sharing and reflection with family. An enchanted time when reality is lived through a rose tinted holidaze.
Rules of day to day no longer apply as you surrender to the hearts and minds of those closest. Conversation, food and wine are intoxicating. You can’t leave the table the conversation is too good. The holiday food keeps coming. I fall back into the silken warmth of family stories and recollections of past years.
I generally eat until I am sated but now? its quest for space, I must keep up, I can’t be that? “I don’t eat that wimp”. I can’t spoil this mood and bring everyone down to reality! Somehow I manage to find space for that piece of dark nutty chocolate beckoning me to come home to my pallette, where it would receive all the comfort love and warmth I need to express in this state of holiday bliss. I have now surrendered?.. The conversation wonders back to a particular chocolate that sister in law is passionate about and as she unfolds its mysteries you must taste and discover. This is no time for excuses.
Who Is The Master?
July 23, 2009
Who Is The Master?
by: Shawn Moody
I wanted to kick off this article by reflecting back to 1985. I was a young boy watching Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon movie with a few of my friends. Like most boys I was amazed by the speed and grace of martial arts.
For those of you not familiar with the movie; the main character Leroy Green (a.k.a. Bruce Leroy) searches for the “master” to reach his final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. During the course of his journey he must fight an evil martial arts expert known as Sho’nuff (a.k.a. The Shogun of Harlem) and finds himself having to rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter. I know most of you are probably saying, “What kind of movie is this?” remember it was the 80’s.
