Greetings!  

Valentine's, Superbowl, Heart Disease, Oh My!

It's February and once again the shops are filled with boxes of milk chocolates shaped like hearts, the bakeries have red velvet cakes shaped like hearts in the windows, and restaurants are advertising special Valentine dinners that include red cheesecake deserts. I'm struck once again by the dichotomy of this month.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the US. And all of the above treats and goodies that are so closely linked with the month of February are bad for our hearts...

In addition to hosting the Super Bowl, February is also National Grapefruit Month - bet you didn't know that one! Grapefruits are much healthier than milk chocolate and cheesecake. Perhaps the grapefruit growers should hire a better PR firm to get them some national publicity. Maybe they can advertise ruby red grapefruit halves cut into heart shapes!

OK, I'll stop the rant now, and give you a tip for better heart health.

The best way to beat the inevitable stress flowing into our lives like the rushing Colorado River these days, is through a daily meditation practice. According to best-selling author and renowned therapist Dr. Brian Weiss, "Meditation makes our minds more sensitive to what's truly important."

Now don't be afraid of the M word. Meditation doesn't mean that you have to sit for an hour with your legs in a pretzel shape and a completely blank mind. There are many ways to meditate.  Here are two: 

• Sit or lie down for ten minutes and count your breath SLOWLY backwards from 57. Inhale 57, exhale 57, and so on. If you get all the way to zero, start again.
• Another breath meditation is to imagine that you're breathing through your heart.  Visualize the breath entering your heart when you inhale and exhaling from your heart as well. The Heart Math company has proven with bio-feedback tools that when we do this heart breathing, our physiology changes. Stress and anxiety are reduced, blood pressure is lowered and our minds become calmer. 

Visualization is another good meditative technique - especially if you have a dream or a goal you're trying to reach. For instance, if you dream of owning a sailboat, you can close your eyes for ten minutes and visualize yourself sailing from Block Island to Martha's Vineyard (or anywhere else you fancy). Feel the wind blowing your hair and see the waves gently rocking your boat up and down and up and down...

Imagine that dolphins join you for part of the trip or that you pass a large cruise ship and wave at the people on deck. See yourself heading toward a picturesque harbor town, or anchoring in a little cove and jumping in the water. You get the idea. Your ten minutes will be up in no time and you'll feel so much better!

Meditation is a way to clear and calm your mind. When your mind is clear, concentration improves, and you'll be surprised at how much more you actually get done on that to-do list! When you are calm and collected, unexpected stressful situations don't make you nearly as anxious as they once did.

I recommend starting a new practice of meditating for ten minutes each day this month and by March, it will be a habit, and you'll have far fewer stress hormones running around in your body!

Best of Health,

Kathi