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COMMIT TO RELAXATION
| Reid Peterson
Okay, there
it is; the word that we resist hearing, seeing, and reading. COMMITMENT! But
let me assure you that you'll like this type of commitment.
Doesn't committing to relaxation sound like something you want to do? What
you're going to learn is a recipe for healthy relaxation; one that feels good,
is simple, and works well for your mind, body, and spirit.
It's very different from some of the relaxation recipes out there. Here's how
it works: First, take out the old ingredient of watching television and replace
it with exercising.
Yes, retire the television and move your body! There are many reasons why this
will benefit you. One of the most important ones is that physical activity
releases endorphins; those feel good hormones! Watching television doesn't
qualify as physical activity.
When you exercise, the endorphins release increasing joy and happiness.
Second,
replace substance abuse (which can vary from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, to
comfort foods) with meditation.
Substance abuse invokes a suppression of feelings, which are very important for
personal development. In meditation, you have the space to explore the feelings
and thoughts that associate with what's going on inside of you.
Meditation is a catalyst for bringing awareness to what's holistically
happening within.
Third, end
the gossip. Stop talking and start listening. You'll be amazed how relaxed you
feel when you put a limit on the words that come out of your mouth. Don't get
me wrong-talking is great. But the next time you notice yourself chatting it
up, ask yourself, "How much tension am I holding in my body?" Creating the
space to be a listener is very powerful.
Start by listening to soft and soothing sounds. You will be more in your body.
You'll breathe better. You'll get clear about your personal choices. The list
goes on...
That's it!
Balance your life with exercise, meditation, and being a better listener.
It's as simple as that. But simple is not easy. It takes an act of doing. Rest
assured that by increasing these activities your commitment to relaxation will
benefit you with the reward of health, wellness, and rejuvenation!
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HAVE A LITTLE FUN WITH THIS!
| The other day a story on NPR (National Public Radio) brought several chuckles as I listened.
It was the story of Smith magazine's invitation to famous and obscure writers to distill their own life stories into exactly six words. The challenge came because legend has it that
novelist Ernest Hemingway was once asked to write a story in six words. His response: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."
It All Changed in an Instant is the fourth collection of very, very brief life stories from Smith. The tiny memoirs are sometimes sad, often funny - and always concise.
Here's our challenge to you. Describe your massage experience in six words and email it to: 6words@ahealingtouchmassage.com.
We'll print the best selections in the next newsletter and have you help us determine the winner!
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BOOK YOUR
APPOINTMENT ONLINE |
Now you can
schedule your own appointments 24 hours a day 7 days a week online. Just visit
our website and click on the "booknow" icon. The easy to follow process takes
just a few minutes to complete and we are instantly notified of your
appointment. Online appointments must be booked a minimum of 24 hours in
advance.
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Become a Fan on Facebook |
A Healing Touch Massage is now on Facebook as A Healing Touch Massage Arizona. If you are a Facebook user please consider becoming a Fan and sharing us with your network.
We're currently posting occasional updates and news articles of interest. Once we create a sizeable following we'll be adding Facebook specials so we hope you'll join in!
Here's a link to an article from last week.Scientists design bioactive nanogel that regenerates cartilage in joints
www.smartplanet.com Researchers
at Northwestern University have designed a bioactive nanomaterial that
promotes the growth of new cartilage in the body's joints.
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 A Healing Touch Massage
A Healing Touch Massage
More than just a name... it's a promise!
Dan O'Clair & Roxie Reimer
480-215-9471 or 602-568-1531
PO Box 3070
Apache Junction, AZ 85219
Providing in-home therapeutic massage to the metropolitan Phoenix area since 2003.
Call for your appointment today
or book online at www.ahealingtouchmassage.com! |
What did you do for the Valentine's Day & President's Day weekend? Roxie and I were busy sharing our massage talents. From Friday through Monday we gave 8 individual massages, 7 couples' massages and drove over 250 miles! We met some new people, renewed relationships with others and overall had a wonderfully fulfilling weekend! We hope that you had as much fun as we did.
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Getting Unstuck (and Moving
Toward Your Dreams)
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Karen
Schachter
If you've
been sitting on some dreams of your own lately, or have been feeling stuck in
some area of your own life, here are a few simple steps (simple, but not always
so easy) that I'm using to stay focused on the goals and dreams in my own life. You can use these very same techniques - it's
not rocket science, but it does take a bit of determination and a firm decision
to go for it, despite the bumps in the road that ALWAYS come up.
1) Stay tuned in to your desire and your
dream, no matter what. Even in the face of fear, or naysayers, or external
pressures. So often, we experience a wish or a desire or a dream and then we
shut ourselves off from it. We tell ourselves, "I can't do that" or
"who am I to want that" or "I'm too busy" or whatever. So
our lives stay in status quo and our dreams get put on the back burner (again).
Not fun. Trust me. I've been there. Whenever I hit a bump or a negative thought
(from either myself or someone else), I keep envisioning what I want: I see me
with my book, speaking to audiences of moms and girls, being a guide and a
mentor to women who want MORE for themselves and their daughters. I imagine
what that will feel like and I let the excitement wash over me.
Your desires and your dreams are in your heart for GOOD REASON. They are a part
of you aching to be expressed (you wouldn't have them if you weren't supposed
to be bringing them to life). What do you see, and how does that FEEL?
2) Get support from someone - or a
group of people - who has your best interest in mind and who is striving to
grow as well. Find a buddy or a coach or a mentor or a mastermind group who can
help you hold your vision of what you want, who believes in you, and who can
help you take action despite fear.
I know this can be easier said than done. Many of us are surrounded by others
who are also stuck in fear and may not know how to really support us. I can
tell you that for me, I notice who I admire. Who is living their life in a way
that is similar to how I want to be living mine (not doing the exact same thing
necessarily, but modeling the type of courage and audacity and authenticity
that I aspire to?). Those are the people I consult with and share my visions
with. That's how I chose my coach (and mastermind group) this past year - I
found someone who was kind and compassionate, but also took a "no
excuses" approach to living her dream.
3) Keep moving - baby steps
sometimes, big bold steps other times - in the direction of your dreams and
desires. We all feel fear - believe me, I've been feeling a lot of it lately -
especially when we're about to do something new or important or meaningful.
Fear is a FEELING (not an action). Sometimes it's there to protect you from
real danger (like going up and petting a lion and getting eaten), but other
times it's your unconscious mind's way of protecting you from imagined, or
not-so-terrible-after-all, danger (rejection, failure, disappointment - small
potatoes compared to being eaten by a lion).
So how do you take action, despite fear? When the inspiration strikes - act!
When you get a good idea, when you're in the groove, when you just know
something feels right - that's the time to take action!
I've found that the clearer I get about my goals, and the more action I take
toward them (even tiny baby steps), the more things SHOW UP in my life to
support what I want (it's like a bit of serendipity!). For example, the other
day, as I was thinking about my upcoming "Be The Change" coaching
program for moms and thinking about where I could hold the retreats, I began to
visualize what I wanted (all this while blowing dry my hair on the way out to a
party). At the party later that evening, I met someone who just happened to
know of the perfect retreat house that was so similar to what I had been
picturing. CRAZY.
You will notice that as you clarify and move toward your goals, a bit of magic
will begin to happen.
4) Get out of your own way.
Seriously, you are the only one in your way, so clear the clutter - the time
clutter, the paper clutter, the mind clutter, the house clutter, the body
clutter - ALL THE STUFF (both real and created) that continues to clutter you
up so there's no room for you to have what you really want. Create the space
and your dreams will have a place to land.
I invite you to join me in turning toward your dreams - go ahead and bring them
right down into your heart and into your mind right now - and put one foot in
front of the other along your path.
___________________
About The Author
Karen
Schachter, a psychotherapist and coach, is committed to helping girls and women
find peace, nourishment and wellbeing with food and their bodies. To receive
her FREE Special Report: 7 Secrets To Having The Relationship With Food You've
Always Wanted, go to http://www.healthybodieshappyminds.com
Copyright (c) 2009 Healthy Bodies, Happy
Minds. Reprinted by permission.
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Exercise
Prevents Aging of Cells
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LiveScience
Exercise is known to have a bounty of health benefits that
can ward off age-related diseases, but a new study shows that regular physical
activity has an anti-aging effect at the cellular level.
The research found that intensive exercise prevents the
shortening of telomeres-the DNA that bookends chromosomes and protects the ends
from damage-much like the cap on the end of a shoelace.
The shortening of telomeres limits cells to a fixed number
of divisions and can be regarded as a "biological clock." Gradual
shortening of telomeres through cell divisions leads to aging on the cellular
level and may limit lifetimes. When the telomeres become critically short, the
cell dies.
The researchers measured the length of telomeres in blood
samples from two groups of professional athletes and two groups who were
healthy nonsmokers, but not regular exercisers.
"The most significant finding of this study is that
physical exercise of the professional athletes leads to activation of the
important enzyme telomerase and stabilizes the telomere," said Ulrich
Laufs, the study's lead author and professor of clinical and experimental
medicine at Saarland University in Homburg,
Germany.
"This is direct evidence of an anti-aging effect of
physical exercise," Laufs said. "Physical exercise could prevent the
aging of the cardiovascular system, reflecting this molecular principle."
In addition, the animal studies of Laufs and colleagues show
that exercise exerts important cellular functions beyond the regulation of
telomere length, such as protecting the cell from deterioration and programmed
cell death.
In the clinical study, the researchers analyzed 32 young
professional runners, average age 20, from the German National Team of Track
and Field. They compared the young professional athletes with middle-aged
athletes who had a history of continuous endurance exercise since their youth.
The two groups were evaluated against untrained athletes who
were healthy nonsmokers, but who did not exercise regularly. They were matched
for age with the professional athletes.
Long-term exercise training activates telomerase and reduces
telomere shortening in human white blood cells, the researchers found. The
age-dependent telomere loss was lower in the older athletes who had performed
endurance exercising for several decades.
"Our data improves the molecular understanding of the
protective effects of exercise on the vessel wall and underlines the potency of
physical training in reducing the impact of age-related disease," Laufs
said.
___________________
The study was published in the December 2009 issue of
Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association.
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Until next month...yours for better health,
A Healing Touch Massage
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