Diet and Exercise

     These are key ingredients, perhaps THE key basic ingredients to make lasting changes in your quality of life and your health. Both of these need to be fine tuned for your body. I aid my clients in this area using a variety of information tailored specifically for them. You can also do this for yourself. Take one step then add other steps as you go.

     Start with whole foods---fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Reduce or avoid entirely caffeine, fast foods, refined or processed foods. Listen to your body and watch what you feel like and your energy level as you make these changes. After eating notice how you feel. Is your energy level up or down? Do you feel light, focused, energized? Frequent small meals—5-6 times a day, work better than 1-3 large meals, even an apple or piece of toast. Also drinking lots of water: 8 or more glasses of filtered or purified water a day is vital for your brain as well as your body.

     You can use these books as resource aids to fine tune your diet for yourself and your condition:

Eat Right for Your Blood Type, Dr. Peter D'Adamo
Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra
Healthy Healing, Linda Rector-Page
Creating Heaven Through Your Plate, Shelley Summers

    Exercise

     Exercise for 2-3 times a week minimum for 20-30 minutes. Exercise is tailored to your body and your age and any conditions. It needs to be fun and have variety. You can over train and burn out physically as well as mentally if you do the same thing over and over OR if you do it day in and day out. Your body needs movement: Walking, hiking, swimming, weights, bicycling, dance, aerobics. Yet you should feel energized not exhausted or tired afterwards. If you are tired, then reduce your time or change what you are doing.

     Our bodies need flexibility, strength, and endurance. Our bodies use movement and exercise to strengthen muscles, to increase flexibility, to allow freer blood and lymphatic circulation. This brings more oxygen to your brain and whole body and carries away toxins and wastes. Your level of energy and your endurance levels are also raised. Exercise releases your stresses and tensions trapped in your body. You also become sick less. Choosing the right types of exercise for you is as important as choosing the right foods. And doing it regularly is not a burden but becomes a joy and time out just for you.

    Re-Energizers/Computer Strain

     Anyone can do these techniques. They work well with children and the elderly as well as adults. Do this series at the beginning of a day, to create a break, after lunch, when you start a new task, or when your performance and concentration lag. If you are using a computer doing this every 20 minutes will increase your efficiency. (Drinking water and fuel-frequent small meals are also required for most optimum performance and energy level.)

     These are the Techniques:

     Brain Button: Place one hand over the navel. This brings your attention to your center of gravity and your breath. Breathe into this hand. With your other hand gently press the indentations directly under your collar bone to the left and right of your breastbone. These "buttons" lie just above where the carotid arteries branch off to the brain and can stimulate blood flow to your brain.Stop and hold then press again. This wakes up your brain for new incoming information. It also gets your eyes moving again and out of ‘ocular lock’ which happens when you get on overload or stare at computer screens for too long a time.

     Hook-Ups: These reduce stress and integrate your body, mind and emotions enabling you to learn, respond, and act more effectively. Especially when emotions intrude if you do this for 2 minutes you will be able to see your own and other’s points of view more clearly, leave them behind and move on with your day. First cross one ankle over the other. Choose which feels most comfortable to you—left over right or right or left. Then place the back of your hands together with your arms outstretched and thumbs pointing down. Now just as you crossed your ankles, cross one hand over the other with palms meeting. Interlock your fingers. Lastly roll your locked hands down towards your lap or feet and around towards your chest letting them rest on your chest. Your elbows will be hanging down to your sides. While resting in this position rest your tongue comfortably on the roof of your mouth on the ridge in back of your teeth. You may want to reverse ankle or wrist positions.

     Cross Crawl: This is a cross lateral walking in place. You stand. VERY SLOWLY you touch the right elbow to the left knee and then your left elbow to your right knee. This activates both brain hemispheres simultaneously increasing their communication, speed and integration for high level reasoning. Repeat this several times.There are variations you can do with this standing just as long as you cross the midline of your body.

     The Energizer: This helps especially for long hours sitting at a desk or in front of a computer. It increase your oxygen intake, relaxes your neck and shoulder muscles, wakes up your nervous system and brain. Place your palms flat on the desk in front of you then lower your chin to your chest. Let your head go forward as far as you can without pain, just into a comfortable stretch. Allow your shoulders to droop. As you take a deep breath through your nose, draw a semi-circle using the tip of your nose as the pen to move your head forward, up and back arching over your shoulders. Also allow your back to arch like a bow and allow your ribs to open and expand. Then as you exhale curve the back forward like a cat arching its back and once again rest the chin on or near the chest. Repeat this 3-5 times.

     If you find these exercises helpful, more information can be obtained from:
Smart Moves, Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.; Brain Gym, Teachers Edition, Dr. Dennison, or www.braingym.com .