Renew YOU: Panel

Health is a State of Body, Wellness is a State of Mind

We have heard from Jen and Kellie, Jen, about using our breath and meditation to center and anchor us. Kellie, about the importance of focus on our body and its physicality with yoga, pilates, etc. When we put together our internal capacities of breath and meditation with the strength of our bodies, we become whole. We become strong in a way that interweaves our internal souls with our external vessels, our bodies. We create a mind body synergy that is in synch. By doing so we create an indelible bond, stronger, whole, resilient, ready to live and accept challenges, one day at a time, one moment at a time.

Years ago there was an intuitive sense of mind and body. But there was little evidence to direct us. We now have research that takes mind body health from theory to practice.

Whether it is with depression, anxiety, ADD, addiction, pain

We know that meditation enhances focus, can help us with sleep, attention, lowering anxiety, helping us to distract from physical and emotional pain.

We know that our physical strengths and fitness are enormously powerful in helping us be agile, have balance, enhance cardiac health, lower blood pressure, help with lung capacity.

While the design of how we engage our mind and body may change from one decade to the next, from one time to another, we know that it is vital to continue to practice, to continue shifting the form and type of activity, that meditation and breath are always available and critical to being centered and anchored. We evolve as we age, we must shift and engage to create ever changing but sustainable goals.

Core Concepts:

I would like to introduce some core concepts to putting together mind and body as one:

Intentionality
Connection to people and the world around us
Empowerment to self and others
Focus on the power of Positives: Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative
Organization and plan matters, always being evaluated and revised
Resilience and the ability to deal with adversity are essential to living lives that can handle the inevitable ups and downs

8 Dimensions of a Balanced Integrated Life:

Emotional
Spiritual
Physical
Financial
Intellectual
Occupational
Social/Relationships/Connection

Understanding core concepts and dimensions of a balanced life allow us to use them as pillars holding the foundation of a Integrated Balanced Life and lifestyle

Foundation is something you create individually and personally

It will likely be different for each of us, and different over time and need. If we are going through a challenging time we must adjust our pillars to support our personal foundations

Tyrannies: What are they, how do we dismiss and discharge them and take their power and control away!

First Tyranny:

Perfection: It is not possible, It does not exist, striving for perfection creates an endless loop, if we are always striving to be perfect we can never achieve it and therefore are always being disappointed, and more, this can lead to giving up. Opposite of what we want. Mindfulness allows us to be in the moment, to accept who we are, to be.

Second tyranny:

Comparison to others. If we compare ourselves to others we are doing ourselves a major disservice. Comparison to our goals is a good comparison but not to others. I will never be Giselle Bundchen. I may never be in the Olympics. I learned a long time ago to look myself in the mirror and say, IALAC. I find peace in doing the best I can with what I have one day at a time. Must keep ourselves focused on our individual passions, dreams, goals, realistic capabilities, where we are, what is possible, where we have come from.

Mindset: Automatic mindset is called a preset mindset, we can with breath, awareness, move to a reset mindset. With intentionality we practice reset mindset, moving away from preset mindset. This is a very critical, powerful concept to embrace and use. Involves self talk, ex. give yourself a pat on the back rather than criticism. Reinforces us to feel positive about what we are doing. Need to learn to listen to our self talk. Belief, thoughts or self talk to feelings to behavior. If we craft a realistic, positive belief system, if we learn to listen to our self talk and to change it to positive, realistic, we can shift our feelings and our behaviors. This should be deliberate, positive and personal.

Ikigai: Reason you get up in the morning, what defines you, What is your purpose, passion, plan for the day

Need to create a toolbox:

Tools in your toolbox
What belongs there? What do you already have in your toolbox? What do you want to add/delete from your tool box?
Do you meditate?
Do you make your body move some each day?
Do you eat mindfully?
Do you reach out to others and share connection?
Do you stay mindfully healthy with your self talk and keep a compassionate stance?

Ask yourself: Who am I?
What do you care about?
How are you living each day?
What are your strengths and challenges?
What are your hopes and dreams?