Movement Lifestyle

Meditation Doesn't Work!

“Meditation doesn’t work for me” is what someone said to me recently.

I had to disagree with this and explain why I thought so.

If you’re feeling stressed, anxious or low and you think now is a good time to turn to meditation because everyone is always going on about how positive it is, it probably won’t work for you.

Meditation and mindfulness practice is a bit like being a gardener. You need to plant a seed, water it and tend it for days and weeks before you can harvest its fruit.

If you planted the seed of a raspberry bush and watch it for a few minutes in the expectation of fresh, ripe berries for dessert you will always be disappointed.

The strength of your mindfulness practice builds over time and the more you water that seed, the stronger it will grow, and only then can you benefit from its harvest.

It’s most likely that when you start, your mind is so full of thoughts that you get distracted easily and you spend most of your meditation time running over the things left to do on your “to do” list, which sort of defeats the object.

So start now with me and take one deep in breath (pause and breath in) and one deep out breath (pause and breathe out) and make it a practice you integrate so you can benefit when you really do NEED meditation/mindfulness.

Most importantly start small and be consistent.

How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally

I was asked a while back by a client how they could lower cholesterol naturally, as they had been told by their doctor that their levels were on the high side and that they should be taking statins to help lower the cholesterol.

Statins are VERY widely prescribed and cholesterol is VERY misunderstood by the general public, so below is the list of points we went through in our consultation that I thought you might also benefit from knowing:

Only 25% of your cholesterol comes from diet, the remaining 75% is manufactured by your liver to repair tissues. The more tissue damage you have going on, the more the liver will produce cholesterol.

The number one thing that will cause tissue damage is inflammation. Notice I did not mention anything about fat in the diet, which is the first thing people think when talking about cholesterol. To lower cholesterol by reducing fat in your diet (assuming it’s coming from a good source) is a recipe for many other problems.

All hormones are made from cholesterol so without a plentiful supply you can become deficient in many other hormones. Due to the hierarchy of hormones the first ones to suffer are often the s*x hormones (low libido). The body performs something called pregnenalone steel where it takes the cholesterol off to make stress hormones instead as they are part of a group of primary hormones (seemingly more important than increasing s*x drive).
Vitamin D is made from cholesterol, which is a hugely important vitamin, involved in many chemical reactions in the body.

If you already take statins or have taken statins in the past you are accelerating the rate of aging of your cells due to the reduction in a substance called CoQ10 which is inhibited by statins.

With lowered CoQ10 activity you’re also going to be suffering with poor antioxidant activity as CoQ10 recycles vitamins E and C both which are important antioxidants.

So those are the headlines. Below are some action items for lowering the cholesterol naturally:

Follow an anti-inflammatory diet – this means cutting out grains, processed meats, vegetable oils, alcohol, sugar and any foods that you are also intolerant to. The main stay of an anti-inflammatory diet will be cruciferous vegetables (think dark green leafy veg), organic meats, fish and poultry and increasing omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil supplements)

Also flax and chia seeds are excellent sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

Increase aerobic exercise to help improve the mitochondrial function (energy production parts of all cells). Remember aerobic exercise is probably walking for most people (180 beats per min, minus your age gives your aerobic threshold)

Cinnamon – cinnamon has a property called cinnamate which actually targets the same enzymes as the statins so you can get the positive effects without the draw backs of the medicine. Teas or essential oils are a nice way to take cinnamon.

Clargy sage is also an excellent herb to use to balance the hormonal system in this instance. Used as drops in a bath can be an excellent remedy.

From a supplement perspective – garlic capsules, CoQ10 and omega 3 (fish oils) are the big hitters here.

How To Boost Your Energy

If I was feeling lethargic and lacking that little bit of spark in the morning, this is what I would do:

Make sure I was getting in bed for 10pm each night having relaxed by reading, chatting, or perhaps doing some stretching.

I would make sure my schedule meant I could sleep in until at least 6.30am

I would do a little personal assessment and look to see what my biggest stressor was and work out a strategy to reduce that burden/eliminate it from my life (some things may not be possible to eliminate).

I would start practising some form of tail chi/qi gong. This would enable me to boost my energy through movement and therefore benefit from all the other hormonal advantages of exercise/movement without draining myself further.

Make sure I was eating more than two hours before bed, preferably earlier if possible.

Look at my diet and make sure I was balancing my blood sugar correctly by eating meals according to my metabolic requirements (the correct ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fats).

Look at taking a COQ10 supplement to help with the energy production pathways within the body.

Take a digestive enzyme particularly if I was also experiencing sluggish bowels/bloating/less than optimal digestion.

Take a cold shower in the morning when I first got up to help increase the amount of adrenaline in the body naturally.

Once I started to feel bit better I would start increasing some aerobic (exclusively aerobic not panting, draining, hard cardio) exercise to my daily routine – for example a brisk walk or slow jog all at or below my aerobic threshold. To work that out take 180 minus your age, then minus another 5 beats. That’s your aerobic threshold.
Pretty simple but no less effective.

Notice, I didn’t say have a coffee, have a green tea, drink a red bull. Just solid lifestyle adjustments all of which improve the energy production pathways within the body.

If this is you, try it and let me know how you get on.

80:20 of Optimal Health & Fitness

I had a discussion this week with someone who was getting a little frustrated, and perhaps even overwhelmed, with everything that they had read and learnt about the challenges they are facing.

There seemed to be a mountain of different things they need to change and it also felt like it was a prison sentence, not a joyful experience doing them.

One thing became apparent to me: the lack of flexibility with this plan of action.

I felt like if one thing fell out of optimal the whole thing would come crumbling down.

I can tell you from experience, both personally and having worked with clients one to one for the last 15 years, the 80:20 rule really does work.

Example:

If you have three meals per day for seven days, that’s 21 meals for the week. If 17 of those meals are ideal, according to your needs/goals, that leaves you with four meals where you can have a little treat. A little MORE of what you fancy.

The problems arise when it’s 17 meals that are ok, but not quite right and four that are “perfect”. That’s usually what I get to see when someone has complaints.

Or if you get to bed by 10.30pm six nights per week then it doesn’t matter if one night per week you go out late until 3.00am, for example.

Have a little think about what your goals are, what actions support those goals and what 20% of “slack” might look like for you.

Let’s stop crucifying ourselves because of external expectations from things we see in the media.

Let’s learn to love and accept ourselves more deeply.

Where Will YOU Be?

I thought we could take today to do a little self reflection.

Ask yourself the following two questions:

1 – What will your health/fitness/wellbeing look like two years from now if you make the changes that you know need to happen to bring better balance into your life?

More energy?
Less pain?
Improved digestion?
Increased fitness?
Happier?

2 – What will your health/fitness/wellbeing look like two years from now if you don’t make the changes that you need to bring better balance into your life?

More fatigued?
Depressed?
Further aches and pains (or worse)?
Poor digestion?
Disease?

One thing is for certain – those two years will pass no matter which option you opt for.

Whether you make a decision, commit to it and follow that through or whether you wait for something external to give you a kick, time is going to pass.

It will be a lot less painful getting uncomfortable with change now than it will when you’re forced to make changes further down the line!

Now, if you want my help to make these changes, just reply and we’ll find a way to work together to make them happen sooner.