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The ‘M’ Word
Mindfulness has recently been creeping, front-line-and-centre, onto mainstream magazine, newspaper and blog headlines, and is being featured as the panacea for everything from losing weight, parenting more effectively, having more positive and productive social as well as work-related interactions, eating less, managing anger and getting more restful sleep.
However Mindfulness isn’t a ‘trick’ or a gimmick or even anything new, nor is it something mystical, exclusive to those who are spiritually-inclined. Mindfulness is a process that any human can undertake and one which requires no physical resources.
But that does NOT mean that Mindfulness is easy, especially if you have never undertaken such a mental and emotional journey before. In fact, the contrary is true! Nonetheless, the strategies required to cultivate Mindfulness are accessible to most of us and, when we stick with it and practise regularly (like with all things), Mindfulness actually becomes easier.
So, what is Mindfulness? In short, it is the ability to be fully present in the moment without wishing or trying to make it different. We often find ourselves functioning on “autopilot mode,” floating from one activity to another without even thinking about what we are doing, predisposed by and preoccupied with the past which is over and/or a future that has not been guaranteed to us. It is no wonder at all that we often find ourselves feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed and simply exhausted!
Mindfulness practices can help to restore and strengthen the connection between our minds and our bodies, which can further contribute to improved health, functioning and well-being, despite and in spite of everything else that is bound to happen all around us.
Try one of these simple Mindfulness exercises today to get you going 🙂
Mindful Breathing
You can perform this exercise while standing up or sitting down. The goal is to be still and focus on your breath for one minute. Start by breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth (Inhale to a count of 3 and exhale to a count of 3).
Let go of all your thoughts as you do this, including that never-ending list of to-dos. Just let yourself be still for one minute and focus on your breath. When thoughts come up (which they will), acknowledge them and then let them pass, do not dwell on them – this is the key.
Watch your breath renew you with life, as it enters your body and fills your lungs and chest, and then watch this same exuberant energy leave your body and release into the world as your breath releases through your mouth.
Mindful Observation
You can also perform this exercise while standing up or sitting down. The goal of this exercise is to help you connect with your environment, something that we easily miss while rushing around in “auto-pilot mode”.
Choose an object (preferably an organic and natural object from your environment, such as a plant, a tree, an insect, a body of water, you get the point!) and focus on watching it for a minute or two. Try not to focus on anything except noticing this object and being aware of what you are looking at for as long as you can manage to. Allow yourself to be consumed by this object, try to connect with its energy and its role and purpose in your world. Look at it as if you are seeing it for the first time and explore every aspect of its presence.
Food for Thought…
Cultivating Mindfulness can help us to cope better with the thoughts and feelings that cause us distress in our everyday lives. By regularly practising Mindfulness, rather than functioning on “auto-pilot mode” (this state, by the way, is influenced by negative past experiences as well as fears/worries of future possibilities), we can teach our mind to be present in the moment. This not only allows us to appreciate our lives a lot more more than we usually tend to, but it also allows us to deal with life’s challenges in a more calm, clear-minded, patient and assertive way. Before you know it, being present in the moment will become as much of a habit as being distracted used to be and even better yet, you can develop a consciousness that frees you from unhelpful, distorted, self-limiting thought patterns and instead enables you to focus on your positive emotions that increase compassion in ourselves and others.
I’m going to start a new tab for Mindfulness posts on this Blog and will strive to post articles on various themes. If you have any suggestions or questions please feel free to comment below or email me your suggestions 🙂
Originally featured on: https://empirikalsolutionz.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/the-m-word-mindfulness/ -
New App Alert: MINDBODY
MINDBODY has just launched its new mobile app today! The MINDBODY App, available for free on the App Store, Google Play and Amazon, expands on the company’s previous MINDBODY Connect® app, using location and past activities to help people find, book and pay for personalized wellness experiences – from yoga, Pilates and personal training, to spinning, acupuncture, massage and more – in their community or on the road.
Features Include:
- Deals
- Recommended deals appear right on the app’s Home screen, encouraging users to try new and complementary activities at their favorite locations or beyond.
- Schedule
- With one universal login, users can access the real-time schedule of any business within the MINDBODY network. Users can also instantly view their own, combined schedule of upcoming sessions at multiple businesses on one screen.
- Ratings and Reviews
- After every class or appointment completed, users are prompted to rate and review their experience. By aggregating these genuine reviews, the MINDBODY App enables wellness seekers to make more informed decisions, increasing consumer engagement with wellness providers around the world.
- Wearable Integrations
- Users can also connect their Fitbit activity tracker with the app to see personal activity data achieved during each workout: total active minutes achieved, total calories burned and average heart rate. Heart rate information is only available with Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge.
- Favorites
- After someone books a class or appointment through the app, that business is automatically saved as one of their Favorites, making it easy to book future sessions.
- City-by-City Wellness Month
- MINDBODY will promote the new app in major cities nationwide throughout 2016 with month-long promotional events, startingJanuary 2nd in San Francisco. The “Book It, Love It.” wellness month will include daily events, free and discounted classes, special promotions and more, all designed to encourage people to find and book what makes them feel their best, every day. Event examples include beach fitness classes, couples massage, nutrition counseling and happy-hour workouts.
For more information about the new MINDBODY App, visit mindbodyonline.com/get-the-app
- Deals
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Visit Soul 7 in Toronto @Soul7healing
Last week, we were so lucky to be invited to experience Toronto’s Soul 7. Since my mom was experience Vertigo lately and some overall stress, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for her to get some intensive healing. For her this is the first time to experience anything like this and she was definitely impressed. This center is calming, serene and beautiful. Upon entry, there are massive crystals, lights pillars that represent the 7 chakras.
Crystal Chakra Singing Bowls
Soul 7 is an exclusive wellness and relaxation centre with a focus on mind/body balancing technologies and we want you to be the first media in Canada to experience it. Soul 7’s breakthrough energy balancing therapies boost the immune system and enhance overall physical, mental and emotional well-being. Using a combination of revolutionary healing technologies, Soul 7 delivers powerful relief for stress/anxiety, enhances brain performance and relieves chronic pain including back pain, headaches and fibromyalgia, without pills or surgery. Their technologies also accelerate recovery from acute sport and other injuries, often in one or two sessions. These extraordinary restorative healing and relaxation programs were only available to elite insiders in Europe, until now. For the first time in North America, Soul 7 has combined ancient healing wisdom with state-of-the-art European healing therapies, which they call Mindful Healing Technologies. The result is a return to your natural energy flow and optimal health.
Programs include: Pain-Free Living (Fibromyalgia, Back Pain, Chronic Pain), Stress-Free Living (Stress/Anxiety), Happy Living (Depression), Healthy Living(Anti-Ageing, Alzheimer’s, Cancer Support), Relaxed Living (Life/Work Stress) andCorporate Wellness Living (Peak Performance, Stress Management, Relaxation).
Benefits Include:
Mind: Improved Memory and Concentration, Overall Stress-Relief, Mood Balancing,Renewed Feelings of Hope/Optimism, Renewed Self-worth, Renewed Interest in hobbies/activities, More Easy-going, Enhanced Decisiveness, Sense of Relaxed Balance, Restored sense of Control, Renewed sense of Belonging and Purpose, Greater Clarity, Return to normal activities, Enhanced Outlook.
Body: Improved energy, Pain-free muscles, Accelerated repair of bone and soft tissue, Better sleep quality, Increased Flexibility, Regularized Digestion, Migraine Relief, Facial/Jaw Relaxation, Reduced sensitivity (to odors, noise, bright lights, medications, foods, cold), Improved circulation, Balanced blood pressure and cholesterol levels, uptake of nutrients, cellular detox and regeneration, Sensation Relief (from swelling, numbness, tingling, headaches, stomach-aches, pain, body temperature fluctuations, trembling), Improved Bladder Control, Increased Stamina, Immune System Strengthening, Increased Energy, Normalized Appetite, Normalized weight, Balanced Breathing, Mind/body balance.
These extraordinary Restorative Healing and Relaxation Programs were only available to elite insiders in Europe, until now! For the first time in North America, Soul 7 has combined ancient healing wisdom with state-of-the-art European Healing Therapies which we call Mindful Healing Technologies. The result is a return to your natural energy flow and the balance of Mind, Body and Soul you were born with.
One of the only places you can experience the healing powers of the BIOMAT
Soul7 is a wellness center that can help you alternative methods to deal with anxiety, stress and chronic pain. I highly recommend Soul7 to discover more about self healing, chakras and the way the universe works with our bodies.
Technologies include:
Neuro-Muscular Vibration (NMV)
NMV Therapy was developed over many years of research on the positive impacts of vibrations on the human brain and body. These multi-frequency acoustic vibrations transmit muscular and mental commands through the central, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Stress causes muscles to have permanent contractions, which in turn, constantly remind the brain of the anxiety from which the stress originated. Such a vicious cycle causes collateral damage around the spine and cranial cavity. Soul 7’s state of the art Neuro-Muscular Vibration Therapy directly communicates with the central nervous system releasing tensions and previously accumulated stress.Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF)
PEMF Therapy uses electro-magnets to create pulsing, moving energy. These energy waves facilitate and accelerate the way your body heals itself. PEMF Therapy is FDA-approved and Health Canada approved to reduce pain and tissue swelling, fuse bones and treat depression. This therapy has been used to treat pain and edema in soft tissue for over 60 years. The technology stemmed from radio frequency (RF) diathermy, which utilized a continuous electromagnetic field to produce heat in soft tissue. It has been firmly established that tissues including blood, muscle, ligaments, bone and cartilage respond to biophysical input, including electrical and electromagnetic fields. New studies show that with the proper field intensity and frequency, treatment with PEMF appears to be disease modifying. PEMF Treatments used alone or in tandem with other therapies help your body rebalance cellular dysfunction. The National Institute of Health has made PEMF a priority for research. As seen on Dr. Oz this year. Click here for the video.Brainwave Entrainment Therapy (BWE)
BWE Therapy uses flashes of lights and pulses of tones to gently and safely guide the brain into various brain wave patterns to boost mood, help with sleep, sharpen the mind and increase levels of relaxation. It is an effective, alternative therapy for many disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), fibromyaligia and chronic pain. Our BWE system is also used successfully to boost physical performance for athletes, academic performance for students and cognitive performance for seniors.Guide Visualizations (GV)
GV Therapy is a form of focused relaxation that creates harmony between the mind and body. Through focusing one’s imagination, you are able to visualize calm and peaceful scenarios in your mind. This therapy provides a powerful psychological strategy that enhances coping skills and it involves all the senses. Clinical studies show that anxiety and stress can affect pain levels, prolong recovery time and weaken the immune system. Guided visualization can bring about the state of mind and body most conducive to healing.Soul 7 is located at
17 Yorkville Avenue, Suite 100. Toronto, ON, Canada M4W 1L1
For more info: info@soul7.ca
Toll Free in Ontario: 1.855.38.SOUL7
About the Founder: Bob Berman is a former Lawyer and now the Founder of Soul7, a Healing Centre in Toronto. For many years he struggled to save his wife from the cancer and pain that ultimately took her life. Throughout that struggle, he explored many alternative-healing methods. Since her passing in 2012, he has given up his law practice to continue his search for the ideal blend of ancient healing wisdoms and modern technologies to create a powerful healing program and offer a One for One Free Cancer Support Program.
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Event LOVE: @ABChome Beauty Wellness and Wisdom
Guest post by Vaitari Anderson
What an amazing event! Last week, we were invited to attend a Saturday of Beauty, Wellness and Wisdom at Union Square’s massive ABC Carpet and Home. Since Yvonne was away for business, I offered to attend in her place and I did not know what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised when I arrived!
Immediately, I was offered Laughing Man Coffee and Tea, which I indulged in quite a few cups of amazing chamomile tea from the brand. Then, I had the opportunity to sit down and listen as Deepak Chopra walked us through lyrics and a visual presentation of Michael Jackson’s voice created before Michael passed. The lyrics were going to be for a type of “Earth Song 2” – very whimsical, related to mother nature and the wonder of imagination. Deepak then read a quick meditation. Afterwards, I had to take the opportunity to meet him and get a quick photo!
The next speaker is now a new hero of mine, Horst Rechelbacher who is the founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients. He spoke to our daily ritual of beauty products and what we put on our body is as important as what we put in it. He focused on explaining that what we put on our body should be digestible or of nutritious value. He situated the Intelligent Nutrients headquarters in Minnesota where they have a true organic farm and have created a mini ecosystem complete with animals to develop natural and healthy products. Intelligent Nutrients is a brand that is non-profit and takes the responsibility of providing consumers with products that will not harm them in any way. I personally found it hard when you go shopping for products to figure out what is “really” organic and will not harm your body. Intelligent Nutrients is a brand you can rest assured is tested to the highest of high standards for beauty products that are non-harmful to your body. I would love to go to their farm and experience a tour there next time I am in the Midwest!
We were then treated to Organic Avenue smoothies and juice, which if you live in NYC and have had the chance to taste them know they are amazing! I tried a green juice with chia seed as I have never tasted a juice with chia seed in it and I was hooked!
The other outstanding talk that I would like to mention was with Dr. Frank Lipman. He touched on the removal of harmful foods that we eat many times not knowing they are harmful. In addition, he believes in the mindset that our bodies can heal themselves if we treat them properly and give them the correct sustenance to do so. He has studied medicine in China, India and the States and from his experience has created a functional medicine practice. He spoke and answered many questions pertaining to such topics as dairy, gluten, sugar, alcohol etc.
Between talks many women met with Tracie Martyn for lifting skin care secrets and Tata Harper for mini facials. Makeovers by Rose Marie Swift, essential oil demonstrations by H.Gillerman Organics and consultations by Arcona Spa also took place. Also, Wei of Chocolate and Raaka Chocolate was available to sample throughout the entire day. In addition, media and online press were given a goody bag full of products from Intelligent Nutrients, Wei Chocolates and Essential Oils and more organic and health conscious brands.
All in all it was an amazing and enlightening day that I was happy to have the opportunity to attend. I would suggest anyone into learning a bit more about wellness and health check out ABC Home’s future events. Especially when they bring Horst Rechelbacher back from Intelligent Nutrients to have an entire event based on their methodologies.
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The @SpaWeek Preview
What’s better than pampering, rejuvenating, and beautifying your mind, body and soul? Doing so for a fraction of the cost, of course!! That’s why I love when Spa Week rolls around. It’s one of the only times you can shell out $50 for treatments that would normally run you $75-$500.
During Spa Week Fall 2011, October 10-16, over 800 spas and wellness centers in the U.S. and Toronto–with 184 in the NY metro area–will offer a barrage of spa treatments from yoga instruction to laser hair removal, for only $50 a pop.
Last night, the press got a Spa Week preview as well as some pampering of our own! Below are 5 unusual spa treatments being offered across the country:
- Skin tightening, normally $528 (don’t worry, it’s completely noninvasive!) @ American Laser Skincare, 26 location in NYC, Chicago and CA
- 60-minute peach, orange and oatmeal body polish with vitamin C plus massage (sounds like a delicious breakfast!) @ Elite Day Spa, NYC
- 60-minute balancing acupuncture facial (not for the faint of heart, I imagine!) @ James Corbett Studio & Spa, NYC
- Colonic session (internal TLC!) @ Fabylous Living, NYC
- Botox Light (erase those laugh lines!) @ Rejuva Nation MediSpa, NYC
Getting a scented oxygen treatment
Mingling at the Spa Week press preview
Book your treatment NOW at www.spaweek.com to insure you get the treatment(s) you want at your preferred location and time slot.
kisses, Olisa
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Health&Fun in the Hamptons
Dr. Emily Splichal creator of Catwalk Confidence & Dasha Wellness Presents The Hamptons Fitness & Wellness Soiree To Benefit Soles4Souls.
Hosted by PIX11 Dr. Steve Salvatore.The Hamptons Fitness & Wellness Soiree shows men & women how to make
fitness and exercise a part of an everyday healthy lifestyle. With this one event you
could be on your way to a healthier lifestyle as well as inspiration to others in need. By
supporting this event “Soles4Souls” you will have the opportunity to donate a pair of
shoes that can give hope to someone for a better tomorrow. Proceeds from the event
will be donated to Soles4Souls.August 13, 2011 2-6pm Red Carpet 2-3pm
Guest to enjoy wellness services (Manicures, Pedicures, Massages, Reflexology, Fitness
Tips, Swimming, and more) “Ask the doctors panel” Passed Hors ‘d oeuvres, Cocktails,
Gift Bags. Advanced signed copies of Dr. Emily Splichal’s new book “Everyday Is Your
Runway” A Shoe Lover’s Guide to Healthy Feet & LegsThese are the times when I wish I lived in the NY!
xoxo,
Kaycee