Mental health

Wellness Wednesday: Bathing

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Did you know the in the Middle Ages, bathing was considered unhealthy? Indeed, they were not called the Dark Ages for nothing. 

Bathing has had a long history, dating back to ancient India, where it was done more than once per day for ritual reasons.  Elsewhere in the ancient world, Greece developed the ritual of bathing into a way of life, where it was integrated with the tradition of athletics and the life of the the gymnasium. Roman baths are famous as a social institution, where gossip and politics took place amidst the steam and the towels. Later as Christianity took hold, public baths went out of favor as being immoral, since they were associated with debauchery and hedonism. Bathing itself fell out of favor during the time of the plagues, as Medieval physicians felt it opened the pores and let in disease. Farther north, the Nordic people maintained a tradition of saunas, and unlike the other public bathing environments around the world, theirs bore no association with immorality or disease. 

During these dark times others kept the practice of bathing alive. European explorers marveled at the cleanliness of the Mesoamerican people. Across the sea, Japan had a rich bathing culture, using rock pools, furnace baths, and heated rocks with seawater to make steam. In later years the Japanese would refine the art of the public and the private bath, requiring separate cleansing beforehand, then a clean soak to establish tranquility before family dinner time. 

Today we use baths for cleanliness, relaxation and therapy. It is a simple intervention with pleasant results. With only a few precautions, baths are a great strategy. The precautions are these: 

Pregnant women in the first trimester should not take hot baths. This is because there is an association between elevation of core body temperature with failure of the neural tube to close, and conditions like spina bifida. 

No bath should be very hot, since this increases risk of heart attack and fainting in the susceptible. Very hot baths also dry the skin and can precipitate headaches. 

Bathing in warm plain water is best. However a tiny bit of scented essential oil or salt may be used. Bubble baths are hard on our tissues as is the use of soap, which should be restricted to the shower only for truly dirty or greasy skin, and never the perineum. The face should be cleansed twice a day with cleanser, not soap, and should be moisturized before fully dry. 

Enjoy bathing as a stress reliever. As Sylvia Path once said, 

"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them."

 

References: 

http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn00/bathe.cfm

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/sylviaplat107968.html

https://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/for-kids/about-skin/taking-care-of-your-skin/washing

 

Wellness Wednesday: Music and Health

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Yesterday Apple debuted its all encompassing music service. With a subscription, one can listen to the entire contents of the iTunes music store 24/7/365. There are infinite permutations and possibilities for creating playlists and stations. It is the music service to end all music services. 

The association of Apple Computer with music has been long and fundamental. Much of their product inventory has been about consuming and even creating music, and other forms of art such as as film. There is a belief within Apple and indeed, within many decades of California Bay area culture that music is essential to the good life. I believe modern science is beginning to substantiate that belief. 

Listen to music.jpg

 

 

Since I have been totally immersing myself in music since the services inception 18 hours ago, I decided to learn more about what is happening to me when I listen to music. What follows is a characteristically nerdy report on the relationship between music and health. It's amazing and stirs hope. 

A rather casual Google search promptly unearthed a plethora of research and commercial articles on the subject. I will give you the "digest" form and, of course, the references. The oldest work I evaluated was from 2009. Study designs varied, but many were randomized and controlled. Many of the studies were done in the setting of assessing benefit to peri-operative or hospitalized patients. 

 

 

 

In short, exposure to "pleasant" music, self chosen or otherwise, was associated with the following: 

  • decreased preop anxiety,
  • decreased post op cortisol levels, blood pressure, heart rate, pain level, thus decreased requirements for post op sedation and pain medications 
  • decreased pain and depression in fibromyalgia patients 
  • decreased heart rate and pain in hospitalized pediatric patients 
  • improvements in both branches of the immune system, cellular and humoral, in the elderly 
  • improvements in athletic performance 
  • improved sleep 
  • improved cognitive function 

 

 

How does our body and mind produce all these responses through music? The precise science is not entirely worked out. However, studies using measurements of hormones and neurotransmitters by blood tests and targeted neuroimaging reveal the involvement of the dopamine, serotonin, and adrenal pituitary axis systems, among others. 

The cardinal work on this matter seems to be an article produced by one of my old college housemates, Dan Levitan, and his colleague Mona Lisa Chanda. (See reference below.) They evaluate and ultimately support the claims that music produces its effects through the bodies systems for reward, motivation, pleasure stress, arousal, immunity and social affiliation. And these responses, of course, work through various brain centers which produce the aforementioned hormones and neurotransmitters. 

So how you feel on music is very very real. So I suggest you indulge yourself. Find your music and bring it into your life. Better yet, make your music. And if you have small children, do everything you can to get them into music education as early as possible. It helps develop the brain and enhances the power of all the good things music can do for us. 

 

 

Wellness Wednesday: Generativity 101

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I must have missed a day during my Psychology rotation. If I could have planned it, I would have missed the part about Freud and psychoanalysis. Give me a social or a cognitive psychologist any day and I will be much happier. These types of psychologists study the development of personality and cognition, or the thinking process throughout the lifetime. One of the great social psychologists, Erick Erickson, viewed our lifespan as occurring in stages, eight to be precise. They are depicted in the graphic taken from the pages of simplepsychology.org. ( See reference below.) 

I am writing tonight to introduce a new concept: generativity. It is the eighth stage in Erickson’s concept, and this seems to indicate it pertains only to people who are middle aged. I think it pertains to all adults, young or old, and maybe even certain adolescents. In a prior post I highlighted the evidence behind the importance of creativity to health. In this post I would like to highlight the importance of generativity to health and wellness.

Generativity is a term created by Professor Erickson to denote "a concern for establishing and guiding the next-generation." It has to do with creating something beneficial for those who come after you. It has to do with making the world a better place. In both Japanese and western culture it has to do with making your mark. Steve Jobs famously use the phrase "put a dent in the world". 

I have a hard time seeing that this kind of altruism is restricted to middle-aged people. The literature says that this personality trait does not have to be there initially to manifest itself later in life. But what if we were to hold it up as a desirable value? What if we were to make it trendy? Would more people embrace it and do so sooner in life? In Jewish thinking there is a phrase which I think relates to this. It is “Tikkun Olam”. This means to repair the world. It is something we are taught from early on.  It is one of the highest Jewish values.

In the field of psychology, there is actually a scale to measure generativity in a person. It is called the Loyola Generativity Scale or LGS. It is a point system in which the subject answers the following six questions:

  1. I tried to pass along knowledge I gained through my experiences.
  2. I have made and created things that have had an impact on other people.
  3. I have important skills that I try to teach others.
  4. If I were unable to have children of my own, I would adopt children.
  5. I have have a responsibility to improve the neighborhood in which I live.
  6. I feel that my contributions will exist after I die.

You get a zero if the statement does not apply to you, a 1 if it sometimes applies, 2 if the statement often applies, and 3 if  the statement always applies. The higher the score, the more generative you are. And not surprisingly, the happier you are. There is real research that indicates that a high score on the Loyola Generativity Scale is positively associated with life satisfaction.

Generativity is a new term for me. However it is an old and very useful concept. I am writing today to do my part to put it a little more on the map, and to encourage a conversation.

 

References:

What's generativity and why it's good for you at HuffingtonPost

Kristensargsyan’s Blog

Simplepsychology.org

Foley Center for the Study of Lives at Northwestern University

Psychology.about.com

Generativity in the Young, Midlife, and Older Adults. McAdams, et alia. Psychol Aging 1993;8(2):221-230.

 

 

 

Wellness Wednesday: Creativity and Health

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Yes! There is substantial connection between creativity and health. I started thinking about it today when my creative son Vale said he needs different parts in his day: some hardworking, others restful, and then finally, a creative time. The creative time is when he really recharges. I feel the same way. I crave that creative time almost as one would crave food or drink. 

What is the science behind this? To answer this, we need to remember that, on one level, we live in our nervous system. Our nervous system has two main parts: electrical and chemical. Chemical messengers called neurotransmitters convey information between neurons, long nerve cells, which then conduct electrical signals down their lengths. All our sensory input and thought output occurs this way. When we are creative, the brain is utilized in broad new ways, in a process that is both effort-requiring and pleasant. New neural networks are formed and older ones are kept healthy. More neurotransmitters are released. In fact, a Yale study (1) found that older "creatives"  have measurably more robust white matter of the brain, and tend to live substantially longer than non-creatives. Ok, so creativity seems to keep brain tissue healthy, which seems to be associated with longevity. 

It turns out that creativity also seems to impact the immune system. This was suggested in a small study of HIV patients, wherein writing was utilized as a therapy. Emotional writing versus non emotional writing was associated with a significant rise in CD4+ white cell counts. (2)

All form of creativity seem to be associated with positive health outcomes, from music, movement, to the graphic arts.

"There is evidence that engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one's own creative efforts, can enhance one's moods, emotions, to other physiological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiologic parameters. " (3) 

Music has even been shown to help control pain. (3) 

Both being creative and experiencing the creative efforts of others improves measures of well being. On this basis, 

"... the arts are also being used to create safer hospital environments, introduce nature into medical settings and enhance aesthetics through hanging art on previously sterile space. And guess what? Patient/caregiver stress is measurably reduced, quality of care is increased, and costs of treatment go down. (4)

Numerous observational studies have shown associations between being creative  and the following outcomes: 

  • increased happiness/enhanced mood
  • less anxiety
  • increased resilience
  • better problem solving and mental acuity
  • improved self confidence
  • decreased tendency toward dementia
  • increased longevity

What of the person who says they are not creative? First of all I think this is misconception. Creativity may be something you are, but it is also some thing you do, and something you can develop. Though I cannot tell you exactly how to be creative, I can give you a few hints. Creativity involves the following two traits/practices: 

1. openness- meaning mental flexibility and willingness to entertain new ideas

2. conscientiousness - which means carefulness and perseverance. Malcolm Galdwell has postulated that 10,000 hours at something is required to achieve mastery, and of course mastery is associated with that pinnacle of creative states, FLOW, but that is a topic for another day. 

Meanwhile have a look at my latest creative endeavor: 

 

 

References: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21840401

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22807062

(1) http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/16/5319.full

(2) Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):272-5. 37 pts 

(3) Am J Public Health. 2010 February; 100(2):254-263. 

(4)https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201004/arts-in-healthcare-creativity-the-health-it

 

Structure Sunday: The Structure of a Weekend

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Did you know the the weekend as we know it is only about 100 years old ? I can't imagine life without the weekend. There is no natural correlate to the 7 day week. It is entirely man made and was probably designed in ancient Babylon. From there it was exported to the ancient Israelites and continued through the Jewish people through the idea of the Sabbath. 

 

However, it wasn't until 1908 in a car factory owned by Henry Ford, that Jewish and Christian cultures combined to give us the weekend. Before that time, workers would labor untold hours. Early labor rights were established after the French revolution, but even then their workweek was ten days on with one day off. Meanwhile in England, Sunday had evolved into the " Lord's Day" for rest and worship. 

In the late 1800s Europe was becoming more and more hostile to Jews. Immigration of Jews to America increased, and they entered the work force. Accordingly, the work force in Henry Ford's factory was composed of both Christians and Jews. The Christians took Sunday off, and the Jews observed Saturday as the Sabbath. To make everyone happy, the clever and diplomatic Mr. Ford created the two day weekend. Not only that, Mr. Ford popularized the weekend road trip... driving what ? You guessed it, his Model T. 

How did fewer working days effect commerce and productivity ? Somewhat paradoxically, research on the subject consistently shows that fewer work hours lead to greater productivity overall. Some say the sweet spot is a four day 8 hour work week, but that remains to be demonstrated. 

 

References: 

The Atlantic

American Public Media

 

Here is a rough version of what has been our ideal weekend routine: 

 

Friday evening: Dinner with family (with reference to the Jewish Sabbath)  something fun afterwards

Saturday morning: Catch up on sleep, brunch with family, outings, projects

Saturday evening: entertain 

Sunday Morning: brunch with family, clean house,  projects

Sunday evening: family dinner and get ready for the week

 

Here are some fantastic resources on having a great weekend: 

Lifehack

Reader's Digest

The Muse

Fast Company

Forbes

Entrepreneur

Pinterest 

Structure Sunday: The Structure of Summer

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Do you ever feel that summer comes and goes too quickly ? If you take some time and think about how you would like your summer to be, you could prevent this from happening again. You might actually make a summer wish list. Just make sure the things on your list are SMART. That is: 

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound.

I remember thinking of summer as a vast expanse of relaxation, without the structure of the school year. I do think it is wonderful to have time set aside for doing absolutely nothing. But that is not a good way to knock things off your list. 

 

Need ideas for your list ? 

 

Create a summer reading list which must have some fiction and non-fiction. Check your local bookstore, Amazon.com, or Audible.com. Check you local library or the New York Times Bestsellers list. Check the Newberry and Caldecott award winners online for children's books. Check for the Hugo and Nebula awards for the best in science fiction. 

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Get out of doors with the family at least once per week. 

Keep a garden. You must grow something edible. 

Take a trip to the city. You must visit at least one museum. 

Take a trip to the countryside. You must visit one body of water. 

Make something, i.e. a table, or a pair of earrings. 

Learn something new, like French, gymnastics, or coding. 

Have friends over for dinner and board games. 

 

Summer is coming ! Don't miss it. 

 

Food Friday: Cooking With Family

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You can't have enough cooks in the kitchen. 

I reflect back on having kids, now that all mine are grown and I have become a grandmother. One of the most gratifying family times for me has been cooking with my kids and their friends. I think I stumbled upon this as an awesome parenting strategy. It turns out that it gives you time to talk. Because it also keeps you occupied, it helps to keeps the tone light.

Cooking a meal teaches everyone tolerance, though slowly. It promotes cooperation, planning, safety skills... the list goes on. It settles people's energy back on the home life and shows how much fun you can have together. I cannot recommend it enough. 

Start early and be relaxed about messes. Having said that, don't be afraid to teach kids to tidy up before beginning to cook; The French call it  "Mise en Place", or to put in place. Likewise, don't be afraid to teach them enthusiasm in cleaning up. And in this matter, lead by example. And to help yourself, have a great collection of cookbooks or Pinterest Pins at the ready for inspiration. 

 

For a great guide on age appropriate cooking activities, click HERE. This is from Rutger's, entitled "Cooking Brings Kids and Families Together".

Cornell Cooperative Extension has a great article HERE, titled "Cooking Together as a Family has Multiple Rewards". 

And from WebMD, "Cooking With Your Children" HERE. 

 

Here are some books on the subject: 

"Cooking Time Is Family Time: Cooking Together, Eating Together, and Spending Time Together", by Lynn Fredericks 

"The Table Comes First, Family, France and the Meaning of Food", by Adam Gopnik

 

And here are some fun blog posts on the subject: 

The Kitchn

Playground Dad

Toca Boca

It's fun to start in the kitchen with small children. But the good news is, it's even more fun when your kids have grown.

Bon Appetite!

Wellness Wednesday: Workplace Bullying

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All the data I could find indicates that the vast majority of people, have at one time or another, experienced workplace bullying. As I have become a more careful observer of the years, I have learned to ask my patients questions about their work environment. 

What are the tip offs? When I notice increasing blood pressure, more frequent illnesses, less self confidence, more digestive problems, and hear about increasing stress, depression, anxiety and work problems, I suspect workplace bullying. 

When I ask about work, and get into the particular details, I often hear about a situation which would qualify as workplace bullying. But the surprise is this: Much of the time, the patient doesn't even realize that bullying is what is going on. 

What is bullying ? 

Workplace bullying is a systematic pattern of behavior that harms, intimidates, shames, undermines, offends, degrades or humiliates an employee, possibly in front of other employees, clients or customers. It is an abuse of power and a form of emotional abuse. It is a threat to health, livelihood and relationships. 

Once a patient realizes what it is, and a name has been put to it, she can begin to take steps to deal with it. But bullying is a complex human behavior and it is challenging to counteract. It is best to get outside help to deal with it. Most of the time it involves not only the one bully, but an overall workplace environment that is permissive of it. This is because it is difficult for bystanders to call out the bully, lest they become a target themselves. It is also difficult since bullies are generally highly ranking in organizations. Targets often fear for their jobs. Employers, when informed, are in a hard place, since they have not usually witnessed the behavior and moreover, they have an interest in keeping their more highly ranked employees. 

Nonetheless, bullying takes a toll on people and organizations. While bullies are more highly ranked, targets are often up and coming, and they pose a threat or perceived threat to the bully. Targets are often very productive likable workers. Organizations with bullies often start losing their best people. 

As a physician it is very important to me that my patients know about workplace bullying. I would like all of them to be in supportive home and work environments. Failing that, I would like them to have the tools to speak up against this form of abuse, whether it is done to them or to their co-workers. 

The references in this blog post are especially informative. Please take a few minutes to have a look at the resources on this very important topic. 

Stop Workplace Bullying 

Workplace Bullying 

What Workplace Bullying Looks Like in 2014--And How To Intervene

Workplace Bullying Institute

Structure Sunday: The Structure of Time

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For life to be good, we need a rhythm in the day, the week, the month, the season and the year. These circles within circles allow us to feel accomplishment, and to look forward to celebration. These finite periods allow what is overwhelming to become manageable. Structuring time helps us take the one lifetime that is ours, and fill it mindfully. 

I need to feel I am making progress on my long term goals every year. I use the annual holidays like Thanksgiving and New Years for self assessment. I can look back at the same time one year back and see the changes. 

The seasons hold a different joy. Each time I am sad to see the leaves fall, I am, shortly thereafter, shocked by the beauty of frost and snow. I am reminded that all seasons hold beautiful surprises, and that I am foolish to imagine that nothing exciting is around the corner. 

My business cycle is the month. This is how bills are paid, and accounts are balanced. Accountability is examined month by month. Actual money is one representation of work and effort, and as such it is a useful tool to use in gauging how we are meeting our responsibilities. 

My work cycle is the week. I want a chance to get stuff done, and I want to be creative in that work. I try to pace myself all week long, with a lighter day midweek, then forge on to the weekend, when I would hope to be creative. 

My personal cycle is the day. I believe we all thrive with a good day's work. However, in my opinion, this includes some important health and productivity features. Consider the basics:  sleep , nutrition and exercise. Most people need at least 7 hours of sleep. With this, you will have more concentration, stamina and productivity. You might even have a better mood. Life is just more fun and you will be more successful with a modicum of sleep. 

Food is so important! It is your fuel. You should frontload your day with a healthy breakfast of protein, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. That will turn on your metabolism and your brain. Later in the day, food can give you several healthful recharges: your midmorning snack, your lunch, and your afternoon snack. This way you will not tank your metabolism, feel sluggish, or hardly be able to think. Eating three meals and three snacks per day is a foundational principle of nutrition, and will help you feel better and perform better. 

Somewhere in the course of the day you must carve out at least a half an hour for exercise. It is best to schedule this formally, just like a meeting or an appointment, and to take it just as seriously. The magic of routines will reward you if you persevere. The more you do it, the easier it will be. 

 Everyone from a teen mom to the CEO of a large corporation needs a schedule. To achieve mastery over your time, you must invest in either a paper or electronic system. Smartphones generally come with everything you need in this regard, but the old school day runners can do just as well. But these alone won't do the trick. You must develop a routine of sitting down with the schedule to look it over and fill it in mindfully. I recommend looking at your schedule every Sunday to assess the coming week, and also looking every evening to prep for the next day. Make your schedule check a routine. The habit will stick better if you do it at the same time and place every day. 

Routine lowers stress. Breaking up goals and plotting them over time encourages success. These are among some of the most important things I want for my patients. The particulars I teach them about disease conditions and health maintenance will not help them unless they can follow through on the recommended treatment or prevention steps. Fostering patient success will continue to be a big thrust of this blog and the website in general. 

For more information, please see the hyperlinks in the text. Have a great week ! 

Structure Sunday: The Structure of Mothers

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In my practice, we do gynecology, surgery, prenatal care and deliver babies.  However, sometimes I think we are helping to make mothers. Usually we spend 30 weeks with a woman and then go through some very intense and uplifting experiences with her. Along the way, we learn all about their background. We help them face challenges that arise. We try to address whatever needs addressing from eating habits to referrals for domestic violence. We try to uplift, we try to empower. We try to help them become good mothers. 

At the beginning, I tend to notice the things I need to address, the problems.  But as the weeks pass, I notice the things that are unique and special about each patient. Somehow, the problems and the virtues are all wound together. These complex dynamic women most always do their best, learn a great deal, and are sent home with a newborn, who will respond to everything they are, and the new world they inhabit.

These worlds are seldom perfect. I think back to my mother, the last of 8 children, born in 1917 in Oklahoma to a poor coal miner's family. Her father, once a foreman, had saved his team of men after an explosion deep in the mine. He suffered severe burns and disfigurement. Thereafter, the family descended into poverty. When she was 14, she was married off to an alcoholic older man. I later learned she endured extensive abuse. 

When I was adopted, she was already 45 and remarried to my dad. She was not easy to be with. Even as a young teen, I knew she was not like my friends' mothers. It was only as a young doctor that I began to understand what she had gone through, and the effect it had on her. Without a doubt, she had PTSD. She was angry, insecure and sold herself short. I could go on. I was angry and disappointed at her for not trying harder in life. 

As my medical career developed, I saw more women like her. As my role as their doctor taught me compassion, I developed a compassion for her. But of course, this was near the time she passed in 1990. At the time I lived with her, dealing with her difficult behaviors made it hard to experience the good things about her. Of course there were good things. I can see them better now.

I can remember the joy she had shopping for nice clothes for me, something she never had when she was a girl. I can remember how she liked high heels and going out to dinner. She made excellent pie crust. She admired Jackie O. She loved the sound of black women singing. She loved Christmas, and carols, and gave lots of gifts. She told me my education would make it so I would never have to rely on any man. 

After she escaped her first husband and before she married my dad, she worked in a factory assembling bombers. She was a real Rosie the Riveter. After that, she became a bookkeeper at a firm in Los Angeles. She looked ten years younger than her age, even though she picked up smoking as a young women in order to look elegant and independent. She quit smoking cold turkey on post op day one after her quadruple bypass, but died of heart disease anyway eight short years later. 

I am looking back through time so you can too. I am also looking back so perhaps you will look at the present differently. Your mother may not be perfect. But it is still incumbent upon you to see the good with the bad, to see her as a whole person with understanding, compassion, and appreciation.

I also write to remind us that there is a good mother inside all of us. She just may need a little help coming out. 

Wellness Wednesday: Enthusiasm

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I like to think that that when someone close to us passes on, that we can pick from among their good traits to inherit. Recently, my father in law, Dr. Van Kirke Nelson passed on at the age of 83. He was an Ob/Gyn, but also a business person, philanthropist, and art collector.

I studied the stages of grief in medical school just like everyone else, but I'm not sure where I am in the official stages. However, I can say that I am in a stage of deliberate inheritance. I am remembering all of his wonderful traits:  diplomacy, devotion, optimism, energy for endless projects, cleverness at crafting the win-win solution, and above all enthusiasm.

There are several of these traits on which I have dibs. I am hoping to inherit quite a bit of his diplomacy. I have always been short there. Then there's the optimism. I am the cup half empty girl, and to some extent I own that.  I am always trying to figure out what could go wrong so I can keep it from happening. I guess that is written into my job description. So I would like more optimism. Not the blind unreasonable kind. Not the kind that says things are always going to work out fine. Instead, I'd like the kind that says we can almost always find a solution. And even though I'm pretty darn enthusiastic, I'd like some more of that. You can't have enough of that. Grandpa, as I called him, was a great inspiration to be enthusiastic, and that is not going to end. 

In that spirit of enthusiasm, I'd like to share with you some simpler sources of enthusiasm. I have started work on our links page. There is already enough inspiring material on there to keep you awake all night. But take a page from Grandpa's playbook: Read about cool things other people are doing.. and then do some of your own. 

Check out our inspiring links HERE. 

 

Wellness Wednesday: Exercise in Pregnancy

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 When I was a little girl in the 1960s, pregnant women wore loose billowing clothes in futile efforts to hide their pregnancies. The round silhouette of the pregnant belly was considered too suggestive for public presentation. Pregnant women were encouraged to stay home out of sight and rest. 

Fast forward to 2015 and not only are women wearing yoga pants in public, but pregnant women are too, complete with body conscious form fitting exercise tops in bright colors. They are out and about flying that pregnancy flag and getting fit. I love it. Do you exercise ? Would you continue your exercise in pregnancy? Review the facts on the subject here on my page on Exercise and Pregnancy. 

Structure Sunday: The Body Mind Connection

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It is somewhat counterintuitive to think of your midmorning snack as being good for your mood stability or your yoga session as lengthening your attention span, but they are. This blog post will point back to some recently finished website pages that will inform you about how you can leverage the integration of body and mind to produce more health and fulfillment in your life. I am re-highlighting them since together they make a set that speaks to the integration of body and mind. 

Learn more here. 

Structure Sunday: Structure your mind

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I am not one to say we are just a complex well organized set of chemicals and electrical impulses. I believe we are so much more than that; so much more the sum of our parts. That said, it is really helpful to be familiar with the parts, especially the brain. 

This blog post could easily be titled, " The Care and Feeding of Your Brain". I could say it requires lots of exotic supplements. But that would be wrong. 

You already know the basics. Optimal brain health requires all of these : Good hydration, good nutrition taken through the day, regular exercise and adequate sleep. ( Check out my pages on these topics which are hyperlinked ! ) 

What you may not think about as much is reading. Technically speaking, reading is exercise for your brain. But I would say it is exercise for the mind and food for the soul. Read more HERE. 

 

 

Structure Sunday: What's behind the Structure

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How do you find the energy and motivation to do the things you want to do ? That is going to be the topic for at least a couple blog posts this week.  Why ? because you have indicated that you find this a challenge. 

It's all a matter of inspiration. But who can rely on inspiration ? Can you find it or make it ? Click here to find some surprisingly old wisdom and new science on this critical issue.