“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Do you practice mindful awareness? When you are running on autopilot, are you aware of it?

Throughout the Building Better Habits Challenge, we’ve talked about a variety of healthy habits you could add to your life. One thing we talked about is adding different food to your diet. Even if you go to the grocery store and intentionally do not buy different foods, just having gone through the challenge you are going to be more mindful and aware of your habits that may impact your health.

Today, let’s focus on how you can cultivate a habit of gratitude or positivity.

Humans are innately negatively wired because our survival depends on it. This is referred to as Negativity Bias. We don’t initially see things positively, instead, our mind thinks the worst, and evolutionarily, this benefits our survival. If you assumed that the rustling in the bushes was a friendly fairy instead of a blood-thirsty tiger, you were not likely to pass on your genetics.

It is our biological inheritance, but the problem is, if we continue to reinforce negative thought patterns, we start to see the world through a negative lens. This doesn't bode well for satisfaction, contentment, happiness, and all the things we search for in life.

How well are you sleeping? Could your sleep habits use improvement?

Sleep is essential to literally every process in our bodies – physical, mental, emotional, mood, immune health, and metabolism.

In our fast-paced life, many do not prioritize sleep. As the saying goes, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” The question is, how well are your body and brain functioning if you are not getting the rest you need?

Culturally, we need to shift our mindset and build better sleep habits. Sleeping, stillness, and breathing all activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is half of our nervous system. It is just as important as the sympathetic nervous system that keeps us moving. If we spend all of our time and energy on doing and never just being, that can lead to anxiety and depression, immune dysfunction, and all manner of disease.

Today, let’s talk about a new healthy habit that is totally free and only takes a few minutes a day to do…breathing. You might be thinking, well, I already do this every day, so I’m good. This is true, but how often do you practice intentional breathing?

This busy, modern world has made it hard for us to breathe properly and in a healthy way. The amount of emotional stress and anxiety that we tend to take on causes us to breathe shallower or erratically. If we have poor unsupportive posture, it can cause tension in our body which makes us take smaller breaths. Also, using a screen makes us hold our breath. It's an odd phenomenon that's termed email apnea.

How healthy are your habits? Do you wish you could add more healthy habits to your life, but have no idea where to begin?

We can help you! We’ve created a “Building Better Habits” 5-day challenge where we will look at ways to add healthier habits to improve your health.

Do you feel anxious?

Has your anxiety escalated as you’ve gotten older?

Over the last decade or so, we have noticed in our practice that as women get into their late thirties, early to mid-forties, and beyond, we start to see a lot more anxiety. In some cases, this can be more pronounced during certain times of their cycle, which correlates to the changes in hormone levels.

Do you wake up tired? Do you wish you had more energy to play with your kids or spend time with friends or family? How often do you say you are fine because you feel like you should be?

Do you want to truly be well and healthy? Are you committed to your wellness goals, but somehow are still struggling to achieve them? A commitment to your health is the first and most important step in the path to wellness. Unfortunately, the journey to wellness can have many challenges such as finding time to exercise, having money to buy high-quality, nutritious foods, and knowing what is healthy and what is not.

Like mana, health, wellness, and vitality are our birthright. The pressures of 21st-century life have diminished our connection to the innate wisdom, strength, and power of our bodies to function and heal, and have led to an epidemic of complex chronic diseases that traditional medicine is unable to fully address and resolve.

Often when we work with patients, we hear a whole host of objections to this diet. For instance, you might think you cannot give up eating or drinking that item that you enjoy so much. However, keep in mind that you are not giving it up completely - you are just giving it up for 21 days. Perhaps, by the end of those 21 days, you will form some new habits that might stick, but it’s ok if they do not. Our main goal is to get through the 21 days.

The modern American lifestyle presents many obstacles to movement. We sit in our cars or on the bus on the way to work. Then, once we get to work, we are likely sitting in front of a computer for eight-plus hours. Perhaps we have lunch delivered and sit at our desk while we eat. By the time we get home from work, we are so exhausted from staring at a screen all day that we opt for the couch and Netflix instead of exercising.

In our practice, we take a holistic approach to women's health that utilizes the principles of functional medicine. What is functional medicine, you might ask? Great question! In traditional medicine, we usually start with a symptom or disease, and our treatment is typically aimed at that symptom or disease state.

When we begin working with a patient, the elimination diet is one of the first things we discuss. While this sounds daunting and difficult, it is doable with some planning ahead. Here is an easy recipe for cauliflower steak that is delicious and full of healthy nutrients.

Often when you think about hormones, you think of ovaries. Well, your hormone or endocrine system also includes your thyroid, adrenal, hypothalamus, and pituitary glands. This system can be impacted by factors you might not suspect. For example, stress can greatly affect your hormones. Whether you are dealing with an acutely stressful event or chronic stress, it is important to manage this effectively.