Your General Health Wellness through Your Wellness Formula

Mind, Body, Heart, Soul - Your wellness formula is your plan to enhance all four bodies. In Part 1, you were given some areas and suggestions to get started for your soul, heart, and mind. Now you want to add into your wellness formula, the body using components of physical fitness.

Body - the final place of manifestation; all that is believed, felt and thought can affect your physical body.

The body mind connection is discussed in mind body connection, energy, and intuition. Here you are looking at your wellness formula to create and keep strength in your physical container. There are four areas to consider for your general health wellness: Nutrition, Cardiovascular, Muscular, Flexibility.

Body Wellness Formula: Nutrition
Nutrition is one of the main components of staying healthy. Poor eating can affect your mind (what you think), your heart (chemicals in the body may cause feeling ill, depression, anxiety), and your soul (you are not respecting yourself and your highest being).
There are thousands of diets available. Diet = restriction that is temporary because the body cannot survive permanently at the restricted level. So, diets don't work!
Think proper nutrition, healthy eating and you reprogram your mind away from previously failed commitments to yourself.
Use your discovery mind to research general health wellness eating! Here are your main guidelines:

1. Do not eliminate any of the nutrient groups! You need protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water to function at your best. Your body is made of these nutrients and they need to be replenished.
   NOTE: Dairy, meat, vegetables, grains, fruits are types of food, not nutrient groups.
2. You are vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, vegan? Fine, just make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need from as much variety as possible. Example: protein is not all cheese, or soy.
   ANOTHER NOTE: Frozen vegetables and fruits often have more vitamins than fresh! If your fresh choices are coming from a long distance, they can be up to a month old by the time it is on your dinner table. Buy local or go frozen!
3. Look at fiber content - not whole grain advertising labels! Get your data from the side of the box or bag. Fiber content of 3 or more grams is preferred.
4. While you are there - no "hydrogenated" stuff. That is the worst fat you can have. Small amounts of butter is better than most margarine due to the type of fat used.
5. Also avoid most processed foods - anything packaged with long term expiration dates often have this fat (crackers, cookies, breads, chips, snacks, cereals, high sugar products, is this food? Really?) Stay out of the middle aisles of the grocery store and you eliminate most of these products. Exception: seafood, salsa, beans.
6. Minimum 4 meals a day - this assists your metabolism and how you store fat as well as preventing disease like diabetes. You can have four evenly distributed caloric meals or say three meals and one to three snacks.
   Take the total number of calories you require and divide accordingly. Example: 400 for breakfast, 100 for snack, 400 for lunch, 150 for snack, 300 for dinner, 100 for snack.
   Research to find your calorie requirement, although is should never be below 1200 for women and 1400 for men. Anything less makes it impossible for you to get all the nutrients you require.
7. Dilute fruit juice - Too much juice is helping kids become obese. Eat whole fruit instead (then you get the fiber too and much less sugar). Or, use real juice (not 10%) and then dilute with water.
8. Eat breakfast! Yes, it is the most important meal, it jump starts your metabolism, so yes, you may feel hungrier mid-day and have your snack. You burn more calories throughout the day when you eat breakfast. And, think of all those people driving around who haven't replenished their brains after sleeping all night - Yikes!
9. Water (in refillable, non-plastic containers) - Number one "nutrient" your body needs - dehydration can lead to exhaustion, dementia, failure of body functions, slowing of metabolism and death if you go without for more than 3-10 days. Water does not equal fluids - soda, energy drinks, alcohol, caffeine can all dehydrate you further. Minimum 64 ounces for adults, add a little juice to flavor, if needed. Benefits besides preventing the above mentioned, flushing out fat and toxins, increase metabolism (burn more calories) assists in cell renewal (among other things, you look younger!). You can drink too much water, but it is rare. Do not drink more than approximately 10 - 20 ounces at one time, and spread your consumption throughout the day.

Body Wellness Formula: Cardiovascular Exercise (Aerobic)
Your heart is a muscle that can be out of shape, weak, and at risk for disease. Your energetic cause and effect may show up as heart disease. If your physical heart is not strong, this may end up as a heart attack. Doing cardiovascular exercise, a main component of physical fitness, can strengthen your heart and lungs for limited damage and quick recovery, burn stored fat, keeps the blood moving to assist in dissolving clots, bring oxygen to restore your cells and remove toxins out of the body. All aspects of general health wellness, although it is advised to speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

1. Daily for best results - keeping that in mind, one time a week is better than nothing (barely), three to four times a week is better. Set your intentions so you are motivated (what motivates you?) and make your plan.
2. Variety is best so you do not over use and injure your body. You also want to avoid burnout which can happen when you do the same thing over and over.
3. Your goal is to raise your heart rate to 60% to 80% of your maximum estimated heart rate. This is called your target heart rate range. To find your maximum rate: 220 minus your age = maximum rate. DO NOT EXERCISE AT THIS RATE! IT CAN CAUSE HEART FAILURE (not better results). Take 60% of your maximum rate to start and exercise at this rate.
4. Time - work your way up to 30 minutes and then up to 60 minutes if desired. Start with keeping your heart rate in the target range for 10 minutes and progress from there. NOTE: it may take up to 10-15 minutes to get in your range.
5. What to do? Walking fast is the best and easiest aerobic workout on the body that still gives you some impact which also helps strengthen bones. Others: swim, bike, run, dance, cardio classes, cardio equipment (treadmills, stairmills, elliptical machines, etc.). sports, mini trampoline. All of these work for your general health wellness as long as you are keeping your heart rate in your range throughout the time exercising. Most sports do not meet this requirement. Bonus! Mini trampolines also stimulate your gland system through bouncing.

1. Highly recommend working with a trained professional for at least one time to be sure you are using the equipment correctly and safely and using proper form to prevent injury and maximize your results. Check with your clubs, community services, non-profits, etc.
2. Videos using bands, hand weights, balls, anything to add additional resistance to your own body weight also are effective since they provide instruction for form and modifications.
3. To focus on toning (increase strength without gaining size, only definition) = use lighter weights and do more repetitions. To focus on building (increase size as well) = use heavier weights and do less repetitions.
4. Exercise your large muscles then move to the smaller ones both in front of your body and in back. You can cause injury if you do not tone all opposing muscles (front and back of your whole body).
5. Only do muscular work every other day maximum. You need a day of rest between each workout or your muscles do not have a chance to "heal" and that will cause injury and less results. 2 times a week is minimum, after 72 hours, you start losing your results.
6. Variety - you can change resistance tools and/or combine muscular fitness with cardiovascular fitness which is called circuit training. Options: weight machines, free weights, resistance tubing or bands, weighted balls, household items that are easily held, Pilates floor work or machines, circuit training, resistance tools for the exercise pool.

1. Do not bounce when stretching! This can cause the muscle to contract and break - the opposite of what you are trying to do. Hold the stretch for a count of ten to fifteen seconds, release and do the same stretch again.
   Repeat the stretches at least three times.
2. Only stretch to the point of tension, NOT PAIN! You may feel a tightness or slight ache but no sharp pains. This is a signal that you have gone too far and should immediately release the stretch.
3. Always do your stretching at the end of your workout so your muscles are warmer and more pliable. If you are not doing other exercising, do some cardiovascular type warm up for 5-10 minutes first.
4. Variety of ways to enhance flexibility - stretching using classes or posters or videos; yoga videos or classes, tai chi and other martial arts.

Would you like additional support and guidance for your practices? You can receive feedback and customized tips to improve your success! See services, or connect with devaliving-training.

Nutrition: F = number of meals, I = calories, T = equal time between meals, T = proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins & minerals
Cardiovascular: F = times per week, I = work in heart rate range, T = up to 60 minutes, T = variety
Muscular: F = maximum every other day, I = weight, T = repetitions, T = variety
Flexibility: F = end of workout, can be done daily, I = to point of tension, not pain, T = hold 10-15 seconds, T = no bouncing!

Remember to plan your wellness formula and practice health related fitness for your mind, body, heart, and soul (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual) bodies to stay in balance and be at your highest self.

devaliving-training links to assist you:
Wellness Formula: Part 1 - Put all the pieces together with the formula for mind, heart, soul.
Setting goals with intention - More practices using the power of intention when you design your wellness formula for mind, body, heart, soul.
Mind Body Connection - Learn the basics of the mind/body connection to better understand how to create your program.
Energy and Intention - The foundation for getting the big picture of energy and how it affects your life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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