I started out my day today knowing that I was bound to be rushing. I had to wake up by 7:30, start walking the dog by 8, get to the clinic by 9:30 to teach yoga in the morning, then quickly get downtown to teach one of my regular classes at noon, then get home to walk the dog again, then get back to the clinic to see clients till 8pm, then get home to walk the dog again and eat dinner by 9pm.
My tendency typically is to rush through days like these, and in fact, my tendency is to simply rush through life. I remember cashiers often saying to me “slow down” as I would fumble through my wallet for loose change trying not to hold up the line. When I bike, I’m always racing. If someone happens to pass me I find myself madly trying to catch up as if to prove the point that I CAN go faster! And when there’s no one else, I’m still racing – only these times it’s against time.
Before I set out for my first dog walk today, the words “change your thoughts, change your world” popped into my head after reading them in a recently submitted statement of interest to my life coach training program.
Yup, I agree with them, to an extent. Notwithstanding the circumstances that are clearly not optimal, when they are, in fact, awful, discouraging, demoralizing, dehumanizing, and all the like, there are circumstances where this logic applies convincingly. Here, change your world, change your thoughts.
But we know that the brain works in a bidirectional fashion with our thoughts and behaviours. Change your behaviours, change your brain. Equally, change your thoughts, change your brain. Thoughts are a product of our mind and can alter our mind.
Ergo
Change your world to not rushing, change your thoughts about rushing.
Change your thoughts to not rushing, change your world.
And so I did.
I set out this morning with the intention to NOT rush. When I was walking Jett, I was walking Jett. I wasn’t waking Jett quickly so I get to my yoga class. When I was biking to yoga, I was biking and enjoying the beautiful sunny, albeit cold, day. When I was at yoga for 50+, I was at yoga for 50+ not at yoga for the government a few hours later. When I was biking home to walk Jett again, I was biking home, not rushing to get home. I even had the inspiration to stop, along the way and introduce myself to a local book owner who I recently contacted via email, because I was not rushing. When I was walking Jett for the second time, I was walking Jett for the second time, not the third time that I was due for in several hours. And then when I got to the clinic I was there, ready to see clients and hadn’t already arrived in my mind 2 or 3 hours earlier.
Admittedly, I had one known moment of weakness. While walking from the bus stop to the clinic for the second time, I felt my head walking faster than my body, much further ahead than the rest of me. I politely invited it to return to walk with me, to walk nicely above my shoulders, which were above my hips, which are above my feet, all aligned as they should be, nothing going faster than the other.
So the day that was bound to have me rushing, instead, allowed me to enjoy a beautiful sunny day, seeing new houses I hadn’t noticed before, meeting new people, and engaging in more enjoyable walks. The activities, arguably, where exactly the same as they would have been had I been rushing. The difference? I wasn’t rushing. And therefore, I wasn’t rushing.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Positive Feedback
About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to see something from a different perspective. Having done several degrees in Psychology, I understood the concept of positive reinforcement and all of B.F. Skinner’s work. In a very simple way I understood it as such (feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to relive intro psych): Positive reinforcement is about increasing the likelihood of a behaviour by providing a rewarding stimulus. So for example, if I want my dog Jett to sit in the future, I will reward her sitting now with a treat. That should reinforce sitting and increase the likelihood that she will sit in the future. Comparatively, negative reinforcement is also strengthening the likelihood of a behaviour but this time, it is by removing a negative or unwanted circumstance. For example, if stretching or doing yoga (the behaviour) reduces tension in my body (the unwanted circumstance), then the likelihood of doing yoga is increased by the removal of the unwanted tension. Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment, which is different in that punishment is an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a behaviour. So for example, if I yell and scream at someone to stop something, I’m trying to decrease the likelihood that that person will do that same thing again. And for completeness, there is also extinction, which is ignoring an undesirable behaviour in order to reduce its likelihood of continuing in the future. So when Jett barks and I don’t want her to, my best bet is to ignore, rather than reward, that behaviour so it will extinguish. In this situation, reward can come from merely paying attention to her.
Positive feedback is latent in much of our expectations these days at work, in sport, in relationships, etc. Positive feedback is the idea that we receive good, positive words of encouragement to support our good habits, choices, actions, thoughts, decisions etc, and increase the likelihood that we will continue to do these things.
I didn’t get this concept. Not until about a year and a half ago. Not while I worked as the mental skills trainer or assistant coach for the Dalhousie Women’s Hockey team. Not while I spent 4 years captaining/coordinating a competitive women’s ultimate Frisbee team. Not while I was supervising a dozen undergraduate students’ research. Not when I started working as a Life Coach. Not for the first 32 years of my life.
Not only did I not get this, I thought I was providing positive feedback and to be honest, didn’t get what people were always “whining” about. I thought the fact that I was giving advice on how to be better was positive feedback. I thought that the fact that I was helping people improve and get rid of the negative things about themselves for the sake of being better was positive feedback. I thought that every time I wanted to change myself into something better that I was invoking positive feedback. People around me would ask for positive feedback all the time and I thought I was delivering it.
I was wrong. I was wrong because I failed to acknowledge that people need a good foundation of knowledge of what they are good at. Unfortunately, many people don’t have this. This is also known as “lack of self-esteem”. And even those of us who pride ourselves with a good dose of confidence, lack self-esteem somewhere.
Ideally, we could embrace our good qualities: What we do well, why we are good, and what we like about ourselves. If we have no security in these things we are not firmly grounded. Our foundation is shaky. And these good qualities are liable to get washed away or extinguished during the change and then we end up floating around like lose leaves from the trees in autumn, ready to wither away.
I learned about positive feedback at my yoga teacher training. I learned a lot at that training, more about psychology and the mind than I thought I had left to learn. As each of us teachers-to-be did our practice teach I had many many critiques floating around in my head (of myself and others). “She should do this better. That wasn’t very good. She really needs to learn how to do that. She should try this next time.” And then we got to the same point we did with every teacher where we each offered one positive comment about what we felt our peer did well in his/her demo class. The head teachers offered “potential improvement points” along with their positive feedback and even then I was shocked at all the things they “missed”! Finally, by the end of the 15 of us to-be-teachers presenting ourselves in front of the group to be critiqued, I understood what we were doing. I understood, for the very first time, Positive Feedback.
I still struggle with positive feedback. I forget that people like to hear it. I forget that I even like to hear it. For many reasons, I learned that critiquing, or rather criticizing, myself was the way to become “better” and that’s how I stayed functioning despite years of formal psychology education. I’m sure this way of functioning contributed to my achievements but now I’m more sure that this way of functioning was in fact impeding me from even greater achievements.
Positive feedback is latent in much of our expectations these days at work, in sport, in relationships, etc. Positive feedback is the idea that we receive good, positive words of encouragement to support our good habits, choices, actions, thoughts, decisions etc, and increase the likelihood that we will continue to do these things.
I didn’t get this concept. Not until about a year and a half ago. Not while I worked as the mental skills trainer or assistant coach for the Dalhousie Women’s Hockey team. Not while I spent 4 years captaining/coordinating a competitive women’s ultimate Frisbee team. Not while I was supervising a dozen undergraduate students’ research. Not when I started working as a Life Coach. Not for the first 32 years of my life.
Not only did I not get this, I thought I was providing positive feedback and to be honest, didn’t get what people were always “whining” about. I thought the fact that I was giving advice on how to be better was positive feedback. I thought that the fact that I was helping people improve and get rid of the negative things about themselves for the sake of being better was positive feedback. I thought that every time I wanted to change myself into something better that I was invoking positive feedback. People around me would ask for positive feedback all the time and I thought I was delivering it.
I was wrong. I was wrong because I failed to acknowledge that people need a good foundation of knowledge of what they are good at. Unfortunately, many people don’t have this. This is also known as “lack of self-esteem”. And even those of us who pride ourselves with a good dose of confidence, lack self-esteem somewhere.
Ideally, we could embrace our good qualities: What we do well, why we are good, and what we like about ourselves. If we have no security in these things we are not firmly grounded. Our foundation is shaky. And these good qualities are liable to get washed away or extinguished during the change and then we end up floating around like lose leaves from the trees in autumn, ready to wither away.
I learned about positive feedback at my yoga teacher training. I learned a lot at that training, more about psychology and the mind than I thought I had left to learn. As each of us teachers-to-be did our practice teach I had many many critiques floating around in my head (of myself and others). “She should do this better. That wasn’t very good. She really needs to learn how to do that. She should try this next time.” And then we got to the same point we did with every teacher where we each offered one positive comment about what we felt our peer did well in his/her demo class. The head teachers offered “potential improvement points” along with their positive feedback and even then I was shocked at all the things they “missed”! Finally, by the end of the 15 of us to-be-teachers presenting ourselves in front of the group to be critiqued, I understood what we were doing. I understood, for the very first time, Positive Feedback.
I still struggle with positive feedback. I forget that people like to hear it. I forget that I even like to hear it. For many reasons, I learned that critiquing, or rather criticizing, myself was the way to become “better” and that’s how I stayed functioning despite years of formal psychology education. I’m sure this way of functioning contributed to my achievements but now I’m more sure that this way of functioning was in fact impeding me from even greater achievements.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Exercise, the Brain, and Emotional Wellness
Exercise, the Brain, and Emotional Wellness
By Dr. Amanda Wintink, PhD (Neuroscience & Psychology)
Originally Printed in Optimyz Magazine, October/November 2009 issue
http://www.optimyz.ca/index.php
Why do we feel so good after exercising? You’ve probably heard of, or maybe experienced, a runner’s high, which happens when the brain’s natural “feel good” chemicals (endorphins) are active. In fact, exercising has many benefits like enhanced learning, memory, and anti-depressant effects. These cognitive and emotional benefits of exercise seem to be a result of an increase in cell growth in the brain.
Briefly, exercise enhances cognition in children, young adults, and aging adult. For example, exercise improves children’s intelligence scores, learning performance, measures of reasoning, vocabulary, memory, reading skills, and reduces inattentiveness, etc. Similar results were found in young adults. In ageing adults, exercise improves working memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and reaction time. One study also found better brain functioning and greater brain volume in aged adults who were exercising compared to their sedentary counterparts.
Much of the benefits of exercise, both cognitive and emotional, appear to happen through changes in a particular area of the brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is most known for its role in learning and memory. We first came to know of this phenomenon over 50 years ago when a patient with epilepsy was surgically removed of his entire hippocampus to try to stop the seizures. Following the surgery, the patient formed virtually no new memories proving the hippocampus to be important in memory.
About 15 years ago, this area of the brain became very popular because researchers started to accept evidence for cell growth in the adult brain, called neurogenesis – ending a scientific dogma that adult brain cells could not regenerate.
The ability of the brain to “regrow” has vast implications for brain repair following disease or damage and brain enhancement, all of which could affect many valued human traits like learning, memory, and emotional wellness. We now know a lot about neurogenesis including that it does enhance learning and memory and that when neurogenesis is prevented in the hippocampus learning and memory is impaired. Interestingly, the strongest promoter of neurogenesis is exercise!
The hippocampus is one of a few areas of the brain where neurogenesis occurs. The hippocampus also houses lots of different receptors that are used by many natural chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain. For example, it houses corticosteroid receptors – receptors that respond to stress hormones. Too much stress actually destroys part of the hippocampus, which helps explain why our memory is worse after periods of severe stress.
The hippocampus also houses serotonin receptors – receptors that respond to the brain’s natural anti-depressant neurotransmitter ‘serotonin’. Conventional medicine uses of SSRIs, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, to keep serotonin floating around making it more likely to hit its receptors. An excess of serotonin enhances neurogenesis, which creates a sense of emotional wellness.
Exercise also enhances neurogenesis, which, not surprisingly, also creates a sense of emotional wellness. In fact, exercise has also proven to be as effective as common anti-depressants (i.e., SSRIs like fluoxetine) in reducing the symptoms of depression, which explains why many doctors are prescribing a healthy dose of regular exercise!
If exercise hasn’t already proven to be a wonder drug in your mind, chew on this: Exercise protects the brain against stroke, promotes recovery following brain damage, reduces the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, and has numerous other general health benefits that you are already well aware of. This list is long and growing.
So… Enjoy your workout… and your neurogenesis!
By Dr. Amanda Wintink, PhD (Neuroscience & Psychology)
Originally Printed in Optimyz Magazine, October/November 2009 issue
http://www.optimyz.ca/index.php
Why do we feel so good after exercising? You’ve probably heard of, or maybe experienced, a runner’s high, which happens when the brain’s natural “feel good” chemicals (endorphins) are active. In fact, exercising has many benefits like enhanced learning, memory, and anti-depressant effects. These cognitive and emotional benefits of exercise seem to be a result of an increase in cell growth in the brain.
Briefly, exercise enhances cognition in children, young adults, and aging adult. For example, exercise improves children’s intelligence scores, learning performance, measures of reasoning, vocabulary, memory, reading skills, and reduces inattentiveness, etc. Similar results were found in young adults. In ageing adults, exercise improves working memory, reasoning, vocabulary, and reaction time. One study also found better brain functioning and greater brain volume in aged adults who were exercising compared to their sedentary counterparts.
Much of the benefits of exercise, both cognitive and emotional, appear to happen through changes in a particular area of the brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is most known for its role in learning and memory. We first came to know of this phenomenon over 50 years ago when a patient with epilepsy was surgically removed of his entire hippocampus to try to stop the seizures. Following the surgery, the patient formed virtually no new memories proving the hippocampus to be important in memory.
About 15 years ago, this area of the brain became very popular because researchers started to accept evidence for cell growth in the adult brain, called neurogenesis – ending a scientific dogma that adult brain cells could not regenerate.
The ability of the brain to “regrow” has vast implications for brain repair following disease or damage and brain enhancement, all of which could affect many valued human traits like learning, memory, and emotional wellness. We now know a lot about neurogenesis including that it does enhance learning and memory and that when neurogenesis is prevented in the hippocampus learning and memory is impaired. Interestingly, the strongest promoter of neurogenesis is exercise!
The hippocampus is one of a few areas of the brain where neurogenesis occurs. The hippocampus also houses lots of different receptors that are used by many natural chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain. For example, it houses corticosteroid receptors – receptors that respond to stress hormones. Too much stress actually destroys part of the hippocampus, which helps explain why our memory is worse after periods of severe stress.
The hippocampus also houses serotonin receptors – receptors that respond to the brain’s natural anti-depressant neurotransmitter ‘serotonin’. Conventional medicine uses of SSRIs, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, to keep serotonin floating around making it more likely to hit its receptors. An excess of serotonin enhances neurogenesis, which creates a sense of emotional wellness.
Exercise also enhances neurogenesis, which, not surprisingly, also creates a sense of emotional wellness. In fact, exercise has also proven to be as effective as common anti-depressants (i.e., SSRIs like fluoxetine) in reducing the symptoms of depression, which explains why many doctors are prescribing a healthy dose of regular exercise!
If exercise hasn’t already proven to be a wonder drug in your mind, chew on this: Exercise protects the brain against stroke, promotes recovery following brain damage, reduces the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, and has numerous other general health benefits that you are already well aware of. This list is long and growing.
So… Enjoy your workout… and your neurogenesis!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Rules for Success
I receive regular emails from the Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning, which mostly apply to teaching in the academic setting. The one that came today was entitled “Rules for Success”. I stole the titles, slightly re-worded them to be more general, and wrote my own description of them. They are as follows:
Rule 1: Know Yourself
Too often we look at the situation, job, relationship, whatever it is that we are trying to succeed at and expect it to change so that we can succeed or be happy when in fact, if we know ourselves well enough we can place ourselves in the right environment, job, relationship, etc. in which we will surely to succeed. Our situation should nurture own ability to succeed rather than us manipulating the situation to promote our success. If we place ourselves in nurturing environments, jobs, relationships it requires a lot less energy compared to counterparts where we have to exert a lot of energy to make it work for us. Knowing ourselves allows us to intelligently choose that environment for success.
Rule 2: Know What Is Expected of You and Deliver It
We must become aware of the expectations of us and know enough about ourselves to know whether we can deliver it. If we abide by #1, delivering those expectations will be simple.
Rule 3: Further Your Organizations Missions
On the surface this looks like we just have to bye into the organization with which we are and to further its missions. However, below that surface we can see that this is about community and cultivating like mindedness so we can thrive in the like energies. If we know ourselves well enough, we have placed ourselves in environments that will lead to success and further our organization’s missions will be relatively easy, just like Rule #2.
Rule 4: Never Lie
To ourselves, first and foremost. I think this rule was meant to be taken more literally; however, I don’t really like this rule as stated. I prefer Be as Honest as you Can because the truth is we lie all the time, but sometimes we don’t have the strength to act any differently. If we can be honest with that fact, the fact that we can’t always be 100% truthful, then we aren’t really lying anymore. We are being honest. So try to be honest and see where it gets you. In the end, you’ll be happier and won’t worry that someone will catch on to your lie. And you can focus your energy on success rather than defense.
Rule 5: Respect Everyone
No matter who, what, when, where, why, and how. Everyone deserves respect. Every person was once an innocent child, some of whom have been wronged by life or society. We all know how it feels to be disrespected. It makes us feel shitty and it definitely does not contribute to our success even if we work with vengeance. It cannot be good for our souls to send bad, disrespectful energy out into the world. And if that doesn’t convince you then just know that the most unassuming and unsuspecting individual you disrespect could be a millionaire waiting to invest in a kind soul that’s not you.
Rule 6: Pick Your Battles
As someone who only came to know her voice in undergrad, I almost seemed to make up for lost time. Over the years, and after too many debates gone sour, too many burned bridges, and too many words that couldn’t be taken back, I to pick my battles. For those who have yet to learn how to battle, it’s about knowing which are those you need to pick. It’s about standing up for what you truly believe to be worthwhile. Learn how to if you don’t already know. But regardless, pick those battles. This relates to #1. Do you see how?
Rule 7: Own Your Mistakes
This is a hard one to practice but when done gracefully it earns us a ton of respect. Mistakes do much more than reveal our imperfections and inadequacies. They reveal the fact that we are human – something we try to ignore by avoiding the mistakes we inevitable make.
Inspired by:
Rick Reis reis@stanford.edu
TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(sm) eMAIL NEWSLETTER
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Sponsored by
Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning
http://ctl.stanford.edu
Become a Life Coach
Training Begins in January
Click here for details.
Rule 1: Know Yourself
Too often we look at the situation, job, relationship, whatever it is that we are trying to succeed at and expect it to change so that we can succeed or be happy when in fact, if we know ourselves well enough we can place ourselves in the right environment, job, relationship, etc. in which we will surely to succeed. Our situation should nurture own ability to succeed rather than us manipulating the situation to promote our success. If we place ourselves in nurturing environments, jobs, relationships it requires a lot less energy compared to counterparts where we have to exert a lot of energy to make it work for us. Knowing ourselves allows us to intelligently choose that environment for success.
Rule 2: Know What Is Expected of You and Deliver It
We must become aware of the expectations of us and know enough about ourselves to know whether we can deliver it. If we abide by #1, delivering those expectations will be simple.
Rule 3: Further Your Organizations Missions
On the surface this looks like we just have to bye into the organization with which we are and to further its missions. However, below that surface we can see that this is about community and cultivating like mindedness so we can thrive in the like energies. If we know ourselves well enough, we have placed ourselves in environments that will lead to success and further our organization’s missions will be relatively easy, just like Rule #2.
Rule 4: Never Lie
To ourselves, first and foremost. I think this rule was meant to be taken more literally; however, I don’t really like this rule as stated. I prefer Be as Honest as you Can because the truth is we lie all the time, but sometimes we don’t have the strength to act any differently. If we can be honest with that fact, the fact that we can’t always be 100% truthful, then we aren’t really lying anymore. We are being honest. So try to be honest and see where it gets you. In the end, you’ll be happier and won’t worry that someone will catch on to your lie. And you can focus your energy on success rather than defense.
Rule 5: Respect Everyone
No matter who, what, when, where, why, and how. Everyone deserves respect. Every person was once an innocent child, some of whom have been wronged by life or society. We all know how it feels to be disrespected. It makes us feel shitty and it definitely does not contribute to our success even if we work with vengeance. It cannot be good for our souls to send bad, disrespectful energy out into the world. And if that doesn’t convince you then just know that the most unassuming and unsuspecting individual you disrespect could be a millionaire waiting to invest in a kind soul that’s not you.
Rule 6: Pick Your Battles
As someone who only came to know her voice in undergrad, I almost seemed to make up for lost time. Over the years, and after too many debates gone sour, too many burned bridges, and too many words that couldn’t be taken back, I to pick my battles. For those who have yet to learn how to battle, it’s about knowing which are those you need to pick. It’s about standing up for what you truly believe to be worthwhile. Learn how to if you don’t already know. But regardless, pick those battles. This relates to #1. Do you see how?
Rule 7: Own Your Mistakes
This is a hard one to practice but when done gracefully it earns us a ton of respect. Mistakes do much more than reveal our imperfections and inadequacies. They reveal the fact that we are human – something we try to ignore by avoiding the mistakes we inevitable make.
Inspired by:
Rick Reis reis@stanford.edu
TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR(sm) eMAIL NEWSLETTER
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/postings.php
Sponsored by
Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning
http://ctl.stanford.edu
Become a Life Coach
Training Begins in January
Click here for details.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
FUCK!
was the subject line in an email I received today from a friend who was feeling dragged down by the energy of those around her. My response was this: Fuck them anyway! You are an amazing person with so much love and compassion to give. Don’t waste your beautiful energy on getting caught up in it. Honor them and their journey but believe in your own beauty and worth. They steal your energy like people steal the beauty of a picked flower instead of leaving it to bloom for the next one who passes by. They don’t know how to let your beauty be there for the whole world to experience. They want it for themselves. They don’t know better.
There are people around us who are jealous, envious, negative, and thirsty for attention because they can’t find it in themselves. These people drag us down and make us lose sight of our own richness and beauty. When we engage with these people in their way, we become these people. We feed their fire. We positively reinforce their negative actions. And we aren’t helping. We help by finding compassion for them. We help by honoring them and their journey, nonetheless. We help by remembering that if they knew better, they would act better. We help by staying firmly grounded in the nourishing earth, not being “picked”, remaining beautiful for all.
We are all here together on this earth: Spiritual beings trying to be human.
There are people around us who are jealous, envious, negative, and thirsty for attention because they can’t find it in themselves. These people drag us down and make us lose sight of our own richness and beauty. When we engage with these people in their way, we become these people. We feed their fire. We positively reinforce their negative actions. And we aren’t helping. We help by finding compassion for them. We help by honoring them and their journey, nonetheless. We help by remembering that if they knew better, they would act better. We help by staying firmly grounded in the nourishing earth, not being “picked”, remaining beautiful for all.
We are all here together on this earth: Spiritual beings trying to be human.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Back on Track
Living out of a suitcase for the past 3 and a half weeks really supported my slow decline away from my “rules”. So for September 1st, I’m going back to the following.
1. Eat free-range meat.
I recently read something about how a ¼ of all domestic dogs in N.A. will receive Christmas gifts this year while the majority of pigs will be slaughtered inhumanely to be our ham for that very same day. We are a disgusting society. I don’t even have to “exclaim” that. It’s a new given. Rationale for vegetarianism aside, we cannot continue to eat meat the way we do. The majority of animals that are not free-range and are not humanely treated are essentially tortured.
After spending 4.5 years in a lab that studied the effects of stress, I have seen how the bodies of rats begin to deteriorate from their stressful experience. Their coats looked dull and ungroomed, they lose muscle mass, and they look frail and sickly. Our rats stressful experience involved small restraint enclosures for several hours a day, much the same as what chickens and pigs experience prior to our consumption.
Eating free-range meat can be challenging but much less so than a few years ago. The local market (Local Source Market) around the corner from me sells such meat, and at least two great restaurants in Halifax (Wooden Monkey and Jane’s on the Commons) serve it up. More are popping up… in Wpg Fresh Café has this territory.
RULE: Only eat free-range meat. Eat like a vegetarian when at a restaurant that does not serve free-range meat. Ask if it is free-range beforehand to promote your desire for it to be served. Inquire about all animal products and their treatment pre-death.
2. Eat chocolate only on the first day of the month.
Back in 1999 I started this routine whereby each month I eliminated something bad in my diet – sugar, potato chips, chocolate, etc. Since August 31st, 1999, I have not eaten a potato chip – although in 2003 Pete and Paul tried to get me to put one on my tongue... side note. The chocolate thing was a little more difficult to maintain. I’ve tried several times and came to a happy medium of “once a month”. I began to slip when I made dark chocolate an exception to that, justifying my actions with the claimed anti-oxidant health benefits.
RULE: No milk chocoloate bars. Dark chocolate once a month. Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake is allowed, mostly because I have enough control to eat them in moderation. Chocolate tofu pie at the Wooden Monkey is also ok.
3. Buy ethical clothing.
This is a more recently rule that I’m working on implementing. I think it’s self-explanatory.
RULE: buy from at least one of the following categories: 1) Locally-made, 2) fair-trade made, 3) made from renewable resource (like bamboo), 4) made without chemicals (like organic cotton), or 5) buy second-hand.
This means no Lulu Lemon, no Winners, and pretty much no malls. Generally, I avoid malls anyway, so I can re-invoke that rule under the umbrella of this rule! And I have refrained from getting my yoga teacher discount for LuluLemon to avoid temptation. Bhavana is a better place to go, with a local owner who I know and appreciate.
4. Live like I’m poor.
When Mike and I first started dating we tried to support each other as a couple who “lived this we were poor”. All this means is that we don’t go out to eat (often), we make our lunches instead of buying them, and we don’t purchase ridiculousness – like knick-knacks! It also involves rules like taking the bus and biking rather than cabing or using a car. This is great for the pocket book and great for the much need environment. It’s a pretty simple rule. It requires an examination of one’s strength of conviction because too often we are enticed to go out for dinner or to do something that requires more money than this rule allows. The other day, while Mike and I were lounging at T Café in Toronto, we were reveling in our luxurious life that was very much NOT living like we were poor. Our grilled cranberry-tea-marinated [assumed NON-FREE-RANGE] chicken, preceded by asiago chips with mango salsa, topped with a cold lychee herbal tea was a testament to our recent ride down the slippery slope.
RULE: LIFE LIKE I’M POOR. I still have student debt. I’m not rich!
5. Do yoga regularly.
Last august I returned to Halifax after the completion of my yoga teacher training to at least 20-min of daily yoga. My yoga practice has been a continued life lesson on treating my body with respect (see Body Monologues). Although I continue this practice while I run and play ultimate, it’s not the same. I miss it. It’s my meditation and mindfulness. Having returned home to Halifax, leaving Mike in Toronto for school, I commit to re-invoking that important aspect of myself.
RULE: Do yoga regularly. I know this goes against SMART goals because it’s not specific or easily measurable but I just need to remember it as such: DO YOGA REGULARLY.
6. Reduce cheese consumption.
If there’s anything in this world that is my nemesis it’s probably cheese. Any flavor, any form. It’s my demise. Nachos in the summer. Cheese cake for dessert. It’s all the same and it tastes so good. The problem is that it’s a lot of dairy for this human body that was likely not designed to consume dairy well into our adult years. If it were, why aren’t we still breastfeeding? Social norms would be much different if our health depended on it. In-moderation is a good theoretical rule but what exactly is moderation? Once a week? Once a month? Too much thinking for me. I could invoke the “first day of the month rule” like chocolate or something like the “15th day of the month” just to give me something to look forward to after chocolate. The jury is out on this one. I think the rule that has worked the best is “no cheese by itself”. I can put it on sandwiches and nachos but it has to be less than 50% of the product. I do think this rule should be coupled with “reduce Nacho consumption”.
RULE: Cheese is not to be trusted alone.
7. Reduce coffee consumption.
Done. I don’t mind decaf and I love green tea lattes. The only problem is that I don’t like Starbucks and there are fewer and fewer others who continue to offer matcha green tea lattes. Oh the dilemma. Regardless, this is a simple rule that I just need to remember when I frequent the coffee houses in Halifax as my workspace!
Rule: Choose wisely.
8. Drink as much alcohol as I can. Just kidding.
9. Practice meditation regularly.
To be honest, I resist this one a lot. Despite having felt the most calm, relaxed, and clear-minded of my entire life following my first and only 10-day silent meditation retreat, I still resist the quietness. The truth is that I’m addicted to my thoughts. I think I’m brilliant half the time and am tortured by my nagging negative thoughts at other times. It’s a wonderful abusive relationship of co-dependence. Right now, my mind is in control.
The rule: Meditate for 2 min a day. Just get my damn butt down there and settle. 2 min a day!! Is that too much to ask for? If I can’t spare 2 min of quietness a day then I’m WAY more delusional that I thought. THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT and according to SMART goals, not realistic!
10. Call my friends and family more regularly.
Sad as it is, with Mike gone off to Toronto till May, I should manage to have more time to reconnect with friends and family.
Rule: Just Do It! Stop thinking about it.
1. Eat free-range meat.
I recently read something about how a ¼ of all domestic dogs in N.A. will receive Christmas gifts this year while the majority of pigs will be slaughtered inhumanely to be our ham for that very same day. We are a disgusting society. I don’t even have to “exclaim” that. It’s a new given. Rationale for vegetarianism aside, we cannot continue to eat meat the way we do. The majority of animals that are not free-range and are not humanely treated are essentially tortured.
After spending 4.5 years in a lab that studied the effects of stress, I have seen how the bodies of rats begin to deteriorate from their stressful experience. Their coats looked dull and ungroomed, they lose muscle mass, and they look frail and sickly. Our rats stressful experience involved small restraint enclosures for several hours a day, much the same as what chickens and pigs experience prior to our consumption.
Eating free-range meat can be challenging but much less so than a few years ago. The local market (Local Source Market) around the corner from me sells such meat, and at least two great restaurants in Halifax (Wooden Monkey and Jane’s on the Commons) serve it up. More are popping up… in Wpg Fresh Café has this territory.
RULE: Only eat free-range meat. Eat like a vegetarian when at a restaurant that does not serve free-range meat. Ask if it is free-range beforehand to promote your desire for it to be served. Inquire about all animal products and their treatment pre-death.
2. Eat chocolate only on the first day of the month.
Back in 1999 I started this routine whereby each month I eliminated something bad in my diet – sugar, potato chips, chocolate, etc. Since August 31st, 1999, I have not eaten a potato chip – although in 2003 Pete and Paul tried to get me to put one on my tongue... side note. The chocolate thing was a little more difficult to maintain. I’ve tried several times and came to a happy medium of “once a month”. I began to slip when I made dark chocolate an exception to that, justifying my actions with the claimed anti-oxidant health benefits.
RULE: No milk chocoloate bars. Dark chocolate once a month. Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake is allowed, mostly because I have enough control to eat them in moderation. Chocolate tofu pie at the Wooden Monkey is also ok.
3. Buy ethical clothing.
This is a more recently rule that I’m working on implementing. I think it’s self-explanatory.
RULE: buy from at least one of the following categories: 1) Locally-made, 2) fair-trade made, 3) made from renewable resource (like bamboo), 4) made without chemicals (like organic cotton), or 5) buy second-hand.
This means no Lulu Lemon, no Winners, and pretty much no malls. Generally, I avoid malls anyway, so I can re-invoke that rule under the umbrella of this rule! And I have refrained from getting my yoga teacher discount for LuluLemon to avoid temptation. Bhavana is a better place to go, with a local owner who I know and appreciate.
4. Live like I’m poor.
When Mike and I first started dating we tried to support each other as a couple who “lived this we were poor”. All this means is that we don’t go out to eat (often), we make our lunches instead of buying them, and we don’t purchase ridiculousness – like knick-knacks! It also involves rules like taking the bus and biking rather than cabing or using a car. This is great for the pocket book and great for the much need environment. It’s a pretty simple rule. It requires an examination of one’s strength of conviction because too often we are enticed to go out for dinner or to do something that requires more money than this rule allows. The other day, while Mike and I were lounging at T Café in Toronto, we were reveling in our luxurious life that was very much NOT living like we were poor. Our grilled cranberry-tea-marinated [assumed NON-FREE-RANGE] chicken, preceded by asiago chips with mango salsa, topped with a cold lychee herbal tea was a testament to our recent ride down the slippery slope.
RULE: LIFE LIKE I’M POOR. I still have student debt. I’m not rich!
5. Do yoga regularly.
Last august I returned to Halifax after the completion of my yoga teacher training to at least 20-min of daily yoga. My yoga practice has been a continued life lesson on treating my body with respect (see Body Monologues). Although I continue this practice while I run and play ultimate, it’s not the same. I miss it. It’s my meditation and mindfulness. Having returned home to Halifax, leaving Mike in Toronto for school, I commit to re-invoking that important aspect of myself.
RULE: Do yoga regularly. I know this goes against SMART goals because it’s not specific or easily measurable but I just need to remember it as such: DO YOGA REGULARLY.
6. Reduce cheese consumption.
If there’s anything in this world that is my nemesis it’s probably cheese. Any flavor, any form. It’s my demise. Nachos in the summer. Cheese cake for dessert. It’s all the same and it tastes so good. The problem is that it’s a lot of dairy for this human body that was likely not designed to consume dairy well into our adult years. If it were, why aren’t we still breastfeeding? Social norms would be much different if our health depended on it. In-moderation is a good theoretical rule but what exactly is moderation? Once a week? Once a month? Too much thinking for me. I could invoke the “first day of the month rule” like chocolate or something like the “15th day of the month” just to give me something to look forward to after chocolate. The jury is out on this one. I think the rule that has worked the best is “no cheese by itself”. I can put it on sandwiches and nachos but it has to be less than 50% of the product. I do think this rule should be coupled with “reduce Nacho consumption”.
RULE: Cheese is not to be trusted alone.
7. Reduce coffee consumption.
Done. I don’t mind decaf and I love green tea lattes. The only problem is that I don’t like Starbucks and there are fewer and fewer others who continue to offer matcha green tea lattes. Oh the dilemma. Regardless, this is a simple rule that I just need to remember when I frequent the coffee houses in Halifax as my workspace!
Rule: Choose wisely.
8. Drink as much alcohol as I can. Just kidding.
9. Practice meditation regularly.
To be honest, I resist this one a lot. Despite having felt the most calm, relaxed, and clear-minded of my entire life following my first and only 10-day silent meditation retreat, I still resist the quietness. The truth is that I’m addicted to my thoughts. I think I’m brilliant half the time and am tortured by my nagging negative thoughts at other times. It’s a wonderful abusive relationship of co-dependence. Right now, my mind is in control.
The rule: Meditate for 2 min a day. Just get my damn butt down there and settle. 2 min a day!! Is that too much to ask for? If I can’t spare 2 min of quietness a day then I’m WAY more delusional that I thought. THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT and according to SMART goals, not realistic!
10. Call my friends and family more regularly.
Sad as it is, with Mike gone off to Toronto till May, I should manage to have more time to reconnect with friends and family.
Rule: Just Do It! Stop thinking about it.
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