Looking to Make Walking a Habit: The Importance of a Scheduled Time

Creating a walking habit can be tricky. A good way to start is by choosing a specific time to walk each day. This could be in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Having a routine can help you stick with it.

Select a time that works well for you. Morning walks can energize you, afternoons can be refreshing breaks, and evenings provide quiet reflection. Pick what suits you best and stay committed.

Also, decide how long you'll walk. Begin with a short time—like 10, 15, or 20 minutes. This will help you start without feeling overwhelmed. As you get used to the routine, you can slowly increase the time if you wish. Consider breaking it up, walk 10-15 minutes in the morning and additional 10-15 minutes in the evening.

Once you’ve established your designated time and duration, commit to this practice. Consistency is crucial in forming a habit, so try not to deviate from your schedule. Over time, this small but powerful investment can lead to significant personal growth and fulfillment. Remember, the goal is to build a sustainable habit that becomes a natural part of your day. So, pick a time, set a duration, and GO!

Wide ranging benefits of simply walking…

• stimulates digestion

• improves brain clarity

• promotes development of regular sleep habits

• bolsters creativity and problem solving ability

• conditions full body muscles and strengthens bones

• increases endorphins and benefits daily mood

• lowers blood pressure

• decreases stress and anxiety

• enhances mindfulness and a connection to nature

• supports a healthy metabolism

What is a habit? - We are what we repeatedly do

"We are what we repeatedly do"

-Aristotle

Habits play a crucial role in our daily lives, often operating beneath our conscious awareness. While many habits contribute positively to our well-being, there are those that can lead to long-term negative consequences. The challenge lies in recognizing unhealthy habits and understanding that simply stopping one does not equate to progress; it requires replacing it with a healthier alternative.

Identifying triggers is an essential step in this process. These triggers can vary widely—some may stem from physical dependence, while others could relate to stress relief or social situations. For instance, individuals attempting to quit smoking may find themselves drawn to cigarettes in times of stress or social gatherings. Similarly, someone aiming to cut back on sugar might crave sweets during moments of fatigue or emotional distress.

To successfully navigate the transition away from unhealthy habits, it is vital to incorporate new, healthier choices. This could involve strategies like:

• Mindfulness Practices: Engaging in mindfulness can help increase awareness of cravings and the situations that invoke them. This awareness can provide an opportunity to introduce healthier alternatives.

• Finding Substitutes: For those trying to reduce sugar intake, exploring naturally sweet fruits or healthy snacks can satisfy cravings without the downsides of refined sugar.

• Building a Support System: Surrounding oneself with supportive individuals can also facilitate change. Sharing goals with friends or family can create a network for accountability and encouragement.

• Setting Goals: Clear, achievable goals for incorporating new habits—such as drinking more water or committing to regular exercise—can provide a road map for change.

Ultimately, transitioning away from unhealthy habits is not merely about ceasing a behavior but about fostering a lifestyle that supports health and well-being. By understanding the nuances of triggers and implementing lasting, positive changes, individuals can embark on a successful journey toward better habits.

Attaining Sustainable Change

Staying healthy and maintaining your weight is remarkably similar to the changing seasons, as both require careful and regular adjustments to adapt to new conditions.

An effective way to create lasting and meaningful change is to focus on the good habits you already possess and gradually build upon them. Changes driven by emotions such as fear, guilt, or a strong desire to fix perceived flaws can often lead to a persistent cycle of negativity. In this cycle, frequent attempts can ultimately result in failure and constant reminders of what isn't working, diminishing motivation and confidence over time.

Focus and build on the positives, leave the negatives behind.

Fountain of Youthfulness - Your Choices

How we age is a choice; with gratitude or misery.

• Have Gratitude! Express empathy, embrace humility and laugh frequently -they’re all contagious and fountains of youth!

• Chose to Move! A body in motion, stays in motion -take a walk, try yoga, simply move - a gym is not needed!

• Nourish Yourself! You are what you eat -eat your veggies, drink your water!

• Stay Connected! Get out there… you’ve got good stuff to share!

Are You Open to Another Perspective - Beyond Your Own?

After years of trying various approaches. Observing all the social influencers swear that theirs is the only approach for you. Where are you? Any further along on your journey to wellness and healthy sustained weight-loss? Or are you exactly where you started… or maybe a little heavier or a bit unhealthier?

There is a reason - quick fixes are simply that a quick fix. Behavioral change is where your behaviors change, and different choices are made.

Health Coaching is becoming increasingly valuable as people begin to realize they haven’t been able to achieve something on their own, and recognize that the perspective of someone who can see beyond the situation they continue to find themselves in.

Poor quick fix lifestyle choices are responsible for continued weight gain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and overall illness.   Health Coaching is a collaborative partnership; with YOU the client being able to tap into YOUR inner strength and external resources to achieve health and wellness you deserve.   

Have you been able to achieve the results you want on your own?

The Power of a Pause

Practice the pause and take a breath. So much can be gained in just a few short moments.

• When in doubt, pause and take a breath

• When angry, pause and take a breath

• When tired, pause and take a breath

• When stressed, pause and take a breath

Remember to breathe…

Approach to Sustainable Change

Being healthy and managing your weight can be like the seasons we experience each year, requiring us to regularly make changes to adapt.

A productive approach to sustainable change…consider the positive habits you already have concerning a healthy lifestyle and amplify those behaviors.

Change that is motivated by fear, guilt, regret or a desire to fix a perceived weakness often leads to negative a self-defeating cycle in which we try and fail and keep being reminded of what is not working.

Focus and build on the positives, leave the negatives behind.

Healthy Self - Heal Thy Self

When you start taking care of yourself, you feel better, you see yourself better, you become healthier.

Choose to LIVE better, Not to simply EXIST.

As we age, the more personal responsibility we are able to take; the greater the results. Truly making the retirement years GOLDEN.

Do you know why you make the choices you do? How READY are you to change? Could the key to sustainable change start with you spending time observing and learning about yourself and your preferences? Taking time to really gain an understanding of how you got to where you are today, then moving toward a clearer picture of where you’d like to be.

What are you drawn to?

Nothing is Static, the Only Constant is Change

Shifting our balance is necessary constantly. Nothing is static. Not our health. Not our posture. Not our daily routines. Not our relationships. Not us. As we age our bodies require different care. This could be a need to change our food, our activity, our relationships, our beliefs, our views and our expectations. Turning inward and listening maybe the first step... Shifting Balance is normal and healthy.

Everyone needs support at some point

Why have I evolved my practice beyond massage therapy?

JUST LIKE YOU-

I am getting older.

I have been a Massage Therapist supporting my clients in managing healthy aging and chronic stiff achiness and pain for 20 years. In that time, I too have been getting older.

On my journey I have discovered a few changes in my daily choices that currently have me feeling more mobile, energetic, less stressed and over all happier and healthier today -Without Feeling Deprived.

As a Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach I want you to feel your best - Now and at any age. I want to share these approaches with you.

The foundation of this is available through -

Tailored to You 1:1 Health Coaching or Healthy Habits 6week Weight-loss (Last offering before September starts this Monday 4/15)

Both include the opportunity to experience Healthy Choices Educational Grocery Tour and Mindful Movement.

Why do we continue to OVEREAT?

If you consider the body needs essential nutrients; and you are consuming lots of empty calories… your body is still starving for those nutrients.

There is also the opportunity for leptin resistance. If your finger touches a hot stove, you want your fingertip and brain to recognize that it is hot, immediately causing you to pull your finger away.  With Leptin Resistance, it is like your fingertip is stuck on that stove and burning the skin off; you just keep overeating because your body is resistant to Leptin, the hormone that tells you to stop eating because you are full.

Gherlin is the hormone released to tell our bodies we are hungry and need fuel/nutrients.  When you start to eat, your fat cells release Leptin, which then tells your brain our nutrient levels have been met; and we should stop eating.  

What is leptin resistance?

One Choice at a Time

Change is a Choice; Which You Must be Ready for

When it comes to change; It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t.

It’s some people are ready for change and some are not.

Some are able to make changes alone. Some need a little support and guidance.

A productive approach to sustainable change…consider the positive habits you already have concerning a healthy lifestyle and amplify those behaviors.

Change that is motivated by fear, guilt, regret or a desire to fix a perceived weakness often leads to a negative self-defeating cycle in which we try and fail and keep being reminded of what is not working.

Focus and Build on the Positives, leave the negatives behind.

Pace yourself. Small steps. You’ll get there.

Make Healthy a Habit, One Choice at a Time.

Choices for a Happy Healthy New Year

What do you want MORE of in 2024? Or is a better question what do you want less of ?

To make room for more of something you will need to let go of something.  Release those choices and things that are not supporting your health and wellness.

How about less fatigue, less pain, less anxiety, less weight, less depression, less inflammation, less sick days, less headaches, less bloating, less putting out fires, less clutter or less waste just to name a few.

What do you want more of in 2024?

ACCEPT what you cannot change -your age, your genetics, all your choices prior to today, what others think, what others say, what happens around you, the attitudes, beliefs, choices and perceptions of others.

CHANGE what you can change - your future choices of how you move, how much you sleep, what you consume, how you treat yourself, your responses to others through your words and actions, where you focus your time, energy and attention, how you let others affect you, your gratitude and how you demonstrate it.

Body Be Well Solutions offers a variety of different approaches for Making Healthy a Habit, One Choice at a Time. Not a diet – that is short term.  Not even really big changes; sometimes its the smallest that have the greatest impact. Choices that actually change your lifestyle and get you on the road to health and happiness for good. Creating the resilience to get back on track during those occasions of getting sidetracked. 

Actions are more powerful than words - take a look…

Autumn is known as the season of change - What does that mean to you?

One the most beautiful things about this time of year is the magnificent colors of the leaves on the various trees. The resulting falling of those leaves is just as beautiful.

Did you know that leaves falling is not about loss- it is about growth. When a tree sheds its leaves, the nutrients of the tree are withdrawing into the branches, the trunk and the roots. All in preparation for sustaining the Winter months and producing new growth in the Spring.

Does that provide you a different perspective on change?

Don’t fear change; change is growth -fear not changing.

What is your opinon of change?

Can you sense it?

Into the garden / woods / nature we go… To break loose from our minds and find our SOULS.

When was the last time you tapped into the healing power of nature? Its free for the taking. In one form or another it is available everywhere. Trees, clouds, birds, water, rabbits, squirrels, flowers, shrubs… the list is endless. Take a look (sniff) for yourself!

Nature can be the simplest path to peace while recharging one’s energy .

• A study showed that when participants were exposed to nature scenes; their brains linked with empathy and love.

• Researchers suggested that a nature view helps individuals tolerate pain.

Want more time in the day?

Are you caught up in the endless cycle of simply existing and mindlessly rolling through the urgent events in life?

Longing for an opportunity to experience and enjoy the important things?

You can have that. Its a thought process- that leads to an awareness and an opportunity for change. Taking the time to observe what you are busy with and charting out the cost and benefit.

Health Coaching is an opportunity to work this this with guidance.

Are you ready to take charge and focus on what is Important vs what is URGENT?

Are You Open to Another Perspective - Beyond Your Own?

After years of trying various approaches. Observing all the social influencers swear that theirs is the only approach for you. Where are you? Any further along on your journey to wellness and healthy sustained weight-loss? Or are you exactly where you started… or maybe a little heavier or a bit unhealthier?

There is a reason - quick fixes are simply that a quick fix. Behavioral change is where your behaviors change, and different choices are made.

Health Coaching is becoming increasingly valuable as people begin to realize they haven’t been able to achieve something on their own, and recognize that the perspective of someone who can see beyond the situation they continue to find themselves in.

Poor quick fix lifestyle choices are responsible for continued weight gain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and overall illness.   Health Coaching is a collaborative partnership; with YOU the client being able to tap into YOUR inner strength and external resources to achieve health and wellness you deserve.   

Have you been able to achieve the results you want on your own?

Life Does Not Have A Remote

Do you KNOW you need to make some changes to be healthier?

Do you WANT to make some healthy changes?

Are you READY to make some changes to be healthier?

Simply KNOWING and WANTING to make change is unfortunately not enough. More importantly -You must be READY!

Do you know why you make the choices you do? How READY are you to change? Could the key to sustainable change start with you spending time observing and learning about yourself and your preferences? Taking time to really gain an understanding of how you got to where you are today, then moving toward a clearer picture of where you’d like to be.

Life does not have a remote.

Are you READY to get up and make a change and choose a healthy path yourself?

What is Mindful Movement Really?

As a licensed massage therapist specializing in chronic pain for almost 20 years I felt there was a need to bring a form of yoga to many of my clients. Massage therapy is beneficial for many, especially those dealing with chronic pain.  However, what I’m able to offer as a massage therapist in a session, is short term.

… retain / regain movement function typically lost with aging and chronic pain.

I’ve been suggesting yoga to my clients who are typically between the ages of 40 and 75, equally male and female.  Most of them are dealing with some form of chronic pain including frozen shoulder, scoliosis, neuropathy, disc herniations, migraines and joint replacements to name a few. 

The response from my clients when I’ve suggested trying yoga has been… “there’s no way I can do yoga, I’m not flexible, my body doesn’t move like that”.

 I decided to focus on developing a type of “Mindful Movement” program that was inspired by some basic yoga poses.  The intent is to assist my clients on improving the quality of their lives by sharing ways to move daily to manage some of their chronic pain when they’re not in a massage session with me.

• Participants are diverse in age, gender and abilities.  Use of the chairs has been an important aspect for some, especially as we have been focusing on balance and stability. 

• Each session begins slowly with mindful breath work. 

• We then moved into a series of movements to warm up joints and various muscle groups to increase movement and flexibility. 

• A flow of a standing yoga poses, with chair modifications for those in need is where we pull our movements together. 

• Sessions end with additional breath work and a short meditation.   The overall focus is on being mindful of posture, movements and intention of activity, emphasizing how beneficial even gentle movement can be daily.

What people are saying:

-my shoulder pain is 75% better immediately after class and continuing on.  

-thank you for the session this morning, it lifted me physically and my spirits.

-this is exactly the movement I was looking for, not too little, not too intense.

-as you know I have always been resistant to going to yoga classes for many reasons. however, you have made your class such a safe place to practice yoga regardless of ability.