A safe harbor where beliefs are respected and kindness prevails.

Falling Off The Healthy Wagon

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IMG_0041 I’ve always been a thin guy. I’ve never really had any issues with food (except maybe peas, ugh!), and for the most part I’ve been very active, but skinny. My partner, Rob, on the other hand will tell you that he was a fat kid. He ate anything he could get a hold of and was never much into being active. Becoming an adult changed that for both of us and we can now say, eating right and working out have been an important part of our lives for more than 35 years.

For the past three years, Rob and I have been working for ourselves. We are both Licensed Massage Therapist and Personal Trainers.   Rob is a Registered Yoga Teacher who also teaches Meditation and I have a ‘Certificate in Nutrition’ from The American Council on Exercise. We work out with a trainer three times a week and try hard to get in two if not three sessions of cardio each week. Our diets are clean, with no red meat. We buy and eat as much organic foods as possible and we drink a fresh fruit & vegetable juice each day.   With us being advocates for “Healthy Living”, we feel it’s necessary for us to walk the walk so as to inspire our clients to incorporate our “talk” into their lives. By being healthy and active people we feel we help our clients be the same.IMG_0053

A little more than two months ago, something shifted.   We found ourselves at the gym only twice a week with an occasional visit to the fat-burning cardio machines.   While our diet at home remained pretty much the same, we found ourselves skipping meals and eating out more than usual.   Snacking on hummus and crackers was almost an everyday thing and we began to ‘treat’ ourselves with a glass of wine or a beer almost every night.

Enabling each other in our “treats” and irregular habits became easy. A typical rational was – “Ok, its 7:30 pm and we’re just finishing up a massage client, I don’t feel like cooking so let’s just go out and grab something. And since we’re out, let’s have a beer with dinner.”   One beer easily turns into two, and after a couple of beers and getting home around 10:00 pm – well, now it’s too late to set the alarm for 6:30am to make it to the trainer, so let’s cancel. And the cycle continued.

It’s easy to fall into a cycle that feels good in the moment but is not supporting your overall plan for your life. That is exactly where we found ourselves.

We work mostly from home with our massage clients coming to us.  Originally, we were good at keeping up with our meals and our workouts, but as we got busier, scheduling clients started to become a problem. Not a problem in the sense that they were not welcomed and we didn’t appreciate the business (we welcomed all the business) but the problem was in blending the client’s needs and timing with our established healthy habits. Some days, one or two clients would book mid-afternoon and we found ourselves missing lunch or grabbing a handful of nuts. Then, a yoga teacher would call needing a sub for their 5:45pm class. So we’d end up in a restaurant having dinner……and the cycle continued.   We began to teach from one side of our mouth while we were eating a grilled turkey sandwich and having a cold beer with the other side. And the pounds started to accumulate.

UGH, did we ever fall off the healthy wagon!

The weight gain was noticeable – especially to us. We knew that something was up but we just didn’t see or feel it at first and then couldn’t stop it.   We talked about our lack of attention to our lifestyle and knew that something had to change…but nothing did. We had less energy and doing the things we wanted to do become harder and harder to do. Then one day while preparing for an upcoming retreat that we were hosting, called Personal Training for the Body & Soul – we stopped and said, wait a minute, this is exactly what we need! It made us stop and say; “What in the hell are we doing?” And more than What are we doing, Why are we doing this?

We both knew we were medicating ourselves. There had to be something deeper going on within us. But what? And–where do we go from here?

With our notes for our Retreat in hand we began asking ourselves a few questions. “What is really important to us? What do we value?” We made a list. Then came: “Are we acting in accordance to what we value and deem important?” The answer this time was a resounding, No! Then to bring it back around, we asked ourselves, “What do we need to do to get back on track and get back to our core values?” With new dedication and determination we began the process of getting back on our own wagon – we know what it takes.

We never did come up with a particular “ WHY” we fell from the Healthy Wagon. It is usually a combination of life situations that hit at once. In our case we let ourselves get overwhelmed about our life. Sound familiar?

Life is a spiral and we keep coming back to the same place. The trick is to see this place with new eyes, with a clearer vision because of our past experiences. It is never exactly the same. As with all things in life there is ebb and flow, a crest then a wake. This back and forth, is our True Self seeking balance – a natural process from moving away from center than back again, like walking a tight-rope, or staying grounded and balanced while doing Warrior II in a yoga class. It’s like knowing when to work hard and knowing when you need a vacation. We come and we go, we move this way and that – all in an effort to find our midpoint or quite spot. Falling off the Healthy Wagon and getting back on was part of our evolution. It made us more aware of what is important to us and therefore a little easier this time to climb back up and get back on.

“It is not so much about changing the pace of our life as it is about changing the pace of our mind”, Rob said to me one day!

The mind is a wonderful tool but it can also be a force that pushes you fast and furious off the wagon of your life. Take a little time each day to step back from yourself and take a look at what you are doing. Do you feel good or do you need to make some alterations? Take a look at your daily routine. Are you living according to your values and what is important to you? This self- check in can become a healthy habit which makes staying on track easier.

It’s your life. Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be in love with you!

Steve Bolia & Rob Dorgan

Can You Laugh At Yourself?

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Fotolia_55328154_Subscription_XXLHealth and fitness-related issues can often come across as serious topics. It takes a committed decision to step up, and to create a lifestyle that is the catalyst toward major changes.

Part of that lifestyle change is the decision to take responsibility for your own health. Part of this is doing your utmost to follow through with your health and fitness goals.

We all have a tendency to buckle in to those feelings of self-criticism when we fall short of following through with our fitness goals. We beat ourselves up for not trying harder. We wish that we were stronger in resisting those temptations to consume those foods that end up damaging our bodies. We think less of ourselves, and this can stir up old patterns of self-doubt and unworthiness. It is during these moments that we need to remain positive, and focus on our goals.

This is a time when we should learn to laugh at the challenges we face on a daily basis! When we see ourselves in a humorous light, we diffuse the power of self-defeating thoughts and feelings that can cripple our ability to grow and advance as healthy, happy human beings.

Allow me to offer one example of how laughing at a situation helped to conquer my food cravings, while turning the whole process into a game.

There are many times when I’m shopping for food and suddenly think, “Man, I would love some ice cream with a piece of pie!” My favorite is pumpkin pie…but everybody has their own button. It is during these moments that I do everything I can to not think about my cravings. I must admit, those cravings can be too hard to resist!

As a way of overcoming this situation, I make sure to have my shopping basket filled with the foods I truly need. I stay away from the aisles that carry poor quality foods that I know I should avoid.

If my cravings are especially intense, I make a game out of my shopping experience. I take this opportunity to boldly stand in front of the ice cream case. I focus on it all and think, ‘if I were to have this sweet treat tonight, what would be the best treat to select?’ I read the labels of every yummy morsel, and I then find the one that calls to me, and put it in my basket. This makes it easier to finish my shopping. Yet, all the while I feel as if I have my favorite, treat waiting for me. By the time I’m ready to check out, I have overcome my desire for the treat, and I have put the ice cream and pie back on the shelf.

Instead of becoming frustrated, and falling into a place of self- judgment, I find a way to laugh at myself, at my old programing, and make a game out of it all!

There are times when we goof up, and allow our old way of thinking to get the better of us. When this happens, learn to laugh at yourself. Get on with creating the life you truly desire. Don’t fall into the trap of self-judgment and unworthiness.

The more you can laugh at your old programing foibles, the faster you will create the health and wellness you desire.

Would you like to understand how these old programs sabotage all your efforts to create the health and fitness you desire?

Here is a complimentary webinar to get you started.

I would love to help you on your journey of health and wellness.

I wish for all of you, Vibrant Health!  Dave

Three Choices Determine Your Happiness, Health & Wellness

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Three choices will determine your outcome of happiness, health and wellness. Fotolia_44473554_Subscription_XL

Every moment of the day we are making choices. Do we get up out of bed on time, do we eat a healthy breakfast, do we focus on what we want to achieve, do we make the best choices for creating the life we dream of?

Making choices that move us towards our desires instead of away are something only we have control over.  No one else can force us into our decisions. It is, as it always has been, our responsibility. Now for some that seems like a heavy burden to carry, however I would gently suggest it is a gift.

You truly don’t want someone else making your choices for you. If you allow this you are in effect giving them your power, and you now become a servant to their decisions.

So what are these three choices? Let’s take a look at them one at a time. As we discuss each choice I want you to think about the choices you made today and see what category they fall into. Then I want you to consider the outcome of your choices and how they will affect you whether in a day a week, a month, or a year.

My mentor Paul Chek taught me this and it awaken within me how great our choices can affect our lives. It gave me an appreciation of the power of choice, and the responsibility to take full advantage of this power. So now I share it with you.

Our optimum choice in any situation is one that takes into consideration the greater good of not only my desires but also everyone it will affect. An optimum choice is the best choice to bring about results towards our goals and desires. An optimum choice will always be supported by your intuition. Your higher self will tell you the optimum choice.

Once you start truly following your inner voice you will realize you are always doing the right things. Yes there will be times when the optimum choice means having to do more work and not cutting corners or taking the easy way out, but as we will discuss, those less than optimum choices come with consequences, and usually don’t save us any time or effort.

Our second choice is a sub-optimum decision to handle something. We know right away this is not optimum because our inner guidance is already telling us this is a short cut, which doesn’t feel right. Now most of us try to ignore this guidance and make reasonable excuses why we shouldn’t have to make the best choice. Low and behold these sub-optimum choices almost always come with a painful lesson, which teaches us “You should have listened to me in the first place and you would have avoided all this frustration”.

How about making a commitment to yourself to start eating healthy. The optimum choice when going out to dinner with friends is to order a quality meal and only eat small portions while skipping desert and all the wine. Instead we decide “heck no, I am out with friends and it to hard to make the optimum choice so I’m just going to enjoy myself and eat what I want”. With this sub-optimum choice comes the consequences of weight gain, low self-esteem, creating a pattern of failure in the sub conscious, a hangover from too much alcohol, and let’s throw in some day after digestive problems. All this due to one sub-optimum choice. Now just multiply this through your days and see where you are causing your desired results to get off track.

The good thing about sub-optimum choices is they teach us a lesson so we can then correct our decision-making the next time.

The last choice is one of apathy or indifference. Due to overwhelm, pain, or just laziness many times we decide not to decide. We choose not to choose. We say” the heck with it, I not going to do anything”. What we need to realize is that even when we decide not to make a choice we are making a choice. So you cannot escape the process. The only difference is with optimum and sub-optimum choices you are taking responsibility to handle a situation while with indifference you are ignoring your responsibility. When we ignore an issue it will always come back to bite us. Sometimes big, sometimes small and in most cases it is just postponing the inevitable pain of a now bigger more pressing issue, which will take much more effort to resolve.

So you see it is always best to make the optimum choice even though there will be times when it is challenging. One thing I promise you is this. Optimum choices will always create a sense of strength and confidence, and rightness of character within you, and as you continue to make those optimum choices your results will exponentially increase until you reach your goals.

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

Want to work with David? Want to know more about David’s lifestyle? Visit him at www.HolisticHealth-Fitness.com

 

Springtime – Creating the New You!

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Dieting concept. Young Woman choosing between Fruits and SweetsJust as the earth moves through cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, we too are meant to move through these same cycles.

We are a system within the earth’s systems. We are interdependent upon the cycles of the earth, and we ourselves are a system of interdependent systems.

It is fascinating to look upon life itself from the expansiveness of the universe all the way down to the cellular level, as one grand interdependent system of life.

These cycles of birth, growth, slowing down, and transcendence are found everywhere we look. You will find these cycles in bacteria, viruses, in the soil, in plants, reptiles, animals, and in us. It is the cycle of life, the cycle of energy, the cycle of consciousness.

In the earth’s cycle, Spring is a time of birth, or even rebirth. For there to be a birth there should have been a time of transition, death, or rest. This transition period is important to allow for healing. A time to go dormant. The cycle of life is not about a steady climb up, but instead about a gentle wave of growth and maturity.

During this season, our bodies are meant to rest more. Just think of the shorter days and less sunlight. We actually feel the need to rest more in our bodies.

Ah, but not long after our rest, we awake with a new sense of purpose. It is Spring, and we see all the possibilities of the time ahead. We feel inspired to do more. The days are getting longer, our energy seems to increase, and we are ready to take on more challenges.

So are you ready to take on those new challenges? Have you given any thought to what you desire your life to be? How about your health and wellness? You didn’t forget about getting healthier did you?

When it comes to health and fitness, just like any other aspect of your life, we need to clear out the old habits, mind-set, eating behaviors, and inactivity that have stopped us in the past from transforming our lives. Then we need to give ourselves the gift of a new lifestyle of health and wellness.

We must die to the old unhealthy lifestyle and transcend, or rise, into a new healthy, happy, lifestyle.

Believe it or not, that’s all it takes. It’s no different from a smoker who after twenty years decides, “I don’t smoke any more.” The smoker quits just like that. All the other smokers in the world say, “How the heck did that person just quit so effortlessly?”

Well, it is a matter of who the person now believes himself/herself to be. This person changed how they saw themselves. They no longer know themselves as a smoker, even though they smoked for twenty years.

They got rid of the old lifestyle, and replaced it with a new one. They transcended the old and rose to the new.

This is how all change in life happens. It can happen overnight or take a slower path. It is completely up to the individual to believe they are this new, transcended state of being.

It is springtime folks. It is nature’s time to begin to express its full potential once more after its rest. So, too, it is our time to express our full potential. It is a time for growth – spiritually, mentally and physically. It is time to transcend your old ways of lack, fear, unworthiness, doubt, and procrastination and rebirth yourself as a new person who lives a life of health, happiness, and wellness.

Just as the tiny seed already knows it is a giant Redwood, you already know, deep within, you are meant to be a healthy, happy, well person. Most importantly you will find within yourself the blueprint to be this amazing person.

Clear out all your old thoughts of unworthiness, fear, and doubt. Create a new way of thinking. Who do you want to be? Decide what that looks like, and begin to know yourself as that person and only that person. Do not look back on the old self. Only see yourself as the new life. Follow what your intuition tells you to do. At first, this can be challenging because you’re not used to doing this. However, the more you trust and believe your intuition, the more you will create the new you.

You must now begin to believe in yourself. Nurture your spirit, mind and body, and you will become that which you desire.

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

 

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