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Life happens. You are not always going to be near a kitchen, so here are some tips and ideas to keep you on track. 1. Have a plan! If you're eating out, look at the menu beforehand and pre-select what you are going to eat. Stay away from adjectives like fried, smothered, creamy, rich, cheesy, lathered... etc. 2. As a beverage choice, ask for water or fresh squeeze juice. You can also ask for a slice of lemon if you want extra flavor on your water. Lemon will also helps with your digestion. 3. Ask for whole-wheat bread instead of white bread. 4. Ask for salad dressing to be served on the side. Then use only as much as you want. 5. Choose main dishes that include vegetables, such as stir-fries, kebabs, or salads. 6. Order steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed. 7. Order an item from the menu instead of heading for the buffet. 8. If the main portions at a restaurant are larger than you want, try one of these strategies to keep from overeating: Order an appetizer-sized portion or a side dish instead of an entrée. Share a main dish with a friend. When your food is delivered, set aside or pack half of it to go immediately (before you start eating it). 9. Resign from the "clean your plate club" - when you've eaten enough, leave the rest or pack the left over for the next meal. You can even give it to a homeless on your way to your car if you prefer. 10. To keep your meal moderate in calories, fat, and sugars: Ask for salad dressing to be served "on the side" so you can add only as much as you want. Order foods that do not have creamy sauces or gravies Add little or no butter to your food. Choose fruits for dessert. On long commutes or shopping trips, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, or a handful of unsalted nuts to help you avoid stopping for sweet or fatty snacks. 11. Try not to eat after 8 pm or 2-3 hours before bed. 12. Avoid simple carbohydrates. (ex: sugary cereal, white bread, cookies, pasta (white), crackers, biscotti, etc) 13. Drop the Gatorade, soda and artificial teas. Water aids in weight loss. Try to consume more water. 14. Pre-make snacks and meals ahead of time. When you don't have time to think, you are more inclined to make better decisions if they are ready-made in your pantry and fridge. 15. Eat veggies raw whenever possible. Do you have any extra tips? Share with us below. Do you want professional help to improve your health? Ana can help you. She offers in-person ( South Charlotte -NC) and virtual sessions. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

New scientific evidence that iPEC’s Core Energy Coaching™ model produces results for clients, including improving their life satisfaction in several key areas If you’re thinking about hiring a coach, one big question probably keeps circling through your mind: Will it work? There are plenty of success stories that provide evidence that coaching helps people make positive changes and create success in their personal and professional lives. iPEC, a comprehensive coach training program that’s trained more than 15,000 coaches worldwide, has more than just anecdotal evidence that coaching works. New quantitative evidence, in the form of scientific data, shows that Core Energy Coaching™ helps people make measurable changes that lead to sustainable and transformational results. So, when you work with a coach who has been trained in iPEC’s proprietary Core Energy Coaching™ methodology, you’re working with an evidence-based model that’s been shown to produce real life, tangible outcomes. What is Core Energy Coaching? Core Energy Coaching is an integral part of iPEC’s methodology and begins with a simple premise: All people are continually experiencing energy, in one of two ways postulated by Bruce D Schneider, founder of iPEC: catabolic or anabolic energy. - Anabolic energy is constructive, expanding, fueling, and creative, and works for a person. - Conversely, catabolic energy is destructive, draining, or resisting and works against a person. The type of energy we experience fluctuates throughout the day and inside of situations. However, because of our attitude and the way we interpret our life experiences, we wind up experiencing the same type of energy over and over again. As many people get stuck in draining, catabolic energy, iPEC coaches are trained to help them raise their energy levels and become more aware of their actions and choices. As a result of this shift to anabolic energy, they’re more apt to inspire others, more open to innovation and possibility, and far better able to pursue goals and find fulfillment in their lives. How Can We Measure the Effect of Coaching? The true effect of working with a coach has been difficult to quantify. Now, with new research, we have numbers—actual data—that show how working with a Core Energy Coach raises a person’s energy, so that in any given situation, one can choose to respond with anabolic energy related to opportunity, curiosity, creativity, and intuition versus more reactive, catabolic energy which reveals itself in behaviors like blame, anger, and worry. “We were looking for evidence that coaching worked,” says Lynn Waldorf, PhD, CPC, who was tasked with analyzing a data set that contained data from about 30,000 people who had taken the Energy Leadership Index™ (ELI). The ELI is a 70-item, web-based assessment that leads people through rating themselves on their beliefs, self-perceptions, emotional reaction tendencies, and behavior patterns. The questionnaire is designed to measure the amount of anabolic and catabolic energy in a person’s core energy makeup, under both ideal and stressful circumstances. The more a person can reduce catabolic energy and increase anabolic energy, the higher their core energy will be. Finding #1: Coaching Raises Core Energy Levels The first question Waldorf was looking to answer with the data was if working with an iPEC-trained Core Energy Coach could raise a person’s core energy. To do this, she identified and studied people who had taken the ELI twice—before and after working with a coach. She found that after working with a coach, people’s average resonating level of core energy increased from 3.25 to 3.52, a statistically significant increase. “It may seem like a small increase, but it’s exponential in terms of growth,” says Liz Fisch, Senior Vice President of Program Development and Research for iPEC. “In coaching, things happen in small or large shifts, but even a small shift in any given moment can have a huge impact. If just one person shifts out of frustration and into the energy of opportunity, it can change the entire dynamic of a workplace or family. For example, one choice to be compassionately curious with your partner instead of getting frustrated can change your entire connection. It only takes one second, one shift, but it can have a lifetime effect.” Finding #2: Coaching Helps Individuals Respond Better in Stressful Situations Most of us respond to stressful situations with a lot of catabolic energy (the energy of blame and frustration), which coaching can shift us out of. Waldorf wanted to measure what that shift looked like for people under stress—which is when the shift matters most. She found that after working with an iPEC Core Energy Coach, people’s percentage of catabolic energy decreased from 68.0 to 59.0 percent while under stress, while their anabolic energy increased from 32.0 to 41.0 percent. “These are very significant numbers, especially the decrease in catabolic energy. It indicates that coaching helped people become more in control of their thoughts and behaviors rather than have an automatic reaction inside a stressful situation,” Waldorf says. Finding #3: Coaching Increases Overall Life Satisfaction “If someone’s core energy is higher and they are handling their stress better, does that impact how they report life satisfaction? Our theory was overall life satisfaction would increase as well,” Waldorf says. In fact, she was right. After coaching, people reported increased levels of life satisfaction across the board, in 14 distinct areas, from financial success and engagement at work to personal freedom and intimate relationships. The data, taken all together, tells a consistent story: There is clear evidence that Core Energy Coaching fulfills the promises it makes, and sets people up for realizing more success in life and in work. You can read the full research paper here. Shifting Energy = Greater Meaning, Purpose, and Ease The shift toward anabolic energy allows people to access creativity and intuition more quickly, rather than resorting to frustration, resentment, and other low-level responses which can feel limiting and exhausting. “It isn’t just about positive thinking,” Fisch says. “It’s something deeper. You are becoming more aware that you have a choice. Seeing the negative is a survival mechanism for some people. Core Energy Coaching allows you to realize it more quickly and shift out of it more quickly.” As people gently make these shifts with their Core Energy Coach, their self-confidence increases, self-esteem expands, and as a result they feel highly motivated to succeed. As they explore their deepest passions and motivators, a formula for radical and sustainable success is set in motion. Through this transformational work, individuals can cultivate healthy, inspiring relationships, positive workplace dynamics, and pursue their greatest passions with ease. Schedule an appointment with Ana to discuss the vision you have for your future and explore how Core Energy Coaching can help you exceed your own expectations. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

The reality is that we live in a fast-paced world. We are taught that “accomplishment” means getting as much done in a day as you possibly can. However, too many of us don’t take the time to reflect on our accomplishments. When was the last time that you stopped and took a moment to celebrate and reward yourself? If you struggle with this notion, you aren’t alone. Commit to celebrating who you are and loving yourself. Make this a habit everyday with the things you accomplish. These 3 reasons shows why it's important to celebrate yourself every day: 1. It Reminds Us To Enjoy the Journey If you are constantly doing and not being, you will miss out on all the beautiful moments in life. Oftentimes, we take life too seriously and we become so attached to the final outcome that we forget to enjoy the journey. It’s great to be ambitious; however the key is to develop a mindset that allows you to pursue big things in life, without sacrificing the small things that make life worth living. Take a moment every day, stop what you are doing, celebrate, and savour the moment. Life is not a race. When you learn to find joy in the journey, the destination feels all the more worthwhile. When is the last time that you stopped to ‘smell the roses', so to speak? 2. It Reminds Us To Be Grateful Gratitude is the key to living a happy and fulfilled life. It is one of the greatest gifts that we can give to ourselves. Celebrating yourself means taking the time to be genuinely grateful for your life. Unfortunately, it is easy to lose touch with gratitude. A lot of people are so focused on celebrating the highs of life, that they tend to lose sight of the small things in life that bring them the most joy. Celebrating your life every day is a way to develop an attitude of gratitude that can shift your entire perspective on life. Research by Dr. Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California shows that those who celebrate life by practicing gratitude tend to be more creative, bounce back more quickly from adversity, have a stronger immune system, and have stronger social relationships than those who don’t. There are too many benefits to count. What are you grateful for? Celebrate your blessings every day and watch your life change for the better. 3. It Increases Our Confidence Many of us have limiting beliefs about ourselves in at least one area of our lives, which results in a decrease in confidence. The more that you celebrate yourself, the more your confidence raises. When you do so, you are telling the Universe that you are unstoppable, which in turn, attracts more positive energy into your life. Not only that, but when you radiate confidence, it inspires others to be confident as well. Don’t ever hold back. Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished. You step into your power when you are able to master this skill. Are you ready to own your amazingness? Learn how to celebrate yourself by using the video from Ana. Check out the YouTube video here or click the video below: If you want to know more techniques and tips on how to fully celebrate yourself, schedule an appointment with Ana. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now! Source: https://projectlifemastery.com/celebrate-yourself-every-day/

Gratitude is perhaps the most important key to finding success and happiness in the modern day. Knowing what we appreciate in life means knowing who we are, what matters to us and what makes each day worthwhile. Paying attention to what we feel grateful for puts us in a positive frame of mind. It connects us to the world around us and to ourselves. Research demonstrates that focusing on what we are grateful for is a universally rewarding way to feel happier and more fulfilled. As an important mental health principle, the benefits of gratitude extend far beyond what we may imagine. Scientific studies have found that gratitude is associated with: Greater happiness More optimism and positive emotions New and lasting relationships Better health More progress toward personal goals Fewer aches and pains More alertness and determination Increased generosity and empathy Better sleep Improved self-esteem Compassion is defined as the ability to understand the emotional state of another person. Moreover, it encompasses understanding our own emotional state. As a result, compassion motivates us to help and support others—and ourselves. It inspires us to do what we can to ease another person’s suffering. In fact, compassion literally means, “to suffer together.” Many people confuse compassion with empathy. And they are closely related. Empathy refers to our ability to imagine ourselves in someone else’s place. Therefore, we experience the emotions of the other person. Compassion goes beyond empathy. Consequently, compassion involves feeling the desire to help. Research on having compassion shows that it has multiple positive benefits including: Increased happiness Greater optimism More positive mood Decreased stress Stronger personal initiative A sense of curiosity and exploration Agreeableness Conscientiousness Better ability to relate to others. Having gratitude and compassion does good things not only to us but also to others. Practice having both by watching Ana’s video about gratitude and compassion. Watch it on YouTube here or click on the video below: Do you want to know more? Schedule an appointment with Ana and learn ways on how to practice compassion and gratitude. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now! Sources: https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/well-being/compassion-benefits/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/compassion-matters/201511/the-healing-power-gratitude

Everyone agrees that pain is a universal human experience. We now know that pain is 100% of the time produced by the brain. This includes all pain no matter how it feels, sharp, dull, strong or mild and no matter how long you've had it. If you have had it for a few weeks or months, it is called acute pain and it's common with tissue damage. Per example, if you have a back injury or ankle sprain and generally you'll be encouraged to stay active and gradually get back to doing all your normal things including work. If you have it for 3 months or more, then this pain is called persistent or chronic. In this type of pain, tissue damage is not the main issue. Having a brain that keeps on producing pain even after the body tissues are restored and out of danger is no fun. Once anything dangerous is ruled out, health professionals say that most things in the body are usually healed within 3 to 6 months. However, after 3 months, the pain is less about structural changes in the body and more about the sensitivity of the nervous system. In other words it's more complex, so to try and figure out what's going on you need to retrain the brain and nervous system. To do this it's helpful to look at all the things that affect the nervous system and may be contributing to your individual pain experience. 1- Taking medication can help but only to a limited extent. It is the more active approaches that are necessary to retrain the brain so using medications to get going is okay and then mostly they can be tapered and ceased. Some people also think surgery might be the answer but when it comes to a complex problem like chronic pain, surgery may not be helpful so if you're thinking of surgery it's best to get a second opinion and remember to consider all the things. 2- It is helpful to consider how your thoughts and emotions are affecting your nervous system. Pain really impacts on people's lives and this can have a big effect on your mood and stress levels. All those thoughts and beliefs are brain impulses too but you can learn ways to reduce stress and wind down the nervous system. This helps with emotional well-being and can reduce pain as well. 3- The third area to consider is the role of diet and lifestyle. Now it turns out that our modern lifestyle might not be so good for us, in fact what we eat and how we live may really be contributing to a sensitized nervous system. Looking at all the things like smoking, nutrition, alcohol and activity levels and seeing if there are any issues is a good beginning and these things can go on your plan. 4- Then there's often enormous value in exploring the deeper meaning of pain and the surrounding personal story You can step back and look at all the things that were happening around the time the pain developed. Many people with pain can make useful links between a worrying period of life and a worsening pain picture. For many recognizing deeper emotions can be part of the healing process last but by no means least is physical activity and function. From the brains perspective getting moving at comfortable levels without fear and where the brain does not protect by pain is best and you'll gradually restore your body's tissues. Understanding Pain in less than 5 minutes, and what to do about it! Here are other videos that explain more about this topic: Tame The Beast — It's time to rethink persistent pain Simple Solutions to Decrease Inflammation for Busy People: Ana launched Self-Study Course: Ignite Your Inner Healer which is based on her best-selling book: Ignite Your Inner Healer. This self-study program will expand on the tools from the book. It is a great way to learn more about your body and how you can "Ignite Your Inner Healer". If you need more information about SELF-HEALING and how to retrain your brain and nerve system, schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

Ana Marinho opened her private practice, Be Healthy, LLC. in 2015 and has served over 10 years as a licensed physical therapist, transformational coach, and intuitive healer. Her unique approach of combining eastern and western modalities in a private one-on-one setting has allowed her patients to sustain lasting change. As she focuses on treating the whole body (body, mind and soul) and not just the symptoms, she helps to ignite the healing within. Ana also helps highly sensitive (emphatic) people thrive in our busy world. Ana and Kelsey talked about body awareness, protecting and managing our energy and allowing our bodies to heal. Share this episode with anyone who needs support on their healing journey. “My mission is to empower people to remember that the body has the power of self-healing.” Ana Marinho Click here to listen to it NOW Ana recently launched Self-Study Course: Ignite Your Inner Healer which is based on her best-selling book: Ignite Your Inner Healer. This self-study program will expand on the tools from the book. It is a great way to learn more about your body and how you can "Ignite Your Inner Healer". If you need more information about SELF-HEALING, schedule an appointment with Ana to learn more. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

Over her ten-year career, Ana Marinho has helped hundreds of patients to ignite the power of their own self-healing. As a physical therapist, intuitive healer and health coach, Ana has a unique background and experience across a wide range of self-healing disciplines, allowing her to tap into both the scientific and the alternative aspects of healing simultaneously. Ana just published her book "Ignite Your Inner Healer" in which she outlines techniques for self-healing and also shares how she was diagnosed with a chronic disease, and how she restored her own health — with no doctors and with no drugs. Click here to listen to it NOW Ana recently launched Self-Study Course: Ignite Your Inner Healer which is based on her best-selling book: Ignite Your Inner Healer. This self-study program will expand on the tools from the book. It is a great way to learn more about your body and how you can "Ignite Your Inner Healer". Each week, you will explore different transformational tools, and you will have a chance to practice those tools between sessions. Week 1: Intro to self-healing techniques Week 2: Improve your neuroplasticity - substitute your poor habits for healthier ones Week 3: Connect with your body = Empower your body Week 4: Ignite your inner healer - allow the body to heal Order it now here and save up to $20!!!

Source: Neuroscience Reveals 50-Year-Olds Can Have the Brains of 25-Year-Olds If They Do This 1 Thing by Melanie Curtin, Writer and activist Published on ON: Oct 23, 2018 Neuroscientist Sara Lazar, of Mass General and Harvard Medical School, started studying meditation by accident. She sustained running injuries training for the Boston Marathon, and her physical therapist told her to stretch. So Lazar took up yoga. "The yoga teacher made all sorts of claims, that yoga would increase your compassion and open your heart," said Lazar. "And I'd think, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm here to stretch.' But I started noticing that I was calmer. I was better able to handle more difficult situations. I was more compassionate and open hearted, and able to see things from others' points of view." Eventually, she looked up the scientific literature on mindfulness meditation (a category into which yoga can fall). She found the ever-increasing body of evidence that shows that meditation decreases stress, depression, and anxiety, reduces pain and insomnia, and increases quality of life. So she started doing some neuroscience research of her own. In her first study, she looked at long-term meditators (those with seven to nine years of experience) versus a control group. The results showed that those with a strong meditation background had increased gray matter in several areas of the brain, including the auditory and sensory cortex, as well as insula and sensory regions. This makes sense, since mindfulness meditation has you slow down and become aware of the present moment, including physical sensations such as your breathing and the sounds around you. However, the neuroscientists also found that the meditators had more gray matter in another brain region, this time linked to decision-making and working memory: the frontal cortex. In fact, while most people see their cortexes shrink as they age, 50-year-old meditators in the study had the same amount of gray matter as those half their age. That's remarkable. Lazar and her team wanted to make sure this wasn't because the long-term meditators had more gray matter to begin with, so they conducted a second study. In it, they put people with no experience with meditation into an eight-week mindfulness program. The results? Even just eight weeks of meditation changed people's brains for the better. There was thickening in several regions of the brain, including the left hippocampus (involved in learning, memory, and emotional regulation); the TPJ (involved in empathy and the ability to take multiple perspectives); and a part of the brainstem called the pons (where regulatory neurotransmitters are generated). Plus, the brains of the new meditators saw shrinkage of the amygdala, a region of the brain associated with fear, anxiety, and aggression. This reduction in size of the amygdala correlated to reduced stress levels in those participants. How long do you have to meditate to see such results? Well, in the study, participants were told to meditate for 40 minutes a day, but the average ended up being 27 minutes a day. Several other studies suggest that you can see significant positive changes in just 15 to 20 minutes a day. As for Lazar's own meditation practice, she says it's "highly variable. Some days 40 minutes. Some days five minutes. Some days, not at all. It's a lot like exercise. Exercising three times a week is great. But if all you can do is just a little bit every day, that's a good thing, too." Turns out meditating can give you the brain of a 25-year-old. Check out Ana's meditation videos here or watch the video below: If you want to go even deeper, Self-Study Course: Ignite Your Inner Healer is out now! This program was designed as a complement to Ana’s best-selling book: Ignite Your Inner Healer. It will expand on the tools from the book. It is a great way to learn more about your body and how you can "Ignite Your Inner Healer". Each week, you will explore different transformational tools, and you will have a chance to practice those tools between sessions. Order it now here and save up to $20!!!

Happy Holidays!!! It's that time of the year once more!! Can you believe it's almost New Year? The holidays are just getting started and everyone's been busy shopping, gift giving, attending events and parties, getting together with friends, and attending family reunions. It is the season when everyone is merry and excited!! The holidays are a festive time. But nevertheless, it can also be the time of overdoing things and feeling overwhelmed... We may overspend, over-eat, and over-drink! And many times we have the tendency to be people pleasers. During this holiday, I would like to invite you to do things differently. I would like to invite you to set healthy boundaries. Setting healthy boundaries helps us not to get frustrated and not to feel regretful when the season has passed. When we set boundaries, we can enjoy the holiday season much better! How about you? What will you do differently during this holiday? ** If you want to learn how to create healthy boundaries, check out my next Boundaries class or schedule a Free Discovery Session to create a personalized program just for you. Pictures from @spoonie_village and @be_healthy_ana_marinho Instagram.

What is Grounding Meditation? Grounding is a technique that helps you stay present and align with your own truth. Sometimes you may find yourself lacking energy, experiencing anxiety, or feeling spacey with distracted energy. Using this grounding meditation will help balance your energy. This meditation will help you to feel grounded, and also flexible (like a bamboo). How To Ground Yourself For Meditation Before you start your meditation session, connect with the physical environment and the spiritual energy of your surroundings. By grounding yourself and connecting with Earth’s energy, you will become more aware of the rhythms of your own body. Walk on grass barefoot and feel the Earth under your feet. You can walk on grass, dirt, or wet sand. Focus on the sensation of the Earth beneath you.Connect with nature. Make contact with a tree or other living organism from Earth. How To Start Meditating 1. Prepare yourself Turn off all electronics including cell phones and televisions.Find a quiet place where you can be alone for 20 minutes. If possible, find a place where you can be outside to make contact with the Earth, with your bare feet in grass or soil.Sit in a chair and place your feet firmly on the ground, or sit directly on the ground. Close your eyes and place your hands in your lap with palms facing upward.Take a moment to make sure your body is comfortable. 2. Focus on your breathing Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.Breathe in through your nose, slowly and deeply. Exhale and feel your stomach relax.Focus on breathing this way for a couple of minutes until it becomes rhythmic and effortless.Notice if you have fallen into any distractions and return your awareness to your breathing. 3. Begin the Visualization Method Method 1: Tree Meditation Visualize yourself sitting on a tree trunk.Focus on the energy in your body flowing downward to the earth. The tree has become an extension of your body, extending through your feet. Continue to imagine this tree trunk traveling down through Earth, until your trunk finally reaches the center of the Earth.While you are breathing, let any negative feelings escape your body. Leave any feelings of pain, frustration, anger or bitterness in the center of the Earth.Push your energy upward. Imagine Earth’s energy flowing back up through your trunk. Method 2: Mountain Meditation Visualize a beautiful mountain. Picture its various details and stable, unmoving presence grounded in the earth.Bring the mountain inside yourself. Envision yourself becoming the mountain.Imagine yourself sitting in stillness and in calm, simply observing and resting unwavering as the various weather patterns, storms, and seasons pass before you.Feel yourself rooted in stillness amidst the constant change of your internal and external experience. 4. Come Back to Stillness Before opening your eyes, rest in the feelings of centeredness and calm for a few moments.When you feel ready, bring your mind back to your body and open your eyes.Any time you feel unfocused, close your eyes and visualize the connection that you have shared with Earth. The more you practice grounded meditation, the more automatic it becomes. By taking a few moments each day to practice, you’ll not only have better energy in your daily life, but you’ll be able to re-focus yourself so you can find inner calmness and peace wherever you are. Valentine's day is coming. If you feel too overwhelmed on finding a perfect gift or maybe preparing a romantic date for your loved ones, may it be your kids --- Grounding meditation will help you balance that distracted energy and find your center and focus amidst of the chaos of the said festivity. Click here to watch a Grounding Meditation video Do you want to learn more how to create health boundaries and protect yourself? Check out the Boundaries 101 self-study program here. If you need more information about CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES, schedule an appointment with Ana to learn more. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

Written by: Shahram Heshmat Ph.D., Science of Choice Published on: Jul 28, 2016 Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/science-choice/201607/how-self-control-can-help-you-live-healthier-life Self-control is the capacity to override one’s impulse or desire in order to attain another goal. The alternative to exercising self-control is indulging in an action that momentarily satisfies a short-term goal at the expense of long-term rewards. Self-control is a vital strength and key determinant of success in everyday life. The following briefly illustrate the link between good self-control and a broad range of desirable outcomes: 1. The ability to achieve long-term goals To achieve any long-term goals, individuals need to resist the tempting immediate, yet low-priority, rewards with which the more important goals are in conflict. The point is to reduce the power of momentary feelings. For example, a person might feel fear, but he would not act on it. A person might desire sweets, but would be able to repress the urge. If you talk more than at a meeting than you listen, you may be putting your desire to outshine above learning and companionship. 2. Anxiety When people are experiencing negative emotions, they may distract themselves by shifting their attention to something else. Attentional control (an individual's capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore) is an important form of self-control that enables people to avoid distractions and thereby to focus on what is most relevant and important. For example, a study showed that students with high self-control capacity were better able to deal with test anxiety. They were able to keep anxious worries from impairing their ability to perform well on tests. 3. Impulsivity Individual differences in impulsivity (inadequate self-control) are consistently identified as key factors in the initiation and later problematic use of substances. Addicts are insensitive to future consequences, and instead they are guided by immediate prospects. For example, heavy drinkers are more impulsive than light drinkers, and consequently, use more alcohol. Impulsivity has also shown to have an effect on drug treatment outcomes. Among alcohol and drug dependent clients in treatment, those with a good self-control were more likely to finish treatment. 4. Obesity The ability to exercise self-control is linked to obesity. Reduced self-control is related specifically to choices of comfort foods (i.e., the dessert and fried food). One possible explanation for this relationship is that individuals who are obese and severely depressed have reduced self-control for choosing comfort foods to feel better. Consumption of the comfort foods is linked to the rising rates in obesity. 5. Physical health Self-control capacity contributes to a better physical health. For example, Seligman (2011) reports that self-control is a major health asset: men with the highest self-control have a 56 percent reduced risk for CVD. Self-control better enables people to resist engaging in health-damaging behaviors, including use of tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful substances. 6. Relationship The capacity to self-control benefits close relationships by enabling people to maintain interpersonal harmony, especially in unpleasant circumstances. In a sense, the capacity for self-control is a capacity for empathic perspective taking (the ability to step outside one’s own point of view). Appreciating each other’s perspective in a conflict is a sign of not of weakness but of strength. By doing so, they are able to override automatic defensive reactions in favor of more reflective and constructive behaviors. 7. Resilience The term "resilient" refers to the capacity to bounce back after adversity. Self-control is an important predictive of resilience. Resilient people have good control over impulses and have ability to delay gratification in regard to the potential consequences of their actions. A resilient person has a belief in her own abilities to manage life’s challenges and situations effectively. For example, training for emergencies or for military services is all about developing a sense of psychological control that becomes second nature to a soldier or emergency medical technician. 8. Good life Self-control is a personal quality that contributes to human happiness. Research shows that people are happier, more productive, and more creative when they feel they are the origin of their behavior. The Greek philosophers viewed self-control (willpower) as a major virtue, and viewed yielding to temptation as a deplorable weakness. Achieving a worthwhile objective to which one has devoted oneself makes people better off. As John Milton remarked, “He who reigns within himself and rules his passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king.” Practice having self-control to improve your health and to have a healthier life. Watch Ana’s video about self-control to help you with this journey. Watch the video on YouTube here or click on the video below: Do you want to know more about self-control? Schedule an appointment with Ana and find out how you can learn having self-control. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!

Originally written by: Michael Forrester Date Published: November 22, 2012 Article Source: Prevent Disease A biological research team at Bielefeld University has made a groundbreaking discovery showing that plants can draw an alternative source of energy from other plants. This finding could also have a major impact on the future of bioenergy eventually providing the evidence to show that people draw energy from others in much the same way. Members of Professor Dr. Olaf Kruse’s biological research team have confirmed for the first time that a plant, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, not only engages in photosynthesis, but also has an alternative source of energy: it can draw it from other plants. The research findings were released this week in the online journal Nature Communications published by the renowned journal Nature. Flowers need water and light to grow and people are no different. Our physical bodies are like sponges, soaking up the environment. “This is exactly why there are certain people who feel uncomfortable in specific group settings where there is a mix of energy and emotions,” said psychologist and energy healer Dr. Olivia Bader-Lee. Plants engage in the photosynthesis of carbon dioxide, water, and light. In a series of experiments, Professor Dr. Olaf Kruse and his team cultivated the microscopically small green alga species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and observed that when faced with a shortage of energy, these single-cell plants can draw energy from neighboring vegetable cellulose instead. The alga secretes enzymes (so-called cellulose enzymes) that ‘digest’ the cellulose, breaking it down into smaller sugar components. These are then transported into the cells and transformed into a source of energy: the alga can continue to grow. ‘This is the first time that such a behavior has been confirmed in a vegetable organism’, says Professor Kruse. ‘That algae can digest cellulose contradicts every previous textbook. To a certain extent, what we are seeing is plants eating plants’. Currently, the scientists are studying whether this mechanism can also be found in other types of alga. Preliminary findings indicate that this is the case. "When energy studies become more advanced in the coming years, we will eventually see this translated to human beings as well," stated Bader-Lee. "The human organism is very much like a plant, it draws needed energy to feed emotional states and this can essentially energize cells or cause increases in cortisol and catabolize cells depending on the emotional trigger." Bader-Lee suggests that the field of bioenergy is now ever evolving and that studies on the plant and animal world will soon translate and demonstrate what energy metaphysicians have known all along -- that humans can heal each other simply through energy transfer just as plants do. "Human can absorb and heal through other humans, animals, and any part of nature. That's why being around nature is often uplifting and energizing for so many people," she concluded. Here are five energy tools to use to clear your space and prevent energy drains while releasing people’s energy: 1- Stay centered and grounded. If you are centered within your spiritual self (instead of your analyzer or ego) you will sense right away when something has moved into your space. If you are fully grounded, you can easily release other people’s energy and emotions down your grounding cord with your intention. 2- Be in a state of non-resistance. What we resists sticks. If you feel uncomfortable around a certain person or in a group, don’t go into resistance as a way to protect yourself as this will only keep foreign energy stuck in your space. Move into a state of non-resistance by imagining that your body is clear and translucent like clear glass or water. This way, if someone throws some invalidation at you, it will pass right through you. 3- Own your personal aura space. We each have an energetic aura surrounding our body. If we don’t own this personal space we are vulnerable to foreign energy entering it. Become aware of your aura boundaries (about an arms length away from your body all the way around, above and below) as a way to own your personal space. 4- Give yourself an energy cleanse. The color gold has a high vibration which is useful for clearing away foreign energy. Imagine a gold shower nozzle at the top of your aura (a few feet above your head) and turn it on, allowing clear gold energy to flow through your aura and body space and release down your grounding. You will immediately feel cleansed and refreshed. 5- Call back your energy. When we have our energy in our own space there is less room for other’s energy to enter. But as we focus on other people and projects we sometimes spread our energy around. Create an image of a clear gold sun several feet above your head and let it be a magnet, attracting all of your energy back into it (and purifying it in the gold energy). Then bring it down through the top of your aura and into your body space, releasing your energy back into your personal space. One helpful way also to help yourself clear your space from other people's energy is by CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES. If you want to know more about creating healthy boundaries, buy Ana's self-study course entitled "Creating Boundaries 101: a practical training for empaths and highly sensitive people". You can buy the self-study program here or click the photo below. Do you want professional help? Ana can help you. She offers in-person ( South Charlotte -NC) and virtual sessions. Click here to Schedule your FREE Discovery Session Now!