Donkey God

So few people recognize that true fitness involves the entire human being; this includes the body, the mind and the spirit. Today’s fitness minded society easily gives a plethora of choices and options when it comes to getting fit.

Interestingly enough, when an individual makes the decision to start becoming fit, they usually start with the body. However, on more occasions than one, when the body starts to feel better through exercise, the mind and spirit also benefit. The conclusion is that by exercising one part of the whole, the rest will also tend to move towards a more healthy and fit state as well. Let’s take a look at what activities can be used to bring fitness to each level of being.

Mental Fitness: It goes without saying that one of the most serious culprits to destroying the mind’s ability to function optimally is stress. To bring about mental fitness, stress must be eliminated as thoroughly as possible. Yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques, and visualization techniques are all methods to decrease the negative effects of stress on the mind. Other forms of mental gymnastics include education in general. Learning and exploring your world will exercise your mind more than watching TV.

Spiritual Fitness: Spiritual fitness can be accomplished in a similar fashion to mental fitness; through meditation, relaxation, prayer and spiritual contemplation. The focus in spiritual fitness is to become aware of the spirit and its needs and giving it the quiet time necessary to accomplish its goals.

Physical Fitness: Today’s world offers a wide variety of physical activities from aerobics to swimming, biking to mountain climbing, and walking to canoeing. Attempt to engage the body in some sort of physical movement 3-5 times per week at least 30 minutes each session. The release of tension and stress, not to mention toxic build up will benefit all levels of the person. The addition of muscle and decrease of fat on the body will also bring about an increase in overall fitness.

What is important to remember is that fitness is not just a physical quality, it involves the entire person; body, mind and spirit.

Rachel Dayer runs and operates http://www.mustask.com, a health related portal.

Are you consistently chasing success? Once you achieve it, do you desperately try to continue the pattern of making it happen again? Isn’t it time you got off the success-go-round? Here are 8 tips to help you make the transition from inconsistency to steady flow of success.

1. Know Your Core Values.

What do your truly value in your life? If you’re struggling to come up with an answer, then maybe it’s time you reevaluated your values. You might know what values your parents instilled in you, but you need to be clear on what you stand for and what is important in your life. Do you value honesty, integrity or trust? By knowing your core values you will seek them in the relationships you form with others. List your top five core values and live by them. Start to examine if your core values match the goals you are trying to achieve. Your values are essential to success.

2. Be Honest With Yourself.

Don’t kid yourself about who you are or what you love to do. If you’re trying to impress or win the approval of others by being successful, you success will be unauthentic. Is the “real” you showing up everyday? It is empowering to some to have a great job title or a prospering business, but if at the end of the day, you feel empty, tired or dissatisfied; it’s time to be honest with yourself. You can’t present yourself as someone in control at work, when you know deep inside you feel that you have no control over your life. Success is only temporary when you are not living a self-actualized life. Passion for your life and your work makes you thrive. Only when you are honest with yourself about who you are and what you really love to do can you start to experience a steady flow of success.

3. Don’t Let Your Emotions Run the Show.

If you’re happy when life is great and going as planned, but fall apart when you are faced with challenges and obstacles, you allow your emotions to run the show. If people can clearly tell when things are not going well for you, it’s time to get your emotions in check. Life is not predictable. Plans will not always run as smoothly as expected, but it is important that you maintain your composure during these times. Don’t let your beliefs have power over the situation. If you allow sadness, anger or fear to take over, you will find it more difficult each time to bounce back after a set-back. Get to know your emotional triggers; what makes you angry, sad or afraid and then create a plan for coping with them when they arise.

4. Be Flexible With Your Plans.

Being too rigid and unwavering with plans can lead to disappointment. While setting plans and goals are ideal for making success happen, you have to accept that sometimes you may have to alter those plans. It’s a good idea to have a back-up just in case things don’t go the way you expected. Don’t allow minor setbacks to make you cancel your plans altogether, but have faith that you will find another way to get things done. Take detours if it is necessary. Be open to ideas and suggestions from those you trust. You will find another way if you are willing to receive what is being offered to you.

5. Don’t Let Success Be the Center of Your Life.

Success should not be at the center of your life. There are many more important things that you need to tend you. When you neglect or postpone what is important in your life, you will find that you are chasing success just to have more time, more energy and more money to enjoy life. It doesn’t happen that way. Set aside time to work on your career goals, business plan, life plan, etc, then continue with our life. If you’re always on the look-out for success, it will rarely come. Have you heard the expression: “A watched phone never rings.”? Be patient and don’t try to rush success. Learn to let go and you will see a transformation in yourself and your success plans.

6. Share What You Know or What You Have.

If you have a grip hold on success, but are not willing to share your knowledge, your time or your resources, chances are success will break free from you. Give of yourself and you will always be given. Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge even with a competitor because it the long run, you will benefit more from it. Volunteer, if you have the time.

7. Ask for What You Want and Believe You Will Receive It.

Do you state clearly your goals or desires? Depending on your faith or religious affiliation, pray, meditate and ask for what you want. Once you get it, don’t stop asking. We often make the mistake of asking for what we want and then we either give up because it hasn’t come in our anticipated time or we stop asking because we got what we wanted. You should never stop asking, because you are only halfway. When you stop asking you don’t allow more blessings to come into your life. If you only ask periodically or when things are going bad, then you are asking out of desperation. Ask continuously, and ask with the conviction that it will come to realization.

8. Stay in the Success Momentum.

The best way to keep from sabotaging your success is to stay in the success mindset. Giving in to financial or career blues can deter you from your goals. Keep away from people or situations that sap your energy or keep you stuck. Build a network of people that will challenge, support and motivate you when your outlook becomes distorted. Develop strategies that will help you to deal with rejections, disappointments and regrets. Lighten up and know don’t be yourself up for every little mistake you make. Take charge of all your trying situations and know that “this too shall pass.”

About The Author

Marie Magdala Roker is a Personal Development Coach an Author of Successful Thinking for a Successful Life: How to Banish the Unhealthy Thoughts and Habits That Limit Your Success. Her Successful Thinking program is an affordable coaching resource that offers support and encouragement when there are roadblocks to success. You can find out more about the program at http://www.thinkandbesuccessful.com or sign up for her free Be Inspired newsletter at http://www.smartbeecoaching.com.

smartbeecoach@gmail.com

The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis for happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.” P.T. Barnum

Today, the health and wellness industry is a billion dollar market. With baby boomers being all too aware of their mortality, nutritional sales are at an all time high. Unfortunately, not all nutritional products will produce the desired results these folks are striving for. Since the majority of people living today are searching for ways to live healthy and longer lives, the snake oil salesman has returned to the marketplace.

Not all nutritional products are effective, or as effective as the manufacturer claims them to be. There are many reasons for this:

1. Most supplements contain substances not regulated by the FDA, therefore, the daily requirement of them is not known. So, you cannot be sure that you are getting the amount of the nutrient your body needs.

2. Some supplement substances are difficult to impossible to maintain consistency with, in regard to quality. This is particularly true of herbal substances.

3. Some manufacturers make claims as to the effectiveness of their products without clinical trials to back up these statements.

When it come to nutritional products, consumers are better off being skeptical.

There are reputable companies, making outstanding products, but in many cases, it is the exception, not the rule.

One such company that has been producing nutritional products for consumers for more than 10 years is Life Force International.

Life Force International came into being as the direct result of founder, Gerri Hillman, needing a alternative treatment for health related problems that traditional medicine was not resolving. Wayne Hillman, Gerri’s husband, set to the task of developing a nutritional substance to alleviate his wife’s maladies. That nutritional substance became what is now known as the company’s flagship product. And today, if you were to meet Mrs. Hillman on the street, you would never guess that she ever experienced an unhealthy day in her life.

Back in the early 1980’s, the couple decided to share this wonderful elixir with the rest of the world, and the company, whose original name was Doctor’s Signature, quickly had over 6,000 health care professionals recommending their product, to their own patients. Doctor’s Signature evolved into Life Force International, in 1996.

Life Force International continued to research and develop more and more nutritional products which focus on specific health challenges and now have a full line of nutritional products, available to people world wide.

You do not have to go through a doctor to get any of LFI’s nutritional products either. Because LFI has opted to market their products through Independent distributors, Life Force liquid nutritionals can be purchased by anyone, practically anywhere. Not only does this have a significant benefit to the end user, but it also provides the average person the opportunity to make a lucrative income as a LFI distributor.

If you or anyone you know has health concerns such and have the desire to address them on a nutritional level, Life Force International is a reputable place to begin your search. Most likely, once you investigate LFI’s product line, you won’t need to look any further.

It is important to note that one of the main reasons that LFI products are so effective is that liquids are absorbed into the body more easily and completely than ordinary pills. Pills absorb at a rate of 3% to 20%, and liquids absorb at a rate of 80% to 90%. Therefore, if you are only getting 20% of the product you swallow, the other 80% of it, and the money spent on it, end up being flushed, quite literally.

Life Force International is a company you can trust with your health and wellness goals; a product line with a proven track record and many satisfied customers.

In Mexico, a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band is a restrictive device implanted via bariatric surgery and designed for obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or greateror between 35-40 in cases of patients with certain co morbidities that are known to improve with weight loss, such as sleep apnea, diabetes, osteoarthritis, or metabolic syndrome, amongst others. The gastric band is an inflatable silicone prosthetic device that is placed around the top portion of the stomach, usually via laparoscopic surgery.

The placement of the band causes the creation of a small pouch at the top of the stomach that holds approximately 30 ml. This pouch ‘fills’ with food quickly and the band slows the passage of food from the pouch to the lower part of the stomach. As the upper part of the stomach believes it is ‘full’, the message to the brain is that the stomach is full and this sensation helps the person to eat smaller portions and lose weight over time.

The band is inflated/adjusted via a small access port placed just under the skin. Radiopaque isotonic solution or saline is introduced into the band via the port. A specialized needle is used to avoid damage to the port membrane. There are many port designs and they may be placed in varying positions based on the surgeon’s preference. The port may be sutured in place. When fluid is introduced the band expands, placing pressure around the outside of the stomach. This decreases the size of the passage in the stomach and restricts the movement of food.

Over the course of several visits to the doctor, the band is filled until restriction such that the patient feels she or he has hit a “sweet spot” where optimal restriction has been achieved, neither so loose that hunger is not controlled, nor so tight that food cannot be consumed. This is an individual experience and cannot be predicted. There are approximately 7-8 adjustable bands on the market. The amount of fluid required and total content varies.

A modern day memory foam mattress is what you want. A latex and memory foam mattress is naturally resistant and dust mites find it hard to survive. The amazing sensation created when you sleep on a memory foam mattress is one much like weightlessness and floating.

Sleeping on a memory foam mattress is next to achieving an ultimate sleep with numerous benefits. Sleeping on a bunch of metal springs is probably more like sleeping on a bed of rusty nails when compared to sleeping on memory foam. Because a memory foam mattress conforms to your body shape, there is no need to toss and turn whistle sleeping because you feel as if you are resting on a cloud.

By individually supporting each part of the body, foam can help reduce pressure points and help to eliminate tossing and turning. Magniflex has used this innovation and created a foam mattress with a series of layer combinations for work to mold to and support the weight of each individual body like no other mattress o the market. Magnilex’s Memory Foam collection will provide you with an astonishing level of support and can be found at www.mattresses4backs.com

Memory foam beds are so popular that they have now become mainstream with TempurPedic being the market leader, in fact, lots of companies have started producing affordable, quality memory foam products in competition to Tempurpedic.

Memory foam is basically a Swedish designed mattress technology. The memory foam mattress is hygienically clean, dustless and odor free and typically will last 20 years without sagging or deforming.

The method know as three dimensional ultrasound scanning is used in early pregnancy, providing 3 d pictures of the fetus. Most of the time these pictures are rapidly captured and joined together and made into a movie to created a “4d ultrasound scan”.

Three dimensional scanning works in a similar manner to the traditional ultrasound except that the ultrasound pulses are sent from multiple directions. The ultrasound pulses are reflected back and captured and provide information to construct a 3 d image in much the same way as 3d movies. 3d ultasound scanning was devised in the usa.

It’s important to understand that sonologists around the world have always conjured 3d images of the body in their minds while doing their 2d scans. However, until recently it was not possible to do this kind of reconstruction on patient data acquired using ultasound scanning. With the introduction of ultrasound baby scans for the first time allowed us a view into the brain of a sonologist and hence letting us view the images on the ultrasound machine.

3d imaging should utilize ultrasound energy following the same limits as conventional 2d ultrasound to create the 3d images. There is no data to suggest harm due to 3d ultrasound, its use in non-medical situations needs to be undertaken with an understanding of the risks that may exist.

Over-indulged at Christmas & New Year? Feel full, bloated and
unhealthy yet again?

It’s that time of year when we all promise ourselves we will get
fit this year, we will lose those extra pounds and we will join
a gym and keep going beyond March - it’s going to be different
this year.

And this year, it CAN be different. There IS an alternative to
trying every new fad diet that’s around; there IS an alternative
to joining a gym and giving up after a couple of months when
you’re not really getting anywhere; there IS a way to help you
look and feel as great as you should do, all day, every day.

The alternative is finding an approach that works for you -
finding the diet that makes you feel at your best by identifying
your metabolic type and finding a way of fitting exercise into
your daily life so it doesn’t feel like an effort or chore that
has to be fitted into your already hectic schedule.

Did you know that it can take only 20 minutes of exercise, five
times a week to make improvements in your fitness? Or that there
is a unique diet that identifies the foods that are right for
you? By identifying your individual needs, you will identify not
only which areas of your health & fitness you need to work on
but also which ones you don’t, so you can save yourself wasting
time and money on things that just don’t work for you.

Working with a Metabolic Typing Advisor helps you identify the
foods that are right for you as an individual - by doing this
and eating right for your metabolic type, your weight should
normalise, your energy levels should improve and your cravings
should reduce if not disappear. And if it sounds expensive, it’s
not - you can be typed and have a consultation for the cost of a
pair of boots! How’s that for good value? - A diet that’s right
for you to help you achieve optimal health for the rest of your
life for the cost of a pair of winter boots!

And if you are exercising and trying to lose weight, science &
research have proven that the most effective combination of
exercise is a moderate amount of cardiovascular exercise with
more resistance training. So for those of you, who pound the
treadmill, swim several hundred lengths or do yoga, Pilates or
other aerobics classes, thinking that all those calories you’re
burning are bound to help you lose weight, think again. You are
much more likely to lose weight by replacing some of the cardio
exercise with some weight training.

Yes, weights. Most women think lifting weights is for men only -
scared they’ll get big muscles and look butch. Genetically women
don’t have the right makeup to gain the same amount of muscle
mass as men so they’re unlikely to get too big and weight
training has a massive beneficial impact on preventing
osteoporosis in later life.

And before you rush off to join a gym, you might be interested
to know that the weights machines in the gym are unlikely to do
you much good and can even cause injury and faulty movement
patterns. A far more effective way to train is to use one of
those big bouncy balls that you may have seen - called a Swiss
or Stability Ball, some dumbbells and a mat. This is all you
need to do a workout at home that strengthens & conditions your
whole body and helps flatten your stomach at the same time.

But to ensure you are exercising safely, correctly and doing the
right exercises for your body, it’s worth consulting a qualified
fitness professional, ideally a C.H.E.K. trained professional.
These are practitioners who have had some of the highest
training available and are trained to perform comprehensive
assessments and design exceptional programmes that will get you
to your goals faster & more effectively. Unlike other trainers,
they will address more than just physical fitness and ensure
that your programme fits into your lifestyle and is sustainable
in the long term, not just something you do with them and then
forget about it once you’ve finished.

If you think it’s too expensive, then consider how much money
you’d have wasted by joining a gym and only going for 2 or 3
months. Why not put this money towards ensuring you have a
personalised approach to your health & fitness that works? After
all, what’s your health worth to you?