Tip for the Week: Listen to Others

This week's tip is to spend some time listening to others.  When was the last time that you were in a conversation where you truly listened to the other person?  Where you were not trying to think of something intelligent|witty|sarcastic|newsworthy to say?  Probably quite a while ago.

Listening is a really powerful skill.  I use it often when I am health counseling and it is amazing how I can help and learn so much from others simply by allowing them the time, space, and atmosphere to speak to me and truly be heard.  When you bring this component into your personal life, you allow the person speaking to you to fully express themselves.  Strengthen your relationships and start new ones by simply asking how someone is and truly listening to them.

Try it out this week.  See how you feel and how others react when you give them 100% of your attention.  Let me know how it goes!

Tip for the Week

Hi all!  I've missed you!  I took a weeklong summer break from the blog to take some time to refocus and now I'm ready to continue sharing more information with you all!

An exciting update on my end is that I am taking classes to receive my Level 1 Reiki certification! By the end of August, I will be able to provide Reiki services. Stay tuned for information on where you can receive it (and a post to explain to you what Reiki is)!

Today was my second class with Joanna Scaparotti, a Reiki master in Beverly, MA.  It was really fantastic and afterwards, I felt really cheerful, relaxed, and connected to the universe.  On my way to the train to return to Boston, several people said "Hi. How are you?" to me. Not something that normally happens everyday.  The only way I can explain those greetings is that I had a very welcoming energy around me and they probably felt that energy.  Then at the train station I sat next to a woman with a bag of delicious looking tomatoes, peppers and basil and asked her what she was going to make.  After telling me her plans, she offered me some of her basil!  Maybe this isn't atypical in your town or community, but this is not something that really happens around Boston.

My tip for this week is to not be afraid of radiating good energy! Maybe you'll seem like a crazy person saying hi to strangers or holding doors for little old ladies, but others can feel your energy, even if they don't "believe" in such things. Wake up each morning, get to a place where you feel good about yourself and can think good thoughts (maybe through exercise, meditation or another method), and fill your energy field with welcoming, happy, and blissful thoughts.

Try it out for the week and let me know how it goes.  I'd love to hear your experiences!

Quote for the Week: Be the Change

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.

Today's quote is a personal favorite of mine and as I learn more about myself, becomes even more relevant in my life.  I have always felt like I had a purpose in my life, although I was never really sure what it was.  My life since my program at IIN has clarified that perspective.  Take time today, on a lazy Sunday, the first day of a brand new month, to reflect on your purpose.  What will your impact be on this world?

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."  - Mahatma Gandhi

Today's post inspired by dailygood.org.

Tip for the Week: Happy Party Food Guilt Independence!

 (source)

Happy Independence Day!  Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays.  When I was younger, it symbolized the start of summer and still reminds me of fireflies and neon glow necklaces.  I really enjoyed seeing fireworks at Foley Field-ooo'ing and ahh'ing at the bright flower-like lights and heavily anticipating the aftermath of the "sonic booms."  Today, it still represents the quintessential summer night but the fireworks don't mean too much to me anymore.  It is really a time to get together with family and friends to enjoy each others' company and oh yeah, good food, especially BBQ.  I love food but since I have changed some of my eating behavior, I will sometimes leave a party feeling guilty about what I have eaten.  This is really the worst feeling because it is totally avoidable!

If you anticipate feeling bad about what you eat at a party today or at any time during any season, practice this party-food-guilt independence tip!   My advice is to bring your own dish to contribute to the party.  This enables you to have more control over what you put into your mouth.  This doesn't mean you can't enjoy the other food that you normally would eat at a BBQ but you can feel good that some space in your belly that would have otherwise been filled with chips and dip is instead filled with your healthy choice.  Some suggestions for what you can bring:

• Appetizer/side: peppers to roast (these can be added into salads or upgrade your hamburger), quinoa salad (what a great opportunity to teach people about quinoa!), pre-soaked corn to roast, rice and beans
• Main dish: ground turkey to make turkey burgers, salad loaded with lots of vegetables, whole portabella mushrooms to make burgers instead of a meat based burger-better yet, ditch the bun!
• Dessert: fruit salad or just a whole watermelon (who doesn't like watermelon?), even better-a watermelon bowl fruit salad
• Drinks: fresh lemonade (not great but better than the soft drinks with high fructose corn syrup), soda/sparkling water

Besides leaving a party guilt free, you will also look like a great guest.  Most hosts will be grateful for more food to serve.  I know that I am always thankful when my guests bring something.

So here you go. The ultimate party food guilt independence tip for your Independence Day celebration!

Tip for the Week: Plan Your Meals

It's Sunday! The eve of a new week. Many of us, well not me, will be heading somewhere the upcoming weekend. But before you get to the long weekend, you have 5 laborious days to get through. There will be meetings to pay attention during, trains to catch and much planning in anticipation of spending time with family and friends oo'ing and ahh'ing at fireworks. One of the ways to get through a busy week is to plan your meals ahead. It takes the heavy thinking out of your evenings so that you can rest. This is definitely an area I need to work on. The bf and I have many staples that we make weekly or biweekly, but we almost always decide what to have for dinner the day of. It puts an unnecessary amount of stress that I would love to avoid. So join me this week and plan out your meals.


Other benefits of planning your meals besides sanity are savings in time and money. By having a dinner menu for the week, you will know what groceries to purchase which saves  making multiple trips to and from the store as well as being an efficient shopper at the store. Additionally, by saving time in your evenings, you can spend more time on my blog! :) Planning can also save you money, if you want it to. When planning, you can integrate sale items from the store circulars and make them a part of your meals or you can plan around the remaining items in your pantry or freezer. This is especially helpful before payday or month end, such as this week, when you may be strapped for cash.


Happy planning and let me know how it goes!

Tip for the Week: Just Dance

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.

Happy Father's Day to the dads and granddads and great granddads out there. I hope your family showed you a good time today.

This week's tip is inspired by some of my favorite moments from my weekend classes in New York.  No, they are not the sessions with the admirable guest speakers or meeting new friends (which have both been amazing and inspiring).  Some of my top ranking moments have actually been when me and 1,200 other students danced together.  During times that the class has been low in energy or just touched upon a serious topic, my teacher, Joshua Rosenthal, led my class through dance breaks. The energy of my classmates coupled with the amazing acoustics and lights in the Jazz Center have led to awesome energy boosting, free flowing experiences.  I've adopted this practice on some early mornings when I need an energy boost. I'll go on YouTube, select a song with a good beat, and dance my heart out before heading out for work.

I'd like for you to give it a try this week.  Dance alone like no one's watching or pull in your partner, your children, or maybe your dog or cat :)

Tip for the Week: Shut Up and Listen

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.

Being a good listener is completely underrated. Everyone is so focused on getting their 2 cents in to make sure they sound intelligent or to make sure their opinion is heard. When is the last time you had a real conversation with someone? One where you were speaking and the other person was looking you in the eye and actively listening?  Been a while hasn't it? Don't you wish that when you spoke, you were heard? 

Well in the spirit of a fresh start to the week, let's make a concerted effort to work on genuinely listening to our friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else we encounter throughout our busy days. Look them in the eye, nod, and show them that you are listening.  Ask clarifying questions. Be interested in what they are saying. This will make you appear not only intellectual but also genuinely caring and engaged and in turn, the other person will feel special.

Let's start using BOTH of our ears and listen! And hope that person pays it forward and so on. Then we'll have a world with fewer disagreements and more understanding.

Here's to a week of truly connecting!

Tip for the Week: Pick your battles

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.


You win some, you lose some.


Life is full of disagreements, lessons in disguise. Sometimes we are the ones to give these lessons, others come to us in due time, and many are thrust upon us-by strangers, bosses, family and friends. When evaluating how to respond to these circumstances, pick your battles carefully. Life is full of difference in opinion. Evaluate the consequences of your words and actions before acting upon your emotions. Know that what you do and say affects the relationships you have with the others involved. Sometimes you have to let things go. And other times, you will feel so passionate about a matter that you will have no choice but to voice your opinion.

For the week, identify the battles-large and small-and weigh the consequences before acting.  Know that there are larger ones ahead and choose carefully.

Tip for the Week: Lean with It, Rock with It

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week. (sorry that today's is a bit late...again...)



So I was supposed to go to a restorative yoga class last night-a type called Yin Yoga which I haven't tried yet and was eager to try.  However, when I went to the studio, the person logging me in said that Yin was at 7:00, not 5:00.  Whoops-I must have misread the schedule!  She stated that there was a Vinyasa class at 5:00, but it is very different from Yin. 
 
This incident-going to a yoga class/studio expecting one type of class and getting another-has happened before.  I always go with the flow.  This is yoga for Pete's sake!! If I can't take a change of class in stride, I've got much bigger issues.  And end result was feeling amazing after a hard workout and being quite sore today.
 
So the tip for this week is to not take things too seriously.  Go with the flow, lean with it-rock with it, what is meant to be will be, it all happens for a reason.  I think that pretty much sums up my personal philosophy :) 
 
I'd love to hear examples of how you have had a light hearted attitude in a similar situation.  Also, anyone notice a similarity between last week's tip and this week's?  First person to get it will get free access to one of my upcoming teleclasses!

Tip for the Week: Walk it Out

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week. (sorry that today's is a bit late)

I spent yesterday afternoon in one of Boston's suburb. I walked from the train stop to a shopping plaza about a mile away and did not run into a single soul on the sidewalk. There were plenty of cars and trucks but no one using the most natural form of transportation: our legs! So that inspired this week's tip: try to walk more this week! Park the car a little further away from where you normally park. You'd probably get to where you are going quicker without circling the parking lot 5 times. Walking is probably the easiest way for us to incorporate more activity into our days and utilize our muscles. Also, walking allows us to slow down and smell the roses! Spring has finally sprung in the Northeast. Enjoy it! Relish it! Soak it in because before you know it, you'll be complaining of the heat and humidity.

What are some ways you are going to incorporate more walking into your routine this week?

Tip for the Week: Snacking on Fruit

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.

If snacking for you is all about convenience, satiety, and energy, reach for nature's candy: fruit.  There is no need to pack or prepare fruit and the fiber and natural sugar will keep you full and energized without the unhealthy, instant sugar high's and low's you would get from other sugary snacks.

Buy some fresh or frozen fruit and put it front and center where you keep your snacks. Place a bunch of bananas in front of your cookie cabinet or on your kitchen counter. Buy a bag of frozen berries and put it in front of your carton of ice cream. Or bring some apples and oranges to work and put them on your desk so you reach for them instead of taking the walk to the vending machine. Try this for a week and observe how it feels to eat fruit instead of your normal snacks.

What are some techniques you have used to help snack more healthfully?