(SPIRIT) Complement challenge + gratitude

Today, I challenge you to compliment 5 different people IN PERSON. Ever thought about this: What if that person you decide to compliment hasn’t received a compliment in days, weeks, or even months? Imagine the impact your small act of kindness would have on their day. Enough of an impact to help them spread the same kindness. Enough of an impact that the energy continues to spread and affects hundreds or even thousands of people just because of your simple act of kindness.

Lots of people make decisions based off of emotion. Sure, it is challenging sometimes to not let our present moment frustration get the best of us. How much better do you feel when you step back from your present moment frustration, take a few deep breaths and realize how silly you look or sound?

Today

My work commute is 1 hour to work each day. Today, because of the snow, there were accidents and traffic jams. This delayed my commute and put me at 1.5 hours to get to work. in the heat of the moment, I had two decisions: To stress and let that experience ruin my day, or to live the moment and realize the circumstance is not in my control. I decided to make it a time worth living for. I decided to put on some of my favorite music while I was breathing deeply strolling 2 MPH on the highway through traffic. Traffic is something that will always be as is. I am now praising myself for not letting such circumstance frustrate me. Sometimes things that are not in our control are things that we just have to breath slowly through. Accept and move on.

Circumstances. They will pass. They are temporary. You are in control of your next action. Always

Andy Frisella said, “You are not some special case where only you struggle and everyone else has it easy. Struggle is a KEY INGREDIENT, if not THE KEY INGREDIENT to the success recipe. It teaches appreciation, gratitude, frugality, humility, persistence, fortitude, mental toughness, resourcefulness.”

Today is Friday. The start to a weekend. for some, the “start” to their lives, which consist of: FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY. Let these 3 days not define the meaning to our life. The other 4 days are just as important. Time is our most valuable asset. Praise it. Remind ourselves of our purpose. Why we are on this earth. What our calling is. Why me. Dig deep to figure this out for your own self,

(MIND) Sleep Quality: Its not just about getting to bed early

The last thing you want to feel is like your life is going 100 MPH, mindlessly, day after day, slamming coffee and energy drinks to survive. Connections and relationships feeling empty. Mind pounding headaches. Lack of focus. High blood pressure. Sounds fun right?

We all want more sleep

Realistically, lets say the amount of hours you will be in bed is never going to change. You are going to lay in bed for ____ hours no matter what. The question is, how do we increase the QUALITY of those hours spent in bed?

Information Gathering

I listen to lots of Podcast episodes on optimizing the body and Mind (I try to be productive on my one hour work commute M-F). My personal favorite is “Ben Greenfield Fitness.” The show normally has a well versed scholar, doctor, scientist, or business owner on the podcast with Ben. He has inspired me to experiment and find out what works best for my body.

The Nighttime Discipline

I’ve noticed a trend among the healthiest and happiest people. They have solid nighttime and morning routines. They aren’t rushing to bed and they aren’t rushing out of the door when they wake up. Why? Because the start and end of a day is a transition for us mentally. They are time for our nervous system to prepare for what is upcoming. Staying away from the cell phone one hour before bed and one hour upon awaking has set me up for success. At night, it allows our minds to turn off and stay present. We aren’t developing racing thoughts based off perceived lives of others or cognitively challenging our brains with material. Pairing that discipline along with wearing blue light blocking glasses while home at night has been game changer. Both strategies set our bodies and minds up for a transition to sleep. Nothing to prevent a natural release of melanin. Allows for our cortisol stress levels to almost become absent, and we are telling our bodies that it is time to start turning off. Pairing those strategies with some sort of breath work routine will help optimize sleep. Your resting heart rate will start to go down over time, your mind will feel more clear, and next thing you know, your body and mind will feel better than they’ve every felt. Be Kind to the body. A nice Bath. A facial and so on. Sleeping with little clothes on and keeping the room cool. Some easy on the mind reading. A little Netflix. Something you really enjoy. Light a natural beeswax candle. Keep the lights dim. Incorporate Journalism, or even some reflection with your loved ones and watch your days become more fulfilling and complete then they’ve ever been before.

The morning Discipline

Lots of people struggle with racing anxiety to start the day. When I learn more about how they start their days, its no surprise that their minds are racing and their resting heart rate is above 60 beats per minute. Anxiety is for what is to come. The best way to slow that down is to put extra time and breath work toward WHAT IS NOW. The only way to do this is to allow enough time in the morning for a transition to your day. Some examples are: waking up and relaxing in the living room with a blanket. Focusing on breathing slow. Possibly sipping on some decaf tea or decaf coffee. Drinking water. Reminding ourselves to smile. Stretching/foam rolling. Calming activities. Going for a slow walk. Walking your dog outside. Focusing on being grateful for today and why today is special.

Proven results

I wear a “WHOOP” band on my wrist that monitors my resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, body temperature, and other metrics. Since I’ve incorporated more restful activities to start and end the day, my numbers have all improved. I love the quantification device and the results its displays. REAL PROOF. Proof that my nervous system is operating in flow and I’m managing stress properly due to my disciplines.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Some of us have more time than others. But, time is simply demands or priorities. Some that we can control and some that we can’t. Why not set ourselves up to feel the most energized mentally and physically, so the TIME that we do have is done with quality efforts?

Breath slowly…Turn overactive into reasonable…have a beautiful day

(BODY) Muscle Scraping-Personal trial review + Gratitude

What is it

According to PubMed article, Effects of Instrument-assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization on Musculoskeletal Properties, Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) has been reported to improve joint range of motion (flexibility).

Today we will keep this in laman’s terms for the sake of the general population. Muscle Scraping, or the Graston Technique, is the use of a stainless steel instrument and a massage technique to stretch and relax the muscle tissue. Blood flow is increased and there is a restoration of movement in possible injured tissue.

WHY

Over time because of our movement patterns,(sitting, standing, looking, sleeping, working, lifting) muscular imbalances form. This is human nature. Nothing to be disappointed about, but the question is, What are you doing to undue damage or stress that is being put on the body? How are you recovering? How are you maintaining a healthy muscular/structural foundation? A healthy muscle is a LENGTHENED muscle. Below is a picture of idea muscular formation.

Think of muscle fibers as a gathering of spaghetti noodles lengthened to take on work load.

Because of Injury, surgery, and lengthened periods of time with muscular tightness, there tends to be lots of scar tissue build up in different areas. Knots that need to be released. This is why foam rolling, deep tissue massage, and other techniques have been increasingly popular. I personally get deep tissue work every 2 weeks, along with a chiropractic adjustment once per month.

TRIAL – CONCLUSION

I’ve been developing more tightness in my Quads. Less range of motion with more stress put on the knees. Lets put it this way, I can’t touch my heal to my butt. I only come about half way. I met a physical therapist at Yoga class recently that works at the Cleveland Clinic. Out of her own passion for the art, she decided to help diagnosis and develop a plan for me to rehabilitate my quads. Surprisingly I found out that the problem is stemming from my HIPS! My hips are not taking on proper work load because they’re so tight, so extra stress is put on my quads, which develops more tightness and sends pain to the knee. All along, I thought releasing the quads was the key. The KEY is to release the hips and the quads all together. It was great to be educated on understanding that most knee problems stem from the hips. So I decided to experiment with a muscle scraping tool from Amazon. Using melted coconut oil and the muscle scraping tool at night a couple times a week to release the hips and quads from long term tightness. A back and forth motion along the full spectrum of muscle fibers ranging from above my knee to the top of my hips. I am making SLOW progress, but moving in a positive direction. I will continue to do this a couple times a week, along with stretches and light foam rolling to get the tissues back to healthy lengthened spagetti noodles.

Gratitude

Thank you to the people that live with a strong sense of purpose. So strong that they decide to go out of their way to help others when they’re off the clock. To help educate the world. Knowledge and information is freedom. Download as much as you possibly can into your brain. Take everything with a grain of salt. Don’t be afraid to incorporate different techniques and disciplines into your life to make this place a bit more enjoyable for us. Experimentation and realistic incorporation. All of us put a different twist on how we take action each day.

Breath slowly. Repeat. Today. Always new. Always special.

(SPIRIT) Gratitude: the little things

Every wonder why Grandmothers do such a great job at what they do? Its because they have a strong sense of appreciation in their eyes. In general, the older one gets, the more grateful one becomes. People start to become more confident if their actions. Grandmothers pay attention to the little things. Quality in the little things. The extra 10% that a majority of the world dreads or doesn’t put the effort toward. They do a great job at staying present. Breathing slowly through the tasks that they perform. Handling situations with quality effort so they can look back and feel good about the work they put in. Especially their actions when no one is looking. Like Andy Frisella (owner of 1st phorm fitness company) said, “when I walk past a piece of trash on the ground, I have to pick it up. When I walk away from the toilet, I have to clean off the seat even if it wasn’t me who dripped on the seat.” Are these things going to make us worse? No, they can only make us better.

Who are you when no one is looking? –BE KIND TO EVERYONE

Are you going to hold the door and be kind to a homeless person just as you would for a beautiful woman walking through the door?

Character– THE REAL YOU

Your character should not be affected by circumstance. No matter who you are around or where you are. Ask youself at the end of the day, “Was I respectful and kind to each and every person I can into contact with today? Did I do a good job at controlling my emotional state even under tough conditions?”

The weather – stop talking about the weather. Are you going to let a rainy dark day define who you are? When someone asks how you are, are you going to say, “I’m okay, its cold cloudy day outside.” Remember something. That person didn’t ask you about the weather, that person asked you how YOU are.

How about you Chas? – What are you grateful for?

Sure I’m a little goofy sometimes. Sure I’m a little extra when the situation doesn’t call for it. But, what I never lose site of is how my presence affects others. I’m here today making my co worker’s lives easier. I’m putting the effort and energy into what I do so the world can be a better place. I hope I make people smile a little extra along the way. Today I will enjoy the tasks that sometimes can be tedious. Today I will remind myself to smile even when I am around people who can be draining. Today I will breath slowly and take each hour and minute for what they are. Keeping a calm presence with me and being grateful for the ability to perform. The ability to have guidance and be surrounded by other people that do such a great job. I’ve learned the most successful people (in terms of body, mind, spirit, family, work, etc) have solid morning and nighttime routines. They don’t rush to bed. They don’t rush to hop in the shower. They set disciplines in place to feel the best they can feel. They reflect, they interact, and focus on the things that really matter. Journalism to start my day helps me bring to my forefront, what means lots to me and why NOW is special.

Breathe slowly. Stay present

(SPIRIT) Christian Inspiration

Recently I downloaded the “Daily Bible Inspirations” app which updates each day and displays a passage from the bible, along with a translation and Journal Prompt. I saw this originally as another solid way to reflect and prompt some solid journal writings. This one today reads:

Psalm 15:1-3

LORD, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart; he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man.

For me, the passage means, we must be confident in who we are and stay true to our real selves. Lots of people or places in life can easily influence those that are weak in the mind. When we are not afraid to be ourselves no matter the situation, we are setting ourselves up for success. We become confident and praise ourselves for the way we approach different situations, the way we treat people and the attitude we have toward the small things in life. All of a sudden, one will start noticing quality work done in all aspects. Cleaning, dishes, laundry, and other small tasks now become a part of the day. They’re just as is and are nothing to stress about.

Appreciation enhances in one’s mind, and now peace and love become the forefront in our life.

Just Thoughts…