As we get older, health conditions, mobility limitations or a lack of energy can keep us from being as socially active as we once were. A diminishing social life might happen gradually as close friends experience the same conditions and family members grow busy. We may not even notice how long it has been since we last spent time with a friend! Isolation has many physical and emotional health risks. Especially if you live by yourself, staying socially active is critical to enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Volunteer at a local organization, join a senior living community or find a group that focuses on similar interests (e.g., knitting, water aerobics, cooking). Get back to living your best life!
Community News
Keep Balance This Season
The winter season is a wonderful time to spend more time with family and eat lots of great food! These are lovely activities, but it is also important to remember to keep balance between eating, relaxing, and being active. It can be easy to incorporate physical activity into the day while still spending time with loved ones. Here are some simple ideas to get you started: skating, tobogganing, taking a walk to see the festive lights, or going for a mall-walk to start your new fitness routine. So enjoy your time and balance it all out with some physical activity!
Learn to Master Self-Compassion
’Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions. This year, why not try something a bit different? Commit yourself to the cultivation of self-compassion. Research demonstrates a strong link between self-compassion, health, and wellness. Indeed, many experts believe it to be fundamental to good mental health. Cultivate self-compassion through a positive daily mantra. Write a kind letter to yourself at the end of each week, by taking the perspective of a loving friend. Once you’ve mastered self-compassion, turn your attention to others. Showing compassion for others is a surefire way to create happiness in your life.
What’s Fueling Your Health?
Ayurveda, an ancient medicine system from India, uses the terms Agni and Ama to describe two concepts that relate to our ability to digest food. Agni refers to our digestive fire; our ability to eat food and receive its highest benefit in the form of nutrients that fuel our bodies. We suppress our digestive fire by forgetting to eat, eating on the run, overeating, and eating foods that are too heavy, dry, or difficult to digest. When our digestive fire is suppressed, it causes Ama, the accumulation of undigested materials. This creates stickiness, heaviness, and dullness in our bodies and minds, further preventing optimal digestion and leading to symptoms.
Product Review: Kyäni Sunrise™
Kyäni Sunrise™, is a blend of Superfoods, vitamins, and trace minerals. Taken in the morning, it provides a rich blend of antioxidants that help defend against free radical damage. Kyäni Sunrise™ contains juices and extracts from some of the world’s most potent antioxidant sources, including: Wild Alaskan Blueberries, Concord and White Grapes, Red Raspberries, Pomegranate, Cranberries, Aloe Vera, Maqui and Amla Berries, Gooseberries, Ginseng, Kale, Brocolli, Ashwaganda, Spinach, Mangosteen, Acai, Aronia and Wolfberries. Natural ingredients your body needs to support heart health, healthy blood sugar levels, mental health, and immune system… all in one little pouch!
Natural Product Review
Eminence Organics Firm Skin Acai Moisturizer nourishes and firms to restore a youthful appearance. Rich in vitamins, antioxidants and phytonutrients, this moisturizer includes acai berry that works to promote a healthy, resilient complexion, while hyaluronic acid hydrates to plump the skin, diminishing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Seabuckthorn berry oil and shea butter condition and smooth, repairing damage and delivering a radiant, revitalized complexion. All Eminence products are natural, organic, biodynamic, sustainable and cruelty-free, all while being free of parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulphate and propylene glycol.
Book Club: Prime Time
Structured Energies for Peak Life Experiences. Prime Time is an enormously thought-provoking manifesto that amounts to an instruction manual for individuals wishing to have a more balanced and spiritually fulfilled existence. Manitoban, Suzanne Forcese offers a high-level explanation of the concept of living a Structured Life, and of doing so by way of very practical steps. Learn a new approach that dives deep into the amazing world of Structured Energy.
Clean Eating: Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
Ingredients: 2 cups filtered water, 2 cups almond milk, 1 cup steel-cut oats, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts. Directions: Stir together all ingredients except Hemp Hearts in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6 hours or overnight. Stir in Hemp Hearts until well combined just before ready to eat. Serve topped with milk, fruit, nuts and more Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts.
Words to Live By
New Year’s most glorious light is sweet hope! – Mehmet Murat ildan
Laughter is the Best Medicine
If you ever find yourself confused at a four-way stop – just go home. Life only gets more complicated after that. FUN FACT: If two or more vehicles arrive at a four-way stop at the same time, the vehicle on the furthest to the right has the right of way. Stay safe out there!
Mindfulness Retreat
The power of mindfulness meditation is well recognized. Indeed, it is the foundation to my personal wellness. But, first I needed to understand the science behind it. Once I did, I knew it was the tool I had been seeking.
Join me at Chalet Point Retreat Centre, where I lead classes in a variety of topics: understanding the concept of self, exploring the mind-body connection, the power of focused attention, and the psychology of motivation. Overlooking beautiful Lake Winnipeg, Chalet Point is just a one-hour drive from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Perfect for small groups, with half-day, full-day, and overnight options.
