Keep Up.

Two little words with a whole lot of meaning.  You’ve heard people say them all your life.  Your parents would say “Keep up with your homework.”  Teachers would say “Keep up with the class.”  Your boss pokes his head into your cubicle and says “Keep up, we are on deadline.”

In this fast paced world, we are always trying to keep up.  We are stressed out from working sixteen hour days, driving the kids to school, cleaning the house, cooking the meals.  There never seems to be enough time to keep up.

Did you ever think that in order to keep up, you may need to slow down?  A radical concept?  Maybe.  But let’s look at the concept on a deeper level.  Instead of looking outward, let’s take a look inward.

Are we taking care of ourselves?  Are we keeping up our own health by exercising, eating healthy foods, finding quiet time (even it’s its just 10 minutes) each and every day to be alone and meditate?  Do we find the time to bring joy into our lives?  Do we connect with family and friends and go on little adventures, even if it’s simply relaxing over a cup of tea?

For many years, I used to be my own task master.  My day timer was scheduled from morning to night with tasks that I needed to do for others, neglecting the most important person – me.

Sometimes, I think God finally says enough and has to do something dramatic to wake us up.  We are put on this earth to be of service to others, but did you ever stop to think that being your true self is the key?  Each of us is unique and that uniqueness is what we bring to others.  But if we spend all our time doing things for others, neglecting ourselves, we lose sight of who we are.  Only by being quiet and taking time for ourselves and taking care of ourselves do we connect to our true nature.  By keeping up with ourselves, we can be more open to give to others in a meaningful way.

One thing I’ve come to notice is that when I take care of myself first, I find the peace and serenity to do more for others than I did in the past.  It’s a paradox, I know.  Yet it’s true.  So if you find yourself stress out, running from one event to the next, why not try keeping up with a little self-care.  You may find you’ll be happier for it.

Have a happy day

Posted: August 20th, 2008 under exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 3

You’ve heard me talk about tea bag wisdom in the past, but this time I’m taking the wisdom a step further.  Not only are those little sayings on my tea bags good for the soul, now here’s an article that talks about how good green tea is for the heart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080705/hl_time/doesgreenteahelptheheart

But not to feel like you are short-changed, here are a few words of wisdom to think about when drinking your next cup of green tea.

“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”  Aristotle

So what do your actions say about you?  Do you take chances or focus on a goal and work toward it?  Do you surround yourself in nature or get caught up with everyday stresses?  Are you compulsive or do you honor your body and work diligently to accomplish your goals?  Are your habits good or bad for you? Do you listen to others before reacting?  Where is your passion?  What do you desire?  Hmm.  That’s a lot to think about.

Let me make this short and end with a Chinese Proverb: “When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.” 

Drink up everyone.  Here’s to your health.

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under healthy eating, heart disease, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

The big picnic day of the summer is upon us.  It’s time to pull out my old favorite Gazpacho recipe (cold tomato soup).  It’s refreshing.  It’s delicious.  It’s healthy.  What more could you ask for.  If you’re looking for a new recipe, try this one.  It’s quick and easy.  I don’t have a picture of it since I like to make mine fresh (actually the night before) to let the flavors meld. 

Thanks Barrie for starting this recipe roundup.  Don’t forget to stop by Barrie’s blog for other scrumptious recipes.

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 chili pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

3 Tbs. tomato puree

1 cup tomato juice

2 Tbs. wine vinegar

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. salt

pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups cold water

Mix all ingredients, putting water in last.  Serve cold with or without ice cubes.

Helpful shortcut:  cut veggies into larger pieces and let your food processor chop everything into smaller pieces.  If you’re still worried about fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes can be substituted.

Enjoy!

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under healthy eating.
Comments: 2

I took some time this morning to catch up on all my magazine reading.  The stack has been piling up since the first of the year.  Seeing the stack was a reminder that I haven’t been taking enough “me” time. 

As I breezed through the February issue of Yoga Journal, I came across an article “Create a Life You Love” by Nora Isaacs.  The article suggests ten ideas to help you reconnect with what truly makes you happy.  Among them she suggests: get energized about your future, plug into your spiritual self, let go of the old, serve others, honor your physical self, be daring, soothe your mind, notice your surroundings, create community, and  make a date with nature.

Ah.  For me, that pretty much sums up the changes that I’ve tried to make in my life over the last two years.  Let me tell you, changing your lifestyle isn’t for wimps.  One of the hardest changes for me was letting go of the old.  How often do we stay stuck in a job we don’t like, justifying our misery with one excuse after another?  Maybe we stay in a bad relationship because we’re too afraid to be alone?  Or maybe it’s just too hard to let go of bad habits: eating fattening foods, drinking alcohol, smoking, ignoring our body’s need for exercise.  I’m grateful that I didn’t have to deal with all the things I’d mentioned, but believe me, I had plenty on my plate.

Focusing on some of the other ideas the author mentioned in the article, like looking at my spiritual self, serving others, soothing my mind, being more aware of my surroundings, creating new communities of friends, and taking the time to be in nature have helped me refocus on who I truly am, and how I want to live my life.

How’s life treating you these days?  Are you happy?

Maybe it’s time to come up with a list of things we do each day to make us feel happy and more alive, then strive to do more of those things each day.  I’ll start with a few of my favorites: watch the sun rise, be aware of my breath through daily breathing exercises, be grateful, get a massage once a month, exercise, practice yoga, meditate, smile, create stained glass, write, tell my family and friends how much I love them.

What’s on your list?

Posted: March 7th, 2008 under Stained Glass, exercise, healthy eating, meditation, mindfulness, writing, yoga.
Comments: 5

I’m not a great cook, but all my friends rave about my Common Ground Granola recipe.  It’s gone through a series of modifications over the years until it’s reached the height of perfection.  I recently ran out of usual stash, so I took a quick trip to the grocery store for the freshest ingredients.  If you’re not allergic to nuts and are interested in trying a healthy breakfast alternative, try this recipe.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl:

6 cups of rolled old fashioned oats (not quick oats)

1 cup slivered or sliced almonds

1 cut walnuts

1 cup pecans

2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

5 teaspoons or more of cinnamon

Heat in a saucepan until mixed to an even consistency:

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup maple syrup

Once the oil, honey and syrup are mixed, add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Slowly pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until all the oats are coated.

Spread the mixture on cookie sheets or shallow pans and cook in the oven at 275 degrees for about an hour, stirring and changing the placement of the pans on oven shelves every 20 minutes to prevent burning until granola turns a golden brown. 

Turn off oven, leave door cracked until crispy.  Cool completely, and the store granola in an airtight container or Ziplocs.

I like my granola sprinkled over vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit (blueberries and strawberries).  YUM!

Posted: February 23rd, 2008 under healthy eating, recipes.
Comments: 2

I just read an article that might interest other women.  We’ve known for some time now that obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, but now researcher,  Amytis Towfighi, M.D. at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA has found a link between obesity in middle-aged women and strokes.    The report indicates that the incidence of stroke in women ages 35-54 has tripled in recent years.  The sudden spike in strokes has been traced to an increase in women’s waistlines.  Surprisingly, the incidence of strokes increased even when women were on cholesterol and blood pressure meds thought to lower the risk of stroke.  Click on the link to learn more. Dr. Amytis Towfighi in the news.  Just one more reason to eat more fruits and veggies, and exercise regularly.

Posted: February 21st, 2008 under Stained Glass, healthy eating, heart disease.
Comments: 1

There was an article in The San Diego Union Tribune yesterday about salt. 

“The FDA is considering a proposal to remove salt from its list of foods ‘generally recognized as safe’ or GRAS.”  If the FDA removes salt from their GRAS list, manufacturers could be limited in the amount of salt they use, meaning that all their recipes would have to change.

We all know too much salt is bad for your health.  Research has linked it to high blood pressure and heart disease.  The current recommended guidelines by the American Heart Association suggests we limit our intake of sodium to less than a teaspoon (or about 2,300 milligrams) a day.

So, being the health conscious individual that I am, I walked over to my refrigerator and started reading the packaging labels.  Some items were low in sodium: Wheat Tandoori Nan 250 mg.; Whole Wheat Bread 135 mg; Veggie Burger 360 mg; 9 pieces of frozen cheese ravioli 290 mg; 1 cup vanilla nonfat yogurt 105 mg.  Then I gasped:  Tofurkey Polish sausage 660 mg; 1 cup Chicken Tortilla soup 1190 mg (okay, I think we had a discount coupon for this – but still); frozen turkey slice in gravy 660 mg for one slice (approx. 2” X 3”).  Yikes!

So the lesson here is read the label.  What’s in your refrigerator?

Posted: February 20th, 2008 under healthy eating.
Comments: 6

I am a reformed Type-A personality, or at least that’s how I like to think of myself. I decided my Type-Aness needed an overhaul when I discovered I had heart disease (HD). I started with cardiac rehab, changing my lifestyle one tiny step at a time. Once I got the basics down - exercise, stress management, and healthy eating, I began asking myself, “Okay, now what?”Prior to HD, I was a retired academic. I was also writing a romantic suspense novel, the fourth novel actually, but who’s counting. After HD, my life consisted of walking, walking, walking; yoga, yoga, yoga, and cooking heart healthy meals. Then, I thought, it was time to get back into the real world. But what did that mean? Was I suppose to dust off that last revision, polish it some more and send it out to yet another editor and agent? Did I want to face the stress that went along with all the rejection letters I got in return? The answer seemed clear at first, yet as my health returned and I watched and listened to all my Type-A friends go about their daily lives, I felt there was still more I needed to do.So, I started rebuilding my life from scratch. In addition to exercise, yoga, and healthy eating, I took up an old hobby – creating stained glass windows. That was a wonderful addition to my life. I could stand at my table for hours, designing a window, cutting glass, framing it in lead, then cementing the window into a beautiful work of art. But as I continued, something nagged at me that there was still more I needed to do.So, I started blogging. Those who write a blog know that it can be a very time-consuming prospect. I’ve enjoyed writing about how I transformed my life and hearing others respond. Yet, something continued to nag at me. Is this what I’m suppose to be doing now?I enjoyed yoga so much, I became a yoga teacher. Working with others who are interested in finding peace with themselves through yoga is very rewarding. I’m now looking forward to expanding my teaching at different locations in the new year. But the question still lurked in the back of my mind. Is this what I’m suppose to be doing with my life?In addition to teaching yoga, I’ve become a spokesperson for WomenHeart and go around to different organizations and talk to women about heart disease. This too is very rewarding.Now, I look back at all the things going on in my life and I begin to wonder if I’m too scattered. Am I still that Type-A personality trying to do too many things?For the past week, I’ve pondered that question, and a few days ago I met with some friends. They, too, have had to rebuild their lives after heart disease. They, too, dabble in a variety of activities. So we’ve decided to call ourselves the dabblers. I’ve come to the conclusion that dabbling is a good thing. It gives me the opportunity to live a happy, balanced life instead of concentrating all my energy in one area and in many cases stressing out when everything didn’t go exactly as planned. So, yes, I am a reformed Type-A personality. I do the things I enjoy every day. I smile more than I have in years. I give to others, and it comes back to me ten-fold.Here’s to all the dabblers in this world.

Posted: November 30th, 2007 under Stained Glass, exercise, healthy eating, heart disease, present moment, yoga.
Comments: 1

Lately I’ve become lax in my vigilance of living a heart healthy lifestyle. It started subtly with portions twice the size of what I ate before. Then a few stressors cropped up that I didn’t handle immediately. Add to that, forgetting to exercise everyday and skipping a day or two of meditation.A couple of weeks ago, I was eating a tuna fish sandwich and the food seemed to stick in my throat. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Dysphagia and suggested I get an endoscopy. He then referred me to a gastroenterologist. So now I’m waiting for my appointment. Since my doctor’s visit, I haven’t had any other problem swallowing, but I have been taking Protonix for acid. I know that Dysphagia is a common problem that comes with age, but I don’t think 56 is old. Maybe I’m in a California state of mind where you’re as young as you feel.As the story continues, I woke up in the middle of the night with indigestion. The pain wasn’t severe and there wasn’t any burning in my throat like the time I ended up in the hospital and was later diagnosed with variant angina, but I reached for the blood pressure cuff. Normally, my BP is around 110/70 but my current reading was quite high. I grabbed my nitro and sprayed it under my tongue. Five minutes later, I sprayed it again then took another reading – back to normal. My indigestion was gone. Hmmm.So, now I’m wondering what’s happening. For the past year I’ve been religious about my diet, exercise, and stress management. I fell off the wagon, so to speak, and the ol’ ticker starts talking to me again. It’s humbling to think that I’ve come to this point in my life. There is so much happening around me, yet I must stay vigilant about my heart disease. I know what I need to do to stay healthy. It’s so much harder to follow that straight and narrow path, especially with the holidays ahead.So I remind myself to eat lots of veggies, taste but don’t gobble the stuffing, and have some fresh fruit for dessert. I’ll remind myself to take a walk after my feast. And, I’ll try to stay calm as I get stuck in traffic on my way to Thanksgiving Dinner.Wishing everyone a safe, heart healthy Thanksgiving.

Posted: November 20th, 2007 under healthy eating, heart disease.
Comments: 1

Hmmm. Have you ever worked really hard to change something in your life? Making a lifestyle change is never easy. So why is it so easy to fall back into your old habits?It’s interesting how the old habits sneak up on you. I’ve had several heart to heart talks with some of my old habits that seem to be in my face lately. I thought I’d write about them to see if they strike a cord with you too.Take the old junk food habit. No, I haven’t swung by the local drive-thru burger stand lately, but we recently bought a Costo-sized bag of salty trail mix. You know, the tasty kind with whole almonds, raisins and lots of M & Ms. The contents of the super-sized bag has been diminishing daily with a handful here and a handful there. If you add up the handfuls, they probably come to about 1-2 cups a day. I don’t even want to think about all the calories that adds up to. It’s certainly more than a single serving. So, what do I say to the half-eaten bag of trail mix? You are not my friend. Your salt content is miles over my daily limit. Even though studies have shown dark chocolate is good for people with heart disease, I’m afraid your milk chocolate M & Ms don’t count. Bye-bye trail mix, it’s in the trash for you.Next is the old “I think I’ll sleep in today” habit. Okay, some of you might argue with me about this one. We do need a good night’s rest. But I’ve worked really hard to establish an early morning meditation and yoga practice. I did this for several reasons: 1) I like the quiet time in the morning. 2) Starting the day talking with God seems to make the day go by more peacefully. 3) I feel virtuous about stretching in the morning. It lengthens my spine and makes me feel more flexible throughout the day. So, why do I forgo all these good practices for an extra hour of tossing and turning in bed, arguing with myself about whether I should get up and do my morning practice or stay in bed and snuggle under the covers? Old habits are just hard to break. So I try not to beat myself up over my lapse in judgment and make a vow to myself that I’m going to get up early the next day and do what I need to do. Funny, when I stay in bed for that extra rest, my day is filled with more aggravation.There’s one more old habit that sneaks up on me from time to time. The old habit of procrastination – especially when it comes to exercise. My life has changed a lot this past year. I’m now doing things I never in a million years thought of doing, but one thing is a constant. When I get involved in an activity, I jump in with both feet. I immerse myself to the exclusion of other things – like daily exercise. Only when my back starts to ache or my neck becomes stiff do I realize that – oops – I forgot to exercise today.But my life has changed to the point that I am more aware of my lapse in judgment about the food that I consume. I’m more aware of my early morning laziness. And, my body talks to me about needing to exercise and I listen. So, instead of feeling guilty about falling back into old habits, I’m grateful for the strides I’ve made in my life. I treat myself with kindness and compassion and remind myself of how much progress I’ve made toward living my life through my heart. Ahh. Life is good.If you’ve fallen back into old habits, be kind to yourself, don’t feel guilty about what you should have done. Instead, remind yourself that your human and get back on the path to health and wellness.

Posted: July 31st, 2007 under exercise, healthy eating.
Comments: none