Cultivating Gratitude for a Healthier, Happier You

When it comes to wellness, we often think about physical health, exercise, and nutrition. However, one essential but often overlooked aspect of well-being is gratitude. Gratitude is not just a feel-good emotion; it has a profound impact on your mental, emotional, and physical health. In this blog, we'll explore how cultivating gratitude can lead to a healthier and happier you.

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude is the act of recognizing and appreciating the good things in your life, no matter how big or small. It involves acknowledging the kindness of others, the beauty in the world, and the positive aspects of your own life. Practicing gratitude means focusing on what you have rather than what you lack.

The Connection Between Gratitude and Wellness

1. **Improved Mental Health:** Gratitude has been linked to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. When you focus on the positive aspects of your life, it becomes harder for negative thoughts and emotions to take over.

2. **Enhanced Emotional Well-being:** Grateful individuals tend to experience more positive emotions and greater life satisfaction. They are better equipped to cope with stress and adversity.

3. **Physical Benefits:** Gratitude can lead to better sleep, lower blood pressure, and a stronger immune system. When you're less stressed and more positive, your body responds positively as well.

Ways to Cultivate Gratitude for Wellness

1. **Keep a Gratitude Journal:** Write down three things you're grateful for every day. This simple practice can help shift your focus toward the positive aspects of your life.

2. **Express Your Gratitude:** Don't just feel grateful; show it. Tell people you appreciate them, send thank-you notes, and express your gratitude verbally. It not only strengthens your relationships but also boosts your own well-being.

3. **Mindful Meditation:** Incorporate mindfulness practices into your routine. Take a few moments each day to focus on the present and acknowledge the things you're grateful for.

4. **Volunteer and Give Back:** Helping others can foster gratitude. Volunteering or engaging in acts of kindness can remind you of your own blessings and the power of giving.

5. **Surround Yourself with Positivity:** Spend time with people who radiate positivity and gratitude. Their outlook on life can be contagious and inspire your own gratitude practice.

Conclusion

Gratitude isn't just a trendy self-help concept; it's a powerful tool for improving your overall wellness. By cultivating gratitude, you can experience enhanced mental and emotional health, reduced stress, and even physical benefits. So, as you embark on your wellness journey, don't forget to count your blessings and appreciate the beauty and goodness in your life. It might just be the missing piece to a healthier, happier you.

Sun Standing Still

The summer solstice marks the official first day of summer. On this day, the northern hemisphere is tilted most towards the sun, the sun is highest in the sky, and we enjoy the longest day of sunlight. These characteristics are the reason why, in Latin, the word solstice means ‘sun standing still’, a suggestion that the sun pauses as it reaches its most extreme height. This day also marks the point when days begin to shorten but lets not focus on that – we in the northern hemisphere only have so much time to enjoy the warmth of summer.

I have not been able to find when celebrating the summer solstice became a thing, but in 240 B.C., the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes made the first good measurement of the size of Earth by noting the angles of shadows in two cities on the Summer Solstice. So, the idea of the Summer Solstice has been around for quite some time!

In ancient times, the summer solstice was a marker to figure out when to plant and harvest crops and helped to predict annual flooding. It was also used to mark the 1-month countdown to the Olympic Games. On the other hand, Pagan folklore believed evil spirits would appear on the summer solstice, and people would wear protective garlands of herbs and flowers to protect themselves from evil spirits. Other summer solstice traditions hold that the ashes from a Midsummer bonfire can protect one from misfortune or that the ashes—when spread across one’s garden—will bring a bountiful harvest.

Many ancient cultures held festivities and celebrations on the Summer Solstice (Midsummer):

• Kronia, a festival celebrating Cronus, the god of agriculture, was also held around this time. The Greeks’ strict social code was temporarily turned on its head during Kronia, with slaves participating in the merriment as equals or even being served by their masters.

• In the days leading up to the summer solstice, the ancient Romans celebrated Vestalia, a religious festival in honor of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. During Vestalia, married women could enter the temple of Vesta and leave offerings to the goddess in exchange for blessings for their families.

• In ancient China, the summer solstice was associated with “yin,” the feminine force. Festivities celebrated Earth, femininity, and the “yin” force.

• Before Christianity, ancient Northern and Central European pagans (including Germanic, Celtic and Slavic groups) welcomed Midsummer with bonfires.  It was thought that bonfires would boost the sun’s energy for the rest of the growing season and guarantee a good harvest for the fall.

• Midsummer was a crucial time of year for the Vikings, who would meet to discuss legal matters and resolve disputes around the summer solstice.

• Many Native American tribes took part in solstice rituals, some of which are still practiced today. The Sioux, for instance, performed a ceremonial sun dance around a tree while wearing symbolic colors.

Today, cultures around the world still celebrate Midsummer, from hosting bonfires to wearing garlands in their hair and dancing at a festival or heading to an archeological site (Stone Hedge) to watch the sun rise between massive stones. I don’t know about you but since learning about the history of the Solstice I want to celebrate it meanings.

Here is a website to give you some more ideas on how you can celebrate the Solstice this year: 5 amazing ways to celebrate the summer solstice | Wanderlust

Outdoor Therapy: Planting the Seed

Have you noticed that in the midst of uncertainty, confusion, and heartbreak, taking a healthy seed, dropping it in soil, exposing it to water and sunlight, and watching it grow can bring a sense of peace. 

I know that I am eager to care for everyone but myself. I am quick to share a kind word with a friend but I am my harshest critic. I am patient with my family but I placed myself on the shortest leash. Caring for my garden is a way for me to remind myself what self-care looks like.

As I check on my plants’ health, presence, and location, I start to tap into its needs and desires. Slowly, this simple act of caring for my plants help me connect with myself and begin paying attention to my own needs. I am able to understand that, sometimes, pruning is required in order to grow. That you need to expose the roots (sometimes quite literally) to see what is affecting the overall health of the plant. It takes some time, but eventually I am able to see how tender I am and to appreciate that I need to be seen and heard, felt, and catered to. I begin to uproot the stories written for me and begin to write my own. And I think, in some way or another, this happens to all of us. We grow so accustomed to hearing our stories from other people, or maybe even ourselves, that we forget the impermanence of it all and our ability to rewrite those stories. 

Grow at Your Own Pace

• On average, it takes a flowering plant up to 100 days to complete its growth cycle. So as you begin to write your own story, be patient, and remember that any good story takes time. 

• In the beginning, a seed needs daily attention, but once its roots are anchored it can flourish with minimal maintenance. We too need constant reminders in the beginning when we want to make a change. As the change becomes routine, we can loosen the reigns.

• There will be times when the external environment puts extra stress on the plant and they need special attention. It’s ok to take time for yourself and be selfish when your world becomes stressful. Relax with a massage or enjoy that piece of chocolate cake!

• Oftentimes, you plant a seed not knowing what is going to emerge from the soil. Sure, the packet of seeds you picked up at the supermarket might say kale but you never really know until it starts to sprout. A certain idea may sound good at first, but as it develops you may find that it’s not for you. It’s ok to uproot an idea if it not working for you.

With plants, we don’t have to give too much or more than what’s needed; we just need to take the time to pay attention to its needs. The same is true with us. And as we reflect, we can begin to discover. As we take the time to pay attention to engage in a moment of self-discovery, we can begin to write our stories with authenticity and patience. 

Outdoor Therapy: Diggin in the Dirt

One of my favorite past times is being out in my gardens. I find a sense of contentment and lose the need to rush. I can spend hours on the weekend watering, harvesting, weeding and not feel like I worked for a moment. I would still consider myself pretty new to gardening and landscaping scene, but over the last 4-5 years I definitely learned a lot. The first year felt overwhelming and I had no idea if anything would grow. The subsequent years, I remembered what worked, what didn’t, and would ask anyone else that had a garden what they did. Now, each March I get excited, not overwhelmed, to start digging the dirt. I want to share with you what I have learned so you too can get excited about gardening and capitalize on the extra outdoor therapy it provides.

Today we are focusing on prepping the soil. Prepping can be done either in the fall or early spring.

FALL:

The nice thing about prepping soil in the fall is that nature provides a lot of the materials we will use.

• Leave the roots: Pull the easy plants, leave the rest. The part of the root system that's left behind will feed beneficial microbes, whose digestive efforts produce humus. Humus not only helps keep soil moist and aerated, but also assists plants in getting the nutrients they need to flourish. If the plant is diseased you must pull it entirely.

• Add compost: Its super simple the start your own compost pile and in a few months you will have highly nutritious and biodegradable soil enhancer. Apply 2-3 inches of compost and gently stir it into the soil with a pitchfork.

• Add manure: The best manure to use is cow or horse. This step can be used on top of your compost or, if you do not have a compost pile, use it in place of compost.

• Fertilizer: Use a fertilizer if you do not have compost or do not want to use manure.

• Cover with leaves: No matter what form of compost or fertilizer you've put on the garden, cover it with a layer of fall leaves that you've chopped up with the mower. This is a great way to insulate the soil and encourage worms to stay active longer into the season.

• Cover crops or tarp: Plant a cover crop such as clover, red wheat, cereal or annual rye, or alfalfa. Any of these crops will pull nutrients up from the subsoil, remove excess water, and (when you turn them under in the spring), return nitrogen and organic matter to the soil. Another option would be to place a tarp over the garden. This helps protect the ground from the elements.

SPRING:

Sometimes fall can be busy with harvesting and canning everything the garden produced and the time to prep the soil passes by. No worries. Here are a few ways to prep the soil in spring.

• If you used a cover crop or leaves in fall: Hardy types of green manure which were planted in the fall can be dug into the ground in early spring. This will give them time to decompose before you start sowing and planting.

• Mulch: This is a must in early spring and has multiple benefits, including adding nutrients to the soil as it decomposes, and preventing weeds from taking hold. Add a generous layer of well-rotted compost or manure to help improve soil structure.

• Add chicken manure: Another way to improve the fertility of your soil is by adding chicken manure pellets – an all-round fertilizer that contains a good level of nutrients. Whether you use mulch or manure, add this at least a few weeks prior to planting so it has times breakdown and becomes a part of the soil.

• Start weeding: With the weather warming up, weeds can quickly begin to sprout. Stopping them in their tracks as soon as you spot them will make maintenance much easier in the long run.

Prepping is step one to maintaining a lush and bountiful garden or landscaping. The work you put in beforehand will decrease the time you need to manage your outdoors and increase the time to enjoy its beauty.

I’d love to hear what you are planning this spring and answer any questions you may have. You can reach me at info@katieschlieppwellness.com or through social media at @shaktishivawellness.

Self-Care in Athletes

When we look at athletes we see strong, healthy bodies. What we don’t see is how play and practice affect their bodies. Occasionally an athlete becomes injured and must go through rest and rehab to heal their body, but what most people don’t know is that the daily stress of giving 110% can cause major issues in the long run.

High-level athletes put extreme expectations on their bodies every day. They push themselves to and sometimes past the limit on a regular basis. This is a must when playing amongst the best.

This continual stress put on the body is called microtraumas. Microtraumas occur every day in everyone; however, the extreme stress athletes put on their bodies are more likely to produce deep seeded microtraumas that if left untreated can produce lifelong physical and mental disturbances.

Think of microtraumas as cracks on a road. A freshly paved road (or a young athlete) is smooth and crack free. Overtime, as cars continually drive over it, the roads composition (an athlete’s body) begins to weaken. If the road remains uncared for the weakness turns into cracks and potholes (an injury). Eventually the road will need to be repaved (surgery). If, however, the road is cared for and initial cracks are filled (self-care), it will last much longer.

On the surface, microtraumas are not felt or are injuries that need to be cared for immediately which can make them so harmful. Athletes unaware of what microtraumas are go about their training not thinking about what they are doing to their bodies until they experience pain. Only then do they think about their bodies. Imagine if the athlete understood how daily training affected their body and took care of it 3-4 times a week, 20-30 minutes at a pop. They would be stronger, less injury prone, and recover quicker.

Signs an athlete is developing deep seeded microtraumas:

• Fatiguing faster than normal

• Soreness after most or all training days

• Ongoing or recurring injuries

• General stiffness

• Irritability, moody

• Unfocused

Options for selfcare:

Myofascial Release:  techniques to target pain “bound” by tight fascia. When performed on an injured area, myofascial release therapy liberates bands of scar-like tissues (adhesions) and trigger points to restore function to the affected muscle and joint, which minimizes pain and boosts recovery time.

Yoga: helps become more peaceful and in turn achieve greater focus, and returning the body to its natural state that they could dramatically improve physical capacity.

Meditation and mind work: athletes who perform mediation regularly cope with injuries and pain very proficiently.

The Art of Mastery: Staying the Course

The first week or so of making a change or getting on the path to mastery in life or a skill is always new and exciting. Then you’re reminded of life and its unexpected wrenches it throws into your plans. You’re excitement and enthusiasm begins to wane and soon enough you’re back to the routine you are trying to change. BUT, I have a few secrets to help you keep the energy to stay the course and bounce back onto the path of mastery whenever a wrench is in your way.

The human body follows The Law of Attraction, what is in motion stays in motion. We gain energy by using energy (within healthy limits). Also, you cannot hoard energy or save it for later, it comes into existence through use.

Now there is some conditioning that occurs in childhood that affects our natural source of energy and the ease to tap into it, but I am here to motivate you to get out of the rut you are in and live your best life; not talk about your upbringing.

So, here are my 5 Secrets to Staying the Course:

1.      Maintain physical fitness

From my very personal experience, finding time to move and connect with my body and mind is a game changer. On mornings when my alarm goes off and I tell myself it’s ok to sleep in today verses the mornings I tell myself you’ll feel better afterwards my mood is completely different and my day goes smoother. In turn, it is easier to maintain the course when you are in a good mood and you can handle the days hiccups with ease.

2.      Acknowledge the negative and accentuate the positive

It is clinically proven that people with positive mindsets suffer less illness than those with a negative outlook. Illness is a major energy suck so when you’re prone to getting sick it is hard to have the energy to keep on track with your goals. There is no such thing as too much positivity, unless you deny that there are negatives that do occur. Speaking of negativity, a hard blow in life can be one of most energizing experiences… if you acknowledge it, face it head on, and move forward. Proving to yourself you can do it is the MOST energizing act you can do.

3.      Tell the Truth

When you don’t beat around the bush you save ample time and energy by getting to and working out the issue at hand faster. There is a right way and wrong way to tell the truth. Focusing on how you’re feeling and not placing blame allows for constructive criticism, discussion, and a gameplan to happen without hurt feelings. Remember, sometimes the person you need to be truthful to the most is yourself.

4.      Honor but don’t indulge your shadow side

Burying apart of yourself limits access to your energy potential. Emotions carry a great deal of energy and relearning to feel anger, sadness, jealousy – all the emotions we are told not to feel – can help us tap into more energy. When dealing with these powerful emotions, choosing to tap into their energy in a responsible manner is key, like using anger’s energy to work on a project or jealousy’s energy to keep you motivated to reach a goal. Emotions are not a bad thing but when we bottle them up they explode like a shaken can at the worst possible moment and we have no control over our actions.

5.      Set your priorities, make commitments, take action

You must know what you want to spend your energy on, or your energy will be in control taking you wherever it wants to go. When you have a lot on your plate and feeling overwhelmed the worst thing you can do is attempt to do it all at once. Making a list of what needs to be done, putting the items in order of importance, and attacking one at time creates more energy than multitasking. Plus, checking things off is quite cathartic and energizing in itself if you ask me. Another way to maintain course is to set a deadline to reach a certain goal. Remember though, mastery is not about goal accomplishment but more about the daily process. Too much goal setting can have the opposite effect. If it is a work goal you have coworkers and bosses to keep you accountable, but if your goal is personal making it public to supportive friends and family will be your accountability. Lastly, GO FOR IT!!! Have the confidence in yourself to know you can do this.

You now have all tools and knowledge to go out and live your best life! We defined what mastery is, learned keys to master anything, gained an understanding of why making a change is so difficult, and secrets to maintaining the course.

To re-read previous blogs go here: ShaktiShiva’s Blog shares information & resources to help YOU! — ShaktiShiva Massage & Yoga (katieschlieppwellness.com)

Want some extra support? Join my Facebook group Helping Each Other Live Our Best Lives: https://www.facebook.com/groups/863542008429963/

The Art of Mastery: Making Resolutions Stick

The start of the New Year is a great time to implement changes you want to make in your life. The New Year resembles a fresh start, a clean slate, a good starting point to reset. We vow to make these changes, you tell people what you’re going do to, you are excited. The first couple weeks go great but then ‘life’ happens, and this perfect new routine gets challenged and it ends up being the first thing to go to fit ‘life’ in. You have all the right intentions; you made a great plan, but you still backslide. You’re frustrated because this happens every year no matter what you do. You ask yourself if making a change is worth all the hassle and does change ever stick.

YES and YES is my answer to these questions, but there’s fine print to my answers:

The ’backslide’ is inevitable whenever ANYONE makes a change. There is more to making a change than just physically doing the actions. Our body and mind are built to remain in homeostasis, there is a built-in mechanism that keeps us ‘within normal limits’ and it will force us back into these limits if we exceed this boundary. For the most part, this is a good thing. This built-in mechanism controls our bodily functions and keeps us alive. It regulates our breathing to keep enough oxygen in our body, it pumps our heart at a specific pace so nutrients are circulated properly, it will release insulin if our blood sugar gets too high. This mechanism keeps us in equilibrium.

We have to keep this in mind when are making changes to the way we live. Initially, our body will fight back. It will want to remain in what it knows as homeostasis. The best example, and most popular change people make is adding a workout routine, let’s say jogging. You’re excited to start, you bought new workout clothes, got the fancy shoes. You get 100 meters into your first jog and you’re sucking wind, dizzy, and you are walking already. Most of us will immediately say “my body is just not made to run”, and we stop; however, these physical reactions are just the body trying to remain in equilibrium. This built-in mechanism is basically screaming, “WARNING! CHANGES OUTSIDE THE NORAML ARE OCCURING, STOP IMMEDIATELY”. Anytime anyone makes a big change our bodies will react like this.

So how do you keep from backsliding?

First, you must accept that you will backslide and when you do be kind to yourself. Whether the backslide is for a day, a week, a month, reset. Go back to your plan and start again. Kinda sounds like the mastery curve I mentioned in my October blog 😉(read that one here: The Art of Living in Mastery: What is Mastery and the Mastery Curve — ShaktiShiva Massage & Yoga (katieschlieppwellness.com)).

Second, you gotta put the work in. Change doesn’t just happen because you make the plan. You must be intentional with your actions, work at it every day, and find ways to make it fun. Staying disciplined is the hard part because, like I just explained, the body will fight this change. STAY STRONG! (Among other reasons, this is why I take a long weekend to myself every 3-4 months and reflect. It allows me to see what is working, what I need to get back to, and what is not working. It’s a great tool to help with discipline).

Lastly, start small. The worst thing you can do is implement a major change day one. Instead, make a plan using the idea of starting with the end in mind. Sticking with our jogging example, lets say you vow to run a half marathon. If you go out day one with the goal of running 13 miles, it is not going to go very well. You start with the end in mind, choose a race you want to run a few months out then build a running program back from that. That way you start with shorter distances and work your way up to 13 miles. This will help minimize the push-back from that built-in homeostasis mechanism. I am not saying this will make the change easy, it may still be tough in the beginning, you will probably still backslide, but starting with the end in mind will decrease the amount of backslide and increase your success rate.

Alright, now that you are in the know about mastering change, what changes or resolutions are you going to make for the New Year? I’d love to hear from you, and if you would like assistance in making a plan for this change I am here to help.

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY THE PROCESS!

The Art of Living in Mastery: The 5 Keys to Mastery

Last month we defined what mastery is (lifelong dedication to effort without attachment to immediate results), and what to expect when you are mastering the art of living (a few ups and downs with most of the time living on the plateau).

Now that we know mastery is not that intimidating and anyone can be on the journey of mastery, lets go a little deeper and break down the keys to mastery. Plus, I’ll answer the question, “How do I get better if I don’t try to get to the next level?”.

The 5 Keys to Mastery

Instruction

o Learning from a master teacher will guide you in the right direction and keep you accountable. Forms of a teacher include one-on-one, small groups, as well as books/videos/virtual classes.

o Mastering life is a continuous, lifelong path so instruction does not need to be as frequent as if you were learning a new skill. Taking time to reflect, sitting down with a life coach, or reading a self-improvement book 3-4 times a year is sufficient. Schedule these sessions ahead of time so they don’t get missed in the busyness of life.

o At these sessions you can look back and rate how the last few months went: what went well and will continue, what went bad and needs adjustment; and looking forward: how to implement the changes to improve what went wrong; is there anything to add.

Practice

o Changing the definition of practice from something you do to something you are is a game changer. Practice becomes the path upon which you live.

o Switch out the word practice for live. Live (practice) for the enjoyment of living (practice), not improving. When we enjoy the path upon which we live it is easy to continue on it, and, in turn, you live (practice) every day. Growth, then, happens naturally.

Surrender

o This can be the hardest key to work through because you must set your ego aside. Your ego wants to keep things as is and does not like to be questioned. Mastering the art of living is all about changes and questioning.

o Mistakes will happen, you’ll fall off your path and your ego will try to tell you this is too hard, but, remembering the mastery curve, sets back are apart of moving forward. Surrender to the fact you made a mistake, look at it, reflect on it, and learn from it.

o Many of us will have to unlearn certain tendencies to grow and improve. The ego believes it knows everything so unlearning takes time, persistence, and open-mindedness.

Intentionality

o Living intentionally takes work. Our mind is usually the master of us, and we just move through our days allowing the mind to dictate our reactions and emotions. Living intentionally flips the switch and makes us the master of the mind. We decide how we act in certain situation. We decide the emotions we feel. But first, we must learn what intentionality is.

o Being intentional is a mental practice. Being able to visualize how you want your day/week/meeting/etc. go will help keep you in the master’s seat.

o Choose a time, maybe Sunday night, to take time to visualize your week. See yourself going thru your busy times as well as how you want your down time to go. Be broad here because then, each morning, take a few minutes to visualize your day where you can get more detailed. Don’t go overboard on details and timing thing out, allow your days to still have flexibility in them. If you have a big meeting or are hosting a party, this is where you get into fine details.

The Edge

o Here is where we find improvement- playing the edge. Testing your limits is allowed on the path of mastery but doing so with intention. Having the awareness of where you are trying to get to without pushing past safe limits.

o Masters find the way to walk the fine line of endless, goalless practice and the alluring goals along the way. They don’t live in the either/or world but in the both/and mentality.

o A master will work towards a goal, hit the goal, then go back daily living (remember the master’s curve). They don’t expect people to treat them differently nor do they act differently to others.

Sounds pretty straight forward, right? It is, however, there are things that can divert you off your path to living in mastery. We will go over these pitfalls in next months blog.

The Art of Living in Mastery: What is Mastery and the Mastery Curve

Mastery is a ‘BIG’ word. When someone is called a master there is a lot of prestige that comes along with it, so much so that some of us get intimidated by the word. So why am I writing about mastering life when so many people may scroll past this blog saying to themselves, “eh, too much work…”? Because what most people do is they clump everything they would have to do to master ‘fill in the blank’ together and believe they must do it all at once and right now becoming overwhelmed. This mentality is common throughout our society scaring many could be masters away.

I am writing about mastery to expose the myth that mastery is too much work. Over the next few blogs, I will show you mastery is attainable and enjoyable.

Let’s start from the beginning.

What is Mastery?

Mastery is the process of learning something difficult and making it easy and pleasurable through instruction and practice.  This does not happen overnight.  Mastery is a lifelong journey with a handful of ups, a lot of downs, and long periods plateaued.  Anyone can join the mastery journey; it is those who are willing to stay on the path that become masters.

The journey becomes difficult when we allow ourselves to be distracted by promises of instant success.

·        ‘Take this pill and loose 10 pounds in 1 week!’

·        ‘Drink this and build muscle fast!’

·        ‘Wear this brand of clothes and you’ll be popular!’ 

The common mistake in all these statements is they make you believe you don’t have to do any of the work and the results will happen magically. Taking a pill doesn’t teach you how to maintain the weight loss, the drink alone will not build muscle, and wearing a certain style of clothes won’t give you a likeable personality.

So, what do you have to do to become a master? Have patience and be dedicated to effort without attachment to immediate results.  Learn to find the pleasure in the small victories, the day-to-day routines, enjoy the work and let go the outcomes. 

Why can’t you celebrate the big wins? You can! Definitely enjoy the moment, then get back on the path, get back the normal day to day routine.  Your ego will tell you you’re great, we made it, we don’t have to work hard anymore, but that’s not mastery.  Mastery is knowing improvement is never done. 

It is important to enjoy the small things because that is where the majority of life is spent.  On the path of mastery there will be spurts of progress followed by a slight decline and then a long time on a plateau.  This is the mastery curve:

It is easy to be on the mastery journey when you are seeing progress, but jumping ship becomes easy when you experience a few failures and even easier when you don’t feel you’re making any progress at all. 

Mastery is a steady, goalless practice.  If you only focus on the big wins or are afraid of failing you will quickly be looking for something new and better to try.  Accepting a life primarily on the plateau is how you become a master.

Enjoying the plateau is also how we slow our lives down.  When we are constantly striving for the next level, the next win, the next promotion we are always looking forward and not paying attention to the amazing things happening right now.  Living in the present moment is the art of living and how you slow life down.

I am sure you have some questions like, ‘how do I get better if I don’t try to get to the next level?’. Don’t worry, I will cover that in the upcoming newsletters.

Silver-linings of COVID

No matter how much we fight it, the COVID virus is here to stay.

It has been about 20 months since the first surge. Initially we were scared. We didn’t know how to fight this new disease and people were dying. Overtime, we developed solutions to save lives, created a vaccine, and slowly started to work towards normal. 20 months later, we can begin to step back and see the bigger picture, reflect on our reactions and how they are affecting us now, and discover some silver-lings out of all this chaos.

Our reactions towards COVID have affected all of us, good and bad. New and longstanding businesses have been lost, we don’t have enough workers, and our supply-chain is greatly disrupted. These are just some of the negative impacts from our reactions, but its too easy to just sit back and complain about everything that is going wrong. So, what have been some of the positive impacts? Many of us have reconnected to the outdoors and realized how important family and community is.

The main silver-lining I want to focus on is how our own individual wellness has become more important than it has been in the recent past – I mean, this is a wellness blog lol.

Overtime, from talking with clients, friends, and family I learned that people are more interested in taking back control of their health. COVID made everyone feel powerless and we did not like it. We began to realize that taking accountability for our own health will help us gain back some power. The idea ‘survival of the fittest’ began to be the topic of many discussions.

What does ‘being fit’ mean? Most people will imagine the external view of fitness: our physique, but fitness is just one part of the bigger idea of Wellness. Wellness is a BIG field, and it intimidates many of us, so I hope to simplify it into a few categories for you:

- Movement: Keeping our ENTIRE body strong will help us fight illness, prevent injury, and quicken recovery. We need to incorporate weight training, cardio (the increasing of our heart rate), and mobility to reach our strength potential.

- Diet: What we put in our body affects not only our weight, but how the body functions. Processed foods, sugar, and bad fats all increase our internal inflammation, and internal inflammation weakens our body’s immune system and diminishes the strength of our body’s response to illnesses. Below are some examples of food that affects our inflammation (this does not mean you need to completely remove these items but to be mindful of limiting how much you eat of them):

o Processed foods: breakfast cereals, bread, crackers, meat products (bacon, sausage, etc.), microwavable meals, pre-packaged meals (hamburger helper, Mac & Cheese)

o Foods with hidden sugar: pasta sauce, granola bars, yogurt, salad dressing, packaged fruit

o Bad fats: safflower, soybean, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, vegetable oils, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils, margarine, shortening

- Stress management: stress decreases our immunity, so learning to manage it is a major key to taking back control of our health. Some ideas include mediation, yoga, taking time for yourself daily, breath work, laugh, sleep.

Taking back control of your health will be challenging. Society makes it easy to be lazy, to go for the convenient foods, and to ignore our stress. If we remain vigilant on keeping wellness at the top of our priorities we will be able to stand stronger and longer against the next virus that comes around.

Accountability goes a long way towards making a change. Find a group or gym or even a friend/family member that will keep you on track.

Not sure how to start? I offer wellness coaching that will help you get started AND excel at attaining your goals. Email info@katieschlieppwellness.com for more information and pricing.

The Vata Dosha; In-Depth

Imagine the typical fall day; cold, windy, dry, cloudy. This is a perfect description of the qualities of the Vata Dosha. This Dosha is responsible for movement of our body, mind and senses.

A person dominant in Vata will most likely be thin and have trouble gaining weight. Their body is narrow, skin is cold and dry, hair is thin. They tend to have a quick mind, are flexible with their schedule, and resourceful. They are the ones that are always on the go, forget to eat meals, and seem disorganized.

A person not dominant in Vata can still go out of balance in this Dosha in many ways. If your anxiety or stress levels suddenly increase, you consume high amounts of cold, raw, bitter foods, or you become overworked, skip meals, and don’t sleep you can aggravate your Vata Dosha. The Fall and Winter seasons also naturally increase your Vata.

What does an aggravated Vata Dosha look like?

• Constipation, IBS, gasy

•  Aching joints

•  Dry, rough skin

•  Muscle spasms

•  Worry, anxiety, impatience

•  Overactive mind, lack of focus

•  Insomnia, fatigue, restlessness

•  Low appetite

Don’t worry, there are things you can do to prevent Vata from going out of balance and to help bring Vata back into balance. The easiest way to do this to adapt Kapha-like qualities into your routine.

•  Movement that is slower, calming, stabilizing, restorative

  • Ex. Yoga Nidra

• Warm, soothing, nurturing foods

• Soups, stews, root vegetables

• Include warm baths and oils in your self-care routine

Looking for more information and advice on creating a balanced lifestyle?

Email me at info@katieschlieppwellness.com for more opportunities to learn about developing your best life.

Don’t Put Stress in a One-Size-Fits-All Treatment

Fatigue, headaches, unfocused, tunnel-vision, high blood pressure, hyperactivity, and insomnia; These are just a handful of symptoms stress can cause. With such a wide scope of dis-orders we must keep an open mind to determine the best course of action when treating stress.

Stress affects your nervous system, and the nervous system controls the functions of the body. This is why stress symptoms vary so greatly – stress can affect any system of the body in many different ways. To treat stress then, we must first understand the nervous system a bit more.

Your nervous system is divided into two parts, sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic system controls the functions of the body when your nervous system is heightened, AKA stressed. The parasympathetic system brings the functions of the body into a relaxed state. It is not bad to be in the sympathetic response, its natural defense mechanism that there to save our lives, but it is when we are in it too long that negative symptoms begin to arise. The key is to understand stress can manifest in different ways and to shift into the parasympathetic response to allow the body to release and let go.

Here are a few examples of symptoms and treatment option:

• Symptoms: High blood pressure, shallow breathing, can sleep but still feel tired in morning

  • Treatment: 2 minutes of deep breathing every hour to retrain breathing muscles, night routine that includes no screen time an hour before sleep and 20 minutes of restorative yoga/meditation to calm the mind and thoughts for a restful sleep

  • Goal is to get patient to regularly take full breaths and settle the mind for sleep. Treating the physical symptoms may take care of the physiological symptom of high blood pressure

• Symptoms: headache, distracted, insomnia, hyperactivity

  • Treatment: make a priority to-do list to remain on tract, limit caffeine and increase water intake to calm nervous system, include daily neck and shoulder stretches to release tension and headaches, take multiple 2–3-minute breaks to refocus and come back to the present moment

  • Goal is to slow the mind down. Being constantly busy may be a sign we are not able to deal with something else in our lives. By learning to be present and slowdown may force you to face the situation which will be tough, but it will also relief the symptoms of stress not facing the situation is manifesting.

  • Symptoms: irritable, sweaty or clammy, short-tempered, constipated

    Treatment: refrain from alcohol consumption and greasy foods, take pause before you react or respond to a comment/conversation, build awareness to know when the smallest things get under your skin means you are stressed, use the mantra ‘I let go’ to release whatever it you are holding onto

  • Goal is to let go. Constipation and irritability are a sign we are holding onto something. When we let something fester on our mind it will make our body run hot, place blame on innocent bystanders, and us angry for no reason. Taking time to respond will help break the cycle of anger by letting you see the bigger picture and giving ourselves permission to let go of whatever is bothering us will release the inner clench this stress has on out body.

As you can see, stress can manifest physically, emotionally, and physiologically. Knowing this is the first step to properly treating stress before it produces life-long issues. Awareness of your symptoms is the second step; without it you cannot treat it. Lastly, being proactive and diligent in your treatment will greatly prevent the need for medication.

I hope this is helpful and if you have further questions please contact me at info@katieschlieppwellness.com

Stress-Free Back-to-School

If you got thru last year, this year should be a breeze! LOL.  However, there are always stressors that rise up the weeks before the first day of school. 

As I do not have kids and therefore have not experienced this momentous time of life I have researched and found best (I think) articles.  Links below

Ten back to school stress-free tips | Jean Coutu

Tips for Stress Free Back to School Mornings - Productive Pete

How Teachers Can Have a Stress-Free Back to School | Study.com

Summer is Pitta Season

Summer is in full force and that means it is Pitta season! – HOT, OILY, PUNGENT, SHARP, SPICY

Earlier this year I wrote a blog introducing you to your Doshas (qualities and characteristics), Intro to Ayurveda and your Doshas — ShaktiShiva Massage & Yoga (katieschlieppwellness.com). Today I will talk about Pitta more in depth as summer is the season of Pitta. Pitta energy consists of qualities like hot, oily, mobile, and unpleasant odor; summer means heat, travel, and fair food – you can see why summer and Pitta are combined.

Pitta energy, in general, is quite beneficial to have. Those dominant in Pitta are able to digest things (food, experiences, challenges, thoughts) easily, see clearly, understand and discriminate with an open mind, and have a healthy relationship with hunger/thirst (food and knowledge). Who wouldn’t want those qualities?

But if you recall, too much of one Dosha can turn toxic, so dominant Pittas in the middle of summer can very easily aggravate the Pitta Dosha. Do you ever notice during summer your face breaks out more, heartburn increases, you’re easily irritable and impatient, crave oily foods, don’t sleep well, and become overly critical of others? These are all symptoms of overstimulated Pitta. Doesn’t sound very pleasant, does it? Don’t worry, there are things you can do to counterbalance your extra Pitta energy and keep these symptoms at bay.

To reduce Pitta you must move towards more Vata-like qualities: cooling, expanding, soothing actions, foods, and thoughts.

Foods

• Bitter, light, cooling, green

• Fresh fruits and vegetables

• Salads with melon and cucumbers

• Mint and cilantro herbs

• AVOID: hot, spicy foods, red meat, alcohol

Actions

• Calmer work environment

• Less competitive/goal-oriented focus

• Exercise at dawn/dust

• Utilize yoga poses that have legs apart

• AVOID: excessive demands on yourself and others (deadlines)

Thoughts

• Find perspective

• See the larger purpose

• Serve the greater good

• Keep an open mind

• AVOID: responding to stress with anger, frustration, resentment

Of course, avoiding the heat should not deter one from enjoying summer (I mean no red meat, alcohol or oily foods???? Come on now!). Being out in nature is a great way to get grounded. “Enjoy the season. Being surrounded by green plants is healing-walking on the grass with bare feet can be very grounding, especially if you tend to get too scattered,” suggests Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Being near water, of course, is also suggested—swimming is a great way to cool the body (as are regular baths and showers).

Ultimately, the most important thing to remember about the summer is to have fun and stay mindful. The days are longer and usually booked with activities. Enjoy all that the season has to offer, but also observe your habits. Notice how you react to the heat, to the energy created and generated by the season. Celebrate it, but make sure to also get enough rest and take time for self-nourishment. Happy summer!

Balancing Your Doshas

Last newsletter I introduced you to Ayurveda and some general information about your Doshas. Continuing with this idea, I want to go a little deeper into the idea of your Doshas and how to use this knowledge to create sustained balance in your life. The climate, activities, your diet, and thoughts all contribute towards your doshic tendencies, and, as you well know, these things are constantly changing. So, the question is, how do you sustain a balanced lifestyle when everything around you is never constant?

Having awareness of the changes happening outside of you (things we cannot control) will help you determine how to shift your daily life (things we can control). The things we cannot control can change on a daily basis, like how active you are in a day, to monthly or even yearly basis, change of seasons and aging.

Knowing your inner Dosha, as well as the characteristics of all 3, will help you determine how close or far you are from balance.

To start, let us refresh our memory on the three Doshas. Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha.

The Vata Dosha consists of air and ether elements. People that are more Vata tend to be a little flighty or distract easily, creative, moving, and talkative. They might be on the thinner side, have thinner hair and weak nails, dry skin, more delicate features overall. They tend towards more lighter and bitter foods, such as salads. Vata season is fall through the middle of winter. These are all qualities of the Vata Dosha.

People that are more prone to being a Pitta Dosha have elements fire and air. Pittas are your go-getters, the motivators, the ones that are always looking for change or improvement. They are of medium build, red undertones, run hot, burn easily. They prefer spicy, acid, salty foods. Pitta season is summer. These are all characteristics of the Pitta Dosha.

For our Kapha people, they have the elements of earth and water. Characteristics of Kaphas are steadiness, forgiveness, remain calm through adversity, these are the type of people that you just get a sense of grounding from being around them. They might be stocky in frame with thick, luscious hair and big eyes, healthy joints, and oily skin. They may tend towards a more sedentary lifestyle and enjoy comfort food. Kapha season runs from mid-winter through spring.

Now that we have a picture of each Dosha, let us get to know how we stay balanced by using this knowledge.

For most people they will use their common sense and think if I am a Vata then I need to increase those Vata qualities in my life. If I'm a Pitta, I need more pita qualities, and if I'm a Kapha, I need more Kapha qualities. However, it's the opposite. If you are primarily a Vata, that means that you already have an abundance of those qualities and adding more Vata will only take you away from balance. This is all about balance, so if you are high in the Vata category then you want to focus on bringing in more of the Kapha qualities to balance out your Vata characteristics.

You inner Dosha is not the only factor that determines how to remain in balance. External factors, such as the climate that you're in, the foods that you're eating, the thoughts you are thinking all affect how you maintain balance. If you are in Minnesota in January you are in a Vata season (cold, dry, windy), so your activities, the food you eat need to counter-balance the extra Vata in the air. That means, even though you may be a Pitta, you may benefit by bringing in a bit more Pitta qualities during this time like taking Hot Yoga classes, eating heavier foods, moisturizing more. However, if you are Pitta in South Florida during summer you need to balance with more Vata characteristics.

This is a lot of information and if it’s confusing that’s ok. Learning new things tend to be. Work on keeping it simple. Determine your Dosha, observe the external factors that affect your daily life and balance with the opposite. Never fully cut out anything, balance comes from incorporating all qualities, it’s the quantity of those qualities we need to pay attention too.

Intro to Ayurveda and your Doshas

Ayurveda is the oldest form of healing. It has been around for 5000 years and developed as a preventative medicine focusing on maintaining balance rather than what we see primarily in todays society, a more passive approach that focuses on treating illness and disease.

Ayur translates to life, veda to science. Ayurveda is the science of life. Followers of this healing science equate health to balance in lifestyle, diet, environment, and thoughts. In other words, what we do, eat, think, where we live, the climate, the people we surround ourselves with, how active we are all help determine how to remain balanced in our lives, AKA healthy. It is holistic and unique to each and every individual as we always look at the whole life and yet each person is completely different. There is no one textbook way to balance everyone.

So, how does this all work?

Ayurveda believes everything in nature has specific qualities: heavy, hard, liquid, soft, hot, sharp, light, mobile, clear, pervading, etc. They group similar qualities together into 5 categories, the 5 Elements: Earth (qualities of solidity), Water (qualities of fluidity), Fire (qualities of transformation), Air (qualities of movement), Ether (qualities of space). We, as humans, are apart of nature so we have all 5 of these categories within us which makes up our constitution. Our constitution, like a fingerprint, is unique to you. We all have different levels of these categories.

If the Elements are qualities from Nature, our Doshas; Vata, Pitta, Kapha; explain the interplay of these elements within us and describe our physiology and psychology. Similar to the 5 Elements, we are made of all 3 Doshas, just at different levels. Vata is the Dosha of movement combining the energies of Ether and Air. Pitta, the Dosha of Transformation, combines Fire and Water, and Kapha combines Water and Earth to make the Dosha of Structure.

Vata Basics:

- Movement, breath, muscles

- all tissues, heart

- Balanced: creativity and flexibility; Imbalanced: fear/anxiety

Pitta Basics:

- That which breaks things down

- all transformation, metabolism, assimilation

- Balanced: understanding, intelligence; Imbalanced: anger, hatred, inflammatory illnesses

Kapha Basics:

-Cohesion, lubrication, moisturizes, maintains immunity

- Balanced: expressions of love, calmness, forgiveness, or attachment

- Imbalanced: greed, possessiveness, congestion

Ayurveda uses the knowledge of your constitution (the elements you are made of) to determine what is needed for balance, for health. The way we live our lives, the food we eat, the thoughts we have either takes us toward or away from balance, but maintaining balance is harder than it sounds. Ayurveda believes in the Law of Continuity, or like follows like, which means if you are Vata you enjoy doing Vata like things, so you continue doing more Vata things; however, too much of one thing is never good so you need to incorporate Pitta and Kapha to maintain balance. The hard part comes when determining when too much of a good thing is too much.

Curious about what Dosha you are? Take this quiz to find out: The Ayurveda Experience - Dosha Quiz

I hope this was a good introduction to Ayurveda but there is so much more. I focused on some of the basics, but I plan to go further in next months blog diving deeper into the Doshas and how the climate, the food we eat, and thoughts we think affect our balance.

Getting Married, Sober

November 30th, 2020 will be 4 years since my last drink. Sobriety has been the best and hardest decision I made in my, almost, 38 years.

Choosing a sober life lifted the fog of alcohol clearing the path I was meant to take, and I was no longer lost. I no longer wake up hungover, dreading my day or trying to recollect what stupid things I did the night before, and wake up excited to see what the has in store for me. I no longer crave greasy fast-food and I nourish my body with (mostly 😊) clean, whole foods. I am active, I enjoy the work I do, and have gained confidence in myself I never had before.

I have also lost so-called friends, have felt left out at parties, have not been invited to parties, get weird looks when I tell someone I don’t drink, all because I choose to be sober. When I have tried my whole life to ‘fit in’, remaining sober is difficult because it is ‘not normal’ where I come from.

My insecurities rose this year. Thoughts about drinking again increased. All because I was getting married.

Growing up, going to a wedding meant lots of alcohol, dancing, and craziness. If you weren’t tipsy, you weren’t celebrating enough. At least that was my perspective back then, and I felt pulled between my past and my present. What used to be important and what is important.

So, it wasn’t the stress of planning the wedding that allowed me to ponder the thought of having a drink. It was worrying that our guests wouldn’t have a good time, that people wouldn’t come because it wouldn’t be fun, that I would feel left out at my own wedding – not because there wouldn’t be alcohol available, but because I wouldn’t be drinking (crazy, I know). “Maybe just one drink would help me loosen up and have good time? Maybe if I have a little buzz the rest of the guests will have more fun?,” were the thoughts invading my head all the way up to our Big Day.

I did choose sobriety over ‘fun’ – I guess a better word would be ‘craziness’. Were there times when I wanted a drink? Yes, but being present for this amazing day meant more to me than getting tipsy. Remembering all the details on a day that flies by was more important than waking up foggy and having to use pictures to remind me of what happened. Knowing my priorities and knowing what a slippery slope I would put myself on kept me sober. The life I have now, without my bar-friends and the occasional awkwardness, outweighs any excuse to pick up a drink.

Remaining sober on my wedding day was the best present I could give myself. I validated that all my insecurities about getting married sober were all in my head, and everyone had a wonderful time.