My name is Ashley, and I want to talk to you about how to improve your life. DISCLAIMER: I am not some perfect yoga-body goddess who has her whole life together. However, I do know what I am talking about when it comes to health – mind, body and spirit.
I am about 300 pounds. I lost 60 pounds during my four years attending WVU. So, no, I am not at an ideal weight, but I am improving every day. I am stronger every day. I am happier every day. I LOVE MYSELF EVERY DAY.
Now, I do not say this to brag. I say this to assure you it is possible for you to feel strong and bright, too!
When I was depressed, eating all the wrong foods, trying fad diets, etc., I felt completely alone, hopeless and helpless. I looked in the mirror and loathed every inch of my body. I had anti-pep talks with myself. I never thought I could change my emotions unless I was a size 6. Thinking back – to not too long ago, I might add – it amazes me how desperate and down one can be. I never want to feel that way again.
And I don’t want anyone else to feel that way, either.
This blog will focus on a different topic each week. There will be a rich balance of information on how to improve every area of your life.
Throughout this blog, I vow to be completely honest with you. That means I will not post about how easy change is, how every day is wonderful, or how steady any progress will be. These things are false.
Change is hard. It takes immense willpower and practice of the mind. Don’t forget dedication. And you need to understand some basic principles before you can start to change:
Every person on this planet is a work in progress (That means, you!).
External influences are only that; influences. They do not decide your mood. Only you can control that.
Every day will not be wonderful. There will still be days you will not want to get out of bed. Making the decision to get up anyway is enormous.
There will be setbacks. In your mood, your weight, your faith, etc. These do not define you. You always have the choice to turn it around and keep going.
You will probably lose people in your journey to a better self. This especially applies to people, like myself, who are pushovers. You need to learn how stand up for yourself.
Setting goals is key. You should keep a journal specifically for this purpose. I write yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. It’s helpful to set expectations for yourself.
I hope you take these words to heart and follow this blog. Thank you for reading!
Lately, the world is a mess. It has been one for some time, but ever since the pandemic began, 2020 and beyond has turned normalcy into a distant memory, With the loss, unfulfilled desires, isolation and instability, it has been human nature to count our misfortunes rather than our blessings.
While this is a totally normal reaction to the last year’s events, it is neither productive nor healthy. If there ever was a time to incorporate gratitude into your daily routine, this would be it.
A daily gratitude practice is shown to reap significant benefits in many areas including emotional, social, overall health and even in your career.
When we make an intentional effort to notice the things we have in our lives rather than focusing on what we don’t, it promotes a general attitude of positivity, reduces feelings of jealousy, increases self-esteem, as well as impacts psychological health even so far as to quelling suicidal thoughts and coping with depression.
Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if you have experienced any of these negative feelings. Depression occurs 3 TIMES more in adults since COVID happened. And with isolation and depression, come the bad thoughts and the drop in confidence and self-worth. When you lose a job or even have the opportunity to work from home, feelings of uselessness and monotony can sneak up on you. Gratitude is a non-pharmaceutical way to treat this pain.
When we get our heads right and filled with gratitude, we become more optimistic, altruistic and even can find faith where maybe we have been lost. We also tend to more easily let go of material attachments and find more value in moments.
In a world where we are surrounded by our stuff rather than people, where we are stuck in our homes rather in exciting places like the movie theater or amusement park – or hey, even just a simple restaurant – we become attached to our belongings and feel like those times will never return. We lose hope, and may even ask the Creator, why would you do this?
But when we incorporate gratitude in our lives, we realize the things around us don’t hold as much value as we place on them and even from afar, we need to be grateful for the people in our lives and find ways to make our homes and our video chats exciting rather than negative. Instead of thinking, “this sucks that we can’t spend time together right now,” try “I am so happy we have this technology to keep us connected through this difficult time.” See how much better that feels?
Once the effects of gratitude occur within us, it only makes sense that it would lead to having more friends and general likability, more positive relationships with significant others, better relationships with with our existing friends and family as well as more success and fulfillment in our jobs.
Gratitude doesn’t only affect these types of psychosocial aspects of life, but is effective holistically, improving your physical body as well. Weekly gratitude is shown to reduce high blood pressure significantly – imagine what a daily practice could do! It’s also said to improve sleep patterns and quality and increase how much you decide to exercise.
All of these things are connected and without balance in these areas, happiness can be a struggle. We need to feed our soul which will change our brain chemistry and promote behaviors which improve our physiology and our social lives.
So how can you get started on your personal journey of gratitude?
First of all, start small. When developing new habits, it’s better to gradually build up to daily practice rather than biting off more than you can chew. Maybe start with once the first week, twice the next and continue to build up until it becomes natural for you to do it every day.
Also, do it in a way that you enjoy. For example, if you hate writing, don’t try to start a gratitude journal. There are so many ways to incorporate this in your daily life.
It’s best to practice at the same time every day to solidify the habit. But be careful that your habit doesn’t become only that! Make sure to maintain a mindful awareness while practicing gratitude.
If you do like writing, you can keep a special journal dedicated to your gratefulness practice. Or, if you are more likely to type than write, you can always keep an online document. You can take a few minutes before you go to sleep to think about your day and all the things to be grateful for.
It doesn’t have to be something huge; you can be grateful for the little things just as much such as the fact that you made a bomb breakfast today or you laughed very hard at something earlier. It can be anything that brings you joy and peace. Those little things are very important!
You can also practice gratitude by thanking someone each day for something they have done. This also shows the other person they are appreciated, so it’s a win-win.
If you like watching videos, you could commit to watching one inspirational video each time you go on YouTube. This will stir up those same feelings of gratitude and positivity.
Meditation is a great way to be grateful! Meditation has so many additional benefits, and adding a gratitude practice into your meditation can be just the enhancement you need. It can be as simple as a mantra during your meditation such as “Thank you,” or you can go into detail like a journal of thought, “Thank you for _____.” You can apply this idea to your prayer time, as well.
You can use a gratitude stone, too. It doesn’t have to be a stone, actually. You can use a stone, rock, paperclip, marble – any type of small, portable object. Keep it on your person every single day. Every time you go into your pockets and bump into your object, think of something you are grateful for. It will always be a reminder of the positive change you have committed to creating in your life.
Gratitude can also help with addiction recovery. Any kind of addiction whether that is food, social media or hard drugs. Overdoses have dramatically increased due to the pandemic. Don’t be another statistic. Get help. Or if you refuse to seek out help, if you insist on trying this by yourself, start with gratitude. Every time you feel that burning desire to do what you know you should not, think of some things you are blessed with in life – the clothes on your back, the people who care about you and want you to get better, the fact that you are still here while so many have perished. Use that to overcome.
To be grateful does not exclusively exist within happiness.
wellnesses.wordpress.com
Now, you might be thinking, but what do I possibly have to be grateful for? I’ve lost someone from COVID, I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my home, I’ve lost a pet, etc. The list will go on. I am NOT minimizing the distress you are in. You may be going through the hardest time of your life at this very moment. And these issues are serious. But they don’t have to determine your attitude moving forward. You are allowed to be sad, angry, hurt. But during these emotional states, it is still possible to also be grateful. This is not a black and white thing. To be grateful does not exclusively exist within happiness.
Try these:
I lost someone or a pet, but I am SO GRATEFUL for the time we had together.
I lost my job, but I am GRATEFUL for the extra time I have spent with my family. Or GRATEFUL for the opportunity to find a new calling, maybe!
I lost my home, but I am GRATEFUL there was someone willing to take me in/I was able to find a rental.
There is always something to be grateful for, even in the darkness. That is that little far-off light you see. And that light signifies that there is still hope.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, there is help. Please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ‘1-800-273-TALK (8255)’ or text TALK to 741741 at the Crisis Text Line.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there is help. Please contact SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
We all know that feeling. The seasons begin to change. The wind creeps in to warn us of the coming winter months. The more north you are, the more that means snow is coming, welcoming with it months of grey skies to which the sun bids an early farewell, leaving us in the dark.
More than only literal grey skies, some of us unwittingly step into a season of depression, anxiety, moodiness, fatigue, sleep issues and more. In fact 5% of the population in the United States experiences this phenomenon, 4 in 5 of those being women. It is more prevalent as you move away from the equator.
The subject population is experiencing the appropriately-named SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. This mental health issue is thought to be caused by a decrease in serotonin during the dark months as well as an increase in melatonin.
Serotonin is the hormone that, in the right levels and among other functions, allows us to feel happiness. Melatonin is the hormone that controls sleepiness – too little might appear in those with insomnia, for example.
If you are like me, you like to be in control of your mental health and take preventative action. In order to combat the onset of SAD, you can engage in activities that promote the production of serotonin and help stabilize the production of melatonin.
Exercise is one of the best way to produce serotonin and the happy feelings that come with it. It’s easy to overeat during the winter months in addition to a lack of sunlight, so exercise can ensure you are producing serotonin while simultaneously burning off those extra calories. Extra points if you can exercise outdoors! Being in nature, practicing meditation and gratitude are all helpful with boosting serotonin levels.
Melatonin is a little tricky, but studies show that light therapy can be effective in stabilizing this hormone. This is because artificial light suppresses the production of melatonin.
According to Mayo Clinic, “For SAD, the typical recommendation is to use a 10,000-lux light box at a distance of about 16 to 24 inches (41 to 61 centimeters) from your face…about 20 to 30 minutes.” Light therapy works best when you buy the right equipment and work it into a consistent routine.
Keep this in mind year round, though; when your levels are normal, exposure to light will still have a suppressive effect and may cause issues with sleep and other health problems.
These tips surely can help manage the symptoms of SAD. The hardest part of any mental health issue is being so aware that it is happening to you and not being able to stop it. Sometimes, these measures won’t be enough.
It is okay to talk to someone, whether it be a close friend, relative or a therapist. And it is okay to need medication to help manage your mental health! If you are experiencing these or other symptoms, never feel ashamed or like no one will understand. You are not alone, and the first step to correct treatment is diagnosis.
More importantly, understand that there is hope. Everything is temporary and ever-changing. The grey clouds will part to reveal warm blue skies. The green grass will have victory over the snow.
If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, you should download & try this meditation. I promise if my soothing words don’t help, Kevin MacLeod’s “Garden Music” in the background is sure to do the trick.
Due to limited space on SoundCloud, I will have 2-3 meditations available for download at a time. When I upload new ones, I will delete the old ones.
BONUS: Here is the script for this one, if you would like to try it with other music to suit your needs:
Guided Sleep Meditation
Before you begin, turn off any distracting electronics, turn the lights off and get into something loose-fitting. Lay on your back, supporting your neck with a comfortable amount of pillows. You can use a sleep mask to block out any remaining natural light.
Once you are comfortable, take slow, deep breaths.
Breathe in
Breathe out
Take a breath in
And another one out
Continue like this as you feel your body start to relax.
All those things you are worrying about can wait until tomorrow. You can’t do them now, so let them be. Just be alone with your breathing. In…and out. Quiet the thoughts with your breathing.
Now that you have cleared your head, start to feel each part of your body in its exact position. Start with your head. Is it in a comfortable position? Let any tension you feel in your jaw drift away with your worries.
Do the same with your chest and abdomen. Breathe steady and drain the tension from those areas.
Feel your arms. Breathe in…breathe out.
Feel your hips. Breathe in…breathe out.
Feel your thighs and knees. Breathe in…breathe out.
Feel your calves and ankles. Breathe in…breathe out.
Feel your feet and each toe. Breathe in…breathe out. Cleanse the tension from your muscles.
Now, re-examine your body. Notice how deeply relaxed you feel now. Cuddle with that relaxation. Let yourself be completely in the present, embracing the calm.
You are light. You are floating. You are in the clouds. No, you ARE a cloud. Fluffy. Floating on. Careless. Let this take you where it will.
Your body is light, but your eyes are feeling heavy now. Let them get heavier. Let your body remain floating, but allow your eyes to lay heavy, keeping out the world around you, sealing you to your new sleep paradise.
You are safe. You have nothing on your to-do list. You are relaxed. You are almost asleep. Surrender to it. No thoughts, just peace.
You are sleeping. Floating. Dreaming.
The music and the sky are all that is in your mind. Let the music anchor you to this calmness as you sleep until morning. Deep…sleep.
As I mentioned in the first post in the juicing series, the answer to smart juicing is using the leftover pulp. There are tons of nutrients in the pulp, so it is good for you AND you aren’t wasting anything by tossing it in the trash.
The first thing I experimented with was facial scrubs and masks. I like to mix tomato pulp with honey because it helps with acne. My other favorite is aloe and cucumber pulp. For that one, I use a little of the cucumber juice, too. Carrot and honey works well for this purpose, too, but be careful not to stain your face orange 😛
One simple tip is when you are using your juice in smoothies, you can use the pulp to add some fiber and give your meal even more nutrients. Personally, I like carrot and citrus pulps for this purpose, but you can use any you’d like.
You can also boil different pulps to make soups or teas. Here is a carrot soup recipe I use from JustJuice.org:
“ 5 cups Carrot Pulp
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground Coriander
3 cups Water
Blend all of the ingredients together and bring the soup to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer then serve.”
To make tea, you can boil any fruit pulp and add any spices you like. I like apple pulp with cinnamon or berry pulp with some Truvia. You can strain the tea if you don’t want your tea to have the added texture.
To customize breads and other baked goods, you can use pulp from carrots, apples, berries, sweet potatoes and more. I tweaked a recipe a bit by adding chia seeds and apple pulp, and it was soooooo good:
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a bread pan for later. I use olive oil spray, but I recently saw coconut spray at Aldi’s, so I am thinking I will switch to that in the future.
In one bowl, mix 1 1/3 cups of flour, 1 egg, ¼ cup of milk, 1 ½ cups of pulp, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, ½ cup of sugar, and as much cinnamon, nutmeg and chia seeds that you want. Don’t mix it too much – just until it is combined.
After you put it in the pan, bake for about 45 minutes.
Voila!
Now, you are probably supposed to use baking powder and baking soda because it is baking, but I didn’t have any when I was doing this and it turned out fine. If you’re going to use it, just mix like a teaspoon of baking powder and ½ a teaspoon of baking soda during step 2.
So, that’s how you become a less wasteful and more nutritious juicer. Have a wonderful day! I hope you try some of these tips.
There is a lot of controversy right now about juicing. Some say juicing promotes wastefulness and deprives our bodies from the nutrients since we aren’t consuming the skins.
From personal experience, I have to disagree. When done correctly, juicing can be the gateway to a healthier self and a healthier planet. There is one step any juicer should follow: Don’t throw away the pulp.
Every time we juice, the pulp is collected in a bin on the machine. You can use the pulp from different fruits for different purposes such as cooking bread or making facial masks. By using the pulp this way, you are both using the whole fruit and consuming all the nutrients.
I’ve been working on my health more and more since coming to college. At the beginning of last semester, my last semester, I purchased a juicer from Wal-Mart. Almost immediately after adjusting my diet, including juice every morning, I could feel the energy shift inside of me.
Before juicing, I was often fatigued and couldn’t make it through a whole day without feeling irritable and exhausted. After juicing, I began to fit exercising into my already busy schedule almost every day. I went to spinning classes and Zumba after classes and work.
The ball of energy I was missing before started to grow and snowball due to endorphins from working out and seeing results. My self-image improved dramatically. I lost more than 20 pounds.
If you want to learn about how to use the pulp after juicing, recommended products and recipes, and the holistic curative properties of some fruits, follow along with me this week. I promise if you implement my tips, you will be on your way to a healthier self.
Keep in mind, juicing alone will not yield the best results. You have to exercise and alter the rest of your diet. But it is possible! I know it is cliché to say, but if I can do it, anyone can.
Chakras are centers of energy within our body. They each correlate with a different color and part of the body. When your energy is blocked in any of the chakras, it reduces your wellness. You need to keep them healthy, just like your heart, your liver and your skin.
You can increase your chakras’ energy flow through meditation. Each chakra requires different care, so it’s important to know each one’s function.
Now that you know about chakras, you can start listening to your body and your energy to figure out which areas you need to target.
Click on the photo for a cool infographic from Live and Dare.
Now that you know what meditation is, maybe you are wondering how it would benefit you.
This is an endless open question. Meditation can be applied to help with all kinds of problems sprouting from body, mind and spirit.
If you look at the attached infographic, you can get a pretty extensive overview of what meditation can do for you.
Instead of repeating that information, what I want to present to you is my experience with meditation.
When I was in middle school, I met my first best friend in the new town I had moved to. Her name was Nadia, and her mother owned a shoppe that sold crystals, incense, jewelry and more. They also held weekly events. The first time I ever meditated was at one of their meetings.
This was all new to me. Because I had never previously been exposed to not only their beliefs and practices, but also the items that were used with these practices (like crystals and singing bowls), I found it quite strange. I remember that first time very well.
With New Age background music, Nadia’s mother guided the group into a meditative state and gave us instructions for how we would return to the present. The whole time we were supposed to be meditating, I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t stop thinking and peeking. I was restless.
We came back to the group after about a half an hour. Everyone had stories to tell about their journey in the spirit world. Once again, this was something I was not familiar with. I had a hard time believing or accepting the ideas at first, but part of me found it mysterious. I desperately wanted to experience these lucid visions.
I kept coming to the meditation sessions, and I never really journeyed. I didn’t know how to open my mind to it, to quiet my thoughts. Sometimes, in the comfort of the pillows, incense and silence, I would fall asleep…dreamlessly, I might add. However, with continued exposure, I got better and I learned about spiritualist ideologies that opened up my understanding of the world.
Meditation, especially for spiritual purposes, takes practice. That was 10 years ago. I didn’t quit then, and I am thankful for that now. About once a week, I clear a space in front of my makeshift altar and I connect my energy with the spirit realm.
How is this beneficial?
I’ve lived with depression, anxiety, and anger problems my whole life. I’m deathly afraid of death. I never wanted to be on medication. I believe in my own raw experience. Meditation helps me overcome these obstacles without forking over money to the pharmaceutical companies and helps me believe there is something more to life.
Not only that, it’s helped me adopt a healthier lifestyle in general.
After quelling (mostly) my mental tensions, I was able to approach diet and exercise with more clarity as well as improve all dimensions of my personality. I’ve been able to deal much better with concepts and situations that before frustrated me. I have a positive outlook that I never thought was possible.
I’ve also used meditation for healing purposes. For instance, I recently did some spiritual work to gather help for my aunt who was struggling with what we thought was cancer (we still aren’t sure what ails her).
Any kind of deep thought is meditation. Meditation is easier in some ways for people who aren’t trying to meet their spirit guides and journey into a different plane of existence. More often, I meditate with non-spiritual goals like:
to calm anxiety
to reduce stress before an exam, class, work, etc.
to cure episodes of insomnia
to conquer fear or insecurity
to enter a state of lucid dreaming (my favorite – look out for a post soon!)
to help ease creativity, get rid of writer’s block
Let’s say your mental health is completely in check and you are not looking for a spiritual fix – meditation is still for you.
Scientific studies support claims that meditation can improve your immune system, increase your physical energy, reduce your blood pressure, improve your breathing and heart health and lessen inflammation – and that’s just naming some of the bodily health issues that you can improve through this practice. It can even help slow the aging process!
The point is, there is always a way to fix or think more clearly about your problems with meditation. And once you start to do it, you will want to keep doing it even when there are no problems to deal with.
It becomes a part of your lifestyle process, and it is your key to unlocking so many other opportunities for growth and change, health and wellness.
Wellnesses 