This is the second part in my series on de-cluttering systemically, in celebration of our new BALANCE mobile-friendly website launch!
Getting organized is not just about stuff and possessions. It’s about clearing up any clogged up areas in your life, even internally. So, starting with YOU, I give you 3 more things you can do to “Lighten Up, Brighten Up and Tighten Up” yourself and your life, by Teresa Marchese.
“We’ve been living from the neck up. And dying trying”, my friend and associate Teresa explains. “Trying to do it all and be it all and have it all… losing touch with our own rhythm. We look to the media to tell us how to look. We trust government agencies to tell us what to eat and how to move. We believe pharmaceutical and medical conglomerates will heal us. We accept as true any published study and allow it to launch us into the next wellness fad or warn us off newfound untouchables.”
Teresa encourages you to listen to yourself, not to her or “to the doctors, ADA, the FDA, the bloggers, the joggers…” you get the idea. “We may be “experts”, but no one is the expert of you, but you.”
With a joyful heart, I give you 3 more of Teresa’s 12 things you can do to lighten up, brighten up and tighten up TODAY.
Rock it!
5. Drink a long tall glass of water
Mild dehydration causes significant mood dips. Being deprived of water leads to short-term memory damage, working memory impairment, and a downgrade in your visual motor skills.
And the bonus, hydration leads to moisture-rich supple skin.
So, just drink a glass of water. The whole glass!
6. MOVE!
Do anything to get moving. You don’t have to go to the gym or exercise for a full hour to feel better now. Just get up and move.
According to Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, sitting down after you’ve eaten causes your abdominal contents to compress, slowing down digestion. Sluggish digestion, in turn, can lead to cramping, bloating, heartburn, and constipation, as well as dysbiosis in your gastrointestinal tract, a condition caused by microbial imbalances in your body. Yikes!
Moving instead of being sedentary will minimize problems such as
- Poor posture
- Back Issues
- Muscle Degeneration (especially abdominals)
- Hip & Leg Disorders
- Varicose Veins
- Weak Bones
Bonus: there are brain benefits as well! Your brain function slows when your body is sedentary for too long, because your brain gets less fresh blood and oxygen that is needed to trigger the release of brain- and mood enhancing chemicals.
Brighten up, literally, and MOVE!
7. Dance!
One great way to move is to dance, which has a bevy of benefits.
A study conducted by researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that dance is the best exercise to improve a person’s cognitive skills. And it was the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia.
Get this:
Reading – 35% reduced risk of dementia
Bicycling and swimming – 0%
Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week – 47%
Playing golf – 0%
Dancing frequently – 76%. Woot woot!
One of Teresa’s assignments for her clients is to dance to one song a day. Try it. Your mood will change for the brighter.
8. Turn up the music
In one study, researchers studied patients who were about to undergo surgery. Participants were randomly assigned to either listen to music or take anti-anxiety drugs.
Scientists tracked patient’s ratings of their own anxiety, as well as the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The results – The patients who listened to music had less anxiety and lower cortisol than people who took drugs. More research needs to be done to confirm the results, but it points toward a powerful medicinal use for music. “Music is arguably less expensive than drugs, it’s easier on the body and it doesn’t have side effects,” Levitin, the research lead, said.
Levitin also highlighted evidence that music is associated with immunoglobulin A, an antibody linked to immunity, as well as higher counts of cells that fight germs and bacteria.
How are these working for you….?