Asking questions today....

What is important to you?

What is it you want in life?

What is the most important short term goal you have?

What is your most important long term goal?

Where do you see yourself tomorrow, in a week, in a year, in 5 years?

Now, What are you doing right now, today, this hour to reach those goals?

What are the reasons for you to reach those goals?

Now that you have looked at all of these, start breaking them down. Look closely. Make each thing specific, exact, and most important REACHABLE! Remember Rome was not built in a day. Small steps get you to where you want to be just as well as long quick steps. The difference is, you get to enjoy the journey when you take it slowly.

Smile, and love where you are today, and know that you are taking the steps to reach your goals and be the best you can be.

Remember time is precious. Many people only learn to value time when they are diagnosed with a serious illness. Try your best to value each and every day. Loose yourself in the moment. Value each day, find the good in it. Time spent not enjoying life is a tremendous waste of potential!

Making Positive Changes for Life

I have found that the easiest way to make changes is to set a series of small steps to achieve a large goal. If you set your sights too high, you are setting yourself up for failure. Small and steady steps will get you there, slowly, and at the end will have set up a habit, a lifestyle change rather than a quick loss only to be found again.

Practicing through mental imagery is also very important... If you can't SEE yourself getting there, you probably won't. Imagine yourself the way you will look, crossing the finish line of a goal, or how you will feel. As this picture becomes more and more clear, it will not just be a want, it will be a must have!

Watch others, talk to others. When you watch others with good health habits you can take those habits and tweak them into what will work for you. It is always good to also have someone to talk to, exercise with and support.

Make sure you talk kindly to yourself! This is so important. It takes 24 full hours to get a negative thought completely out of your head! If you say you can't, you won't! Tell yourself you can, over and over. Tell yourself you are the best! Be kind to yourself! If you aren't kind to yourself then why should others be kind to you?

Don't forget to reward yourself for each positive step. You reward others for what they do well, don't forget yourself! Give yourself an extra few minutes to do something you want. Treat yourself to earrings, a massage, pedicure, or something you have been wanting to indulge in, but couldn't think of a good reason. Meeting your goals is a good reason!

I love this! It is how I feel once in a while. It doesn't matter how often I am told I look young, still can feel the years creeping up on me. I have shared some thoughts on how to stay in shape and what works for me. I do yoga, swim, try and eat right most of the time, although I admit Cheesecake calls to me once in a while.

I do love USANA'S supplements, I have talked about that as well. But even more than their supplements, I love the Sense line of skin care! The shampoo, conditioner are wonderful, I don't think my hair has ever been so healthy and soft.... BUT... The best! and going to get personal here! so turn away if shy. The conditioner doubles as a shave cream! Yes, ladies, those delicate areas that you get the razor bumps in... NO more!!! Love this stuff! Nothing like feeling good in a bathing suit, or shorts to make you feel young. Don't get me wrong, I still put on the board shorts.... But legs look good, and pits, nice and smooth. Love that most days, I look in the mirror and can say, not to bad!!!

The secret to staying young... I don't have it... But I know that most days I don't feel that old. I think, and this is just my opinion... To stay young, just do it! Do what you love! Do what feels right! Enjoy where you are, who you are with, love now, this moment, and don't wait for something better. Better is now if you allow it to be!

HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA

Most friends have heard me talk about about what yoga has done for me. I love yoga! It is an amazing practice that leads to greater flexibility and strength, better posture and self-confidence.

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years, and millions of Americans have found out the benefits for themselves. Yoga is far from a "trend". Most American classes focus on certain poses and breathing techniques. Some classes teach primarily relaxation. There are a few classes that teach you to move your body in a new way, these classes are the best for gaining flexibility, strength and longer leaner muscle mass.

The one I practice is called Flow Yoga. I found it on Veria.com. There is a class on the website you can practice in the comfort of your own home without others watching. The Yoga master guides you through each move and exactly how to breath with each change. There are several suggestions for beginners all the way to advanced.

Because of the deep mindful breathing that yoga involves, often breathing capacity improves. For me this improved my ability to swim (my second favorite physical activity). I can swim 80 lengths of an Olympic sized pool without the loss of breath. I could not do this before yoga.

Yoga also means less stress and more calm. As you practice each pose in a stance that is stressful, you learn to be calm through the pose, breath through it. This carries on into your day as you deal with the stress and hurry of regular life moments. Yoga also improves concentration and is even being studied as a method to aid in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Researchers have been studying whether yoga can slow the aging process, increase a person's sense of self-acceptance, or improve energy levels. Go to any yoga studio and listen to students after class. Some will even tell you that yoga can help relationships and sexuality.

The only way to be certain of all that yoga can do for you is to try it for yourself and see.

I am going to start a RESET challenge. Five days of RESET and then a few more weeks of your choice of weight loss plan. Details will be coming in the next couple weeks. Just watch for details here and on Facebook. There will be AWESOME prizes!!!

Let's talk sleep. According to Dr. Myron Wentz, "In the typical adult, even a week of getting two to three hours less than the optimum amount of sleep needed each night seriously undermines mood, alertness, and performance."

There are also studies that show, people that do not get enough sleep tend to be overweight.

I have struggled with fitful sleep most of my life. I have trouble getting to sleep, and then staying asleep. Have tried everything to help. I even resorted to Tylenol PM for years just to be able to get a few hours every night. I knew this wasn't good for me, but what was worse, no sleep or sedated sleep with a product that had side effects?

A couple months ago a friend of mine left a bottle of Pure Rest, made by USANA on my buffet. Didn't believe it would help. I had tried melatonin supplements before, didn't really help. But after a couple days, gave in and gave it a try. Surprise it worked! Problems still persisted though. Stress, too much caffeine, phone going off and light from it waking me, needing to use the rest room. Once I was awake, I couldn't go back to sleep.

Over the last few weeks have discovered a couple things... I need dark, most people do, to sleep. In reading Dr. Wentz's book he explains that just a flash of light in the middle of the night is enough to signal your body that it is time to get up.

The answer, make sure that alarm clocks, computers, TV, and cell phones are turned off! or at least in a position not to disturb your sleep.

Also stopped drinking any caffeine after 12 noon. Yep, me of all people, Diet Pepsi, die hard addict, only one a day. NONE after 12 noon.

Also, cooler room is better for me, and fresh air. Even if I close it before sleep, need to open window for a short time before bed.

And lastly, don't fight it, if it is calling, get up and do it quickly, then go back to bed. It is easier to sleep if the mind is clear.

Hope this helps, and would love your suggestions!!!!