"The eight-week program consists of small steps that build on each other until, by the time you complete it, you have laid the foundation for healthy living. You can then decide how much of the program you want to maintain on a permanent basis. It's all about changing behavior." -Andrew Weil, author of 8 Weeks To Optimum Health
I found this book on my mothers bookshelf... or it found me. - M-Z
WEEK SEVEN (of Andrew Weil's Eight-Week program)
Projects:
-Do some kind of service work this week, such as volunteering for a few hours at a hospital or charitable organization or helping some-one you know who is disabled or shut in -any activity in which you give some of your time and energy to help others. Your new project this week sounds simple, but it touches on a profound subject that is very relevant to health: your sense of self in relation to others. Human beings are highly social, communal animals. We are meant to live in families, tribes, and communities, and when we lack those connections we suffer. Service work is a way of developing and demonstrating your sense of universal connectedness with other human beings. It is, truly, its own reward. It is considered one more piece of the whole picture of health.
-Continue the steam baths or sauna twice this week. Use it for up to twenty minutes one day. It should be hot enough to make you sweat freely; be sure to drink plenty of pure water to replace lose fluid. The value of sweating: It allows the body to rid itself of unwanted materials and also highly salutory for our minds and spirits.
Diet: -Continue eating as before: at least two meals of fish, two of soy protein, generous servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, ginger, and garlic, and cook greens twice this week.
Supplements:
-Continue the supplement/vitamin regiment offered in week one, two, and three.
Exercise:
-Increase your aerobic walk to forty minutes, five days of the week.
Mental/Spiritual: *Recommendations that fall under this heading are most important.
-Reach out to resume connection with someone from whom you are estranged. Practice forgiveness. Human relationships are complex, often marked by upheavals. The joy of intimate connection is often balanced by the pain of separation and estrangement. Healing relationships, emotional pain, and the sense of isolation that is at the root of much human disease is a necessary step in helping the healing system perform most efficiently. To take the first step toward reconciliation is difficult, requiring emotional maturity and skill, it can also put you more in contact with your higher self.
-Make time for flowers, music, and art.
-Increase the relaxing breath to eight cycles, twice a day.
Optional (but highly recommended)
Eat nothing but fresh fruit one day of the week, and drink as much water and herbal tea as you want. Take vitamin C but skip the other supplements on this day. Limiting your diet to just fruits and vegetable juice is a way to give your digestive system a good rest.
_________________________________
Good luck, have fun, see ya next week !
Love,
Maryam
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Lyrics to Love: If it makes you Happy
"If it makes you happy" -Sheryl Crow
I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again
We went searching through thrift store jungles
Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's corset and pen
Well, o.k. I made this up
I promised you I'd never give up
[Chorus]
If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad
You get down, real low down
You listen to Coltrane, derail your own train
Well who hasn't been there before?
I come round, around the hard way
Bring you comics in bed, scrape the mold off the bread
And serve you french toast again
Well, o.k. I still get stoned
I'm not the kind of girl you'd take home
[Chorus]
We've been far, far away from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos
And everywhere in between
Well, o.k. we get along
So what if right now everything's wrong?
[Chorus]
I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again
We went searching through thrift store jungles
Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's corset and pen
Well, o.k. I made this up
I promised you I'd never give up
[Chorus]
If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad
You get down, real low down
You listen to Coltrane, derail your own train
Well who hasn't been there before?
I come round, around the hard way
Bring you comics in bed, scrape the mold off the bread
And serve you french toast again
Well, o.k. I still get stoned
I'm not the kind of girl you'd take home
[Chorus]
We've been far, far away from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos
And everywhere in between
Well, o.k. we get along
So what if right now everything's wrong?
[Chorus]
Lyrics to Love: Fast Car
"Fast Car" -Tracy Chapman
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
I say his body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way
I remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
And we go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs
You got a fast car
And I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way
Collectible Matter. The Scavenger Hunt
"Today I see beauty everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul." -Kevyn Aucoin
Today, I challenge you to see your world through different eyes.
The March 13' Collectible matter Scavenger Hunt List:
-love/joy
-pain
-an artist
-a couple
-a business card from someone who can help you in your career or personally.
-a statue, memorial, or dedication
-your reflection
-a piece of advice (written down)
-a piece of art that speaks to your heart
-something old
-red
-fungus among us
-Now I'm confused
-too many
-just had to share this with you
Love,
Mz
Monday, February 25, 2013
8 Weeks to Optimum Health: WEEK 6
* "Things" happen. Family get sicks, loved ones hurt you, there isn't enough time in the week or enough energy in the world to get you out on those daily walks, or to fix dinner... or to sit at a computer and blog. It happens. Life gets hectic & fast. All these "things" and more have happened to me in the last month. I don't say this as an excuse. I say this to say "discipline is patience" and I am learning it. It's okay to fall down... just don't stay there. 27 years of habit is easy to revert to. So you went off the program for awhile?... so what? It's okay. Today is a new day. "Right now" is all we will ever have. Just get back on it. So here I am ... 3 weeks later. Week #6 here we go. -MZ
"The eight-week program consists of small steps that build on each other until, by the time you complete it, you have laid the foundation for healthy living. You can then decide how much of the program you want to maintain on a permanent basis. It's all about changing behavior." -Andrew Weil, author of 8 Weeks To Optimum Health
I found this book on my mothers bookshelf... or it found me. - M-Z
WEEK SIX (of Andrew Weil's Eight-Week program)
Projects:
-Take a steam bath or sauna twice this week. Use it for up to twenty minutes one day. It should be hot enough to make you sweat freely; be sure to drink plenty of pure water to replace lose fluid. The value of sweating: It allows the body to rid itself of unwanted materials and also highly salutory for our minds and spirits.
-Inform yourself on tonics (non toxic, natural substance that has the ability to stretch and tone the body when used regularly over time.). Decide on one that is appropriate for you and find out where to get it.
Diet: -Continue to eat fish twice this week and soy foods twice this week.
-Continue to eat broccoli at least twice.
-Add some cooked greens to your diet: collards, kale. chard, or mustard greens. Greens are high in vitamins and minerals, including iron and calcium in forms that the body can absorb and use more readily than supplements.
Supplements:
-Continue the supplement/vitamin regiment offered in week one, two, and three.
Exercise:
-Aerobic walk: thirty minutes, five days of the week.
Mental/Spiritual: *Recommendations that fall under this heading are most important.
-Extend your news fast to four days this week
-Visit an art museum or try to view some work of art, sculpture, or architecture that you find beautiful and inspiring. Just as music and the natural beauty of flowers and parks can raise your spirits, so can beautiful paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Just admire the art, letting is please your senses and nourish your non physical being.
-Practice all the breathing exercises every day.
Optional (but highly recommended)
Eat nothing but fresh fruit one day of the week, and drink as much water and herbal tea as you want. Take vitamin C but skip the other supplements on this day. Limiting your diet to just fruits and vegetable juice is a way to give your digestive system a good rest.
_________________________________
Good luck, have fun, see ya next week (I promise ;) !
Love,
Maryam
"The eight-week program consists of small steps that build on each other until, by the time you complete it, you have laid the foundation for healthy living. You can then decide how much of the program you want to maintain on a permanent basis. It's all about changing behavior." -Andrew Weil, author of 8 Weeks To Optimum Health
I found this book on my mothers bookshelf... or it found me. - M-Z
WEEK SIX (of Andrew Weil's Eight-Week program)
Projects:
-Take a steam bath or sauna twice this week. Use it for up to twenty minutes one day. It should be hot enough to make you sweat freely; be sure to drink plenty of pure water to replace lose fluid. The value of sweating: It allows the body to rid itself of unwanted materials and also highly salutory for our minds and spirits.
-Inform yourself on tonics (non toxic, natural substance that has the ability to stretch and tone the body when used regularly over time.). Decide on one that is appropriate for you and find out where to get it.
Diet: -Continue to eat fish twice this week and soy foods twice this week.
-Continue to eat broccoli at least twice.
-Add some cooked greens to your diet: collards, kale. chard, or mustard greens. Greens are high in vitamins and minerals, including iron and calcium in forms that the body can absorb and use more readily than supplements.
Supplements:
-Continue the supplement/vitamin regiment offered in week one, two, and three.
Exercise:
-Aerobic walk: thirty minutes, five days of the week.
Mental/Spiritual: *Recommendations that fall under this heading are most important.
-Extend your news fast to four days this week
-Visit an art museum or try to view some work of art, sculpture, or architecture that you find beautiful and inspiring. Just as music and the natural beauty of flowers and parks can raise your spirits, so can beautiful paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Just admire the art, letting is please your senses and nourish your non physical being.
-Practice all the breathing exercises every day.
Optional (but highly recommended)
Eat nothing but fresh fruit one day of the week, and drink as much water and herbal tea as you want. Take vitamin C but skip the other supplements on this day. Limiting your diet to just fruits and vegetable juice is a way to give your digestive system a good rest.
_________________________________
Good luck, have fun, see ya next week (I promise ;) !
Love,
Maryam
Friday, January 18, 2013
Just BREATHE !
" Suffice it is to say that breath is the link between the body and the mind and between the conscious and unconscious mind. It is the master key to control the emotions and to the operations of the involuntary nervous system. " -Andrew Weil
BREATHING EXERCISE:
When you are unoccupied for a few minutes, and especially last thing at night before falling
asleep and first thing in the morning before getting up, "flood" your body with consciousness. Conscious breathing, which is a powerful meditation in its own
right, will gradually put you in touch with the body. Close your eyes.
Lie flat on your back. Follow the breath with your attention as it moves in and out of your body. Breathe into the body, and feel your abdomen expanding
and contracting slightly with each inhalation and exhalation. If you find it easy to visualize,
dose your eyes and see yourself surrounded by light or immersed in a luminous substance - a
sea of consciousness. Then breathe in that light. Feel that luminous substance filling up your
body and making it luminous also. Then gradually focus more on the feeling. You are now in
your body. Don't get attached to any visual image.
Choose different parts of your body to focus your attention on briefly at first: hands, feet, arms, legs, abdomen, chest, head, and so on.
Feel the life energy inside those parts as intensely as you can. Stay with each part for fifteen seconds or so. Then let your attention run through the body like a wave a few times, from feet to head and
back again. This need only take a minute or so. After that, feel the inner body in its totality, as
a single field of energy. Hold that feeling for a few minutes. Be intensely present during that
time, present in every cell of your body. Don't be concerned if the mind occasionally
succeeds in drawing your attention out of the body and you lose yourself in some thought. As
soon as you notice that this has happened, just return your attention to the inner body.
LET THE BREATH TAKE YOU INTO THE BODY
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