Oh January. If someone ever needs you to explain irony you can tell them that the 2019 Festival de Neige in Montreal was cancelled because of a massive snow storm.
We are now into February. How are those resolutions?
Kicked under the bed? Stuffed into the oven?
I have some advice on goal setting.
We do better when we set goals that are action oriented and not outcome oriented. Outcomes are often beyond our control. Why set yourself up for bad feelings and kicking yourself when the outcome you hoped for
goes sideways. Even if we can assess that we were not responsible for the poor outcome it is still hard sometimes to step away from blame. Actions we take or choose not to take are our direct responsibility. The choice to act or not act rests with us.
Here is an example of an action oriented goal.
I will listen to 30 minutes of Radio Canada weekly.
As opposed to an outcome oriented goal.
I will improve my French.
See how vague it is. How will I know when I have made progress? If I learn 1 new French word a month is that enough? Too mushy. Outcomes need to follow actions.
More perspective here – planners and goals. This page is VERY busy but
the author has a point about planning.
I was fortunate enough to be able to head home (down to Halifax) over the holidays. Driving back I was threading my way up the TransCanada in New Brunswick and as I brushed alongside of Maine I was able to tune into NPR. I love tracking different radio stations when you drive cross country. They were exhorting me to sign up for their curated newsletter – covering each months top ten new stories. My immediate thought was – am I supposed to be curating the newsletter?
What are we here for? I personally think that we each have a destiny to
fulfill. The healthier we are – the easier it will be to fulfill that destiny.
Fate has enough sorrow in store for all of us. Why self sabotage? We might just as well do what we can to make the best choices. I always hope to share quality info combined with practical steps you can take to make use of the information. I always dislike sharing information that people cannot act on. It might be great that moondust is the cure for highblood pressure. Unless someone reading has a contact at NASA there’s not much we can practically do with that knowledge.
MOVEMENT – get up, get off the sofa and move your body.
There is a baseline fitness test that can be used to assess your fitness in
the moment. Not suitable for everyone so check with your health care
practitioner before you give it a go. I like to have a baseline because how else can you track your progress? The lower your beats per minute
(BPM) after the test – the better.
3 Minute Step Test
Why is she talking about movement? I just want to snuggle under my
blanket, look at seed catalogues and plan my herb garden. More about
herbs Anne. 
Look at it this way. When the house is on fire it is hard to care that the tap in the kitchen sink is leaking. As an herbalist I love plants and their healing. I want to make sure though that lifestyle wise people have the big health pieces resolved. Movement is an essential piece.
My niece at one point wanted to be a model. She went to check out a
modeling agency and there was a mark on the wall. Before any talking,
any looking at the young women, any picture taking, before any anything – the young women had to stand against the wall. If they were not at least as tall as the mark on the wall they were out. Out. Did not matter if they looked just like Iman, just like Cindy Crawford, just like – insert name of current supermodel here. They either were tall enough or they
weren’t. Movement/physical activity is like that.
You just cannot be sedentary and be healthy.
A fit and healthy person has a greater ability to confront health challenges when they do happen.
It is easy to overestimate how much exercise we need and the intensity of the exercise we need. You do not need to train for the Crossfit Games.
Start from where you are. Do more today. The real health benefits come from engaging in regular low to medium intensity activity. It can be one of the best ways to build overall health. I am talking about activities like walking, swimming, tai chi, hiking, biking, yoga, and etc. Start each day with a morning walk. Go for a skate on the canal. Folks who engage in
physical activity during the day find it takes less time to fall asleep and
they sleep for a longer period of time. They also have better bone
density, lower blood pressure, better overall cardiovascular health, and
greater lung capacity. Regular exercise also helps us to handle stress.
Thirty minutes a day is enough to extend your life.
You don’t even have to do all 30 minutes at the same time.
More will make you fitter, but it won’t make you live any longer. Crazy
cardio has negative effects on the body. It is pro-inflammatory and
increases the production of free radicals. It depresses immune function.
It also raises levels of cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress).
Too much cortisol circulating in our system makes us dumber, weaker,
fatter, and raises our blood pressure – among other negative impacts on
our health. To get benefits from exercise we need to moderate the intensity and make sure we have adequate recovery time. If you enjoy an all out hard core spin class – great. Do it for enjoyment, for fun – and then make sure you take time to recover afterwards.
Did you know that elite athletes get sick 4.5 times more often than us
regular folks?
Aside from engaging in frequent low to moderate intensity activity there
are two other components of moving for better health.
Strength training – yes, I mean lifting weights. Personally, I would rather
shave a rabid weasel than do a deadlift but I still do them. Challenging
my muscles maintains and builds strength. It also works on balance and flexibility. There are plenty of bodyweight routines that a person can do at home. When the zombie apocalypse comes I want to be ready.
bodyweight workout
HIIT – high intensity interval training. This is basically sprinting. Pick anaerobic exercise, go all out for 10-20 seconds. Recover. Repeat 4-5 times for a session.
If you have a road you can sprint. You can go all out on an elliptical. If by the end of the session you are gasping for breath and can feel your heart pounding – you’re doing it right.
Strength training can be done a couple of times a week and sprinting
only needs to happen every 7 to 10 days.
Again – before starting any exercise program check with your health
care practitioner to make sure that its ok for you and your personal health
situation. Ease into it. You want to challenge yourself but you don’t
want to spend the next day lying on the sofa moaning. If you do experience some muscle soreness a great solution that also doubles as a reward is a soak in a warm bath. Let your body enjoy the warmth of the water.
Sore Muscle Soak
3/4 cup epsom salt
3/4 cup mustard powder
1/4 cup ginger powder
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon almond oil (carrier oil of your choice)
13 drops wintergreen or birch essential oil
This soak works by encouraging blood flood flow. The ginger and the
mustard are warming and improve circulation. I could also see making
this soak with cinnamon powder in place of the ginger. I would have to
check the $ comparison. Increased blood flow means better nutrition
for the cells and improved removal of metabolic wastes. You could easily
leave out the epsom salt/baking soda and just add the ginger/mustard
powder to the bath. Baking soda is great to make your skin feel soft and for the relief of itchy skin. Espom salt makes you floatier in the bath but
other than that they are both pretty inert. It’s true that epsom salts are
magnesium sulfate there is almost no absorption happening in the bath.
If you’re concerned about magnesium take an oral supplement or eat
more high magnesium foods.
Wintergreen and birch essential oils are known for being potent
analgesics (pain relievers). They both contain methyl salicylate. There are several contraindications to their use – only for adults, not for use during pregnancy, not for use by those who are on blood thinners or are about to have surgery and they should not be used by anyone who is sensitive to salicylates. It is crucial to dilute essential oils before using them. To make this soak add the 13 drops of essential oil to 15 ml (1 tablespoon) carrier oil (you could easily use an infused oil instead of the almond oil). A goldenrod infused oil would be fantastic for muscle pain. I admit that for carrier oils I often go for whatever I have on hand. This is a 3% dilution which is within the safety parameters for wintergreen or birch essential oil. Add the oil mix to the dry ingredients of the soak. Mix them together. Store in an air-tight container. When you want a relaxing
bath add 1-2 cups of the mix to the tub. As I am writing this I can also imagine using pine or rosemary essential oil.
The days are getting longer. I always like to look outside around 5 pm to see how much light there still is. Hope this finds you warm and cozy. Be well and there will be more nattering next month.