Health & Beauty

We hope all is going well for you in the run up to Christmas?  It is still a very busy time here at the Optimum Health Clinic, and for those of you still thinking about our Practitioner Training Courses for next year, please do get in contact ASAP – further information at www.FreedomFromME.co.uk/scholarship.

In this week’s article we have a brand new video with Tanya Page from our Nutrition Department, talking about some of the complex work that goes on behind the scenes in the department.  If you have ever wondered how the department works, what we do with all of those questionnaires, and how we prepare for your consultations, this video tells all – you can view it below

For more information on how consultations work, please click here

Also, for those of you still doing Christmas shopping online, you may be aware of Easyfundraising, which is a great way for a small percentage of what you spend to be donated to our registered charity The Optimum Health Clinic Foundation.  It costs you exactly the same, but it means in the process of just doing your online shopping you can support the pioneering work we are doing in our charity (more on that coming early next year).  We’d really appreciate you taking a few minutes to do this, it is very easy!  The link is atwww.easyfundraising.org.uk and all you have to do is quickly register and then make sure you select The Optimum Health Clinic Foundation ( charity number 1131664) as your chosen good cause.  Any questions, please do contact fundraising@OptimumHealthFoundation.com

We hope you have a great week leading up to Christmas, and we look forward to sharing our final newsletter of the year with you next week, which will include a rather amusing “Outake” of Tanya and Alex attempting to film this week’s video!

Image reproduced from http://www.nutritionist-world.com

The teeth you have in your mouth need to last you a lifetime, so taking good care of them is important. Most of us know that twinge of pain that comes with a toothache a bit too well though.

When you damage your teeth, the pain can be a serious problem. So can the dental bills that come along with that pain and the restorative treatment you’re going to need.

Keep reading to learn more about how you can protect your teeth and avoid that pain altogether. After all, nobody wants a sore mouth when they can avoid it in the first place.

Stop Chewing Candy

Candy is a serious problem for some people, especially those that like to take big bites out of it. Doing that can really harm your teeth, especially if you like to snack while you’re on the road and away from a toothbrush.

If you have to eat candy, look for foods that aren’t sticky and gummy. You don’t want those bits of acidic sugar sticking to your teeth for hours at a time. They’ll cause some serious damage to your enamel if you forget about them being there.

Brush! Brush!

Brushing your teeth is something you probably already do every single day. If you’re like most people, you do it more than once per day. At least your Brooklyn dentist hopes you brush more than once per day.

The problem is that you might not be brushing smart. The best time to brush is about 30 minutes after you eat – not five minutes after.

That’s because the enamel on your teeth can be worn down when you brush after eating – especially if you ate highly-acidic foods or drank acidic beverages like lemonade or orange juice.

Floss More

A lot of people say they floss their teeth regularly, but what they really mean is that they floss when they remember to do so. Flossing once a week just isn’t going to cut it if you want healthy teeth for the rest of your life.

Try to make sure you’re flossing at least once a day at the end of the day. Put your dental floss in an obvious spot in the bathroom so you don’t forget about it or set a reminder on your phone.

You might also want to consider keeping some dental floss in your office drawer at work. Flossing after every meal is even better than just once per day.

A major research project into the role of iron in dementia with Lewy bodies is getting underway in Bath, thanks to grants worth £220,500 from two charities dedicated to funding dementia research. Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s research charity BRACE have teamed up to fund a unique three-year project that could bring new understanding of the disease.

Led by Prof David Brown, the scientists at the University of Bath will study a protein called alpha-synuclein, which accumulates in the brain in dementia with Lewy bodies, as well as other diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is the third most common cause of dementia, affecting about 100,000 people in the UK. People with the disease experience distressing symptoms such as hallucinations, problems with movement similar to Parkinson’s disease and ‘cognitive fluctuations’ – variations in alertness, attention and thinking skills.

Until recently, the normal role of alpha-synuclein has been poorly understood, but Prof Brown and his team have discovered that the protein helps convert iron into a form that can be used by cells. Cells need a certain amount of iron to function properly, and the scientists believe that alpha-synuclein’s normal activity may help protect brain cells. They now want to find out what happens to this activity when the protein begins to accumulate.

One theory suggests that as the protein builds in the brain, it may stop working properly, leading to a lack of iron that can be used by cells. Alternatively, as the amount of alpha-synuclein increases, its activity may also increase, leading to a surplus of iron in the brain. By finding the answers to these important questions, the scientists hope to gain new insight into the chain of events that causes cell death in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Prof Brown said:
“We’re extremely pleased to have secured this funding, which will allow us to gain a much better understanding of some of the processes that occur as alpha-synuclein builds in the brain. Discovering this protein’s normal role was a crucial step forward, but this funding will enable us to investigate what goes wrong in this process. If we can understand what goes wrong in cells as diseases like dementia with Lewy bodies take hold, we stand a much better chance of finding ways to stop those diseases in their tracks.”

Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“We’re delighted to be supporting this important project, which could bring us vital new information about a disease that has so far been under-researched. This study could greatly enhance our understanding of the causes of dementia with Lewy bodies, potentially giving us new clues for the development of treatments that could really benefit people.

“It’s especially pleasing to be able to work with such a well-regarded local charity to fund this project, and we hope this partnership could help us make real progress towards our common goal of defeating dementia. With more than 2,000 people affected by dementia in Bath and North East Somerset alone, there is an urgent need for research projects like this one.”

Mark Poarch, chief executive of BRACE, said:
“It’s wonderful to be able to partner Alzheimer’s Research UK and to fund this vital work at Bath University. Some of the most ground breaking research into dementia is being undertaken here in the South West. BRACE is proud to be helping some of the brightest minds in medical research beat this terrible disease.”

Image reproduced from http://www.pediatrics.med.ubc.ca

Parasites – organisms living off their hosts – feed upon and reside in them. These hosts are other living organisms such as human beings. There are several kinds of parasites found within the different organs and systems of humans, such as thorny-headed worms, flatworms, and roundworms. These parasites intercept the nutrients consumed by their hosts, and in effect, leave them with only the leftovers. This, in turn, gives rise to nutritional deficiencies and parasitic infections.

Here, we help you take a quick look at the die-off symptoms of human parasites and what you can do to keep them off.

Die-Off Symptoms of Parasites and Ways of Combatting Them

It’s seen that parasites die when an effective “eradication agent” is given to the body. The inflammatory toxins released by such agents are instrumental in giving warning signals to the body to pay due attention to the presence of parasitic symptoms. They alert the body to start their eviction mechanism as soon as possible. The article “12 Parasite Die-off Symptoms and How to Fight Them” from Microbe Formulas explains that teeth grinding and joint pains are two rarely thought of symptoms that can indicate that an individual is being affected by intestinal parasites. The intestinal and other parasites can be really uncomfortable. However, if the body is well-equipped to handle the reactions, then the host can deal with the parasites in an easier manner.

It is sometimes necessary for the hosts to endure the side-effects and symptoms of die-offs of parasites. This is because the cause behind the draining issues is often the parasites themselves. If you’ve been suffering from nutritional deficiencies and infections inflicted by parasites, then its time to start working hard to eliminate them at the earliest. The more you strive to get rid of them, the more bearable these reactions would become.

Parasite Die-off Symptom: Headache

Once you start the process of detoxification, the very first symptom that’ll come to the fore relates to headaches. They’ll start taking place as and when your body falls in sync with the parasite cleanse diet initiated by you. These headaches may also occur courtesy the parasitic activities taking place within your head. You may want to try a healing oil or other formulas recommended by experts across your forehead, on the temples, and at the nape of your neck to get instant relief.

Parasite Die-off Symptom: Pains and Aches

Yet another agonizing detox symptom rests in pains and aches of the muscles, organs, or joints. These discomforting pains are a result of the toxic waste being ejected from the body systems as parasites face a die-off. You may try Epsom salt or baths recommended by experts to eradicate skin toxins.

Handle Parasite Die-off Symptoms Effectively

Regardless of the healthy eating habits of hosts, parasites prevent the absorption of minerals and vitamins into the bloodstream of their hosts. It’s very important to get in touch with experts in microbe and parasite eviction to take care of your health. You may want to start the process of natural parasite cleanse at the earliest, how about today?

1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health challenge in any one year, according to mentalhealth.org. Furthermore, major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million adults in a given year in America, according to the NIMH.

What are the symptoms?

Depression will often manifest as a lack of motivation. When you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning or you start to hate your life, for whatever reason, then you have been feeling increasing symptoms for a while. You may feel hopelessness, anxiety or helplessness. Your may be less tolerant of others. It is possible that you have considered suicide. You will have less energy and could be experiencing changes in your sleep pattern, appetite or even your menstrual cycle.

Depression affects friends and family members.

All in all, depression affects a vast number of the population and this has ramifications on not just the person who is depressed, but on everyone who cares about them. It is likely that most of the population knows someone who is depressed, whether they have been diagnosed or not.

This page has been created to help those who have depression and those who know someone who is depressed. How can you help them? What do you say? What advice can you give to someone who asks for your help or advice?

What can you do?

Our wellbeing e-course will offer you simple, but very powerful, ways to move in a more positive direction. Getting active is also a great way to start moving to a more positive place. Our Walk Innovation System is a good place to start. By leaving your name and e-mail with us in the box on the right of this screen, you will access the numerous free resources available to you. If you are ready for a big shift then you may be ready for a Wellbeing Breakthrough Session.

What will happen if I don’t do anything about it?

You will suffer, your friends and family, who care about you, will suffer and you may soon feel suicidal. It could cost you your job, your relationships and your life. The true cost of long-term depression cannot truly be measured. The ripple effect caused by negative interactions has the potential to affect thousands of people, maybe more. Ultimately, those who go on to commit suicide do so because they did not get help when they started to feel depressed.

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Recently, City Connect introduced Adam Shaw and Walk Innovation. Read now more about Walk Innovation. This week Adam Shaw talks about Step 2 and you can watch his video here:

Welcome to Walk Innovation’s Active Energy System – Step 2: A technique to help you get more motivation, focus and health.

Step 2: Grounding…

“Grounding is to working with energy what water is to a swimming pool.”

Adam Shaw

Once you have made the first step, the most important one of all, it’s time for the second most important step…..

Grounding is essential when working with energy as it connects you to the energy of the earth. If this doesn’t mean anything to you yet then I ask you to trust this process and be curious.

It only takes a second to do this and can be done anytime at anyplace.

Have fun walking now that you are properly grounded!

For more information on Walk Innovation click here.

Since opening my mind to interventions outside of nursing within the NHS, there have been a few barriers for me. I never really believed that the worlds of energy medicine and personal development were so easily accessible. In this week’s video I offer you an entry that I made last year in Zakynthos that encapsulates my thoughts on the subject.

Image reproduced from http://www.bunspace.com

Watch a video by Adam Shaw about: Stress Management, Obesity and Hypertension and How They All Relate.

In 19 years as a health and well-being professional there has been one common link in all illness. In this video I explain…

– the link between stress, hypertension and obesity
– how stress works and its effect on your body
– how you can manage your stress more effectively

According to a 2008, 12 year study of 10,308 London-based civil servants, chronic work stress was found to increase the risk of Coronary Heat Disease by 68% and is higher in employees under 50 years of age. This study also found that work stress was also associated with further poor health behaviours that could compound the risk. Coronary Heart Disease is one of many medical symptoms that is compounded by stress.

During over 13 years of nursing I saw many things. During this time I became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of illness. For the last 6 years of my nursing life I would always ask my patients the same question, “Have you been experiencing more stress than usual lately?”

The answer was always, “yes.”

There were two main areas in the lives of my patients that continually contributed to patients presenting with strokes and heart attacks; relationship problems and work-related stress. Both of these were big indicators of people who are at risk of more serious illnesses developing.

Let us look at why.

Stress causes our body to go into fight or flight mode. Blood to our non-essential organs is diverted to your muscles and brain, which is why stress can cause indigestion and contribute to weight gain. Your body is also flooded with adrenaline, which is why sleeplessness is common in those with higher than average stress levels. You are also filled with energy, causing your blood pressure to rise and your heart to beat faster, which is why hypertension is common in those who have stressful lives.

This response literally prepares you to either run or fight for your life.

Because office-based jobs that are stressful involve you having to deal with these surges of energy, without giving you a chance to offload the symptoms, it can literally leave you wanting to put your foot or fist through a computer screen. This is because you are prepared to fight for your life.

What can cause this?

The danger of stress is that your brain has not learned to distinguish between a real and perceived threat. Consequently, a dismissive or critical comment from your boss or a work colleague can put you into fight or flight. Clearly, your life is not in immediate danger but your body is preparing you as though it is. Just by thinking about the same criticism, slight on your character or threat can literally have you preparing to fight for your life, repeatedly several times a day.

With the current recession causing pay cuts and redundancies, it is likely that many employees are living on a knife-edge as they fear for not being able to work, pay bills or even feed their families. Constant worry about such issues has the same affect on your body as living in the jungle and seeing lions arriving to feast on your family.

What can you do to reduce your stress at work?

When you find yourself experiencing symptoms of fight or flight then it’s time to focus on your breathing. Deeper breathing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to reverse your body’s stress response. Also, tell yourself “I am safe.”

This may sound ridiculous but your body is preparing you to fend for your life. By repeating the message that you are safe and making a conscious effort to deepen your breathing, you are putting yourself on the fast-track to a more relaxed day at work.

Something to think about.

Ultimately, unmanaged stress will kill you early and then you will not be able to earn money, spend time with your family or enjoy the wonders that life can bring. If you are spending your time focusing on stressful things and the above technique does not appear to be helping then get help. Most people who get ill and die early are those who did not ask for help until it was too late. There are plenty of free tips, resources and easy to use alternatives available to you but you will need to invest a little time in learning them.

You can find such tools at my website http://www.adamshaw.co/

Image reproduced from http://www.hrmreport.com

When you start doing the more mundane tasks that have been building up it is easy to lose focus, energy and motivation as you feel yourself get progressively more stuck in unhelpful and unproductive thoughts. This can be debilitating and lead to stress, guilt and nothing getting done. When this happens it helps to do something that can improve your mood, focus, motivation and energy.

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This week Adam Shaw reports on the final step of Walk Innovation: Step 4 – Breathing. Read more about it here and watch his video.

Now that you know the value of the first 3 steps as you set off on each walk……

1.Commitment
2.Grounding
3.Setting a positive intent

It’s now time to talk about step 4: breathing.

Walk Innovation uses simple principles to get you maximum benefit.

Your breathing controls your mood and most people spend most of their lives not breathing properly, thus not energising their bodies. When you realise that you can regulate your breathing and develop this through walking, your energy will increase quickly.

For a 1min 45sec demonstration, join me as I walk and breathe

This technique alone will change your life forever, giving you extra energy every time you walk.

Breathe deeper, walk longer and have fun with this.

If you are interested in Walk Innovation and want to learn more, click here.

Gratitude alone has been proven to improve your health and wellbeing and walking can also help to:

– reduce excess weight sustainably
– lower blood pressure naturally
– regulate your blood sugar
– strengthen your body
– reduce stress

Health and fitness are two completely different things.

It is possible to be fit without being healthy. This is why people sometimes drop dead whilst exercising.

Activities that cause fitness do not always improve your health. During my nursing years I saw many athletes do damage to their body – sometimes crippling themselves.

Walking is a great health tool and can add years to your life.

It is also possible to get help with walking, such as hiking sticks, for your comfort. All in all, you Can Be Grateful Because Walking is Good For You.

Image reproduced from http://mentalhealthnews.org

Your heart has a separate intelligence to your head and it will attack you if you don’t get the message. In this step we look at how to tune into the message of your heart.

Tune into the message of your heart or it will attack you eventually!

You can never be truly happy on any sort of consistent basis until you understand how your head and heart work.

Both have different functions.

Your heart communicates to you through your emotions. How you FEEL is your heart’s communication to your head.

Only by getting your head and heart in alignment will you truly optimise your energy. Your ability to tune into your emotions and act accordingly will determine how much happiness you allow into your life.

Tune into your emotions and trust them

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City Connect introduces Adam Shaw and the Healthy Heart Academy.

Thank you for taking your time in getting to know me. Your time is precious and can never be replaced. I truly appreciate yours used to connect with me here.

A different start in life.

I grew up within the grounds of a Psychiatric Institution. My parents both worked there, as nurses and we lived in the staff housing within the grounds. During my youth I used to answer the door to old ladies and gentlemen, sometimes in their nightgowns or pyjamas, asking for cigarettes. I saw many crazy, sometimes very funny things and people growing up.

I learned that laughter is a great gift.

Much of my time growing up was spent exploring the natural surroundings of the hospital, playing with my friends in nature and getting very curious about what mental health was.

After brief careers as a waiter, chef, banker, children’s counsellor and supermarket checkout clerk, I trained as a nurse in 1992. Here I discovered drugs for both treatments in the hospital and recreational use in the nurse’s home. I simultaneously worked part-time as a circuit-training instructor.

Did you ever experience a paradox in your life?

I found a health service that, although providing some critical and life-saving interventions, was very dependent on drugs. I also became dependent on drugs.

I was extremely fit physically, yet increasingly unhealthy mentally by being surrounded by sickness, death and various herbal and pharmaceutical interventions.

I have spoken with hundreds of people who were about to die and witness them realise what was truly important to them in their final hours.

Some people suffer because of things that they had done but couldn’t change. The people who suffer the most always get to regret what they didn’t do. Some had huge shifts in their final moments. If only they had been helped earlier, much pain could have been avoided.

Not only did patients suffer but many families were destroyed by the aftermath of a relative’s death and the unresolved issues left behind. Witnessing this several times led me understand that your heart is always guiding you. Unfortunately, many people become experts in ignoring these messages. Then one day a loved one dies and it’s too late to say and do the things that were unsaid and undone for so long.

Death is so final.

One day we will all be dead. In my experience, very few people consider this and what they hope to have done before that day comes. The only question that will matter at that point is what purpose did your life serve?

A very common theme in hospital was people full of regret because they spent so much of their lives investing money in their retirement, whilst compromising their happiness in jobs and relationships that made them feel trapped.

So many people waste the best years of their life being too unhappy to appreciate their health.

Many people hold regret about things that they could have done in the past. However, if you have any health at all then you can change. I became aware that all was not well in my world and that I was not particularly happy. Consequently, I used my nursing years to save up money and travel the world.

As others collected assets, I collected experiences in 6 different continents, spending over 6 years travelling overseas.

During these adventures I was caught up in riots, where hundreds of people died (I was not involved, just happened to be there!), earthquakes, hurricanes, pursued by gunmen on mopeds, rolled down a mountain in a vehicle with no seat belts and entertained by witch doctors at a party! These are just some of the adventures that I ended up on.

I then decided to leave nursing and discover the worlds of personal development, complimentary therapies and energy medicine. Despite spending over £100,000 on courses to find the answers to life’s questions I still felt that something was missing. Yet, I had no idea what it was.

For all of my classroom-based learning I realised that I was more productive and better able to think when I was on the move. It is a simple principle, yet incredibly powerful when used regularly. It fitted in with my time issues, as I walk anyway.

I realised that physical movement, when associated to learning, was the missing link to all that I had learned.

How was it possible that I had learned so many potentially powerful tools but was not using them regularly?

Time was my biggest issue and I stopped using my many tools for positive change and searching for something that I would remember to use regularly.

I then discovered my own method for enacting positive change at my pace.

By using a set of simple steps each time I walked I could work on my issues at my own pace, taking positive steps every day towards a better place.

In the past 3 years this process has led me out of a job and relationship that I did not love and into a life of discovery. I sold everything that I owned and used the money to learn all of the things that I had been putting off. I spent 3 years training in personal development, energy medicine and business-based courses.

Simultaneously, I took many risks, made many mistakes, had many hard lessons and ended up over £20,000 in debt. I had no assets and had to rely on friends and family to even be able to afford to eat. This was a humbling place to be and taught me many lessons. The main thing that I knew from this place was that I would never make a difference in the world if I didn’t look after myself first.

My natural instincts were to help everyone else and not ask for anything in return. Whilst this made me popular , I found that it was not working for me in the world of business. In order to help more people I had to help myself first. Installing this principle in my life and the lives of others is a key principle to having a healthier heart.

In the past, I would have dropped out and retreated back to my comfort zone, taken a job that I didn’t love and lived a life of mediocrity. However, this process has guided me towards many people who have supported me, believed in me and helped me through the toughest periods of my life.

Despite this, it was only discovering a renewed belief in myself that allowed me to pursue my goals and dreams beyond my comfort zone. This has led me to a much happier and healthier place.

Most of my interventions and resources will not offer you a quick fix for instant happiness. My path has been one of daily, positive steps. There have been ups and downs and still are. What is different now is that I have created a wonderful network of friends and my vision for The Healthy Heart Academy has carried me through many dark days along the way.

I believe that true health is accepting all aspects of oneself, balancing the less healthy aspects of my life with ones that restore balance. Through balancing any activities that may not be considered 100% healthy by some experts in the field, with the techniques that I have developed, I have cultivated a more harmonious relationship with myself.

It is my aim to not just improve the heart health of the world but also to create a movement that leaves a legacy of a healthier, happier planet for our future generations. I am not sure exactly how this will happen but I do know that unless I spend the rest of my life moving towards this goal then I will not be living a life that is true to my heart.

I invite you to join me. You can get in touch with me through City Connect or my website.

Image reproduced from http://nneteworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Healthy-heart.gif

Detoxing is something that I do occasionally to give my system a flush and raise my energy levels. The outcomes are increased energy, motivation and drive. Not to mention extra time, where I would have been eating.

The experience also comes with challenges. Not eating is not natural to most human beings. Changing the habits of a lifetime are never going to be an easy task. I have seen my will power stretched and undergone numerous trials and tribulations in the past week.

I have also listened to numerous opinions on fasting. Most people that I spoke to believed that they would not be able to last that long. Others have told me that there are better ways to detox and some just didn’t see the point at all.

Many people were impressed by my will power and wished that they could do the same. It is my belief that there are many beliefs that are incredibly restricting. It is never a case of not being able to do something like this – it is only a case of having sufficient motivation.

If your life was at stake you would most certainly be able to go a week without food.

Being a Health Consultant with a liking for coffee, chocolate, cake and pizza I take the rough with the smooth. Over the months and years I have reduced my intake of these foods and increased my healthy foods intake, yet I still enjoy indulging occasionally.

During the past week I have discovered the wonders of drinking hot water with lemon, lime, maple syrup and cayenne pepper – a veritable taste sensation. My daily drinks gave me more pleasure than I can describe!

I believe that life is about balance. Focusing too strongly on what you have denied yourself is the fast track to failure. For example, how many smokers stop smoking, only to start again? They are so focused on not smoking that they inevitably do. Only by focusing on the benefits will change ever last.

I decided to distract myself from food by focusing on what I did want. I wanted to take action on things that I was passionate about. One was feeling great (and I did during the fast) and another was running an event that could change lives in a positive way – and maintain the results.

Where do I begin?

I decided to ask the person who had made the most change in my life in a short time, Sidra Zaidi, to work with me. She agreed – that was surprisingly easy – all I had to do was ask. Secondly, we need an idea. A few hours with Sidra saw the creation of The Journey To Empowerment.

Thirdly, we need a date – we quickly agreed that we could both do the 6^th December and that it was better to do it sooner, rather than later. Next we needed a venue – it seemed like a daunting experience having had no dealings with this before. So, I put a plea on Facebook for help.

Within minutes two people had given me leads. One phone call later we had a room booked at a reasonable price. Finally, we needed to create some advertising material. That night a good friend spent two hours on Skype going through our advert with meticulous detail.

The result – within two days I had taken an idea and made it real. Furthermore, I had even called another friend and arranged to get it filmed for future marketing material. This was what is possible when I channelled my focus into the benefits of the fast and the extra energy that I had. In this time I felt no hunger – hydration is a great replacement.

Fortunately, during my fast there was a time limit on how long I had to do this for. As I have no intention of giving up anything I was happy to indulge in several puff pastry mince pies upon my completion. I did this experiencing taste like I never had before.

I feel better now than I have all year – and that’s after my cake indulgence. Focus, balance, belief and action are an incredible combination.

How could you feel better right now?

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“We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” Virginia Satir

It has taken me many years to simplify the potentially complex subject of wellbeing or wellness. Years of study have taught me some incredible and esoteric things that are infinitely complicated to the curious, western mind.

Study of medicine, energy, meditation, yoga, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Time-Line Therapy, Hypnotherapy, to name but a few, have given me some varied techniques and perspectives along the way. However, keeping the sustained feeling of change and positivity is something that had been illusive throughout this journey.

How is it possible to get so many breakthroughs intellectually and not translate them into sustained action afterwards?

For the past few months I have been giving out free hugs in London, with a few dedicated friends. On occasions I have woken up and not really felt in the mood to face the unpredictable moods of the general public. Each free hugs session will provoke just about every sort of emotional response possible. I have seen people get angry, hostile, insulting, rude and dismissive, each time I have gone into London free-hugging. This is part of the reason that it is so magical.

The contrast in perspectives just make the interactions of those who do understand that hugging feels good all the better. Feeling good is the only thing that matters in health and wellbeing. It is not what you do – but how you feel about it that matters.

For many years I have questioned myself as a wellbeing role model.

“Do I have the healthiest diet possible?” No. I am prone to eating and drinking things that would not be considered healthy by purists. Though I enjoy what I eat.

“Do I have the healthiest exercise routine?” No. I sometimes have a lapse in my routine. But I always go back to it.

“Do I have the healthiest lifestyle?” No. I am human and have what many would consider flaws in the way I live. Yet I have stories and memories that make me smile every time I think about them as a result of these quirks in my character.

There will always be people who are better at certain areas of health and wellbeing than I am. There will also be those who sit in judgement of how I live my life.

However, ask different questions like, “Do I know how to feel good, instantly?” Yes – Everytime.

“Do I know how to be kind to myself, even when others are not?” Yes – Everything in life is a test of my congruence to my current path.

“Do I know that hugging random people feels fantastic?” Yes – Because I do it regularly.

As human beings we need to connect, we need to have physical contact and we need to FEEL GOOD. Every time I go out hugging there are always enough people who experience amazing shifts in the way they feel – instantly. These are the memories I take from each free hugs session that I do.

We were even passed by a large group of people who were hugging policemen! It was a most interesting experience – and great fun as they queued up to hug us.

Forget the research, forget the complex systems of wellbeing and alternative therapy and forget the judgements of others. The fast track to health and wellbeing is feeling good and the fastest way to do that is to spend a day giving out free hugs. It will make you smile and change your mood and your life – forever.

Please feel free to join the group and maybe join us the next time to share the feel-good vibe.

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Unfortunately, life can be stressful. Worries over money, especially in these economically challenging times, can often divert focus of the things that are truly important in your life. By questioning your current focus and how happy you are, it is possible to save yourself a lot of pain down the line.

Money is vitally important in order to live a happier life, but at what cost is its accumulation having on you right now? This video offers you my opinion on the subject…

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Recently, Adam Shaw reported on Step 2 of Walk Innovation. Now he talks about Step 3: Intent. Watch his video here.

Now that you are committed to DOING this programme and you know to ground yourself regularly, we will now talk about intent.

In everything you do in your life your intent will determine your outcome. If you intend to find fault – you will. If you intend to improve your life – you will. If you intend to love – you will.

As non-positive intent yields non-positive outcomes we will only ever be focusing on POSITIVE intent

Being aware of your intent at any given moment is the fastest way to move towards positive outcomes more often.

Intend for what you want – or you will get what you don’t want.

Have fun walking now that your intent is positive.

Read more on Walk Innovation here.

Poor emotional intelligence at work can lead to increased stress and sickness.

According to Mind, British businesses lose an estimated £26 billion each year in sickness, absence and lost productivity. With greater awareness and mental health support they said that businesses could save one-third on these costs – ‘a mammoth £8 billion a year.’ Increasing Emotional Intelligence at work will help to do this.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

There are many different interpretations of what exactly emotional intelligence is. I will only offer you my interpretation – “The ability to go swiftly to the place that feels the best in any situation.”

How does this happen in the work place?

With the added pressure of a recession, lay-offs and cut-backs in the current work climate, it is more essential than ever before to gain a higher degree of emotional intelligence. When bosses or colleagues undermine, criticise or threaten you and you do not respond in a way that feels good then this is not emotionally intelligent.

Often at work employees have a problem with someone else and tell everybody except the person that it concerns or those who could do something about it. This divisive practice can cause stress, frustration and can translate into illness, low productivity and a factitious work force. Nobody wins when this status quo remains.

Over time this can cause hypertension as the stress response is triggered in the employees experiencing this. The result is often sickness or absenteeism. Worse still for companies is that employees experiencing these symptoms can be like a cancer for a business, spreading slowly through the system, via the channel of complaints to other employees.

Honesty is the best policy.

If you have an issue with anyone at work it is your duty as an employee to address the source. Do this by stating calmly and assertively how you feel, what caused it and how things could improve in the future. This at least gives the person who is perceived to be at fault a chance to address it and ameliorate the situation. They may even surprise you and were probably not aware how their behaviour has affected you.

If they are not so accommodating then you have every right to take it to their boss, or directly to the CEO of the company. If your issue is with the CEO and they are unreasonable then a new job may well be the answer – before your health suffers the inevitable demise that occurs.

If you are the CEO or department head then it is your duty to encourage an environment of honesty and constant employee feedback. By giving your staff freedom to express them selves honestly, you will be establishing the foundation for more emotionally intelligent employees.

A key factor in communication.

Often when faced with a loud and overbearing employee or boss it is tempting to reply in a softer, more dulcet tone. Just remember that when we are like each other we like each other. Often by matching the tonality of the person that we are communicating with, we increase rapport. Since our tonality represents far more than our language in effective communication, it is a useful tool to match the tone of the person who we are with.

Get it off your chest.

If you have an issue with someone at work then tell them. If you don’t, you may get ill and that would not be emotionally intelligent.

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Do you ever feel that maybe something is missing from your life?

Life is a curious thing. When did it begin? What is really true? Do we live on in spirit once our body dies? Will we be made accountable to all of our actions at some point? What is our purpose for life?

These are just some of the questions that I have had the opportunity to consider at length over the years.

The one question I would rarely ask.

During my nurse training, I was taught a model of nursing that involved 12 sections. The Roper model of nursing was to enable us to get a complete assessment of each patient’s physical and spiritual needs. We needed to know things like their ability to mobilise, communicate, wash and dress themselves, sleep, eat and drink.

There were 12 such sections, the last of which was: living and dying.

In theory, by asking this question I would be able to assess people’s beliefs about death so that they could be nursed from a more spiritual perspective. In practice, I felt that asking a patient who had just been admitted to hospital with an acute illness, their thoughts about dying to be slightly inappropriate. I usually left this section blank or, just to have a bit of fun occasionally, would write “living” in.

Just the mention of death or dying may give some people the wrong idea.

My sense was that for most people it was not necessary or appropriate to assess their beliefs about dying. Especially when they have been admitted with an undiagnosed lump in their body or a symptom where recovery was almost guaranteed.

We tend not to address dying in the western world until it is on our doorstep.

Nursing taught me many things. Perhaps the most important and lasting lesson that I have taken away from over 13 years of working in hospitals is the importance of considering death occasionally. I witnessed hundreds of people through their final moments of life and saw how this impacted the families and friends left behind.

Have you ever taken enough time out of your daily life to consider what your life will have meant just before the moment you die?

I know that this may appear as a strange question. After all, who wants to consider death when you feel that it is nowhere close?

Talking to people about death just before they die has been one of the most profound and incredible experiences that I have ever had. I have witnessed plenty of pain and regret by people who were about to die and the families left behind about what they wished they had done or said.

Issues with family, bitterness and unspoken feelings are just a few of the recurrent themes that I have witnessed as people stare death in the face.

An excellent, if slightly morbid, exercise to do now is to ask yourself what your biggest regret would be if you died today.

Who would you have told that you loved more?

What would you regret not doing the most?

What urge do you regret not acting upon the most?

The above 3 questions are your key to what is missing the most from your life at this moment.

So many people sit at the end of their lives reflecting on what they could have done different to make their final moments of life more meaningful to them. So many people wished that they had told people how they really felt about them, after years of holding back through one fear or another. Others rue the opportunity that appeared hugely exciting at the time but they had held back through the uncertainty of the risk involved.

Not taking that leap of faith on an intuitive pull is often the biggest lament of many of those who were about to die.

Beyond this is always the fear about death being finite. I have asked several hundred people who were about to die whether they believed in something beyond death. It is easy to speculate on your answer whilst life is pumping through your body. It is not quite so easy when you are about to die and doubt creeps into your mind.

Giving someone hope when they are about to die is one of the most liberating things that anyone can do.

I could write a book on the various individual experiences that I’d had whilst navigating people through the dying process. So many profound changes occur when people move to the place that feels the best. Those who were filled with doubt can be filled with hope when they have nothing left to lose.

Ultimately, there are only two choices: living or dying.

Those who choose to live are usually filled with hope at the point of death and tend to be peaceful and relaxed as they die. Those who are filled with doubt tend to suffer more. There are no exceptions to this rule that I have ever found. Some have had varying symptoms but peace is a state of mind.

By asking yourself whether you have really lived a meaningful life up until this point, you will know whether you are currently living or dying. If you feel that something is missing from your life right now then just imagine that you have just found out that you are about to die: What is the first thing that you wish you would have done to make you feel better, that would also feel better to everyone involved.

Assuming that fate intervenes to give you life beyond that moment: Do it!