Perhaps now is the time to know that stranger in the mirror … she is wise, funny, strong, loving, dedicated, smart, and so much more!  When you begin to put her first and light the fire within her soul … magic happens and the sparkle returns.

Create a gratitude list and post on your bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, and workspace wall.  The mind is powerful.  Change your thoughts … change your life.  Read your gratitude list several times a day to feed your mind, fill your soul, and awaken your heart.

Know your strengths and overcome your fears. When feeling depressed, our focus is directed to our weaknesses or what isn’t working in life versus being committed to our strengths.  What are your strengths?  Add strengths to your gratitude list and begin to capitalize upon these skills.  Notice how living in your strengths allows you the ability to overcome your fears and feel empowered.

Serving others is an incredible honor and humbling experience.  Allocate a day at the local organic garden, volunteer hours at the animal shelter, tutor a student, or be a mentor.  Decide to “pay it forward” each day through simple acts of kindness and service.

Physical activity is essential to emotional, mental, and physical wellness.  Attend a dance class, join a walking group, or learn yoga.  Go hiking, ride your bike, or swim laps at the local pool.  The key is to improve your metabolism, increase oxygen flow, and inspire healthy habits.

Be creative. Do what you love and the fire will spark within!  Journal writing, sewing projects, reading mystery novels, creating art or playing music … ignite your creative passion to feel alive.

Meditate to quiet the mind of daily stress, restore energy, and balance hormones.  Meditation is simply focusing upon the inhalation and exhalation of breath.  Allow your breath to release all thoughts, beliefs, conversations, and emotions that no longer serve your mind or body.  Meditate to bring clarity to your life.

Nurture your body and mind with clean drinking water, fresh fruit and vegetables, restful sleep, and pampering.  Limit computer, television, and social media time to allow your mind to rest from constant media exposure.

When the stranger in the mirror appears … be grateful.  She is simply telling you to nurture yourself, honor your body, and wake up! to life.

Now is the time to Bring IT!  Tony Horton reveals basic health and fitness facts, with a strategy for success, in his latest book Bring IT! … the Principles, the Routines, the Moves, and the Meal Plan.

Each segment offers simple solutions to help you reach your personal goals of increasing energy, losing inches, and being in control of your life.  At age 53, Tony Horton is a bundle of energy but offers this statement … “true success in life … and in health and fitness … comes when there is balance”.   Bring IT! is the perfect example of teaching you the importance of nutrition, exercise, and rest!  You don’t have to workout 24/7 to reach your goals!  Finally, someone is sharing the importance of rest.

Tony Horton has the ability to reach a wide base of individuals via his DVD programs of 10 minute trainer, Power90, P90X, and soon to release … P90X2.  Each DVD program offers a “no-excuses” method of training for those who are short on time, travel too much, or don’t have access to a gym … believe me, the success stories are endless.  The mantra of today is PUSH PLAY … all you have to do is decide to commit to Bring IT!

I am curious to see how the stage is filled with Tony Horton and Dr. Oz … two influential, energizing, and passionate about health men!  Perhaps there will be plank challenges, quick smoothie shake-offs, and plenty of recipe exchanges to keep the audience anticipation level on high-alert.  I know I will be watching the duo performance this week on Dr. Oz!

Are you kidding me?  How does one “not stress” when the housing market plunges, stock market crashes, and cost of living rises.  Struggles with finances cause household budget cuts of “luxury items” such as fitness club memberships, spa treatments, and healthy foods.  Unfortunately, this cycle of stress creates weight gain, lack of energy, anxiety, and depression.

Stop seeking balance in a life that is always in constant motion of juggling family, jobs, finances, and schedules. Instead, create harmony and fluidity with five simple steps to reduce stress and increase your energy in just seven days!

First things first … sleep! Research shows sleeping at least 7-8 hours every night reduces weight gain, decreases cortisol naturally, and restores energy.  Learn to turn off computers or televisions at least one hour before bedtime and begin a new evening routine of self-care.  Try a hot shower or warm bath to wash away the stress of the day or simple stretches and breathing exercises to relax.  Remember, staying up late to accomplish more heightens the stress cycle and decreases productivity for the next day

Wake up with a cool, refreshing glass of water or perhaps a warm, soothing cup of lemon water is the next step.  Bodies require rehydration first thing in the morning to improve metabolism, increase energy, and support bowel function.  Add water therapy to the morning routine and subtract inches from the waistline!  Although breakfast is consider a vital component to the morning routine, consuming 8-16 ounces of water first allows the body time to wake up and function properly.  Notice how breakfast choices improve naturally without enforcing strict diet rules.

Planning is critical step three.  Typically 99% of the weekday schedules are the same, but that 1% variance can throw the entire day into a tailspin and create absolute chaos, irritation, frustration, and ultimately stress pushes personal wellness to the back of the line.  Remember the Universal Law of Cause and Effect?  Read this statement twice … “when I put myself last, I create internal stress and resentment”.  If you are the hub of your family, you must be healthy and vibrant.  Design a 90/10 “how to not stress” plan for the next seven days.  90% of the plan consists of the daily routine … family obligations of school, work, household chores, and personal wellness … and 10% of the day is free of obligations.  Gradually, you feel freedom in the ebb and flow of the day to help reduce stress.  Freedom allows space to breathe, think, dream, and celebrate the day!

Within the planning step be sure to incorporate physical fitness as step four. Health is wealth.  In these economic times a club membership may not be an option, but there are thousands of ways to be physically healthy in less than 15 minutes a day.  Do what you love and watch your waistline disappear.  Turn up the music and dance, start interval training, borrow fitness DVD programs or call a friend for a fun series of lunges, squats, knee lifts, and laughter over the phone!  Be creative and move.

The most crucial step for eliminating stress in the mind and body is revealing emotional cravings.  Ask all “why” questions … Why do I diet?  Why do I crave sugar? Why do I feel stressed? Why do I procrastinate?  Ultimately the answers to these questions, and many more, resolve poor nutrition choices.  Every diet concept, book, system, or plan works for a limited amount of time but eventually the emotional body rebels against the diet.  Nutrition is simple.  Emotions are complicated.  Find the answers to “why” and resolve the emotional issues that push the sabotage button.

Ask a friend to join you on this seven day adventure of “how to not stress”.  Plan the week together, be accountable and supportive, and celebrate each daily success.  Remember the five keys to increase energy and reduce stress are sleep, hydration, planning, fitness, and understanding the emotional “why”.  Now is the time to stop feeling stressed and start feeling energized!

Remember when your Dad, or Girl Scout leader, taught you how to use a compass as a method to guide us out of the forest when we might get lost?  It was fun to play with for a while and then we lost it somewhere in a junk drawer.

Today, there is a different compass we can use when we are in the never-ending cycle of diets, intense exercise, work pressure and family obligations that take us off the path of a healthy lifestyle – it is the Circadian Compass.  It is the inner compass that guides you to a place of overall wellness and success. 

Circadian rhythms affect our waking and sleeping patterns, hormone and energy surges as well as our eating and munching times.  These rhythms are based upon a 24-hour cycle and, when understood, can support you finding the best time to exercise, eat, and work on projects. 

For the next three days, monitor your Circadian rhythm chart.  Simply draw a large circle on a piece of paper, add the “clock face” for the 12-hour period, choose two colored pens (am/pm), and begin to chart your specific daily habits.  For example, 12pm-6am sleep, 6am shower, 7am breakfast coffee/toast, 8am-4pm commute/work, 12noon skipped lunch, 3pm coffee, 4pm commute/candy bar, 5pm prepare dinner/wine, 6pm dinner/lasagna/salad/wine, 7-12pm TV/snacks/finish work, 12pm bed.

The purpose of keeping the chart is to find daily patterns that can easily be modified to improve your health.  Are you getting 7 hours of sleep?  Do you tend to snack more in the late afternoon or before bed?  Do you have more energy to exercise early morning or late evening?

Creating a health and fitness program that is best suited for YOUR body rhythms will reduce the internal stress patterns that cause weight gain, fatigue, and illness.  For some individuals, going to bed earlier will drastically change their health.  Or, take a walk outside to de-stress instead of “working out” … change your thoughts about exercise.

Unfortunately, weight loss is not as simple as “calorie in/calorie out”.  Stress begins in the brain.  Sleep is essential to reduce hormonal weight gain, choose exercises that are beneficial to your emotional body and understand the difference between brain hunger and belly hunger.

Finding your inner compass will allow you the opportunity to experience health and wellness according to your natural rhythms and not the latest diet or exercise fad.  This is one compass you won’t want to lose in the junk drawer.

Every day you are bombarded by a plethora of diet programs designed to deprive your body of intuitive eating and your mind of critical thinking.  Confusion creates stress … hormone levels elevate … belly fat increases … frustration to lose weight begins…

Today is the day to create a practical and emotional plan for a dynamic lifestyle.  Allow yourself the freedom to relax, renew, and restore your mind and body to its natural rhythm.

Begin to review your current nutritional status … do you consume a high percentage of processed foods?  Do you consider yourself an emotional eater?  Or do you follow the latest fad diet?

Choose to eat real food to support a vibrant mind and body … fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein.  Add spices to tempt your taste buds and drink warm water or green tea to settle those cravings.

Exercise your body and mind for longevity versus a need to “work out hard” or “lose weight on the scale”.  Honestly, how often do you allow a number on the scale to define your health and well-being?  And, when you do weigh that magic, perfect number … do you truly feel satisfied?

Find programs or classes that offer you mind and body fitness … dance classes that give you joy … cardio programs that create an endorphine rush … strength training that reflects a feeling of power … yoga classes that offer you community … simply find exercise to enhance your wellness … inside and out … and stress will dissipate.

Reclaim your life …