• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

LifeOhm

Live Joyfully - Coaching, Aroma Freedom Sessions & Young Living Essential Oils

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Essential Oils
  • Connect

Wellness

50 Ways to Nurture Yourself (Includes a Printable Download)

2013-10-28 By Monica 12 Comments

self compassion

In honor of LifeOhm’s 50th post, I am giving you, my amazing readers, a free printable download to help you remember to nurture yourself. Click here to download the free printable and go on to read more about the 50 Ways to Nurture Yourself.

The Importance of Nurturing Yourself

At one time or another, we all feel stressed or pressured by our busy schedules. During busy times, especially, it is so important to nurture ourselves. As the flight attendants wisely point out, you have to put on your own oxygen mask before trying to help others. The same thing goes for caring for yourself: if you don’t take the time to nurture and care for yourself before helping others, you will quickly become fatigued and end up having less to give.

“If you feel ‘burnout’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.” ~ Dalai Lama

When you take the time to nurture and care for yourself, it’s easier to have a happy, upbeat mindset. You feel better about your life in general and it’s easier to get through challenging work tasks. This in turn allows you to have more to give to family and loved ones.

[Read more…] about 50 Ways to Nurture Yourself (Includes a Printable Download)

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: craft, declutter, exercise, friend, goals, gratitude, happiness, health, hug, inspiration, joy, massage, meditation, mornings, music, nature, nurture, nurturing, personal development, pet, play, self care, sing, stress, technology, visualize, walk, yoga, yourself

Is Being A People Pleaser Making You Miserable?

2013-08-28 By Monica 3 Comments

Saying Yes - Being a People Pleaser

Do You Say “Yes” When You Should Say “No”?

We all want to lend a hand and help out where we can, but sometimes saying yes can cost us our own happiness and peace of mind. I know I hate to disappoint people when they need help, and I may even be too much of a “people pleaser” sometimes. Do you find yourself doing the same thing?

This “can-do” attitude has certainly helped me in my career and in climbing the corporate ladder. I became the Chief Operating Officer at a managed care company before I was 35. There’s no doubt one of the biggest reasons for my success was my willingness to take on big projects and work long hours without complaining. I was the go-to person for tough assignments.

What Is That “Yes” Costing You?

My “success” came at a big price however: I missed spending quality time with my family. When I was home, I was exhausted. I had also gained some extra weight and started to experience health issues. While I earned a decent salary, it wasn’t commensurate with the amount of responsibility I had. It turned out I was too agreeable when it came to salary too. I was working hard, but not very smart. I was miserable.

[Read more…] about Is Being A People Pleaser Making You Miserable?

Filed Under: Wellness Tagged With: anchor, choices, habits, people pleaser, priorities, saying no, simplify, vision

12 Ways Essential Oil Can Help You Live a Healthier Life

2013-07-14 By Monica 10 Comments

Lavender

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” -Thomas Edison

A good friend of mine in Montana introduced me to essential oils in 2008 I’ve been in love with them every since. I wanted to share with you why I love them and how you can use them in your life too.

First, a quick overview of essential oils. Essential Oils are the natural oils that come from plants through a distillation process.  An oil is “essential” in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Humans have used essential oils since before record keeping and they are even referenced in the Bible more than 12 times.

Studies have shown that odors have a significant impact on emotional states and that individual scents affect different parts of the brain. For instance, lavender affects the part of the brain commonly associated with relaxation while jasmine affects the part of the brain that affects alertness.

[Read more…] about 12 Ways Essential Oil Can Help You Live a Healthier Life

Filed Under: Essential Oils, Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: cleaning, essential oils, healthy, lavender, mindfulness, natural, patchouli, presence, relaxation, scent, smell, wellness, YoungLiving

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Fitness

2013-04-21 By Monica 7 Comments

Getting Fit

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. ” ~ Jim Rohn 

Whether you are trying to lose weight or just improving your overall health, fitness can be challenging with today’s busy schedules. Just implementing small, incremental actions can make a significant difference in your life. Here are five ways to get you started:

1. Be a Kid Again: What was your favorite activity when you were growing up? Was it tennis, swimming, riding your bicycle? Think back to the types of things you enjoyed as a kid and find a way to bring that activity back into your life.

For me, it was roller skating. I grew up on roller skates but hadn’t been able to skate since I was a child. About two years ago, I moved to a city that had an old-fashioned, hardwood floor skating rink with a huge pipe organ that they still use on specific nights. I was thrilled to have such a wonderful place to roller skate and it is great exercise. The best part is I feel like I’m ten years old again.

2. Instant Recess: While you’re still feeling like a kid, you might also try something called Instant Recess. Instant Recess gives you at least two ten-minute exercise breaks during the work day. There are instant recess exercise videos available on YouTube  or you can do your own form of exercise.

I learned about this program at a health conference I attended several months ago because many workplaces are starting to offer it to employees.   As people become more aware that long periods of sitting have been shown to be as dangerous as smoking, they are looking for ways to increase their activity during the day. Studies have shown that if you do the videos twice a day for three months or more, you should be able to maintain your existing weight. If you add an additional ten minutes of exercise each day, you should actually lose weight.

3. Moves App for iPhone: A fun tool I recently discovered is the Moves app for my iPhone and for Android. It’s like a pedometer that tracks your steps during the day. Using this app was eye opening for me because it clearly illustrated that I’m not getting enough exercise on certain days.

The nice thing about this app is that it keeps track of where you travel and seems to be able to distinguish if you are moving in the car versus exercising. It even tracks steps on the elliptical at the gym so I make a point to wear my phone when I work out.

4. Listen to something: When I exercise, I often listening to inspiring music, podcasts, or books from Audible. Audible was a great find for me because I have a lot of required reading for my graduate coursework and my business. Audible allows me to make my time at the gym even more productive, and the time goes by very quickly.

5. Create a habit: Establish set times for your fitness routines or add reminders to your calendar to help remind you when to exercise. Consistent, regular activity is the single most important thing you can do to improve your fitness.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan

What is your favorite way to improve your fitness? Share your thoughts below.

 

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, habit, health, instant recess, iPhone, moves app, workout

7 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Health

2013-02-22 By Monica 4 Comments

 Path To Health

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”  ~ Buddha

After more than fifteen years working on the corporate and management side of healthcare, I’ve witnessed a broken system from almost every angle. The U.S. currently has the highest per capita spending among developed countries. Yet we are 22nd in life expectancy. What’s more, many of the top causes for mortality are highly preventable.

In his recent best-seller, The End of Illness, David B. Agus, MD suggests actions we can take to prevent illness and improve our quality of life. He makes a strong case that, “illness is largely preventable” and even argues that most cancer deaths are quite avoidable.”  He discusses the importance of taking responsibility for our own health and realizing we can control many factors that determine health. Our DNA only creates probabilities of illness but our lifestyle choices determine far more. He also advocates for taking a more “personalized” approach to medicine.

Dr. Agus’s wellness recommendations include:

1. Understand Your Family’s Health History – According to Agus, learning about your family health tree is a proactive way for you to identify some of your potential health risks. The U.S. Surgeon General provides a free tool to help you create a family health tree . While it is important to understand your risks, Agus also points out that “DNA is more about our risk than our fate. It governs probabilities, not necessarily destinies….To hold your DNA responsible for your health is missing the forest for the trees.” Understand your health history but don’t use it as an excuse to not take responsibility for your lifestyle.

2. Eat Healthier – This can be easier said than done, but diet is a major factor in our long-term health outlook and is something we can control ourselves. We can be proactive with food and eat a preventative diet that helps counteract some of our hereditary risk factors.

3. Get Regular Exercise – Along with a healthy diet, regular exercise is perhaps the single most important thing you can do for your health. According to Agus, regular exercise:

  • Fights the onset of age-related diseases
  • Helps keep healthy weight
  • Increases lung capacity
  • Improves circulation
  • Reduces stress
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Increases feelings of well being

A great story Agus relates in the book is that “In 1873, Edward Stanley, the Earl of Derby, gave an address at Liverpool College in which he said, ‘Those who think they not have time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.’”

4. Avoid Sitting for Long Periods of Time – With more of us working in an office setting, spending time watching television or playing video games, sitting has become the norm. Studies have shown however, that sitting for long periods of time can be as insidious as smoking or excessive sun exposure in our risk for illness. Schedule brief walking breaks or other forms of movement during your day, even if you work out at other times. These movement breaks, even if you workout at other times, will also give you more energy while you are at work.

5. Keep a Regular Schedule – according to Agus, our bodies like consistency. Having a regular meal schedule and sleep schedule, along with consistent ways to exercise and reduce stress will benefit you in the long run.  One interesting point is that dog owners are more likely to have a regular schedule thanks to the needs of their furry companions. Not to mention the added health benefits a pet can provide with their love and companionship.

6. Focus on Your Body’s Inherent Self-Healing Capabilities – Agus suggests clearly understanding any treatment for our bodies before we start them, including taking vitamins or supplements.  “Think of the body as a self-maintaining factory; it is constantly regenerating itself down to every cell. Every month we renew our skin, every six weeks we have a new liver, and every three months we have new bones.”

Instead of jumping into the latest health fad, make sure there is a good basis to do so. Many physicians, including Agus, have stopped recommending that people take vitamins due to the lack of research that they prevent illness. Studies show that taking some vitamins may even expedite certain diseases such as cancer. Adding additional vitamins or other supplements may throw off your body’s natural equilibrium, actually slowing the healing process.

7. Find a Good Physician That Listens and One You can trust – Agus says, “Medicine is the art of observation and interpretation, which are skills that are not learned in a book. Until medicine becomes more of a science with the advancements of technology, you have to find someone who practices this art very well.”

What do you do to stay healthy? What critical points are missing? Share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: Agus, End of Illness, exercise, food, healing, health, medical, vitamins

Let Your Food Be Your Medicine…

2011-07-02 By Monica 6 Comments

fresh vegetables“Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.” ~Hippocrates (400 B.C.)

More than 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician and founder of Western medicine, understood the importance of food and our diet to our overall health and as a predictor of illness. While some people may be genetically predisposed to certain types of illnesses, it has been proven that you can affect your long-term health and even mitigate some of those risks by maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Unfortunately, the average American lifestyle today is anything but healthy, it is high in fat, processed foods, sodium, and sugars and low in exercise and healthy whole foods and vegetables. Some conscious choices regarding a healthy lifestyle can result in improved overall health, more energy, and help you prevent the onset of many health conditions.

Eating for Disease Prevention

Experts have recommended eating a healthy, balanced diet high in fruits and vegetables for decades.Research shows that those who eat an abundance of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. Eating a healthy diet will also help you manage your weight. [Read more…] about Let Your Food Be Your Medicine…

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: diet, eating, energy, food, health, Hippocrates, medicine

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to LifeOhm

blog sidebar Lavender Festival 2013-229

Thank you for visiting LifeOhm – I’m glad you’re here!

I’m Monica, owner and founder of LifeOhm, LLC. LifeOhm was created to help individuals, just like you, optimize their health and wellness, while also creating more joy and happiness in their life. Read more.

Let’s Connect!

LifeOhm on Facebook LifeOhm on Twitter lifeohm-social9 LifeOhm on Pinterest LifeOhm on YouTube LifeOhm Feed

Be More Confident

Before Footer

Let’s Connect

LifeOhm on Facebook  lifeohm-social20   LifeOhm on Instragram   LifeOhm on Pinterest   LifeOhm on YouTube 
  • About
  • Essential Oils
  • Blog
  • Connect

Copyright © 2023 LifeOhm · Home · Contact · Terms & Conditions