Goodness – It’s September!

Hi There

I hope you are full of energy in September, here are your tips…

Lifestyle and Exercise
Good to hear there are a few budding 007s out there taking James Bond showers  (see last post).  Of course ‘breathing’ is another essential activity to invigorate you ready for the day.  ’Prana’ can be translated from Sanskrit into many different meanings including ‘breath or life’ and ‘life force’ and your mood and energy can always be reflected in your breath.  Is your breath strong and deliberate in the morning or does it need a kick start?

Jogging and doing my morning routine increases my respiratory rate which supplies the blood with greater amounts of oxygen which is carried round the body as fuel for the muscles.  The great thing about the routine part is that I am mindful, sometimes when running, the mind can wonder, so that’s not helpful.  If you’ve done the same routine for a long time it’s also easier for the mind to wonder, that why it’s good to keep your exercise varied.

Enjoy getting your lungs working through activity, or alternatively do ten minutes deep breathing in the morning!

Nutrition
Sometimes I am told by clients, “I don’t buy into the organic thing.”  Well please read this and tell me if you buy into the ‘non-organic thing’. World’s most popular pesticide kills rats. 

Did you know that serotonin and dopamine, i.e. ‘happy hormones’ are released in the gut when you eat good foods like probiotics?  These happy hormones are then carried round the body in the blood stream, including the brain, so you can feel tip top after yoghurt for breakfast.  Reference

Sleep
How is your sleep adjusting to the shorter days?  When will you switch the heating on? This morning my radiators were on maximum so I was far too hot for the first part of my day.  If it’s time to put your radiators back on, put them on very low so the change is gradual otherwise it’ll sap you energy before you get up!  Remember your bedroom should be cool (about 18 degrees) for decent sleep.   You won’t need much heat in the evenings yet so keep the radiators on low.

Have a fantastic and vibrant September!

If you are thinking that your organisation may need energising, we’ve recently had excellent feedback from Loki Productions and McDonald Butler Associates (click for case study).

Be Healthy!

Roly

“Roly and Healthtext have provided a great service to my business. We are all more healthy, more happy and, consequently, more productive. I would recommend the Healthtext process to any SME or individual without hesitation… It is straightforward, innovative, affordable and most importantly it is effective.”  Bob Ford – Director Loki

Do you have a James Bond Shower? Aug News…

Hi

Lifestyle
Do you take a James Bond Shower?  Recently I’ve gone back to turning my shower temperature down to between luke warm and cold for the last minute before I get out.  Ian Fleming writes how Bond would do this, it is also known as a ‘Scottish Shower’.   What a great trick this is, I get out feeling invigorated. Perfect for those early mornings. Discussion

Exercise
If you get out of the habit of regular exercise, don’t think about doing lot’s of exercise, just take the first step.  ’Habits die hard’ so let your practise become a habit and it’s like replacing the bad habit with the good one.  Over the past few weeks I’ve helped a couple of girls get back into fitness at fourty.  3 weekly sessions is all it took.  Now they are able to look after themselves and stick to a regular routine as they are back in the groove.    Here’s my You-tube video link for ideas.

I swear by reverse flies (seen at 2mins 10 secs) which are great for your posture as they strengthen the upper back and force open the chest.

Nutrition
Sometimes you can feel like you’re drinking plenty of water but it’s just not getting absorbed. Try soaking a table spoon of Linseeds for 5 hours then when it becomes ‘gloopy’, chew well before swallowing.  This helps your gut hold moisture, especially in the colon where dehydration takes place after the brain.  Sometimes a dash of cordial in your water is more absorbable than just plain water.  A pinch of salt can help too.

Eating fat makes you thin! Article
What our body does with the fat we eat is not make fat out of it, sugars/carbs do that.  Fat are essential for building cell membranes, storing vits and mins and giving out energy.

Sleep
Isn’t it hard to stick to a regular bed time, argh!  I love waking up fully refreshed but sometimes admin gets in the way of my bed time.  If I listen to my body it’s obvious when it wants to go to bed, the eyelids get heavy, the brain slows, maybe I’d like some more food?!  Contrast this to the clarity of thought I have in the morning and I just need to get to bed asap. Thinking and tasks will be done twice as fast in the morning.

Be healthy!
Roly
PS. If you think your colleagues may benefit from my Free lunch time Workshop on Stress please get in touch.

July News…What do Lady Gaga and Brian Moore have in common?

Hi

Here are your tips for healthy living in July…

Lifestyle

Of course everyday events effect how we feel, but it’s up to us to be able to detach ourselves from unhelpful thoughts. However it’s very reassuring to know that even the top stars are victims of their own self-doubt.  In rugby player Brian Moore’s autobiography he talks about his alter ego ‘Gollum’ who keeps popping up and telling him he’s ‘no good’ and I also watched Lady Gaga openly talking about the self doubt she experiences moments before going on stage.  So no matter if you’re one of the best or one of the worst at something, there will always be doubt.  Do you have the tools to overcome it?  If you sometimes feel anxious and want to know how to stop it, our lifestyle package is just the ticket.

Exercise

I created a morning workout video last week.  I hope this can inspire you to enjoy the gift of a disciplined morning practise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nQy3jcOJsE&feature=related

Nutrition

There has been negative press about eating Soy for some time now so Paul Chek is linked here to set the record straight. Basically, be very wary of eating soy products on a daily basis, after ready this you’ll probably want to cut them out altogether.  If you want an alternative to milk, try rice milk.

Sleep

Have you ever noticed how your mood can change around the lunar cycle?  At full moon, energy is high in nature and with the new moon there is a sense of calm.  I remember talking to a Canadian father and son who were both with the Fire Brigade and they told me in detail about how they were so much busier around full moon, time after time.  There is a different sort of energy around full moon.

A waning (shrinking) moon is a natural time for elimination for the body as is the period of the new (small) moon.  See moon Calendar. This is a good time to drink lots of water to encourage the flushing out of toxins.  However, when the moon is waxing (growing – for around half the month) the body absorbs more and has more cravings, so it’s important to eat nutritious food and not give in to cravings which will peak around full moon.  You are restocking after the ‘clear out’ and more self discipline is required at this time.  Click here to find out More.

Would you like to be part of a study on health and wellbeing?

Healthtext is a new service that motivates you to improve your wellness through better lifestyle, nutrition, exercise and sleep choices using a very simple method: a daily text.

The service has been chosen by the University of East London (UEL) for a medical research study.

Two doctors from the university are studying HEALTHtext to investigate the effect of these daily reminders on an individual’s Wellbeing.

If you are interesting in taking part in this study for one month at no charge, please let me know by replying to this email.

Be healthy!

Roly

The perfect motivation to exercise in June…

Hi

Here are your holistic health tips for June.

Lifestyle
If you take a look at what goes into your shower gel you may be surprised to see a long list of chemicals.  Is there any need to put these on your skin?  You know what they say about your skin being your largest organ, so surely it can’t be helpful to absorb chemicals through it?  Avoid un-natural products and just go for plain soap if you have to otherwise you are taking in toxins through your skin. Some of your products may be listed on this database and if they are not, it has interesting information. See ‘Skincare’ http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Exercise
Exercise is often the most challenging factor for us so take a moment to reflect on what exercise you would like to do over the next month.  What are your favourite activities? Can you walk or cycle to work or organise playing your favourite sport?  If you would like help with this, I am happy to talk to you at the beginning of each month to discuss what’s realistic. Or, Click here to purchase my exercise package, it’s far more motivating than joining a gym and is half price this week in response to this newsletter. (£33)

Nutrition
We all have different genetic make up in our guts which varies the way in which we digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  This means that we need to eat them in differing proportions.  This is the basis of metabolic typing and new scientific research is able to back to this up.  It is so important to understand your metabolic type that I am recommending you all do this free test available here.

Once you have registered and taken the test, I can offer a 60 minute telephone consultation where we discuss your new meal plan ideas and workout exactly what you need to shop for and eat.  (1hr, £60)

Sleep
In summer we need less sleep.  Are you adapting to your circadian rhythm? It’s easier to get up earlier this time of year so try to get up when you wake up and adjust your body clock.

What are your goals this month? Make sure you’re at your best to achieve them!

Be healthy!

Roly

May Day! Is this the best core exercise ever?

Hi All

Here are your monthly insights and tips for maximising your vitality with a holistic approach.

Lifestyle
I did some work this month with Susie Pearl who has worked with Paul McKenna for the last 15 years and she’s inspirational!  In her workshop, ‘Live Your Dreams’ she asked us all to write down what our dreams are in life.  Five minutes later we worked out how close we were to getting there, what resources we needed and what was standing in our way.   Then we had a guided meditiation and the whole process was extremely inspiring.  It’s so important to take quiet time to reflect on what we truly want, so that we can cut through the noise of everyday life to regain that focus.  The workshop is called, ‘Live your Dreams’ and it can be taken here.

I also met some inspiring characters at the inaugural Action for Happiness Event – a global movement inspiring people to feel happy!

Exercise
Is ‘The Plank’ really the best lower back / core exercise ever?  Answer: Maybe!

The elbows are placed directly under the shoulders and the ankles are flexed to 90 degrees.  Can you draw a straight line from the shoulders, through the hips, through the knees and through the ankles?  The mid section is worked hardest as it lies midway between the pivots.  Many other muscles are recruited to hold the core area strong.  It is crucial to keep the back in a ‘neutral spine’ position throughout, as soon as your form goes, it’s important to stop, as you don’t want to overextend the lower back.  Chris Mallac, head of Sports Med at Bath Rugby says, “It generates stiffness in the abdominal wall muscles to create a rigid core between the rib cage and the pelvis” Video

Nutrition and supplements
What do you take to cure a common cold?  Please make comments to this blog below.  A zinc supplement can work well, as can crushed raw garlic (mixed with honey and lemon) or overloading with vitamin c.    Please share your best remedies…

Did you know that use of antidepressants has gone up 40% in the last 4 years? (Mercola) This is scarey but the most important point is for suffers to realise that natural remedies are here.  Please be honest when filling in you Lens scores so that you get the best help.  The key is for sufferers to make radical lifestyle changes before the doctors or psychiatrists prescribe drugs, as once taken, statistics show that 80% of people will need to go back on them, as your body will have changed.  99% of people who go into a psychiatrists today will be given antidepressants.  To keep people with mild depression away from these drugs there should be much more done, as very regimented changes in lifestyle and nutrition can significantly alter mental wellbeing.  Supplements like fish oils and vitamins b and d, along with perfect exercise, nutrition and sleep hygiene will mean that the body will work with you to create a state of natural wellbeing.  I am starting a clinic for this so please send anyone that is feeling slightly low to me!

Sleep
I did a Sleep clinic workshop with Susie Pearl this month and whether people wake in the night at 2am and can’t get back to sleep or they wake up at 4am ‘ready to go’, the same advice applies.  Preparation is key, eliminating alcohol, caffeine, excess sugar and eating right for you body type are key.  Once you’ve done everything you can, you must have a technique for taking your attention so that you are the master of your thoughts and not vice-versa.  A quick search on You Tube reveals many guided meditations for relaxing body parts one by one, or you can enjoy meditating on the breath or your mantra.  I know lying there ‘wired’, it seems impossible to sleep no matter what. This is even more reason to be very strict on your sleep preparation. For more info read chapter 6 of my book.

Healthtext Limited has a solution to fit your company no matter what size they are or what budget they have, so please speak to your Occupational Health Department/equivalent on my behalf for a free holistic lifestyle consultation!  Happy staff are more productive!

Be Healthy!

Roly

HEALTHtext Ltd

We offer a Complimentary Wellness Report at www.healthtext.co.uk

April News: Fat doesn’t make you fat. This is why we gain weight…

Hi

Lifestyle
I’m so pleased the weather has warmed up so I can leave the window open at night and receive negative oxygen ions flowing freely in to the bedroom.  I’ve also committed to self-imposed media ban for a week as I realised how addicted to the news I was getting.  The more we take in the more we want.  When I am free of it, it’s amazing how much more time there is in the day!

Exercise
Doctor Mark and I completed140km cycle race – Tour de Flanders this weekend in Belgium and I loved the experience, as a one off.   It was a beautiful day and with another two guys we created a great team spirit.  The extremes of physical activity during some weeks of training reminded me of the energy and emotional roller coaster your hormones create due to excesses in exercise.  Being an athlete is by no means stress free!  It’s back to exercise little and often for me!

Nutrition
The next big news since ‘Vitamin D’ hit the headlines is ‘Iodine’ and how amazingly deficient we are of this much needed nutrient which affects our energy through the thyroid gland.  Dr. Brownstein, who has teamed up with Dr Mercola has been working with iodine for the last twenty years and has tested over 5000 patients in his clinic and found over 95% of them to be iodine deficient!  This is backed up by leading natural nutritionist Barbara Wren in her book ‘Cellular Awakening’ so if you know anyone with thyroid problems, do ask them to read around the subject or ask me for further info.

Weight Loss - I’ve been reading Tim Ferris’s book The Four Hour Body’ which is a very revealing read:

It describes how a calorie is a very basic and faulty measure, as one calorie of beef does not equal one calorie of biscuit because, “the hormonal response to carbohydrates, protein and fat is different.”  There is plenty of evidence to show this and a study by Kekwick and Pawan showed three separate groups put on semi starvation diet, one consuming 90% fat, one eating 90% protein and one 90% carbohydrate.  The results were:
90% FAT  - weight loss of 408g/0.9lb per day

90% PROTEIN - weight loss 272g/0.6lb per day

90% CARBS - weight gain of 108g 0.24lb per day

This study shows that we need to be eating far more good fat and well sourced organic protein (animal and fish products) – otherwise your body has no option but to make excess carbohydrate into fat.

Sleep
Great health is simple; live in line with nature, but look how difficult we’ve made it for ourselves to follow this.  This is mostly due to amazing inventions, like Edison’s light bulb.  If we didn’t have electric light bulbs, we would naturally become tired as the sun went down as we respond to a drop in our natural hormones cortisol and an increase in melatonin.  As it is, we are ‘wired’ until late in the evening and awoken by an alarm.  At the beginning of this month, I managed to ‘go back in time’ for nearly a week and wow did I feel fantastic!  I wasn’t very sociable getting up at 5.30am and going to bed at 9.30 but it was a great lesson!

And I’ll leave you with this:
“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~Edward Stanley

Be healthy!

Roly

Why Fresh Air is Essential…in March

Hi

Here are your healthy tips for March…

Lifestyle
Fresh air is very different to stale indoor air.  Stale air contains more carbon dioxide and positive ions that will be re-used by the lungs and create a more acidic environment in the body.  Fresh air will have more good, negative oxygen ions that are passively absorbed into the blood near your lungs.  The moral is: Don’t stay in doors too long with the window closed as you’re blood will turn more acidic and you may become more irritable!  Try to go outside where there is an abundance of negative ions at least every three hours and keep a window open as often as possible or go for an ion exchange air circulation machine.

Negative ions are produced in nature by things like transpiration in leaves and falling water.  So if you can’t always get into natural surroundings, away from the positive ions and free radicals produced inside your house, jump in the shower and make sure you have some plants for your home!  Indoor air contains approximately 150 negative ions per square cm, countryside air contains approximately 3000 per square cm.  More

Exercise
If you have lower back problems then unless you have a sway back, you could be experiencing what is simply known as ‘lower-cross syndrome.’  This means you have weak abdominals and gluteus Maximus and tight quadriceps and lumbar spine.  To alleviate this muscle imbalance you need to strengthen your abs and butt whilst stretching your quads and lower back.  You may be able to think of exercises for this…?  To understand this in more detail, my book has a chapter specifically on posture (see below).

Nutrition
Coconut Oil is one of the healthiest fats known to man and it’s delicious.  Available at health-food shops or online, it is ideal for cooking in as it stays stable at high temperatures and it is also a good skin treatment. More

Sleep
Mo Farah, in the evening Standard this week ago wrote about how, if he wanted to compete with the best long distance runners in the world, he had to observe what they do.  A room became available in the Kenyan runners’ flat in London, so he moved in.  Soon he was going to bed at the same time as them at 8pm, and going on training runs at 6am.  Now he has turned himself into into a world class athlete.  How much are you willing to sacrifice to be at your best?

I went for some early morning cycles this month and doing that after a night out I was ready for bed at 8.30pm that same evening!  Suddenly I was naturally ‘early to bed, early to rise,’ for the whole week and I have to say, I felt fantastic, although I didn’t see my girlfriend much – so I’ll see if I can convince her that early morning cycling is fun. Hmmm…

I’ve also been reading Chris Evans autobiography and I liked what he had to say about sleep:

“Going to bed when you want to and need to is a sign of contentment and a soul at peace with itself.  Of someone who is wise enough to take the hours necessary to fuel up for the next day in order to live life to the full.  ” He continues, “Sleep is not, however, for the malcontent, who, far from embracing the wonderful gift that is sleep, ends up fearing it instead, running a mile at the mere mention of it’s name.  For years I was this man.”

And Finally…

If you would like a revitalising week in Greece which won’t cost the earth, have a look at this for a holiday option: http://www.yogawithruthwhite.com/pdf/lesbos_2011.pdf I’ve been and it was fantastic, I came back completely rejuvenated.

My book is now on Amazon – last few copies of the 1st Edition remaining!

Increase staff wellbeing and productivity in your company or organisation with the Healthtext Corporate Package and get £50 Selfridges Vouchers!   Details here.

I’m now seeing people one to one on Fridays at Evolve Wellness Centre in South Kensington so let me know if you have some health and wellbeing goals you really want to accomplish and I’ll make sure we work out the lifestyle changes to you get there.

Be Healthy!

Roly