Month: January 2015

January 19, 2015

“Floating”

My intention for this year is to try as many new things as humanly possible.  So, two weeks ago on a Monday night, I tried something totally new and different (for me), I tried “floating”.  Floating is a new age therapeutic meditation or stress release technique or procedure that helps a person achieve sensory deprivation while floating in salt water in a dark tank or pod.  The object of “floating” is to achieve complete sensory deprivation while becoming connected to ones self.

You can attempt active or passive floating depending on what you wish to achieve.  If one wants to achieve relaxation, one would simply be passive and float and attempt to clear the mind.  Active floating is different whereby one can perform different techniques.  A person may perform meditation, mantras, self-hypnosis, or make use of educational programs to help achieve a certain state of awareness.  Active floating allows the body to be in complete relaxation, thus, allowing the mind to become highly suggestible while taking in information into the sub-conscious and retaining it.  This relaxed state can help in the healing process for many conditions such as stress, anxiety, pain, swelling, insomnia and jet lag.

A sensory deprivation pod/tank is about the size of an oversized bathtub or jacuzzi which closes and seals out sound and light.  The tank is filled with water and uses epsom salt and magnesium sulfate in high concentration so that you achieve a complete weightlessness or “floating” sensation while in the tank.  It is supposed to mimick the dead sea.  There is roughly 1200 pounds of epsom salt in the tank, thus, creating such density that the entire body is floating with ease while keeping the head buoyant so not to drown.

Another benefit one gets from the tank/pod occurs because high concentration of magnesium helps enhance the therapy.  Magnesium is absorbed through the skin due to natural molecular diffusion and plays a major role in correcting magnesium deficiencies in the body.  Typically, magnesium is absorbed from the diet but in many areas of the world, over-cropping and other processes depletes necessary content of magnesium in our foods.  The body naturally balances the levels of magnesium so there is no overload effect caused by the “floating”.

After trying “floating” I can honestly say I’ve already booked my next 5 sessions in advance.  I plan to do this once a month for as long as I possibly can.  I achieved such a state of awareness and connectedness with myself that I can’t even describe.  I was able to hear myself, my true inner voice, calling me and guiding me.  I was able to make definitive decisions that I wasn’t able to make prior to my session.  I gained a confidence about myself after my session and I can’t even explain why, other than, it really helped me get inside my head and tell myself things that I already knew, but, avoided.  “Floating” has definitely helped me open my mind and soul and I am looking forward to my next float session to uncover even more greatness trapped within myself.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAUQjhw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgalleryhip.com%2Fdeprivation-tank.html&ei=ZyW9VOPgEYOYyQTWlIFw&bvm=bv.83829542,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNH45azQ3LgI2cq3g-K7AertVJAO5w&ust=1421768383047451

“When I first tried a sensory deprivation tank, people thought I had lost my mind. In fact, I had found it.” ~ Ryan Lilly

January 12, 2015

Heart Attacks

Heart attacks can be extremely scary and debilitating.  In fact, every 7 minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke (Statistics Canada, 2011c).  Heart disease and stroke are two of the three leading causes of death in Canada.  These statistics are based on 2008 data (the latest year available from Statistics Canada). 

I am drawing attention to the topic of heart disease because my dad recently suffered his second heart attack. My dad had his first heart attack in 2009 and in less than 5 years he suffered his second attack. My dad and mom are my source of inspiration for writing about health and lifestyle awareness. After witnessing them deal with their medical challenges I knew I had to reach out to my community and raise awareness. I know there are many families out there that have suffered through similar experiences as my own family. Bringing awareness about certain common diseases or health problems will help others make better decisions pertaining to ones health and lifestyle choices.

Within my community, I noticed most of us tend to lead very similar lifestyles and have similar habits. Knowing this, I can’t in good conscience allow other families to go through tragedies all because of misinformation. I want to share some facts that could possibly help save someones life. By knowing some common signs of a heart attack you can save someone from suffering through a debilitating stroke and can prevent them from experiencing severe heart damage.

Here are some basic facts about the heart and how it functions.  The heart is a muscle. It works by carrying oxygen and nutrients in the blood. When the blood flows constantly and smoothly through the heart it gets energy and works properly. The misconception with heart disease is that it only has one condition, however, heart disease is actually a group of conditions that affects the function and structure of the heart. Take Coronary Artery Disease for example, it develops when a combination of fatty materials, calcium and scar tissue (also known as plaque) builds up in the arteries. These arteries supply blood to the heart and they are being blocked and clogged not allowing blood to flow smoothly. The plaque basically builds up and narrows the arteries and prevents the heart from getting enough blood.

Many Canadians die from heart attacks yearly because of not receiving medical treatment early enough.  Many of the deaths related to heart attacks could be preventable if we all knew the tell tale signs of a heart attack and notice specific symptoms.  By learning to recognize these signs you can significantly help someone or even potentially save a life.  One of the most common symptoms of a heart attack is chest pain in both men and women.  However, some people may not even experience chest pain at all, while others might feel a mild pain or slight discomfort or tightening sensation.  Some may feel pain in an entirely different area of the body, while others feel a combination of several symptoms.  Listed below are some of the most common signs of a heart attack that you should watch out for.

  1. Chest discomfort – uncomfortable chest pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, burning or heaviness
  2. Sweating – sweating lightly or heavily, moist, feeling cool and hot simultaneously
  3. Nausea – upset stomach, need to throw up
  4. Discomfort in other areas of the upper body – neck, jaw, shoulders, arms, back
  5. Light headedness – feeling dizzy or light headed and have difficulty keeping balance
  6. Shortness of breath – uncomfortable breathing, pressure in chest

mindbodysoul

 

January 4, 2015

New Year, Renewed Me!

Happy New Year everyone!  How is everyone doing in 2015?  Did you end 2014 with a bang and did you start 2015 with an even bigger bang?  Well I sure hope it was an eventful one for you!  Mine was quite interesting actually.  For the first time in years (and I mean like a decade) I tried something different for my new years celebration.  I went out to the Casino during the day, gambled a little and won $250.00, ate a delicious meal at Ruth’s Chris that cost me about $300.00 and got back home at 10:00pm to ring in the new year at home alone and sober while the rest of the world partied on.

For a while, I got into this terrible habit of always wanting to be out and about celebrating with friends and strangers and ringing in the new year drunk and sloppy and well forgetting everything from the previous year and not really knowing how to start the new year.  I loved being the life of the party and dancing away into the wee hours of the night (which became morning).  I loved dressing up and wearing an expensive dress and getting my hair done and blah blah blah.  I would spend about $500 on just one night of partying all to forget what had even happend during the celebrations.

Going into 2015 I wanted to do something completely different and out of my comfort zone.  Having gotten so used to the party life, all my friends had so many events lined up and I was being invited to every possible outing.  I could’ve gone to a million different house parties, driven down to Montreal, could’ve flewn to New York, traveled to Europe or even gone on an all inclusive trip to celebrate in the Bahamas.  However, this year I CHOSE to stay in and ring in the new year sober and conscious with big dreams for my future.

Don’t get me wrong, I still treated myself, I had an extremely expenisve and delicious last meal and spent time with friends gambling and being out of town.  But, my intention to end and start the years right was my main focus this time around.  It was so difficult for me to make this choice because I know I disappointed a lot of people.  I knew that by choosing to stay in, my friends and family felt neglected.  But, this was something I had to do for myself.  I had to stay in to prove to myself that I could be disciplined.  I wanted to make a point to myself that not only could I handle change, but, I could also embrace it with open sober arms.

My intentions for how I want to be in 2015 started off exactly how I wanted, new, different, sober, humble and responsible.  I chose to celebrate this way because it brought me out of my comfort zone; I don’t always need to be partying for every occassion, I can save money while everyone else spends, I can be sober and still enjoy celebrations and I can be alone while the world spends it with others.  This is exactly what I intended for the new year and the renewed me.  I wanted to be at my very best and start the year off with a great nights sleep (I got 10 hours of sleep to be exact).  I wanted a refreshed, renewed me going into 2015 because I wish to accomplish many things.  I had to start small because big changes are coming.  I am helping myself by taking small steps so when the time comes to handle the big obstacles it won’t be as hard.  2015 started off exactly the way I envisioned, with a renewed purpose and sense of self.

mindbodysoul

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us”. ~ Hal Borland