Covert Narcissist?! How do I know if I am one?
After a fight with two friends, one of them accused me of being a covert narcissist. That offended me to my core, but then I took a moment to consider whether or not it might be true. What if I am??
Exercising My Demons, part 9 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 8 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 7 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 6 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 5 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 4 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
Exercising My Demons, part 3 of 9
Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...
My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 1
I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.
Epsom salt does not reduce DOMS
I believe this product is a placebo. Rather, I think that what was helping me was rubbing the muscles, relaxing during the massage, sitting in warm water, and believing that a magic potion was doing what it claimed.
My 8-week Fitness Challenge
I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.
Suggested Reading: True You, by Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson has made more of lasting impact on me than any other person outside my family. When she shares herself in her music and writing, it’s often like opening a window into my own heart, mind, and soul. Janet has suffered from many of the same type of depression and body shame issues I have, so reading about the ways she contends with her demons was very inspiring to me. This isn’t a memoir of a celebrity life. It’s a journal with many entries about learning to accept oneself.
Rasika met a goal: She can do headstands!
Rasika sent me a lovely little goals update video Something a little different today: I got a video from a client of mine who has reached one of her goals! Okay, so you’re about to meet Rasika. And she would still be here, except that her work has taken...
Gymnema sylvestre breaks sugar addiction
For many years I’ve made the assertion that fast “food” and sugar have been as deceptive and manipulative in their advertising as tobacco was in years past. Think about candy and the packaging it comes in. Now consider the target audience and the long-term impact of these tactics.
Suggested Product: Nutri Ninja Blender
This line of blenders has earned a reputation for being powerful and versatile. I have used this one to make juices, smoothies, soups, and dressing. Mine came with a recipe book with 30 suggestions.
How does Ginger help nausea, disease, & pain?
Ginger has been used for cooking and medicine for thousands of years. It has commonly been used to relieve nausea and vomiting, but it can also help maintain healthy blood sugar levels and reduce joint pain. This indicates ginger has good value as a natural anti-inflammatory.
Exercise affects all aspects of wellbeing
You have 8 selves that create your overarching state of wellbeing. Let’s consider how physical fitness can influence each of them positively. As I said before, “If you think of wellness as a web, then plucking it in one part creates reverberations across the rest.”
Inflammation creates most diseases
Although acute inflammation that lasts only a short time is necessary for healing, if it persists longer than a few days the body can begin to destroy healthy cells. If it persists too long it can create a panoply of diseases. In fact, chronic inflammation is at the root of most of the symptoms we associate with aging.
Chakra Alignment: Color Therapy
Color is one of the most impactful stimuli in our environment. Did you realize it can be used in various ways to manipulate your emotions and behavior?
Training Styles: Randomization
Randomization creates an exercise experience that keeps you engaged mentally and physically. You will optimize your progress without any type of complicated reprogramming. Make your list. Keep all the exact same exercises at the exact same resistance, sets, reps, and tempos. Now totally ignore the order.
Suggested Reading: Tidying Up
A couple years ago I heard an NPR interview with Marie Kondo, and I bought her book, “The Life Changing Art of Tidying: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” I hadn’t read it yet, but when I did it helped me get a new perspective about my stuff. My priorities definitely shifted.
Innercise: Dispelling the dark with full spectrum bulbs
I’ve made it a life habit to keep a single item from each relationship after it ends. Generally it’s a practical item. What did I keep from my last boyfriend? The full spectrum light bulbs he gave me to help stave off the winter gloom. I don’t need them throughout the year, so they still have lots of life in them. But what are full spectrum bulbs, and why do they help?
Suggested Product: Petcube
When my kitty Sméagol passed away at Thanksgiving 2017, my little girl Ophelia was lost. She’d always had a big brother. As time went by she became needier and more disruptive. She would howl at my door when I was trying to sleep. This camera allows me to check on her, talk to her, and run her throughout the day with a laser pointer. And now my sleep is much improved.
Emotional Innercise: My pet, my friend, my familiar, Part 2
Yesterday I had to give Sméagol over to peace. He suddenly developed kidney failure brought on by aggressive pancreatic cancer. I came home in the afternoon, took him to the hospital that evening, and the next day at noon I wrapped him in my arms as he wandered off into eternity.
Podcast Interview: Phoenix Moon Acupuncture
Recently I had a conversation with two local practitioners of holistic wellness, because I think it’s important to collaborate. The focus of this podcast is the relationship between wellness and the practice of our daily living. In Episode 1 we focus on the practice of self-care, because it is important to appreciate the ways in which we are actively involved in creating the health we want.
Rest and Recovery — Learn to value and prioritize self-care for improved wellbeing
However you do it, take the time to understand and appreciate that you are deserving of rest, recovery, relaxation, and reward. Express your self-esteem with warm ups and cool downs, cute clothes that show off your new shape and full nights of sleep. All this together is a practice of self-care that, and it will give you the energy you need to excel and thrive in your other endeavors. Also, tell your boss I said you deserve a raise and an extra two weeks off.
Suggested Product: Crock Pot
Crock-Pot Swing and Serve Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel Here's a great 3-headed crock pot I bought to help with my daily dinner prep. I stay very busy during the day, and don't get home until dinner time. I need to meet my calories and macros, but I also need to go...
Suggested Gear: Floss Bands
Floss Bands - For Muscle Compression - Mobility and Recovery If you lift heavy, you will probably develop some tendinitis eventually. This happens when you have to grip barbells and dumbbells, or when you’re doing pull-ups, lat pulldowns, and other pulling...
Working In: Social Wellness
Innercise and Working In In a recent update for this column, I mentioned that I wanted to do a better job of describing ways of “working in,” as opposed to “working out.” As such, the last entry was deeply personal, and this one will be too. Social...
Suggested Reading: Crock Pot Cookbook
Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes! I bought this cookbook, because I began to run out of ideas after I used my 3-headed crockpot. Obviously I haven’t tested every suggestion in this encyclopedia, but those I have tried are excellent....
Exercising the true you
Working in: Exercising the true you. Keeping strong inside is a necessary balance Innercise This is my story about suicide. Go back to the very beginning of this blog. You’ll find that I used to write about many more of the modalities of wellness. For the...
Suggested Supplements: Whey Powder
Dymatize ISO 100 Whey Protein Powder Isolate Let’s be real: Lots of these whey powders are flat out nasty. I have tried so many, and this brand is the most pleasant and the purest. It mixes well, and the flavor isn’t too sweet or too chalky. This is the one I have...
Welcome to the INTEGRE8T Wellness Blog!
Blog Mission
I want to provide helpful information for workouts, recipes, personal stories, philosophy and position statements, interviews with content experts, and other ideas. I also have a lifetime of observations concerning body image, self esteem, goal setting, and perseverance. If you ever want some inspiration, I have a page just for that as well. The idea is that the posts on this site will be practical, inspirational, personal, conversational, and educational.
The INTEGRE8T System
I am a strong advocate of taking a wholistic approach to wellness. The eight patterns of fitness are Breath, Hydration, Nutrition, Strength, Conditioning, Flexibility, Focus, and Rest; however, these look primarily at the physical body. We are more complex than that, so many of my vlog posts will address the eight modalities of wellness. These address the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Psychological, Social, Sexual, Spiritual, and Financial components of our lives, which are intrinsically connected to each other like a web. Plucking one part of the web creates reverberations throughout the whole.
I will sometimes include thoughts about my favorite topics. These pressing concerns will generally focus on arts and culture; dance and theatre; language, poetry and fiction; personal stories; The Kitty Consortium; diamonds; aesthetics; chocolate; and, most importantly, Janet Jackson.
Enjoy!
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