We are all unique. Your values, past experiences, and current circumstances cause you to experience the pandemic in one way, and someone who has different values, past experiences, and current circumstances will experience the pandemic in a different way. However, I think we can all agree that COVID-19 has had an impact on the way we — each and every one of us — live our lives. 

Since we are different, we may need support in different ways. If you think you could benefit from working with a health coach, personal trainer, or yoga instructor, please feel free to reach out to me or someone else in the field. Even though we may be different, we don’t have to cope with this experience this alone.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy month. 

Getting to live and work with people from all over the country — and even the  world — was one of the great things about being an outdoor educator. Interacting with people from so many different backgrounds helped me see different perspectives and taught me many important life lessons. One of these lessons was the difference between quality and quantity. 

While I had learned this lesson and applied it to various aspects of my life, it wasn’t until a fellow teacher bought a chunk of cheese that I realized that this philosophy also applies to food. I learned about this cheese on the way back from the grocery store. Since we lived in a remote location, every weekend we carpooled to a nearby town for groceries. On the way home from one such excursion, my fellow teacher announced that she was able to find some good cheese. When none of us seemed impressed, she plucked it out of the grocery bag resting on her lap and showed it to us. One of of my fellow teachers caught a glimpse of the price and almost choked on the water he was drinking. We weren’t making much, and investing so much money in a small block of cheese seemed ridiculous when you could get a couple of huge blocks for the same price. 

She didn’t think spending money on high-quality cheese was ridiculous at all. She explained that because this cheese was so good, she didn’t use nearly as much. Therefore, the price didn’t really matter. Most of us were skeptical at first, but as the week wore on we did indeed notice that she was using the cheese sparingly. One night when we were all in the kitchen making our own separate meals, one of my fellow teachers asked if she was even able to taste the cheese on her food. She smiled and offered us each a small bite of what she had prepared. It was delicious and flavorful. It would’ve taken heaps of the cheese I purchased to get a similar effect.

Both quantity and quality are important, but often we often neglect quality in favor of quantity. Anyone who has gotten an overuse injury from repeatedly exercising with poor form, had a restless night’s sleep, or dug through a stuffed closet in an attempt to find something decent to wear knows that more isn’t always better. Sometimes more is just more. Prioritizing quality over quantity can do more than enhance the flavor of a dish — it can enhance your health. If you’re not sure where to start, I encourage you to seek guidance from a health coach or other qualified health professional. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week.

This has been a challenging week, and I’m not exactly sure what I should write. Still, I made a commitment to myself and you— my dear reader— that each week I would post something that would hopefully motivate you to live a healthier life.    

Becoming healthier is a journey. It involves committing to healthy habits. Creating these healthy habits isn’t easy, and sometimes — like when life gets difficult — it’s tempting to let these habits go. But it’s important to find ways to honor your commitment.

When things get crazy, it is even more critical to still show up and do what you can do. Maybe that means you put on your workout gear and work out for 5 minutes. You may find that after 5 minutes of exercise, you find the energy and motivation to complete another 25 minutes. Maybe you don’t even complete the five minutes because the food’s cooking quicker than you thought it would, but you still put on your workout clothes and did what you could. That’s good too — you showed up. Maybe you could keep your workout clothes on and do some exercise after dinner? 

This blog is my way of showing up for you. With a pandemic in our midst, it is more important than ever to make a commitment to creating and maintaining healthy habits. If you need help, please reach out to me or another health coach or fitness professional. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week.  

Recently, I was talking to someone who is considered “high risk” for dying from COVID-19 if they catch it. I was relieved to hear that while they were taking precautions to protect their health, they weren’t abnormally stressed. They calmly explained that excessive fear about the virus would increase their chances of catching it. Science actually backs this up. According to the American Psychological Association, stress weakens your immune system. 

I realize that these past couple weeks have been a challenging time for many. When we’re constantly bombarded with bad news, it’s hard not to get stressed. That’s why it is so important to take time to consciously de-stress. Many people find practicing yoga, meditating, and being in, or looking at nature to be relaxing. However, there is no “right way” to relax. There may be other activities you find calming such as painting, playing an instrument, petting a beloved pet, knitting, spending time with your grandchild, etc. 

If you haven’t been able to relax recently, I encourage you to dedicate some time and do something you find relaxing. If you’re not sure where to begin, I encourage you to experiment with activities that have helped you in the past or activities that sound appealing to you. Of course, you don’t have to take this journey alone. A health coach may be able to help you select a relaxation technique that works for you and provide support as you make that relaxation technique a habit.

There’s a saying in economics, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” and the effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19 is no exception. I think we can all agree that the mandates in use to flatten the curve have repercussions. During this challenging time, many of us are bearing some kind of burden—some more than others.  

One of these repercussions is loneliness. It sounds obvious, but maybe it needs to be said more simply — social distancing is isolating. Whether you are living alone or living with family, it is likely that your face-to-face interactions have either dwindled drastically or become practically non-existent. Those few interactions outside of the home that remain, such as seeing others at the grocery store, are strained at best, as everyone tries to follow the social distancing procedures.

If you’re feeling lonely, please know that you aren’t alone. Many people are wading through the same difficult feelings you are. I encourage you to reach out to others with the tools that are still available to you whether it’s a phone call, text message,  FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, etc. 

I also encourage you to exercise because research shows that exercise can help improve your mood. If you are new to exercise or are unsure how to exercise within the confines of your home, I encourage you to reach out to a virtual trainer or coach. Not only will you gain the benefit of connecting with someone, they can also help you safely develop or adapt a workout to your specific needs.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and health week.  

Breathing is so powerful. Taking a moment to focus on your breath can make many hardships easier to manage.  

As a child, I understood the importance of being able to breathe well because I suffered from asthma. Sometimes I could hardly breathe and needed the assistance of an inhaler to be able to take a deep breath. Thankfully, my condition improved. Unfortunately, with my inhaler and the threat of another attack gone, I no longer respected and appreciated my ability to breathe. In fact, I often forgot that I was even breathing. It wasn’t until I began practicing yoga that I paid attention to my breath again. 

However, you don’t have to suffer from a respiratory disease or practice yoga to bring your awareness to your breath. All you have to do is take a moment to check in—to notice your breath. 

While this sounds simple, often it isn’t. If you would like some help with this, don’t be afraid to reach out to a meditation coach, yoga instructor, or other qualified professional. There are some different techniques and tools they can show you that may help.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week.  

***This is not medical advice and doesn’t replace medical care.***

I feel like everywhere I turn people are talking about COVID-19. Different sources are saying different things about its severity and spread, which makes the whole ordeal even more confusing. The news makes it seem like all you can do to protect yourself is: wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face, reduce travel, and cross your fingers that a vaccine is found soon.

The fear and sense of helplessness is palpable.  I wish I could say that the virus will peter out soon. Maybe it will, but I don’t know.

Are there other things we can do to support our immune systems?

• Exercise. Research from the University of Bath in England shows that exercise boosts your immune system.
• Get some sunshine. Research from Georgetown University Medical Center in DC suggests that sunshine plays a key role in immunity. 
• Manage Stress. The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio reports that stress can harm your immune system. While avoiding stress may not be possible, they recommend practicing yoga or meditation, both of which have been shown to help reduce stress. 

If you need some guidance and support as you try to boost your health and support your immune system, don’t be afraid to reach out to a health coach. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a safe and healthy week. 

Recently, a member of a gym where I train stopped me in the middle of my workout and asked what I was training for — a fitness competition or an athletic competition? I said, I’m just training. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but I should have responded that I’m training for the competition of life. 

Life can be challenging, and it’s even more challenging when our bodies aren’t functioning to the best of their abilities. Even if we choose to be fairly sedentary, our lives often require our bodies to perform various feats of fitness. Have you ever struggled to lift heavy furniture, gotten out of breath on your way up a flight of stairs, or struggled to turn and look to see if anyone was in your blind spot in busy traffic? You may not need to complete these tasks of fitness regularly, but training regularly will help you be prepared for when they do come up. 

If you’re not currently training for the competition of life, I encourage you to get started. If you need some guidance along the way, don’t be afraid to reach out to a fitness professional. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week. 

It’s human instinct to assume there’s always safety in numbers. I’m sure there are times in my life when being with a large group of people kept me safe, but I also know that there have been other times when following the crowd wasn’t good for me.

Most people acknowledge that peer pressure can be detrimental for kids. Growing up, I remember hearing numerous campaigns and lectures about the dangers of peer pressure.  After high school, these campaigns and lectures seemed to disappear. 

Society acts as though peer pressure isn’t a problem for adults. Is that really true, though? My own personal experience and my experience coaching others suggests that peer pressure doesn’t go away as we age and can be bad.

As adults, these pressures are often to eat unhealthy food, remain sedentary, and be so busy that sleep and recovery are afterthoughts. Have you ever been pressured to try a dessert after politely declining, to take an elevator or escalator instead of taking the stairs, or take on one more project even though your schedule’s full?

If any of this sounds familiar, I encourage you to see these suggestions for what they really are — peer pressure. Unfortunately, so many of us are unhealthy, and always doing what everyone else is doing may lead us further down that same path. If you need some help resisting peer pressure, I encourage you to find a health coach to provide guidance and support along your journey towards better health. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week. 

Advertisements leading up to Valentine’s Day suggest that Valentine’s Day is so special that a small gesture means you don’t care—only a grand gesture will do. I disagree with this. Of course, I think it’s important to show appreciation to those you care about—so important that one day isn’t enough.

Making small gestures of appreciation on a regular basis helps to nurture a relationship. If you’re making small gestures regularly, not purchasing the perfect gift, organizing the perfect dinner, planning the perfect trip, etc. won’t be such a big deal. On the other hand, one large gesture on Valentine’s Day probably won’t do much to improve the health of your relationship if you’re not regularly doing small gestures of love.

The same is true for fitness. A while back I worked at a gym that provided free initial visits to all new members. One of the members I worked with said that they hadn’t exercised in the past year—except for completing a obstacle course race. Obstacle course races are usually challenging and injuries are not uncommon—even for the physically fit. They walked alway from the race without injury, but they didn’t walk away with a fit body. That’s why they eventually found their way to the gym.

Just like it may take some trial and error to find out how best to nurture your relationship, it may take some trial and error to find out which exercise routine works best for you. If you need some help creating and sticking to an exercise routine, don’t be afraid to ask a fitness professional for help. 

Thanks for reading. Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day, and I hope you have a safe and healthy week.