August 2015:  Be Aware of Your Physical Wellbeing

Wellness through Awareness!

Welcome to the August issue of TotalWellbeing! This month we circle back around to the concept of physical wellbeing. You may remember the discussion on physical wellbeing in January encouraged you to make a plan for the year. How have things been progressing? As with all areas of our wellbeing, physical wellbeing is a lifelong journey of creating healthy habits to support optimal wellness and eliminating the bad habits that hold you back. If you are satisfied with how this year has gone in terms of your physical activity, your diet, and your habits that support these things then that’s great, keep it up! If you find that you wish you had done a little more to support yourself then don’t fret, it’s never too late. Now is the time to lay out the plan, or get back on track, and get ready to improve your life one area at a time. To explore this dimension more closely please read The Path, below.

Last month MINESblog covered two important topics that we invite you take a look at. The first topic was generational differences. Dani Kimlinger, PhD helps shine light on this important topic with an article that will be published in the October edition Colorado HFMA’s newsletter. You can get a sneak peek here. Next in the latest Psychology of Performance post on MINESblog, Dr. Robert Mines talked about managerial roles and accountability, highlighting that it takes the whole team to ensure that every one is doing their best, check out what he said here.

Continue to watch the MINES blog to see latest discussions about wellbeing topics and tips on staying healthy and stress-free. For even more great resources be sure to explore the links to the left with important resources such as our LinkedIn showcase pages  and Balanced Living Magazine.

To your total wellbeing,

The MINES Team

The Path

Getting exercise and eating healthy can sometime be hard. But why is that, and what if there was a way to make these things easier to get motivated to do. Well the good news is that there is a way to making the healthy choice the easier choice, but it takes some work to get to that point. Like mentioned above, it’s all about habits. If you take the time to make exercising and eating healthy the norm, then it becomes harder to deviate from those good habits. When you have been working out 3 times a week for a year, the hard part is no longer making it to the gym or going for a run, the hard part becomes missing your routine. This is normal human behavior, we all like a routine, but the key is filling your routine with things that support your goals and wellbeing and removing the bad ones. So invest the time and wellbeing will become easier and easier to obtain.

There’s a lot of information floating around out there about what it means to eat healthy. So how do you choose a healthy eating plan that works for you? It all starts with a good understanding of basic nutrition and the components of a balanced meal. To make things easier take a look at how the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity defines a healthy eating plan!

Read the full article here!

One of the most crucial parts of any plan or goal is the ability to track your progress towards that goal. When it comes to eating well that can be a bit tricky. So instead of just writing down everything you eat, or counting calories, you can use choosemyplate.gov’s super tracker. It allows you to track and more importantly analyze your diet and physical activity. And the best part is it’s free!

Check it out here!

 Chakra To Your Senses

Many cultures believe in Chakras (shock-ras) which are, simply put, energy centers in your body that govern various aspects of your physiology. We will stay away from the spiritual aspects of these and instead focus on the concept behind them to bring you more ways to nurture you body as well as mind. Click here to see a complete list of the 7 chakras and their properties.

Chakras to nurture this month: Root and Solar Plexus

In order to support your physical well being it will be important to be aware of, and nurture, your Root and Solar Plexus Chakras. Your Root Chakra, located in the base of your spine, acts as your storage for physical vitality and can be nurtured through keeping yourself physically active and choosing activities that stimulate creativity. Your Solar Plexus Chakra is located in your upper abdomen and is connected to self-confidence and self-esteem; choose fun social activities that keep you moving, like dancing, group yoga, and hiking with friends to nurture this part of yourself. Now get out there and have fun and be well!