Laughter Yoga at The “Inner” Centre

After a great weekend training, I am now a Certified Laughter Yoga  Leader.  What is Laughter Yoga, you ask?

Laughter Yoga is a unique model where participants can laugh for no reason without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. People come together in a group and experience Laughter Yoga exercises interspersed with breathing and stretching exercises. There is also Laughter Yoga meditation and grounding techniques.

Laughter Yoga was developed by a medical doctor in Mumbai, India, Dr. Madan Kataria. He was researching the benefits of laughter and decided to field-test his findings. In 1995 he gathered a few people together and started a laughter club. Through trial and error, it grew and developed into what is now called Laughter Yoga. Today Laughter Yoga is a worldwide phenomenon with thousands of clubs.

Dr Kataria and his wife saw the similarities between laughter and Pranayama exercises.  Pranayama means control of breath. “Prana” is breath or vital energy in the body. On subtle levels, prana represents the energy responsible for life or life force, and “ayama” means control. So Pranayama is “control of breath”.  So combining laughter with this yoga breathing, it brings more oxygen to the body and the brain. This helps us feel more energetic and healthy.

People come together in groups to do Laughter Yoga and together with eye contact and childlike playfulness start to experience real and contagious laughter. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter.  People get the same physiological and psychological benefits with both.

In order to get the scientifically proven health benefits of laughter, we need to laugh continuously for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  Since the laughter is an exercise, we can prolong our laughter for as long as we want.  So a typical Laughter Yoga session would involve several types of exercises and go anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on the group.

The Laughter Yoga sessions are held in safe environments where one can laugh loudly and heartily. Because to reap the health benefits of laughter, it has to be loud and deep coming from the diaphragm; a deep belly laugh.  Besides the belly laughter exercises, we clap, stimulating acupressure points in the hands, we deep breath to help flush the lungs and bring about relaxation and we play. The objective of Laughter Yoga is to cultivate childlike playfulness that helps us laugh without any reason, increases our energy levels and builds enthusiasm.

Marjorie Moulin was our instructor this weekend and a good time was had by all. She is a transformational coach and led us through all the exercises and kept us laughing throughout the whole weekend. The training was held at The “Inner” Centre, a seminar room in North York that became our safe environment. The room was very versatile and the kitchen was a great place to exchange ideas and share food.

For more information on either Laughter Yoga sessions or renting The “Inner”  Centre, please contact me. I’m very excited to add this new modality to my repertoire.

To your good health and laughter!

Charlene

Health Stats That Might Make You Pause and Think

What do you think is the number two health stats cause of death each year?

According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity, and overweight together are the second leading cause of preventable death, close behind tobacco use.

So our calorie-rich food has become an insidious instrument of death. We are literally digging our grave with what we put into our mouth. Obesity caused by a bad diet and lack of exercise kills some 400,000 people in this country every single year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only smoking-related diseases account for more deaths with a total of 435, 000 annually.

Think about it, while our ancestors battled disease, famine, and starvation, we are killing ourselves with excess. On top of that, we no longer get exercised by having to out and gather or chase down our food. Instead, we are sitting hunched over a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone every day.

A recent article in The New York Times cited several studies showing that sitting for extended periods of time at a desk, in front of a T.V. etc. leads to weight gain and increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a variety of cancers and early death. The body literally shuts down following prolonged periods of sitting causing a metabolic disaster of such proportions that even getting a full hour of exercise each day can’t offset the impact. Yikes.

We have a serious health care problem right now and most of it is self-inflicted. We aren’t taking proper care of our own health.  It is time to wake up and start questioning the status quo.

Many foods have become highly addictive and can create a super-normal stimulation to our brain. We also can get sucked into the pleasure trap. There are many layers to uncover in our patterns of eating. The bottom line is that our survival instinct kicks in and our primitive brain wants those calorie-rich foods in order to survive. So ask yourself, are you eating consciously or unconsciously?

You are the only one responsible for what you put into your mouth and how often you move your body. Think of your body as a mass of energy. Energy is your life force and vitality.  What you eat or drink either feeds and strengthens your energy or reduces and represses that energy. How you move and rest either circulates and replenishes that energy or depresses and decreases it. Become conscious of what you eat, what you read, what you watch, who you spend time with, and how you move your body.

Think for a moment and decide on even one adjustment you can make, to live a healthier lifestyle starting today. If you are stuck in any area, please reach out for help.

To your good health.

Charlene

7 Steps to a Healthier Life

Are you in a place where you are not satisfied with your current level of health?  Need a healthier life?

Perhaps your current level of fitness, or maybe your current level of energy? Are you feeling overweight and out of shape or are you simply feeling exhausted or stressed out?

Do you want to feel better? Do you want a healthier life?

We all want to change and to feel better but ultimately hate the idea of change. In fact, for real change to happen, we have to be really uncomfortable, in emotional discomfort or feeling afraid. Sometimes it has to really hurt before we will actually move forward and make any change.

Based on over 65 years of life experience around change, I have put together 7 key steps to help with the process of change so you can experience a healthier life.

Step # 1: Find Your Why

When you have a strong emotionally-charged WHY you will be propelled towards the change you want.

Step # 2: Make A Decision

The Latin of the word decision literally means, “to cut off.”  So to make a decision means that you are cutting off any other options and going for what you want to change.

Step # 3: Take Responsibility

Many people believe that their poor health is because of something outside of their control. If you truly want to change…you must take responsibility for your own choices. You must let go of excuses. Let go of victim mentality. Realize that no one has more invested in your health than you. Empower yourself by realizing that you can choose to change.

Step # 4: Change Your Vocabulary

Your thoughts become what you say. What you think and say will show up in your life. What you say to yourself is a reflection of your beliefs and reinforces your behaviors/habits. Changing your vocabulary will help you to imprint new beliefs. Use “I am” statements to reinforce the change you desire.

Step # 5: Look at Your Paradigms

Paradigms are habitual behavior patterns housed in our subconscious mind. The strategy of paradigms is to keep you safe, comfortable and secure. Old existing paradigms can block awareness, so we need to work on expanding our awareness daily.  Paradigms show up in great abundance when we get out of our comfort zone. That is the fastest path to change our non-productive habits.

Step # 6: Make A Plan

Specific, written measurable goals will put you in the top 3% of the people and will increase your chances for success. Prepare for setbacks and keep going with your desired change.

 Step # 7: Be Accountable

Find a support group. Find an accountability partner and/or get a coach or a mentor. Ultimately you are looking for accountability for yourself.  Step by step with the help of accountability partners, you’ll get there. By building in these layers of accountability, you will be much more likely to succeed with your changes.

Keep going over the seven steps until they become familiar and almost second nature. Stay tuned for a webinar that will give more insight on implementing these steps.

If you are looking for a healthier life, feel free to check out https://charleneday.com/personal-health-assessment/.

To your healthier life!

Charlene

5 Things to Avoid in Your Anti-Aging Skin Care

We all want to have great skin as we age. But environmental factors, stress, genetics, and a busy life all play a part in how our skin looks over the years.

So if you’re like most people you’re probably buying something that promises to slow down how your skin ages. Anti-aging skin care.  However, in your pursuit for nicer, healthier skin, is what you’re putting on your face even safe?

The truth is, most anti-aging skin care products contain questionable and even downright harmful chemicals.

Your makeup, face cream, skin moisturizer, or cleanser may deliver short-term smoothness and brightness but it may disrupt your hormones and fertility. They can also expose you to known cancer-causing pesticides, and deliver dangerous toxins that penetrate and age your skin.

Here are the 5 harmful chemicals that are commonly used in anti-aging skin care:

1. Parabens

   Parabens mimic estrogen and lead to hormone imbalance. Now, CDC reports suggest their presence in every American’s body. Whether they are or aren’t, avoid products with parabens to prevent reproductive issues like infertility or slowed growth and developmental disorders in children.

2. Phthalates

   A common ingredient in “fragrances,” phthalates block testosterone and damage a man’s reproductive system. These dangerous chemicals have also been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

3. Mercury

   You know mercury is bad, but some anti-aging skin care products use it to lighten the skin. It absorbs easily through your skin and with enough use can develop into mercury poisoning. Steer clear of products with “calomel,” “mercurio,” “mercurio chloride,” or just plain old “mercury.”

4. Petroleum

   As an industry standard, there’s a lot of information out there touting the safety of petroleum by-products, so you might be wondering why you should avoid it. It’s because it contains 1,4-Dioxane, which has been listed by the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable carcinogen. You don’t want cancer from your moisturizer, do you ? I would hope not.

5. Hydroquinone

   Hydroquinone reduces the melanin in your skin to get rid of those unsightly marks, but in doing so, it hurts your skin in many ways. First of all, it’s permanently altering your pigment while also weakening the elastin and collagen in your problem area – the very things that are key to keeping your skin firm and youthful!

Here are other ingredients to avoid:

• Colors
• Propylene Glycol
• Lanolin
• Quaternium-15
• EDTA
• Ethanolamine
• Formaldehyde
• Styrene
• Quat Ammonium
• Silver
• CFC
• Perfluoro
• PEG 1
• PEG 2
• PEG 3
• Cyclosilicone

So why do companies even use these types of chemicals if it’s well known that they’re harmful or even downright dangerous for your skin? Because they do offer results and they’re less expensive and easier to source.

Now, after eight years of research, there is an anti-aging skin care line that does not use any of these chemicals. In fact, it has a list of over 2500 chemicals it does not use in the anti-aging skincare line. And the products are all 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free. In a clinical study, 100% of women reported having younger-looking skin, and 2/3 shifted their skin age into a younger decade. If you want to find out more or have a demo, feel free to contact me.

To your good health,

Charlene

Gratitude and Happiness Revealed - Happy Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner in Canada, I thought it is the perfect time to be reminded about gratitude. It is wonderful when we become aware of something, then we notice it everywhere. Being reminded of the vibration of gratitude is always wonderful. A reminder to be mindful and in the present moment, to reconnect with our inner being or soul, to be connected with a universe that celebrates life and that we are all connected, all one. In this, happiness is revealed.

I discovered the TEDxSF video by Louie Schwartzberg on Gratitude. Please take a few minutes to watch this amazing video.

By happy coincidence, I was reading the chapter on Gratitude from The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. So gratitude is in the air around Thanksgiving.

As this video suggests, we have so much to be grateful for; each day we are here, our precious life, so much.

It is easy to notice that people who live from a place of gratitude, experience more of life’s goodness. With the natural principle that action and reaction are always equal, what we put out, comes back to us. When we feel gratitude, the universe sends it back.

As Wallace Wattles says, “It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you; and to give thanks continuously. This will bring you into harmonious relations with the good in everything, and the good in everything will move toward you.”

As we all are working for a better life, this video is a great reminder to cultivate the attitude of gratitude daily.

I wish for you a day filled with gratitude and continues daily! Feel free to check out the meditation on The Law of Gratitude if you want a daily reminder.

Charlene

Discover Your Blueprint and Find Your Path

Are you ready to :

• Dismantle your harmful & self-sabotaging patterns
• Deepen relationships with your family, friends, co-workers & community
• Tap into new inspiration & cultivate your creativity
• Gain greater self-acceptance, self-love & compassion for others
• Share your unique gifts with the world
• Open to the deepest truths of your soul
• Live with less rigidity and more grace, ease & flow

Use Your Blueprint to Transform Your Mind, Body, Heart & Soul

What if you had a blueprint or roadmap — a soul-map — for understanding who you are and finding compassion for those around you? A time-tested system that integrates your whole being and can be applied to every area of your life?

And what if this map could connect you to your innate wisdom, resulting in truly authentic relationships and a deep sense of living “on purpose”?

This map is the Enneagram, a powerful personality typing system. The word Enneagram comes from the Greek words ennea (nine) and grammos (a written symbol), and the nine-pointed Enneagram symbol represents nine distinct strategies for relating to the self, others and the world.  The Enneagram helps us to see our patterns of thinking, feeling and acting and our motivation or worldview.  When we “see” these personality patterns, this helps us with our personal development and is very helpful in connecting with others. Working with the Enneagram sheds light on the fears, desires, and motivations that fuel your worldview and behavioral patterns — often unconsciously.

It is both a gateway to your inner wisdom and a source of illumination for those “stubborn patterns” that undermine your ability to access wholeness, true intimacy and fulfillment of your life’s purpose.

When we understand it in depth, the Enneagram reveals the inherent strengths and gifts that each type can bring to the world. And it not only shows us nine ways we leave presence — ways we forget who we really are — it also illuminates nine pathways back to our essential nature.

If you want a greater connection with your unique gifts, as well as more self-acceptance, self-love, and compassion for others, you will want to explore the Enneagram Transformation Process.

Contact Charlene if you wish to discover your blueprint and find out if you are a peacemaker, reformer, helper, achiever, individualist, investigator, loyalist, enthusiast, or challenger type.

To find your type go to:  TestType

To your success.

Charlene

Benefits Of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the collective name for a group of fat-soluble compounds found in many foods such as almonds, spinach, sweet potato, avocado, wheat germ and sunflower seeds. Vitamin E is also available as a dietary supplement.  In the body, it acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals.

Free radicals are highly reactive substances formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy and from exposure to environmental factors like cigarette smoke and ultraviolet light. Free radicals cause cellular damage by attacking the body’s  cell membranes, proteins, and DNA. Scientists say every cell in your body is bombarded daily by up to a million DNA assaults that can damage the cell’s genetic code and create “a typo” that compromises the cell’s function and causes cellular aging which Increases the risk of cancer.

Vitamin E works with other antioxidants such as Vitamin C and selenium to help protect the body from damage caused by these free radicals. Vitamin E is one of the most important antioxidant vitamins. People who take 400 to 800 IU of Vitamin E daily are far less likely to experience premature aging of the arteries and the immune system.  But does the form of Vitamin E make a difference?  Yes, it does.

There are three types of Vitamin E supplements on the market.

• Synthetic Vitamin E (dl alpha tocopherols) is made from petroleum chemicals and block the effects of natural Vitamin E in your food.
• Natural source isolates Vitamin E (d alpha tocopherols) where some of the tocopherols are missing. These are poorly absorbed and units not absorbed become toxic to the body.
• Whole food Vitamin E (d alpha tocopherols, mixed tocopherols, and tocotrienols) include all units found in nature and is best absorbed. Contains all eight members of the Vitamin E family. The label needs to read “d-alpha tocopherol concentrate and mixed tocopherols concentrate.” This means it contains the whole Vitamin E family.

If a Vitamin E supplement label reads d-alpha-tocopherol, you’re getting the real thing. If it’s synthetic,  the label will read dl-alpha-tocopherol  so the “dl” could be interpreted as meaning “delivers less.”

Optimal levels of Vitamin E are essential to protect cell membranes and tissues, including the DNA, from oxidation. All aging and many disease processes are associated with altered or abnormal cell membrane structure. Therefore, maintaining healthful function in these membranes can be considered one of the most important aspects of health. Vitamin E slows the aging process of every cell by blocking free radical damage. If free radicals damage the cells, enzymes can’t function and the cell’s energy sources become crippled.

Vitamin E is indispensable for good health, helping to lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Vitamin E is involved in immune function and cell signaling, regulation of gene expression, and other metabolic processes. Vitamin E increases blood flow,  reduces coagulation of blood and reduces the risk of clot formation,  reduces oxidation of LDL cholesterol,  and protects the lungs from pollution damage. Vitamin E protects blood cells, the nervous system, and skeletal muscles, and it may help prevent cataracts.

Optimal Vitamin E during pregnancy can reduce the risk of pregnancy complications, including pre-eclampsia  (high blood pressure)and reduce damaged cells in the developing fetus.

Athletes need a lot more of all antioxidants, including E, because exercise produces more free radicals. Vitamin E can ease aches and pains and shorten the duration of muscle soreness following exercise. There are so many benefits of Vitamin E and these are just some highlights.

Protect your cells and live longer, healthier!

To your health,

Charlene

Affirmations for Success

What are affirmations?

Affirmations are simple, positive statements that state your specific desired outcome in the present tense. Affirmations set your intention. They contain action words usually ending in “ing” and elicit emotion with feeling words. They need to be brief and totally affirming what you desire, not what you don’t want. Many start with the words “I am.”

Why do we need affirmations?

Our mind has both the conscious and subconscious aspects to it. “The subconscious is the part of your mind that is the power center. It does not recognize time or space only vibrations. The subconscious mind has no ability to reject a thought. It accepts everything that is impressed upon it. It is totally deductive. It never sleeps, it is always on duty recording everything.  The subconscious cannot tell the difference between that which is real and that which is imagined. This is where your habitual behavioral patterns and beliefs are held. These patterns will continue to express themselves without any conscious assistance until they are replaced with new patterns or beliefs.” (excerpt from The 30 Laws of Flow)

Whether you are conscious of it or not, you are always using affirmations… but usually not ones that will bring you what you want. The challenge is that these thoughts are usually not the positive kind. You process about 60-70 thousand thoughts in a day. Of those thoughts about 90% are the same thoughts and beliefs you had the day before.

“Your subconscious mind is full of those habitual behavioral patterns or scripts that can act as filters to your experiences. What you don’t realize is that your subconscious mind runs the habit programming 95% of the time. It is running the show. So you are creating your life mostly from your subconscious programming. It is like an internal map or blueprint that has to match the outside world. If you are not cultivating new patterns, the old ones run automatically (even without your awareness).” (excerpt from The 30 Laws of Flow)

Here is where affirmations come in. Using affirmations for success is an excellent way to stop living by default and take back your power. They help eliminate negative and limiting beliefs and habitual behavioral patterns. They transform your comfort zone from a limited one to a more expanded one where anything is possible.

Affirmations are reminders to your mind to stay focused on what you desire. They also are a way to deal with that negative self-talk that points out all your fears, insecurities, and general feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. Instead of listening to negative self-talk you are consciously choosing to reprogram the subconscious with more positive, productive thoughts. Instead of being defeated by limiting beliefs and habitual behavioral patterns, you are opening your mind to new possibilities.

How to create affirmations

Take the time to get clarity on exactly what you want and, most importantly, why you want it. The statements you use need to be meaningful and resonate with you. Using the present tense, envision yourself already living and feeling what you are affirming, see your successful life in vivid detail. Use action words and words that trigger positive emotions in you.

How to use affirmations

When you read affirmations, really feel the meaning of each word. Let it speak to you deeply and intimately. Say each line multiple times until it feels solid in your heart. If it helps, add some physical movement. Repeat the words with emphasis and deep meaning to bring faster and larger results. Repeating affirmations for success helps to reprogram the subconscious mind.

The best time your subconscious mind receives your affirmations or images is early morning and before going to sleep. Making time for meditation throughout the day is another good way to reprogram your subconscious mind.

Samples of affirmations for success

I am successful in my business and I am enjoying my success.

By creating success for myself I am creating success and opportunities for others.

I am grateful for all the abundance flowing into my life.

I attract brilliant mentors who graciously share their wisdom and guidance.

I am successfully living up to my full potential.

I am making the world a better place by being a positive, powerful influence.

My work is a great contribution to others, and I am richly rewarded for it.

Here’s to your success.

Charlene Day

Features of Whole Food, Nutrient Dense Concentrated Alive Vitamins

Which Vitamins to Buy?

When it comes to choosing which vitamins to take, it is pretty confusing out there. Our first choice is where we buy our vitamins. We can go to the drug store, the health food store, buying clubs like Costco or through direct sales/internet where they are delivered to our homes. After we make that choice, there are dozens of the same type of vitamins to choose from. What criteria should we use? Most people think price. But when it comes to quality, the price is not the standard to go by.

Most people do not realize that there are three main ways of manufacturing vitamins on the market. So to the untrained eye, these vitamins all look the same except for the price point. So here are some pointers to help you choose more wisely.

Typically if you are shopping in a drug store or some buying clubs, you are going to find the synthetic type (test tube type) of vitamins.

Features of Synthetic Vitamins:

• Use man-made, inorganic substances, chemically derived, often petroleum-based products.
• Often contain sugar & unnatural flavours, colours, fillers, binders, preservatives, sweeteners
• Chemical, high-heat or high-pressure processing destroys active ingredients & enzymes
• Very poor dissolve-ability
• Very poor bio-availability
• Do not build long-term health
• May act as a stimulant (temporarily feel ‘better’)
• May have negative side effects in some people
• Unrecognized by body, not found in nature, ‘unnatural’ to self
• When vitamins are made synthetically, it costs very little and that is passed along to the consumer. But when you think about it, are you really saving money when the money you just spent is not being utilized in your body? To me that is a waste of money.

If you are shopping in a typical health food store and some direct sales companies, you are going to find natural isolates using the extraction method.

Features of Extracted Vitamins:

• Isolated nutrient; no co-factors present; poorly balanced formula
• ‘Natural’ sourced – only a small portion must be natural, according to government labeling regulations
• May contain questionable fillers, binders, etc.
• Processing methods questionable; active ingredients & enzymes often destroyed
• Often poor dissolve-ability
• Often poor to fair bio-availability
• Better than synthetics, but do not build true long-term health
• Portions recognizable by the body but have to steal co-factors from your body for true absorption; so gives to you and steals from you.
• When you are buying the extracted version, it is a toss-up whether you are getting ahead or not as it depends on how much your body needs to “spend” in order to get the extracted vitamin metabolized. So the potential for losing money is there if your body does not have adequate stores of nutrients to help with the processing of the extracted version.

If you are shopping for some direct sales companies or getting your vitamins from a practitioner of some kind, then you are probably getting whole food, nutrient dense concentrates.

Features of Whole Food, Nutrient Dense Concentrates (Alive Vitamins):

• Nature’s balance; high potency; nature’s co-factors present
• High quality, pure, organically sourced raw materials
• Low heat or no heat, low-pressure processing ensures active ingredients and high enzymatic activity
• No harsh binders, fillers
• No refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours, flavours
• Ideal, effective dissolve-ability, available when & where needed
• Ideal, effective bio-availability, easily utilized by cells
• Body recognizes as ‘belonging to self’ or ‘natural’, highly usable
• Builds long-term health by supporting body’s innate wisdom

When you compare whole food concentrates with real food, you see that you save money while being nourished. For example, one of my Vitamin C tablets costs me 22 cents and it is equal to my buying 7 and a half oranges. My body feels the difference when I nourish it properly which is my biggest saving. Since the food values have decreased due to food becoming a business and the soils being depleted, my body loves the whole food nutrient dense concentrates to supplement what I am missing from my diet.

Bottom line; when it comes to choosing your vitamins, you get what you pay for. If you are interested in exploring this further, I have a list of scientific questions that will help you confirm whether or not you are getting your money’s worth when buying vitamins. Contact me by emailing Charlene@CharleneDay.com and I will send you this list.

I’d love to hear from you or answer any questions.

To your good health!

Charlene Day

Breakthrough Leadership

“Breakthroughs happen when limiting thoughts and behaviors are challenged.” Fabienne Fredrickson

I was recently at a Brian Biro Breakthrough Leadership event in Atlanta. Brian took us through an experiential process to become better leaders and break through any limitations. His one-of-a-kind presentation ignited the energy and true leadership potential in everybody there.

All of us there were looking for a fresh, new and exciting vision of leadership. His program Breakthrough Leadership taught every participant how to shape the future, energize the team, build effective relationships, drive results, and model personal excellence, integrity, and accountability.

It was powerful and challenged us to breakthrough to a new level of leadership.

The Breakthrough Leadership principles we learned from several speakers that day were:

• Shape the future
• Commit to your purpose
• Energize and engage your team – ignite “E” Power in your team (Energy)
• Build people and build teams with powerful essentials – recognition, acknowledgment, and appreciation
• Deliver results
• Model personal responsibility, integrity and humility
• Be fully present, which is the key to building people, trust, and balance
• Become a master of questions
• Decide you will control your mind
• Decide to change yourself and what kind of person you want to be
• Learn how to manage every situation with positivity
• Accept the responsibility of leadership, think big
• Avoid traps like procrastination
• Be grateful
• Embrace that we must give the activity levels necessary for success
• Create a plan and simply go

Brian gave us some vision keys. Feel free to add them to your existing affirmations.

1. What I focus on is what I create.
2. I am a truly positive Pygmalion.
3. I live with abundant E-power.
4. I am a world class buddy thanker.
5. I am fully present.
6. I am a master asker.
7. I am a full out breakthrough team player.
8. I make a genuine difference and impact others.

So what I personally took away from the event is the reminder to be present every day and every moment. It is a challenge with all the distractions that we are faced with daily. So every reminder is good. I was reminded we create our future and to keep our eyes on our goals daily. Again, it is so easy to get distracted with current reality and take our eyes off the prize. I also am going to step up my game around my energy as I have been letting limiting thoughts take over and eroding my energy levels. On that note, I am going to remain conscious of my thoughts and watch for any that are not serving me this year. I am choosing for this to be a breakthrough year in my business as I attract and coach more leaders to break through anything that is holding them back.

Here’s to your success!

Charlene

Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin,” and has many wonderful benefits. There are two forms of Vitamin D: Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Both offer benefits, yet only D3 is more readily absorbed and utilized by the human body while D2 is more than 50 times more toxic than D3.

Vitamin D is obtained naturally from two sources: sunlight and dietary consumption.  Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is the form of Vitamin D produced in the skin and consumed in the diet. Vitamin D3, is the most biologically active form of Vitamin D found in humans and animals. When sunlight hits the skin, it converts cholesterol into an active form of Vitamin D3. This form is involved in a multitude of biological processes and is crucial for promoting calcium absorption in the bones.

What we currently know about the many roles and benefits of Vitamin D may still be the tip of the iceberg, but we know enough to state with confidence that D deficiency is a major contributor to our current epidemic of chronic diseases.  For instance the winter flu season may be the result of our reduced exposure to sunlight and resulting lack of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency is a factor in all of the following conditions: chronic infections, tiredness, psoriasis, sweaty head, chronic kidney disease, crankiness, muscle weakness, reduced endurance, chronic pain, bone pain, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, depression, diabetes, inflammation, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological problems, autoimmune diseases, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, metabolic syndrome, migraine headaches, cervical dysplasia, thyroiditis, Crohn’s disease, Grave’s disease, osteoporosis, mental depression, polycystic ovary syndrome, epilepsy, the management of Type 2 diabetes, women’s health issues, and the prevention of cancer and Type 1 diabetes. Vitamin D appears to modulate neurotransmitter/neurologic and immune function as well. Vitamin D may even reduce the severity and frequency of infectious diseases, for instance constant respiratory problems in children.

Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic in the developed world, particularly among people of color, people in the northern hemispheres (because the sunlight is too weak) and people over 50. Vitamin D requirements are highly individual, and the amount that your body needs may depend on numerous factors, including the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis.

Additionally, we now know the previously defined upper limit for safe intake of Vitamin D was set far too low, and the physiologic requirement is significantly higher than previously believed. While many nutrition scientists advise that adults take 5000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily, others suggest up to 10,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily is safe for most adults. Based on the most recent research, the current recommendation is 35 IUs of Vitamin D per pound of body weight. The only way to know for sure though is to get your blood level tested.

Food is not a significant source of Vitamin D. For instance, I don’t recommend orange juice, breakfast cereals or milk that is fortified with Vitamin D. They’re not appropriate foods and most use Vitamin D2 that is not very biologically active.

Vitamin D supplements are often the best source for many people suffering from Vitamin D insufficiency. It’s easy and removes the guesswork. While most Vitamin D supplements offer Vitamin D3, check to make sure that it isn’t Vitamin D2. Shaklee Vita D3 is derived from lamb’s wool and found to be the purest and safest of all natural sources. Make sure to choose a company that manufactures their supplements according to pharmaceutical standards.

To your sunny health!

Charlene

Entrepreneurial Leadership – Are you Ready for the 1% Club?

What does it take to be a great entrepreneurial leader?

First of all your background doesn’t matter, your family rank or status won’t help you. Race, creed, age, color or gender doesn’t give you an advantage either. Neither does your education, the degrees that you’ve accumulated or even your past resume. This is a whole other kind of development. One you can’t learn in school and you probably didn’t learn by watching those around you.

Listening to Darren Daily, I was inspired to write up this list.

To be a great entrepreneurial leader means:

• not being afraid of risk, to step forward, to be counted and accountable.
• being an achiever who needs to take back control.
• owning up to your responsibility and deciding to invent your fate.
• having bold visions and audacious goals.
• being a striver, always pushing for more.
• having relentless drive and courage, persistently and consistently taking obsessive action.
• not believing in luck, making your own luck.
• setting your own sail, ignoring the herd, charting your own course.
• not being subject to circumstance, bound by fate or resolved to the status quo.
• stepping out in front to break new ground, navigating the uncharted waters, and adventuring into places most have not been, and will never see or experience.
• being a change maker, pushing the human race forward.
• fighting for progress, fighting the good fight for our collective future.
• maybe being labeled as a misfit, a rebel, or a troublemaker.
• seeing things and most importantly doing things differently.
• being crazy, hard working believers, others call insane, maybe even nuts.
• having the ability to get people on board and add to the vision.
• being flexible, adaptable, open to feedback, and the ability to learn.
• seeking to break rules of conformity and shake the status quo by the shoulders.
• not being happy with ‘’good enough’’, good enough is not good enough.
• being willing to do the hard, arduous work of forging your own character, challenging every choice, daily.
• defying your nature and the automatic habits of your currently installed imprinting.

This is challenging and most won’t do the hard work necessary long enough to succeed. Those who do, become that one percent, the entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow. Are you up for the challenge?

To your success,

Charlene

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. These vitamins need to be ingested daily to keep up adequate amounts.  Humans are unable to synthesize Vitamin C so it is essential to add it to the diet on a daily basis. Vitamin C chemically decomposes during the cooking of food and prolonged storage so it is important to add it as a supplement. Vitamin C is essential to a healthy diet as well as being a highly effective antioxidant.

The richest natural sources are fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is the most widely taken nutritional supplement and is available as tablets, capsules, drink mixes, in multi-vitamin formulations, in multiple antioxidant formulations, and as a crystalline powder. Timed release versions are available, (I recommend the sustained version) as are formulations containing bioflavonoids such as quercetin, hesperidin, and rutin. I recommend a more natural complete version of Vitamin C where the bioflavonoids are not removed so, therefore, don’t need to be added back in. Brands differ in quality and in the ability of vitamins to be absorbed by the body. Do your homework.

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including vitamin E. In addition to its biosynthetic and antioxidant functions, Vitamin C plays an important role in the immune function of leukocytes (white blood cells) and improves the absorption of iron.

The benefits of Vitamin C are that it acts as an electron donor for eight different enzymes. Three enzymes are used to synthesize collagen an essential component of connective tissue. Vitamin C is essential to the development and maintenance of scar tissue, blood vessels, and cartilage playing a vital role in wound healing. Two enzymes are necessary for the synthesis of carnitine which is essential for the transport of fatty acids into mitochondria for ATP generation. The remaining three enzymes participate in the biosynthesis of neurotransmitters. During biosynthesis Vitamin C acts as a reducing agent, donating electrons and preventing oxidation.

Vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism. Vitamin C is needed for adrenal glands, pituitary gland, brain. thymus, spleen, lung, testicle, lymph nodes, liver, thyroid, small intestinal mucosa, leukocytes, pancreas, kidney, and salivary glands, corpus luteum, and retina.

Vitamin C benefits by helping to repair and regenerate tissues, protect against cardiovascular disease, aid in the absorption of iron, prevent scurvy, and decrease total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides. Research indicates that Vitamin C may help protect against a variety of cancers by combating free radicals  and has been used as a cancer treatment. Supplemental Vitamin C may also lessen the duration and symptoms of a common cold, help delay or prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and support healthy immune function. Vitamin C studies show that it can lengthen lifespan, and help with decreasing chronic diseases.

Deficiency symptoms include fatigue, muscle weakness, joint and muscle aches, bleeding gums, and leg rashes. Prolonged deficiency can cause scurvy, a now rare but potentially severe illness. People who are smokers and also people who are exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of not having enough Vitamin C.  Also people with limited food variety, or malabsorption, certain chronic diseases, and infants fed evaporated or boiled milk will need to add extra Vitamin C.

Recommendation: Add Vitamin C daily and feel the difference in your health with the benefits of Vitamin C.

To your good health.

Charlene