Need to Transform Yourself?

May 11th, 2011 at 1:09 am by Monika Klein

I like to consider myself an alchemist and an artist in the work I do. I help you transform your body and usually your mind. I’m sure you have heard when Michelangelo gazed at a piece of marble, he saw the beauty and essence of the piece of art he was about to sculpt. Sometimes I, too, feel like Michelangelo when I first start working with a client. I see what my client can become after our transformational work together. I feel confident knowing that my clients’ natural health and beauty will start shining through more brilliantly than ever in just a few short weeks. With my guidance, many of my clients transform their lives during the remarkable journey we take together.

Transformation doesn’t happen overnight however. We live in a quick fix culture. We want overnight results. Just take a pill, buy a new outfit, get your hair and make-up done, and all of a sudden, voila, you are changed! Well, not so fast. Is this temporary quick fix an illusion? Yes – real, true transformation takes time. As women lawyers know – everything takes time. The wins are bigger, better and longer lasting if it takes time.

I would encourage you to start thinking about the type of transformation you want to make in your health, your body, and your life. What do you really want to have? What kind of transformation are you looking for today or in the next few months, in six months, by the end of 2011, or the end of 2012? What things do you really want to change and what do you want to let go of? What do you want to become more of?

I urge you to think about some of the things you’ve tried before, which might not have turned out as you had imagined. Was your goal too vague or was it an unattainable or was it just a temporary quick fix? Even though transformation occasionally seems immediate, true transformation happens slowly and methodically, and inevitably gets you what you really want in life. You need to dream, to plan, and then take action.

With your health, even if its weight loss your looking for, I help you make an intelligent and committed choice to lose weight and be healthy. Getting into your Skinny Jeans may be the end result you’re looking for. That result may be the ultimate physical transformation, first and foremost, it starts in the mind – it really is an inside job.

You start by making better food choices, being more consistent with your exercise regimen, you go to sleep earlier, and youstop watching too much TV. The changes are incremental and then almost overnight your lifestyle changes. You feel better about yourself and you look physically different, as well. You begin to feel healthier, lighter, and more vibrant, as if you can do almost anything. You feel more confidant and proud of yourself. The transformation of our Skinny Jeans Program doesn’t take forever and it doesn’t happen overnight either (as I mentioned earlier). However, in happens somewhere in the middle. The process is absolutely doable, realistic, and the results can be astounding.

Here are some of the comments I hear in my office daily:

“I’m amazed I’m not hungry!”
“I’m amazed I’m feeling so much better!”
“I can’t believe I really don’t need as much food as I thought I did!”
“I can’t believe how good food actually tastes!”
“Wow – I was eating so much more than I actually needed”

Daily I see the healthy, beaming glows on client’s faces – an amazing transformation alright! Clients who I have phone consultations with will also tell me about the many compliments they are getting.

So is this something you want in your life this year? Or is there something else? We all want good health, great relationships, money, and to enjoy our work. What are the specifics for you? Take time to think about it, create your plan, and then get started.

Monika Klein, B.S., C.N. is an award winning clinical nutritionist and weight loss expert. Monika is the “Compassionate and Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.” Her company, Coaching For Health, offers life transforming weight loss and wellness programs, classes and products throughout the world. To learn more about Monika’s services and programs, visit www.coachingforhealth.com.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kurioso/103639506/

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Put on Your Own Air Mask First

March 27th, 2011 at 9:50 am by Kendra Brodin

“When you can lovingly be present to yourself, your presence to others takes on a deeper quality also.” ~ MacRina Wiederkehr

Every time I get on an airplane, I listen to the flight attendant’s instructions. Put on your seat belt, make sure your tray and seat back are in the upright position. If there is an emergency landing in the water, the seat cushion doubles as a flotation device. And the all-important rule: if the air masks drop down from the ceiling, pull the line tight then put on your own air mask first before assisting others…

Though it is very, very hard to say “good-bye” to my two sweet daughters when my husband and I leave town together, I believe that time spent alone with my husband and the deepening and maintenance of our relationship is actually something that we do both for ourselves and for the benefit of our children. So even though I shed some tears when I kiss my little ones bye-bye, I know we’ll be back, small trinket gifts in hand for them, and we will give them an even greater gift—the gift of a strong relationship between their parents.

This also goes for taking care of yourself and your relationships if you are a single parent or don’t have children. The people around you who care about you and whom you care about will benefit from the time you take to maintain yourself and your key relationships, be that caring for yourself physically through exercise and healthy eating, spiritually through meditation and quiet time, or emotionally through journaling or fun time with friends or by yourself. All parts of your life are interconnected, and giving positive attention and care to one area always benefits the other areas as well.

Life is synergistic. The better the functioning and fulfillment you experience in one area of life, the better you will feel about the other areas of life and the better you will function in those areas. I wanted to share this with you because it reminded me of this important lesson:

“Unplug” from work every once in a while. Nurture yourself with your own self-care—exercise, time in the sauna, quiet time in the sun with some good books, whatever it is that gives you that precious “me” time. And don’t feel guilty for doing it either. Make a rule around it if you have to by telling the significant people in your life that on Saturday from two until three o’clock, you aren’t to be bothered unless it’s a crisis. They’ll soon figure out that losing their favorite pair of shoes is not an emergency that requires your immediate attention!

I know that my time of self-care will improve my peace of mind, my ability to be fully present with my spouse and children, and my efficiency and creativity in my work, along with many other benefits. I am reminded of the vital importance of taking this time to rejuvenate and reinvigorate myself. Without “me time” we only operate at 75-90% of our capacity. We give up too much energy in anxiety, overwhelm, and exhaustion. And that can lead to irritability, instability, resentment, and anger. Why put anyone through that when a few minutes of downtime will put gas back in our tank?

So when that air mask drops down, what are you going to do? Take care of yourself first. It might go against your nature—and some people may think you’re selfish. But remember, you cannot care for others if you aren’t functioning at 100%.

TODAY: Think about these questions: What are you doing to nurture yourself? How have you cared for your body, mind, spirit, and relationships lately? Can you think how caring for one facet of your life can benefit the other areas? This process of evaluation will bring you a clearer picture of how lacking you are in taking care of yourself. If you don’t put yourself at number one, who else will?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beatnic/13880423/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guttersnipe76/3426770800/

Tags: Balance work & home, Nurture self, Self-care, Take care of yourself
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Being Happy in an Unhappy World

March 22nd, 2011 at 9:48 am by Kendra Brodin

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” ~ Andrew Carnegie

I’ve started watching much less news because of its doom-and-gloom coverage. You have to look long and hard to find anything positive covered by the newscasters, and it really doesn’t serve me to get depressed by learning about all of the terrible things happening around the world that I can do absolutely nothing about. So I generally pulled the plug. (Though I certainly try to stay abreast of news situations that could affect my family.)

But it is so hard to do, and very few people seem to be able to go very long without reading an online newspaper or news website. Every time something negative, discomforting, disconcerting, terrifying, or horrible comes across the news wires, they ingest it. It becomes part of their psyche for the day. They dwell on it, they devour it, and they allow it to transmute any positive energy they had into something that feels depressed, scared, or life-sucking.

In addition, when we see terrible things happening around the world, we feel almost guilty being happy in our own lives. How can I feel happiness when people are getting sick and dying? How can I experience bliss when there are wars taking place? How can I feel pleasure eating a lovely meal when people are starving somewhere else in the world?

A better question is, how can you not? What does your feeling sad, helpless, upset, and hopeless do for all of those suffering? Do not misunderstand me—my heart goes out to all of those suffering in any way. I am incredibly tender-hearted, almost to a fault. The tears flow freely when I hear of others suffering.

But let’s also be realistic. You have a life to lead. You have a family and friends and circle of influence to be present for. If you can’t do anything about the situations that are bringing you grief, then do not engage. This holds true not only for news from around the globe, but also for any other situation in your life. If you can’t improve the situation, exit it. Don’t engage. Slowly walk away mentally and emotionally, or run, depending on the situation. But don’t just sit there at the kitchen table or your work desk getting progressively more depressed and resigned. That is not a place from which real positive work or progress can come.

Better yet, take some positive action. Instead of sitting there bemoaning the starving children in Africa, get out your checkbook or go online and send a contribution to a humanitarian organization. Don’t just sit there and do nothing. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” You can make a difference. Even when you think to yourself, “Oh, my $25 won’t change anything,” you are wrong. That $25 will feed a child for almost a month. And you can bet your bottom dollar that it makes a difference to that child. Taken together with the contributions of thousands of others who refuse to sit and wallow when they could be doing something to change the situation, that $25 might just start a wave of change and positive impact around the world. Don’t just sit there and complain—do something to make a change! You’ll feel better, and you never know what could come from your action.

Regardless, give yourself permission to be happy, to be joyful, to have bliss in your life. You will begin a ripple effect that will be endless. Share joy and love with others, they will share it with their circle of influence, and so on. With every bit of brilliance you share from your strong, positive center, you will empower and equip someone else to do the same. You do not have to be negative and sullen just because there are tough things going on in the world around you. There will always be sad and terrible things going on. That does not mean that your life happiness has to be put on hold indefinitely.

You can choose in every moment where you put your focus. Focus on the things that bring you joy, fulfillment, happiness, peace, and that make the world around you a better place. These are the things that you want to expand in your life, and these are the things—your own emotions, reactions, and behaviors—that you have the power to choose and change in every moment.

TODAY: Give yourself permission to have life, and have it abundantly! Don’t get sucked into the world’s tragedies. Do something positive on issues you care about, pray for those involved, and then live your life the best you can, experiencing all the bliss you can in the wonderful moments that you have in this lifetime. Choose bliss and lead a life based on that decision. It will make all the difference!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27371793@N08/3531643273/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paloooza/1907679033/

Tags: Be realistic, Focus on Positive, Stay positive, Take positive action
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Pray and Move Your Feet!

March 16th, 2011 at 9:56 am by Kendra Brodin

“I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.”~ W. Clement Stone

Physical fitness and exercise have never been my strong suits. In fact, I have started more fitness, exercise, and healthy eating plans than I choose to admit (or I can’t admit to because I seriously cannot count them all!) I finally made a strong commitment to myself to get in shape. I needed the energy that I have heard comes from regular exercise. Ditto for the mental clarity (boy, could I use that one!) And certainly as time marches on, I can use regular exercise for what it does to keep my body strong, healthy, and fit.

So I enrolled in a class called “Power Pump” at the local gym. No—not “Powder Puff”—which some of you who know me closely think would be a better name for any sort of exercise class that I promise to do regularly. “Power Pump” is 50 minutes of intense weightlifting with hand weights, bars and a good dose of abdominal work, lunges, squats—you get the idea. Twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have been at the gym challenging myself to get in shape.

This class has actually made me a much, much more regular exerciser than I ever have been in my life. And I actually just signed up for more of the same bi-weekly routine again. Yikes!

But being in a class and finally getting into the groove of regular exercise has reminded me of an important lesson. Sometimes—many times—we are quick to dream, to set goals, to have visions. And these are all very, very good first steps in moving forward toward the ultimate realization of something we want. But it is not enough.

Without action, our dreams will never come true. Sorry to rain on your parade (and my own, sometimes!) but we need to “pray and move our feet!” Simply put, have dreams, have goals, pray, visualize, do all of your mental work, and then GET MOVING! Be that physically moving (as mine has been in “Power Pump”) or “moving” by doing what you know needs to be done in your home, practice, or relationships—nothing is going to change until you get the ball rolling with some ACTION!

Think of it—you may dream and long for a clean orderly home (I know I do!), but it is not going to clean itself. Those boxes packed away in the garage or basement or attic are not going to sort themselves. Scrubbing bubbles only go so far—it also takes elbow grease!

Or in your career—there are certainly things that you know need to be done, but they are not your favorite things to do, or you simply find ways to put them off. Is that really going to get you ahead? Are you really going to look back at the end of the day and know you made solid progress toward your goal? No—not with hours spent on Facebook, Twitter, and organizing your pen drawer and color-coding your files, just to put off the work that you know you should be doing!

Even those things that we truly do pray for and ask for God’s support on—we need to do our part. “Faith without works is dead”, the Apostle Paul said. It’s true—faith is a critical component, but works are, too. God told Noah to build the ark, but Noah didn’t sit around and wait for a boat the size of a football field to drop from the sky. Noah built the ark, plank by plank, board by board. Now that was some hard work. Noah truly was “praying and moving his feet.”

So remember, dreaming and praying and believing deeply in all of those things that you want to bring into your life is a vital first step in achieving, but the second and just as important piece is ACTION!

TODAY: What one action can you take on an important goal to make progress and truly feel that you are on your way toward bringing the thing that you want into your life? Think of this both through your believing and through your ACTION!

Choose that one action and do it. Don’t do anything else until you do it, and see how great you feel knowing you are one step closer to that dream!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/armadillo444/2375766757/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pewari/3411878510/

Tags: Achieve What You Want, Career Dreams, Make Your Dreams Come True
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Hey Graduate! (Yes – It’s You!)

March 14th, 2011 at 10:01 am by Kendra Brodin

“What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” ~ Eleanor Powell

I love it when students put on shapeless gowns and strange “caps” to march down an aisle and receive a piece of paper that recognizes their time and effort put into studying, learning, and enduring some phase of their education. Yes—I’m talking about graduation time. When we attend graduation parties for graduates from high school and college, it makes me think about what “graduation” really means.

I think it is interesting that graduations are often called “commencement” exercises. Since “commence” means “to start,” the use of the word with regard to graduation is fascinating. We usually think of graduation as “ending” something, usually some stint in high school, college, or graduate school. But when we think about “commencement exercises,” it puts a new spin on the meaning of “graduation.”

If we choose to think of “commencement” instead of “graduation,” then things are just beginning for those who walk across the stage and receive their diploma. The world is open to them. They are just getting started. I love this idea, and I think I will try to send “commencement” cards rather than “graduation” cards in the future, though the recipients will probably think I am a little strange. Of course, if they are anything like the graduates I know, they won’t care what the card says as long as there is some money inside!

Like so many graduates who celebrate in the spring, we can think of ourselves on a constant journey and cycle of completion and beginning. But we are not like those graduates who have a date and time imposed by others for the “graduation ceremony.” Thankfully, we can choose at any moment to “complete” something in our life and “begin” something new.

By this, I don’t mean we capriciously bounce from moment to moment, scattered and unfocused and completely unsure of where we are going or why we are doing what we are doing. Sometimes those completions are very significant life events. We change jobs. A relationship ends. There are some events in life that are clear “endings.”

And there are clear “beginnings.” We start a new business. We add a child to our family. A new relationship blossoms. We move into a new home.

But there are also smaller “endings” and “beginnings” that we can choose to make every day. We stop a bad habit like smoking, procrastinating, or emotionally being too hard on ourselves. We start new things in our lives like consistently exercising, conscientiously spending more time with loved ones, or setting time aside each day for contemplation, reading, or quiet time each day.

We have the power in every moment to choose. We can hand ourselves a “diploma” any time we want to. And we can think about that as signifying an “ending” or a “beginning” in our lives.

So what phase in your life are you “completing?” What are you “graduating” from? Think about something in your life that has run its course and is ready to be finished and grant yourself permission to be done with it. Mentally hand yourself a diploma of completion and move on. Or better yet, make yourself a real diploma, complete with your name, the course that is over, and the date. It’s a great reminder that you are moving onward!

On the flip side, what are you “commencing?” What are you beginning anew in your life? Think about what choices you can make right now to move your life in a new direction. It’s totally up to you—you choose your direction and your actions. What will you begin?

TODAY: Become a graduate. Complete and release those activities and habits that no longer serve you or help you become the person you want to be living the life you want to live. Then “commence” something new, something that will move you closer to your ideal image of life. Today, and every day, can be a day of “beginnings.” Get going, graduate!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjungling/5640846/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5061210124/

Tags: Commence With Your Life, Graduation, New Beginnings
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