Luna Voda (Health&Life Coach and Dance-Fitness Instructor)
Let me help you transform your Body&Mind From The inside out
The resources you will find here are complimentary. There is no credit card involved, and my only request is that you spread the word and share this link with your friends. 🙂
Slowing down moves us from the fight-or-flight stress-state to the peaceful state of relaxation and inner calm.
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Not only that: the slower we eat, the faster we metabolize our food and the more sustained energy we have throughout the day.
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✔️ Write your top 3 stressors.
✔️Now create your top 3 relaxers.
✔️Ensure eating slowly and are chewing your food.
✔️One busier days, take some time to stretch, do gentle yoga, go for a walk, meditate, or take an Epsom salt bath/long shower.
✔️Initiate regular intimacy with someone you connect to on a deeper level.
Quality intimacy is, by far, one of the best stress relievers!
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~ I am here for you if you have questions or comments,
Yet, too much control leads to chronic exhaustion, anxiousness, and the subsequent jarring fear-of-missing-out*.
*The fear of missing out is defined by “a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.”
The simple truth is we, human beings, are not supposed to control everything that happens around us or to be everywhere&and do everything AT THE SAME TIME.
Slowing down usually helps us gain momentum in the long-term. Taking charge of your life and making things happen should not come on the expense of your sanity or your sleep.
The best remedy for control-addiction is REST.
How often do you pause to breathe and let go of control?
I, myself, often get caught up in a go-go-go way of living. And I now know better that slowing down helps me be way more productive. Speaking of which, check out this article. 🙂
When you feel fatigued and overwhelmed, simply close your eyes and send your body much neeeded love and appreciation.
By inhaling love, we let go of the fear of not doing or being enough. By letting go of this fear, we instill the values of self-respect and self-nurturment.
~ After reading this post, please pause and do the following: close your eyes, take a few deep breathes, and connect to yourself by connecting to your heart.
Ask yourself: “What do I want today; What do I need from life; How can I support myself today; How can I say “yes” to others by not compromising my needs?”; How can I say “no” with no guilt?; “How can I enjoy myself more by loosening up my control?””
By nurturing ourselves, we nurture others!
~ With love and care,
Ana-Maria
Change is hard. It is supposed to be hard. This is how our brain is wired. And our brain`s main responsibility is to keep us safe. From an evolutionary point of view (1), change equals danger; danger equals lack of safety; lack of safety equals predators; predators equal potential death. No wonder lasting change is trickier than it seems.
I hope this is an AHA moment for you: our brain doesn’t differentiate between actual and fictional danger. For the critter brain, every time when you try to make a change (despite your positive intention behind it!), your innocent attempt triggers a fight or flight reaction. Why? Because your brain cares for you and wants you to be safe. Once you understand that your body`s only goal is to keep you alive, you begin to shift your mindset from reactivity to positivity. To make any change STICK, you have to win your brain over first. And do it in a way that makes both you and your brain FEEl good.
So, instead of beating yourself for not sticking to your new year`s resolutions or your last week`decision to adopt a healthier diet, exercise more, stress less/etc., understand that it literally takes time for the body to drop its defenses and become an ally to your goals, and not a foe.
These are my three fundamental strategies for creating long-lasting change instead of temporary breakthroughs:
I HAVE AN INTENTION
Decide what you want; then break it down to an attainable goal.
I recommend you to breakdown your goals into a longterm goal and short-term goals. Be realistic what you can and can`t achieve in a six or three months frame, and focus on the progress you make, and not on the areas you`re still working on. The bigger the change you want to make is, the smaller the daily changes should be. You can`t possibly outdo years of behavioral patterns in one month regardless of your discipline and motivation. The body has to trust you first and welcome the change, instead of fighting you on it.
Science says
“Neurons that fire together wire together.”
– Donald Hebb, a Canadian neuropsychologist known for his work in the field of associative learning.
II PAY ATTENTION
Stepping back and identifying what your self-defeating habits are is one of the first steps of the change process.
Be curious to monitor your actions (without judgment!): are they moving you towards your goal, or do they pull you away from it? Most importantly, monitor your self-talk: how many times in a day do you speak kindly to yourself as opposed to the times you lash out and say things you would never tell your best friend? (more about building unstoppable confidence you may read here). Be adaptive to change and the breaking of old habits. Often, it has taken you a lifetime to build them, so it takes time and patience to reformulate your routine around them. Habits are literally wired in your brain. And I will repeat this again, because it is so important:any lasting change begins in your mind first before it gets translated to your behavior and habits.
As Goethe wisely pointed out: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
III ALWAYS BELIEVE
Stay optimistically realistic. Momentary set-backs are inevitable. Giving up is optional.
Believing in your deservedness of happiness, confidence and self-love is the only way to preserve your enthusiasm to keep going when you stumble through obstacles. They’re there to test your will. And expose you to your fears so you can dissolve them and move forward. Face them, love them, and keep going. At its core, change is a continual process of letting go. This step is all about giving you a way to release old beliefs and create new ones. When you change a habit, you CHANGE a part of how you act, and when you change how you re-act, you start to change who you are in a triggering circumstance… when you begin to change who you are (when you don`t like yourself), you start to fall in love with your-true-self and your life.
In conclusion, please remember that habits are AUTOMATED behaviors and, as such, they are prone to change.. While some habits are health-promoting, others are health-destroying. And here we talk not just about physical health but about your mental and emotional health as well.
To make any change last, you need to feel good about it in your heart first.
I really hope this article was not only informative but also inspired you to take action. Please forward and share with anyone in your social circles that can also benefit from implementing these strategies.
~ With Love and Care,
Ana-Maria
Download this text as a PDF*.
@ All Rights Reserved to DFI
Further Reads:
(1) I dearly recommend you to read Dr. Rich Hanson`s books: Resilient and Hardwiring Happiness. I mention his work in this article as well.
T.S. Eliot said it so eloquently:
“The end of all exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
Life is an odyssey and we are meant to change our environment (every so often) in order to grow, learn and explore different sides of ourselves, and of the world around us.
If you are currently at a phase in your life where you feel as it is about time for you to venture out of your comfort zone and move on in life, this self-check list is designed to help you decide whether or not it is time for you to make a change.
3 major signs you’re ready to move on (or move out from your current life situation):
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1️⃣ You no longer relate to your current environment
Whether it’s your home, your job, the relationship you’re in, even your town (or country): something in your life feels out of sync with your goals for the future. But to know confidently what you truly want, you should be very very honest with yourself and create a plan.
I advise you to take a pen and paper and write it all down: imagine how do you want your life to look like six months from now, one year from now, and a couple of years from now? Will staying where you are move you closer to where you want to be, or shift you backwards? And how would that feel? In both situations.
For many of us, change feels equally exciting and terrifying. And righteously so!
Change is scary. We are creatures of habit and is in our dna (thanks to our critter brain) to rationalize ourselves out of moving on just because we are accustomed to being in the same environment. Please revisit what you wrote in your journal and be open and honest with yourself: does it make you happy and excited to wake up every day where you are? If the answer is ‘no’, it’s time for you to move on, and move forward to whatever it is that makes you happy and excited. Regardless of how drastic or subtle this change may look like for you.
2️⃣ You intuitively feel that life has plans for you and that you can’t optimize them fully if you don’t make a major leap forward.
It’s simply not possible to stay where we are and simultaneously move forward. Marching in one place doesn’t shift us from where we are. And it doesn’t give us clarity either. Thinking and planning our next move is crucial, and you need to be mindful and strategic about it. Often, the actual execution may take longer than you desire. However, despite how long it takes, change comes from engagement, not just thought.
My favorite motto (that always pushes me through stagnation): “If you want something you‘ve never had, you must be willing to do something you‘ve never done.’
@ Thomas Jefferson
3️⃣You constantly receive signs from the Universe that is time for you to change your life.
Whatever it is, go for it. Your intuition knows best. Trust your gut, trust the Universe, and trust that there is no “right” time to make change. It will always be “now”.
Really hope those 3 tips are useful, please let me know in the comments below. Also, if you suddenly think of somebody who needs the extra push to make things happen for them, forward and share a long.
REMINDER
If you want to receive more of my weekly tips and strategies on personal development, mindfulness, wellness and fitness – go ahead and subscribe to my blog to get an instant access to my newsletter.
I think you might find my tips on manifesting change useful as well.
Let me know!
~ With Love and Care,
Ana-Maria
In my health coaching practice, I advise my clients to eat predominantly low-sugar fruits like berries (and eat starchy carbs and grains in moderation). However, the foundation of a balanced diet (in my belief), is balance. A balance that leaves room for occasional culinary indulgences and treats. =)
This cake is rich and decadent but doesn’t require any baking. You need to leave it in your fridge overnight so please take this in consideration before you decide to prepare it.
Ingredients:
Instructions
Voila! Here you have it: a seven-layered-no-bake cake. I hope you enjoy it and, if you want more, make sure to check out my other cake recipes.
Bon appetit!:)
My Instagram: ana_maria_georgie
Products Mentioned
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During winter, when there is less sun (therefore, less exposure to vitamin D), I have been craving extensively skin-enhancing vitamins like beta carotene. And there is a reason why!
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If you want a brighter and clearer complexion, natural glow and better vision – go grab an orange snack and chew on few carrots. 🍑🍑🍑🍊
How to make a raw carrot cake with few ingredients and no nuts (allergen-free recipe) 🍅🍅🍑🍌
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What You Need:
• Three large carrots
• Two persimmons and few big carrots
• Few dates (if you like it sweeter)
• 1/2 ripe banana
• A cup of mulberries • A teaspoon of cacao and carob powder
• A splash of almond milk
1) First, in a food processor gently press the mulberries (no liquid!) until they form a thick paste. Combine with the spices and the cacao.
2) Separately, blend the rest of the ingredients with the carob powder and the almond milk.
3) Let it sit in the fridge for a least an hour and enjoy with love! 💥
If you know somebody who experiences dry skin or uneven facial tone, share this post with them.
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