October 13, 2023 • 58 mins
How often do you prioritize self-care in your daily routine? Join me and our guest, Candace Winter, as we share insights on why self-care should be at the top of your list. Together, we unravel practical tools like adopting a morning routine, engaging in activities that uplift your soul, and having a diet that nourishes both body and mind. Destress your life with simple techniques such as meditation, exercise, and the all-important good night's sleep. Remember, it doesn’t have to be drastic changes; rather, small adjustments can be monumental for your mental health.
Food is not just about curbing hunger; it's also about feeding your brain and boosting your mood. Candace and I share our top nine foods that will not only delight your taste buds but also enhance brain health and reduce inflammation. Find out why a plate of colorful fruits and a mealtime within a 12-hour window can be a game-changer for your gut health. Moreover, we reveal how affirmations and controlled breathing can bring serenity back into your life.
As we conclude, we dive into the human connections we build and how they can affect your well-being. Candace shares her experiences in volunteering and the fulfillment she gained by being part of a like-minded community. She also highlights how good sleep habits and finding your 'why' can be the motivation you need to stick to a sleep routine. We culminate our talk on gratitude and collaboration, revealing how these can lead to peaceful retreats and humanitarian efforts. Listen in, be empowered, and make the first steps towards a healthier, happier you. Tune in and kick start your self-care journey today!
Please visit us at: http://retreattopeace.com to find out more about the shows you love to listen to, the upcoming retreats we have planned and your favorite merchandise to help support those in need. Also, send us your testimonial of how the show or Catherine has helped you. We would love to share your story on the air.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Hey you, wherever you are in the world right now.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me.
We know that we live in somevolatile times and we know that
the world is changing.
So let's create a bridge as wetravel through one another's
countries, removing all thelabels, coming together as one
people finding our home in oneworld.
(01:02):
And as we do this, this is whyour signature talk today is so
important.
Grow through what you gothrough with self-care, and this
will be a part two of ourepisode last time, so settle in
as we jump right in.
I'm so excited to again welcomemy guest speaker, candace Winter
(01:23):
.
Hi, candace, hi, great to behere, thank you so much, and
this topic is so, so important,so I'm so glad that we're
getting back together again toaddress it.
I know last time we talked a lotin generalalities in regards to
how to take care of ourselvesand we address different kinds
(01:45):
of things, you know, just on ahigh level.
But today I thought we wouldjust take a deeper dive in
having these conversations onwhat are some practical tools
that people can actually usetoday that can help them to
really dive in and get a bettergrasp on how to take care of
themselves with self-care.
(02:06):
So I know in our conversationsoffline, we've had some
wonderful dialogue around somereally great ideas and tools
that I think is so powerful forthe world to hear.
So you're the perfect person toshare this with the audience
and I'm just really excited toget started.
(02:26):
So I know last time we talked,like I said, in generalalities,
so let's just get right intothis and talk a little bit.
You know again about this mind,body and spirit connection with
self-care and, as we do thiswith our bodies, what are some
(02:47):
tools that we can do that willhelp our bodies?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Well, first of all, this is a topic that I am so
passionate about.
I believe that it is the waythat we can conduct our lives
with resilience and being ableto manage stress with ease and
not leaving things overwhelming.
And, yes, as much as it's sucha big topic, it's also so simple
(03:13):
to do.
You know, it's adding thelittle things in your life that
will end up just leading intoall other areas of your life.
That will just make everythingso much more manageable and
easier and just simply take thestress out of stress.
You know we can never removestress, we can never stop it
from coming, but there are justso many little things we can do
(03:35):
to that will just make it allthat much easier.
So simple things that I've gotyou know, that you can do is
your morning routine, which wecan dive into a little bit more
today finding something thatwould give you energy.
You know people talk aboutfinding their passion.
You know nobody can find theirpassion.
(03:56):
It is something that gives youenergy from within, so you need
to find something that you enjoy.
A lot of people don't know whatthat is.
Maybe it's dancing in yourbedroom, maybe it is joining a
book club or a sports club orsomething where you can find
people who have a commoninterest to get excited about
the same things that you do.
That put the fire into yoursoul.
(04:16):
Something as simple as thatEating and drinking for your
health.
You know the what you put intoyour body affects your mood so
much.
There is scientific evidence toback this up.
And yet making smalladjustments to what you eat can
massively improve your mood,remove depression, give you
(04:36):
energy.
So instead of trying to surviveon energy drinks and coffee and
sweets and snacks, you canreally find the energy that
you're looking for.
Journaling gratitude brings youso many good things, just
writing three good things a day.
I know I'm probably justspiraling out of control here,
because I do.
(04:57):
I'm just so on fire with thistopic.
But simply, you know, by havingyour gratitude you end up being
more productive.
It gives you confidence, itinstills a sense of peace.
You know and we can go furtherinto how to do this Breathing.
Breathing totally switches offall the stress signals in your
(05:19):
body and it's something that'sso simple to do.
Confidence again what you chooseto think about and what you
choose to believe.
The brain cannot decipherwhat's reality and what's not.
So if you are saying littlemantras to yourself every day,
(05:39):
all day long, your brainactually begins to believe it
and you will begin to believewhat you're saying to yourself.
We're so good at negative talkand we believe everything
negative about ourselves.
Why can we not convinceourselves to believe the good
things about ourselves?
It takes time, it takes work.
Yes, we know about meditation.
(05:59):
Clearing the mind really helpsto expand and open the mind to
receiving great ideas.
It initializes creativity.
It also, yet again, instills asense of peace, because we're so
used to thinking about so manythings at once that when we try
and clear our mind, we canreally prioritize.
Exercise, yes, exercise.
(06:20):
Everybody knows you need toexercise.
You need to get healthy, getfit.
You need to know why.
Why is it so essential for yourmental health to do that?
And it's not running a marathon, it's not suddenly becoming a
bodybuilder, it's just doingsomething that is so easy to do.
That will massively change howyou feel about yourself.
(06:42):
Spirituality, connections withother people, connection with
friends nurturing friendship ishugely important for helping
with depression.
Sleep Sleep is so important, ithas so many great benefits and
I want to go into how to get agood sleep routine that you can
(07:04):
again find sleep without pain,at least sleeping tablets and
anything that's going to knockyou out watching TV late at
night or drinking alcohol tohelp you fall asleep, which
eventually just wakes you up inthe night, and it's just a
spiral that can be changed.
And if you just do littlethings we're not asking you to
(07:26):
do these huge, massive changes,it's doing the smallest things
that will eventually lead tobetter habits, because
everything that we do in life isa habit and if we can change
the negative habits that are nothelping us, although we're
doing them to help us you canjust change how you feel.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, and that's quite a list.
I mean, right off the top, yourattled off, I think, about
seven things.
This is what the audience needs.
Are these tools?
So I just want to go back towhere you started with the food.
(08:07):
So I know, everybody knows thisthat what they put into their
bodies is so important, becauseif you're eating junk, you're
going to feel like junk.
So if you're eating healthy,you're going to feel healthy.
But I think it's important toremind people that what they do
put into their bodies is really,really important.
So, drinking a lot of waterright now, just removing the
(08:32):
toxins from our bodies, is soimportant, because when you're
going through a very stressfultime, you don't want to be
taking in alcoholic beveragesconsistently and things like
that, because you do want yourbody to be as strong as possible
all the time, right?
So, additional to that, arethere any?
(08:53):
So when you think of foods,like, are there any suggestions
of foods that help maybealleviate, you know, chronic, I
don't know like things likeillness or depression or
different kinds of things?
So if we could take a deeperdive into this topic, that would
be great, okay.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So first of all, I want to explain that your food
directly affects your mood Okay,and not simply with what people
expect, with the sugar highsand lows that you would get from
eating sugary junk food.
It's essentially you need to beeating food that stimulates
(09:34):
good bacteria in your gut,because this bacteria ends up
being related to your immunesystem, which is connected to
your brain, which then gives youyour mental health.
Now there are certain when youeat sugar and alcohol and really
high calorie but nutritionallydeficient food, you are
(09:58):
increasing the inflammation inyour body.
Now we're not talking about aswollen joint where there is
proper inflammation.
We're just talking aboutgeneral inflammation where your
body is out of sync, your levelsare imbalanced and, as a result
, your gut breaks down.
(10:19):
It's got this membranethroughout your gut which is
protective.
It's almost it's tied into yourimmune system and when that
membrane is broken down, itallows these substances into
your gut which then affect yourgeneral health, increases
inflammation.
So when you're eating correctly,the proper foods, you're
(10:39):
keeping your gut healthy, youare helping your good bacteria
to flourish, which helps withyour digestion, your immune
system, and all of that and thewonderful side effect of all of
that is that it put you in agood mood.
So eating good foods is goingto help to remove depression,
which is obviously a massive, Iwould say pandemic that so many
(11:03):
of us are experiencing at themoment.
So I have a list of nine foodsthat are really important to
include in your diet as much asyou can.
Fatty fish, obviously high inyour omega-3s.
These are essential fats thatyour body needs and it improves
(11:23):
your brain's cell membranefluidity, so it improves your
brain development and the cellsignal, the yeah, the signaling
that goes through in your brain.
That is why your omega-3s areso important.
It really helps with the wholenervous system.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Okay, can you?
Can you have a supplement, andwill that be okay, or does it
have to be from fish?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
It is better to get it from fish.
I mean, obviously, if there'sno other way.
If you ask the one of thosepeople that, oh no, I don't eat
fish and I will nevercontemplate eating fish, then
yes, please do get supplements,but obviously proper, you know,
clean food is the best thing togo for.
I mean, everyone's differentfor me.
Supplements I don't dosupplements.
(12:05):
I believe that your diet is iswhere everything should come
from.
But obviously there arebrilliant supplements out there.
If you you can't get your handson them, so do what suits you.
But omega-3s are very importantand again, they're important
for your you know yourinflammation in your body.
Funny enough, dark chocolate isanother good mood boosting food
(12:31):
to be taking in.
It's got mood boostingcompounds.
It increases blood flow to thebrain, it reduces inflammation,
it improves your brain healthand mood regulation.
So who wouldn't want to eatdark chocolate?
Now, I'm not talking about milkchocolate or white chocolate
has to be dark chocolate.
But at least you know again,it's a treat, but a healthy one.
(12:54):
So you can kind of get yourmind wrapped about that.
One Another really importantthing to be eating is fermented
foods.
They're very much yourprobiotics.
So if you can get things intoyour diet like sauerkraut,
kimchi I don't know if anyonehas heard of kimchi before.
It's basically fermentedcabbage that would be very
popular.
People would eat it in SouthKorea.
(13:15):
I was there last year and Ipractically looked on the stuff.
Yogurt, kefir, kombucha allthose things stimulate healthy
bacteria in your gut whichincrease your serotonin levels.
It improves your mood, reducesyour stress response.
It stimulates your appetite,your sexual drive.
(13:37):
90% of the body serotonin isproduced from your butt
microdial, microfire, I'm sorry.
So it is really, reallyimportant to get those
probiotics in your system.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait Back up.
Why did you just?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
say that Basically.
You know when you have goodbacteria in your body it has
everything going on for you.
So, yes, it improves your mood,it reduces your stress, it
gives you good appetite control,it increases sexual drive and
90% of the body serotonin isproduced in the gut.
(14:14):
So it really pays to eat.
I'm not a fan of sauerkraut andI'm trying to force myself to
like it because I know now thathealth benefits outweigh the
taste.
But it's really an importantthing to do and to take maybe a
teaspoon of sauerkraut in yourdiet today, like for all the
benefits, why not?
You know, I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Okay, is it okay to put a little brown sugar on it
or something like that, Just soyou can taste it.
You know, make it palatable.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
No, I mean, you know if you can, if you can hide it
in your diet in any way that youknow makes it more.
I mean, yogurt's an easy way toget good bacteria into your diet
, obviously, and antibioticsthat's where antibiotics come in
.
You know, antibioticsdefinitely have their place in
there Very necessary, but theyare overprescribed and if you
think about how it can reallyimpact your healthy bacteria
(15:10):
which is common knowledge,everyone knows that you know
you've got to really make surethat you know you do need the
antibiotics before we go andconsume them.
You know, I think sometimes wejust go for antibiotics because
you know it's the done thing andyou know there's this fear of
(15:32):
antibiotics losing theirefficacy, you know.
So, yes, again, you're going tobe boosting your immune system
if you're eating right, sothat'll also, you know, ensure
the less need of meetingantibiotics.
So, yes, bananas Bananas aregreat mood shifters.
(15:54):
They do have sugar which isgoing to give you energy.
They've got vitamin B6 andfiber and they improve the mood.
So if you need some moodboosting or some quick pick me
up, bananas are a really goodway to go.
Oats are really good.
They release a stable amount.
You know they're sorry, I'mgetting my words twisted here.
(16:16):
They release sugar gradually.
You don't have your up anddowns, with your highs and your
lows, and it decreases moodswings and irritability.
So it's a really good thing tohave in your diet.
Berries they're antioxidants,they reduce inflammation,
(16:38):
they're associated withimproving depression and other
mood disorders.
So berries, strawberries,raspberries, blueberries,
blackberries you know theyreally are essential in your
diet.
Oats and seeds they'rebrilliant.
They have amino acids that helpproduce serotonin.
So a handful of nuts a day,brilliant thing to have.
(17:03):
Coffee Coffee increases youralertness and your attention, so
you don't have thatoverwhelming fatigue where you
want to go and reach for thesugar.
It improves yourneurotransmitters such as
dopamine and norepinephrine.
So it really is a goodstimulant.
Obviously not too much,everything in moderation.
But having your one or two cupsof coffee a day is actually
helpful for your mood.
(17:24):
Beans and lentils your vitaminssimply helps with mood
disorders, depression.
So the most important thing istrying to get your rainbow of
five fruits of each a day,Essentially if you can try and
eat within a 12-hour window.
(17:46):
So if you wake up at seven, haveyour breakfast at seven, but
you finished eating by 7pm thatevening, you do your gut a huge
favor by giving it a break fromfood.
That's where it repairs, it,restores it, improves your
immune function, you know.
So I don't want to call itfasting because it's not fasting
(18:07):
, but if you can just eat yourmeals within a 12-hour window,
again, you will massivelyimprove the health of your gut
and therefore your mood.
Okay, what else can I say?
Depression, you know they feel,has come and as a result of
increased inflammation.
So, even if you have a, they'vediscovered that if you have
(18:31):
high inflammation levels in yourbody, antidepressants aren't
going to work.
You know you actually need yourdiet to be good Diets.
Inflammation is affected bydiet.
Sleep, exercise, stress, lackof sun all of those can bring on
(18:53):
excess inflammation.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Yes, so let me ask you about inflamaitos.
Tomatoes and eggplant All ofthose are inflammation foods
that cause inflammation in thebody and wheat and wheat, okay.
So now would you recommendremoving that from your diet, or
is that something you shouldstill keep in your diet, because
(19:19):
I know there's a lot ofbenefits to tomatoes and peppers
For me personally.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
I have arthritis that we spoke about last year and I
have removed all of that from mydiet.
I don't eat any of those and,as a result, my body as well,
you know.
I have no pain anymore.
I don't feel like I have themood swings anymore.
So, as much as I love tomatoesI really do love tomatoes it was
(19:55):
hard to do, but now it's doneand again being pain-free and
having energy and being in agood mood and sleeping well.
Yes, for me, yes, but that's atotally personal opinion.
I don't eat sugar, I don't eatwheat.
I do eat, drink coffee.
(20:18):
Now, that is my weakness, I'mafraid, and that is something
that I would like to stillreduce and possibly get rid of
out of my diet.
But no, I would say, if you canremove those.
It is hard the first couple ofweeks, but again you will start
to feel the health benefits andthen you'll no longer crave it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Yeah, and I think it's just a process.
You just kind of wean yourselffrom it, like you said, and
takes a little bit of time.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Exactly.
Dairy and sugar is anotherthing.
You know that I've cut out ofmy diet, so finding your calcium
from other ingredients is veryimportant, you know, for me.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
So where do you get calcium from?
If you've removed dairy, Isthat coming from yogurt?
I mean where else?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, yogurt is still dairy.
So that is a supplement that Iwould take, because calcium is
obviously very important.
And spinach, you know I wouldeat a lot of spinach in my diet.
So yeah, I actually don't havea perfect answer for you for
that one, let me just see.
(21:30):
So yeah, your green leafyvegetables, like I have, shakes
smoothies should I say notshakes smoothies every day of
kale and spinach, that is whereI would get most of mine,
obviously in your lentils and soon.
Your beans, your pulses, yoursardines.
(21:53):
Sardines are also a very goodsource of calcium sorry, trying
to find my words there Fortifiedcereals as well.
You know they would havecalcium in them.
So cereals again, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't eat a lot of it,
but it is in there.
(22:14):
There are different ways otherthan dairy to get your calcium
definitely.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, and is there, is there anything else that you
would suggest our audience touse, as far as anything with
food or with supplements oranything like that, that can
help, you know, boost their moodor the state that they're in,
you know, if they're feeling off, or whatever.
(22:41):
You know people are, people areall different, so I'm not sure,
I think, I think, the recipe isdifferent for everybody, but I
do agree that your, your basic,foundational, you know, approach
of taking care of the body isso, so important.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
But is there anything else that you would suggest I'm
trying to think of any specificfoods.
I mean, funny enough, when I'mreally eating comfort food I
make myself a bowl of porridgeand a banana.
You know, and I do.
I feel that lovely sense ofsatiation where my tummy feels
warm and full and knowing thatagain it's, it's healthy.
(23:21):
You know, I put some sunflowerseeds in there, so it's got the
crunch and it's got thesweetness and it's got the, the
energy in it.
That, for me, is my go-tocomfort food.
I know that sounds probablyridiculous.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
No, I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
But it is because it's so gooey when you're eating
it and it's warm and you justfeel so full afterwards and it's
.
It's also such a good feelingof you know.
Yeah, I, I went to a nice bigbowl of porridge, but you don't
feel like you've cheatedyourself, you know.
So, yeah, I don't know why thatcame to my head, but that is,
(23:54):
that is what is coming to me.
I, I love dark chocolate.
I don't eat a lot of it and itreally, you know, for anyone who
does eat normal chocolate, youknow how good you feel
afterwards, where you've justindulged, but at the same time
you don't get that massive dropafter eating normal chocolate,
(24:15):
you know.
So you're gonna feel good andit's really rich.
So the taste, you don't eat asmuch as you usually do with all
the other chocolates.
So, yeah, I would say, porridgeand dark chocolate, yeah,
Anyway, yes.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
No, I love it.
So, the, so the, the body youknow to give it, the good food
is, is wonderful.
Let's move into a little bitmore around.
You know this mind piece of itand the spirit piece of it as
far as the self-care.
So I know we talked aboutjournaling.
That was something that wetalked about last time.
(24:52):
I know last time we also talkedabout the breathing and just,
you know counting the breath,you know counting in for four,
holding it for four, you knowexpelling it for four, just
taking that time to do thebreathing One of the things you
have to remind yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
that's, that's something that's important,
because we will forget tobreathe.
So you know, makes you know,look at your watch, or when you
boil the kettle, or somethinglike that that you just,
whenever you do that particularaction that you remember, oh,
it's time to breathe, you know,and that will just keep you
balanced throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Yeah, and I, I love that technique because I just
think it's so important.
I don't think enough people doit often enough I talked a
little bit about in the lastsegment around.
You know when, when I would getupset about something my
grandmother would say count toten.
You know, and I it isunderstated as far as you know
(25:52):
how we need to do this breathingthroughout the day not just
when we're upset about something.
So I really appreciate thatmessage for the self-care
because it is something thathelps to release some of this
anxiety or whatever it is thatyou're feeling with the stress.
It just helps to get that outof the body, which is really
(26:13):
important.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And when you breathe, you give yourself time to think
with your logical brain as aopposed to your emotional brain.
So that is what's taking thetime to do that.
It's very, very important.
So, absolutely, breathing isvery important, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
And you talked about affirmations, and I think
affirmations are so powerful.
So, first thing in the morning,one of the things that I do is,
before I even open my eyes Iliterally just talked about this
in another segment Before Ieven open my eyes, I literally
just say thank you.
(26:52):
Those two words, thank you, oh,that's lovely, yeah, yeah.
And the reason I do that isbecause when you say thank you,
you're living in a space ofgratitude, and having gratitude
is so powerful and operatingfrom that space is so powerful
because you're not taking forgranted the mere fact that
(27:13):
you're alive or the gift thatyou have of today, because
that's all we have is today.
So you know, havingaffirmations to just remind
ourselves that we are here todayand in the present and we can
train our brain to think acertain way because, as you said
(27:34):
, our brain doesn't know realityversus what's not reality.
So even asking the question isit true?
Right now, I see so many peoplestruggling and one of the
questions I always find myselfasking is is that true?
And then trying to figure outwhether or not it's true.
(27:55):
And it could be that you knowwhat I'm thinking isn't
necessarily true, but it couldbe true to me, but it may not be
true in the sense of beingactually true, right.
So just questioning that.
But I think, as far as you knowthese affirmations just living
in a space of being present,being in the here and now, and
(28:20):
knowing that it's okay to be inthis space however you show up.
So if you're having a tough day, it's only a moment like it's
going to be something that willpass right, but you can help
yourself through it by givingyourself these positive
affirmations that you know,simply like this.
(28:40):
you can just tell yourself, likethis is not going to be forever
, you could tell yourself I willget to the other side of this,
and part of this process is Ihave to be uncomfortable in this
moment to get to the other side.
That is so true.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Funny enough, a while ago.
Oh gosh, there's actually anumber of things that I want to
say here.
A while ago I heard that lifeis a cycle, that everything
comes in seasons and that whenthings are going well for you,
you really need to enjoy it,because the time is going to
come.
When a storm is going to comeinto your life, it's not if it's
(29:20):
when.
And when the storm does comeinto your life, you have the
comfort of knowing it's notgoing to last, that the good
times are going to come again.
And that, for me, justresonated with me because it
made so much sense that we arealways going to go through these
cycles.
We're always going to havetimes where we have wonderful,
memorable moments, but thenwe're going to have times of
(29:42):
tragedy and sadness.
And the fact it makes youappreciate both, because you
understand that when things aregoing well, you really need to
savour the moment, celebrate,cherish, enjoy, make it
memorable.
But then, when the bad timescome, you know it's not going to
last forever.
It may last a while, but notforever, and those good times
(30:04):
will come again.
And that, to me, just gave methat sense of you know I can
cope, I can.
It gave me resilience.
It gave me an understandingthat you know we all expect to
lead these perfect lives, thatthere's never any trouble,
there's never hassles, there'snever sadness, there's never
tragedy.
That does not happen and whenyou can actually understand that
(30:25):
everybody has their storm.
It's just a part of life, youknow, and when the good times
are good, just love it.
Don't be stressed about.
When the bad times coming, livein that moment, because the bad
times all gonna come.
So the good times, so justwhenever you're in each of those
cycles, just be present.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, and it's interesting because the whole
world right now is experiencingthe sense of it's a bad time,
right, because our whole liveshave been turned upside down,
they've changed, and it's soimportant that, even though
things are different, it doesn'thave to be necessarily
(31:09):
quote-unquote.
A bad time Like it can be usedas a time To go inward and do
some healing work that maybe youhave neglected to do your
entire life because you were sobusy running to that job or
taking care of your kids, orMaybe just avoiding whatever it
(31:30):
was that you didn't want to workon within your own space, right
?
So some of that could be.
I just don't know what to dowith my life.
I don't know if I'm happy in mycareer or this relationship I'm
in, or how I'm living my life.
So maybe it's a time where it'snot a bad time but a time to do
(31:53):
the self-care, the self-work,the healing, so that when you're
on the other side and thingsare Different, that you're
showing up into the world, intointo the space that you're your
authentic self right?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Well, that's exactly.
Well.
That's what I want to say aswell Is that you know you could
actually take this time to makethe changes that you need to
make and, funny enough, peopleThink that you need to be really
motivated to make your goals,to Stick to your goals.
It's actually been proven thatthe best time to Make your goals
(32:32):
and have your motivation iswell, basically, is when your
motivation is non-existent.
That is the time when you canactually ensure change.
So it's not, you know, like aJanuary when you feel like,
right, I'm gonna quit alcoholand I'm gonna go and diet and
I'm gonna hit the gym, and it'swhen you're down and broken.
That is the time to make change, because that is where you it's
(32:55):
Going to pleasure or trying tostay away from pain.
That is where the motivation isand that's where you can
actually make the changes.
So this is actually the perfecttime, where everything is so
chaotic and everybody's lives.
This is a time to really, asyou say, figure out what you
want in your life and what youdon't want in your life and make
(33:17):
changes.
Feel like wait to make changes,tiny changes, not big changes.
Tiny, tiny changes, which willthen be the tiny stream that
leads to the river that needs tothe ocean.
You know, um, yeah, I thinkit's all about perspective.
It's all about point of view andif you can change your point of
(33:38):
view about how you feel aboutCOVID and how you feel about the
impact of what's happened,think of it as also a seed of
change.
This is the opportunity thatyou can make changes in your
life.
You know and again, it may bedifficult right now, but with
when things, when you do thethings that are hard I can't
(33:59):
remember who said this, but Iabsolutely love this quote when
you do the things in life thatare hard, life becomes easy.
When you do things that areeasy, life becomes hard.
So right now, you know, ifpeople can make the changes,
adopt new habits, we're gonnamake their lives easier and be
able to do it with.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
That's a that's a great quote.
I've not heard that before, butthat is a very, very powerful
quote.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
It really is.
I feel terrible that I can'tremember who said this.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
No, that's okay.
I mean, the fact that you'resharing it is wonderful, yeah,
and I think part of just goinginward to is, you know, to your
point, it can be small, it canbe very small as far as what it
is that you want to bring yourawareness to, but I think just
(34:49):
showing up in more of anauthentic space with not just
yourself, but with everybody inyour presence, right, so, as you
go through your walk, not onlyjust, you know, recognizing the
small things, but taking thatstep back and really taking it
(35:10):
in.
So, instead of just rushingthrough everything, maybe
actually pull back a little bitand be more present with the
person that you're with, likereally look them in the eye,
literally listen to what they'resaying, instead of allowing it
to just skim through your mindand not really hear the words or
take in what is behind, youknow, as far as what it is that
(35:33):
they're saying, strengthen yourrelationships.
I mean, this is a moment wherethe relationships in everyone's
life has been tested, in a sense, that you have not been able to
spend time with people.
So the time that you arespending even if it's, you know,
through a zoom meeting, becausea lot of families are getting
(35:54):
together via zoom because theycan't physically be together,
but take the time to reallyspend quality, quality time.
I think one of the the best andworst things that's ever
happened to our society istechnology.
I Mean, if I think back a yearago, any public place I would go
(36:17):
to, everybody was on theirphones, everybody you would see
small babies, children, adults,everybody, teenagers everybody
was on their phones.
But now it's been Put upon usthat we need technology to
connect with each other, butit's taken away the intimacy of
(36:39):
actually having ourrelationships.
So, if anything, allow yourselfto be more present in the small
things, and it doesn't matterwhat it is, just be more present
and mindful of the small things.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Is there anything else you'd want to add about
that Again, well, you know theysaid, what you are talking about
is the heart connection, thespirituality, and A huge,
massive part of that is ourconnection to other people.
That is who we stand for andthat is what we spoke about last
week.
But they've really come tounderstand that connection is
(37:10):
essential for depression andanxiety, and so physical
friendships and Relationshipsthat count for so much of our
mental health.
And yes, we do get tied up inour lives where we don't make
the contact that we should.
I mean, yes, we've got greatfriends but we just we don't
bother, because we don't Intentnot to bother, but we just get
(37:34):
so caught up in our own lives.
So if you can consciously everyday just reach out to someone,
if it's via text, if it'smeeting for a cup of coffee, if
it's going for a walk With thatperson and just speaking again,
you will notice such adifference in your state of mind
.
You know, connection Brings ona kinder world, a more
(37:58):
compassionate world, a moreloving world.
You know, and again, that iswhat we're all aiming for
through this.
So People come into your livesfor certain reasons.
You know, we don't alwaysunderstand, but once they've
left our lives they may not meanto be with us all the time
They've served a purpose andit's really taking in that
purpose when they're with us.
And if you manage to have thoselifetime long friends, nurture
(38:25):
them because they are soessential.
The memories, the cherishedmoments, you know, and that
takes work.
I can't even be aware, butSomewhere I've written about
According to, how many hours youspend with a person just
indicates of how close they areto you.
(38:46):
Like, if you spend 10 hourswith a person in your life, it's
just an acquaintance.
To have a good friend, you needto spend more than 200 hours
with them, you know, and that issomebody who will become a
lifelong friend.
So it really shows that youhave to put in that effort.
And it's not effort becauseyou're feeding yourself as well,
you know you're not justlooking after them.
(39:07):
It's definitely two-way traffic.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Yeah, and I've never heard that study before.
But I find that veryinteresting that it's 200 hours,
because it just goes to showyou that it is work and it does
take time to build thoserelationships.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Yeah, I've actually just found it.
It's by Dr Ranjan Chatterjee.
He has a whole lot to do aboutstressing the situation and your
microbiome, with your health ofyour gut and so on, and he was
the person that wrote that 50hours is just a casual friend,
90 hours is a friend and 200hours is a close friend.
(39:46):
So it shows how much time weneed to establish those really
important relationships.
Yeah, and it's making theeffort to do that and, as again
it's.
He says a quote.
He says you can't begin to knowsomeone unless you breathe the
same air as them.
And I think that is a lovelything to say because it shows
(40:08):
that, yes, texting is grand,zooming is grand, but it
actually takes being in the sameroom with them, in the same
space.
And that connection, that heartconnection, is what feeds our
soul, what makes the world goaround.
In my opinion, I would be lostwithout my friends.
But I know there are people whodon't have those close
(40:30):
friendships.
And you know what?
If you don't have those closefriendships, then find a hobby
where there's like-minded people, whether that's a book club or
volunteering for something.
You know park runs, you knowpeople running together in parks
is another thing that's soessential for just putting you
(40:51):
in a good mood.
And if you're not a runner,then go and volunteer by handing
out the water or whatever it isin those places that you're
still with that mood, thatenvironment.
Because park runs are all aboutconnection.
They're not actually about justgetting fit, it's about being
in a like-minded community withone goal in mind, or two goals
(41:13):
in mind.
You know, meeting up withpeople as one is trying to get
healthy at the same time.
You know so if you don't havethose super friends that you can
just call on any time, getinvolved.
Get involved with somethingthat brings passion into your
life and that will give you aheart and your spirituality the
food that it needs.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Yeah, and I think volunteering is such a great way
to really feel like you'reserving the world but you're
also doing something really good.
It makes you feel so, so good.
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up, because for me I know
that's something I'm verypassionate about is volunteering
, and I think it's getting intothe space that you connect to
(41:58):
that really allows you to getthat energy and want to be part
of it and do for it.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
So it's actually a terrible thing to say because
it's a selfish thing to do foryou, because making you feel
good, so you as much as you'rehelping others, it's, it's
making you feel great and itgives you a sense of self-worth.
And when you give to others,honestly, I don't know about you
, but whenever I've donesomething nice for a friend or I
(42:24):
volunteered, I I'm flying.
You know, I feel so good aboutmyself.
I feel like I'm I'm purposeful,I'm being kind and, yeah, I'm
being kind.
People like me today.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
You know, not that we should give our lives and how
people like you or not, but itjust gives you a sense of
meaning and a sense of purposeand performance really yeah,
yeah, I love, I love all thatand I know you talked about the
meditation, of course exerciseyour connections and also sleep,
(43:02):
and sleep, I think, issomething that we probably
should revisit, because a lot ofpeople, when they're really,
really stressed, they can't turnthat inner loop in their brain
off, because they're constantlyreliving something that happened
during the day, or maybethey're living in a place where
(43:23):
they're uncertain of what'shappening in the future and just
trying to answer a whole bunchof questions that they may not
have answers to.
So what would be some advicearound helping people to have
self-care but also get the sleepthat the body needs?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
okay, well, essentially, the first thing I
want to say is that it's routine.
You've got to establish a goodsleep routine and that involves
going to bed at the same timeevery night and waking up at the
same time, and also having anight ritual where you are
following the same steps everynight that allow your body to
(44:04):
realize that it's time to go tosleep.
So, for instance, as I said,you know if you can not eat two
hours before you go to bed, it'sthe first thing, because when
your digestion and yourdigestive tract is empty, that's
when the repairing can occurand sleep will come easier to
(44:24):
you.
Okay, limiting your screen timeat night.
You know if you can go flyingat about seven o'clock at night,
so your brain has time toswitch off.
Because with the screen time wehave an exposure to blue light,
and I'm sure a lot of peopleare starting to become aware of
this.
But blue light stops yourproduction of a monocle,
(44:48):
menotone, and menotone isbasically your sleep hormone.
Okay, so when you've got bluelight, it thinks it's daylight,
so it won't release it, so youwon't fall asleep.
If you cannot avoid stayingaway from screens and everything
during night because your jobdepends on it, or whatever your
reasons may be, then there's asuggestion that you can get blue
light blocking glasses thatwill still allow you to produce
(45:12):
the menotone but block out therays that are causing the
problem.
If you are one of those peoplethat like to watch TV to relax
at night, ideally I would liketo try and say try and do
something else, like taking ahot bath, reading, journaling.
You know, brain dumping, as wecall it.
You know, if you, if there areall those things that are on
(45:33):
your mind, they're reallyconcerning you, put them down on
paper, get them out of yourhead, and that way you got to
reduce the overwhelming sense ofurgency.
With them you'll be able toprioritize.
But if you are a person wholikes to watch TV and you need
to put a light behind your TV,that will prevent eye strain and
that will prevent headachesbefore you go to bed as well,
(45:57):
and avoid stimulants beforebedtime.
So obviously, stop drinkingcoffee by four o'clock in the
afternoon.
That should be the last timeyou have a cup of coffee.
Doing aerobic exercise duringthe day, even as little as 10
minutes a day can improve yoursleep quality.
So even maybe after your dinner, go out for a 10 minute walk.
(46:18):
Being a nature, nature has Ican't remember what they called
something we're there for.
Basically, every single part ofnature has patterns that your
brain recognizes, which thebrain finds soon, which will
immediately help you to relaxwhen you go to bed and expose
yourself to natural light everyday.
So at lunchtime or in themorning, just get out for 10
(46:42):
minutes just to expose yourselfto the sunshine, because again
that's gonna help with yourvitamin D, it's gonna help with
yours.
So return and being released,so again that's gonna help you
to sleep at night.
And then having a bedtimeroutine where you have a warm
bath or a shower, you stretchfor maybe five minutes before
you go to bed, you meditate yourjournal and you write down your
(47:06):
successes of the day.
I think that's a very importantthing to do because, as much as
the next day may feeloverwhelming and you may feel
anxious about what's gonna bedone tomorrow and all the things
that you have to do, write downyour successes, because that's
gonna give you a huge sense ofaccomplishment and relief.
And so small things like Imanaged to have a five-minute
(47:27):
conversation with my partnertonight.
I got that task done at work.
I cooked a great dinner.
I got the washing done.
Whatever it is, no matter howstupid it is, it's all those
things that we never pack notbacks for, and it's those little
things that we need tocelebrate our lives because you
made the time and it was work.
Everything's working.
Juggling life as a juggle act.
(47:48):
You know we're constantlyjuggling so much.
So, yes, write down, and Ithink that is something I need
to be doing more of myself.
I'm great at the gratitude inthe morning, not so great at
success at night, and I'm reallytrying to teach myself to do
that now.
So those are little things thatyou can do.
And one last thing is sleepingin a cool house of about 60 to
(48:10):
67 degrees.
That is where you can attainoptimum sleep, and that causes a
lot of fights.
Yes, that's why this is whatsome these heaters, language and
beds and stuff are so brilliant, when there's two controls and
one can be hot and one can becold.
Yeah, it does actually.
(48:30):
Apparently, my temperatureneeds change according during
the month.
The next day I'm absolutelyoverheating and I need all the
windows flung open.
Drives my husband.
Yeah, I agree with you thosearguments, but if you can sleep
in a cool room, you will get abetter quality sleep.
(48:54):
Avoiding alcohol before sleep isanother essential thing,
because as much as it makes yousleepy and jazzy, it is also a
stimulant.
So in the middle of the nightit's gonna wake you up and
that's gonna be you awake forthe rest of the night, and then
you're gonna wake up the nextmorning feeling groggy, tired.
You're gonna have more caffeinethroughout the day, which is
then again, it's gonna cause astimulant.
You'll be all wired up from theday.
(49:14):
Then you'll need more alcohol.
So, yeah, just try.
I'm not gonna say removealcohol from your diet, because
you know we all need certainthings and we have behaviors for
certain reasons, but if you canjust reduce what you're doing
in order to instill new goodhabits and something that we
(49:34):
haven't really addressed yet,which I'd like to do it because
it's finding your why and all ofthis.
Yes, we've given you all thesetools as to you know, things
that you can do to help yourselffeel more in control, feel more
resilient to your everydaystresses.
(49:55):
But instilling new good habitswhen the bad habits are easier
to do.
Why do you want to do them?
Why are you wanting to instillthis change?
You need to look inside andfind out what your trigger is
(50:15):
and how you want to change it,and a lovely exercise is to ask
yourself a question.
What shall we ask ourselves,kathy Shall, we?
Why do I want to sleep better?
Maybe that's the question,considering we're talking about
this topic, because, okay.
So why do I want to sleepbetter?
(50:35):
Because I want to be moreproductive in my work.
Why do I want to be moreproductive in my work?
Because I want to show my bosswhat I'm capable of?
Why do I want to show my bossthat I'm capable of doing
something?
Or because I want a promotion?
Why do I want a promotion?
Because I want to earn more formy kids.
Why do I want to earn more formy kids?
(50:56):
Because I want to give them thefuture they deserve Now, hell,
that's a good reason to wake upand have a better sleep routine,
isn't it?
So if you can introspect likethat to find out why you want to
do something, you're morelikely to stick to it.
If you just think, right, Ijust want to sleep better, just
because, well, I just want tosleep better, you're not going
to stick to it.
You're going to stay up latewatching TV.
You're going to have thatbottle of wine before you go to
(51:17):
bed.
You're not going to journal.
You're going to be going to bedwith your mind actually buzzing
with everything you've donetoday as well as everything you
have to do tomorrow.
You're not going to sleep well,but if you know why you want to
do it, then you will make surethat you do.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
Yeah, that's powerful right there, because it
identifies your authentic space,your authentic self.
And then what a greater freeingplace to be than that, because
that's you.
So that's a wonderful place tobe.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
You can ask yourself any question and you can really
find out what your answer is.
Write them down.
Ask yourself the question seventimes or five times, but keep
asking it until you get to thereal reason why you want to do
something.
And that is the way you'llstick to it.
And whatever issues you have inlife, you keep asking yourself
(52:12):
why.
Then you'll be able to findyour answer and move on and you
will stick to it.
It's powerful.
It's powerful to know yourpurpose of, why you want to work
hard, why you want to earn moremoney, why you want to have a
healthier body, why you want tohave a healthy mind, why you
want to instill good habits, whyyou want to progress in life.
(52:35):
You will find the answer.
Why not just a random statementof, yeah, I want to do better?
It's good to know why, and alot of us don't know our whys.
Speaker 1 (52:44):
We're really good and the beauty of knowing your whys
.
It allows you to plan forwhat's ahead, your future, so
you can take, you can live inthe present, but then you can
also plan for your future byknowing your why, and that's a
beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (53:02):
So many people sleep all through life, so many people
don't have a plan in theirlives and I would even say about
a year ago I was one of them.
I just thought life was justyou take a day by day, you try
and do the best you can.
Yes, you want to get thepromotion, the job or you want
to start a business, but I hadno ultimate goals.
I mean, my goals now are sopinpoint that I have specific
(53:24):
days, that dates actually, thatI want to have accomplished
certain things.
So getting a clear idea of whatyou want out of life is where
you want out of life, and justmake sure you get there.
Speaker 1 (53:39):
Yeah, yeah, I.
Everything about thisparticular segment has been so
powerful because there's just somany things that the audience
can take and use, like today,which is amazing because today
is what you have.
It's today, so being able totake something and feel less
(54:01):
stress, just knowing thatthere's so many things that are
ahead that you can plan for.
And, yes, sometimes things aregoing to go wrong, and that's
okay too, because that's justpart of the process but having a
positive mindset and having adirection and having a goal
these things are all very keyand instrumental, as well as the
(54:25):
connectedness and as well, asyou know, going inward and
taking care of yourself anddoing all of these things.
The blessings that unfold areastounding when you start to
implement change, and I thinkpart of what people are so
afraid of is what they don'tknow.
And I would say to those peoplejust trust, trust yourself,
(54:51):
trust that you do have this andthat you are your best friend as
far as this process goes, andtrust that it's going to be okay
and as you go through thesechanges.
It's going to be okay becauseon the other side of this, your
life is just going to be moreabundantly beautiful, living in
a state of calm and with peace.
(55:12):
So I think all of these toolsare just so powerful.
I can this and just you knowtalking through these tools for
our audience.
There's just so so much hereand it's just so powerful.
And I'll ask you again today Idon't know if you have a
different message, but if I wereto pick up your earth angel
(55:33):
feather off the ground, whatwould your message to the world
be?
Speaker 2 (55:39):
Kind to yourself.
Kindness starts with you, andwe are the last people that
we're kind to.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Oh, my goodness, I felt that, I totally felt that,
because that is so, so true,it's so true.
So, thank you so much.
And again, if the audiencewants to connect with you, how
can we reach you?
Speaker 2 (56:05):
Again, it's just www thriving dash with arthritis,
sorry, thriving dash with dasharthritiscom.
And they can email me atCandice, at thriving dash with
dash arthritiscom.
Speaker 1 (56:24):
Thank you, thank you.
I'm so filled with gratitudeand I just I'm looking forward
to having more conversationswith you in the future, and you
know, it's just been such ablessing.
So, from this side of the worldto your side of the world, so
much gratitude and love, andthank you again for kicking off
this retreat to peaceinternational platform Just as a
(56:49):
humanitarian effort to just tryto wrap our arms around the
world and help people that arereally, you know, in a place of
suffering or just need someguidance and reassurance and
some help.
So so much gratitude, candice,thank you.
Speaker 2 (57:05):
Well, I thank you so much and I've honestly loved
every moment of this.
I'm so passionate about thistopic and, again, your efforts
to bring relief to those who arereally struggling at the moment
is so amazing.
I can't applaud you enough forwhat you do, and if there is
anything else I can do where Ican help, again, please don't
(57:28):
hesitate to ask, because I wouldlove to.
It would be amazing.
Speaker 1 (57:34):
It definitely.
I definitely see morecollaboration in the future, for
us for sure.
Brilliant, so thank you.
So that's all we have time fortoday.
This is Catherine Daniels, withRetreat to Peace, reminding you
to live your authentic lifewith peace, and we will see you
next time and, as always,retreat to Peace.
Hey you, wherever you are in the world right now.
Thank you so much for beinghere with me.
We know that we live in somevolatile times and we know that
the world is changing.
So let's create a bridge as wetravel through one another's
countries, removing all thelabels, coming together as one
people finding our home in oneworld.
(01:02):
And as we do this, this is whyour signature talk today is so
important.
Grow through what you gothrough with self-care, and this
will be a part two of ourepisode last time, so settle in
as we jump right in.
I'm so excited to again welcomemy guest speaker, candace Winter
(01:23):
.
Hi, candace, hi, great to behere, thank you so much, and
this topic is so, so important,so I'm so glad that we're
getting back together again toaddress it.
I know last time we talked a lotin generalalities in regards to
how to take care of ourselvesand we address different kinds
(01:45):
of things, you know, just on ahigh level.
But today I thought we wouldjust take a deeper dive in
having these conversations onwhat are some practical tools
that people can actually usetoday that can help them to
really dive in and get a bettergrasp on how to take care of
themselves with self-care.
(02:06):
So I know in our conversationsoffline, we've had some
wonderful dialogue around somereally great ideas and tools
that I think is so powerful forthe world to hear.
So you're the perfect person toshare this with the audience
and I'm just really excited toget started.
(02:26):
So I know last time we talked,like I said, in generalalities,
so let's just get right intothis and talk a little bit.
You know again about this mind,body and spirit connection with
self-care and, as we do thiswith our bodies, what are some
(02:47):
tools that we can do that willhelp our bodies?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Well, first of all, this is a topic that I am so
passionate about.
I believe that it is the waythat we can conduct our lives
with resilience and being ableto manage stress with ease and
not leaving things overwhelming.
And, yes, as much as it's sucha big topic, it's also so simple
(03:13):
to do.
You know, it's adding thelittle things in your life that
will end up just leading intoall other areas of your life.
That will just make everythingso much more manageable and
easier and just simply take thestress out of stress.
You know we can never removestress, we can never stop it
from coming, but there are justso many little things we can do
(03:35):
to that will just make it allthat much easier.
So simple things that I've gotyou know, that you can do is
your morning routine, which wecan dive into a little bit more
today finding something thatwould give you energy.
You know people talk aboutfinding their passion.
You know nobody can find theirpassion.
(03:56):
It is something that gives youenergy from within, so you need
to find something that you enjoy.
A lot of people don't know whatthat is.
Maybe it's dancing in yourbedroom, maybe it is joining a
book club or a sports club orsomething where you can find
people who have a commoninterest to get excited about
the same things that you do.
That put the fire into yoursoul.
(04:16):
Something as simple as thatEating and drinking for your
health.
You know the what you put intoyour body affects your mood so
much.
There is scientific evidence toback this up.
And yet making smalladjustments to what you eat can
massively improve your mood,remove depression, give you
(04:36):
energy.
So instead of trying to surviveon energy drinks and coffee and
sweets and snacks, you canreally find the energy that
you're looking for.
Journaling gratitude brings youso many good things, just
writing three good things a day.
I know I'm probably justspiraling out of control here,
because I do.
(04:57):
I'm just so on fire with thistopic.
But simply, you know, by havingyour gratitude you end up being
more productive.
It gives you confidence, itinstills a sense of peace.
You know and we can go furtherinto how to do this Breathing.
Breathing totally switches offall the stress signals in your
(05:19):
body and it's something that'sso simple to do.
Confidence again what you chooseto think about and what you
choose to believe.
The brain cannot decipherwhat's reality and what's not.
So if you are saying littlemantras to yourself every day,
(05:39):
all day long, your brainactually begins to believe it
and you will begin to believewhat you're saying to yourself.
We're so good at negative talkand we believe everything
negative about ourselves.
Why can we not convinceourselves to believe the good
things about ourselves?
It takes time, it takes work.
Yes, we know about meditation.
(05:59):
Clearing the mind really helpsto expand and open the mind to
receiving great ideas.
It initializes creativity.
It also, yet again, instills asense of peace, because we're so
used to thinking about so manythings at once that when we try
and clear our mind, we canreally prioritize.
Exercise, yes, exercise.
(06:20):
Everybody knows you need toexercise.
You need to get healthy, getfit.
You need to know why.
Why is it so essential for yourmental health to do that?
And it's not running a marathon, it's not suddenly becoming a
bodybuilder, it's just doingsomething that is so easy to do.
That will massively change howyou feel about yourself.
(06:42):
Spirituality, connections withother people, connection with
friends nurturing friendship ishugely important for helping
with depression.
Sleep Sleep is so important, ithas so many great benefits and
I want to go into how to get agood sleep routine that you can
(07:04):
again find sleep without pain,at least sleeping tablets and
anything that's going to knockyou out watching TV late at
night or drinking alcohol tohelp you fall asleep, which
eventually just wakes you up inthe night, and it's just a
spiral that can be changed.
And if you just do littlethings we're not asking you to
(07:26):
do these huge, massive changes,it's doing the smallest things
that will eventually lead tobetter habits, because
everything that we do in life isa habit and if we can change
the negative habits that are nothelping us, although we're
doing them to help us you canjust change how you feel.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, and that's quite a list.
I mean, right off the top, yourattled off, I think, about
seven things.
This is what the audience needs.
Are these tools?
So I just want to go back towhere you started with the food.
(08:07):
So I know, everybody knows thisthat what they put into their
bodies is so important, becauseif you're eating junk, you're
going to feel like junk.
So if you're eating healthy,you're going to feel healthy.
But I think it's important toremind people that what they do
put into their bodies is really,really important.
So, drinking a lot of waterright now, just removing the
(08:32):
toxins from our bodies, is soimportant, because when you're
going through a very stressfultime, you don't want to be
taking in alcoholic beveragesconsistently and things like
that, because you do want yourbody to be as strong as possible
all the time, right?
So, additional to that, arethere any?
(08:53):
So when you think of foods,like, are there any suggestions
of foods that help maybealleviate, you know, chronic, I
don't know like things likeillness or depression or
different kinds of things?
So if we could take a deeperdive into this topic, that would
be great, okay.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So first of all, I want to explain that your food
directly affects your mood Okay,and not simply with what people
expect, with the sugar highsand lows that you would get from
eating sugary junk food.
It's essentially you need to beeating food that stimulates
(09:34):
good bacteria in your gut,because this bacteria ends up
being related to your immunesystem, which is connected to
your brain, which then gives youyour mental health.
Now there are certain when youeat sugar and alcohol and really
high calorie but nutritionallydeficient food, you are
(09:58):
increasing the inflammation inyour body.
Now we're not talking about aswollen joint where there is
proper inflammation.
We're just talking aboutgeneral inflammation where your
body is out of sync, your levelsare imbalanced and, as a result
, your gut breaks down.
(10:19):
It's got this membranethroughout your gut which is
protective.
It's almost it's tied into yourimmune system and when that
membrane is broken down, itallows these substances into
your gut which then affect yourgeneral health, increases
inflammation.
So when you're eating correctly,the proper foods, you're
(10:39):
keeping your gut healthy, youare helping your good bacteria
to flourish, which helps withyour digestion, your immune
system, and all of that and thewonderful side effect of all of
that is that it put you in agood mood.
So eating good foods is goingto help to remove depression,
which is obviously a massive, Iwould say pandemic that so many
(11:03):
of us are experiencing at themoment.
So I have a list of nine foodsthat are really important to
include in your diet as much asyou can.
Fatty fish, obviously high inyour omega-3s.
These are essential fats thatyour body needs and it improves
(11:23):
your brain's cell membranefluidity, so it improves your
brain development and the cellsignal, the yeah, the signaling
that goes through in your brain.
That is why your omega-3s areso important.
It really helps with the wholenervous system.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Okay, can you?
Can you have a supplement, andwill that be okay, or does it
have to be from fish?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
It is better to get it from fish.
I mean, obviously, if there'sno other way.
If you ask the one of thosepeople that, oh no, I don't eat
fish and I will nevercontemplate eating fish, then
yes, please do get supplements,but obviously proper, you know,
clean food is the best thing togo for.
I mean, everyone's differentfor me.
Supplements I don't dosupplements.
(12:05):
I believe that your diet is iswhere everything should come
from.
But obviously there arebrilliant supplements out there.
If you you can't get your handson them, so do what suits you.
But omega-3s are very importantand again, they're important
for your you know yourinflammation in your body.
Funny enough, dark chocolate isanother good mood boosting food
(12:31):
to be taking in.
It's got mood boostingcompounds.
It increases blood flow to thebrain, it reduces inflammation,
it improves your brain healthand mood regulation.
So who wouldn't want to eatdark chocolate?
Now, I'm not talking about milkchocolate or white chocolate
has to be dark chocolate.
But at least you know again,it's a treat, but a healthy one.
(12:54):
So you can kind of get yourmind wrapped about that.
One Another really importantthing to be eating is fermented
foods.
They're very much yourprobiotics.
So if you can get things intoyour diet like sauerkraut,
kimchi I don't know if anyonehas heard of kimchi before.
It's basically fermentedcabbage that would be very
popular.
People would eat it in SouthKorea.
(13:15):
I was there last year and Ipractically looked on the stuff.
Yogurt, kefir, kombucha allthose things stimulate healthy
bacteria in your gut whichincrease your serotonin levels.
It improves your mood, reducesyour stress response.
It stimulates your appetite,your sexual drive.
(13:37):
90% of the body serotonin isproduced from your butt
microdial, microfire, I'm sorry.
So it is really, reallyimportant to get those
probiotics in your system.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait Back up.
Why did you just?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
say that Basically.
You know when you have goodbacteria in your body it has
everything going on for you.
So, yes, it improves your mood,it reduces your stress, it
gives you good appetite control,it increases sexual drive and
90% of the body serotonin isproduced in the gut.
(14:14):
So it really pays to eat.
I'm not a fan of sauerkraut andI'm trying to force myself to
like it because I know now thathealth benefits outweigh the
taste.
But it's really an importantthing to do and to take maybe a
teaspoon of sauerkraut in yourdiet today, like for all the
benefits, why not?
You know, I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Okay, is it okay to put a little brown sugar on it
or something like that, Just soyou can taste it.
You know, make it palatable.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
No, I mean, you know if you can, if you can hide it
in your diet in any way that youknow makes it more.
I mean, yogurt's an easy way toget good bacteria into your diet
, obviously, and antibioticsthat's where antibiotics come in
.
You know, antibioticsdefinitely have their place in
there Very necessary, but theyare overprescribed and if you
think about how it can reallyimpact your healthy bacteria
(15:10):
which is common knowledge,everyone knows that you know
you've got to really make surethat you know you do need the
antibiotics before we go andconsume them.
You know, I think sometimes wejust go for antibiotics because
you know it's the done thing andyou know there's this fear of
(15:32):
antibiotics losing theirefficacy, you know.
So, yes, again, you're going tobe boosting your immune system
if you're eating right, sothat'll also, you know, ensure
the less need of meetingantibiotics.
So, yes, bananas Bananas aregreat mood shifters.
(15:54):
They do have sugar which isgoing to give you energy.
They've got vitamin B6 andfiber and they improve the mood.
So if you need some moodboosting or some quick pick me
up, bananas are a really goodway to go.
Oats are really good.
They release a stable amount.
You know they're sorry, I'mgetting my words twisted here.
(16:16):
They release sugar gradually.
You don't have your up anddowns, with your highs and your
lows, and it decreases moodswings and irritability.
So it's a really good thing tohave in your diet.
Berries they're antioxidants,they reduce inflammation,
(16:38):
they're associated withimproving depression and other
mood disorders.
So berries, strawberries,raspberries, blueberries,
blackberries you know theyreally are essential in your
diet.
Oats and seeds they'rebrilliant.
They have amino acids that helpproduce serotonin.
So a handful of nuts a day,brilliant thing to have.
(17:03):
Coffee Coffee increases youralertness and your attention, so
you don't have thatoverwhelming fatigue where you
want to go and reach for thesugar.
It improves yourneurotransmitters such as
dopamine and norepinephrine.
So it really is a goodstimulant.
Obviously not too much,everything in moderation.
But having your one or two cupsof coffee a day is actually
helpful for your mood.
(17:24):
Beans and lentils your vitaminssimply helps with mood
disorders, depression.
So the most important thing istrying to get your rainbow of
five fruits of each a day,Essentially if you can try and
eat within a 12-hour window.
(17:46):
So if you wake up at seven, haveyour breakfast at seven, but
you finished eating by 7pm thatevening, you do your gut a huge
favor by giving it a break fromfood.
That's where it repairs, it,restores it, improves your
immune function, you know.
So I don't want to call itfasting because it's not fasting
(18:07):
, but if you can just eat yourmeals within a 12-hour window,
again, you will massivelyimprove the health of your gut
and therefore your mood.
Okay, what else can I say?
Depression, you know they feel,has come and as a result of
increased inflammation.
So, even if you have a, they'vediscovered that if you have
(18:31):
high inflammation levels in yourbody, antidepressants aren't
going to work.
You know you actually need yourdiet to be good Diets.
Inflammation is affected bydiet.
Sleep, exercise, stress, lackof sun all of those can bring on
(18:53):
excess inflammation.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Yes, so let me ask you about inflamaitos.
Tomatoes and eggplant All ofthose are inflammation foods
that cause inflammation in thebody and wheat and wheat, okay.
So now would you recommendremoving that from your diet, or
is that something you shouldstill keep in your diet, because
(19:19):
I know there's a lot ofbenefits to tomatoes and peppers
For me personally.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
I have arthritis that we spoke about last year and I
have removed all of that from mydiet.
I don't eat any of those and,as a result, my body as well,
you know.
I have no pain anymore.
I don't feel like I have themood swings anymore.
So, as much as I love tomatoesI really do love tomatoes it was
(19:55):
hard to do, but now it's doneand again being pain-free and
having energy and being in agood mood and sleeping well.
Yes, for me, yes, but that's atotally personal opinion.
I don't eat sugar, I don't eatwheat.
I do eat, drink coffee.
(20:18):
Now, that is my weakness, I'mafraid, and that is something
that I would like to stillreduce and possibly get rid of
out of my diet.
But no, I would say, if you canremove those.
It is hard the first couple ofweeks, but again you will start
to feel the health benefits andthen you'll no longer crave it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Yeah, and I think it's just a process.
You just kind of wean yourselffrom it, like you said, and
takes a little bit of time.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Exactly.
Dairy and sugar is anotherthing.
You know that I've cut out ofmy diet, so finding your calcium
from other ingredients is veryimportant, you know, for me.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
So where do you get calcium from?
If you've removed dairy, Isthat coming from yogurt?
I mean where else?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well, yogurt is still dairy.
So that is a supplement that Iwould take, because calcium is
obviously very important.
And spinach, you know I wouldeat a lot of spinach in my diet.
So yeah, I actually don't havea perfect answer for you for
that one, let me just see.
(21:30):
So yeah, your green leafyvegetables, like I have, shakes
smoothies should I say notshakes smoothies every day of
kale and spinach, that is whereI would get most of mine,
obviously in your lentils and soon.
Your beans, your pulses, yoursardines.
(21:53):
Sardines are also a very goodsource of calcium sorry, trying
to find my words there Fortifiedcereals as well.
You know they would havecalcium in them.
So cereals again, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't eat a lot of it,
but it is in there.
(22:14):
There are different ways otherthan dairy to get your calcium
definitely.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, and is there, is there anything else that you
would suggest our audience touse, as far as anything with
food or with supplements oranything like that, that can
help, you know, boost their moodor the state that they're in,
you know, if they're feeling off, or whatever.
(22:41):
You know people are, people areall different, so I'm not sure,
I think, I think, the recipe isdifferent for everybody, but I
do agree that your, your basic,foundational, you know, approach
of taking care of the body isso, so important.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
But is there anything else that you would suggest I'm
trying to think of any specificfoods.
I mean, funny enough, when I'mreally eating comfort food I
make myself a bowl of porridgeand a banana.
You know, and I do.
I feel that lovely sense ofsatiation where my tummy feels
warm and full and knowing thatagain it's, it's healthy.
(23:21):
You know, I put some sunflowerseeds in there, so it's got the
crunch and it's got thesweetness and it's got the, the
energy in it.
That, for me, is my go-tocomfort food.
I know that sounds probablyridiculous.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
No, I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
But it is because it's so gooey when you're eating
it and it's warm and you justfeel so full afterwards and it's
.
It's also such a good feelingof you know.
Yeah, I, I went to a nice bigbowl of porridge, but you don't
feel like you've cheatedyourself, you know.
So, yeah, I don't know why thatcame to my head, but that is,
(23:54):
that is what is coming to me.
I, I love dark chocolate.
I don't eat a lot of it and itreally, you know, for anyone who
does eat normal chocolate, youknow how good you feel
afterwards, where you've justindulged, but at the same time
you don't get that massive dropafter eating normal chocolate,
(24:15):
you know.
So you're gonna feel good andit's really rich.
So the taste, you don't eat asmuch as you usually do with all
the other chocolates.
So, yeah, I would say, porridgeand dark chocolate, yeah,
Anyway, yes.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
No, I love it.
So, the, so the, the body youknow to give it, the good food
is, is wonderful.
Let's move into a little bitmore around.
You know this mind piece of itand the spirit piece of it as
far as the self-care.
So I know we talked aboutjournaling.
That was something that wetalked about last time.
(24:52):
I know last time we also talkedabout the breathing and just,
you know counting the breath,you know counting in for four,
holding it for four, you knowexpelling it for four, just
taking that time to do thebreathing One of the things you
have to remind yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
that's, that's something that's important,
because we will forget tobreathe.
So you know, makes you know,look at your watch, or when you
boil the kettle, or somethinglike that that you just,
whenever you do that particularaction that you remember, oh,
it's time to breathe, you know,and that will just keep you
balanced throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Yeah, and I, I love that technique because I just
think it's so important.
I don't think enough people doit often enough I talked a
little bit about in the lastsegment around.
You know when, when I would getupset about something my
grandmother would say count toten.
You know, and I it isunderstated as far as you know
(25:52):
how we need to do this breathingthroughout the day not just
when we're upset about something.
So I really appreciate thatmessage for the self-care
because it is something thathelps to release some of this
anxiety or whatever it is thatyou're feeling with the stress.
It just helps to get that outof the body, which is really
(26:13):
important.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And when you breathe, you give yourself time to think
with your logical brain as aopposed to your emotional brain.
So that is what's taking thetime to do that.
It's very, very important.
So, absolutely, breathing isvery important, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
And you talked about affirmations, and I think
affirmations are so powerful.
So, first thing in the morning,one of the things that I do is,
before I even open my eyes Iliterally just talked about this
in another segment Before Ieven open my eyes, I literally
just say thank you.
(26:52):
Those two words, thank you, oh,that's lovely, yeah, yeah.
And the reason I do that isbecause when you say thank you,
you're living in a space ofgratitude, and having gratitude
is so powerful and operatingfrom that space is so powerful
because you're not taking forgranted the mere fact that
(27:13):
you're alive or the gift thatyou have of today, because
that's all we have is today.
So you know, havingaffirmations to just remind
ourselves that we are here todayand in the present and we can
train our brain to think acertain way because, as you said
(27:34):
, our brain doesn't know realityversus what's not reality.
So even asking the question isit true?
Right now, I see so many peoplestruggling and one of the
questions I always find myselfasking is is that true?
And then trying to figure outwhether or not it's true.
(27:55):
And it could be that you knowwhat I'm thinking isn't
necessarily true, but it couldbe true to me, but it may not be
true in the sense of beingactually true, right.
So just questioning that.
But I think, as far as you knowthese affirmations just living
in a space of being present,being in the here and now, and
(28:20):
knowing that it's okay to be inthis space however you show up.
So if you're having a tough day, it's only a moment like it's
going to be something that willpass right, but you can help
yourself through it by givingyourself these positive
affirmations that you know,simply like this.
(28:40):
you can just tell yourself, likethis is not going to be forever
, you could tell yourself I willget to the other side of this,
and part of this process is Ihave to be uncomfortable in this
moment to get to the other side.
That is so true.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Funny enough, a while ago.
Oh gosh, there's actually anumber of things that I want to
say here.
A while ago I heard that lifeis a cycle, that everything
comes in seasons and that whenthings are going well for you,
you really need to enjoy it,because the time is going to
come.
When a storm is going to comeinto your life, it's not if it's
(29:20):
when.
And when the storm does comeinto your life, you have the
comfort of knowing it's notgoing to last, that the good
times are going to come again.
And that, for me, justresonated with me because it
made so much sense that we arealways going to go through these
cycles.
We're always going to havetimes where we have wonderful,
memorable moments, but thenwe're going to have times of
(29:42):
tragedy and sadness.
And the fact it makes youappreciate both, because you
understand that when things aregoing well, you really need to
savour the moment, celebrate,cherish, enjoy, make it
memorable.
But then, when the bad timescome, you know it's not going to
last forever.
It may last a while, but notforever, and those good times
(30:04):
will come again.
And that, to me, just gave methat sense of you know I can
cope, I can.
It gave me resilience.
It gave me an understandingthat you know we all expect to
lead these perfect lives, thatthere's never any trouble,
there's never hassles, there'snever sadness, there's never
tragedy.
That does not happen and whenyou can actually understand that
(30:25):
everybody has their storm.
It's just a part of life, youknow, and when the good times
are good, just love it.
Don't be stressed about.
When the bad times coming, livein that moment, because the bad
times all gonna come.
So the good times, so justwhenever you're in each of those
cycles, just be present.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, and it's interesting because the whole
world right now is experiencingthe sense of it's a bad time,
right, because our whole liveshave been turned upside down,
they've changed, and it's soimportant that, even though
things are different, it doesn'thave to be necessarily
(31:09):
quote-unquote.
A bad time Like it can be usedas a time To go inward and do
some healing work that maybe youhave neglected to do your
entire life because you were sobusy running to that job or
taking care of your kids, orMaybe just avoiding whatever it
(31:30):
was that you didn't want to workon within your own space, right
?
So some of that could be.
I just don't know what to dowith my life.
I don't know if I'm happy in mycareer or this relationship I'm
in, or how I'm living my life.
So maybe it's a time where it'snot a bad time but a time to do
(31:53):
the self-care, the self-work,the healing, so that when you're
on the other side and thingsare Different, that you're
showing up into the world, intointo the space that you're your
authentic self right?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Well, that's exactly.
Well.
That's what I want to say aswell Is that you know you could
actually take this time to makethe changes that you need to
make and, funny enough, peopleThink that you need to be really
motivated to make your goals,to Stick to your goals.
It's actually been proven thatthe best time to Make your goals
(32:32):
and have your motivation iswell, basically, is when your
motivation is non-existent.
That is the time when you canactually ensure change.
So it's not, you know, like aJanuary when you feel like,
right, I'm gonna quit alcoholand I'm gonna go and diet and
I'm gonna hit the gym, and it'swhen you're down and broken.
That is the time to make change, because that is where you it's
(32:55):
Going to pleasure or trying tostay away from pain.
That is where the motivation isand that's where you can
actually make the changes.
So this is actually the perfecttime, where everything is so
chaotic and everybody's lives.
This is a time to really, asyou say, figure out what you
want in your life and what youdon't want in your life and make
(33:17):
changes.
Feel like wait to make changes,tiny changes, not big changes.
Tiny, tiny changes, which willthen be the tiny stream that
leads to the river that needs tothe ocean.
You know, um, yeah, I thinkit's all about perspective.
It's all about point of view andif you can change your point of
(33:38):
view about how you feel aboutCOVID and how you feel about the
impact of what's happened,think of it as also a seed of
change.
This is the opportunity thatyou can make changes in your
life.
You know and again, it may bedifficult right now, but with
when things, when you do thethings that are hard I can't
(33:59):
remember who said this, but Iabsolutely love this quote when
you do the things in life thatare hard, life becomes easy.
When you do things that areeasy, life becomes hard.
So right now, you know, ifpeople can make the changes,
adopt new habits, we're gonnamake their lives easier and be
able to do it with.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
That's a that's a great quote.
I've not heard that before, butthat is a very, very powerful
quote.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
It really is.
I feel terrible that I can'tremember who said this.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
No, that's okay.
I mean, the fact that you'resharing it is wonderful, yeah,
and I think part of just goinginward to is, you know, to your
point, it can be small, it canbe very small as far as what it
is that you want to bring yourawareness to, but I think just
(34:49):
showing up in more of anauthentic space with not just
yourself, but with everybody inyour presence, right, so, as you
go through your walk, not onlyjust, you know, recognizing the
small things, but taking thatstep back and really taking it
(35:10):
in.
So, instead of just rushingthrough everything, maybe
actually pull back a little bitand be more present with the
person that you're with, likereally look them in the eye,
literally listen to what they'resaying, instead of allowing it
to just skim through your mindand not really hear the words or
take in what is behind, youknow, as far as what it is that
(35:33):
they're saying, strengthen yourrelationships.
I mean, this is a moment wherethe relationships in everyone's
life has been tested, in a sense, that you have not been able to
spend time with people.
So the time that you arespending even if it's, you know,
through a zoom meeting, becausea lot of families are getting
(35:54):
together via zoom because theycan't physically be together,
but take the time to reallyspend quality, quality time.
I think one of the the best andworst things that's ever
happened to our society istechnology.
I Mean, if I think back a yearago, any public place I would go
(36:17):
to, everybody was on theirphones, everybody you would see
small babies, children, adults,everybody, teenagers everybody
was on their phones.
But now it's been Put upon usthat we need technology to
connect with each other, butit's taken away the intimacy of
(36:39):
actually having ourrelationships.
So, if anything, allow yourselfto be more present in the small
things, and it doesn't matterwhat it is, just be more present
and mindful of the small things.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Is there anything else you'd want to add about
that Again, well, you know theysaid, what you are talking about
is the heart connection, thespirituality, and A huge,
massive part of that is ourconnection to other people.
That is who we stand for andthat is what we spoke about last
week.
But they've really come tounderstand that connection is
(37:10):
essential for depression andanxiety, and so physical
friendships and Relationshipsthat count for so much of our
mental health.
And yes, we do get tied up inour lives where we don't make
the contact that we should.
I mean, yes, we've got greatfriends but we just we don't
bother, because we don't Intentnot to bother, but we just get
(37:34):
so caught up in our own lives.
So if you can consciously everyday just reach out to someone,
if it's via text, if it'smeeting for a cup of coffee, if
it's going for a walk With thatperson and just speaking again,
you will notice such adifference in your state of mind
.
You know, connection Brings ona kinder world, a more
(37:58):
compassionate world, a moreloving world.
You know, and again, that iswhat we're all aiming for
through this.
So People come into your livesfor certain reasons.
You know, we don't alwaysunderstand, but once they've
left our lives they may not meanto be with us all the time
They've served a purpose andit's really taking in that
purpose when they're with us.
And if you manage to have thoselifetime long friends, nurture
(38:25):
them because they are soessential.
The memories, the cherishedmoments, you know, and that
takes work.
I can't even be aware, butSomewhere I've written about
According to, how many hours youspend with a person just
indicates of how close they areto you.
(38:46):
Like, if you spend 10 hourswith a person in your life, it's
just an acquaintance.
To have a good friend, you needto spend more than 200 hours
with them, you know, and that issomebody who will become a
lifelong friend.
So it really shows that youhave to put in that effort.
And it's not effort becauseyou're feeding yourself as well,
you know you're not justlooking after them.
(39:07):
It's definitely two-way traffic.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Yeah, and I've never heard that study before.
But I find that veryinteresting that it's 200 hours,
because it just goes to showyou that it is work and it does
take time to build thoserelationships.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Yeah, I've actually just found it.
It's by Dr Ranjan Chatterjee.
He has a whole lot to do aboutstressing the situation and your
microbiome, with your health ofyour gut and so on, and he was
the person that wrote that 50hours is just a casual friend,
90 hours is a friend and 200hours is a close friend.
(39:46):
So it shows how much time weneed to establish those really
important relationships.
Yeah, and it's making theeffort to do that and, as again
it's.
He says a quote.
He says you can't begin to knowsomeone unless you breathe the
same air as them.
And I think that is a lovelything to say because it shows
(40:08):
that, yes, texting is grand,zooming is grand, but it
actually takes being in the sameroom with them, in the same
space.
And that connection, that heartconnection, is what feeds our
soul, what makes the world goaround.
In my opinion, I would be lostwithout my friends.
But I know there are people whodon't have those close
(40:30):
friendships.
And you know what?
If you don't have those closefriendships, then find a hobby
where there's like-minded people, whether that's a book club or
volunteering for something.
You know park runs, you knowpeople running together in parks
is another thing that's soessential for just putting you
(40:51):
in a good mood.
And if you're not a runner,then go and volunteer by handing
out the water or whatever it isin those places that you're
still with that mood, thatenvironment.
Because park runs are all aboutconnection.
They're not actually about justgetting fit, it's about being
in a like-minded community withone goal in mind, or two goals
(41:13):
in mind.
You know, meeting up withpeople as one is trying to get
healthy at the same time.
You know so if you don't havethose super friends that you can
just call on any time, getinvolved.
Get involved with somethingthat brings passion into your
life and that will give you aheart and your spirituality the
food that it needs.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Yeah, and I think volunteering is such a great way
to really feel like you'reserving the world but you're
also doing something really good.
It makes you feel so, so good.
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up, because for me I know
that's something I'm verypassionate about is volunteering
, and I think it's getting intothe space that you connect to
(41:58):
that really allows you to getthat energy and want to be part
of it and do for it.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
So it's actually a terrible thing to say because
it's a selfish thing to do foryou, because making you feel
good, so you as much as you'rehelping others, it's, it's
making you feel great and itgives you a sense of self-worth.
And when you give to others,honestly, I don't know about you
, but whenever I've donesomething nice for a friend or I
(42:24):
volunteered, I I'm flying.
You know, I feel so good aboutmyself.
I feel like I'm I'm purposeful,I'm being kind and, yeah, I'm
being kind.
People like me today.
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
You know, not that we should give our lives and how
people like you or not, but itjust gives you a sense of
meaning and a sense of purposeand performance really yeah,
yeah, I love, I love all thatand I know you talked about the
meditation, of course exerciseyour connections and also sleep,
(43:02):
and sleep, I think, issomething that we probably
should revisit, because a lot ofpeople, when they're really,
really stressed, they can't turnthat inner loop in their brain
off, because they're constantlyreliving something that happened
during the day, or maybethey're living in a place where
(43:23):
they're uncertain of what'shappening in the future and just
trying to answer a whole bunchof questions that they may not
have answers to.
So what would be some advicearound helping people to have
self-care but also get the sleepthat the body needs?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
okay, well, essentially, the first thing I
want to say is that it's routine.
You've got to establish a goodsleep routine and that involves
going to bed at the same timeevery night and waking up at the
same time, and also having anight ritual where you are
following the same steps everynight that allow your body to
(44:04):
realize that it's time to go tosleep.
So, for instance, as I said,you know if you can not eat two
hours before you go to bed, it'sthe first thing, because when
your digestion and yourdigestive tract is empty, that's
when the repairing can occurand sleep will come easier to
(44:24):
you.
Okay, limiting your screen timeat night.
You know if you can go flyingat about seven o'clock at night,
so your brain has time toswitch off.
Because with the screen time wehave an exposure to blue light,
and I'm sure a lot of peopleare starting to become aware of
this.
But blue light stops yourproduction of a monocle,
(44:48):
menotone, and menotone isbasically your sleep hormone.
Okay, so when you've got bluelight, it thinks it's daylight,
so it won't release it, so youwon't fall asleep.
If you cannot avoid stayingaway from screens and everything
during night because your jobdepends on it, or whatever your
reasons may be, then there's asuggestion that you can get blue
light blocking glasses thatwill still allow you to produce
(45:12):
the menotone but block out therays that are causing the
problem.
If you are one of those peoplethat like to watch TV to relax
at night, ideally I would liketo try and say try and do
something else, like taking ahot bath, reading, journaling.
You know, brain dumping, as wecall it.
You know, if you, if there areall those things that are on
(45:33):
your mind, they're reallyconcerning you, put them down on
paper, get them out of yourhead, and that way you got to
reduce the overwhelming sense ofurgency.
With them you'll be able toprioritize.
But if you are a person wholikes to watch TV and you need
to put a light behind your TV,that will prevent eye strain and
that will prevent headachesbefore you go to bed as well,
(45:57):
and avoid stimulants beforebedtime.
So obviously, stop drinkingcoffee by four o'clock in the
afternoon.
That should be the last timeyou have a cup of coffee.
Doing aerobic exercise duringthe day, even as little as 10
minutes a day can improve yoursleep quality.
So even maybe after your dinner, go out for a 10 minute walk.
(46:18):
Being a nature, nature has Ican't remember what they called
something we're there for.
Basically, every single part ofnature has patterns that your
brain recognizes, which thebrain finds soon, which will
immediately help you to relaxwhen you go to bed and expose
yourself to natural light everyday.
So at lunchtime or in themorning, just get out for 10
(46:42):
minutes just to expose yourselfto the sunshine, because again
that's gonna help with yourvitamin D, it's gonna help with
yours.
So return and being released,so again that's gonna help you
to sleep at night.
And then having a bedtimeroutine where you have a warm
bath or a shower, you stretchfor maybe five minutes before
you go to bed, you meditate yourjournal and you write down your
(47:06):
successes of the day.
I think that's a very importantthing to do because, as much as
the next day may feeloverwhelming and you may feel
anxious about what's gonna bedone tomorrow and all the things
that you have to do, write downyour successes, because that's
gonna give you a huge sense ofaccomplishment and relief.
And so small things like Imanaged to have a five-minute
(47:27):
conversation with my partnertonight.
I got that task done at work.
I cooked a great dinner.
I got the washing done.
Whatever it is, no matter howstupid it is, it's all those
things that we never pack notbacks for, and it's those little
things that we need tocelebrate our lives because you
made the time and it was work.
Everything's working.
Juggling life as a juggle act.
(47:48):
You know we're constantlyjuggling so much.
So, yes, write down, and Ithink that is something I need
to be doing more of myself.
I'm great at the gratitude inthe morning, not so great at
success at night, and I'm reallytrying to teach myself to do
that now.
So those are little things thatyou can do.
And one last thing is sleepingin a cool house of about 60 to
(48:10):
67 degrees.
That is where you can attainoptimum sleep, and that causes a
lot of fights.
Yes, that's why this is whatsome these heaters, language and
beds and stuff are so brilliant, when there's two controls and
one can be hot and one can becold.
Yeah, it does actually.
(48:30):
Apparently, my temperatureneeds change according during
the month.
The next day I'm absolutelyoverheating and I need all the
windows flung open.
Drives my husband.
Yeah, I agree with you thosearguments, but if you can sleep
in a cool room, you will get abetter quality sleep.
(48:54):
Avoiding alcohol before sleep isanother essential thing,
because as much as it makes yousleepy and jazzy, it is also a
stimulant.
So in the middle of the nightit's gonna wake you up and
that's gonna be you awake forthe rest of the night, and then
you're gonna wake up the nextmorning feeling groggy, tired.
You're gonna have more caffeinethroughout the day, which is
then again, it's gonna cause astimulant.
You'll be all wired up from theday.
(49:14):
Then you'll need more alcohol.
So, yeah, just try.
I'm not gonna say removealcohol from your diet, because
you know we all need certainthings and we have behaviors for
certain reasons, but if you canjust reduce what you're doing
in order to instill new goodhabits and something that we
(49:34):
haven't really addressed yet,which I'd like to do it because
it's finding your why and all ofthis.
Yes, we've given you all thesetools as to you know, things
that you can do to help yourselffeel more in control, feel more
resilient to your everydaystresses.
(49:55):
But instilling new good habitswhen the bad habits are easier
to do.
Why do you want to do them?
Why are you wanting to instillthis change?
You need to look inside andfind out what your trigger is
(50:15):
and how you want to change it,and a lovely exercise is to ask
yourself a question.
What shall we ask ourselves,kathy Shall, we?
Why do I want to sleep better?
Maybe that's the question,considering we're talking about
this topic, because, okay.
So why do I want to sleepbetter?
(50:35):
Because I want to be moreproductive in my work.
Why do I want to be moreproductive in my work?
Because I want to show my bosswhat I'm capable of?
Why do I want to show my bossthat I'm capable of doing
something?
Or because I want a promotion?
Why do I want a promotion?
Because I want to earn more formy kids.
Why do I want to earn more formy kids?
(50:56):
Because I want to give them thefuture they deserve Now, hell,
that's a good reason to wake upand have a better sleep routine,
isn't it?
So if you can introspect likethat to find out why you want to
do something, you're morelikely to stick to it.
If you just think, right, Ijust want to sleep better, just
because, well, I just want tosleep better, you're not going
to stick to it.
You're going to stay up latewatching TV.
You're going to have thatbottle of wine before you go to
(51:17):
bed.
You're not going to journal.
You're going to be going to bedwith your mind actually buzzing
with everything you've donetoday as well as everything you
have to do tomorrow.
You're not going to sleep well,but if you know why you want to
do it, then you will make surethat you do.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
Yeah, that's powerful right there, because it
identifies your authentic space,your authentic self.
And then what a greater freeingplace to be than that, because
that's you.
So that's a wonderful place tobe.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
You can ask yourself any question and you can really
find out what your answer is.
Write them down.
Ask yourself the question seventimes or five times, but keep
asking it until you get to thereal reason why you want to do
something.
And that is the way you'llstick to it.
And whatever issues you have inlife, you keep asking yourself
(52:12):
why.
Then you'll be able to findyour answer and move on and you
will stick to it.
It's powerful.
It's powerful to know yourpurpose of, why you want to work
hard, why you want to earn moremoney, why you want to have a
healthier body, why you want tohave a healthy mind, why you
want to instill good habits, whyyou want to progress in life.
(52:35):
You will find the answer.
Why not just a random statementof, yeah, I want to do better?
It's good to know why, and alot of us don't know our whys.
Speaker 1 (52:44):
We're really good and the beauty of knowing your whys
.
It allows you to plan forwhat's ahead, your future, so
you can take, you can live inthe present, but then you can
also plan for your future byknowing your why, and that's a
beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (53:02):
So many people sleep all through life, so many people
don't have a plan in theirlives and I would even say about
a year ago I was one of them.
I just thought life was justyou take a day by day, you try
and do the best you can.
Yes, you want to get thepromotion, the job or you want
to start a business, but I hadno ultimate goals.
I mean, my goals now are sopinpoint that I have specific
(53:24):
days, that dates actually, thatI want to have accomplished
certain things.
So getting a clear idea of whatyou want out of life is where
you want out of life, and justmake sure you get there.
Speaker 1 (53:39):
Yeah, yeah, I.
Everything about thisparticular segment has been so
powerful because there's just somany things that the audience
can take and use, like today,which is amazing because today
is what you have.
It's today, so being able totake something and feel less
(54:01):
stress, just knowing thatthere's so many things that are
ahead that you can plan for.
And, yes, sometimes things aregoing to go wrong, and that's
okay too, because that's justpart of the process but having a
positive mindset and having adirection and having a goal
these things are all very keyand instrumental, as well as the
(54:25):
connectedness and as well, asyou know, going inward and
taking care of yourself anddoing all of these things.
The blessings that unfold areastounding when you start to
implement change, and I thinkpart of what people are so
afraid of is what they don'tknow.
And I would say to those peoplejust trust, trust yourself,
(54:51):
trust that you do have this andthat you are your best friend as
far as this process goes, andtrust that it's going to be okay
and as you go through thesechanges.
It's going to be okay becauseon the other side of this, your
life is just going to be moreabundantly beautiful, living in
a state of calm and with peace.
(55:12):
So I think all of these toolsare just so powerful.
I can this and just you knowtalking through these tools for
our audience.
There's just so so much hereand it's just so powerful.
And I'll ask you again today Idon't know if you have a
different message, but if I wereto pick up your earth angel
(55:33):
feather off the ground, whatwould your message to the world
be?
Speaker 2 (55:39):
Kind to yourself.
Kindness starts with you, andwe are the last people that
we're kind to.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Oh, my goodness, I felt that, I totally felt that,
because that is so, so true,it's so true.
So, thank you so much.
And again, if the audiencewants to connect with you, how
can we reach you?
Speaker 2 (56:05):
Again, it's just www thriving dash with arthritis,
sorry, thriving dash with dasharthritiscom.
And they can email me atCandice, at thriving dash with
dash arthritiscom.
Speaker 1 (56:24):
Thank you, thank you.
I'm so filled with gratitudeand I just I'm looking forward
to having more conversationswith you in the future, and you
know, it's just been such ablessing.
So, from this side of the worldto your side of the world, so
much gratitude and love, andthank you again for kicking off
this retreat to peaceinternational platform Just as a
(56:49):
humanitarian effort to just tryto wrap our arms around the
world and help people that arereally, you know, in a place of
suffering or just need someguidance and reassurance and
some help.
So so much gratitude, candice,thank you.
Speaker 2 (57:05):
Well, I thank you so much and I've honestly loved
every moment of this.
I'm so passionate about thistopic and, again, your efforts
to bring relief to those who arereally struggling at the moment
is so amazing.
I can't applaud you enough forwhat you do, and if there is
anything else I can do where Ican help, again, please don't
(57:28):
hesitate to ask, because I wouldlove to.
It would be amazing.
Speaker 1 (57:34):
It definitely.
I definitely see morecollaboration in the future, for
us for sure.
Brilliant, so thank you.
So that's all we have time fortoday.
This is Catherine Daniels, withRetreat to Peace, reminding you
to live your authentic lifewith peace, and we will see you
next time and, as always,retreat to Peace.
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