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Where does Negative Thinking Start?

The three most devastating negative thoughts are: I can’t, I won’t, I ain’t. These self-limiting beliefs are the triggers for unhappiness, procrastination, apathy and resentment – the cycle of failure.  There are three main causes for our self-limiting beliefs:

1. GRATIFICATION
   It’s human nature to run to that which will give us pleasure. But the need for instant gratification – ‘I Want It Now!’ leads to desensitization. We require more and more and more of that which used to give us pleasure, until we believe we will never be satisfied. By delaying gratification and savouring the rewards of our efforts, we can change our need for “I Want It Now!” and our negative expectations.

2. FEAR
   Fear can paralyze us and keep us in the cycle of failure for a lifetime. The truth is we are only born with three types of fear: The fear of falling, the fear of loud noises, and the fear of abandonment. That means every other fear is learned. When we face our I can’t, I won’t, I ain’t fears [fears such as ‘I can’t get better’, ‘I’ll never be well’ and ‘I’m not a healthy person’] we can start to unlearn them.

3. ISOLATION
   Time and again I see that people who believe “Life is a jungle,” are more stressed, illness-prone, unhappy, and unfulfilled. The reality is we are all dependent upon one another – from the smallest to the largest organisms on the planet. To isolate ourselves from this reality is to isolate ourselves from life itself. This cannot be healthy. When we change the destructive belief that life is a race, or survival of the fittest, we become in tune with the greater reality of interconnectedness.

Can we change fast?

Yes, of course we can change overnight. But what’s more likely is a gradual, willing change that slowly gathers momentum until a tipping point is reached: we wake up one morning thinking more positive thoughts than negative ones.
The most amazing change I see is when somebody who has been mired in self-limiting belief for most of their life starts saying, “I CAN do it!” and “I WILL do it!” and eventually, “I AM doing it!”
“I CAN! I WILL! I AM!” are very powerful words. I recommend you try them. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.

Love Heals

It has been scientifically proven that the feeling of being loved has a positive effect on health and wellbeing, especially medical recovery. A heart attack victim who feels loved and needed (and this is most evident in males) has a shorter recovery period and better long term outcome than someone who feels unloved and unwanted.
Dr. Scott Zarcinas is the founder of Unlocking Your Life seminars, and the author of Your Natural State of Being.

This story was commissioned by Goodlife Health Gyms.

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The power within

The most famous practitioner of inner-smile meditation is Grand Master Mantak Chia, who operates from the Tao Gardens Resort in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
From this idyllic base, Chia teaches the Universal Healing Tao, a self-help system for curing illness and stress and for enhancing all aspects of life. Its key concept is increasing the vital energy known as “chi”, through techniques such as inner-smile meditation and exercises such as tai chi. This life force energy is then circulated through the acupuncture meridians of the body and can help with health, vitality and balancing emotions as well as a range of creative and spiritual expressions.

It’s all in the energy

The inner smile started with the simple theory that, according to the Tao, different organs store different emotions and therefore organs have different energies.
The heart element is fire, which can activate anything. Love has fire energy, which is the most powerful energy. The first step in creating a loving energy involves picturing yourself smiling from the heart and radiating this love all around your body.
Chia says you can go into as much detail as you want or have time for. “Many people say: ‘I don’t have time to practise,’ but if you can improve your mind, body and spiritual level of energy, your mind will be clearer; you will be more physically fit; your work will take less time to accomplish and your emotions will be calmer.”

How to do the Inner-Smile Meditation

For best results, Grand Master Chia recommends you practise this meditation in the morning and at night before bed for improved sleep and mood. As with any new experience, consistent practice is important.
To begin the inner-smile meditation, sit comfortably on the edge of a chair with your palms on your knees. Straighten your spine, lifting it up from the top of your head. Then relax the muscles in your neck and throat.
Close your eyes. If you are tense, gently move your neck from side to side and take one or two deep breaths that fill your abdomen and chest, then slowly exhale.
Next, smile outwardly. It might be helpful to use a positive memory to evoke the feeling of joy. Once you have a grin on your face, it’s time to smile inwardly. Picture a smiley face in your mind. Bring the smile to the space between your eyebrows – your third eye or “yin tang” in Chinese medicine – and allow it to rest there for a few breaths.
Now take the smile and glide it in turn to each part of your body. You can imagine your body as hollow and the smile as a glowing ball of light filling every dark corner. Alternatively, you can picture every organ, tissue and bone smiling. If your smile gets stuck or fades at a tense or painful spot, breathe gently into that part of your body. Imagine inhaled breath moving into that area.
“Try to maintain the sensation of the inner smile throughout the day,” Chia says.
This article first appeared on bodyandsoul.com.au.

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Save yourself, save the world

The largest epidemiological study ever conducted (the China-Oxford-Cornell study) found that vegetarians and vegans have superior immune function and are far less likely to get diabetes, weight problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, breast cancer or osteoporosis. They also have more stamina.
What’s more, eating local and vegetarian saves more land, energy and water than any other green choice you can make. Sustainable eating is what this is all about.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” — Albert Einstein.

I love animals

Who doesn’t? In 2009 I started campaigning against animal cruelty. Eating meat made me a hypocrite. So, I stopped eating red meat and chicken as a month-long experiment. I didn’t think I’d last — omnivorous foodie that I was. But I got through a month and kept going.
“Now I can look at you in peace; I don’t eat you anymore.” — Franz Kafka

I don’t need meat

It’s a balancing act. I eventually got a blood test and some professional advice, and by taking iron with vitamin C (instead of iron alone), and upping the vitamin B, I got all my energy back. Now I know I can do it! I feel lighter and younger. My skin is clear. When I eat the right vegies, legumes and nuts I don’t even need supplements. I’m a pasta girl, maybe we can work on some new recipes together.
“To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana.” — Buddha

What will people say?

Just tell them it’s a health choice. With all the fad diets around today, a vegetarian diet is pretty easy to adopt. There are fabulous vego restaurants, websites, cookbooks and great options in all conscious restaurants. If they want to make an issue out of it, you can ask, “Why do you still eat meat?”
“My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, and I was frequently chided for my singularity, but with this lighter repast I made the greater progress, for greater clearness of head and quicker comprehension.” — Benjamin Franklin
Post Script: It’s now five years since I wrote this article and I haven’t eaten chicken or red meat again, but I do eat the occasional locally caught fish. I have a few vegan friends and some vegetarians and some meat eaters and some pescatarians and some raw foodies. To each his own, I say, but do what you can.
This article first appeared on aww.com.au.

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The big blue

Andre’s love of the sea is infectious: “the thing I love most about ocean swimming is that feeling of being connected to something so natural and powerful. There’s nothing but fresh air and salt water, and plenty of time to let all the worries of the world disappear as you watch the fish swim by beneath you with the sun on your back.”
Andre brings this empathy with the sea into his teaching, so his students learn to respect and admire the ocean. “That’s when you really start to understand it and become one with it” he says.

Stroke of Genius

Swimming is an amazing all-round body exercise, Andre explains, but perhaps the greatest benefit is that it’s non weight-baring, so if you’re injured or overweight you can enjoy all the fitness benefits without the stress on your body. “Swimming works your shoulders, arms, core, back and legs…” he says, “in fact, not many muscles don’t get a workout!”
Freestyle is the stroke of choice for most ocean swimmers as it’s the fastest stroke, according to Andre, but side stroke and breaststroke are great for survival swimming when tiredness kicks in, and swimmers should have one of these strokes mastered above all others if they’re taking to the ocean.
“I’ve become a huge proponent of breaststroke in ocean swim events and when cruising in the ocean socially, because your head is above the water which means you can actually see all the amazing natural environment around you” he says.

Practise paddle

If you want to start ocean swimming, the first step is to train twice a week, says Andre; “the hard work done in the pool pays off in the ocean, especially when it comes to swimming in big surf.”
If you’re not confident to swim laps in the pool, Andre’s advice is to see a swim coach and get your stroke analysed and tweaked ready for training.

Make a plan

“You need to follow a swimming program that will ensure you’re getting the right mix of technique, endurance and strength/sprint training as well as making sure you’re increasing your km’s each week,” Andre says.
“When training for an ocean swim in the pool it’s important to replicate at least some of the conditions you’ll experience in the ocean. Ocean swimming, especially through the wave zone, requires you to be able to swim hard for short distances and dive under the water holding your breath, so mix in short sprints with a short recovery time to mimic this,” he recommends.

Increase your fitness

Whether you like a group exercise class, boot camp or a run along the coast, try to get in at least 45mins a day of exercise to increase your general fitness, Andre suggests. “You should also ensure you’re strengthening your core, which plays a large part in your stability and will help you when diving under waves,” he says.

Surf sense

When you’re ready to hit the ocean you need to first understand how the ocean works and gain the knowledge to swim with it, rather than against it, Andre explains. Take a surf class or talk to a lifesaver, if you don’t already know how to read the ocean currents.
Surf  Techniques:
• Conducting a basic beach risk assessment
• Reading the ocean and open water
• Gaging wind, waves and rip currents
• Wading and dolphin-diving
• Efficient negotiation out and in through the surf zone
• Open water swimming techniques
• Forward and rear sighting
And the best way to gain this knowledge? “You’ll simply need to spend more time in the ocean” says Andre.

Where to start?

1. Pick a Goal Ocean Swim Event.
“It’s easier to stick to your training plan when you have a goal to aim for and a friend to share the good times. Choose an event with your training buddy, train for it by encouraging each other and then celebrate your success together” says Andre.
2. Buy all New Gear
“Get yourself into a new swimsuit, wrap on a new pair of goggles (I recommend Vorgee Fuze Missiles from Rebel Sport or other swimwear stockists) and look and feel fantastic as you train and participate in your early season swims” Andre recommends.
This article first appeared on 12wbt.com

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Meditation v Medication

While prescription medicines like anti-depressants can be of enormous relief to sufferers of stress-related disorders and mental illness in the short term; they do not treat the source of the imbalances and are therefore impermanent. This is why many doctors say clinical depression is incurable, and sufferers are often told they will need to be medicated for life.
On the contrary, the simple practice of Meditation can have immediate short-term benefits; improving mental, emotional and physical balance. In the long term it can create lasting and permanent change.
Our minds are often stuck in fight-or-flight mode, when there is no immediate danger whatsoever. The worrying, fearful mind creates emotions, and tension in our muscles and nervous systems. This tension creates pain. In Meditation we are training ourselves to come out of pain and into peace.
Scientific studies have proven that Meditation deactivates the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight arousal), and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (relax-and-recuperate), which allows the body to return to a balanced state of equilibrium (known as “homeostasis”). When active, the parasympathetic nervous system slows down heart rate, dilates blood vessels, activates digestion, and stores energy.

Calm and Grounded

Says Australian Vedic Meditation teacher Lee Te Hira: “Meditation works on a deep level, relieving the body of stresses that have been accumulated over the years. Even a new meditator will start to purify the body of stresses in the first weeks of practice. Long term Meditators report that they become much more adaptable to everyday stressful situations. To use an analogy, think of a piece of rope being twisted and pulled, eventually the rope will be all knotted and tangled up. Meditation, in this analogy, will release the tension in the rope and any new knots will be easily dealt with, keeping the rope nice and loose. When the backlog of stresses has been relieved through a daily Meditation practice, any potentially stressful life situation is easily dealt with from a calm, grounded place.”

The Art of Stillness

The aim of Meditation is to rise out of the mind into the higher consciousness, the self that is watching the thoughts, but doesn’t think. In order to do this the mind must be trained to focus in observation, for example observing the breath, a mantra, the body, or the voice of a Meditation guide.
There are many Meditation techniques, developed over many centuries across many cultures. Says Te Hira: “Vedic Meditation is a simple, natural, effortless technique from ancient India. It is practiced for twenty minutes in the morning and evening, sitting comfortably in a chair with the eyes closed. A personalized Mantra is selected for the Vedic student, which when correctly, allows their awareness to dive quickly in to a deep meditative state.”
“The meditative state may be described as a state of restful awareness” Te Hira explains. “In this state you are completely relaxed, even more so than when asleep, yet still completely conscious. Once you enter the meditative state the conditions are perfect for the body to start to self repair and normalize, thereby throwing off stresses. Many benefits flow from a daily Meditation practice, such as growth of creativity and intelligence, sharper perception and general improvement in health.”
A key benefit to rising out of the mind is a sharper intuitive sense and the ability to make decisions based on “gut feelings” or a sense of ease, rather than worry and fear.

The First Step

A simple Buddhist Meditation technique that you might want to start with is to sit with the eyes closed and watch the breath. Take a few deep breaths to start but then do not control it, simply watch it. It’s easiest to leave your focus on one point, like the nostrils.
Thoughts will come up and attempt to engage you in a “story” (past or future), a “list” (to do), or a rotating “tape” (I’m not good enough/my life is awful/he or she does this to me/I can’t do this/this is stupid, etc.).
The challenge of Meditation is to let these thoughts go, no matter how dramatic and vivid and immediately urgent they may seem, and return to watching the breath. This is not the time for problem solving. This is the time for self-nurturing. The fact that thoughts have floated across your consciousness means your subconscious has already released them, like ripples across a pond.
Emotions, too, will arise as you go deeper into the meditative state. Feel the emotions – they are not wrong – but do not think about them. Do not create new reasons to perpetuate them. Just as a child or a puppy dog would, allow yourself to feel the emotion and let it go. Return to that simple, warm, golden place of peace, which is your higher consciousness and your connection to the Universal flow of energy.

Practise Makes Perfect

Even after many years the meditative state can be elusive, so bear with yourself and remember – the instant that you notice your mind has wandered, you are present. You have succeeded in detaching from the mind. Just a few minutes in this state is deeply beneficial, and just twenty minutes of Meditation is equivalent to eight hours of sleep.
This article originally appeared on Blacklemag.com

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For The Love Of It

“Now I love it again!” says Susie; “I love the calmness of the pool, the feeling of being in the water, and I love the zone and rhythm you get into while training. Swimming provides some uninterrupted thinking time, which is sometimes hard to find in our busy lives.”
Susie is also a fan of the discipline that swimming training can bring to your life. “As a young person it taught me a lot and shaped the way I approach various aspects of my life, although I didn’t realise it at the time!” she says.

A Low Impact Workout

Swimming training has many health benefits, says Susie, both physical and mental. As swimming is non weight baring, it’s also the perfect low impact workout to get you back in the swim after a lower body injury. “After my knee operation, I swam with a pull buoy to keep my legs afloat while I worked on cardio and upper body,” she says.

Mix It Up

So, what’s a typical training session for Susie? “If you want to improve your fitness, it’s important to not just plod away doing the same speed and distance every time” she explains.
“When I hit the pool I aim for approximately three kilometers per session, but I vary my distances, sets, speed, drills and so on. One session might focus on sprints and short distances, the next might be a long, slow swim.”

Different Strokes

Sets of laps in different strokes – such as freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, side stroke, and butterfly – will work your muscle groups differently and add variety to your workout, says Susie.
“I personally stick more to freestyle and backstroke, as breaststroke is no longer good for my reconstructed knee,” says Susie. “Butterfly would be considered by many as the most intense stroke, however if you watch a great butterfly swimmer you will notice they have fantastic rhythm, and move through the water without much resistance using their power at the right moments for an effective stroke.”

Perfect The Plunge

As with all training styles, getting your technique right is the first step. “Definitely head to some adult swimming lessons if you need some stroke correction,” Susie says; “you need to feel safe and confident in the water to relax and enjoy your swimming experience.”
If you’re injured or just need to gain fitness, Susie suggests hitting an aqua aerobics class first. “From there you can start swimming in some shallow water,” she says.
And if you’re an absolute beginner, don’t be shy. “There is nothing to stop you learning at any age,” says Susie, “I know someone who started lessons and learnt to swim at 70!”

Susie Set to Race Again

“I think now that I’ve found my love of swimming again I will always swim” Susie says. In fact, in typical 12WBT trainer style, she’s thinking of competing; “I’ve been considering hitting the Masters Swimming competitions and ocean swims for some new goals over the next 12 months, plus some triathlons,” she says. “I recently participated in the Triathlon Pink fundraising event for breast cancer charities and loved it!”
Swimming strength runs in the family, it seems – “My mum is also an inspiration when it comes to swimming” says Susie, ‘at 69 years of age she still trains almost every day, and swims competitively in both the pool and ocean swims and continues to win medals! She is amazing.”

Susie’s 2.5km Summer Swim Workout

Feeling inspired? Hit the pool and mix it up with this medium to advanced workout from Susie: “With the following example, give yourself ten seconds of rest within the sets. Choose your speed and times based on your level” she recommends.
• 300m warm up: easy freestyle (300m)
• 8 x 25m: any stroke, getting faster (200m)
• 6 x 50m: any stroke, fairly fast (300m)
• 3 x 100m: freestyle, fast (300m)
• 100m easy: any style (100m)
• 4 x 100m medley (25m each stroke) (400m)
• 200m easy: any style (200m)
• 4 x 50m kicking (200m)
• 4 x 50m pulling (paddles & pull buoy) (200m)
• 300m swim down: any style, slower (300m)
• Total = 2.5kms

Ocean Swimming

Are you feeling swim fit and hankering to head for the open sea? Hit the waves this summer with tips from Ocean Fit’s Andre Slade: TRAIN FOR AN OCEAN SWIM.
This article first appeared on 12wbt.com

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Have a clear goal

The brain needs clear goals so it can pool all its resources and focus. “Take a deep breath and relax,” Dr Fraser says. “Make a strategic, big-picture list of where you are trying to get to at the moment, and the most important things you need to accomplish. Then look at all the activity you have to do in your day, and if it’s not related to what you are trying to achieve, dump it. Make a list of the small steps that you need to do, prioritise them and knock them off one by one.”

Be present

The mind is calm when it is not looking to the past or future. “Practise being present with tasks,” Dr Fraser says. “Close your email, turn your phone off and get that one thing done. When you’re on the phone, don’t clean out your inbox. In conversation, focus on the other person, completely. Research shows that presence builds trust and rapport.”

Positive emotions

“One of the biggest tickets into the flow state is to manage your emotions,” Dr Fraser says. “Most people are not aware of the emotions they feel. They wake up with a certain emotion and very quickly that emotion turns into a mood and over time that mood becomes a temperament.”
We don’t need to fake a good mood to get into one: “Emotional intelligence is not about insincerity. It’s about becoming self-aware. It’s about asking yourself: ‘What is my emotional state and how can I get into a better one?’,” Dr Fraser says.
“If you’re feeling angry — why? Ask yourself, ‘Will anger help me get what I want from the situation? No. It will alienate the people around me so they won’t help me. If I stay calm and remind myself of the bigger picture and put myself in the other person’s shoes then I can have empathy, tolerance and compassion around the situation.’ If you’re feeling apathy and boredom, how can you find enthusiasm and passion for the situation?”

An optimistic mindset

“If you approach a challenge thinking, ‘I suck at this, it’s not going to go well, I’m not having a good week,’ you’re not going to get into the flow with it,” Dr Fraser says. “Whereas if you think, ‘Yeah I do this really well, I’m a really good worker, I’m smart and I’m capable’ — you’re chance of flow is far greater.”
According to psychologist Dr Mark Seligman, optimism can be learned. All we need do is change our explanation style.
When an event occurs to us or around us we explain it to ourselves on three levels:

1. Permanence: Is this something that happens all the time or is it rare?
2. Pervasiveness: Does it affect everything (global) or does it affect very little (specific)?
3. Personalisation: Is this event due to me, or is it due to others?

“I could watch the news and say, ‘The world has gone insane, this always happens. We’re all doomed,'” Dr Fraser says. “I’ve made it permanent, global and internal. Optimists make bad events temporary (‘It’s a rare event’); specific (‘It affects a small part of the world’); and external (‘It’s nobody’s fault, luckily it’s nothing to do with me’). Studies show that our explanation style dramatically affects our happiness.”
For more information on how to go with the flow, visit www.dradamfraser.com.au.
This article first appeared on aww.com.au

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• The Duchenne smile (named after 19th-century French scientist Duchenne de Boulogne), a genuine grin, that raises both corners of the mouth and the cheeks to form ‘crow’s feet’ at the eyes’ outer edges.
• The flirty, coy smile with head turned slightly away.
• The amused smile after a good joke, with the head thrown back.
• The love smile, with a tilted head and softened eyes.
• The interested smile, with raised eyebrows and a slight grin.
• The embarrassed smile, with the eyes cast downward.

Number 3: Smiling actually makes you happy
In 1872, Charles Darwin proposed that, “The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it” i.e. to smile on the outside will make you happy on the inside. This is the Facial Feedback Hypothesis.
Darwin was right. Models and rock stars may look cool with serious pouts, but they are missing out a natural rush of endorphins and the feel-good serotonin, which are released whenever you smile or laugh.
“British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate,” Gutman says.
Number 4: Smiling makes others happy
Surakka, V. and Hietanen, J. K. conducted a study in the late 1990’s which proved that the sight of a smile can induce a feeling of pleasure. Their research showed that even the sight of a smile in a photo can induce pleasurable feelings, if the smile seems genuine. Is it time to change your Facebook profile pic?
Number 5: Smiling is contagious
A recent study at Uppsala University in Sweden found that it’s very difficult to frown when looking at someone who smiles, because smiling is evolutionarily contagious, and it suppresses the control we usually have on our facial muscles.
Here is a test: Smile. Now try to maintain your smile and frown at the same time. Not easy, is it?
Number 6: Smiling makes you attractive
In his famous 20th century book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie hailed the simple smile as the first key to making an impression and dealing successfully with people.
In the late 1990’s, US supermarket Safeway instructed its store employees to smile and greet customers with direct eye contact. In 1998, 12 female employees filed grievances, due to unwanted solicitous attention from male customers. So there you have it.
Number 7: Smiling is good for your health
According to Christopher Peterson PhD, University of Michigan, people who are optimistic (and so smile a lot) have much better health due to a more robust immune system. In older people, those who remain optimistic are 77% less likely to die from all causes than those who are pessimists.
In his TED talk, the Hidden Power of Smiling, Gutman cites a Wayne State University research project that looked into pre-1950’s baseball cards and found that players who didn’t smile in their pictures lived an average of only 72.9 years, where players with beaming smiles lived an average of almost 80 years.
What are you waiting for? Say cheese – you’ll make everybody around you happy, and you’ll live longer and happily every after!
This article first appeared on aww.com.au.
 

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