I don’t know about you , but I certainly need to hit the reset button on a weekly basis! What is your way of releasing stress and giving your body the Reset it needs?! One of my fav’s is to get out into the outdoors…out into nature. Look at the beauty that surrounds us, and take deep breaths. Hiking is at the top of my list! Great exercise too. It was a beautiful day yesterday, so spur of the moment, we packed a lunch and set out on this hike. We are very blessed to have these wonderful spots to explore right in our backyard!
21 Small Ways to Make Life Simpler
1. Breathe. When stressed, lost in a problem or the past or future in your mind breathe with your belly for two minutes and just focus on the air going in and out. This will calm your body down and bring your mind back into the present moment again.
2. Do one thing at a time. You’ll get better results and feel better and less stressed while doing those things.
3. Write it all down. Use your mind for better things than remembering what to do. And the mind is often like a leaky bucket. So write down all your great ideas, insights and thoughts before they go missing somewhere and add what you need to do to a to-do list.
4. Do all your food shopping once a week. You’ll save time, energy and – in my experience – money.
5. Stop trying to do things perfectly. It will only get you stuck and drain your self-esteem. Go for good enough instead and when you are there you are done. Get things all the way to done this way and then move on to the next thing.
6. Stop doing what you don’t like doing anymore. Life changes and so do you. If you you don’t like doing something anymore then stop doing that (even if it may take some time before you can do so by for example switching jobs).
7. Pack your bag before you go to bed. Then you don’t have to get stressed out by that in morning and you are less likely to forget something.
8. Throw out the things you haven’t used in 1 year. Go through what you have and ask yourself if you have used it in the past year. If not, give it away to charity or a friend or simply throw it out.
9. Ask yourself simplifying questions every day. Questions like “What is the most important thing I can do right now?” and “What is one small step I can take to simplify this situation?”.
10. Keep everything in its place. If everything has its own place then it is whole lot easier to keep your home reasonably ordered and decluttered from day to day. This also helps you with your inner stillness as the outer environment affects how you feel on the inside.
11. Cook more food than you’ll eat. We usually make four or more servings of what we’re about to eat. This cuts down on time that you spend on cooking and you’ll have to do less washing up in general. Plus, it’s good to have portions of food to bring to work to save some money.
12. Write shorter emails. I tend to write emails containing only a few sentences, usually between one and five. If you focus on keeping it short and focused then you’ll probably discover that this is a good solution in most cases.
13. Ask instead of guessing. Reading minds is hard. So, instead ask questions and communicate. This will help you to minimize unnecessary conflicts, misunderstandings, negativity and waste of time and energy.
14. Use a minimalistic workspace. My work space contains a big monitor and a laptop on an adjustable standing desk. I use a comfy chair and there is room for my glass of water beside the computer. That’s it. There are no distractions here. Just me, the computer and the water.
15. Check everything just once a day. I check my email inboxes, blog statistics, my online earnings, Twitter and Facebook just once a day. I combine all that checking into one small daily ritual at the end of my work day so I don’t slip and go checking it more during the day and waste my energy and attention.
16. Choose small daily acts of kindness. Instead of small acts of judgment and criticism towards the people around you (and towards yourself).
17. Stop trying to please everyone. There will always be people who you don’t get along with or that do not like you for some reason.
18. Don’t make mountains out of molehills. Before you start thinking too much about something and building it up something big in your head, ask yourself: “Am I making a mountain out of a molehill here?” And if you get lost in victim thinking then ask yourself: “Does anyone on the planet have it worse than me right now?”.
19. Spend 10-15 minutes each Sunday or Monday morning to plan out the week. Write down your plans for the week, organize your prioritized to-do list and get ready for the week before you are in the middle of it all. This will help you to find more clarity, get more of the most important things done next week and minimize stress.
20. Cancel subscriptions for things you rarely get around to watching or reading anyway.
21. Spend more time with people that help you to keep things simple. And spend less time with people that drag you down into overcomplicating everything and creating unnecessary drama.

Where did Your Feet Take You Today?!
As I set out for a walk today by myself (usually I have a walking partner), I put in my ear buds and tuned into “Pontoon Radio” …. for a 2 to 3 mile walk! Well…with songs like Sweet Home Alabama, On the Pontoon, Boot Scootin’ Boogie….etc… I just kept on truckin’! Next thing I knew was on at least a 5 mile or more!! Did you know that even walking for 10-20 minutes a day, can improve your health!!
1. Walking improves circulation. It also wards off heart disease, brings up the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and strengthens the heart. Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Tennessee found that post-menopausal women who walked just one to two miles a day lowered blood pressure by nearly 11 points in 24 weeks. Women who walked 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of stroke by 20 percent – by 40 percent when they stepped up the pace, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
2. Walking shores up your bones. It can stop the loss of bone mass for those with osteoporosis, according to Michael A. Schwartz, MD, of Plancher Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in New York. In fact, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, study of post-menopausal women found that 30 minutes of walking each day reduced their risk of hip fractures by 40 percent.
3. Walking leads to a longer life. Research out of the University of Michigan Medical School and the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System says those who exercise regularly in their fifties and sixties are 35 percent less likely to die over the next eight years than their non-walking counterparts. That number shoots up to 45 percent less likely for those who have underlying health conditions.
4. Walking lightens mood. A California State University, Long Beach, study showed that the more steps people took during the day, the better their moods were. Why? Walking releases natural painkilling endorphins to the body – one of the emotional benefits of exercise.
5. Walking can lead to weight loss. A brisk 30-minute walk burns 200 calories. Over time, calories burned can lead to pounds dropped.
6. Walking strengthens muscles. It tones your leg and abdominal muscles – and even arm muscles if you pump them as you walk. This increases your range of motion, shifting the pressure and weight from your joints and muscles – which are meant to handle weight – helping to lessen arthritis pain
7. Walking improves sleep. A study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that women, ages 50 to 75, who took one-hour morning walks, were more likely to relieve insomnia than women who didn’t walk.
8. Walking supports your joints. The majority of joint cartilage has no direct blood supply. It gets its nutrition from synovial or joint fluid that circulates as we move. Impact that comes from movement or compression, such as walking, “squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen and nutrients into the area. If you don’t walk, joints are deprived of life-giving fluid, which can speed deterioration.
9. Walking improves your breath. When walking, your breathing rate increases, causing oxygen to travel faster through bloodstream, helping to eliminate waste products and improve your energy level and the ability to heal.
10. Walking slows mental decline. A study of 6,000 women, ages 65 and older, performed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that age-related memory decline was lower in those who walked more. The women walking 2.5 miles per day had a 17-percent decline in memory, as opposed to a 25-percent decline in women who walked less than a half-mile per week.
11. Walking lowers Alzheimer’s risk. A study from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville found that men between the ages of 71 and 93 who walked more than a quarter of a mile per day had half the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those who walked less.
12. Walking helps you do more, longer. Aerobic walking and resistance exercise programs may reduce the incidence of disability in the activities of daily living of people who are older than 65 and have symptomatic OA, shows a study published in the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management.
Read more at www.arthritis.org
Sooooo….what are you waiting for. It costs you nothing! Take some deep breaths, look at the beauty around you! GET OFF THE COUCH! Get a partner…or, plug into some awesome music! Food 4 Thought!
Let your feet take you to feeling better! Your body is your best friend, do something for it daily!!
Visit www.food4thoughtwellness.com for Healthy info!!
Guess What this is Describing?!?!
If you guessed Moringa Oleifera, you guessed correctly!
(NaturalNews) Moringa oleifera is a tree that is native to the Himalayan mountains of northern India. Though it is not well-known in the United States, the tree is treasured in many parts of the world (especially Africa and South America) due to the healing properties of its leaves. In fact, moringa‘s small, light green leaves are so nutrient-dense that the tree has been nicknamed ‘The Tree of Immortality’ and ‘The Miracle Tree’ by the inhabitants of the countries in which it is cultivated. Let’s find out whether these nicknames are deserved.
Moringa‘s health benefits
Rich in antioxidants – Analysis has shown that dried and powdered moringa leaves (which is how moringa is usually sold and consumed) contain 46 antioxidant types, including carotenoids, zinc, selenium, chromium, and all the vitamins (even vitamin B and vitamin K). Moringa leaves also contain 36 anti-inflammatory compounds, including calcium, copper, chlorophyll, omega-3, omega-6, omega-9, and sulfur. All of these antioxidants and compounds occur naturally in the plant, and work together to maximize absorption. For example, the magnesium found in moringa helps us to absorb its calcium.
Nutrient concentrations – Like most superfoods, moringa contains a lot of nutrients. What really sets it apart from others, though, are the concentrations of those nutrients. For example, ounce-per-ounce, dried moringa leaves contain three times more potassium than bananas, 2,500 times more amino acids than green tea, three times more iron than spinach or roast beef, three times more calcium than milk, and 10 times the recommended daily amount of vitamin E.
A complete protein – Moringa leaves are between 30 and 40 percent protein, and contain 18 amino acids. Of these, nine (valine, lysine, leucine, histidine, isoleucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan) are essential amino acids. This makes moringa a ‘complete’ protein source – something seldom found in the plant world. We need protein, of course, to build bones, skin, blood, and cartilage, and to produce hormones and enzymes. Without it, our bodies would biochemically dismantle.
Makes a great oil – Though the moringa tree is best-known for its nutritious leaves, its seeds also have a use: The matured pods can be processed into ‘ben oil,’ a clear, sweet oil that rivals olive oil in antioxidant activity. Ben oil is extremely durable and doesn’t spoil, and has been used for centuries as a perfume base, cooking lubricant, and salad dressing.
Given moringa‘s healthiness, it is unsurprising that regular consumption of its leaves – in cooked or dried states – has been linked to reduced blood pressure, weight loss, improved mood and digestion, healthier skin (some Western cosmetic companies are now adding moringa extracts to their skincare products), and much more. In fact, Ayurvedic medicine claims that over 300 diseases can be treated by consuming moringa leaves. So why not try it out?
Sources for this article include:
http://www.tfljournal.org/article.php/20051201124931586
http://www.moringatreeoflife.com/About_Moringa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_oil
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/041264_moringa_oleifera_protein_tree_of_life.html##ixzz3G3fmAP3F
The Moringa that is found online and in health food stores is either powder capsules or powders meant to mix with smoothies and other foods.
They are comprised of using dried and crushed leaves. While this is still better than nothing. Getting the complete nutritional benefit of Moringa comes from more than just the leaf.
Zija International has gone to great lengths to ensure that their proprietary blend uses the leaf, the seed cake, and the seed pod. All of these provide different core nutrients.
In addition to using various parts of the plant, Zija also shade dries their raw materials. This ensures that none of the components lose their enzymatic activity or bio-availability.
Zija also uses various age groups of the plant. Juvenile, adolescent, and mature plants. They discovered that the nutrient profiles were different at the various age groups.
Last but not least they studied the 58 species of Moringa from various countries and regions around the world. They found that the most nutrient dense hailed from India at the best of the Himalayas.
Given the nutritional profile of Zija’s Moringa the daily cost of this complete daily nutritional supplement is just about $3.00 a day.
Give Moringa a try…. www.lwalling.myzija.com **Save 25% and sign up with a Wholesale Membership, it’s only $20.00 a year! Or contact me for more info!!