How Light Therapy Can Boost Your Energy in Darker Month

Here's a taste of my most recent iVillage Column with some great links to more information for people who feel their energy dipping with the shortening days.

Plus check out an event I'm hosting on Nov 9th for all those motivated energy seekers who want to feel better.

Every fall when the sun starts setting early and I wake up to an alarm in the dark, I feel a strong desire to conserve energy, hibernate and just slow down. But the reality of my life is that I still have to be full of energy to motivate my clients and be fully present as a parent. I’m not a bear that gets to crawl into a cave for winter. I’ve traveled all over and constantly find myself picking hot climates with lots of sun, sand and the ocean at my disposal. I’m not built for Toronto winters!

A few years ago, right around this time of year, I knew I had to start being proactive about my energetic deficit. I couldn’t spend another cold Toronto winter just trying to make it to spring. I had read about light therapy lamps for people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder. I started being very honest with myself. Maybe I suffered from SAD. But as I started researching light therapy, it became clear that most people who lose sunlight in the winter could benefit.

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Gabor Mate on the stress illness connection

I heard Dr. Gabor Mate speak on Friday night at a small venue. An honor to be included in that evening.
Needless to say, his humanity, intelligence and wisdom was enlightening and revealing.
Please watch this. Western medicine is so limited. You can't get well as an entire being without addressing emotional and spiritual issues and the process isn't about reaching a destination. It's about choosing core values and continually realigning with them.

WATCH THIS

Do you have a set point for exercise?

Gretchen Reynolds, of the New York Times, just reported on a new study out.

Does exercising at one point during the day make you less active the rest of the time?

The question of whether humans have an innate set point for movement, a so-called activitystat, is of increasing interest and controversy among scientists. One of them is Dr. Terence J. Wilkin, a professor of endocrinology at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, England, who asked himself that question a few years ago while hoping to learn more about the interplay of activity and childhood obesity.

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A personal reflection on this study...

When I put out more energy, I need more down time. Let's say I work an 11 day like I do on Wednesdays, I need to balance it out with sloth time later or even on the weekend. Maybe a nap in the studio or a relaxing pedicure. I know how much energy I have and more activity requires me to rest more.

Dr. Wilkin had expected that the children at the prep school, who spent about 65 percent more time exercising at school than the other students, would be much more active over all. But they weren’t. In fact, when he collated the data, the weekly activity levels of the students from all three schools were remarkably similar. Students who exercised more at school were less active afterward.

What does this mean for managing childhood obesity or obesity in general? The answer isn't just more exercise. Weight loss and weight management is 80% food related.

And in reality, most people in our society haven't even come close to their maximal exercise out put. So don't take this finding as discouraging. Get off your ass and leave it behind! And particularly right now, lay off the Halloween candy. A little goes a long way.

Second trimester workout plus more

Go check out my most recent iVillage Column, Second Trimester Workout. I'm routing for all the preggers out there who want to feel good for the majority of their pregnancy.

I talk about the exercise contraindications for you in your second trimester and provide a simple and effective workout you can do at home with little financial investment. PLUS I explain the purpose of each exercise so you understand why you're doing it!

AND BTW, big kudos for me ;). My article, "The one exercise you need to ramp up your sex life", got posted on the homepage of MSN. Steamy and useful for sure!

Also, go check out my editor, Adina Goldman's, verdict on the one month of building strength from the inside out with me as her coach.

Enjoy!!!

Lots of love,

Jane

The Indo Board Workout: Functional or another fad?

I saw this posted on the New York Times Well Blog and thought it looked kind of fun. The only thing that totally loses me with new group fitness classes though are the 'cardio' or warm up moves. I started teaching in 1991 and it seems that these moves just won't go away. If I never do another grape vine in my life, I will be happy. Why can't group fitness move to more functional warm ups like joint mobility and dynamic stretching to actually prepare the body for movement!

So in terms of how useful I think the Indo Board Workout is, I work with people with compromised proprioception (meaning "one's own" and perception and the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement). In fact, most people who live from the neck up and don't really tune into their bodies benefit from work that makes them think about what their bodies have to do to accomplish a movement.

I also find work that focuses on proprioception is an excellent stress reduction tool. It's like moving meditation. When we have to focus in the moment on exactly what we're doing or we will fall or lose balance, the past and the future melt away.

People post chemo often have issues with proprioception as do people with any neurological issues. I also find people suffering from anxiety and depression find it hard to complete balance exercises possible due to a completely taxed nervous system.

In addition to work that makes people sweat and improve strength, I love work that integrates the entire being to make people more body aware. So thumbs up to the Indo Board workout. But could you guys lose the cheesy toe tapping cardio and 90s aerobic style warm up? It's not necessary nor is it functional.

Peace,

Jane