Blogger: Yeap

Body fitness? People who want to get into shape don’t realize there is more to fitness than well-toned muscles. There’s no shortage of exercise regimes that just promote the perfection of the body, or the idea of fitness as a part of a weight loss plan.

Centuries ago, Western culture lost its focus on the interconnectedness between the body and the mind or spirit, and how each has the power to affect the other. Cultivating a love of movement can help you get beyond the concept of physical fitness as separate from mental fitness and toward a lifelong program of good health through mind and body fitness.

Whether you choose yoga or another form of movement for exercise, remember that our bodies are made to move to feel good. So when you incorporate regular activity in your life, you are moving closer to overall mind and body fitness. But if you are overweight, this could be tougher.

You might consider redefining exercise as any activity that unites your mind and body and reduces your stress level. In fact, high levels of stress have been linked to weight gain, and certainly can lead to emotional eating. Finding activities that are both enjoyable and easy to do is important when developing any type of exercise plan.

It’s important to be realistic about what we expect from ourselves. Consider your goals. Is 30 to 60 minutes on a treadmill a reasonable time frame at this point in your life? Are you setting yourself up for failure or success when you create this expectation for yourself? Would it be more enjoyable to you to do some stretching and a shorter period of time on the treadmill?

Developing an exercise plan that fits your lifestyle and your desires is critical. Surprisingly, long-term weight loss is linked more closely to whether a person sticks to their fitness routine than to what that routine actually consists of. A routine that is gentle and pleasurable is more likely to lead to the long-term gains you are seeking.

All-or-nothing thinking about exercise leads us to first bite off more than we can chew and then give up all together. Just walk into a gym in the month of January and try to get on a Stairmaster. There’s a good chance you’ll have to wait in line. But by March or April, there are usually plenty of free machines.

It is also important to tailor your fitness goals to your preferences. Some people like the idea of getting out of the house in the evening and going to the gym. Others prefer staying home and doing a quieter exercise routine after the demands of a stressful day. Either approach, or a combination of the two, can result in improved mind and body fitness.

What is critical is for you to come to know yourself and to take yourself seriously. If you like to be home in the evenings, find things to do in your home or consider an occasional walk with friends or family. If you crave the company of others, head for the gym. Think about what would please you most, and follow your inner voice.

      

Many people who are preoccupied with food and body issues tend to pay too much attention to the needs of others, while paying too little attention to their own needs. While you may intend to benefit your children with their countless activities, the added stress can cause an imbalance within your family. Can you take a look at your schedule (or your family’s) and reschedule some time for yourself? What would it be like to say no?

Long-term weight loss can take time. And we can get demoralized when we don’t see immediate results. But remember that maintaining an exercise routine is associated with physical as well as mental well-being. Where has our focus on the numbers on our scale gotten us? Some would say it has taken us to more harsh thoughts, more bingeing and grazing on food, and, ironically, less fitness rather than more.

It may be that the best exercise you can do right now is to throw your scale into the garbage. Focus on how you’re feeling with your exercise routine. Is it something you enjoy and can maintain? Is it reducing your stress level and allowing a connection between your mind and body? If so, you’ll probably keep it up, and fitness of mind and body and spirit will be yours.

There is tremendous confusion in our society about how to approach health and fitness. You may have tried losing weight before and failed. But consider the possibility that we as a society have not failed at dieting and weight loss. Rather, dieting has failed us as an effective tool for fitness.

Remember that fitness of mind and body belong together, and that exercise is very narrowly defined in our society. So redefine exercise as any activity that reduces stress and connects your mind and body.

Blogger: Nicole Ng

Bad mood? Everyone hated it! As for me too… Because a bad mood, ruin my whole day!
How to get over it? Here are some techniques I did to draw on when come to difficult times of getting bad mood.

• Pick a piece of uplifting music and listen to it. Listen to fast bit music that can lift me up. Enjoy dance! Of course in my private room.

• Find someone I grateful for and express my gratitude to him/her. I love to express my gratitude especially to my lovely mother; I think would same as you too. Mother always our good listener, she gives us support when we needed, she guides us to the best way from her own experiences. She is the best, I am proud to be her daughter.

• Recall something or someone who makes me happy and daydream about it or him/her. Usually I will think someone I love or a special trip or place I have been or want to go. I love sitting on the island watching the wave in and out, listening to the wave sound. In June, I went to Pulau Perhentian, Terangganu with my best friends and we spent several evenings at an outdoor and watching the sun set over the water. We sat on the beautiful sand and listening to the beautiful wave sound. It is a place I often return to in my daydreams.

• Focus on what I have been ignoring. I like to read book or novel and try to focus on what I have been ignoring for so long.

• Get some exercise. I will go for swimming. Do you know? Swimming increase our heart rate and stimulate our muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. Swimming a few laps can help us cool-down, move blood through our muscles to help them recover, and help us relax as we glide through the water. Not like others activities, swimming can be alone, no need to involve group of people, I can swim anytime, any style I like.

• Stay in the present. Appreciate the mundane by focusing on the activities without thinking like eating, bathing, walking. Somehow, I will think of how good the water feels in the shower, how soft or hard the ground feels on the feet or just silently eats my meal and really tastes it.

• Take a break and have a cup of tea. I may sit quietly for 15 minutes. Keep mind blank. You know why? Often the silence is enough to change our mood. Sitting quietly keeping our mind off everything brings us back. I particularly like doing this, having a cup of hot tea with families or friends after dinner.

• Find some healthy food to eat. I like chocolate, especially dark chocolate. When I was in bad mood, I will go to the nearest market to buy a bar of dark chocolate. Chocolate is plant-derived, as are the fruits and vegetables recommended for a healthy heart. Eat “A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away”, said Daniel J. De Noon, a medical, editor and communications consultant.

• Sing favorite song with or without the radio or stereo on. I like to sing song. Well, I have my own KTV, guess what? Singing at my private bathroom while taking bath, save cost and provided excellence sound effect! Good idea!

Everyone expresses themselves in his own unique way. So, what about you? How you act when you were in bad mood? Just share with us by dropping a message in this blog. Whatever method works out for you and me, hope everyone was able to find a SMILE!

Blogger: Shirley Leong

EVERYTHING IS SMALL STUFF

I had a car accident. Unexpectedly a four-car chain accident happened at Jalan Tun Razak, and I found myself sandwiched in the middle. My car was the third, and the car at my back hit me hard. My Wira was the most vulnerable of the four – the front bit was seriously damaged and completely out of shape, and the bumper at the back had nearly dropped to the ground.

Annoyance, frustration and relentless overwhelmed me at once. Amazingly, I was still able to remain cool and chatty.

Unpleasant things can happen anytime and anywhere, and most of the time it’s out of the blue. Crappy moments like being screwed up in office as your boss is in a bad mood; falling down with your most sexy dress on; rushing to an appointment that has been canceled though no one informed you… every week (if not every day) there is something that gets on your nerves/that gets to you, regardless if serious or trivial, without fail.

Literally you have two choices – let your emotions be controlled by the surroundings, or you can see it from the other perspective, your bad day is just one of those days.

Personally I do not believe in a hassle-free life every single day. You can be in a happy mood most of your days, but it would not be sensible only to have good days and no bad days. Going through tough situations and bitterness in life will make you stronger and appreciate each moment more. Comparison and contradiction give you different pictures and windows in life so that you will then be able to differentiate bitter and sweet, heartache and joy, disappointment and hope.

Life is inevitable “yin” and “yang” – even though both of them are two extremes, they also complement each other. Therefore, you have to learn to accept the realities and facts that happen in our lives – be it an exciting day or one of those crappy days.

Stephen Covey said you can choose your response towards the stimuli or environment surround you. You choose what to and how to response, as all of us have “response-ability”.

No matter how shitty your day, or if all the bad things keep happening one by one, just think if all these things will matter two years later? Will they still be important? If none of them is, then they are all just small matters that don’t have any significance in your entire life. Richard Carlson’s bestseller says, Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff… And it’s All Small Stuff.

A car accident, does it matter anymore after two years? What the heck, I got to spend a thousand or two, my car is stuck in the workshop, I have no money for shopping for three months… these are all just small matters.