10 Ideas for Shaking Bad JuJu

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m introducing a new series on my blog – The Power of 10. In numerology, the number 10 resonates with the vibrations of so many positive energies, among them creativity, originality, adaptability, and individuality.

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome author and social media consultant Joanne McAlpine.

Here’s Joanne!

This week, I met someone who lectured me for a half hour. The topic had nothing to do with me, rather her fears and that I should be fearful too. I don’t want to go into details but it left me with a depressed feeling that typically sticks with me for a few days, sometime weeks. As some of you know, I was participating in the free e-course given by a procrastination coach. There was great energy in that group so I brought my issue to them and asked for advice on how to shake this bad juju. I was amazed by the great advice and by the end of the day I was in good spirits again. I thought I’d share the advice here. Disclaimer: Keep in mind, this is just advice from your average joe schmo, I’m not a professional. I’m just passing on what has worked for me and others.

1. Run – It was the first advice given to me and that’s exactly what I did. It was a sunny day too which I think helps the mood.

2. When you are in work, find a private place to meditate a bit then go to the gym at night to work it off.

3. Change your body posture – and was given this great youtube video, I highly suggest because I find it works.

4. A walk in nature – when I went for my run, I was thinking this and went for a run in the park. I interval run so I run a bit and walk a bit. I find nature to be non-judgemental and un-demanding.

5. Get your brain to work on it – ask yourself, “What can I do right now to make myself feel better?” And the great and glorious brain that we have will go to work on it.

6. Call a friend.

7. Brain Gym – this was a new one for me. I’ve used it to help DD with her left and rights when she was little but never used it as a way to put myself in a better mood. I’ll say this, you get so focused on the exercises you forget what was bothering you.

8. Yoga – I agree. It has helped me in the past and I need to get back to it. I found a free monthly class through meetup.com. Check it out, you never know what you might find.

9. Gratitude List – list what makes you grateful.

10. Ask for Help.

Other ideas for fighting the blues: gardening, getting that sunshine, standing on your head (if you can’t do this try hanging off the side of your bed, being inverted for a couple of minutes has helped me hold back the blues), spending some time with pets, watching fish, healthy eating.

In the end, it was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly. I ran and walked in the park. I listened to music for a bit then turned it off and asked myself why I was upset. I didn’t want to suppress the feelings but rather understand why I had them without dwelling on them. When I realized this was about her fears and not mine, I was able to let it go. By the time, I got home, that nagging feeling was gone and my good jujus were back.

Joanne’s Video

Joanne’s Debut Novel

At the dawn of colonizing planets, humanity supports a bold new experiment on Earth to create three self-sustaining habitats, one underground, one above, and one under the sea. With dreams of colonization, they test human capacity by isolating the inhabitants from the outside world for a year.

Telsa and Simon join the first inhabitants on Oceanus, the undersea habitat. Simon leaves his youngest, Rosie, with her grandmother. It would only be a year, what could go wrong?

Everything runs smoothly until Simon discovers a network of surveillance throughout Oceanus, then Telsa uncovers a rumor of a devastating virus on the Earth’s surface. Central Command insists on their isolation but a new security force infiltrates the habitats under the guise that they are there for everyone’s protection.

All the while, unbeknownst to any of them, a religious zealot sees the habitats as his destiny, a place where he and his fellow believers can embark on growing a new country.

Where to find Joanne…

Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube

Better Than Before – A Book Review

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

A fan of self-help literature, I look forward to each year’s crop of inspirational and motivational books. Right now, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives is at the top of my Favorites List.

New York Times best-selling author Gretchen Rubin has expertly woven research, anecdotes, and personal insights in this excellent study of habit formation. She does not provide a one-size-fits-all approach or prescribe specific habits. Instead, she explores how to develop sustainable habits that will help us achieve our own versions of Everyday Life in Utopia (a chapter title suggested by her daughter Eleanor).

Rubin starts by outlining The Four Tendencies—Upholder, Obliger, Questioner, Rebel—and then suggests appropriate strategies in the Pillars of Habits section. While the concepts of Monitoring, Foundation, Scheduling, and Accountability are not new, they are presented using a lively, conversational style aimed at increasing self-knowledge.

I paid special attention to the following strategies:

Foundation Four – Begin with habits that help us sleep, move, eat and drink right, and unclutter. These habits will serve as the foundation for forming other good habits.

Power Hour – To deal with the small, one-time tasks (e.g. creating a photo album) that Rubin kept putting off, she decided once a week, for one hour, she would work on these chores.

Clean Slate – Fresh starts such as a new apartment, job or school and changes in personal relationships wipe the slate clean and can help us launch a new habit with less effort. But a clean slate can also disrupt good habits or break positive routines.

Lightning Bolt – While this is a very effective strategy, it cannot be invoked. A new idea triggered by an inspirational book, milestone birthday, pregnancy or another event can instantly transform habits.

Blast Start – When small steps are not working, a blast start can help us take the first step. This kind of shock treatment cannot be maintained, but it can give momentum to a new project.

Bright-Line Rule – A clearly defined rule or standard that eliminates any need for decision-making can help us achieve greater clarity. E.g. Answering every email within 24 hours.

Throughout the book, Gretchen Rubin shares her own successes and challenges along with those of family members, friends, and blog followers. Intrigued and inspired by the low-carb diet she adopted and the ripple effect it created within her circle, I picked up a copy of Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes.

And I couldn’t resist classifying myself: I am an Upholder, Abstainer, Marathoner, Finisher, and Owl.

Where to find Gretchen Rubin…

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Linked In | Amazon

A Theme Song for Cancer

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Joanne Guidoccio

Searching for a bible reading was the farthest thing from my mind during that first month after receiving the diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer. Between appointments and all sorts of tests—biopsy, bone density, ultrasounds—I had very little time to do much else. Once the chemo treatments started, I was barely able to focus on my dwindling list of daily tasks.

Continue reading at Jessica Jefferson’s blog.

The Joy of Yawning

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Joanne Guidoccio

According to the authors of the book, How God Changes Your Brain, yawning is one of the best-kept secrets in neuroscience. Dr. Andrew Newberg and therapist, Mark Robert Waldman believe that yawning should be integrated into all exercise and stress reduction programs.

Brain-scan studies have shown that yawning activates the precuneus, a tiny structure in the folds of the parietal lobe. The precuneus plays a central role in consciousness, self-reflection, and memory retrieval. This is one of the hardest hit areas by Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases. Yawning also helps regulate the temperature and metabolism of your brain.

Evidence has shown that yawning helps individuals on military assignment perform their tasks with greater accuracy and ease. And Olympic athletes yawn before performing.

So, if you want to maintain a healthy brain, yawn…

When you wake up.

When you are confronting a difficult problem at work.

When you prepare to go to sleep.

Whenever you feel anger, anxiety, or stress.

Before giving an important talk.

Before you take a test.

While you meditate or pray.

You may have to fake six or seven yawns before a real one will emerge.

On the Sunny Side

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Joanne Guidoccio

It is easy to be negative at this time of year. The mornings are dark, the weather is unpredictable, and winter is just around the corner. The excuses are endless and, if we’re not careful, we’ll stop exercising and slip back into bad habits.

In their book, So Stressed, authors Stephanie McClellan and Beth Hamilton suggest countering the following negative thoughts with more positive messages:

I’m too exhausted even to think of moving.
I always have more energy after I exercise.

I’m just so slow.
When I started, I was out of breath very quickly. I may not be a speed demon, but I have really built up my endurance.

My whole body hurts from that last workout.
If I stretch well or take a hot bath, my muscles will be warmed up, and I’ll be feeling no pain once I start moving.

I had to skip three days because I had a virus. It’s impossible for me to stay with it. Something always gets in the way.
Each day is a new day, and I can pick up where I left off.

It’s miserable out, so I think I ‘ll just sleep in this morning.
It’s raining too hard for me to enjoy my walk. I think I’ll try that new yoga DVD.

This was the most stressful day at work in a long time. I think I’ll make myself a drink.
I haven’t been this stressed out in a long time. I bet a good workout will help me burn off this tension.

Prevent | Delay | Control

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Joanne Guidoccio

A “2009 GQ Rock Star of Science” doctor has written a provocative and inspiring book that presents a revolutionary approach to treating and preventing disease. In The End of Illness, oncologist Dr. David Agus brings his ideas out of the lab, showing us how to live healthy, vibrant lives and move gracefully into old age.

Agus starts by asking us to fill out a personal health inventory questionnaire, a four-page checklist originally designed to help patients prepare for annual check-ups. Agus is a big believer of personalized medicine, and he wants each of us to customize our health care to accommodate our physiology, genetics and value systems. He explains, “Nothing about health is one-size-fits-all, so until you know how to perform your own fitting, you won’t be able to live the long and happy life that is awaiting you.”

Genetic testing is another way we can empower ourselves to improve our health. We can currently look at genetic risk profiling for about forty conditions, ranging from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer’s to glaucoma. Agus points out that this is not necessarily our destiny. If we use the right tools, we can shift our fate to live longer than what our DNA dictates.

Agus takes on the $25 million vitamin and supplement industry. He devotes an entire chapter entitled “Proceed with Caution” to discussing the pitfalls of Vitamin D. He argues that while Vitamin D may appear to be an anticancer miracle worker in the lab where you can control cell cultures, this effect does not replicate itself in live people. And more importantly, each of us has a genetic predisposition to maintaining a certain level of vitamin D and no number is perfect for everyone.

In a subsequent chapter, Agus gives data on the research and explains why he feels the “hype” over all vitamins and supplements is overrated. The doctor does not mince words when he makes the following claims: “Tumours devour Vitamin C like candy so you could be feeding your cancer rather than fighting it when you consume excess Vitamin C” and “To get the same amount of fish oil you would from a single serving of salmon, you would have to consume 20 to 30 fish oil capsules.” While he does not have any problems with people taking vitamins to correct deficiencies or address certain conditions such as pregnancy, Agus believes that taking vitamins generically for health makes no sense.

I was amused by the following advice: “Don’t trust anything that comes out of a blender, juicer or glass jar.” Agus wonders if the body really likes consuming ten carrots or a whole head of broccoli all at once. And he advises us to consider buying frozen fruits and vegetables instead of what looks like fresh produce at the supermarket.

To root out chronic inflammation, Agus offers many practical, easy-to-implement strategies. Wear comfortable shoes. Get an annual flu vaccine. Take a statin and baby aspirin if you are over the age of forty. The easiest but often the most challenging advice to follow is keeping a regular schedule. Agus reminds us that when we break the body’s natural rhythm, we are no longer performing optimally. Our bodies will respond positively when we stick to the same sleep-wake schedule seven days a week, eat our meals at the same time each day, and take downtime during our waking hours.

As a cancer survivor and the daughter of parents with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, I appreciate the doctor’s advice to focus on the present year and not rely on a textbook to tell me something that might happen in ten years time. By the time we reach that ten-year mark, there will be “new therapies, new treatments and new roads to take.”

Dr. David Agus has written a truly motivational book that deserves a place on everyone’s bookshelf.

Wellness Show

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Joanne Guidoccio

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Show Planner Lee Pryke’s mission was to bring together the people she met on her journey of making healthy choices and to share that knowledge with the Guelph community. Her positive energy was evident everywhere as I wandered through the lobby, Main Ball Room and Speakers Area. I particularly enjoyed the sessions with Joanne Johnson and Sarah Schlote.

Joanne is part of the well-known Body Break team (Hal and Joanne Johnson). Joanne discussed the importance of knowledge and information, focusing on the health supplements offered by True Star.

In her session, Sarah shared aspects of her own life journey with us. This articulate and engaging speaker suffered through childhood trauma and bullying which resulted in years where she wore a social mask and avoided stressful situations. She presented three keys for overcoming stress: mindfulness, grounding and containment and boundaries. She ended with a guided meditation.