Stop Dieting Start Living (part 2)

Well........the 12 weeks (of this program) have come to an end and that went really fast. I want to send out a huge thank you to Rachel Fox, the facilitator of this program. This was a very personal journey for her. We got to hear about her life long struggles with weight and body image and how she changed it all around to put the focus on being HEALTHY  and feeling great, and not to worry about what the scale says.

I have to admit, I'm still struggling with that one. In one of our sessions, Rachel asked us if we'd be willing to bring our scales in to get rid of them. I think I actually had heart palpitations. It really showed me how deeply ingrained that programming is for women to always be looking to the scale for validation. On our first night when we were introducing ourselves and telling a bit about our stories, I told the part of how for 2 years I have been tracking my food and hiking my butt off (unfortunately NOT literally!), and how disappointed I was that I had not lost an ounce. Yes, I was feeling stronger, Yes, my chronic pain that I deal with as a part of my illness has become less, but because those numbers on the scale had not moved, I felt like a failure.

Being a person that is obsessed with personal development, I have done SO much work on my self mentally and emotionally, but going through this process showed me that I still have a major mental roadblock when it comes to weight and body image. I have been avoiding it, while working on other areas that I felt were more important, but I definitely realized I need to kick this part of the work into high gear. As we went through the program and talked about food, moving our bodies, drinking water, I was like: check, check, check......so what am I doing wrong? It confirmed to me that my issue is with mindset. I can pinpoint when my weight started to become and issue and why, now it is time for me to spend some time to meet it head on, and the thought of that is a bit scary, but it truly needs to be done if I am ever going to be free of this.

In my first blog post, I had mentioned some of my fave parts of the first half of the program, now I will mention my fave parts of the second half. On one of the night, Patricia Dominguez, a nutrition expert from Integrated Nutrition Canada, came and spoke with us and some points she made really stuck out for me. When it comes to the Canadian diet, we are dealing with 3 main problems: Our obsession with sugar, a hijacked mindset and the troubling toxin that are so prevalent in our foods today. Some of the demos that she showed us were enough to turn your stomach. We also talked about how to reset the body through removing toxins from your organs, replenishing the natural flora in the digestive system, restoring the gut where inflammation is concerned, nourishing our bodies with whole foods and changing our mindset to make better eating choices. On another night, Sharon Villars from Bootstrap Lifeskills came by to talk about the 50 Shades of Blues, in how stress and overwhelm can affect your health. We did some pretty great exercises that definitely got us thinking about the language we use and how it affects our lives and health.

So, when I first agreed to be a part of this program, I had no idea what I was in for. I have done several 'weight loss' programs before, so I will admit that I went in a tad cynical about me learning anything new. But the truth of the matter is, this is not like all those other programs. You don't have to show a food journal, you're not counting calories, there are no weight ins or measurements taken. This program is learning about strategies that you could implement in your life in different areas that affect your weight and overall health. And in the end, it's your choice if you want to implement them or not. You are the one that has to do the work, this is NOT a quick fix issue.  So if you're ready to be honest about where you are and how you've been treating your body and wanting to learn some new tools to add to your repertoire, then this is the program for you. I believe in going forward, Rachel is thinking about changing it to a 2 day event instead of holding it over 12 weeks, so keep an eye out for that being advertised

As for Rachel's other venture of the Body Exchange , which is the Bootcamp for plus sizes.......I cannot recommend this enough. While I was there, I was LOVING it.....and my body was actually handling it quite nicely........until I took a bad fall in February, and my back and hip just haven't been the same since, and add round #3 of a nasty cold on top of that, and I was completely knocked out from completing my time there. Definitely check it out if you are wanting to get serious about moving your body and feeling awesome! Stop by Rachel's Facebook page to connect with her there to get more info on the programs.

On a personal side note......this will be my last blog post under the Positivity Kitty name, I am transitioning over to my life as a Certified Relationship and Life Coach and will be blogging under my business name of Reignite Your Purpose. I'm hoping that the website will be somewhat up and operational soon, so I will post later with the links to that.

Thank you for spending your time with me as the Positivity Kitty, and I hope you come on over to Reignite Your Purpose soon.

Hugs,
S

Ever Been To A Salt Cave?

A while back, I remember catching a glimpse of a report on the news (or some other show) about salt caves. Honestly, the only thing I remembered from it was that they looked cool! Then last fall, I came across a sponsored or suggested post in my Facebook newsfeed about the SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave.  The memory of salt covered walls and floors was triggered and I figured I would look into a bit further.  At this point in time, I was dealing with my chronic illness and trying to find natural remedies to help with my gamut of symptoms, and I was interested in checking this out to see if it would give any relief. For me, part of living a happy, positive life, is to take care of my body in natural ways and reduce the amount of chemical and pharmaceutical ways of treating ailments……and this looked right up my alley!!

Upon checking out the website, I learned how salt caves have been widely used in Europe for decades, but they are relatively new to North America. I also learned about how salt is considered a cleansing tool and that they use a Halogenerator to disperse dry saline aerosol into the air for you to breathe in and for it to come in contact with your skin surface. This excerpt from their website REALLY caught my attention as to the benefits of Halotherapy………”our SaltWonder provides sessions of “halotherapy” (salt therapy) that benefits one’s health, mental and psychic well-being, as well as beauty. This procedure creates a curative effect on numerous breathing conditions and symptoms such as chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughs, wheezing, respiratory allergies, rhinitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, colds, influenza, smoke related cough (secondary smoke symptoms). The sessions of salt therapy significantly reduce stress, anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, enhance concentration capacity, bring feelings of freshness, relaxation and satisfaction. The simulated salt cave microclimate retards skin aging, smoothes out wrinkles, reduces inflammation and acne.” According to that, everyone could benefit from some time in the cave!!! I was sold…..I didn’t have any breathing issues, but I liked the idea of reducing stress, regulating sleep patterns, increasing concentration and the anti-aging!! At that point in time, there was only a large public room, which worked out fine, as my friend and I had it all to ourselves.  Have a look at the video below to give you an idea as to what the public room looks like.

After an hour in there, I felt soooooooooooo amazingly relaxed.  I couldn’t believe that I was actually able to sit still for that long, and actually I couldn’t believe that a whole hour had gone by. Some of you might be thinking……..how do I know that I was actually breathing in the salt air?  Well, I licked my arm afterwards, and I was definitely salty! So there was definitely lots of salt in the air! In the public room, there is a play area for kids, so this is a therapy for all ages.

Recently, I saw that the owner, Nuca Stoica, had built a private room where you lay on a heated bed of salt, so of course, I had to try that out. There is a lot of pain involved in my chronic illness, so the thought of laying on a heated bed of salt would definitely give me some increased relief, not to mention being a private room, you are able to expose more of your skin surface to the salt aerosol for even greater benefits. As you can see in my video

below……..this was such a relaxing experience!!

In expanding the benefits of going to the Salt Cave, Nuca has also invited people in to do some yoga, meditation and sound healing sessions within the cave. Keep an eye on the website for when those special events are available, On July 19^th, a Nebulization room has now been opened for an even more concentrated therapy in only 20 minutes. Check out this most recent interview that Nuca did with Shaw TV about the salt cave.

If you or a loved one suffers from any sort of breathing issue, skin inflammatory issues, or are in need of some relaxation, with anti-aging properties thrown in, give Nuca a call and book an introductory appointment in the cave……..you won’t be disappointed!! Right now Nuca has some summer specials going on, so definitely take advantage of those.  You can find them on his website or his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saltwonder

SPECIAL OFFER!!! Call Nuca and tell him that you read all

about his Salt Cave on my blog, and you will get a 45min session in the large public room for ONLY $19 (reg price $45)!!!

SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave
940 West 16th St.
North Vancouver, BC
604-971-5220
www.saltcavebc.com