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Guide to Improving Con� dence,

Greater Happiness& LIVING YOUR

BEST LIFEPLUS: FREE GUIDE TO IMPROVING POSTURE

Here are 10 practical tips which are easy to incorporate into your daily life. They will help you achieve greater confidence, boost your energy levels and help you live your best life!

1. ACTIVATE THE PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEM WITH 4-7-8 BREATH. When we are in a vicious cycle of stress, our sympathetic system takes over, increasing our heart rate and contributing to rapid breathing and physical body tension. This can contribute to increased anxiety, depression and can have harmful affects on our health. One quick way to break this stress cycle is by the 4-7-8 breathing method. Simply breathe in from the nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7 and breathe out from the mouth for 8 seconds. Doing even 5 or 10 of these breaths can help to reset the nervous system and can allow for greater relaxation. This will also help engage the vagus nerve which is a critical component of the parasympathetic system-the part of the nervous system which promotes relaxation.

2. SET INTENTIONS FOR YOUR DAY. Research shows that when we write things down they are there more likely to happen. By setting intentions for your day, you are affirming to your subconscious what you want to have happen that day and it will most likely will occur. Being intentional is a powerful way to live!

3. EAT NUTRITIOUS FOODS. What you eat inevitably affects your physical body and your mind. So fuel your body with the best foods! Making healthier food choices is a great form of self care because it boosts your immune system and when you feel strong and your immune system is strong you’ll have greater energy and confidence! You will also lose weight and feel more confident. For greater energy, make sure you’re drinking enough water. Half of your body weight in ounces is the recommended amount. Coffee and green tea in mod-eration can help too. Also eating foods such as spinach, kale, yogurt, quinoa, hummus salmon, mixed nuts, bananas, oranges and oatmeal can help boost your energy levels.

5. DEVELOP A STRONG MINDSET. Being the most confident version of yourself starts with a belief in your own amazing self-worth so it is imperative choose thoughts that are in alignment with that belief. If you want to live your best life and not let stress call all the shots then learn to manage your thought patterns and choose empowering thoughts over negative ones. It sounds simple enough but this one key shift is extremely powerful! Choose to cultivate a great and grateful mindset. Learn to not let your emotions take over. You can do this with journaling about things that you’re grateful for or journal just to get your emotions out. When you journal you are releasing and reflecting on things. It can help you distinguish between emotions and fact. By making journaling a regular practice it can help you think strong. And when your thoughts are strong you will see great results in all areas of your life. As Marcus Elliot said “when you can master your mind, you can master your reality”.

6. HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE THAT HELPS SET THE FOUNDATION FOR THE DAY. Having a morning routine is such a great way to set the foundation for the rest of the day as it trains your mind to be grounded and centered. Studies show that those who meditate, do yoga or exercise in the morning report having greater mental and physical strength.

7. MAKE EXERCISE A PRIORITY. Not only does exercise reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease but it also helps de-crease anxiety, depression and improves your confidence. With all these benefits it’s vital to make exercise a part of your daily routine. How much exercise do we need? 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity a week. Incorporate core strengthening, weight training, cardiovascular, stretching, balance exercises and you will be set.

8. BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN AMAZING SELF-WORTH. Many of us fall into the trap of not feeling good enough and comparing ourselves to others. This way of thinking is sure to sabotage your success in life. If this is a problem for you, say affirmations - especially in the morning reaffirming your self worth. Say the affirmations with intentions to make the day amazing and it can set the stage to help you keep your thoughts and actions in alignment with your great worth. Visualize suc-cess for the day. Some of the most successful people from athletes to successful CEO’s use visualization to achieve their goals. Harness the power of the subconscious mind by visualizing what you want your life to look like and see yourself as already having achieved your goals. Doing this last thing at night and first thing upon waking up in the morning is powerful and can help recruit the subconscious mind.

9. ALLOW TIME FOR MORE JOY, PLAY, LAUGHTER AND CREATIVITY IN YOUR LIFE. Schedule things that give you happiness. Think about when you were a kid and what you loved doing. We all have an inner child within us and it’s so important to sched-ule things in your life that give you joy and laughter. Maybe it’s a sport you love, join a club, take up painting, dance, listen to music, anything that gives you that spark - the joy that you had when you were a kid.

10. SET SMART GOALS. Set smart goals and make a commitment to stay consistent with these goals so that habits can form. Research shows it takes on average 66 days to create habits and for new neural pathways to form in the brain. So staying consistent, especially as you first embark on your new goal is crucial. By setting SMART goals you are setting yourself up for success in maintain your goals long-term. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time specific. For instance, if you want to work out this week, it’s more effective to say you’re going to workout 3 days this week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 PM and do a weightlifting routine, rather than saying you are going to work out 3 times this week. The more specific you are with your goal setting, the more likely it is to happen.

Bonus: Guide to Improving Posture

We’ve all heard how important it is to improve our posture but how many of us actually have really good posture? Some may think it is just not achievable to change a lifetime of bad postural habits but while it might be challenging at first, I can tell you it is possi-ble! As a physical therapist and improving the posture of many patients over the years, I know you can develop the habit of better posture and is achievable no matter how old you are. The following are just some of the benefits of having better posture:

-Opens up the airways and prevent shallow breathing ensures that her oxygen flow-Your joints are in alignment, which allows the correct muscles to be used-There is a decrease in backache and muscle pain-You’ll feel better

One of the first things to keep in mind is to have an awareness of whether your posture is in good alignment or not. Here are a couple of quick ways that you can assess your own posture right now. Stand in front of the mirror and look for these things:

1. Is your head translating forward? Your ears should be aligned above your shoulders to minimize the stress on the cervical spine.

2. Are your shoulders rounding forward? Your shoulder blades should be slightly pulled back.

3. Are you standing with your abdominals relaxed and with an increased sway back? If so then tuck your tailbone under slightly. Tighten your abs. You might even want to squeeze your buttocks slightly which can engage the gluteus muscles and can in turn help with postural stabilization.

HERE’S A GREAT EXERCISE THAT YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE RIGHT NOW.

Again stand in front of mirror and bring your arms down by your side. Now gently squeeze your shoulder blades together. Make sure that your shoulders are not rising up when you do this. Squeeze the shoulder blades very gently for 10 seconds, relax and then repeat this again 10 times. Repeat again for a total of 3 sets of 10. Do this exercise daily.

Consistency with this postural exercises is key when we’re looking to create new habits. When we do our exercises every day it creates muscle memory and even improves the neural connections in our brain that will help in developing the habit of better posture. Another thing that has helped some of my patients is to have them put a post it on their doorway in their home. Every time they walk past that doorway they will see the re-minder to keep their posture up. A couple of other tools that you could use to improve your posture is to visualize yourself with upright posture, just as athletes do for greater performance. You can also mark down on your calendar each day that you finish your posture exercise. Keep at it and you will have better posture!