| Having a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is easy to have when everything is going our way. When times are tough (like now), we need to double down on nurturing our PMA. So, how can we get and stay positive? The late Zig Ziglar would often say that your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. So true. Here are a few tips to help us get on the right track. Guard Your Intake – a steady diet of negativity breeds negativity. Fill your cup each day with positivity. Give – nothing helps our attitude and well being more than giving to others. It’s an instant boost. Give it a try. Move It-Move It – get those endorphins pumping through some exercise. It’s another easy way to adjust our attitude. This week, let’s work on having the best attitude possible. Kick your PMA into high gear. Ready, set, time to grow! |
Health Opportunities
| Sometimes our health improvement opportunities are right in front of us. With a little nudge, we can all get on track with being better than we were yesterday. Here are a few tips from the experts at the American Cancer Society. Make TV time active time: Stand up and fold laundry while you watch. Do a few simple exercises like jumping jacks or walking in place, or by doing stretches in front of the screen. Make a new rule: No sitting during commercials. Make household chores count: Mop or vacuum fast enough to get your heart pumping. A 150–pound person can burn about 150 calories an hour this way. Have young children or pets at home? Playing with them can burn more than 200 calories per hour. Yard work and gardening are also ways to burn calories and strengthen your arm, leg, and back muscles. Pushing a lawn mower, raking leaves, shoveling, and other outdoor chores can be an effective workout. Use stay-at-home time for projects you may have been putting off. Cleaning out the garage or attic is another way to be productive and active at the same time. |
Power Up
Do you struggle to get motivated in the morning? If yes, you are not alone. Most people feel like they have 100lb weights on their legs in the morning. So what can we do to put a pep in our step?
A daily Power Up might be just what you need. It’s really simple and doesn’t require more than a little prior planning and determination to stick with it. Here’s my simplistic approach to a daily Power Up
Think – As soon as you wake up. Start with thinking or saying aloud what you are thankful for in your life. Gratitude for your family, health, friends, etc.
Listen – While getting ready, listen to motivational speakers. There are a million free ones on Youtube. Take your pick and press play.
Do – Take a short walk, do some jumping jacks, push ups, etc. Simply move it-move it. It’s a mood booster.
Starting you day with a Power Up will help get you motivated to be your best each day.
Focus
Did any of you put on your parents glasses when you were a kid? Wow! What an experience, right? Everything was so blurry. How did they see anything. As adults, we understand how they could not see anything without them:)
Focus is such a big part of the martial arts and life in general. Do you ever feel like life is getting blurry and your focus is all over the place? We all do at times. There’s a saying that helps remind me about my focus. It goes, Where our focus goes, our energy flows.
What really matters to you? Focus on that. When we start to feel the pull of life, stop and take a breath. Remind yourself about what really matters. This idea tends to get us on the right track.
It’s like being a kid again. We can take off the glasses or put them on to help us find the focus needed on what is important.
Healthy Mind
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve focused a great deal on having a healthy body. Greatly needed, right? Even more important is to make sure that we maintain a healthy mind. It’s all connected.
Here are a few quick tips to get us on the right track.
• Stay Active – when the stinking thinking starting to set in, get up and get moving. Be sure to have a regular exercise routine to help your mind feel as equally fantastic as your body.
• We are what we eat– having a balanced diet has a direct impact on how we think. Eating food that promotes positive brain function is a great idea. Go green:)
• Talk It Out – do you have a good network of friends that you can talk about your challenges? Nothing feels better than to talk about your challenges that you’re facing. Unburden your unneeded baggage by talking with friends and/or a professional that can help you navigate through your challenges.
Our mind and body are connected. By spending just as much time on our mind as our body, we will feel more equipped and excited to face each day with a smile.😁
Love
Over the course of world history, we have experienced countless changes. Some for the better and others not so better. We are currently in the middle of a lot of change. You can see it and feel it. Hopefully, our world can come out the other end of all this for the better.
When you look at the news and social media, it can quickly arouse different emotions for each of us. Many divisions are being created.
I’m simply using this platform to encourage everyone to simply love. Hate brings about more hate. We are all one. Nobody is superior to anyone else.
One of the many things that I love about the dojang is that it acts as a sort of utopia. It doesn’t matter your skin color, religious choice or income bracket, you are treated equally with love and respect.
This week, I’m encouraging everyone to chose love over hate. Kindness over being right. Let’s all be the change that we desire to see in our changing world.
Training Tips
We are excited to see more families starting class and/or working out. Keeping our mind and body in great shape is a wonderful goal. Here are a few tips to help us keep on the right track.
- Start Small – motivation is high when starting a new exercise. It’s the honeymoon stage. Enjoy it. However, try to avoid injury and/or burn out by taking it easy. Baby steps:)
- Be Patient– we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing this will help us to avoid the pitfall of comparing ourselves to others. Try simply enjoying the process of struggling at times. Keep telling yourself, I can and will do it.
- Mix It Up – try changing up your workout routines. Swimming, yoga, martial arts, weight lifting, cycling, etc. The variety is great for your mind and body.
Working out and the results from it are wonderful. Start small, be patient and mixing it up will help you stay on track with living your best life.
Balance
Balance is such a big part of what we do in Tang Soo Do. When we start class, we have a moment of silence. This time is to help us get balanced for class. Taking deep cleansing breaths helps us to focus our mind on the task at hand.
With our mind focused, we will easily detect when our body is not balanced. With this awareness, we can calibrate ourselves so that we are more centered.
When we close class, we finish with another moment of silence. This time is great for reflecting what we completed.
Try starting the day with a moment of silence and ending it with the same approach. This is one of many ways to help us be more balanced in our daily lives. Best wishes!
Phase 2 is Here!
We are excited to share the great news that we will be starting in person classes by appointment on Monday, June 8th. At this time, we will continue to offer virtual classes (Facebook Live and ZOOM) side by side with our in person classes.
Please check your email for details on class times, procedures to enter and how to schedule your class appointment. If you do not currently receive emails from us, please fill out a request form on our home page of our website.
We can’t wait to see everyone in class next week! TANG SOO!
Get Outside
Health professionals agree that getting outside is a wonderful way to boost our well being. Here are a few scientifically proven reasons why we should get outdoors.
- Relieve Stress – High blood pressure and depression have been linked to stress. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors decreases stress and increases rejuvenation.
- Live Longer– Longevity has been connected to being outdoors. Getting outside helps improve your heart and mental health.
- Weight Management – Getting outside regularly for a walk, bike ride, swim equals shedding those unwanted pounds.
I agree to use caution when going outside, but let’s not let our fears over ride our ability to get outdoors and enjoy all the benefits of nature.