Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Archive for March, 2012

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Small Acts of Kindness

Posted by terrepruitt on March 8, 2012

Have you ever heard about doing a random act of kindness?  We are often encouraged to commit acts of kindness.  The acts can be simple and they could be random.  Pay the toll on the bridge for the person behind you, pay for the coffee for the person behind you in line at the coffee shop, help someone whose car is broken down, things like that.  Always for other people.  But how often do you hear about doing small acts of kindness for yourself?  Small acts of kindness for your body?  I’m going to go out on a limb and say not often.  I am not talking about getting a massage or buying something new that will add to our happiness.  I am not talking about the “take time for yourself” kind of kindness.  I am talking about little things that we probably don’t even realize would be a small act of kindness to ourself and to our body.

I was listening to a Nia Continuing Education recording and Debbie Rosas said to do small acts of kindness for ourselves throughout the day.  In this Nia training she briefly mentioned the act being a shift in posture, something having to do with the body.  The reference to an adjustment in the body reminded me of the information in my post about Dance Conditioning Tips.  In reading the tips I thought they were not just for dance and could be applied to everyday living.  The tip was to sense your body while doing a task and see if is in alignment.  Well there are more things than just “off” alignment that could cause discomfort, so I was thinking of things that we could do to be kind to the body.  Maybe some of them are just adjustments in the way we are sitting that can be made.  If your neck is tense is your keyboard to high?  Can it be lowered or can your seat be raised?  Would the small act of sitting straighter be kind to you back?  How about the much talked about and needed break?  Taking just a few minutes away from the desk for a little stretch or shake out.

What about a glass of water?  A small and simple way to be kind to your body. Would you object to closing your eyes for a moment and taking deep breaths?  It’s a great way to show some body kindness.  I bet you could go for taking off your shoes and wiggling your toes and flexing your feet moving your ankles—-I bet your feet would LOVE you for that small kindness.
 
Ok, I have one, it is a big one, and don’t deny you have done it because I would bet we ALL have done it at one time or another . . . . . don’t wait!  Don’t hold it.  Get up and go to the restroom.  I bet more of us have done that than not.  We have to go to the restroom because of that small kindness of a glass of water, but we just want to finish one more thing, then we will go.  Then that one thing turns into another and next thing you realize you are sprinting to the restroom.  Do your bladder a small kindness and don’t “do one more thing”.  Stop what you are doing and go to the restroom. 

These are all little things, so small, you might not even realize how big of an impact they can have until you try one.  The “small” part allows you to do them without much or any interruption to your day.  Just little adjustments or small acts of kindness for yourself to fit in easily to your day.

So what do you think?  Do you think you any of these would be something you can do?  Can you think of a small act of kindness that you can do?  Can you think of a small act of kindness that you can do for your body?  Do tell.

Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

The Guiltier They Are The Louder They Yell

Posted by terrepruitt on March 6, 2012

Have you ever been in a situation where the reaction of the person you are dealing with is completely odd?  Before I became a Nia Student and teacher I worked in the mortgage industry.  I started when I was 15 going on 16.  I learned a lot working with Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Brokers, Lenders, Title Officers, Escrow Officers, County Recorders, borrowers, appraisers . . . . and the list goes on.  One thing I learned early on was from a broker.  While I don’t remember the exact situation (what it was he did not do), I do remember the utter perplexity I felt then the moment of absolute clarity.  I have what I learned and easily applied it to many, many, many, many, many situations throughout my life.  Sometimes it actually helps because I can work with the knowledge, sometimes it doesn’t help because it doesn’t matter that I know what is going on, the person is just going to be the way they are no matter what.  Sometimes there is no defusing certain situations or people.  The lesson I learned was actually about behavior.  I observed that people tend to get over the top angry and blow things out of proportion when they are at fault.  The situation I vaguely remember was that I could not do something for the broker because he had not supplied me with what I needed in order to do it.  He was angry and his huge outburst completely flabbergasted me because it was not my fault, it was out of my control, in fact. . .. . and then I saw it clearly . . . .it was his fault and he knew it.

People tend to get more upset when they are the one at fault.  Even when they are the one at fault they project the anger on the person they are dealing with and more often than not the situation goes down hill from there.  Sometimes, as I mentioned, when you know what is happening, when you recognize that the person displaying the anger [(edited, added 02.20.13) is angry at themselves], sometimes you can defuse the situation.  You can somehow let them know that it is ok they made a mistake and work to fix the situation.  But sometimes that doesn’t work.  Sometimes people just want to be angry.  Or sometimes maybe it is that they have had such a bad day they almost can’t help but be angry.  Or sometimes when the situation involves another person they can’t let go of their anger.  If say, whatever it is they did in the situation affected their child or their spouse (or whomever), sometimes this is when they can’t let go . . . and I believe it is because of the guilt of their error.

In some situations it is impossible to help relieve the person’s guilt because you might not even recognize they are feeling guilty.  You might not recognize that they feel bad for the situation they have created.  It could be that it is not really a big deal to you and it can be easily fixed so when the person displays anger towards you, you might be shocked and not be able to work with it.

This reminds me a little of listening with love, but this is more listening with understanding.  Of course, as I mentioned if you don’t have a sense of any wrong doing then it is difficult to understand why someone might feel guilty and then that could be where the listening with love comes in, right?  “I have no idea what is troubling this person so that they are so angry, but I will listen with love because there has been no indication that I should do otherwise.”  🙂

With all the different ways to listen; the “not assuming” and the “understanding what someone is going through”, to the just “listen with love” sometimes communicating can be a challenge.  We should keep trying, keeping talking, keep listening, even through someone else’s guilt.

Have you experienced what I am talking about?  Have you seen or been at the brunt of someone’s anger because they were the one at fault?  What did you do?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

A Substitute May Supply What You Need In Place of What You Want

Posted by terrepruitt on March 3, 2012

Not too long ago on Facebook a friend of mine posted a list I found to be very interesting.  It was a list of food people crave (from Naturopathy Works).  The list was an explanation and a counter to the craving..  If you crave this . . . . your body needs that.  I thought it was awesome.  I love the idea.  The food craving or behaviors listed are generally “unhealthy”, the list then shows the thing that is needed; sometimes a vitamin, a mineral, or something along those lines.  Then to be ultimately helpful there is a list of suggestions as to what to eat or do, in order to help with the craving or behavior.  Isn’t that marvelous.  Isn’t it interesting?  I thought so.

If you crave Chocolate, your body needs magnesium so you could substitute a healthy alternative of raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits.  Oh honestly, as I typed this I heard the collective future groan of the chocolate lovers that read this.  I know there are people who believe there is no substitute for chocolate.  And sometimes, there isn’t.  If your heart, head, and mouth are dead set on chocolate, there usually isn’t anything that will suffice, but if you are actually willing to forego it and try something else to satisfy your craving there is a healthy alternative. 

For some of the food cravings there is a list of things you might really need, coffee or tea for instance.  If you are craving coffee or tea the list states you really need phosphorous, sulfur, NaCl (salt), iron.  I would suggest that you then think about your diet and what you have eaten and decide what you might really need.  For me I can honestly say I doubt I EVER need salt.  I think I get quite enough of it in my diet.  So I wouldn’t need to try the substitutions for salt which are: Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad).  I might want to try the chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes for the phosphorous, or the meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries for the iron.  But I don’t think I would need the garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables for the sulfur, but maybe the egg yolks, red peppers, and muscle protein.  If you read my blog you know I get a ton of garlic and onion (my only flavorings!) and cruciferous veggies.  But I am not big on protein, so I am sure that is where I would get the help if I were to look for a substitute.

As I said this list has food cravings and behaviors, as in “General Over Eating” and for that the items needed are silicon with a substitution of nuts and seeds, but a behavior or elimination of avoiding refined starches.  Other things this list states a body might need if it is over eating is tryptophan so try cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach, vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables for tyrosine.

I found this interesting and helpful.  I haven’t had much time to put it to use, but I plan too.  A healthy alternative is often a great way to go.  But then there are times I feel it is ok to give into the craving, but the key is moderation.  Do you find this interesting?  Would you give it a try?  Let us know if any of this helps satisfy a craving.  🙂

Food Cravings, Dance Exercise, Nia Teacher, Nia information, Nia Website, Nia Classes, Nia Schedule, Nia Class Fees

Posted in Food, Helpful Hints | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The USDA Makes the Elderberry and Elderflower Sound Miraculous

Posted by terrepruitt on March 1, 2012

In a post about an article I read about boosting your immune system I mentioned elderberries.  I think it is funny how things get brought to your conscious.  Last year I went to a Yelp Event where one of the vendors serving was St Germain.  St. Germain is a French liqueur made from elderflowers.  I had never heard of it, but when first hearing of the event my friend had told me it was her favorite.  After tasting it in their signature cocktail I understood why.  That was my first conscious memory of hearing about elderberries.  Then I read the article and it mentioned elderberries.  So I decided to do a few searches on Elderberries and as is the case with most things Wiki has a wealth of information.  First off the Elderberry is kind of the category of 5 to 30 shrubs or trees.

It seems as if most countries and peoples use the elderflowers to make syrups.  The syrups can be added to pancakes or diluted with water and used as a drink.  Or what the french had done and made a liqueur.  Seems as if the berries are used in the tradition of many berries, in wines, james, jellies, marmaldes, and fruit pies.  Every site I have seen says that the flowers are often dipped in batter and fried.  Elderberries.com states that they believe it is best not to eat them raw. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture:  “Only the blue or purple berries of elderberry are edible. Edible berries and flower are used for medicine, dyes for basketry, arrow shafts, flute, whistles, clapper sticks, and folk medicine. The active alkaloids in elderberry plants are hydrocyanic acid and sambucine. Both alkaloids will cause nausea so care should be observed with this plant. Elderberries are high in Vitamin C. The red berries of other species are toxic and should not be gathered.”

The USDA site also states that folk medicine considered the elderberry a very valuable healing plant.  And it sounds like it could do almost anything.  The flowers have flavonoids which some say are thought to help prevent cancer and improve immune function.  The tannins are a help with reduction of bleeding, diarrhea, and congestions.

The flowers can also be made into a tea to aid in breaking “dry fevers and stimulate perspiration, aid headache, indigestion, twitching eyes, dropsy, rheumatism, appendix inflammation, bladder or kidney infections, colds, influenza, consumption (bleeding in lungs), and is helpful to newborn babies (Hutchens 1991). Used as a wash, the flowers or leaves are good for wounds, sprains, and bruises, as well as for sores on domestic animals. The leaves, which are stronger, have a slightly laxative property. Applied externally, leaves, flowers, bark and twigs are excellent as a poultice, mixed equally with chamomile, for soreness, inflammations, joint stiffness, and to reduce the swelling of bee stings. The flowers and berries, employed as a diuretic, can aid arthritis and rheumatism. Steeped in water, the flowers are used externally to aid in complexion beauty, tone and soften the skin, and lighten freckles or spots. The berry juice made into salve aids burns and scalds. The juice taken internally will act as a purgative.’

Wow, huh?  Sounds like the entire plant can pretty much do anything.  But I haven’t seen the berries sold anywhere, have you?  I have to admit I have not LOOKED for them, but since they sound like they can take care of some many things I would think they would be more popular.

Since the actual genus name is Sambucus, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that the Italian liqueur Sambucca is comprised of oil from the elderflower.  Aside from the liqueur versions and the jam versions, it really sounds as if the flowers and the berries are very good for you.  They have a lot of vitamin C and a good amount of vitamin A.  And according to folk medicine they do a heck of a lot.  I am going to look for them in September.  That seems to be the season for Elderberries. 

After reading they can help boost your immune system AND all the other stuff listed here, do they interest you?  Do elderberries sound like something you would like to add to your diet?  Do you want to try some elderflowers?

Posted in Food, Fruit | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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