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Health Lecture Series
We offer health talks mainly on Sunday evenings from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center. Some clinics are offered during an evening during the week. Please look at our calendar to see when the classes that are being offered.
GOAL SETTING
Thousands of books have been written over the past few decades regarding goal setting. Numerous seminars, webinars, and teleconferences are held each month showing individuals the value of setting goals. It has been shown that when you write you goals down and you have a clear vision of them, you are more likely to attain them. As you commit the next 12-weeks of your life to personal improvement, we want to lay some ground-work to ensure your success. The week prior to the beginning of The Challenge is the week to set your goals and create your vision.
LEARN HOW TO MEDITATE, SPEND TIME ALONE
The practice of meditation has often been referred to as a form of spiritual exercise. Millions of thoughts enter our minds on a daily basis and trigger an emotional response within our bodies. Thoughts exists as healthy and constructive, or unhealthy and destructive experiences and it is the purpose of meditation to help discern the difference and support those thought patterns that are most beneficial to a functionally healthy mind. As you move forward into week three and your body is feeling the effects of week one and two, you will gain the tools to have your mind work for you, imagine that!
STRESS MANAGEMENT AND PROPER REST: GIMME A BREAK!
Stress: the common denominator in the human experience. We all have it. We've all experienced it. And we all react to it differently. Stress is a phenomenon that pervades our everyday life with our fast-paced lifestyles and ever-lasting responsibilities. Stress has been associated with numerous health conditions from high blood pressure to cancer. The good news is, WE CAN BEAT IT. Two of the best methods of controlling stress are exercise and rest! Seems simple, right? But when we take into account our lifestyles, which are creating all this stress, it seems that exercise and rest are easily put on the back burner. This week you will learn different methods for combating stress. Learning first how to indentify stressors and then how to manage and react to them will give you lasting techniques to lower your stress levels and improve your quality of life.
YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO WATER
One of the major goals of this week is to encourage healthy water consumption and to give Santa Cruz county residents alternatives to drinking bottled water. We want to make a huge statement this week and move away from the purchase of bottled water. Bottled water creates huge amounts of energy wastage. It takes 1.5 MILLION barrels of oil each year to produce the polyethylene teraphalate plastic for the bottles, not to mention all the toxic waste run-off from the production of the plastic and the fossil fuel used in transportation. 86% of plastic bottles in the US become garbage and it can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade! If that isn't enough, water extraction for bottled water has caused water shortages in over 50 villages in India, and in Texas, and the Great Lakes region. This week you will learn about different filtration systems, where you can get pure clean drinking water, and the best method to transport your water.
NUTRITIONAL CLEANSE & DETOXIFICATION
An elimination diet is a method of identifying foods that an individual cannot consume without adverse effects. Adverse effects may be due to food allergy, food intolerance, other physiological mechanisms (such as metabolic or toxins), or a combination of these. Elimination diets typically involve entirely removing a suspected food from the diet for a period of time from two weeks to two months, and waiting to determine whether symptoms resolve during that time period. We will discover what things we will eliminate this week to learn what our body needs best. I know you’re excited about this one!
CUTTING OUT THE 'STUFF' THAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK
What is that one thing that is holding you back from reaching your health goals? By this time in the challenge you have learned how to make healthy food choices, where to shop, the importance of proper rest and hydration, meditation for the mind, body, and spirit, .... But there's still that ONE thing that you wish you could do differently. This week will be a great week to identify that 'stuff' that's holding you back from reaching your next level of health. For some it might be eliminating alcohol, or recreational drugs. Maybe it's eliminated processed food altogether. Some people would do good to cut out TV watching, or video games, or spending less time around cell phones, microwaves, and wireless computers and more time reading a book or meeting with family and friends.
FINANCIAL FREEDOM 101
Your belief becomes your reality! It cannot be said enough times, that the things we believe in, we will manifest. It may be true that one of the most important factors regarding financial success is your beliefs about yourself and money. Cleaning up your finances and setting financial goals is going to prepare you for financial freedom. This week we will be discussing your relationship with money and discussing successful strategies in creating your financial freedom.
THE 3 R'S, SUSTAINABILITY
REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE!!! There is so much we can do to reduce our environmental footprint and preserve the earth's environment. You don't have to understand global climate change or understand the impact of landfills and toxicity on the environment. All you have to do is understand that everything you do, even the small things, make a difference, for better or worse. Whether you're an avid recycler or the occasional recycler, this week we ask you to take it one step further. Our focus is on reduction and reuse, so we can minimize the need to recycle. You will also be introduced to composting and the best ways to compost in your own home.
RELATIONSHIPS: CLEAN 'EM UP!
Life is all about relationships and sometimes we get caught up in our lives and don’t clean up things that need to be dealt with! That’s what we have this week for you! Is there someone in your life where you need to have a conversation, perhaps some unfinished business? A forgiveness letter that needs to be written (even to yourself!) or perhaps “letting go” of something you have been holding onto that is getting in the way of being close to someone you miss dearly. We will go into more depth during the class, but during this week you will take a bold step towards feeling lighter, freerer and more at peace with yourself and the people in your world.
VOLUNTEER: FIND A WORTHY CAUSE AND DONATE YOUR TIME
We are now months past the season of giving when we see an increase in donations given to charities and people in need. However, it is important to remember that people need your help year round. There are still the sick, homeless, poverty stricken men, women, children, and animals that will benefit from your generosity. Spring and summer months are when most charities see a huge decrease in supplies. This will be the one week that is not about you. Although donating time or money is a sure way to make you feel great about yourself, don't do it for yourself. Give of yourself in the name of humanitarianism. Give because it's the right thing to do. Give because you know we are all equal and you know that all people in need of charity are people of value with feelings and dignity. This week you will be introduced to local charities and learn how and when your services may be of use.
FENG SHUI YOUR LIFE: DE-CLUTTER
Many say that cleaning out your closets (rooms, office, home, garage...) is a type of cleansing process for the soul. It's a time to let go of all the stuff that you're keeping but not needing. Yes, this is a metaphor for your life, but you will be amazed at how much "stuff" you can get rid of by doing a cleanse of your material possessions. This project can be as little or as big as you like. Tackling a spring cleaning project is the final challenge presented to you. Remember to stay green while you clean. There are many "green" cleaning products that use environmentally-friendly ingredients that are less toxic to the environment and you. This week you will learn which "green" cleaning products are safe to use, how to make your own cleaning products and how to eliminate household toxins, including lighting, fragrances, and chemicals.
ALIGN WITH YOUR MOST OPTIMAL CAREER PATH
Whether you would like to clarify or choose a new career direction or just infuse your current career path with more passion, ease and fun, there are specific tools you can use to make these decisions and ignite your inspiration. Find out what to do when you have SO many Career or Business Ideas that you don't know where to start. Learn to be a creative channel, rather than a slave to your to-do lists and linear thinking. Join us learn to move forward through the fear, listen to your intuition and discover what it really takes to live a purposeful career.
MOTIVATION AND MASTERY
What is the impulse that keeps you on track? How do you consistently move toward your goals? Discover the two ingredients you need to stay the course toward your health and fitness goals. You will learn a method to build good habits, stay motivated and successfully achieve your goals. Join us in this talk and get ready to renew your commitment to your health goals and create greater results!
SHOP LOCAL, ORGANIC AND COOK!
One of the major perks of living in Santa Cruz County is the accessibility of seasonal food. With all the local farms and agriculture lush soil and the consciousness around the environment we are perfectly positioned to be the leading community that supports sustainable agriculture and local economy. Numerous benefits are gained by choosing to buy local seasonal food. You can choose to reduce the amount of resources used in transportation of the food which often comes from out of the country and reduce the amount of waste packaging necessary to transport the food. Local food is always fresher and maintains more nutrients than transported foods. Buying organic eliminates possibility of eating food that has been genetically modified and contaminated with herbicides pesticides and fungicides all of which are toxic. One of the major reasons people do not purchase food to cook at home is because they are too busy and don't have a variety of recipes to choose from. Beginning this week and throughout the following weeks participants of the challenge will have access to a list of daily recipes including a variety of breakfast lunch and dinner meals that can be created by even the novice cook.
STRETCHING & MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
Stretching and flexibility are two of the fundamental aspects of health. The ability to move your joints within normal range of motion without restrictions are crucial to injury prevention and overall health of muscles tendons and ligaments. This week we will focus on learning how and when to stretch and different techniques that will allow you to release adhesions and increase flexibility. We will also focus on proper posture while sitting sleeping and walking.
LEARN TO COOK HEALTHY & TASTY MEALS
Educational and inspiring, this cooking class will give you the skills to cook delicious, nutritious meals with ease. Practical Kitchen Tips and Tools to make your life healthier now! Join us in a mini cooking class where she'll show you how to get the most nutrition and feel-better-results from your kitchen in minutes.
EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE RUNNING
It's all about utilizing gravity. When we run we're continually about to topple over. Our natural reaction is to place our foot forward to break the fall. Then we push off again and repeat the process. This is conventional running acceleration followed by immediate deceleration. One successful running method is to eliminate the deceleration. Instead of trying to break the fall, the idea is to be continually on the edge of toppling, so that gravity becomes your friend. This is achieved through shorter, staccato strides with a very light forefoot landing which underneath the hip, rather than in front of it. It’s not necessarily landing on the ball of the foot rather than the heel, but rather it's really about keeping a steep angle from the ankle and not bending at the hip. That's the difficult bit, as we naturally want to bend at the hip for fear of falling.
SHOE FITTING CLINIC
Come and learn about the proper running shoe for you. 4 Steps at our local Running Revolution store: Step 1: Health & History; Step 2: Arch Analysis; Step 3: Gait Analysis; Step 4: Socks, and other products to make your fitness experience more comfortable and injury-free. They use patented technology, a treadmill and years of expertise to guide you in buying the right sneakers.
