YOUR LIFE A-Z: XENOESTROGENS

USEFUL AND CONVENIENT, BUT SAFE? 

XENOESTROGENS

Listen up, as this word is probably as important if not more important than the word GMO.  I have heard of this word off and on but did not pay attention to it until was brought to my attention by a cancer integrative medicine specialist, Dr. Zieve.  XENOESTROGENS mimic real estrogen and invade your body with toxic and wild estrogen mimicking cells.  These XENOESTROGENS create a perfect environment in your body for cancer cells to grow, divide, and create tumors.  The TWENTY MINUTE COACH is alerting you to these dangerous substances, not to harangue, nag, or guilt you into making lifestyle changes; but to educate you.  No one is going to care about your health like you do and you need to be informed.  Without education you are victim to any new theory, a sleepy MD, or anything else that arises.  Make your body, your health, and your aging process your priority for a few months to tweak your lifestyle choices.  When you Google the word XENOESTROGENS, you will discover how dangerous these substances are to your health.  Some of you will go through your homes, closets, and refrigerators and throw every XENOESTROGENS out immediately.  Good for you.  Go for it.  Others that are easier going like me will create a list of 5-10 XENOESTROGENS and illuminate them over the next few weeks from your lifestyle.  I believe it is impossible to remove them all so start where you can and if you are an estrogen positive cancer patient, please start somewhere.  Eliminating XENOESTROGENS one at a time can be a valuable exercise in the quality of your health.  

YOUR LIFE A-Z: MOVEMENT

ENJOY THE PLAYFULNESS OF MOVEMENT

MOVEMENT

MOVEMENT is absolutely essential to your wellbeing.  Whether it is touching your toes ten times or walking around the block ten times, it is important to MOVE.  Physical MOVEMENT also increases your resistance to depression, increases your immune system, and keeps you younger and agile as you MOVE through the stages of your life.  It is impossible to maintain a sour attitude if you MOVE your body and focus on letting breathe and life within.  MOVEMENT requires that you focus your attention to your body and often in our Western culture we forget we have a body.  There is a mind-body disconnect that can be healed via MOVEMENT and focus.  Focus on your body and MOVE it slowly and purposely.  Stretch your body with MOVEMENTS that require you to focus on “further” than before.  Stretch upward and MOVE downward.  MOVE to the right and then to the left.  MOVE for your enjoyment and health.  Swimming is also a great way to MOVE your body with little effort.  If you will MOVE for 10 minutes a day you will gain more energy.  If you change your position and MOVE to the back of the room you will gain a different perspective.  If you re-arrange your furniture by MOVING it around it will elevate your mood and give you a sense of newness.  If you MOVE a plant to different location you will smile at the change of attitude in a room.  MOVEMENT is key to changing your mood in a matter of minutes.  MOVE your body or MOVE your environment around and notice the internal change. 

Your Life A-Z LISTEN

Shh! I 'm Listening

LISTEN

To pay attention to something.  There is so much to listen to today; you really need to have a filter to help you focus on what is important.  For instance, if your partner is speaking to you, it might be important to put Facebook down.  If you are driving, it might be important not to have the music so loud that you can’t hear an emergency vehicle’s siren.  Listening attentively is what I do for a living. I am paying attention not only to the words that are coming out of a client’s mouth, but to the tone, the volume, and the body language. If a client is answering yes to something but is shaking his/her head no, then there is incongruence between what is being said and what is really being said.  In psychotherapy, most of us believe that the body does not lie.  As a result, using the body as a source of wisdom and intuition is very important. 

Today pay attention to inside of your body.  What does your body say to you about ___________________?  What is it your body thinks about what is going on in your life? Is your body relaxed in your relationship or uptight?  Is your body happy at work or frustrated?  What is the tension in your shoulders trying to let you know?  What is the knot in your stomach  screaming at you?  Practice your breathing and tune in to your body and listen.  Pay attention and take action toward releasing the negativity in your life.

Photo: RbDilleytwenty minute coachTwenty Minute Coach

The Cognitive Interweave of Shame

THE COGNITIVE PHASE OF SHAME:



Search of memory from previous similar experiences.


In shame theory, eight specific areas are interwoven into our stories, associations, and memories. Our bodies carry all of these interwoven stories inside of us producing tightness and tension. Every time I think about the body-mind connection, I am reminded of Peter Levine’s important work that he labels, “Somatic Experiencing. In SE, Dr. Levine empowers clients to focus on the internal experience of the body. By turning our awareness to our body, we learn to let go of those old story lines and create new ones. As you review the list below, allow yourself to ponder and write about an experience in each of the eight categories. As you recall the specific experience, journal the experience in as much detail as possible, and as the details return to your memory, notice what happens inside of your body. Notice what part of your body tightens or feels nauseated. Notice your breathing and your heart rate. Notice your fearful or shameful thoughts. Once those thoughts come to your awareness, use your gentle breath to allow the shameful and fearful thoughts float out of your body and into never – never land. Begin to observe what you need, and gently breath it in from never-never land allowing the peace, comfort, gentleness to begin to fill your body. Notice the difference now as compared to twenty minutes ago when you started with the shameful –fearful feelings. Just keep experimenting with your breath until your body feels different in a better sort of way.


Layered associations of shame:


1. Matters of size, shape, ability, skill. (I am weak, incompetent, stupid.)


2. Dependence/Independence. (Sense of helplessness.)


3. Competition. (I am a loser.)


4. Sense of self. (I am unique only to the extent that I am defective.)


5. Personal attractiveness. (I am ugly or deformed. The blush stains my features and makes me even more a target of contempt.)


6. Sexuality. (There is something wrong with me sexually.)


7. Issues of seeing and being seen. (The urge to escape from the eyes before which we have been exposed. The wish for a hole to open up and swallow me.)


8. Wishes and fears about closeness. (The sense of being shorn from all humanity. A feeling that one is unlovable. The wish to be left alone forever.)