I am an education specialist for Zumba, aka ZES. Here’s a little sneak peak into my job: I work as a presenter at Zumba’s yearly conventions and events, both domestic and abroad. I have choreographed and performed on a number of consumer products, as well as continuing education DVDs. I am a Zumba spokesperson, having represented Zumba on a dozen or more TV shows: Martha Stewart, So You Think You Can Dance, The Biggest Loser, and The View, to name a few, as well as selling our products on television networks QVC and HSN.

The reason I tell you this? I see my biggest calling in life to be a good wife and mom. When you add a career to the plate, it has the potential to get overwhelming and spin things out of balance. Not to mention, I have to get on a plane every time I go to work.

I have found my path to a happy, balanced life through a few tips and tools:

1. Keep priorities in check.

Family is always first. Zumba is what I do, it is not who I am. I am a wife and mom first. My husband and I discuss our weekly plans, set goals, and have a weekly date. This date is often times during the day—lunch or a matinee, and not overly glamorous. The purpose is to connect, connect and connect. Without teamwork everything else falls short.

2. Take one task at a time.

Putting your energy into what you have going on that day helps you be present, live in the moment, and eliminate regret. Overwhelming yourself with unchangeable details down the road only gets you…overwhelmed. If all I do is worry about my work, the flights, hotels, exhaustion, the time spent away, the things I will miss…I kill the joy of today due to the worry of tomorrow. I take one thing at a time and give it my best.

3. Create the life you want.

No one will…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness

For many people, the hardest part of saving money is making the decision to go without something they want right now. In a study by the Brookings Institution, findings showed that Americans are largely living paycheck-to-paycheck. Surprisingly, sixty-six percent of Americans who are living paycheck-to-paycheck are considered middle class. The team involved in the study suggested that these people have a harder time weathering income shocks, such as illness or unexpected unemployment.

If you are one of these sixty-six percent, or if you feel you should do more to save money, there are some simple things you can do now to avoid the stress that comes with unexpected expenses. One way to make saving easier is to set up savings accounts and automatic transfers to save for these types of bills.

I had a coworker who recently did this and expressed how good it felt to be prepared and have the money when it was needed. “In the past when these kinds of bills came up, it caused a lot of stress because I had to figure out where to get the money, or it triggered austerity measures for the next month or two,” he said. “This time, paying the bills was a totally different experience because I had money set aside.”

You can do the same thing, or something similar. Here’s how:

First, consider a way you can cut back on your expenses so you can set up an automatic transfer to save a little each month for unexpected expenses. For example, if eating out costs your family $40, and eating in costs your family $20, you can eat out one less time per month, saving $20. Decide where you’ll cut back now, instead of on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m., when you might be more likely to spend more money on dinner…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published by Utah Valley Health and Wellness

The number one excuse I hear from clients for not exercising is “I don’t have time.”  One of the best things about high intensity interval training (HIIT) is that you don’t need a lot of time. You can get great results with as little as 10 minutes of HIIT training.  In fact, a study done at McMaster University showed that 10 minutes of HIIT could burn the same amount of calories as 50 minutes of steady state cardio. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t have at least 10 minutes a day to spare?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults get 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise. However, when the intensity level is increased to a more vigorous level, the recommendation is reduced to 75 minutes per week, making HIIT training much more time efficient.

So now that we have eliminated the excuse of not having time…

 

What is HIIT?

HIIT is short bursts of high intensity intervals where you push your body to at least 80% of its max up to all-out effort, followed by short periods of active or complete rest. The great thing about HIIT is it can be done almost anywhere! You don’t need any equipment do to it. The main focus is pushing your heart to its max and keeping your heart rate up, which is often easier to do without equipment. You can use your body weight as resistance doing plyometric exercises or even just running…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published by Utah Valley Health and Wellness

In movie theaters, we love the thrill of sitting on the edge of our seats watching as a suffering character gets the antidote to their trouble in the nick of time.  Whether it’s a fairy tale princess waiting for true love’s kiss, Harry Potter and his friends casting spells, or a poisoned superhero anticipating the arrival of a healing solution—we love our struggling heroes to succeed in the end.  But the excitement is not the same when we, as the heroes and heroines of our own lives, struggle and wish for a solution in our own marriages.

Luckily, many great marriages are successful due to antidotes that you can use, too.  In our last issue, I outlined six signs that your marriage could be in trouble.  The solution to these symptoms is provided by John Gottman and his 40 years of successful marital research.  Follow his principles (or antidotes) and you will be on your way to a happier and healthier marriage.

Principle 1 – Enhance Your Love Maps

Become “intimately familiar with each other’s world,” as John Gottman would put it. Knowing each other’s goals, fears, desires, story, and history will go a long way in creating a marriage that lasts. Do you know your partner’s best and worst childhood memories? Do you know what stresses them during the day? Do you know the important people in your partner’s life (friends, potential friends, rivals or enemies)?

Principle 2 – Nurture Your Fondness and Admiration

This is the antidote for “contempt” that I spoke about in my last article. Fondness and admiration for your partner includes having respect and love for them. It isn’t a complicated process—simply increase your positive feelings towards your partner. Fond memories and interpretations of what is happening presently in your relationship is key.

Principle 3 – Turn Toward Each Other Instead of Away

If you want a key to romance and a good sex life, here it is. Turning towards your partner means to emotionally reach for and lean towards them in difficult and easy times. When your partner sends you the message “I need you” – do you reach out for them? If not, then start reaching out for them emotionally and physically.

Principle 4 – Let Your Partner Influence You

This one is more for the guys (although it’s important for the gals too). John Gottman found that when a man in a relationship accepts influence from his partner, they are more likely to have a happier marriage.  Making decisions together, showing respect for each other’s opinions, and sharing the power will increase the ability for your marriage to succeed.

Principle 5 – Solve Your Solvable Problems…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness

Footloose and schedule-free sunny days are the hallmarks of summer living for many families. Your children and neighborhood friends bustle in and out of the house, you stretch out the evenings basking in the summer skies, and you relish the slower pace of life and the longer daylight hours.

But then, you schedule a family vacation.

You work and re-work schedules, sleeping arrangements, entertainment, campsite reservations, and credit card points. You beg and plead with the powers above that no one will fall ill, fall injured, or fall out of favor with other members of the family.

We all want to get a good return on our vacation investment in the form of fond memories. One way to improve your chances of a fun-filled trip is to feed your family so they are well fueled.

Sure, vacations are the embodiment of leisure and indulgence, but our food choices may spoil our celebrations if they make us sick or over-indulged.

Here are a few tips to stay safe and well fueled during your summer travels:

Fuel for Fun

Hot dogs, s’mores, snow cones, and cheeseburgers are all essential parts of an American family summer. However, in between these “essentials,” fuel your family with nutrient-rich whole foods to keep them running at their best.

Here are a few nutritious on-the-go options:

Homemade or wholesome trail mixes – Think whole grain cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. A bit of chocolate can top it off nicely.

Nuts and seeds – Seasoned, spiced, or plain, if trail mix isn’t your favorite.

Fresh veggies for dipping – Sugar snap peas, bell pepper slices, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and celery dip nicely in hummus, guacamole, homemade greek yogurt ranch dip, or any store bought dressing in small to-go cups.

Low sugar, high fiber granola bars – like Kind Breakfast Bars.

Hydrating drinks – Water, 100% fruit juice boxes, V8 vegetable juice,  Kefir, and ready to eat smoothies like Naked Juice. Be sure to watch portion sizes on beverages other than water. Without the bulk of fiber, a little juice goes a long way.

Yogurt cups – Aim for low-sugar alternatives. Try plain yogurts with fruit mix-ins and granola.

String cheese or cheese wedges

Homemade or Healthy Choice popcorn

Peanut butter and almond butter to-go pouches

Fruit cups and pureed fruit pouches – You can purchase ready-made or make your own at home with reusable plastic pouches and cups. Try mandarin oranges in a pop-top can. Aim for choices packaged in 100% fruit juice instead of heavy syrup.

Fresh fruit – Clementines and apples are resilient travel fruits. Wash your fruits, except berries, ahead of time for convenience. Bring along nut butter or fruited yogurt for dipping.

Low-sugar dried fruit leather – like the Stretch Island brand that Costco carries.

Whole grain pitas, tortillas, and breads – for spreads, rolls, and wraps.

Flavored tuna foil packets – like the lemon dill or Thai-style from Starkist.

Follow Food Safety Protocol

Avoid dreaded food sickness downers by abiding by these food safety rules whether you’re creekside in the canyon, car pooling with the kids, or curbside at the Ritz this summer:

1. Separate

Keep raw meat…(read the rest of the story)

 

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness

Written by: Erica Hansen MS, RD, CD

Suicide was a last resort in my mind. Just thinking of the heartache I would cause my husband and four children was enough for me not to go further; but I was desperate to escape the misery and debilitating pain I experienced on a daily basis. Constant neck and back pain, twenty eight years of chronic fatigue, hypoglycemia, Grave’s Disease, brain fog, stuttering, depression and many other symptoms plagued my body and mind. I felt like I was dying.

“Please God”, I begged. “Just put me out of my misery.” I sobbed uncontrollably.

Then a thought entered my mind, “Wendy, it’s not your time yet. Go to the computer and look up nutrition.”

I suspected nutrition as the underlying cause of my problems but couldn’t find the help I needed anywhere I looked. Taking my health into my own hands, I began an intense search for answers. Eventually the path led to raw food.

Eating simple meals like large salads with plenty of vegetables, fruit, green smoothies, and soaked nuts became my new routine. I remember waking up on the second day at 6:00 am with energy I’d never known and within one week, my symptoms were gone.

Removing meat, dairy, eggs, sugar, breads, and processed foods out of my diet was the best thing I ever did. I learned that these foods create inflammation in the body and make us tired. Enzymes are used to digest our food and for proper function of every system in the body. They are destroyed at heats over about 120 degrees F. For this reason, food cooked at high heats, which is most fast and processed foods, are void of life. The body then has to take from its enzyme reserve for digestion, which causes fatigue after a meal. Eating live, uncooked plants, however, gives us many needed enzymes resulting in more energy after a meal. This is what I was experiencing and it felt amazing.

Lasagna, wraps, spring rolls, and smoothies are just a few of the meals I created as well as delicious desserts like chocolate brownies, cakes, and puddings, all made from uncooked fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds. I eat a high raw food diet year around. This helps me maintain amazing energy and a high quality of life…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published by Utah Valley Health and Wellness

With beautiful weather now emerging from the chill of early spring, many locals are gearing up to go play in the great outdoors. There are many outdoor activities to choose from here in Utah Valley, and opportunities to try something new around every corner. Have you ever driven by a gorgeous green golf course and thought to yourself, “That looks like fun!” as you watch the players driving and putting in their beautiful surroundings? Perhaps you have even thought about trying golf, but weren’t quite sure where to begin. Well, luckily for you, Utah Valley Health and Wellness got with PGA Golf Professional Ryan Rhees to find out what you need to know to get on the green. Here are his answers to some common questions beginners have about golf:

What kind of costs can a person expect to see to start playing golf?

There are a couple of answers to this question.  To go to a golf course and putt and chip at their practice area usually costs nothing, and you can stay and practice as long as you like.  To hit balls on the driving range will usually cost between $5 and $10 for a bucket of range balls. To play on the course gets a little more expensive.  It will generally run about $12-$15 for 9 holes walking, and $24-$30 to walk 18 holes.  Renting clubs, if you do not have your own, will cost about $10- $20 depending on the course.  To purchase clubs you will pay anywhere from $200 up to $2,000 for a set, depending on how expensive you want to go.  So the answer to the question is it can be expensive, but you can also practice your short game and hit balls on the range for much less.

Is it better to buy your own clubs or just rent a set?

 If you want to play more than a couple of times a year, it’s better to purchase your own clubs.  As stated above, it will generally run between $200 up to $2,000 for a set of clubs and a bag—depending on how much you want to spend.  Most courses have rental sets, and here at Spanish Oaks we don’t charge to use our rental clubs on the range or on the practice putting greens, we only charge to use them on the course.  So, if you are a beginner, you can come hit balls and use our rental sets to give golf a try before you go out and purchase your own set of clubs.

What are the different clubs and equipment included in a golf bag?

A standard set of clubs consists of 14 clubs.  Generally the set makeup is as follows: Driver, fairway wood, 1 or 2 hybrid clubs, putter, set of irons (4,5,6,7,8,9), pitching wedge, and sand wedge. The clubs that can hit the ball the farthest are the woods. The degree of loft (angle of the club face in relation to the shaft) increases with the number of the club. As the loft of the club increases, so does the height of the shot, which translates into a shorter distance the ball will travel. The wedges have the highest loft of any golf club. This allows the player to hit the ball short distances as well as get it high in the air.

Should you sign up for lessons or simply just “start swinging”?

You can certainly just come to the driving range and start hitting balls to see how you like it, but it does help to get some professional instruction at some point to learn the fundamentals of the golf swing.  Lessons can run anywhere from $25 – $150 for an individual lesson, or some courses offer group lessons for a discounted price.

Is it better to practice on a driving range or practice by playing rounds?

I think it is better to start on the driving range for a few practice sessions before going on the golf course.  This will give the player a chance to learn how to hit the ball and get used to it, as well as learn how far they can hit with the different clubs before getting on the course.  They should also do some practice around the practice putting green before going on the course…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness

Photo courtesy Spanish Oaks Golf Course

The two preceding articles in this three-part series recognized the resurgence of spirituality in therapy, identified a need for psychotherapists trained in spiritual and religious competencies, provided tips on how to find a licensed clinician who is right for you, and explored three domains of spiritual wellness.  This third and final article will address five potential benefits of spiritually integrated therapy.

I recently listened to both a psychologist’s lecture on integrated healthcare, and a book on parenting written by a world renowned researcher/therapist who devoted her career to understanding guilt, shame, vulnerability and whole-hearted living.  Both scholars spoke of spirituality as being a resilience factor.  This got me thinking about how spiritually integrated therapy may serve some of my clients, so I came up with a list of five potential benefits of spiritually integrated therapy:

1. Enhancing Protective Factors: A so-called “protective factor” is anything a person incorporates into their life which effectively decreases the likelihood of harm.  You can think of it as the opposite of a “risk factor.”  A growing body of research has shown that spiritual health and positive religious practices can in fact serve as a protective factor for a wide variety of issues across populations (i.e. hazardous substance use, suicidality, self-harm, eating disorders, etc.).  In therapy, exploring how spiritual practice can serve as a protective factor may be beneficial.
2. Increasing Stress Resilience: Those who manage stress effectively have incorporated resilience practices into their regular lifestyle.  Spiritually integrated psychotherapy recognizes spiritual health as an essential component of whole and complete living.  Therapy may explicitly discuss spiritual or religious coping strategies the client uses to solve problems, elicit a sense of meaningfulness to stressful life events, and/or learn skills to “weather the storm” in a profoundly purposeful way.  A common element among various faith traditions is an active willingness to practice non-judgmental acceptance.  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) suggests stress-resiliency is enhanced as we actively challenge our experiential avoidance of unpleasant emotions (i.e. anxiety, fear, pain) by engaging in value-based action while accepting that meaningful living does not begin when discomfort ends… it begins now.
3. Using Culturally Relevant Language…(read the rest of the story)

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness

Come see Kenneth Jeppesen present on how to improve your marriage. He will present on John Gottman’s 40 years of marital research at the Orem Utah library on July 13th and August 17th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pornography addiction and compulsive pornography use are becoming more and more prevalent with the rise of the anonymity, accessibility, and affordability of internet porn. It is no wonder that Utah legislators have recently declared it a “public health crisis”. Unfortunately, with this increase in pornography use has come an increase in relational distress as well. Many relationships begin to struggle with the revelation of a partner’s pornography use because it feels like infidelity to the partner, which feels traumatic and takes time to heal. So if you’re the pornography-user in your relationship, but you’d like to stop, what can you do? How do we heal from such a devastating habit?

1. Insight.  Think about when this all started. What was happening in your life at the time you began intentionally seeking out pornography regularly? Chances are high that it was a particularly stressful time, whether you were 12 years old or 21. Most people who struggle with pornography use started seeking it out because they realized it helped them cope with the stresses happening in their life. This is why a lot of people relapse once they get married, which is counter-intuitive until you realize that marriage is one of the most stressful relationships we can have, and the first year of marriage brings with it a certain amount of stress and painful emotions people often don’t know how to cope with.
2. Access your emotions.  So now you know what was happening when you started using, now try and think about howyou were feeling. If this is too hard, think about the last time you used pornography and what you were feeling just before. Usually people are trying to escape from painful and overwhelming emotions like sadness, hurt, shame, pain, or fear. This is particularly true for men, who have been socialized to only feel anger or sexual. These vulnerable, softer, emotions often don’t have an outlet, so they build up until they become overwhelming and the man has to escape from them by distracting himself with pornography and the endorphin release that comes with it.
3. Accept, listen to, and act on your emotions...(read the rest of the story)

Originally published on Utah Valley Health and Wellness