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The Sequoia Advisor

       IN THIS ISSUE                                                               November 15th 2013

 

  • Lower Stress... Live a Healthier Life!
  • Beware! It is Almost Diet Season
  • Upcoming Events... Workshop Series... There's No Place Like Home 
  • Osteoporosis Support News... Yoga Nidra and Safe Senior Yoga
  • Posture Perfect!TM  Take Your First Class for FREE!
     

 

Feel Better... Live Better

Lower Stress... Live a Healthier Life
By Woody McMahon

Stress Levels Are High
If you want to keep your health at optimum levels this winter, it will
require a little extra effort and vigilance on your part. Are you getting
stressed-out due to higher prices for food, job instability, long lines
and continued economic uncertainty? If so, the extra stress can
negatively affect your immune system and its ability to avoid infections.
No wonder there is a "cold and flu season."
The best way to maintain
good health this winter is to reduce stress while paying attention to
a few simple health habits.

Stress and Your Immune System
Stress in the form of anger, fear, depression, worry and uncertainty all
strongly influence how well your immune system works in three major
ways. First, high stress severely depletes the cells in your immune
system that are responsible for maintaining good health. With fewer
cells available, your body has a more difficult time adequately containing
bacterial, viral and other infections such as the 
flu.


Second, constant stress also changes your hormone balance elevating
cortisol
levels (stress hormone) and reducing serotonin levels
(feel good hormone).
The shift to higher cortisol and lower serotonin levels
increases hunger and promotes over-eating (especially simple carbs)
and weight gain.


Finally, stress increases the levels of inflammation and free radical formation
in your body speeding the development of
osteoporosis, heart disease,
diabetes, psoriasis, back pain, arthritis and many other diseases.

Improve Your Health This Winter
Staying healthy through these stressful times is easier than you think.
Here are my three suggestions to help get you started.

Make Time to Rest and Relax
Keeping a positive attitude even in the worst of times gives you hope
that there will be a better day. Skeptical and negative thinking erodes
your physical health by further increasing cortisol production. Read a
book with a positive message. Watch a movie that will make you laugh.
Listen to music that makes you relax and feel good. If you have the cash
flow, get a relaxation message, facial or other pampering activity. For
you water lovers, drive to the lake or beach and sit and watch the water.
This is a very relaxing activity especially if coupled with a nap.

Reduce Stress with Fun Activity
Fun activity is a great stress buster. Mentally you know you're doing
something good for yourself. Physically your body loves the stimulation
that comes from harder breathing, increased heart pumping and a little
sweat. Fun activity also stimulates serotonin production and distracts
your mind from negative thoughts. What exercise is best? Exercise that
is both safe and stimulates your body and relaxes it as well.

If you are inactive or have health problems, my Posture Perfect!TM
classes are ideal to help
reduce pain, increase balance and strength,
stimulate breathing and promote relaxation.
Adding weight training,
walking, sports or active games helps to improve your health even more.


Balance Your Food Intake
Eating balanced meals is a good way to strengthen your immune system.
Getting enough proteins, carbohydrates and fats at every meal is a very
healthy way to eat. Eating adequate amounts of daily fruits and vegetables
provides vitamins, minerals and most importantly fiber. Fiber helps your
digestive system work more efficiently. Adequate protein is essential for
strong bones and cellular repair. Complex carbohydrates found in whole
grains provide essential fuel for the active body. On the other hand, over
eating is a physical stressor. It takes a lot of work for your body to
digest all that extra food. Eating less food reduces the burden on your
digestive system improving your health and your weight.

Practice these three essential health suggestions and you'll stay illness
free all winter (year) long.

Would you like to reduce stress and get to a healthy weight but
don't know where to start?
I provide an easy to follow program called
Healthy Weight!TM that helps reduce excess weight, improve your bone
health, posture, balance and strength while improving your health.
Please contact me for a 20 minute no cost consultation at 703-628-2880
or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com.


Beware! It is Almost Diet Season
by Woody McMahon

Dieting is Unsustainable
Dieting, or more accurately, calorie restrictive eating plans are never
the way to shed excess body fat. Study after study has shown that dieting
is not only a failed weight loss strategy but erodes your confidence and
self-esteem. Even if you lose weight initially, dieting does not teach you
how to eat properly so you don't gain the weight right back. Secondly,
taking the weight off in a short period of time has you losing more water
and muscle weight than fat. This leaves you dehydrated and with plenty of
baggy skin.

Dieting Erodes Your Health
If you are severely overweight, reducing excess body fat is important for
improving your health. Research has also shown that the repeated rapid
weight gain and loss associated with dieting can double your risk of death
from heart attacks. I also reduces your bone density and health and
can lead to more serious psychological eating disorders.

The body does not like it when your weight fluctuates up and down.
The fluctuating weight places you under increased physical and mental
stress. This added "diet stress" is the reason why so many people fall
off the wagon and never accomplish their goals.

Feeling Too Restricted
Restriction is the second major reason diets are unhealthy. It's human
nature to rebel and want something more when you feel restricted. The
rebound from restriction is why most people regain the weight they have
lost once the diet has ended. The whole "good food bad food" mentality
is a sure fire way to never reach your weight loss goals. One of the secrets
to successful weight loss is to never feel restricted or unfulfilled.
Learning to eat what you want in proper balance and moderation leads to
success. So if dieting is not the answer to permanent weight loss then
what is?

Learning to Change Your Focus
If you are tired of wasting time and money on dieting and want to figure
out the real solution to achieving a healthy weight, you will want to
change your approach. By its very nature, dieting places the blame on food
as the reason for your excess weight. But is that really true? Can food
really be the culprit? A certain amount of food is required for your daily
sustenance; beyond that, everything extra that is not needed for activity
or bodily functions is stored as fat.

Food is Not the Issue
So if the food you eat is not the issue; then it must be the amount that
is the problem. The first questions to ask yourself is " Why am I eating
more food than I really need? I say I want to lose weight but then I
proceed to overeat." Understanding the answer to that question places you
in a perfect position to begin solving your weight problem for good.
Changing your desire for all that extra food will help you permanently fix
your overweight condition. Always consider dieting as an unhealthy
"Band-Aid" solution to a much more complex problem.

The Healthy Alternative to Dieting
My Healthy Weight!TM program takes a comprehensive approach to the
problem. It includes three major components: stress reduction,
safe and effective activity and balanced foods.
These three factors
are all important to successful weight loss and work in a balanced
manner
.

Your weight loss program also wants to be individualized; one
size will not fit all in this case. Healthy Weight!TM can help modify
your plan to overcome physical limitations that could prevent you
from participating in certain types of activity. It can also address
food allergies or sensitivities that may prevent you from eating
certain foods.

Just like trying to do your taxes without an accountant or going into
court without a lawyer, it is easier and you can be more successful
if you don't try to do this alone.

Try these healthy lifestyle changes for 30 days. Feel what it is like to be
a part of the health solution rather than a health burden. If you need
additional suggestions and advice on living a healthier lifestyle, p
lease
contact me for a 20 minute no cost consultation at 703-628-2880
or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com.

Upcoming Events and News

Workshop Series... There's No Place Like Home
We believe that your home is your castle and, for many beneficial
reasons, you want to stay there as long as you can.
Deciding to
stay may be one of the biggest life decisions you will ever make
.

Fortunately, we are here to help you plan and make good decisions
allowing you to stay in your own home for as long as you want


Just like we tell all of our clients, "You Can Stay, We Can Help!

Recent research has shed some interesting light on the darker side of
retirement home living. Everything from higher costs to the loss of
personal freedom and independence has been examined in these
recent reports. These reports have determined that living in a
retirement setting is not as easy or glamorous as you might think.

On January 21st, 2014 Pat Williams of GraceFul Care and I will
begin a quarterly workshop series entitled
There's No Place Like Home. We will discuss the many health and
quality of life benefits of staying in the comfort of your own home
rather than moving to a retirement facility. We will outline the logical
and important steps necessary to keep you in your home.

Click Here to read more about out wonderful, new program.

Beginner Posture Perfect!TM Classes in Herndon, Reston
and Arlington

We have beginner Posture Perfect!TM classes in Herndon, Reston and
Arlington. Take your first class for FREE and see how much taller, more
balanced and relaxed you feel afterwards. To register please contact
Woody McMahon at 703-628-2880 or email to woody@sequoiahealth.com.

Please wear comfortable clothes and bring a towel, a bottle of water
and an exercise mat if you have one.

Rock Spring Congregational Church currently offers a Yoga and Tai Chi
class at their church. Posture Perfect!TM will be a nice addition to those
two offerings.


Posture Perfect!TM for Spinomed Program
I have created a new companion back strengthening exercise program to
help anyone wearing the Spinomed orthosis. The classes include helpful tips
on getting the most from your Spinomed as well as exercises that help
strengthen your back, improve your posture and increase your balance.

Click Here to learn more about this exciting program.

Posture Perfect!TM First Class FREE

Instead of holding a monthly Posture Perfect!TM demo class, several
people have asked if thy can just come to one of the classes. For a 
limited time, you can try your first Posture Perfect!TM class for FREE.


RESERVATIONS are REQUIRED
so please call Woody McMahon at 703.628.2880 or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com for more information or to make
your reservation.


The FREE Posture Perfect!TM class helps introduce you to the many
benefits of our safe and effective posture, balance and strength program
co-developed by Sara Meeks, PT and Woody McMahon, personal trainer.


Come and experience how each class can help strengthen your bones,
improve your balance, alleviate back aches and neck pains, improve
osteoporosis and teach you how to sit and stand-up straighter. 


The History of Posture Perfect!TM
When I developed the Posture Perfect!TM classes over 2 years ago, there
were no safe and effective exercise programs available for
"over age 50" adults.
Everywhere I looked there
were older adults in classes that used seated
exercises (bad for your back); machine style exercises (bad for your balance)
treadmills (a poor leg strengthener); and performed movements that
involved crunching, bending and twisting. (increases the risk of spinal
fractures)
.
  

Posture Perfect!TM solved all of these problems by offering a safe and effective
approach helping older adults become more active. Each class
improves your
posture,
strengthens your bones,
enhances your balance, alleviates back
aches
and neck pains, reduces fracture risk and teaches you how to sit
and stand-up straighter. 

 

We have several people in our current classes who are coming to strengthen
their bones
and over half of the others are interested in exercises and posture
changes to help make their backs and necks feel better.

Please call Woody McMahon at 703-628-2880 or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com for more information, class times and reservations.

Posture Perfect!TM Testimonials...
Posture Perfect's! momentum continues to grow. Here is a glowing testimonial
from one of our class members.

"Posture Perfect!TM class has not only met my expectations, but exceeded
them! There are several reasons I enjoy the class. The small class size
gives each of us extraordinary personalized training; your knowledge,
expertise, patience, and sense of humor makes me look forward to
coming to a class I thought would be only for 6 weeks; and I have
learned so much more than I expected."

"For example, I now think about my posture every time I sit, and just when
I thought I'd begin to have a hard time rising from sitting on the floor, you
taught me how to make it easier. I try to practice some of the balance
exercises a couple of times a week (I know, I should do it more often!).
I thank you for all I have learned from you so far, and hope to continue
this class for the foreseeable future!"
Paula S.

Click Here to read more about S.A.F.E. and effective Posture Perfect!TM
classes.

Continued Good Health,

Woody

Woody McMahon
The Sequoia Advisor


Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc.
483A Carlisle Drive
Herndon, VA
20170

Required Disclaimer: The material provided herein should not be construed
as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed
health-care advice or instruction. The material is provided with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine
or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care
practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not
advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to
matters relating to their health or well-being other than suggesting that
readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No
action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The
material and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound
at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the
authors. However, readers who rely on material in this publication to
replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult
with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The
publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

Copyright (c) 2006-2013 by Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc.

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    A mindful and holistic approach to Fall Prevention, Balance, Full Body Functional Strengthening and Posture Exercises for All Ages! Our Science-Based Exercises are Safe and Appropriate for Your Ability. Our Exercises Help Improve Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, Fear of Falling, Balance and Strength Problems. Reston, Great Falls, Herndon, Middleburg, Arlington Sterling and Northern Virginia.

    Herndon
    483A Carlisle Drive
    Herndon, VA 20170
    703-628-2880

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    Middleburg, VA 20118
          703-628-2880   

    email: woody@sequoiahealth.com