Now that you are 4 weeks into the program, I assume you are feeling better. By this time, most of my patients are not craving sugar and gluten as much and feeling more energized. If you started an Adaptogen formula, that too should have given you more oomph.
Your sleep should be better too. Introducing an “electronic sundown,” into your evening routine—that is, turning off your computer, the TV and all other electronic equipment at 10pm—hopefully is in place. Darkening the room, too, helps facilitate sleep, so scan your bedroom for any glowing lights. For example, the alarm clock, the charging indicator on your cell phone or the DVD clock and timer are all sources of blinking lights. Turn these off or cover them. Each little bit of light can stop your melatonin levels from rising, which you need to induce the deep restorative sleep your body requires. If you can’t darken your room, wear an eye mask. This period of darkness is essential to reset your natural rhythm.
This week we are going to take some of the concepts and tips you have learnt so far and adjust them. You will learn my favorite Restorative Yoga pose, Supta Baddha Konasana. I believe Restorative Yoga is the perfect solution to the over-stressed state we all are in. As you are supported in the poses, one gets the profound effects of yoga without having to exert any energy. These poses in general, and this one in particular, are particularly good to chill you out at night before bed.
And last week you learned another tennis ball release, this time of the hips, a common area where many of us are tight. Releasing tight muscles and tension will free up blocked energy and not only decrease pain, but energize you too. I combine with an easy stretch you can do while sitting at your desk. I call the two together “Fight Chair Body” because so many of us sit too long and develop tight muscles in our hips because of this. These two exercises done together are a great antidote to this common problem.
In addition, last week I talked about eating seasonally. Now that it is summer, it is much easier to eat locally and with the seasons. The best organic food is what's grown closest to you.
Here are 2 great Web sites to explore to help you eat in this way.
Local Harvest (www.localharvest.com) offers a definitive and reliable nationwide directory of farmers markets, family farms and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats and many other goodies.
Food Routes (www.foodroutes.org) is a national nonprofit dedicated to “reintroducing Americans to their food—the seeds it grows from, the farmers who produce it, and the routes that carry it from the fields to our tables.”
And finally my blogging Web site (www.franklipman.com), where there is information on why eating locally is important, including a review of the new movie “Food, Inc,” which I highly recommend.
So keep up the good work! I know it is hard and sometimes feels overwhelming, but the results are worth it. Feeling more energized and vital again is something that is worth putting in this effort for.
One love
Frank
Dr. Frank Lipman, author of SPENT: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again (Fireside/Simon & Schuster, January 2009), is the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City, where his personal blend of Western and alternative medicine has helped thousands of people recover their energy and zest for life. For more information, visit www.franklipman.com.