A new year can be like a clean slate. It can signify that it is time to employ meaningful life changes. But change doesn’t happen magically. It takes thought, intention and planning. Some people call this a new year’s resolution. We call it New Year, New You.
Susquehanna Style has talked to three professionals in our area to bring you inspiration and tips to help you find a new you in the new year.
Mind
“You get great by making others great,” says Lisa Taylor, owner of Evolution Power Yoga of York and Lancaster (evolutionpoweryoga.com). What we need to help us change is not in books, she says. It is in the connections we have with others.
“If we miss connections, we lack vitality,” she says.
“To me, that’s where life opened up, when I became curious about people. That’s where fun, joy and life opened up,” says Taylor.
The yoga that Lisa teaches is called power yoga. It is affiliated with Baron Baptiste of Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga.
“Our style [of yoga] is uniquely known for empowerment,” says Taylor. It goes beyond the physical, she says, to the mind, spirit and emotions.
What they do at Evolution, says Taylor, is “empower people, shifting their vision to see life in a new way.” With this empowerment, a person can become an “artist” in their life, says Taylor. “An artist will put a blue streak on a painting instead of hoping for a blue streak on the painting,” she says.
“They become a conscious creator of their experience, instead of life just happening to them,” she says.
Taylor shares a story about how humans can be as limited as circus fleas that have been trained to jump only a few inches high. The fleas stay in that space that is safe to them and is what they know as possible. Humans often do the same. Every so often, a human (and a flea) jumps out of the safety zone.
Taylor encourages more of that risk taking.
“Be malleable, not fixed. The world can’t change if you’re fixed,” says Taylor.
Taylor suggests the following action steps for people who want to make a change in their life. Cut these steps out and put them on your bathroom mirror, on your car’s steering wheel or at your desk at work, she suggests.
1. Shift your attitude. Instead of thinking, “What is wrong and how can I fix it?” substitute “Nothing is wrong here.”
2. Live from the present and move into what is possible.
3. Cause life to happen. Be an action instead of a victim. Lean into action. Lean into opportunity.
4. Take enough risks so that you are failing 50 percent of the time.
Body
Dr. Doug Meints’s approach to healing goes beyond ridding the body of pain. A chiropractor by training, Meints considers three areas when evaluating his patients: brain, biochemistry and structure.
Meints is the founder of Thrive Lancaster (thrivelancaster.com), a well-care center specializing in brain performance, which opened in January of 2012 at 2106 Spring Valley Road.
“The first thing we do at Thrive with a new client is determine what would make that person's life better, whether it be physical, mental or emotional,” Meints says.
One tool he uses in his evaluation is a software program that uses body sensors that measure six brain/body responses to stress.
Stress has a huge impact on our bodies, Meints explains, listing some of the ways it harms us, from contributing to the development of cancer and heart disease to affecting the ability of couples to have children.
“Eighty percent of disease is the inability to adapt to stress,” says Meints.
Here are some things Meints suggests that can improve health.
The Brain
1. Begin memorizing your “to do” list for the day. Start with two or three things you must accomplish in the morning and do the same for the afternoon. In a couple of weeks, you'll have little use for pen and paper (or cell phone).
2. On your way to work, choose a different route. Your brain likes variety.
3. A bad relationship is worse than no relationship. Make up or get out.
4. Try eating a meal with your non-dominant hand. You'll work the “lazy” side of the brain.
5. Take 15 minutes every morning to shut your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine your world as you feel it could be.
Biochemistry
1. Eat only what you can pick, pluck, shoot or net and avoid man-made (fake) foods.
2. Get outdoors as often as possible. If you're stuck indoors, use an ozone-based air purifier and full-spectrum lighting.
3. Filter your drinking water, reduce exposure to chlorine in your bathing water, and avoid completely those chemicals that are not found in nature (soaps, dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers). Find more info at www.westinprice.org.
Structure
1. Do a self-check in the mirror twice a day to assess posture. Keep your head up and shoulders back.
2. Take care of your skin by limiting sun exposure between 10am to 2pm.
3. Do aerobic exercise for no more than 20 minutes three times a week using interval-training techniques.
4. Lift weights twice a week to tolerance (and under supervision).
Professional life
Rhonda Hess of Fully Fit to Lead (www.fullyfittolead.com), Dauphin County, coaches executives and teams using the integrative leadership program she developed. Hess’s program blends ancient wisdom and modern coaching practices. The four domains of leadership that she focuses on are mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.
In a nutshell, Hess says, "Learning to integrate all four human domains is essential to living fully."
Hess’s tips for developing a new you in the new year:
Mental
1. Monitor your self-talk. Avoid the three C’s (criticize, condemn, complain) about yourself or about others. Offer ideas and solutions. If you don’t have something nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all. You never know when the tables are going to be turned.
2. Be a shining light. Develop your ability to speak positively.
3. Be exceedingly competent at your job.
Physical
1. It’s all about energy. Complete an energy audit of yourself, noting your high and low points during the day. During your low points, when you slip into negativity with the three C’s, your energy goes down the drain. Visualize a stop sign when this happens. Shift your energy to what you want to accomplish and look for people who can help you. People love to help.
2. Focus on the three P’s: poise, pace and posture. Stand and sit tall, with shoulders back and chin up. Slow yourself down and take a deep breath.
Emotional
1. Make an inventory of all strengths and accomplishments. You get an immediate boost in self-esteem.
2. Learn your emotional hot buttons and learn how to manage them.
3. Develop social awareness. Learn what matters to other people; learn about and understand personalities. Talk less and listen more.
4. Work on relationship management. If you get your work finished, help others without expecting anything in return. This builds teamwork, loyalty and a spirit of gratitude. Address relationship conflicts in a healthy way. Be firm and fair.
Spiritual
1. List your five or 10 most important values. Check in with them periodically. If you are not living them fully, gently correct yourself and get back on track.
2. Make 5 to 15 minutes a day for quiet reflection and renewal. It could be gardening, painting, dancing or cooking. Unplug, un-complicate, unclutter.
3. Get outside in nature every day for 10-20 minutes.
4. Forgive yourself. Lighten up. Have fun.