How to: "the happy kind of wellness"

I have mentioned a number of times wellness is not all about pain. It should be about healing but mostly we assume its about pain. I like to include more non- conventional aspects of wellness in my life to keep my hopes of happy and healthy alive. I visited two places in the last month that I really count on for help with the well rounded wellness. 

Hand and Stone is a massage therapy and facial spa on Hendersonville road in Asheville. It has an amazing feel and high end spa reception. What I enjoy most about Hand and Stone is you become a member and go for a monthly massage and/or facial. Finally! a membership you sign up for and are anxious to use. The concept allows you to be committed to a monthly massage and can be a yummy part of wellness. It's considered a luxury but with the way we live our lives, the level of stress and the amount of illness, massage can be a vital part of living longer. 

The Salt Spa of Asheville - Also on Hendersonville road across from Atalanta bread company- it's tucked into a small group of stores but it's not lacking. The whole experience is worth the $35 and I can assure you I tried another salt spa in Asheville for less money and didn't enjoy it as much. The Salt Spa is a way to work with your ions. I could give you the science behind it but it's difficult to argue with good vibrations. I felt more relaxed and much better after the one hour experience. 

Out of the box fitness-

I took my son to the Smokey Mountain Adventure center to do a little climbing. I have never done any indoor climbing and the only place I had gone smelled so much like feet I could barely take it. This place was shiny and new and didn't smell like feet. I was surprised to find that "popping in" to climb is frowned upon and it would be best to take a climbing class offered once a month. Unfortunately, my wild ideas don't usually cooperate with modern calendars. So either plan to wing it a little and be patient with the staff or take the class. It's pretty tough and your arms revolt quickly so it can be a hour outing but at roughly $45 for two people and gear it's not cheap. 

Wellness isn't only a gym and a bank draft - its a journey make sure you see some things before you only resort to the punishment you think you deserve for eating the chocolate cake. 

Live life well...it's doesn't last forever.

Resilient

Resilience – it was the word I picked this year to be the word that I would learn about, experience and hopefully growing as my guide. Resilience – is the ability to recoil or spring back bending to recover quickly from difficult situations. I knew this all too well given the last year that I've had and the changes that took place.  I also began to look carefully at the programs I was teaching in wellness to companies and individuals. I realized that much like my teaching and guiding reflected the "how to's" when everything goes right. What I had begun to realize is that you also need to "how to" when everything goes wrong. I'm not saying that things of been going wrong for me I'm just saying when things don't look like they should or  are a perfect case scenario you need to have a plan  and that is resilience.  The University of Southern California did a study on athletes, endurance athletes specifically and they could work, perform and succeed under tough training and race circumstances. They found that endurance athletes were in fact able to condition two parts of the brain influential in the ability to both feel stress and then adapt to stress. Interception which is the practice of training your brain to be as tough as your body was part of this study. There are two parts of the brain the insular cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex that influence resilience. The insular cortex is data collected in the brain from outside the body in within the body. The medial prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain decides how strongly we react to those outside influences. For instance when you get nervous and your heart starts to beat fast or you're embarrassed and your face turns red – each person reacts differently based on their ability to condition the response the more often you submit yourself to being in an uncomfortable situation the better you get at adapting- that is resilience. In wellness it's not how perfectly you eat and exercise but how willing you are to you continue to follow the path towards your ultimate goal. For instance resilience comes  in the ability to adapt when you forgot your shoes on a day you planned to walk at work. Resilience is the ability to adapt when life gets in the way and you need to continue on your wellness journey. This new aspect of training has become very monumental for me and for the people that I work with. I find myself no longer trying to teach the perfect time exercise plan but chiseling out what works in daily life of the people that I'm working with.

Resilience – the key to getting through just about anything. Jim Thorpe was considered the world's greatest athlete in 1912 and would also be the first Native American to compete in the Olympics. The night before Olympics his shoes were stolen he was forced to get in a dumpster where he found two different shoes. He wore an extra sock to make the shoe that was a tiny bit bigger fit better. He won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics wearing shoes that were not his own. 

Resilience is more about problem-solving that it is planning what happens when things don't go your way? What dumpster will you find your track shoes in?
I'm going to be teaching an online class and resilience if you're interested send me an email at
jolenepuffer@charter.net
Bounce don't Break.

Big Magic

I finished Elizabeth Gilbert's new book "Big Magic" and loved it. The timing couldn't have been more perfect and I want to share the three things I got out of it.  The book is acts as a guide to living in creativity. Gilbert helps us to explore what creativity is, can be and how to live it out. She believes what you are destined to do is inside with your creativity  but creativity may need it's own journey to find it's way. Yes, creativity as though it has life and finds it's own way.  I found her description of it fascinating, giving it life and making it clear that you have it but it doesn't always have you. A good idea will find it's way into the Universe and even if it was your idea it doesn't mean you'll be in charge of doing it.
Gilbert talks about the elements of creativity and many of them aren't sexy and require a level of work and commitment many aren't willing to give. I love what I do and have struggled for years with whether I should get a "real job"according to my critics. As a personal trainer I do so much more than just help people get fit and it's where I feel the most creative. When I design a workout or find a way to get someone past a fear or when someone loses 50lbs with my help, It's all big magic to me and I am glad to be on the journey.
Big magic gave me permission to think about my creativity as part of my craft and it made sense of things I have been grappling with for years. Here are my three takeaways:
1.  Creativity doesn't propagate scarcity, people do. - Do what you love to do even if lots of people do it. Gilbert reminds us " no one will do it the way you will". As a trainer I can see there are lots of people who need my help and finding those people or having them find me is part of my creativity.  In Seth Godin's book "The Purple Cow" he notes "you don't have to be the best, you just have to be first" So don't analyze things too much and paralyze your creativity. Get busy.
2. Your creativity shouldn't have to pay your bills- If you have a good idea then begin to work it and don't blow up your whole life and put everything on red when the dealer calls black. The past 20 years I have done everything I can do as it relates to fitness. Couch to 5k programs, corporate wellness, fitness classes, training teens, adults and very reluctant employees, help trainers increase their business, cook for clients, host dinner and yoga and make t-shirts with cute fitness sayings.  I have said "yes" to just about anything that would help me get ahead in wellness and get a check. I haven't given up on my dream of the big office and the big windows with a big pay check training America's largest companies in wellness and speaking around the country- but for now I have to hustle.
3. Eat your #%$* sandwich- Gilbert refers to the unpleasant things we have to do to get to the next level as a sandwich that you have to eat to get to the place you are trying to go. For me, it's paperwork. Each month I sit down with my &*%$ sandwich and send out invoices so I can get paid. It's part of the work and although I love what it yields but sitting still and thinking about numbers, yep not my favorite. She maintains our desire to get ahead and keep creating can lie in the eating of that sandwich. There are just somethings you will have to do.

I cooked for several clients for about three months. I loved the idea that it helped make Monday's (the hardest day of the week for me since my divorce) productive. My therapist said "don't get pissed get productive"  cooking answered that call.  It's been therapy for me and taking care of people makes my heart sing. Now, Monday's are good in fact they are great and I am no longer feeling the need to cook. It served as part of my healing, I had big magic and now I have more of me back. Somethings you must do may only serve as a bridge to get to the other side. I am on the other side and it feels good.

The book was an easy read and allows you to get out there and start over everyday.
It's big magic that space we hold to do things that make us smile, sleep better and leave this world a better place.

JPWellness: When healthy is Yummy...

JPWellness: When healthy is Yummy...: The rule was always if it taste good spit it out. But the truth is healthy can be yummy! I have been preparing food for clients for a while ...

When healthy is Yummy...

The rule was always if it taste good spit it out. But the truth is healthy can be yummy! I have been preparing food for clients for a while now and I am really enjoying all the things you can create that are yummy, but even better easy!
I have had a number of requests for my Eggplant lasagna recipe so I am including that for you today. I am also including the Yummy treats I made for clients this week.

Eggplant is a night shade that grows on a vine. It contains Nasunin, which is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. You can prepare eggplant many different ways but my favorite is as a substitute for lasagna noodles. I use the mandolin slicer and slice the egg plant thin using them as layers for the lasagna.
1 Jar of Red sauce ( I look for the ones lowest in sugar) Barilla Marinara All Natural has been my choice in the past
8 oz of ground turkey cooked
1 cup of low fat cottage cheese ( even if you aren't a fan it taste good in the dish)
1 egg
Mix those ingredients well
spread sauce on the bottom of the pan and layer with egg plant
cover with a blend of shredded cheese sprinkle enough to cover add some Parmesan
repeat until you get to the top will be roughly three layers
make sure sauce covers the edges and cook at 350 degrees until you can smell it.

Yummy Protein bites
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of protein powder (vanilla)
Mix together form into balls
cover with unsweetened organic coconut shavings
chill and enjoy

You may need to hide them they are yummy but also calorie dense so be aware. Save them for before a workout or afternoon when you are tired and need a boost.




Eating healthy can be fun but you have to be creative!
It's Sunday and I am cooking for the week- Are you prepared for a healthy week?

Yummy

I had a number of clients asking me to make healthy food for them because the food is 100% of the success. You can't out exercise a bad diet.I decided I'd start a small scale operation with just a few clients and let them try some of the ideas that I had as healthy recipes.

As I found it's wildly successful to have convenience and offer clients healthy options. Additionally, I had a number of people who don't live in the area of asked me to share with them my recipes. JP wellness is offering just plain healthy meals. The service is offering three breakfast/three lunches /three dinners /three snacks and three servings of first juice for each week at $90.

I cook on Monday and everything is ready for an afternoon pick up or Tuesday morning first thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating these meals and I'm offering information about how you can make them too. The most important part of successful eating is meal prep. This weeks menu consist of a lot of very basic items that the client can add food to in order to spice it up or keep it plain. Although plain may not sound like a lot of fun it's definitely a good way to help eat less and be more satisfied. We can add spices to enhance the taste but we must be very careful about sugars and things that dilute our taste buds ability to satiate our appetites. I featured three items that I made this week; one was turkey meatballs with mixed vegetables sautéed in coconut oil Sesame seed and lemon pepper. Chicken with Tuscan garlic seasoning ., asparagus with olive oil and Tuscan garlic spice as well. The fresh juice this week was pineapple /celery/pear /and apple. I created a basic quinoa and sweet potato mix which for lunch item can be added to tomatoes cucumbers balsamic vinegar at and perhaps chicken or turkey to as a protein. When cooking items go ahead and cook as much as you can and section in the small containers putting in your fridge recognizing that cooked food last 3 to 4 days. It's easier to make good choices when you don't want to waste food that you've already prepared. Good time to do that is Sunday evening or Monday morning and coming back on Wednesday night to finish the week.

It's also important to limit most food items to 300 cal or less. This way you don't risk of over eating.The most important part of eating healthy is eating often like a car we have to fill the gas tank to continue to do the miles.

Turkey meatballs 

1lb of ground turkey 80/20 lean

Garlic salt

One egg

Panko breadcrumbs 

1tsp olive oil

1 tsp of lite soy sauce

1 tsp BBq sauce

Mix together roll into meatballs

Cook in the oven at 375 degrees until brown on the inside

Options to add chopped celery

Onions/ peppers  

Enjoy your week!! Lose it for the last time