Simple Pleasures, Everyday Joie de Vivre.

8 Keys to Mental Health though Exercise by Christina G. Hibbert with a forward by Babette Rothschild.  A Book Review. Christina Hibbert is a clinical psychologist and an expert on women's mental health. She is also the author of Who am I without you? and This is how we Grow.    8 Keys to Mental Health through Exercise   is a psychological treatise on mental health and exercise. In the book Christina explains the mind-body connection as enhanced by physical exercise. This book is acclaimed to be able to change your life; that exercise is like a magic pill for well-being, and is insightful for roadblocks to forming an exercise regimen. The chapters in the book are divided into 8 keys.  There are 18 books to date in the 8 keys series edited by Babette Rothschild. They cover, trauma, eating disorders, mindfulness, forgiveness, bullying, parenting, anxiety, addiction, attachment, depression, anger and more. Babette says that Exercise is good for a healthy immune sys...

Losing your memory, or not having a good memory is one of the worst things that can happen. It is natural as we get older for things to slow down. We may even start making errors which can be detrimental to ourselves and others. Memory is the integral part of our brain that helps us learn things, retain them and apply our knowledge. Following are some things that can prevent and help with memory loss.  Cardio There's no doubt about it, but exercise is fundamental to out brains, body and souls. Exercise, especially peak cardio exercise is one of the best things you can do for your brain. It improves thinking, problem solving, emotional and mental health and can help to prevent cognitive decline. To get into your peak cardio zone use a smart watch that has the function to record this, or try to exercise so that you are puffing and panting. Warm up, stretch down and slow down for intervals if something becomes over-challenging.  Gingko Gingko is traditionally used in Chinese medi...

A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. (Wikipedia).  Developing good habits is essential to success. Habits help to maintain the things you need to take care of and to work towards goals. In the case of habits effort makes effortlessness. You have your routine recorded somewhere , like on a task list - written down, so that it isn't swimming around in your head. Willpower is limited - you can only make so many decisions in a day before you tire out. The more you practice a daily habit the less willpower you will have to use to get started and go all the way. Practice makes perfect!  Having a block of time, like an hour a day to work on a goal is much more efficient than procrastinating for weeks and then pulling an all-nighter, or not getting anywhere at all.  On average it takes about 66 days to form a new habit, but it could be more or it could be less; just know, you'll get...

Micro-activities are small, baby steps you can take at the beginning of your journey to be more joyful and productive. There is a word in Japanese called Kaizen that means making small improvements and building momentum bit by bit. Some suggestions for using micro-activities follow: Wake up and have a shower, it will wake you up, give you energy and cleanse toxins from your skin.  Brush your teeth every night, also, use interdental brushes. Brushing your teeth is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Infections can rot your teeth, cause gingivitis and other oral health complaints. Infections can lead to other health concerns like cardio health as well. Besides if you want to keep your teeth well into old age and avoid nasty and expensive visits to the dentist then this 5 minute routine will stand you in good stead.  Start work for 5 minutes. This tricks your mind into thinking that you can handle anything for just five minutes and you may end up keeping...

The following phrases are ways to kick-start your day and begin your tasks on time and help you beat the procrastination habit. As you accomplish more you will feel happier and more fulfilled. Don't forget, if you make something into a habit it will get easier and easier to practice every-day. I hope you feel really motivated from reading through these phrases and maybe choose a few that resonate with you to help you to get up and go!  Do It now Do it now, break the procrastination habit is a book by Dr William Knauss. In the book, Knauss has plenty of ways of getting inside of the procrastination mind-set and leading the reader to more rational behavior and better outcomes. In the introduction Knauss points out that if you like you can cut the gordians knot that procrastination is just by doing everything now, straight away, right now. It's a brilliant little book for getting unstuck and accomplishing more. 5 stars!  Eat that frog Eat that frog is a book by Brian Tracy on get...

Affirmations are positive statements that help to re-wire your brain to that which is positive or optimistic. It is best to repeat the chosen affirmations to yourself everyday either first thing in the morning or at some other time during the day, perhaps on the bus or train. You can also write affirmations on post-it notes and stick them around the house.  Affirmations should eventually settle into your unconscious mind and help you change your outlook for the better. A positive outlook can help with everything from mental illness to motivation to physical health. There is a catch though and that is that you have to believe the affirmations in order for them to work. The following collection of affirmations are good for, health, wealth, motivation and wisdom.  If you like you can print these pages and put them in a folder somewhere handy like the coffee table and then, like Alice, you just have to believe! My body is a temple of health and vitality I am worthy of vibrant heal...