Healthy Living Tips from Local Experts
Pay Attention to Your Mind, Body and Spirit
Now is a good time to let your nervous system find calmness. I like a mind-body-spirit approach to health and fitness. Here are some ideas to regulate the nervous system and maintain health and fitness while we are sheltered place.
Quiet the Mind: Take a walk with a smile on your face, meditate for two to five minutes daily, keep a Gratitude Journal–even just one sentence daily, spend time outside with nature and breath!
Work the Body: Do something daily and establish a routine. Take online classes to strengthen, stretch, and connect mind-body: Pilates, Yoga, GYROKINESIS, or a fitness class.
Walk or bicycle–briskly for at least 15 minutes per day, take time to stand to help improve vascularization, joint mobility, free the organs, and stretch your muscles.
Feed the Spirit: Commune with nature, commune with spiritual belief and reach out to old or new friends.
Wahida Sharman
EPY Pilates
Practice Daily Disciplines
By now everyone knows the importance of social distancing, hand-washing, and limiting contact to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Even if you are not infected, the stress of the pandemic impacts us all. To help cope I’d recommend exercising for a least 30 minutes a day, preferably outside. You can walk, lift weights, do yoga— just do it.
Go to bed at a reasonable time at night, and wake up at a reasonable time in the morning. Work to stay socially connected: do a video chat while making dinner, or call a friend while walking. Buy and eat healthy food, and don’t overeat in your spare time or out of boredom. Consider developing a meditation practice and deepen your faith. Limit your pandemic news consumption to 60 minutes per day or less.
Lastly, if the stress is getting to be too much, reach out for help to your doctor, a mental health professional, or one of the hotlines California has set up. We will get through this!
Justin Altschuler, MD
Sequoia Medical
Your Skin Need Not Suffer While Sheltering!
Giving yourself a DIY procedure at home provides an amazing mental boost.
We recommend starting with the OBAGI® Professional-C Microdermabrasion Polish which is an ultra-fine exfoliating scrub with 30% L-ascorbic acid.
Next, apply the Destination Aesthetics™ Biocellulose Face Mask which reduces redness and helps support the skin’s barrier against harmful pollutants and aggressors. An application of an anti-aging hydrator, SkinMedica® HA5, causes your skin to produce its own hyaluronic acid which indirectly helps with softening the skin’s texture and fine lines and wrinkles.
Most importantly, don’t forget your SPF. Many people don’t apply sunscreen while indoors but it’s still important to protect your skin from frequent breaks outside or quick trips to pick up essentials, in addition to your daily walks. The Colorescience® SPF options offer protection against blue light which is emitted from electronic devices and has been linked to photo-aging which should be re-applied every two hours if you’re working in front of a computer or tablet. Self-care is essential in reducing stress and keeping your spirits up.
Shawna Chrisman
CEO and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Destination Aesthetics™ Medical Spa
Walk For Life
Many of us who are sheltering at home find the best chance for exercise and escape through long walks in our own neighborhoods. So it was good timing, that a study was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows walking is the ideal form of physical activity for longevity.
Taking 12,000 steps a day gives you 1/15th the risk of death over 10 years, compared to those taking less than 4,000 steps—moving less than 2 miles. Even with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity, the walking habit confers its benefits and leisurely strolls work as well as jogs.
Walking in your own neighborhood also reveals details you’d never notice while driving, while giving a chance to savor the unfolding spring. More than 150 years ago Charles Dickens said: “The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk—steadily and with a purpose.” New research indicates he was right.
Cecily Hastings
Inside Sacramento
