If you’re starting to think about your health in a holistic way – where you recognize that the mind, body, nutrition, and some say spirit are all connected – then you may have heard of Reiki. It’s practiced in some hospitals, and it can also be taken to a very spiritual place. So, what in the world is this very intriguing technique and is it something that we should be exploring in terms of our health? I, for one, wanted to find out, so I went to Reiki Master teacher Deborah Dixon to get some answers. In addition to having her own private practice called Subtle Wellness , Deborah conducts trainings at Duke Integrative Medicine. In this Q&A, I share what she had to say about the many benefits of Reiki and why it might be worth exploring further as yet another tool to have in our healthy living toolkit. 

Peppermint Tea & Me: What is Reiki?

Deborah Dixon: Reiki is explained a lot of different ways. It’s usually explained as a simple stress reduction technique and as a technique that channels universal life force energy or animating life force energy. It’s talked about as energy medicine or as vibrational medicine because it raises the vibration of a person. While Reiki as a hands-on healing practice already existed in Japan, the practice as we know it was developed in the 1920s. It arose from the spiritual awakening of Dr. Mikao Usui. What he brought to his hands-on healing was unique, and that has become what we know around the globe now as Reiki. 

PTM: Is Reiki Based in Science?

DD: To say that it’s science-based is a little bit of a stretch because it didn’t originate or evolve from any kind of scientific inquiry. However, we know now through science and research that we can use science to understand that Reiki is working and that it’s having a physical, mental and emotional impact. However, to explain it in terms of science is a little more difficult. Quantum physics probably gets the closest. 

We can look at it in the way we maybe look at light, the way we look at vibration, but I don’t think that science is able to fully explain it yet. The best roadmap will be neuroscience and how it’s been evolving since the middle of the 20^thcentury to explain how embodied and contemplative practices like meditation and mindfulness can impact the body. In that way, we know that Reiki engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which is then a cascade of benefits to the body and mind. So, it’s interesting. There’s a lot of science there, but there’s also a sort of mystical core behind it. 

PTM: Is Reiki considered to be a type of alternative medicine?

DD: While it is used in hospitals and clinical settings, I think it’s usually referred to as a complementary modality or an alternative modality. You may hear it referred to as energy medicine, bio-field techniques and bio-field medicine. For me, as a practitioner and teacher, I shy away from talking about medicine and healing and using those terms with it simply because it’s not licensed in any way. It’s totally a complementary, adjunct therapy. Those of us who practice it do not diagnose or prescribe in any way. I personally like to keep the medical terminology out so as not to mislead people. Some of us look at it more as spiritual healing, metaphysical healing and like to keep it there. 

PTM: How is Reiki done?

DD: It is usually done with light touch. The client is fully clothed, often reclining, like on a massage table, but it can be done with the person sitting in a chair. It can also be done at a distance because it doesn’t have to involve touch. 

You can send Reiki to a different location, and it can be sent back in time. You can do that by sending it to periods in your life, where you’ve had distress and trauma. Sometimes that’s harder for people to wrap their mind around. If you’re into quantum physics, sometimes it’s not that hard. It’s odd, what seems like the most “woo woo” sometimes is the part that’s backed up by science a little bit more because there is the idea that there’s an intelligent part of us that’s existing outside of time and space.

I think ultimately, the advances in neuroscience are going to help us understand it better. Because what’s happened to us in our life is stored in our body. It’s stored in our nervous system. So, when people are working with trauma, they’re releasing a tangible thing that’s residing in their body. In Reiki, we’re working with that energy. 

PTM: So, the focus is the energy and not necessarily the touch part of it?

DD: There is a lot of warmth in my hands. It’s easy to think that it’s body heat and that it’s moving from my physical being to your physical being, but it’s more energy than we know – even when we’re in person. When I do a distant session, I’ll feel the energy in my hands, the same as I do when I’m in person. Many people will find it very similar to doing an in-person session. 

To be honest, all these years, I never offered distant Reiki professionally. I focused on what was easy for people to wrap their mind around. But I did distant all the time with other Reiki people and sometimes with people that would request it and were students. It’s really just been the last year that I’ve done so much professionally because of the pandemic. People have actually accepted it better than I would have thought. I definitely had clients who I thought, “That’s going to be a hard one for them,” but trying it, it’s really just like an in-person session. The proof is in the energy and the experience itself. 

PTM: Are there specific points that you focus on?

DD: There are some lineages, particularly in Japan that do not have prescribed hand positions. That came up early on in the development of Reiki in certain lineages with a clinician wanting to have practitioners at every bed and wanting to have something more systematic. At that point, it became a full body treatment that involves the hand positions that move from the head to the feet. It doesn’t necessarily have to go that way, but it usually does. You’ll find that when you do energy work that you feel the person’s energy field moving down that central column. If you’re familiar with the chakra system, it’s moving down the chakras. Some medical people will practice Reiki focusing on the glands, which actually match up with the chakras. So, regardless of what direction you’re going with it, you’ll often find that people have their hands in those same places. 

PTM: What are the benefits of Reiki physically, mentally and emotionally?

DD: The benefits of Reiki can be numerous. Because it engages the parasympathetic nervous system, it’s a stress-reduction technique. Stress reduction reduces the heart rate and increases digestion, lowers respiration, and truly, it’s that reset. Reiki, like meditation, like yoga and other mindfulness and body practices, it pulls us back into that part of the brain that is safe and relaxed and at rest. It’s the calm mind. It’s order, it’s ease, it’s that sense of wellbeing. I’ve literally had people sit up from the table and say “Oh! Everything seems okay.”

You’ll also find a lot about it reducing anxiety, being good for insomnia and it’s excellent for burnout. A lot of nurses practice it, not just on the patients but on each other for burnout. Reiki is also good for pain management and increasing circulation, and it’s really good with chemotherapy. These are things that have been researched. Those of us who practice it, oh my goodness. We see amazing things happen. If you keep showing up for that practice, you’ll see shifts in all sorts of physical issues. 

PTM: How long does it take to see the benefits of Reiki?

DD: The benefits of Reiki can be seen or felt immediately, but it often can take weeks or months. I’ve seen people immediately have sort of a bounce-back from things like depression, but not always. There’s been research with depression where people receive Reiki once or twice a week for six weeks and that was sort of the sweet spot. I would say that if people come weekly or bi-weekly, that is really transformative. It’s very individual. When clients come, I always tell them that it’s a craving. They’ll know if this is doing something for them, they’ll know when to come back because it is very individual. 

PTM: What kind of training is required for Reiki?

DD: It’s very easy and accessible for everybody. It’s important to know that there’s no official oversight or licensing for Reiki whatsoever because that can be a little confusing when you’re looking for training. You’ll see things about certifications and licensing but those are just what individual teachers and companies are creating. The foundational levels are level I and level II. Level I focuses on self-practice and clearing. Level II goes a little bit further into those techniques and introduces distant work and working with others. It’s usually after Level II training that people might choose to practice professionally. 

PTM: So, someone could do Level I and be able to do it on themselves? 

DD: Yes. Self-treatment and self-healing and self-clearing are the foundation of the practice. That begins in Level I. No matter how far you go or how long you practice, that’s still the foundation of it. That’s where you get your mojo – from that work on yourself and the clearing of yourself. Then you can add working on others or other things. People Reiki many things. They’ll work with their animals, they’ll work with plants, and they’ll work with food.

PTM: If someone is considering Reiki for the first time, what should they look for in a practitioner?

DD: I would say that it’s very individual, but the main thing is to see if you feel good with the person. If you resonate with the person. Talk to the practitioner first. If I were to ask a question, I would ask, “How often do you do self-treatments or how many clients do you have a week?” That goes to the idea that it’s the practice that makes the practitioner. A person could have a gazillion certificates, and they could be a Reiki master for 10 years, but if they haven’t done it this month, then their session may or may not be good. 

I have Level I practitioners that at first, they are not natural. They come out of it saying, “I don’t feel anything. It didn’t take with me.” I tell them to go home, put their hands on themselves every day and do the self-treatments. They will come back to a Reiki share in a few weeks and their hands are on fire. They are channeling energy. So much so that I would go to them. 

So, you want to find someone who is obviously doing it enough to be out there doing it professionally. Truthfully though, if you have someone living next door who may not work on a lot of other people but who is a devoted practitioner, and that person works on themselves every day, that’s an excellent person to get Reiki from. 

The Cost of Reiki

The cost of Reiki is usually between $45 for distant sessions to $60-$75 for in-person sessions. A session can be anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes depending on the options offered by specific practitioners and the setting in which it’s being done. 

You might also be interested in checking out these studies on biofield science, which go more in-depth on the energy field that each of us have. 

• Biofield Science and Healing: History, Terminology and Concepts
• Case Report: Energy Field Changes Approaching and During the Death Experience
• The Biofield Hypothesis: Its Biophysical Basis and Role in Medicine

Bottom Line on the Benefits of Reiki

Deborah says that the bottom line on the benefits of Reiki is that it’s recognizing, tapping into, receiving and in some cases releasing the energy that exists in all of us. If you decide to try it, it’s best at least the first time to go in with an open mind and very few expectations. Just be open to the experience and see what happens. 

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Do you have a hobby? If so, is it music, food or gardening-oriented? Or would you rather be running or doing some type of art or craft? If you do have a hobby, I’m jealous. I don’t truly have one, and I need one. I can’t even say that kids, work or the general demands of life got me sidetracked from doing the things that I used to love. Other than reading, I’ve never really had a hobby. I’ve dabbled in different things – violin, stamp collecting, calligraphy, etc. but I’ve never truly found anything that I could just get lost in. Now though, it’s time for me to find a hobby, and maybe the same is true for you. If so, we’re going to look at the benefits of hobbies and some possible ways of finding one. 

What is a Hobby?

Before we do any of that, we have to first get clear on what a hobby is and what it isn’t. First off, hobbies and interests aren’t the same thing. Job site Indeed’s editorial team helps us to clarify this distinction. The writers of this article say that “A hobby is an activity you may complete in your free time that brings you pleasure¹.” It’s an ongoing experience that you can regularly commit to outside of work hours. 

They say an interest, on the other hand, “is a desire or need to learn more about a specific subject¹.” You can have a work-related interest and interests can even become hobbies, but the defining difference is that hobbies should take place in your free time. According to Indeed, “If you’re making an income or participating in the activity during work hours, it’s usually considered an interest rather than a hobby¹.” 

Benefits of Hobbies

The scientifically proven benefits of hobbies are numerous. For one thing, they make us healthier. One study found that participants had more positive and less negative mood, more interest, less stress and lower heart rate when engaging in leisure than when they weren’t². Another study found that leisure activities are associated with lower blood pressure, total cortisol, waist circumference and body mass index. They’re also linked to the perception that participants had of themselves as being in better health³. 

Another benefit is that hobbies may make you better at your job. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology shows that creative activity outside of work helped participants to better recover from a demanding work environment, which reduced burn-out and overall stress levels. In addition, it found that being creative outside of work was also associated with more creativity on the job⁴. 

And finally, hobbies allow us to break away from our everyday experiences without feeling like we should be “on task,” doing something productive or that we have to be the best at whatever we’re doing. Kettering Global says that “Engaging in a hobby can be a mental escape, help us hone a skill, or just provide an opportunity to socialize with others⁵.” In other words, they allow us to simply have fun, challenge ourselves in new or different ways without having to worry about the end result, or just give us a common interest to share with others. 

Why I Need a Hobby (And Why You May Need One Too)

Where I usually run into problems when it comes to hobbies is that I have many interests, but as someone who is naturally “a worker,” I tend to turn everything I do into work or a project. Engaging with my interests then begins to feel like an obligation and there goes my ability to turn my brain off and relax. As a result, I feel like I’m always “on” or that there’s something else that I should be doing. If this is true for you as well, we both need a hobby. 

How I’m Going to Find a Hobby

So how do we go about finding a hobby? How do we find something that we enjoy doing or are passionate about if we have no idea of what that is? Clearly, I’m not an expert on this, but I know it involves being willing to try something new. 

A Lesson Guide that I found online on the Importance of Hobbies from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research & Extension has some useful tips⁶. Here are just a few of them:

• Take it back to your childhood. Think back to what you loved doing as a kid. 
• Try a couple of ideas on for size. Explore a craft, sports or book store and see what captures your attention.
• Find something that will make you forget about your day. If it feels like it’s going to be stressful instead of exciting to learn, then it’s probably not for you. 
• Notice what you love to buy as guilty pleasures. That item might be pointing you toward your hobby.  
• Think of the last thing that made you forget to eat. This should be outside of just simply a hectic day at work of course. What did you become so absorbed in that you completely lost track of time and didn’t think about eating? Somewhere in that activity may be your hobby. 

In addition to following these tips, I’m also going to use HobbyHelp’s list of 105 possible hobbies to give me ideas. While there are some on there that I can immediately cross off because they simply don’t sound appealing to me at all, there are others that might just be contenders. 

Bottom Line on the Benefits of Hobbies

If you’re thinking that all of this sounds like too much work and that something that you’re passionate about should just automatically find you, I would encourage you to think again. Finding a hobby shouldn’t become another source of stress in your life, but there’s a difference between work and exerting some effort toward something. As I think we’ve seen here, there are many benefits to finding a hobby, and I’m looking forward to discovering what mine is. 

Lean on Your Community

Do you have a hobby? If so, let us know what it is in the comments to give us all some ideas. If you don’t have a hobby but some of what’s been said here inspires you, let us know what you figure out as well. 

Sources

1. Indeed. 5 Key Differences Between Hobbies and Interests. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/difference-between-hobbies-and-interests
2. Zawadzki, M.J., Smyth, J.M. & Costigan, H.J. Real-Time Associations Between Engaging in Leisure and Daily Health and Well-Being. ann. behav. med. 49, 605–615 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-015-9694-3
3. Pressman SD, Matthews KA, Cohen S, et al. Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being. Psychosom Med. 2009;71(7):725-732. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181ad7978. https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joop.12064
4. Eschleman, Kevin J., Madsen, Jamie, Alarcon, Gene, & Barelka, Alex. Benefiting From Creative Activity: The Positive Relationship Between Creative Activity, Recovery Experiences, and Performance-Related Outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. April 2014.https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joop.12064
5. Kettering Global. Why Hobbies are Important? https://online.kettering.edu/news/2019/04/15/why-hobbies-are-important
6. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research & Extension. Importance of Hobbies Lesson Guide.https://www.uaex.edu/life-skills-wellness/extension-homemakers/Hobbies_LessonGuide.pdf

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I am a power napper. There, I said it, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. In fact, I’ll scream it from the rooftop if I need to. The world needs more power nappers!! It’s long been one of my survival tools, but since I started living a healthier lifestyle, I consider it as much a part of my wellness routine as exercise and what I eat. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to power nap but thought you couldn’t, I’m going to fill you in on how long a power nap really is and how to do it.  

What is a Power Nap?

In order to understand what a power nap is, it may first be easier to look at what it isn’t. A power nap is not an hours-long deep sleep that you occasionally take in the afternoon when you’ve stayed up too late the night before. It also doesn’t leave you feeling groggy or discombobulated. Far from it. 

A power nap lasts less than 30 minutes and leaves you feeling energized and rested. Multiple studies back this up^1,2,3 and even show that getting in a few minutes of stage 2 sleep is the most beneficial in improving alertness and performance¹. According to this article published by the University of Michigan Health System, stage 1 sleep involves light sleep and usually lasts less than 10 minutes. In stage 2 sleep, your muscles become more relaxed and you may begin to have slow-wave brain activity⁴. For me, between 15-20 minutes is ideal for giving my brain, body and eyes a much-needed break.

How to Power Nap

If sleeping for a short period of time seems impossible to you, you may be right. Power napping isn’t for everyone. Some people do get into too deep of a sleep or take too long to go to sleep in the first place. If that’s you, and you’ve tried power napping before, don’t force it. Accept the fact that you’re simply not a power napper and move on. 

On the other hand, if you consistently find yourself reaching for mid-afternoon caffeine or something sweet just to give you energy, I highly recommend trying the more natural approach of learning how to power nap. You’ll notice that I said, “learn how to power nap.” Yes, power napping is a routine or habit that usually has to be learned. The following steps will show you how. 

Find the right time

If you work on an 8-5pm or 9-5pm schedule, you’re probably familiar with the afternoon energy slump or the “post-lunch dip¹.” If you’re a shift worker, you have the equivalent, it’s just at a different time. For the purposes of this post, we’re going to focus on those who work 8-5pm. 

Assuming that you’ll usually need to attach your nap to your lunch break, I suggest shooting for some time between 12:30-3pm for your nap. If you take it after 3pm, it could disrupt your regular sleep at night. 

12:30-3pm is also when the physical cues that I need a nap kick in. These cues aren’t easy to miss. They’re as obvious as my eyelids starting to droop or me getting really grouchy. There are also more subtle cues such as staring at my computer and not really registering what I’m reading or writing. If I’m interacting with others, I find it hard to concentrate on what they’re saying or to remember what was said. 

If I push through and wait until after 3pm to try to nap, I’m usually past the point where I can. My mind simply won’t shut down. If I can catch a window around 1pm when I begin noticing these things starting to happen, my brain is more than ready to stop for a while, and sleep comes quickly. 

The main thing when determining when the right time is to nap is that it should be about the same every day. It can certainly change if needed, but for the most part, you’ll need to teach your body that this is the time to shut down for a bit. 

Find the right location

Finding the right location is just as important to learning how to power nap as finding the right time. While it doesn’t have to be completely dark, you don’t want to have a light shining in your face. I usually find that having the blinds open on the windows is fine and allows enough light in to signal to my body that it isn’t night and that I don’t need to go into a deep sleep.  

You’ll also want to be in a fairly quiet place if possible. If you work outside the home, that means closing the door to your office if you have one or being in your car. Trust me, a car is a perfectly fine place to nap. 

Get comfortable

Getting comfortable is key when it comes to power napping. Once you get to be a pro, comfort takes a back seat to simply making sure that you get it in, but when you’re beginning, there are a couple of elements to have in place. These include something soft(ish) to lie on and a pillow or something soft for your head. 

If you’re working from home, lying on your bed may be an option. If you find that you tend to sleep too deeply there, just lie on your couch. Going to your car is also an option if you don’t have a soft surface to lie on at work. You can easily lay the seat back and be perfectly fine. Having a pillow, scarf, coat or something soft for your head makes it easier to get comfortable and elevates it to a more natural sleeping position.

If I’m at home, I like to have a blanket to put over me, even if it’s in the summer. It simply feels more comfortable. 

Eliminate interruptions

The whole point in a power nap is to take a few minutes for yourself in the middle of the day to recharge. It’s hard to do that if your phone is ringing, buzzing or in any way letting you know that the rest of the world needs your attention during that time. That’s why I always turn on the “Do Not Disturb” function on my phone just before I’m lying down. While my family’s calls can get through during that time if it’s urgent, they also know that it had better be urgent. 

That leads us to the second step in eliminating interruptions. Letting people who really need to know generally when you will be out of touch for a few minutes. That doesn’t mean that you have to announce it to the world that you’re taking a nap, but if you have a usual time that you’re shooting for, just let those who absolutely need to know that you won’t be available during that time. With most of my family doing school and working from home right now, I time when I lie down with when my son is in class. I also text my husband to let him know so that he doesn’t come downstairs while I’m lying on the couch. 

Set an alarm

Setting an alarm is crucial for conditioning your body to the power nap. As you’re just starting out, I suggest setting it for five minutes before you need to be back on task or for no longer than 30 minutes – whichever is sooner. That gives you time to wake up and get back to wherever you need to be. After you’ve become a power napping expert, you’ll probably find that you don’t need to set your alarm. Your body will simply know when it’s been 15-30 minutes. 

Focus on breathing

If you’re finding it hard to shut off your thoughts after about 30 seconds, focus on your breathing. Count to four as you breathe in, hold it for a second and then count to four as you breathe out. That should take the focus off your thoughts and put you in a good place for sleep to find you quickly. 

Practice

Like many of the other things that we do, learning how to power nap takes practice. You are not going to be successful at it if you only do it once or twice a month. It needs to become part of your regular routine. Yes, your body may become reliant on your nap, but you can always fall back on caffeine if you can’t get it in and you’re needing a quick pick me up. In this case though, the caffeine will be a mid-day rarity as opposed to something that you have to have to get through every day. 

It’s also important to note that once you’ve practiced enough and conditioned your body to power nap, you’ll be able to do it pretty much anywhere at anytime if needed. Now that’s a useful skill to have!

Bottom Line on Learning How to Power Nap

The bottom line on learning how to power nap is that it’s a free tool that you can use to be as productive and sharp as possible in a natural way. Take it from a power napping pro, it’s a skill that is possible to learn and could make the difference between feeling like you’re just getting through the day and being the best that you can be. I know which of the two that I highly recommend. 

Sources

1. Hayashi M, Motoyoshi N, Hori T. Recuperative power of a short daytime nap with or without stage 2 sleep. Sleep. 2005 Jul;28(7):829-36. PMID: 16124661. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16124661/
2. McDevitt EA, Sattari N, Duggan KA, Cellini N, Whitehurst LN, Perera C, Reihanabad N, Granados S, Hernandez L, Mednick SC. The impact of frequent napping and nap practice on sleep-dependent memory in humans. Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 10;8(1):15053. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33209-0. PMID: 30305652; PMCID: PMC6180010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30305652/
3. Dhand R, Sohal H. Good sleep, bad sleep! The role of daytime naps in healthy adults. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2006 Nov;12(6):379-82. doi: 10.1097/01.mcp.0000245703.92311.d0. PMID: 17053484. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17053484/
4. University of Michigan Health System. Stages of Sleep. https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hw48331

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I will fully admit that the entire process of paying bills is something that I used to dread. Even when I knew there was enough money in the bank to cover everything, it was stressful. That’s in large part because I was so disorganized in my approach to the practice. As a result, paper clutter piled up, I would end “bill paying night” in a horrible mood, and there were usually late payments that had to be factored in. As I learned how to get my financial house in order, I realized that developing a budget was only part of the process. I also had to get organized. It is from my many years of doing this that I offer these tips on how to organize bills for less stress. I truly hope they help you as much as they have me. 

Coordinate Your Billing System with Your Budget

Ideally, your billing system should be directly tied to your monthly budgets. While you can organize bills effectively without doing that (see how below), coordinating your billing system with your budget makes it much simpler. If you don’t currently develop monthly budgets, be sure and check out  Creating a Budget for a Healthier You. In that post, I walk through how to take control of your finances by creating an attitude of abundance.

To summarize though, budgets can be developed by using nothing more than a pen and paper or a spreadsheet. You can also use an app or software if you want to go more high-tech. The bottom line is that every expense or categories of expenses should be a separate item in your budget. This includes expenses that are recurring, anticipated but periodic, and unexpected. They should be included in the monthly budget in which the bill will be paid.

Electronic versions of your monthly budgets should be kept in a Budget and Billing folder on your computer. Within that, create a folder for the year and then another called “Budgets.” That’s where your monthly budgets should live in a spreadsheet. 

If you prefer to store your Budget and Billing information in the cloud, I can highly recommend Airtable. Google, Apple, Dropbox or Box accounts are other options as well. 

Create an Electronic Bills and Receipts Folder

Whether you store your documents on your computer or in the cloud, you’ll want to create a Bills and Receipts folder within your Budget and Billing folder. Within that, create a folder for each month and then create folders by business or category. 

Create a Physical Bills and Receipts Folder

For bills that aren’t electronic and come through the mail, create files in your personal physical file system with at least the following files for each year. Once the bill has been paid, file the bill here. These are examples of the most common bills that probably wouldn’t have the option for automation or to be electronic:

• Insurance
• Taxes (property and car registration)
• Medical bills
• Clothing or other retail credit cards

Set Two “Bill Paying” Days During the Month

In most cases, your paycheck cycle is going to be every two weeks or once a month. Set two days to pay bills during the month that are each close to one of the days when you get paid. For example, if you get paid on the 15^th and the 30^th, your bill paying days would be on the 1^st and the 16^th. On the 1^st, you would pay all bills that are due between that date and the 15^th. On the 16^th, you would pay all bills that are due between then and the 30^th.  If you get paid once a month, you’ll still want to set aside two bill paying days. One should be in the middle of the month and the other at the end/beginning of the month. This will make sure that everything is paid on time. 

In your monthly budgets, mark whatever your bill paying dates are in parenthesis by each expense. That way, you’ll know just by looking which bills get paid when. It may even be helpful to add up all of the expenses for each bill paying date so that you know how much you need to have in your account at those times. 

Open and File Bills Immediately

For paper bills that come through the mail, open them immediately and have two baskets or folders near where you open your mail. They should be marked 1 or 16 or whatever your bill paying dates are. Place the bills in the appropriate basket or folder. 

For electronic or paperless bills that you don’t have set up with automatic payments, set a few minutes every day for filing the bill notices that come through email into your Bills and Receipts folder on your computer. I do this in my five minutes set aside for reconciling my budget every day. Having this step as part of your daily routine makes it so you don’t have to go back and search for the bills in your email later. 

Even for bills that you do have set up with automatic payments, you may still want to do this so that it’s easy to go back and find a record of the bill at a later point. 

Automate Payments

In order to truly take some of the stress off of yourself for how to organize your bills and to save money on late fees, you’ll want to automate as many recurring payments as possible. In a perfect world, these should be set for a couple of days before they are due. If you don’t want to give multiple companies access to your money, another good option for automating bill payments is to use the BillPay function through your bank. This allows you to pay recurring or one-time bills online. Either way that you do it, I strongly suggest setting up recurring payments for any regular bills. It makes keeping up with them an organizational matter and not a determinant of whether they get paid on time or not. Remember, late payments often result in unnecessary extra fees, which is something you definitely want to avoid. 

Get Rid of As Much Paper as Possible

While there are some documents where a paper copy is needed, for the most part, you’ll want to get rid of as much paper as possible. That means opting for paperless statements or bills whenever you’re given the option. Bank statements are among my favorite examples for this because we can access our accounts online any time. That’s what we’re using for an accurate reflection of our accounts, not a paper statement that’s mailed once a month. Paper statements simply clutter up our space and eventually require shredding. That’s too much stress, time and effort for me. As an added bonus, many companies are willing to give you a discount or waive fees if you go paperless. 

If you don’t know how to select paperless bank statements, you can usually do it through your main account page online. It may say something like “statement options” or “document center.” If you don’t see it in either of those places, look in your account settings. 

If you really need to regularly look at your statements and don’t want to have to go into your account to access them every time, you can easily download them and store them on your computer or in the cloud for easy access. 

Keep a Spreadsheet for Recurring Payments

This is the organizational option that I mentioned earlier if you’re not keeping a regular budget. Keeping track in a spreadsheet of what you know needs to be paid on a monthly basis and when it will be paid will at least keep you on top of your most significant known expenses. I suggest the following pre-populated format. 

• Each month should have its own tab.
• Rows should be the name of the company or type of company to which payment is due. 
• Each of the following should get its own column:

1. Projected Payment Date. This is the date that you expect the payment to be made. This should be one of your two bill paying days. 
2. Automatic or manual payment. Indicate whether you have the bill set up for automatic payments or if you need to pay it yourself. 
3. Actual Payment Date. This should be noted after the payment has been made. 
4. Website link for accessing bills or payments if applicable. 

Bottom Line

The bottom line for how to organize bills is that having a system won’t make sure that there’s enough money in the bank to cover what you owe. That’s still up to you. It will though help to save time and money and lessen stress, which in turn will do wonders for your long-term health and wellness.  

The post How to Organize Bills for Less Stress appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Do you scoff at the thought of making New Year’s resolutions or do you embrace the idea of setting expectations for yourself for the year to come? Whether we call them resolutions or goals, I absolutely fall into the latter category. I am a firm believer in the benefits of setting goals, and I want to share with you my top 5 reasons for why setting them is an inspiring way to start the year or for hitting reset at any time when it comes to your health and overall wellbeing. 

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.

What are Goals?

Before we get into the benefits of setting goals, it’s important to understand what they are in the first place. While there are many useful definitions and systems out there that go into this more in-depth, the way that I look at goals is that they are specific and measurable milestones that help you to work toward your overall vision for your life. In other words, goals are statements of what you want to achieve. 

The Benefits of Setting Goals

While recognizing that everyone’s definition of achievement is different, here are my top 5 reasons for why setting goals is useful. 

1. Setting goals helps you to identify what it is that you want and what is important to you

Acclaimed author, speaker and businessman Stephen Covey offers sage advice on this with the second habit in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Affiliate link). He suggests that we “Begin with the end in mind.” If done intentionally and thoughtfully, identifying your goals helps you to become crystal clear on what it is that you want. This is true for what I call your big Want, as in your overall vision for your life, as well as for your little wants or aspirations that will help you get there. I truly believe that you can’t get to where you want to go AND enjoy the journey along the way if you don’t have at least some idea of what your destination is.

2. Setting goals helps you to accomplish the things that you want to achieve

We can all come up with grand ideas of what we want to achieve. Unless you happen to be very lucky, the only way to turn those ideas into reality is by setting realistic goals and then following through on the steps needed to achieve them. 

3. Setting goals helps to keep you focused

One of the primary benefits of setting goals is that it helps to keep you on track and focused. It helps you to prioritize your time and energy. As Stephen Covey says, to begin with the end in mind “means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”  While we certainly don’t have to be “on task” every minute of every day, goals help us to make sure that we’re spending our time in a way that reflects what is important to us.  

4. Setting goals helps to give you purpose

We can all recognize that individual actions or tasks can sometimes seem mundane or meaningless. If you know though that they’re working toward a larger goal, it gives them meaning and helps you to feel an overall sense of purpose. If I would rather sleep 30 more minutes than get up and exercise, it may be hard to get motivated and do what I know is good for my body if I don’t have a goal in mind. On the other hand, having a goal of strengthening my body and increasing my endurance so that I can take part in and enjoy an upcoming hiking trip with my family is something that will have me out of bed and exercising with very few thoughts of protest. 

5. Achieving goals gives you a sense of satisfaction

As I mentioned before, a goal is a measurable milestone. According to Merriam-Webster, a milestone is a significant point in development. That means that it has never happened before, at least not in the same way. Since a goal is something that you’ve never accomplished before, then actually following through and doing it, will give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction. I remember the feeling that I had when I crossed the finish line after running my marathon. The only thing that has ever come close was giving birth. It was a feeling of “I have just done something that was so much bigger than anything that I thought I would ever do.” Now that’s a sense of satisfaction. 

Recommended Resources

As you think more about the possible benefits of setting goals and how to achieve them, I highly recommend the following resources.  

• 9 Types of Goals to get Your Life Moving in the Right Direction is a great article written by Leon Ho, the founder and CEO of Lifehack. It explains the different types of goals as well as how to put them in perspective using the S.M.A.R.T. Framework. 
• The Lifebook Online Program created by entrepreneurs Jon and Missy Butcher and offered through Mindvalley is a FREE program that walks you through the process of identifying your vision and goals in what they’ve identified as the primary 12 categories of life. The 6-week program requires 3-6 hours a week and costs $500 at the outset to ensure that you finish it. Once you’ve completed it, you can get 100 percent of your money back with no questions asked, but you will lose access to the program. If you want to retain access to all of the online resources, then you let them keep your payment. It’s important to note that I am not an affiliate of the program. After having taken it and having gotten my full payment back with no problem, I was simply so impressed by their entire process that I wanted to recommend it to you. 

Bottom Line on the Benefits of Setting Goals

The bottom line on the benefits of setting goals is that while having dreams and more concretely, a vision for your life are good, the catch is that in order to achieve them, you have to have goals. If you don’t like the idea of setting resolutions, then simply think about your goals for the year. Coming up with these gives you a set amount of time to get 1-3 milestones met that will work toward creating the life that you want. 

Lean on Your Community

Do you usually set resolutions or goals at the beginning of each year? Let us know in the comments either way about why you do or don’t. 

The post The Benefits of Setting Goals appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

There are a lot of very strong opinions and messages out there when it comes to body image these days. So much so that it’s enough to make our heads spin. Is it okay to want to change if we’re physically not feeling healthy or is it not? If we really don’t want that piece of chocolate cake, is it okay to say no or is that giving in to diet culture? What does the term “positive body image” really even mean? The questions, the doubts and the polarizing messaging can be deafening. So, who are we women supposed to listen to? It turns out that our body has many of the answers; we just have to know how to hear them. 

That’s what Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant and Precision Nutrition Level One Coach Jenna Lessner from over at Simply Nurtured teaches from a place of first-hand experience. Through a journey to what she calls self-love and food freedom, she was able to lose 132 pounds after nearly hitting 295 pounds on the scale. Now, she’s helping other women learn about the role of nutrition in positive body image as they come to their own place of body acceptance. She was kind enough to share her thoughts and expertise on this in a Q&A with me. 

Peppermint Tea & Me: What is your story and how did you decide that this was the profession for you?

Jenna Lessner: For as long as I can remember, I’d used food for comfort. When I graduated university with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2010, my weight had climbed to 295 pounds. The day that I stepped on the scale and saw that number staring back at me, I think that was a big turning point in my life. I vowed that I wouldn’t reach 300 pounds. 

That vow came at the price of a vicious cycle of deprivation and binge eating. Three years later, I was still in that same perpetuating cycle. I was extremely unhealthy physically and mentally. I was full of self-loathing, and I hated myself. In 2013, something shifted in me, and I knew that I could no longer live like that.

I began to heal the relationship that I had with food by allowing myself to actually feel the emotions instead of numbing them with food, and I began moving my body and connecting with my body like I never had before. I also realized how the foods that I was choosing to eat on a regular basis were impacting my energy levels, my sleep, my mental health and my emotional health. That was really the aha! moment that lead me to a 132-pound weight loss and to study nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition in Calgary.

PTM: What do you consider to be a positive body image?

JL: I think body image refers to how an individual sees their body. It’s your own perception of your body and what you believe about your appearance. It’s also how you feel and move in your body. So, I think a positive body image is more than tolerating what you look like. It means to truly accept yourself and appreciate your body. It means that you aren’t trying to fit your body into this box of what you think it should look like. 

PTM: What is meant by “diet culture?”

JL: I think that it’s this belief that thinness or being skinny equates to our worth or is tied to our health. It prioritizes weight, shape and size over wellness. I think that there is a distinct difference between those things. I feel that there is this very large misconception in the diet industry that if you just lose that 20 pounds, you’ll be happy, and you’ll love yourself. That’s not even close to being true. Happiness is a feeling or showing of pleasure, and it’s a sense of confidence or satisfaction. The definition of happiness does not mention one’s weight or body size, no matter where you look that up. 

PTM: What role does diet culture play in body image?

JL: I think that diet culture promotes this idea that restricting food or punishing ourselves with maybe exercise will result in weight loss and in turn will provide you with those feelings of worthiness, acceptance and being enough. It distracts people from really connecting to their bodies and tuning into how specific foods will make their body feel. Diet culture replaces that with a regimented prescription for a smaller body. It also invites in food shaming and body shaming with questions and statements such as, “Are you really going to eat that?” or “I thought you were on a diet.” That type of culture is damaging to our mental and emotional health. 

PTM: What is the difference between healthy eating habits and diet culture?

JL: I believe that it comes down to intention. When we look at the purpose and objective behind our actions, it changes how we view the situation or how we even view food. If you choose to eat a salad, the intention could be, “Oh, I need to lose weight in order to accept my body. This salad is really low calorie, and it’s going to help me get there.” Or, “I’m choosing to eat this nutritious salad because I love my body and I want to provide it nourishing foods so that it feels really good.” The intention behind any action, I think is the key. 

PTM: How do healthy eating habits, a positive body image and a healthy lifestyle all fit together?

JL: I think that when you intend to take care of your body, live a healthy lifestyle, and choose healthy eating habits, it comes from a place of love and appreciation. You choose to eat foods that energize you and make you feel good and that support your wellbeing physically and mentally. You choose to exercise frequently and rest when you need it. I also think that when you provide your body with nourishing foods that it needs for optimal function and vitality, your body feels really freakin’ good. When you love yourself, you provide your body with nourishing foods that it needs for optimal health and vitality. 

PTM: In this day and time, when there is so much emphasis on calling out fat shaming and recognizing the role that negative body image plays in eating disorders, women are being told to accept themselves just the way they are. While that’s a good thing, in many cases, women of all sizes are being made to feel like they shouldn’t want to change their weight or body size and if they do, they’re giving in to diet culture. What are your thoughts on a woman recognizing that she doesn’t feel good or healthy in her body and that she wants to make changes, including losing weight and how she eats? 

JL: I think Rachel Hollis said that “Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.” It’s a beautiful statement but can be hard in reality when you are dealing with that. I also believe that people project their own insecurities onto others. If someone is shaming you for your weight or desire to get healthier so you feel more comfortable in your body, is it possible that they’re struggling with their own body issues and struggle with food? I don’t think people should be shamed for the size of their body, and I don’t think people should be shamed for choosing to eat a healthier way so that they feel good in their body. 

As someone who has formerly been almost 300 pounds, I know what it’s like to receive those judgmental stares or comments or be the brunt of someone’s cruel joke. I also know how physically hard it is to carry that much weight. Walking up a single flight of stairs to me felt like I was out of breath, and I needed to take a little break before I could proceed. There were times when tying my shoe was a chore, my knees always hurt and dropping something on the floor left me wondering if I really need that anyway. It was uncomfortable. So, I understand that desire to shed weight so you do feel healthier and can actually move in your body and do the things that you want to do. 

Where I struggle with some of the positive body image messages is that we’ve taken this 180-degree turn in the opposite direction because some of them are promoting being overweight and living an unhealthy lifestyle and then shaming weight loss. You can’t call that body positivity if you’re shaming someone for something else. 

PTM: If you do have that desire to lose weight, does that mean that you no longer have a positive body image?

JL: I don’t think so. I think that you can love yourself and still want to change because that’s called growth. I work with people every day that desire to live in a smaller body, and I really ask them to define their why. Often people tell me that they want to be able to move better, that they want to be able to feel good in their bodies, to have a healthy lifestyle and to be around when their children start having grandchildren or doing things with their children right now instead of watching them from the sidelines. I think that why you want to change is really a key indicator and motivator in any change.

PTM: What are the first questions that you ask a woman who comes to you and says that she’s not happy with the way that she feels and/or she’s not happy with her body and she wants to make changes in how she eats?

JL: One of the first questions I ask any client is why. Why do they want to make this change now?  I think that intrinsic motivation is huge. When you can make an emotional connection to why you want to make any change, it empowers you in your choices. 

That’s basically what I did in 2013. I got super clear on why I wanted to lose weight. It wasn’t just an arbitrary number or a goal to be healthier. I realized the life that I wanted to live and with that, something needed to change. I had this vision of being 70 and climbing mountains, running marathons well into my 60s and then chasing my grandchildren around a playground instead of watching them from a park bench. None of that would be possible if I didn’t make some changes. So, I also ask clients, “How do you want to feel in your body? What is that feeling that you’re really seeking through weight loss, and can you tap into that right now?”

PTM: What are the first steps that you would advise a woman in that situation to take in changing how she eats?

JL: To bring awareness of how the food that she’s currently eating is making her feel in her body. Getting curious as to which foods make her feel alive and energized and which foods are leaving her feeling lethargic or bloated. A symptom from a food could be pretty much anything. Fatigue is a number one symptom that I see but even digestive issues, bloating or elimination issues. Also, just getting curious and asking your body, ‘What am I feeling after I eat this? What am I noticing?’ and creating that awareness. If you can become aware of how different foods affect your body and become aware of the thoughts that you’re having about your body that are on repeat, you are well on your way without even changing anything. 

My Thoughts on Positive Body Image

I love Jenna’s message so much because it’s all about nurturing, caring for and appreciating our bodies whatever our shape or size. Positive body image is about loving ourselves. It’s our foundation as we work toward and achieve our own version of real health. I have learned and am still learning with each new phase of life what that feels like for me, and I strongly believe that each of us deserves the space to do the same. I hope you find at least some of that space and support here at Peppermint Tea & Me. All are welcome!

The post The Role of Nutrition in Positive Body Image appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Frustrated, frazzled, overwhelmed, stressed, adrift, easily distracted, and scattered. If any or all of these describe how you’re feeling even some of the time, then it may be time for you to re-think or develop for the first time a daily schedule. I know that I recently realized that I was feeling all of these things more times than not. No matter what I was doing, I always felt like I should be doing something else. That’s when I realized that my daily schedule needed an overhaul. 

If you’re in the same boat, this is definitely no way to live. The constant state of stress it creates is incredibly harmful to our physical and mental wellbeing. That’s why we’re taking a look at what exactly a daily schedule is and how planning your day lets you live with a sense of abundance instead of lack. 

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.

What is a Daily Schedule?

A daily schedule is a detailed plan for your day or week that aligns with the various roles and goals that you have. If one of your goals is to be healthy but you can’t find a minute to exercise, you probably need to adjust the time that you’re devoting to other activities so that your plan for your day does a better job of reflecting your overall goals. 

A daily schedule not only reflects what needs to be done, but when it’s going to be done. The key word there is when. I’m notorious for filling up a “to do list” with everything that my brain spews out and then getting frustrated when I don’t get it all done. The problem with this approach is that on most days, there would be no realistic way to get everything I have on my list done. Having a general plan for when things are going to get done lets me see what is realistic to expect from myself and the time available in my day. 

Why is a Daily Schedule Important?

A daily schedule is important because it allows us to live with a sense of abundance instead of lack when it comes to our time. Letting my unrealistic expectations carry over from day to day fills me with an ever-present sense of lack because I never feel like I have enough time. Jory Mackay writes for RescueTime that “Knowing what you’re meant to be doing (and when) creates a sense of purpose, meaning and focus. It helps you avoid procrastination, stay motivated and properly manage your time.” In other words, it lets you live in abundance or feel like you do have the time that you need to not just get by but to thrive. 

I look at a daily schedule as a budget  for my time. It’s a blueprint that lets me have more control over how I spend my time as opposed to letting the days just slip by with no real meaning or direction. That’s not to say that a hefty “to do list” gives our lives meaning. But it is to say that if we don’t have at least a general plan for our days, we run the risk of not using our time in an efficient or meaningful way for achieving our goals and for successfully filling our various roles.

My schedule also assures me that I am doing what I should be doing for that time. If I’m watching TV at 8pm, I don’t need to feel like I should be doing something else because that’s the time marked as “relax” on my schedule. No guilt, no distraction; nothing but relaxing. 

General Strategies to Help You Create a Daily Schedule

Here are some general strategies to help you create a daily schedule. Please note that I said general because one size definitely does not fit all. At the same time, there’s no sense in feeling like you have to reinvent the wheel because these are tried and true strategies that can serve as a good place to start. 

Sync your weekly and daily schedule with your menstrual cycle

Read In the Flo by Alisa Vitti to find out why and how to do this. Every day is not created equal for women. The sooner you learn to adapt your schedule to your cycle, the happier and more productive you’ll be. 

List the categories of your life into buckets

1. This could include work, self-care, family activities, volunteer work, home projects, relaxation, etc. It’s much easier and effective to do this if you have a clear vision of what your goals and priorities are. That way, you can make sure that your buckets align with those. You’ll notice that I included self-care, time to relax and time with kids or spouse as separate buckets. These are critical areas of your life that deserve a place on your schedule. If you just have them on a “to do list” but don’t have a specific time indicating when you’ll do them, these are the things that are easiest to forgo if you feel like time is getting tight. 
2. Determine whether any of your buckets have to have specific time slots allotted to them every day or at specific regular times during the week and block off those times. 
3. Determine how much time you need for the other buckets and where you can devote time to those. Todoist suggests that it’s best to follow the time blocking method where you have a chunk of time devoted to each bucket. At its most basic, that could look something like this.

*** Be sure and allow time for travel from place to place if necessary for activities or commuting to and from work. 

Determine what your regular wake up and bed time will be

The most important component of determining what your regular wakeup and bed times will be is figuring out how much sleep you need to be at your best. Use that and your list of specific time slot buckets to figure out your usual time for waking up and going to bed. This may change every now and then depending on what you have going on, but for the most part, these should be about the same time every day and night. 

Put all of your buckets into a schedule for the week and see how they fit

Putting all of your buckets into a schedule lets you see how realistic your expectations for each day and week are. If you’re finding that you simply can’t fit it all in, it may be time to re-evaluate your goals and priorities for that specific time in your life. Entrepreneur and Business Coach Jenny Melrose advises ranking tasks on a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being the most important) for how they align with what your goals and vision are. Remember, do not plan to sacrifice sleep to make room for other things. 

Plan out your week every weekend

I try to plan out my week every Sunday afternoon. Since I run my own business, I include both work and personal time because if I’m not intentional about it, work would take over all available time. 

I take my basic time blocked schedule and start fitting in the time specific activities, meetings and appointments that I know I’ll have into the blocks for each priority bucket. If it’s something that doesn’t fit into one of my buckets, I need to think carefully about whether it belongs in my schedule. Then, I go through and fill in the other tasks that I know I need or want to do for the week and fit those into the appropriate buckets. 

While the end result is a detailed plan for the week, I know that I have to allow flexibility for things to come up because they will. That’s just a fact of life. I also have a general idea for where I can move things around if needed. The goal of a daily schedule is not to restrict our lives; it’s to make it more expansive by making sure that we’re doing the things that work toward our vision and goals. 

Revisit Your Daily Schedule Multiple Times a Year

If you find that life feels like it’s getting out of control or that your schedule just isn’t working for you, revisit it. You’ll probably have to do this several times a year with the change in seasons, school and work schedules. Life is not stagnant, and your schedule shouldn’t be either. 

Tools and Resources

• In the Flo by Alisa Vitti
• LifeBook. I can’t recommend this FREE resource by Jon and Missy Butcher highly enough. It is a fantastic tool for figuring out what you want out of what they call the 12 key dimensions of your life and how to achieve it. While they don’t talk specifically about daily schedules, they do talk about how to allot your time and energy to achieving the life you want to live. Afterall, that’s ultimately what a daily schedule is for. 
• The best paper planners. 
• The best planner apps. I love todoist and then use Google Calendar for my master calendar.

The post The Importance of a Daily Schedule appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

How does the topic of seasonal decorating belong in the health and wellness space? The answer is actually, perfectly. That’s because there are many mental benefits associated with decorating with the seasons, and it can easily be done for very little money. To fill us in on what those benefits are and how you can do it on a budget is DIY home decorating expert and Instagram Influencer Jodie Kammerer. She’s half of the Jodie and Julie team over at the The Design Twins, where she and her sister share their best tips for DIY home decorating.

Jodie’s Story

When it comes to the mental benefits of seasonal decorating and decorating on a budget in general, Jodie speaks from a place of experience. She loved to travel the world and didn’t even have a home of her own until she was nearly 40. That simply wasn’t part of her dream. 

When she did decide that she wanted a family, she gave up traveling and focused on her children. But, as she fully admits, it took a long time to find happiness in her home. “I was really unhappy and depressed. My husband had lost his job, and he spent years trying to create a new business, so our finances were completely deteriorated.” Meantime, Jodie was trying to make ends meet as a stay-at-home mom. “I didn’t have a new dream besides what was just connected to my family, my boys, and I was just really depressed because I was within the walls of my house without a budget and without any ideas.” 

Turning it around

It all turned around when she figured out that she could apply creativity to her own home and have projects that made her feel like she was accomplishing something even on a “tiny, nonexistent budget.” In fact, one of her first very inexpensive projects was no-sew drop cloth curtains. She still considers it to be one of her “best projects ever.” Jodie says that she never would have stretched herself creatively in that way if she’d had a sewing machine, known how to sew, or could have afforded fabric or pretty pre-made curtains. “The idea that I could buy drop cloths and transform my house with no skills just blew my mind!”

Transformation through chalk paint

Another transformational decorating discovery for Jodie was chalk paint. She says that every piece of furniture in her house was hand-me-down and mostly things that she didn’t like. “Chalk paint to me was another ‘aha moment,’ where you could take old furniture, not attractive furniture and make it into something that you love. Love is a strong word, but when you take something, ugly, and you transform it with your own two hands with literally probably $20 worth of paint, it becomes love.” 

Jodie says that piece changed the room and was part of what changed her life. “I don’t know if it really looks as good as I think it looks, but that sense of empowerment, that sense of happiness that you’ve been able to do something, you’ve been able to impact your space with just your own two hands.” From there, Jodie’s home decorating and Instagram business took off because, as it turns out, many of us want at least a bit of that sense of empowerment that Jodie was able to tap into. 

I like to have things that make every season feel special.

Jodie Kammerer

Mental Benefits of Seasonal Decorating

I will fully admit that before I found Jodie and Julie, I thought of seasonal decorating as a luxury. Something that I could look forward to doing when my far-off in the future grandkids come to visit but not something worth my time, energy or money right now. Thanks to the pandemic and being confined to my home and the same surroundings around the clock, I have changed my tune. This is the sort of mental shift that Jodie already made and that many of us are just now catching up to. 

Jodie says that seasonal decorating, and even decorating in general, lets us feel like we’re not stuck. “It’s so much more than just being stuck in that physical environment. It’s being stuck without options. We want to be empowered to change our mood, our outlook and our situation.” Seasonal decorating helps us do that on a manageable scale. 

Whether we’re in the middle of a pandemic or just stuck in a rut, very few of us do well with monotony. It’s draining and can suck the energy out of us. Jodie believes that change, even in a small amount, is invigorating. That’s where seasonal decorating comes in. It allows us to play, be creative and let our personalities come through. Jodie calls this being “whimsical,” but she also calls it a worthwhile investment. “This is spending time, money and energy on creating happiness. Happiness and making family memories that are within the home.” 

Joy and anticipation

Jodie remembers that she used to look forward with great joy and anticipation to traveling outside of her house. Now, she gets that same type of excitement about decorating for the seasons. “I don’t feel that I’m missing out because I have brought that anticipation and excitement to my home and to my family. I focus on the joy that I can create within my home.” She does this by making sure that there’s something to look forward to and to celebrate for every season. 

Tips for seasonal decorating on a budget

When it comes to tips for seasonal decorating on a budget, Jodie has plenty. 

1. Decorate with faux flowers, plants or greenery. These are inexpensive and can be re-used in different ways from season to season. 
2. Use pillows to easily switch up your décor. Jodie suggests buying a few pillows with covers that can slip on and off. She says that switching out two different pillowcases for a season can completely change your color scheme – especially if you keep everything else fairly neutral.
3. Buy fresh, seasonal flowers. They’ll usually last at least a week and will do wonders for boosting your mood. 
4. Create a vignette or a small grouping of objects that tell a story or have something in common. This can be done on a tray, a tabletop or any other smaller space and is a way to make disconnected or unrelated items look like they go together. For example, you might have small items that are all a “spring” color that aren’t otherwise related. You can also tie items together with some of your faux florals or greenery.
5. Don’t forget wall décor. Jodie loves to change out wreaths on her walls for the seasons as well as to put faux flowers or greenery around frames or signs. She also swaps out items in a gallery wall as another way to change up a space with the season. 
6. Change out your curtains. This is an easy way to alter a room’s look so that it reflects the season outside. Once you make the initial time and/or money investment in the curtains, it’s just a matter of storing them and possibly steaming them when you’re ready to switch them out. 

Resources

Jodie recommends the following resources for seasonal decorating. 

• Pillows and pillow covers – Ikea (great inserts and very affordable), Etsy (can usually buy pillow covers with or without inserts), HomeGoods, TJ Maxx or of course, you can always shop local.
• Faux flowers, plants or greenery and wall décor – Craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, JoAnn, and Michaels. Jodie recommends shopping at these stores ahead of the season because they often have 40-50% off sales at that point. If you wait until the season starts, the sales go away. If you wait until after the season, items are picked over. 
• Items for a vignette or collection – Dollar or hardware stores and craft stores such as the ones previously mentioned. 
• Fresh, seasonal flowers – You can get these at the grocery store or at your local farmers’ market for under $10. 

Lean on your community

As we’ve seen here, seasonal decorating has many mental benefits and is something that can be done inexpensively and on a small scale. If decorating with the seasons is something that you already do, what are your favorite ways to do it? Let us know in the comments below so that we can all get ideas. 

The post The Mental Benefits of Seasonal Decorating appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

What is functional medicine, and is it right for you? If you’re exploring alternative medical care options, functional medicine is one system of care that you’ll at least want to look into. Monique Class, MS, APRN, BC is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist in holistic health at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine. In this Q&A, she helps to shed light on what functional medicine is and why it’s been growing in popularity over the past nearly 20 years. 

Peppermint Tea & Me: What is functional medicine?

Monique Class: Functional medicine is root cause medicine. I’m always looking for the cause to the symptomatology or to the diagnosis of the person sitting in front of me. In western medicine, ( I’m trained in both medicines), we’re trained to look for “What’s the diagnosis?” Give me this collection of symptoms and give me the diagnosis. in functional medicine, the training is, “What’s the root cause of these symptoms and this diagnosis?” What caused the dysfunction in the physiology? 

Another key thing is understanding that the body is made up of systems that communicate with each other. One system affects the other system. It’s understanding how different parts of the body influence other parts of the body and that it’s a network. Hormones influence the digestive system, and stress impacts the nervous system which impacts the digestive system and can be a root cause of many things. And long-term chronic stress turns on inflammation in the body that could turn on any inflammatory disease. So, it’s understanding how things are linked together and need to be unraveled. 

The third piece is that it’s patient-centered. It’s not protocol-driven. It’s individualized based on the patient. What is their belief system and what are they looking for? It’s looking at their story and their timeline in a useful way to see patterns and connections. We’re not trained to do that in western medicine. We’re trained to ask very specific questions to get very specific answers so we can get a diagnosis. We then give a protocol that everybody else with that diagnosis gets, so there’s no personalization of the medicine or deeper understanding of the human being. Functional medicine is understanding what gives our patients meaning and purpose and helping them make the right choices for their particular situation.

PTM: You can do all of that and still do all of the things that a conventional practitioner can do?

MC: Yes, and we do. Functional medicine includes conventional medicine. It’s not like you’re doing one or the other. Functional medicine expands on our knowledge base. It’s not throwing out conventional medicine. It’s embracing conventional medicine and then expanding it to look at other influences. We identify root causes and work with collaborative care teams to help change behavior. If you want to look at it this way, functional medicine is a panoramic view. What’s happening with traditional medicine is they’re looking at just that one snapshot, and they’re not looking at a panoramic view of things. 

PTM: You have certifications in imagery and meditation and mind- body medicine and yoga. What is imagery, and what is mind-body medicine?

MC: Mind-body medicine is really engaging the mind in the healing process and understanding how the mind influences the body and how the body influences the mind and getting people to understand that it’s all connected. it’s one big system. If you come in through the body, you’re influencing the mind. If you come in from the mind, you’re influencing the body. They’re intimately connected. It’s working with all of those dimensions and not just working with the body but engaging people’s mind.

Imaging is a way to get people in touch with the unconscious thoughts and images that are in their mind that drive choices one way or the other. It’s understanding what’s going through the mind stream and what the pictures are that people have attached to their thoughts. A lot of times, the images are all around negative things that are going to happen or past regrets that have happened, and people get stuck. You work with their images to help them create healing images that then drive the physiology. 

The research is there. One study had surgeons practice a specific surgery in their heads. They saw themselves doing it well with no complications. When you do that, you’re actually on a physical level. You’re priming those pathways and stimulating that neural plasticity for what you want to happen. For the surgeons who did that, their heart rate variability was more in coherence. They had less cortisol and were more focused. So that’s the end state imagery. It’s working with people to understand what their images are that they’re not even conscious of that are driving their fear and anxiety and then having them create new images. These new images begin to change thought patterns at the level of the mind and the unconscious mind.

 PTM: What is your general approach to using medication to treat illnesses or symptoms?

MC: I use it when I need to. It’s the wise use of medication in the right dose as a bridge, while you’re working on the lifestyle stuff. I’m looking to take them off medication once we get the rest of it, but I’m not afraid to use meds when I need to use meds. The conversation is, “We’re using this, we’re going to work on all this stuff and then we’re going to try to back down off of it.” If I don’t need it, I don’t go there first. Medication is a bridge. It’s not a permanent player if at all possible. 

PTM: Why did you decide to go into functional medicine?

MC: Functional Medicine was for me part of my larger vision of health. When I was looking at the way we were treating people in conventional medicine – both in the hospital and in the doctor’s office that I was working in – I felt like they weren’t getting better. We were just perpetuating a disease model. I wanted a model that worked higher upstream. A model that saw people as individuals and understood that the mind and the choices people make have a great influence on the body. If you work at the level of the mind and change the choices, you can reverse engineer complex chronic diseases. It’s very different than an attitude of “You’ve got this diagnosis, take this medication and see you later.” I wanted something more than that for myself and for my patients.

PTM: Do you ever find that patients or even other practitioners are skeptical of what you do?

MC: Not anymore. In the beginning, they didn’t understand what we were doing. Now, people are seeking us out. Functional medicine has really caught on among the lay public. People are finding us. We don’t have to advertise anymore. They’re coming to us because they want a functional medicine approach. We’re addressing them as human beings and finding out what’s meaningful to them and what they’re looking to achieve. We’re trying to help them with that in the gentlest way possible. 

PTM: Everything you’re describing sounds like it takes more than the 15 minutes allotted for conventional medicine. How does that work?

MC: We’re not in insurance anymore, but we did it for years. When we were in insurance, I would have people come back every two weeks for half an hour as we made needed lifestyle and behavior changes. Now, we are out of insurance, and we’re a fee for service. My first visit is about an hour and 15 minutes. Then we have follow-ups, and we work with coaches in our office to help coach people on behavior change. 

The model of utilizing collaborative care teams with coaches is used a lot. It’s focused on the care plan that the patient helps co-create with us as doctors based on their lab results, their symptoms, their individual stories and what their goals are. They then work with a team on these things and then loop back to me. It truly is a team approach. 

Important note about insurance and functional medicine

If you decide to work with a functional medicine provider, be sure and check with them on whether they accept insurance. If they don’t, and you’re planning to file your insurance yourself, check with your health insurance company about whether it covers the facility and type of program that you are considering. In addition, if you have a healthcare reimbursement account, you can also check to see if the services that you’re considering are covered by your plan. 

The post What is Functional Medicine? appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Have you found yourself increasingly frustrated by conventional or Western medicine, but you don’t know whether you want to completely turn to alternative options either? If that’s the case, you may want to explore integrative medicine. Julie McGregor, MD is a board-certified internist and nephrologist trained in integrative medicine who works with the Integrative Medical Clinic of North Carolina. She explains in this Q&A what integrative medicine is and offers information that may help you decide whether it might or might not be right for you. 

Peppermint Tea & Me: What is integrative medicine?

Julie McGregor: It’s really about trying to blend any component of wellness or healing or disease treatment or prevention into an individualized approach for any given person. So, it’s trying to use the best of all the different worlds that are out there with healing and wellness to approach optimizing somebody’s health in an individualized plan. 

PTM: How do you feel like that’s different from conventional medicine?

Julie McGregor: It’s really about trying to blend any component of wellness or healing or disease treatment or prevention into an individualized approach for any given person. So, it’s trying to use the best of all the different worlds that are out there with healing and wellness to approach optimizing somebody’s health in an individualized plan. 

Sometimes, there may be healing that is achieved from a lot of different modalities that are traditional – like Chinese medicine, or yogic tradition, or nutritional healing and that kind of thing. Integrative Medicine tries to hold space for those types of modalities in addition to pharmaceuticals or surgery. It’s not just doing alternative, and it’s also not just doing Western conventional medicine. It’s trying to use what’s best from all of that in helping a person achieve wellness or avoid disease through whatever means makes the most sense for that person. 

PTM: Your practice’s website says that you focus on the integration of complementary medicine with gold-standard medicine and specialty training. What exactly does that mean?

JM: It’s basically honoring that trying to avoid side effects or pharmaceuticals may be the best course for any patient. But, if a person has the need for pharmaceuticals or has an illness that is requiring of a specialized intervention, our clinic has the training to take care of illnesses in the Western or conventional approach. We’ve really focused our whole careers on how to use medicines and how to appropriately care for people in a medical setting, but we also have a focus on trying to be as holistic and non-pharmaceutical and open to all kinds of healing. 

What we’re saying is that if somebody came in and needed an approach to a serious medical condition, we feel completely comfortable doing that. At the same time, if a person came in and said, “I absolutely don’t want to be on a medicine, and I want to stay well without pharmaceuticals,” we feel completely comfortable aligning with that person and trying to help them on their wellness path. 

For most of the rest of us, who are kind of in between, who want to avoid medicines when possible but are open to using the best of pharmaceuticals or Western medicine if necessary, we feel comfortable in that journey with them as well. All of this feels really comfortable to us because of doing a broad range of training. All of our providers have been in the western medicine, conventional medicine tertiary medical centers for most of our training, so we don’t feel like we’re alternative providers but at the same time, we’re very open to a holistic or alternative approach for people who want to do it that way.

PTM: Do you ever find that people are skeptical about your approach?

JM: I think a lot of the people who come to us are looking for that kind of blend. I do have a number of patients who want to turn to the pharmaceutical route first, and that’s fine. Then I do have some people who absolutely really don’t want to be on medicine. They want to have me there telling them whether they’re making safe choices with their herbs. I’m fine with that too. 

For the most part, I think people are really open to combining all the different types of health and wellness ideals and a lot of my folks in our clinic have a multiple provider team. They may have a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, a physician, a wellness coach, and a nutritionist. That’s a lot of people weighing in. Our goal is to have mutual respect among all the different providers so that patients don’t feel like there’s a conflict between what one person is suggesting and what another person is suggesting. Unless we really see there’s a danger, and of course, we would speak up about that.

PTM: Is a team approach to healing and wellness part of the integrative medicine model?

JM: We do try in integrative medicine to have a connection with a lot of different types of providers. I will communicate with chiropractors, naturopaths, Chinese medicine providers, and shamans. All different types of healers. I’ll do that as much as I will with a hematologist or a gastroenterologist or a cardiologist or a neurologist. So, I think, integrative medicine is very much about a team approach. 

I don’t know how to do acupuncture, I am definitely not an herbalist, and I haven’t had formal nutritional training. I rely a lot on the expertise of people who are holistic providers and would definitely say that integrative medicine is about connection and about teams and about honoring a lot of healing modalities.

PTM: Your foundational training was very much in conventional medicine. Why did you decide to go in this direction?

JM: I was raised by a registered nurse who was involved with an obstetrician who worked under the focus of Dr. Christiane Northrup. Dr. Northrup wrote a book called Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. That’s how my mom sort of approached health and wellness with me. 

When I went to medical school, I had the idea that spirituality, emotional health and wellness, alignment and balance and nutrition would be how my career would progress. In western medicine training though, wellness, and nutrition and spirituality and emotion aren’t really the focus. It’s very comfortable actually. It’s hard, hard work to be in medicine, but at the same time, there’s a comfort that comes from doing this protocolized research-proven approach. I personally had a lot of interest in health, wellness, alternative medicine, spirituality and all of these things. But mentally, I had a lot of comfort with approaching medicine through conventional medicine and that scientific sort of western mentality. 

By my early 40s, I realized that I was approaching medicine in a way that I probably wouldn’t do for myself and wouldn’t suggest for my family. I was in dialysis care and prescribing a lot of chemotherapy for patients that had vasculitis and autoimmune disease. I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t have a lot of authenticity about what I was recommending to my patients because I probably wouldn’t have been making a lot of those choices if I was in their position. So, I came to this realization that I wanted the rest of my career to be in alignment with how I would approach health and wellness if I was the person that I was talking to. 

PTM: Was that a difficult shift to make?

JM: It required me making a big shift in my career trajectory. Not that I was neglecting everything that I had learned. I was actually happy to have been trained the way I was. incorporating more of the holistic and wellness that I honored in my own life and through my own family with my patient care was a shift away from conventional tried and true approaches. It was more of a vulnerable space of let’s partner together and find what works for you as an individual using all that we know about all of these different modalities. 

PTM: When might someone want to consider seeing an integrative medicine practitioner?

JM: There are some people who come to integrative medicine just because they’re looking for a primary care provider, and they like the idea of sort of being more natural or holistic as a first line. Some people come to integrative medicine because they actually really prefer naturopaths or Chinese medicine or chiropractic care but want to have an MD involved for just making sure that they have a doctor on record as part of their team. 

And then for other people, integrative medicine is just sort of how they have been living. They’ve been holistic, or Mind-Body connected or nutritionally focused or found through their own just trial and error that using food as medicine really resonated with them. When they go to their doctor, they don’t feel like those choices for their health are as respected or as honored as they want them to be. They will come to integrative medicine because they’ve sort of found that path for themselves and they’re looking for resonance.

Important Note About Insurance and Integrative Medicine

If you decide to work with an integrative medicine practitioner, check with your health insurance provider about whether it covers specific recommended therapies. Some therapies are covered by some providers, others are not. In addition, if you have a healthcare reimbursement account, you can check to see if the therapies that you’re considering are covered by that plan. 

The post What is Integrative Medicine? appeared first on Peppermint Tea.