#LiveWholeHealth

Gratitude is a quality, attitude or expression of thankful appreciation, and it's a positive emotion that can serve a biological purpose: scientists have measured positive effects on the body and mind from a gratitude practice.

Our bodies need a break. We need to rest and recharge from too much time on computers, devices, driving, and sitting. These activities are causing our bodies to suffer from stress and fatigue.

what if there was a different way to manage headaches? Would you give it a try? Acupressure can be useful for all types of headaches, including tension headaches, sinus headaches and migraines.

Living with low back pain can affect every aspect of your daily life, and it is a common complaint among Veterans and the general population. Research shows that movement is essential for reducing most low back pain. Follow along with this acupressure video to help manage your pain.

When it comes to yoga, we hear these often: “I can’t do yoga, I’m not flexible,” or “I don’t know what all the fuss is about yoga,” or “My daughter does yoga, but she’s young and fit,” and “You won’t catch me in yoga pants!” But what about chair yoga?

Have you ever heard the saying, “the issues are in the tissues?” Stress is something that we all face, and often when that stress builds up, we can feel it in our muscles and throughout the whole body. When you feel stressed, does your body feel relaxed and at ease? Or does it feel tight and tense? I tend to feel tighter and more tense when I’m stressed, and I often feel this tightness and tension in my shoulders and neck. This can even lead to pain.

As we enter spring and see signs of the earth blooming, we should think about ways we wish to grow and bloom in our lives. Spring is a great time to bring to life our vision and to set goals for our health and well-being. Taking time to pause allows us to consider the ways.

When was the last time you paid attention to your right big toe or thumb? Like really paid attention to it? We often move throughout our day without really noticing our body or its various parts unless we are dealing with acute pain, it’s almost like we are on autopilot. When we really pay attention to what our body is experiencing in the moment, we can be more present, and we can notice how our physical experience is often connected to our emotional experience. This is called body scan.

You may think of yoga as a practice only done by the young and flexible, but all of us can do it. After a recent knee surgery, I was unable to get around without crutches, but I was still able to do breathing practices, meditate, and even do some yoga postures in a chair.

We often forget about our bodies until something starts to hurt or stops working. Have you thought about the miraculous way that your body functions?

Does focusing on your daily challenges lead to stress? Thinking of your challenges in this way can cause you to feel fatigued, with low energy. The mind can gravitate toward stressful thoughts without us even realizing it’s happening. The good news is that we have the power to change our perspective by refocusing on gratitude; we can train ourselves to focus on those things we are grateful for in the present moment. 

Our posture - how we sit or stand, can make a difference in how we feel. Try this short exercise to help improve your posture.