Faith, hope, and love. Potent superfoods that can change your life. The power is in your hands. Blessings for a new day filled with all three! You are worth it.

One thing I cannot do without in my apartment is my shower! For the obvious reasons, but also for my most important reason: I do my best thinking in the shower! Ideas and thoughts pop into my mind like light bulbs turning on. And the best thing I did to support my creativity was to change my shower head. :) 

Yes, our DIY project for today. 1. Find a fabulous shower head. One that can move, swivel, and most of all massage your back with some force! Who doesn't want a live-in massage therapist and who specializes in acupressure!  2. Once you find the one you want (and it doesn't have to be expensive...mine was $35), don't be afraid to ask for help. I needed my strong boyfriend to take off the old (and a good pair of pliers).3. Replacing the new one is then pretty straightforward!

***Check out this article***
http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2010/08/20_reasons_why_1.shtml

After all, Einstein did his best thinking near a shower! 

Often, I just turn my shower on so I can hear the water fall. Not only do you get a little moisture in the air, but the sound is quite soothing and relaxing. Second plus...a natural waterfall indoors! 

Anyway, keep it simple. Find what you can do today to improve your environment to create peace and inspiration. Its the little things that sometimes make the biggest difference. Let me know how it goes! :) Happy Showering! To your health...JLWAC

Some Insurance carriers are now paying for an annual consult with your pharmacist, no cost to you. Just as you would sit down with your physician, you sit down and speak with your pharmacist for about 20-30 minutes. Appointments are scheduled and questions are answered. Your pharmacist is a wealth of information. Most all have gone to school for six plus years and receive comprehensive training on diet, lifestyle, and medication management. Do you have questions about what supplements to take with your prescription medication, what side effects to look out for, or what is a healthy exercise regimen? Ask your pharmacist and ask if this benefit is included in the benefits you pay for. Use your resources! Knowledge is power. We are here to help you be your healthiest!

Do you get an annual physical? A baseline is important to understand any deviations in your health. If you don't seek to protect your own body, no one will. Prevention is key! KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. Educate yourself on these numbers and utilize all the resources provided to you. You must be your best advocate. You must empower yourself. 

Today is the day. Find a great physician if you don't have one. Ask friends and family for their suggestions. Schedule your appointments. Make it count. To your health

What satisfies your soul? What fuels your spirit? What deepens your connections to the rhythms of life. What creates balance for your mind, body, and spirit?

What feeds our bodies also feeds out minds, and what feeds our minds also feeds our bodies. Superfoods are more than just the food we ingest. Superfoods are potent catalysts that have the ability to cause a shift. 

My superfood today is kindness. This superfood has the ability to ease depression, anxiety, and stress as both the giver and the receiver. If you're looking for a quick fix, this just may be your answer. Be aware, be kind, and be healthy. 

Alternative medicine to some is known as hokey. Conventional or modern medicine to some is known as extreme. Integrative medicine combines the best of both alternative and conventional medicine to treat the individual: mind, body, and spirit.  As Dr. Andrew Weill, the leading proponent of integrative medicine, states, "If I were hit by a bus, I'd want to be taken immediately to a high-tech emergency room." I totally agree!  On the other hand, Dr.Weill supports complementary medicine, alternative medicine that is used alongside conventional medicine. As do I. 

Integrative medicine "combines mainstream medical therapies and CAM (complementary alternative medicine) therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness" ,as defined by The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.  

Lifestyles are unique, complex, and cannot be defined by either alternative or conventional medicine. Integration of the two to come up with a real, lasting, effective solution is the reality for health and wellness. Extremes may be the quick fix, but most often are not the real solution. Alternative therapies may be dangerous and undefined. Finding the middle ground and integrating therapies to treat the individual is the new era of real medicine.  We must be open to change. A little bit of this and a little bit of that often works! 

My doctor is an integrative medicine physician and I have never been more satisfied with my own wellness. Explore the concept, research integrative medicine, and find a physician that provides you with options. You DO have a choice! I have learned this first hand through both personal and professional experiences. :) 

*'Right down the middle' = A strike in baseball and bowling, a great tee-off in golf, a made basket in basketball, a successful field goal in football, and a bulls-eye in archery to name only a few. Looks like the world of sports has it figured out....right down the middle often results in a win...* ;)

As I've fought a sore throat and now cough, I've included a few doses of raw, local honey in my diet. Not only can honey coat the throat, but raw honey provides immune boosting antioxidants and enzymes. Raw honey is also a natural antimicrobial and antiviral. Local raw honey has also helped many people with allergies.

These natural nutrients are stripped when raw honey is processed(not raw). You may also think that honey is just sugar, but raw honey does not even compare to refined sugar. Empty calories deplete the body whereas vitamins and minerals restore the body. Additionally, honey digests itself with all it's live enzymes and spares key nutrients needed for the body's fat metabolism. Therefore honey has been known as a helpful diet aid.

So, explore the benefits of raw honey! The benefits I've listed above are just a few! Prevent and treat....another option for optimal wellness.

So I think most of you know at this point that I live in New York City. One of the things I love most of the city is that its energy seems to put you right where you need to be. Synchronicity has blessed me often. So, "The Locker: Unlocked", is a true story about just that. 

I had some time to myself in the middle of Manhattan. I have been battling a virus that has stiffened my chest and had been craving a steam bath, so I was on the lookout for a day pass to a gym. I found my sauna but didn't have a lock for my locker. The locker I put my belongings in was right outside the sauna room, and my intuition said it would be o.k. There were also plenty of women around. I blessed my locker with safety ;) and left it behind. I came out of the steam room to "check" on my belongings and there was a women sitting directly in front of my locker on the bench, leaning on my locker. I asked her to excuse me while I peeked inside. She politely moved, smiled, and then resumed her position with my locker door as her post (while texting on her cell phone).  After a few more minutes in the sauna, I walked back to my locker and looked at this woman again leaning up against my locker. I KNEW HER! She knew me! We were completely taken back by the coincidence. Out of the whole locker room (which was huge) there she sat in front of MY locker! What are the odds? I believe people are put in our paths for a reason and reappear just when you need. :) My locker, unlocked, was protected. Trust your intuitions ladies. It may just keep you safe and reconnect you with old friends! NYC LOVE!  
***Disclaimer: It is always best to lock your locker. Do not try this without your intuition!***

...I am drinking my coffee black. The more I research the downfalls of adding cream, or even skim milk, and sugar to coffee, the more I find the real benefit comes from drinking black coffee. The metabolism boost you get from coffee is often cancelled out by adding extra calories and fat to the drink. Additionally, the antioxidants that exist in coffee could be cancelled out by the added sugar. If you have to add anything, try to add only milk, not sugar. The added sugar and the non-dairy creamers seem to have the most negative effect on the metabolism and antioxidant effect coffee can provide. 

For me, I'm changing my game today. If I drink coffee, I drink it black! As a fit model, my measurements are necessary to maintain, and as a health professional, I want to be healthy. With this one change only, I want to see what happens. So....I will report back to you in 2 weeks from today. Healthy choices...