Health & Wellness

 “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour.”

~zen buddhist saying

Meditation

Meditation is a great way to slow down and just sit mindfully, while observing the thoughts that come and go. Most styles focus on the breath, observing it coming into the nostrils and then going back out. There are many different styles of meditation, such as guided (usually to a theme or affirmation), transcendental, kundalini, and vipassana. I practice vipassana meditation, which is also known as insight meditation. I was taught at a 10-day course at the Dhamma Vaddhana Vipassana Meditation Center in Joshua Tree, taught by S.N. Goenka. I really like the simplicity and the purity of this style, as well as a lack of any religious association. We study the Buddha, but we are not Buddhists.

Practicing meditation for a number of years has trained me to slow down and be more thoughtful in how I react in life. Or rather, to not react, but to act. Which is a great improvement for me because in my younger days, I was quite reactive (I’m an Aries) and acted quickly and often with intensity. Choosing to be intentional with my words and actions because I have learned to observe first, pause, then act, has greatly improved my life and how I conduct myself in the world.

My meditation practice comes and goes, I’ll be perfectly honest. But I keep sitting on the cushion, whenever I can, and I do try to maintain a practice as much as I can. I usually meditate in the morning before my day starts and ultimately the opportunity to sit gets away from me because of the day’s momentum. Even that I would like to improve.

Nutrition

I firmly believe that what we put in and on our body directly affects our health, and the better we eat, the better our bodies work the way they should. I’m always looking up ingredients or supplements to see what they really do… and what I have found is that a lot of the gimmicks that the “wellness” industry tries to sell us are not remarkably effective, or are really just placebos. And that most of the diets out there are based on pseudo-science. Remember eating for your blood type? Or Fit for Life? Me too. They’re even finding out that the ketogenic diet isn’t the panacea that everyone thought it was. So after years of trying many diets, I have concluded that for me, the best things to do is to eat nutrient-dense whole foods, and watch my portions. I like to follow Michael Pollan’s Food Rules.

So I play with my food a lot. I have done pretty much every diet - Atkins (3x), paleo, keto, mediterranean, AIP, fasting, and Whole30. The elimination diet the Whole30 has given me the best insight in terms of what works well with my body and what doesn’t. I was surprised to discover that contrary to my beliefs, I did have a problem with dairy, and I don’t have such a big problem with wheat or gluten. Who knew? I sure didn’t, until I did the experiment, and then was brutally honest about how I felt.

I have learned from experience that restrictive diets can work for the short term, but usually not the long term, as they are unsustainable in time, energy, and cost. It’s expensive to eat mostly beef, pork, chicken, eggs and cheese! It’s also not good for the planet to be raising that much meat. It requires a tremendous amount of resources that could be used more wisely… the most important of which is water. So I have chosen to eat mostly pescatarian, but I will eat a beautiful cut of well-sourced, organic, humanely raised meat on the rare occasion.

I have outlined below how I use my food for medicine. I focus on eating nutrient dense foods as often as possible, adding in foods & supplements that pack an additional nutrient punch, and avoiding foods that inflame or are full of sugar and unhealthy fat. All that said, I’ll admit that I’m not a purist, and that I slip on occasion.

This is the framework that I follow:

• I have found a great powdered multivitamin with high bioavailability. If my gut is off, I’ll take a really good pre+probiotic for a few weeks.

• I prefer to use natural sugars, like maple syrup, honey or organic cane sugar. Agave nectar requires too much processing to be a good eco choice. I’m warming up to stevia. My local grocery store brand has a good formula that isn’t too bitter. And when low-carbing, I tend to use erythritol, monkfruit, or a combination of both.

• I generally don't eat fried food, but if I do it’s usually either french fries, fried calamari when out for dinner with friends, or the occasional donut. But man, fried food is delicious!

• I drink alcohol, but not every night and usually not more than 2 drinks. I’ve long outgrown the getting tossed just to get tossed phase of my life, and honestly, I was never really into it anyway. I drink mostly wine & beer in moderation, both of which have health benefits.

• I hate water, but I try like the dickens to drink at around 66oz of water every day. that’s three 22oz bottles of water. I usually make it to about 44oz. Bubble water is easier for me to get down, and bonus if there’s a lemon or cucumber in it.

• I don’t eat processed foods for the most part, save the occasional frozen entree or canned soup, and I eat out at a restaurant only on occasion. I haven’t gotten takeout pizza in many years, I make my own. Much yummier. In fact…

• I cook almost everything I eat. The ingredients I choose are whole foods | I make my own salad dressings, ghee, kombucha, chevre, coffee extract, bread, and crackers. I think it’s fun and relaxing because I get to be creative and there’s nothing at stake.

• I have discovered the nutritional benefits of chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seed hearts, and matcha. I’m still trying to like matcha, but chocolate chia seed pudding is always in the fridge. It is now my dessert of choice when at home.

“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

- Michael Pollan

“Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.”

Exercise and Being Active

This has become increasingly important to me. Move it or lose it!! You have to move around, stretch, and get that aerobic exercise, to keep ‘er well oiled and hummin’. I know that as I get older, it gets that much harder to get back into it if I skip exercise for too long… so I do my best to keep up the momentum. My goal is to do something active every day, even if all I can do is walk (not drive) to the grocery store, or just around the neighborhood for a bit.

I wasn’t always active. I didn’t do any sports in high school or in college. Then when I came to California, I bought a bike and rode it in the California AIDS Ride 5, completing a total of 545 miles between San Francisco to Los Angeles over the course of 7 days. After that, I decided I wanted to start running. My man friend at the time was a marathon runner, and he taught me the basics. So now I’m a runner and I love it. I also did Chalene Johnson’s workouts for years: Turbo Jam, Turbo Fire, and PiYo. They are so much fun, and they helped me get into awesome shape. But my favorite thing has always been walking. I love to walk and could do it all day. And now, I have started jumping rope!

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

— Thomas Dekker

Sleep and reducing stress

Stress has a profound affect on both our physical and emotional health. I have learned through my armchair research that over time, continued strain on your body from stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Your central nervous system (CNS) is in charge of your “fight or flight” response. In your brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rev up your heartbeat and send blood rushing to the areas that need it most in an emergency, such as your muscles, heart, and other important organs. When the perceived fear is gone, the hypothalamus should tell all systems to go back to normal. If the CNS fails to return to normal, or if the stressor doesn’t go away, the response will continue.*

One way to manage stress is to make sure you are getting the right amount of quality sleep most nights. Sleep is a necessary human function — it allows our brains to recharge and our bodies to rest. When we do not sleep long or well enough, our bodies do not get the full benefits of sleep, such as muscle repair and memory consolidation. Sleep is so crucial that even slight sleep deprivation or poor sleep can affect memory, judgment and mood. In addition to feelings of listlessness, chronic sleep deprivation can contribute to health problems, from obesity and high blood pressure to safety risks while driving. Research has shown that most Americans would be happier, healthier and safer if they were to sleep an extra 60 to 90 minutes per night.*

I personally have a hard time getting to sleep. Because of this, I have been self-medicating herbally for years, and that has served me extremely well. I even checked the quality of my sleep using Fitbit, and indeed, I get solid, deep sleep every night. I have discovered that the amount of sleep I need to function normally is about 7-1/4 hours, but when I sleep in, I do tend to sleep exactly 8 hours before I naturally wake up. I know that it is important to get enough rest every night because you can’t catch up on sleep. So I have made it a priority, and I believe I am happier and healthier for it.

Work/Life Balance

In modern times, it has been generally expected that one should work hard and forego leisure to support the family and make as much progress and money as possible while in our prime. My angle on it is, don’t put off enjoying this awesome life until you “have time” or are retired. You have to make the time. What happens if I die before that time arrives? I’d be pissed that I squandered it behind some computer, trying to achieve a status that doesn’t ultimately affect my happiness (my ego, maybe), and make my nut to spend later. Because time is far more valuable than money.

So I give my job full attention for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and then I GTFO and fill the rest of my life with things I enjoy. I don’t allow them to cross over, I protect my personal time like a mother protects her child. And at mid-life, with no grand achievements (modest, perhaps) and no big bank account, I have no regrets… because so far, I have spent my valuable life time doing things I love to do, with great friends, great food, great music and art, and great adventures.

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”     

Theophrastus

Spending Time in Nature

The importance of spending time out in nature cannot be understated. It is good for body and soul, and is what we are naturally inclined to do as humans. We are interconnected with our environment, and incorporating nature into one’s daily life is an important part of feeling grounded and happy. Being in or near nature has proven to help alleviate depression, accelerate healing, and bring people a general sense of well being.

This is the foundation of biophilic design, an aspect of architecture and interior design that focuses on bringing aspects of nature, and nature itself, into our indoor environments. This is my focus when designing for interiors - to bring an aspect of nature into the home to be experienced daily. This can range from having plants or a fish tank in the house, to creating a living wall or a water feature that emulates nature directly into the home. My own home is filled with air-purifying plants, two cats, natural fibers and a base of soothing, neutral colors with lively pops of color for joy.

I make it a point to bring the outdoors into my daily life as often as possible. I go on a hike nearly every weekend, and sometimes on a weekday as well, and I often go with friends. Being out in the trees, on the beach, or walking barefoot in the sand brings me a lot of joy.

Environment and the home

This of course is the most dear to my heart. I know how much my environment affects me, especially since I am an HSP (highly sensitive person) and I notice and feel everything more pronounced than the average person. That makes me hypersensitive to my environment. As a designer, that’s actually an asset because I can identify something that may feel vague to someone with normally calibrated senses, and they know something feels off, but they just can’t tell you what it is. My superpower allows me to do just that. You might walk into a room or building and feel uncomfortable and not quite know why, but I would be able to guess that it might be that high pitch buzz coming from far in the background, or that musty smell coming from the the porch and in through the window and into the beautiful, newly remodeled kitchen. All these little things matter. When your environment is completely dialed in and feels “perfect”, then you can truly relax.

My personal experience is that if there is too much visual clutter in my home, I feel distracted and I am unable to “see” what is in front of me. So I have designed my home to incorporate many different styles of storage. I incorporate soothing visual tricks like symmetry, repetition, and open space into my designs. If this inspires you to improve your own home, I am here to help you do that.

“A place for everything, 
everything in its place.”

- Benjamin Franklin