Making Wishes Come True

From time to time I invite other professionals in health and wellness to post on my Blog. Here is some good information by a man who has conquered his own anxiety.

I was someone that suffered from nearly every anxiety disorder in the book. From generalized anxiety to panic attacks to OCD, every day of my life was spent with a barrage of negative emotion. I struggled socially, I became agoraphobic – I was honestly suffering in every area of my life.

I needed to find a treatment that would help me be happier. I was missing out on so many life opportunities, and I knew that if I couldn’t break out of my anxiety patterns now, I may never have time to develop the life that always wanted.

Finding a Natural Solution
With anxiety, however, treatment can be a problem. Therapy, while effective, can be extremely expensive and at the time I was struggling at work (ironically due to my own anxiety levels). In addition, pharmaceutical medicines are not generally recommended for anxiety, because they can be addictive and change your personality, in addition to their many side effects.

As I was trying to come up with a potential cure, I decided that in the interim I needed to get healthier. I was letting myself live an unhealthy lifestyle, and I could tell it was having an effect on my stress levels. So I decided to take up running.

While it took a while to build up the endurance I needed for long distance running, it wasn’t long before I noticed something amazing – running just 30 minutes a day was vastly improving my anxiety. It didn’t cure it, of course, but I was feeling considerably better every day, without changing any other part of my lifestyle.

Researching this phenomenon further, I realized that running is a type of powerful natural medicine. It has several benefits for those with anxiety, including:
• Pain Killer
Running is a 100% natural, 100% safe pain killer. It releases endorphins – a neurotransmitter that is known to regulate your mood, and in large quantities (which are created when you run), it creates a “runner’s high,” which many describe as a type of immense euphoria. Runner’s high is designed to reduce the pain on your joints and feet when running, but the effect on your brain is remarkable, and absolutely reduces anxiety symptoms.
• Mind-Body Connection
I also underestimated the effects of the mind-body connection. Because of my anxiety, I was fairly inactive, only going for a few walks a week and otherwise stuck in my car, driving to each location. Over time I suppose I built up a great deal of unused energy, and with no physical outlet that energy became anxiety. I noticed that when I used up my energy reserves, my body felt less physically anxious, which in turn made me less mentally anxious.
• Alone Time
Finally, jogging itself – either alone or with a close friend – is a type of alone time that few people really have in this world. Trying to relax at home is nearly impossible with the kids around and chores that need to be done, and the office is a non-stop supply of stress. Running is 30 minutes of pure time to your thoughts – a time that you can go out, enjoy nature, and try your best to relax from the stresses of the day.

Daily Running as a Natural Anxiety Cure
I was amazed how powerful the effects of running were as an anxiety cure. They didn’t cure all of my anxiety – I still had to integrate a healthier lifestyle and utilize anxiety reduction techniques – but simply running four or five days of the week made an enormous difference in my ability to cope with stress, and of course made me much healthier in the process. Before even searching for anxiety strategies online, one should always first consider jogging. Its effects can be profound.

About the Author: Ryan Rivera is now an avid jogger, and is proud to be free of anxiety. His website is dedicated to anxiety reduction techniques and information, and it can be found at www.calmclinic.com.

Sunday, May 13, 2012
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Owl Falls at Jalan Jalan Imports
525 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Topanga, CA 90290

$20 p/person with advance registration.
$25 p/person at the door.
Children under 16 FREE.

Participants will receive The Nine Traps of Unconscious Loving worksheet to help identify miscommunications that create stress and undermine loving intentions in relationships and a list of holistic “action steps” to integrate into daily life to help bring more peace, harmony and life in balance.

Register NOW

Wisdom Circles are a very powerful, empowering and healing way in which women come together in a safe, sacred and nurturing space to receive and give support for each other.

Mother’s Day Intention
The intention for this Mother’s Day Wisdom Circle is to create a sacred space for honoring the mother’s who have brought us into the world, regardless of the challenges that may have come as a result of being a parent, child or orphan.

Everyone on Earth has / had a mother that has given us the opportunity to live, grow, experience life and make choices of our own. Even the most challenging of life’s experiences has its blessings if you are willing to look for them. This Wisdom Circle which is open to men, other family members and friends, is an opportunity to discover the blessing, gratitude and appreciation for the Mother and the positive feminine influences in your life.

Women’s Wisdom Circles can actually help heal and maintain physical wellness and life in balance. As medical studies have shown, women’s friendship, talking and sharing their emotions and daily life challenges, is very effective in reducing the harmful effects of stress on the body that can compromise healthy immune function.
Learn more

Owl Falls At Jalan Jalan Imports

Nature as teacher, healer and inspiration is exemplified in the tranquil natural waterfall setting of the enchanted Owl Falls, a year-round natural spring-fed waterfall that cascades over a stunning rock-face located on the boulevard property of Jalan Jalan Imports, in Topanga Canyon.

Owl Falls has been a hidden roadside treasure of Topanga which was blocked off for many years by its past commercial tenant Amerigas until the property was taken over by Brian Gibson, owner of Yoga Desa at Pine Tree Circle and now owner of Jalan Jalan Imports, with its beautiful Balinese sculpture garden and exotic treasures.

Since it’s unveiling last June, 2011, Owl Falls has hosted the Topanga Film Festival, community markets and events and is available for private rental.
Learn more

We are blessed to have the use of Owl Falls for our special Mother’s Day Wisdom Circle.

Wear flat walking shoes and comfortable layered clothes. Limited seating available and some people may have to stand for Wisdom Circle ceremony.

Dianne Porchia, MA

Since 2001, Dianne Porchia has offered workshops, retreats and private consultations based on her Porchia’s W.I.S.H Whole Integrated Self Health, Path to Healing, Loving and Living Consciously and Passing Performance Stress Reduction For Adults & Teens, with an 80% pass rate with law students preparing for the California State Bar exam. In 2012, she launched WISH For A Stork, Holistic Stress Reduction for Fertility, Natural Pregnancy and In-Vitro Implant Success.

Porchia has helped many individuals, couples and teenagers turn their inner saboteur into an inner ally to support goals in academia, career, relationship, parenting, life transition, health and wellness.
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Travel With Intention To Tuscany
Space Still Available!!

EAT, PAINT, PRAY, LOVE: Life In Balance Tuscan Style
September 14 – 23

Taking inspiration from the artistic masters of Florence and the beauty of the Tuscan countryside.
Morning gentle yoga and movement outside, afternoon art and inspiration, evening Wisdom Circles, great foods, wines and adventures. Set your intention for personal transformation and let our Tuscany experience reveal your take home action plan for life in balance. More information

Travel always brings the opportunity for many life lessons. It can test your physical body, challenge old belief systems, expand one’s perspective on life and bring new gratitude and appreciation for all the blessings you take for granted in your life back home.

I just returned from a fascinating, colorful, eye opening and humbling trip to Thailand, a country and people of smiling faces and many facets. However, my first Thailand Tattoo, or memorable impression, took place before our Thailand adventure even started.

I and my travel buddy, Nancy, decided to take this trip together on a rather spontaneous whim. Three of our other friends, Melanie, Scott and Barbara, had planned this trip six months earlier and it was a last minute decision for Nancy and I to meet up with them on their stop-over in Phuket and travel on together to Koh Yao Noi, Kho Phi Phi, Railley Beach and other destinations.

We had a grueling 21-hour flight from Los Angeles to Phuket in economy seats, via a two hour stop over in Seoul, Korea. This flight alone is enough to make one cranky. On the last leg of our flight, we were counting down the hours until we could finally stretch out our legs and backs on a clean, soft bed, take a shower, sleep soundly and put on clean clothes the next morning to meet up with our other travel buddies back at the Phuket airport. Five more hours, three more hours and finally just one more hour until we could stretch out on a real bed.

All went smoothly upon arrival at the airport. We quickly found a taxi driver and negotiated a price for transport to our hotel. After over paying for a 10-minute taxi drive a few miles from the airport we arrived at our Phuket hotel at 1:30 a.m. to discover they weren’t expecting us until that afternoon. Okay, we said, just give us another room for our 6-hour stay and we’ll be gone at 8:30 a.m. to meet our friends back at the airport. Unfortunately for us, all six of their rooms were booked and they had nowhere for us to stay.

Our options were to return to the airport and sleep under florescent lights until our friends arrived at 9:30 a.m., or we could waste more precious sleeping time by driving around from place to place in search of a hotel room at 1:30 in the morning, which was highly unlikely to find.

After a few seconds of mutual panic and despair, Nancy and I came to the same desperate but sound conclusion…we would camp out at the hotel’s outdoor breakfast gazebo. It was a clean, intimate area with padded-seat chairs which we lined up in a row to create a head-to-head sleeping cot. We had been sleeping in our clothes for two days already, so one more night didn’t matter much at this point. The weather was quite warm and humid so a simple beach towel sufficed as a blanket and our travel pillows cushioned our heads. At this point we were so exhausted it didn’t take us long to fall asleep.

In the morning we awoke at day break to the exotic sounds of jungle birds and discovered our hotel was actually a quaint little bed and breakfast situated near a lush jungle-like marsh. Quietly, we got up and strolled down the dirt road leading into the coconut and banana tree forest, coming upon a few simple homes, each protected by a colorful Spirit House, pedestaled at the property entrance.

Our first mishap adventure in Thailand could have ruined our entire trip by getting into an argument over who’s fault it was that the hotel didn’t have our room as we expected. Nancy and I could have protested more, tried to make demands of the hotel owner and taxi driver that were impossible to fulfill. Instead, she and I both understood that mistakes happen and placing blame, judgment and impossible demands were not going to make our situation any easier.

This was our first Thailand Tattoo experience and our first opportunity to choose how to handle a negative travel experience. In any given situation, one has the ability to choose how to respond.

One can choose the path of anger, frustration and compounded stress for all involved or choose a path of compromise that promotes more peace, harmony and compassion for all involved.

What would your choice be?

I have always lived a healthy lifestyle, and am blessed to never have had to worry about weight. However, I realize that this is not the case for many Americans who have grown up on fast food restaurants, frozen dinners and lack of exercise. Contributed by a fast paced, high stress lifestyle these patterns in eating and lack of exercise spill over into the next generation, as I see with some of my own clients and their children.

Dieting doesn’t have to be self punishment. Eating healthier is simply a matter of eating smarter and making wiser choices in foods, ingredients and portions.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your body is getting one third portion of a good protein source such as fish, skinless chicken, beef or lean pork, and two thirds fresh or frozen vegetables for your carbohydrate in-take six days a week. Stay away from high sodium (over 240 mg) foods like sausages and highly processed foods using flour; i.e. bread, thick crust heavy cheese pizza, chicken pot pies with gravy, burgers, fries, donuts, danishes, pastries, burritos, mac ‘n cheese. On the seventh day, you can treat your self to a dish of sensible pasta with red sauce as opposed to a white cream sauce.

If you struggle with weight and are trying to transition into a healthier lifestyle, I can recommend two GREAT books to help guide you at home, when eating out and when shopping in the supermarket.

Eat This, Not That: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution and Supermarket Survival Guide.

Once you teach yourself how to shop smarter, read and compare labels for ingredients you’ll see there are big differences in the nutritional facts of similar products; i.e. ratio of protein to carbohydrates, sodium content, sugars, additives like corn syrup which is essentially sugar that gets stored in the body as fat.

Daily exercise is also essential for weight loss and also for curbing your appetite for sweets. As your eating habits become healthier, you will start to naturally gravitate away from the foods that kept on weight and move more towards fresh, healthy ingredients that will support you in maintaining an appropriate weight.

To support your weigh loss program mentally, you need to turn your inner saboteur into an inner ally, so your weight release will be maintained long term. To read more about this inner support for weight release, visit both Passing Performance and Porchia’s WISH web sites.

Some of my own healthy eating habits, along with healthier choices for those who want to release weight, are listed below:

Breakfast:
Quinoa, apple sauce and berry breakfast cereal. Quinoa has higher protein and less carbohydrates than oats and much less sugar than boxed cereals. Alternate between cottage cheese & fruit, eggs & tomatoes, shredded wheat or oatmeal. Fresh orange, pomegranate or mango juice, ½ watered down

Lunch
Grilled salmon on a delicious quick coconut oil stir fried kale salad. Add, pumpkin seeds, grated carrot, and fresh cranberries. Alternate with beef or turkey patty with side of tomatoes, lettuce, or canned tuna in spring water, seasoned with one tablespoon plain low fat yogurt, lemon, chopped celery, 1 tsp Turmeric, nutmeg.

Home Made Dressing:
1 Tble olive oil, 1 Tble Tahini, 1/2 lemon, cracked pepper. Variations on this can be using Dijon mustard, Brags Amino Acids (instead of Worchester), grated parmesean cheese instead of Tahini, 1 tsp specialty flavored balsamic vinegar, i.e. cassis, or fresh lime or orange juice.

Store bought dressings:
Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers Caesar Delight Vinaigrette (15 calories in 10 sprays)
Newman’s Own Lighten Up Italian Dressing (60 calories 2 Tbsp)

DinnerAnother fabulous kale salad marinated in olive oil, lemon, fresh cracked pepper and dash of balsamic vinegar, topped with your choice of fresh fruits. Add a small portion of beef, turkey, chicken or lean pork and you’ve got a delicious and very healthy meal. Also try experimenting with
chard, collard greens, string beans, broccoli, zucchini and tri-colored peppers. GREAT! Basically any fresh vegetable. Frozen is also okay, but not canned.
If you crave potatoes, choose yams or sweet potatoes instead with olive oil, nutmeg & fresh orange slices.

DesertFresh pomegranate, persimmon, berries over Sorbet
1 piece of dark chocolate which is high in antioxidants and less sugar. NOT milk chocolate.

Cookies and Snacks
Snackwell’s Devi’ls food Fat Free Cookie Cakes
Nilla Wafers by Nabisco (NOT Vanilla Wafers)
Teddy Grahams
Newman’s Own Butter Flavor Microwave Popcorn
Sun Chips

Remember not to eat the whole package in one sitting.

Obvious things you can do to improve your health are eat more fiber in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables, maintain weight appropriate for your age and height, drink less alcohol, don’t smoke, watch your cholesterol and blood pressure and have regular medical check ups to screen for cancer.

What type of preventative health measures will give you the biggest positive impact on your overall health and wellness? What should come first?

Many areas of wellness overlap in body-mind medicine, however, one intervention seems to stand out as having the greatest breath of benefit to your health.

Studies show that 1-hour of this specific treatment, 3 times a week benefits the following illness and disease:

Knee arthritis: reduction in rates of pain and disability by 47%
Dementia & Alzheimer’s: reduction in progression of symptoms by 50%
Diabetes reduced by 58%
Anxiety: 48% reduction
Depression: 30% reduction with low dose and 47% reduction with increased dose
Post menopausal women 41% reduction in risk of hip fracture when treatment increased to 4 times a week

In a 2 year study of 10,000 Harvard Alumni, there was a 23% lower risk of death for those who used this treatment in their life.

Obesity + No treatment = many negative health problems
Obesity + Treatment = reduction in many of the health problems of obesity
For women, in a Nurses Health Study, one hour a week of this treatment reduced risk of heart disease by 50%

This treatment is the #1 prescription for fatigue.
Quality of Life improves overall

What is this miracle treatment?

Hipocrates said, “Walking is man’s best medicine.”

That’s right. Walking.
Exercise is Medicine

How Much?
How Often?
How intense?

More activity is better, but the rate of return on benefits reduce after 20-30 minutes a day, which can be broken down to 10 minutes 3 times a day for 30 minutes a day. 1 hour a day for kids.

Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, in Toronto, Canada. He is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Education and he asks:

Are you willing to limit your sitting and sleeping time to 23 ½ hours a day? Watch Dr. Evans 23 1/2 hours

As a child, music class, theory and counting little black dots on paper was Greek to me. It made my head spin and I felt stupid. I don’t think I was dyslexic, but I definitely had big challenges with math and numbers. I was intimidated by it all and dropped out of class in a few weeks never to attempt it again.

My greatest musical achievement since has been mastering the egg, a highly underrated instrument, in my opinion. However, a spontaneous yard sale purchase has now catapulted me into the lofty world of music.

“I know nothing about music or violins,” I say as a disclaimer to the elderly unkempt man who is selling the instrument. My heart’s desire now interrupts, “May I try it?” The man gives me a quick glance up and down.“Take off your rings,” he demands.

“I’m not sure they will come off,” I reply.

“Okay,” he says, as he withdraws the instrument from my reach. I twist and tug at my rings until I finally succeed in removing them. He hands over the violin and watches me carefully.

I position my body and imagine myself the female lead violinist I saw a few weeks prior at the Hollywood Bowl for an evening of Mozart and Hayden. A thrill comes over me as I nestle my chin into the plate, lift the bow shoulder height ready to stroke my first note, confident that note will gracefully resonate and surprise us both.

Just as I am getting lost in my fantasy and before the bow makes contact, I feel an abrupt bump of my elbow. “Hold your arm up like this,” the man says gruffly. “And your left elbow must be beneath the violin like so,” he continues. “Now play this top string, the big one. This is G.” As I stroke the string, my right elbow drops down and the man abruptly pushes it up again.

“Now, put your index finger here. This is the next note. The one after this is a half step.” I try to place my fingers where he instructs and can feel my fingers cramping. “No. Not there! Here,” he demands annoyed. He rattles on more about full steps, half steps and something about skipping steps on numbers three and five.

Childhood angst floods my mind. My head whirls. I don’t understand a word he says, especially when he talks numbers and counting steps.

“What are you doing? Are you mad? You can’t learn how to play the violin,”the little voice in my head demands.“Who do you think you are fooling, anyway? Not me. I know better. You dropped out of music class as a child because you couldn’t do it then and you certainly can’t do it now at your age!”

My inner saboteur was now screaming inside my head, convincing me I was nuts to even fantasize about such a ridiculous idea as buying a violin I could never learn to play.

“You’re crazy!!” my inner monster protests again.“Do you really think you will drive all the way to Burbank for lessons?”

Carrying the violin to my car, my heart sings and I feel elation as if stepping off stage at the Hollywood Bowl. I just bought a beautiful violin! Horray! My inner saboteur grumbles.

If your inner saboteur is holding you back from pursuing your passion, dreams and goals, I can help tame him and turn your inner saboteur into an inner ally for success.

Read more about Passing Performance Holistic Stress Reduction for Adults & Teens.

Want a good laugh? Watch me at my first violin recital! my first violin recital 11.24.11

For hopeful parents who are having difficulties conceiving and having a baby, there can be much emotional disappointment, hurt, fear, worry and anxiety present in both the conscious and subconscious mind of both parties that may be compounding physical blocks and barriers you are experiencing.

I have worked with expectant mothers who carry their fears, worries and anxieties throughout their entire pregnancy, unconsciously creating a diet of stress for their unborn child.

Pre-natal and peri-natal psychology teaches us that maternal stress; i.e. the body-mind-emotion wellness of the mother, may affect the health, development, learning ability and social behavior of the child through hormonal mechanisms, particularly the HPA Axis. (See Blog on The Baby Chase).

Although a fetal infant may not be able to recall his or her experiences, he or she is still a living being in those moments and experiences neurological, physiological and possibly psychological responses to stimulus in the environment. A study showed when a fetal infant was monitored and the mother was inside a closed room, the infant responded to alarming noises the mother heard in an adjoining room.

For couples under a lot of stress in their daily lives or for couples who have experienced difficulties in getting pregnant and set backs with in-vitro fertilization procedures, it is sometimes hard to keep in mind the joyful outcome at the end of nine months.

In addition to the holistic stress reduction training I offer through WISH For A Stork classes and retreats, I work with a number of qualified health professionals to support a woman’s needs for fertility, successful in-vitro implant, during pregnancy, delivery and in recovery after birth to help nurture mom during nursing years and support her and baby’s holistic health.

For more information on WISH for A Stork Retreats