| | Greetings! Finally, the sun is shining and we can get outside and enjoy everything nature has to offer. Explore a new hiking trail and notice the colors of nature. Create an outdoor space where you can mindfully eat your meals. Discover a local outdoor farmer's market and make it a habit that every Sunday you go and get your produce for the week. Explore local gardens or go on a walking tour of your neighborhood.
When it comes to changing your lifestyle to a healthier one, it does not happen over night. It happens by making small changes and taking small steps over a long period of time. These gradual changes will result in permanent healthy lifestyle changes. I started learning about health, fitness, wellness and natural living as a teenager and became so passionate about it I made it my profession. I started by learning how to use various forms of exercise to balance my body and increase my energy. I experimented with a variety of ways of eating including vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic and more. Now I am a flexitarian. It is important to be flexible in your eating style and change dependent upon what is going on in your life and what nutrients you need. I gradually added body/mind/spirit practices into my daily life including yoga, meditation and mindfulness. As I continued to explore and read I learned that I could not only make a difference in the health of my body, mind and spirit but I could also improve the health of the environment by making smart choices. I started using a green dry cleaner, energy efficient light bulbs and recycled paper. I started supporting local farmers by shopping at local markets and eating their delicious organic produce. I'm constantly looking for new ways to live natural and well in the modern world. Everyone has their own journey to wellness. The important thing is to start your journey now and continue it forever.
My newsletters are dedicated to giving you practical tips for making gradual changes that result in a healthier and happier you and world around us. In this newsletter you will learn how to incorporate mindful walking into your life and its benefits. Learn the benefits of incorporating healthy daily rituals into your life. This month is Women's Health Week and Mother's Day so we look at some healthy ideas of things you can do with and for mom. Finally, try the recipes for Gazpacho and a variety of healthy dips and spreads to use with raw veggies, sandwiches, salads and more.
Kelly's Current Events:
Kelly conducts a variety of inservices and continuing education programs for Healthcare Professionals on the topics of Holistic Nutrition, Holistic Health, Holistic Physical Therapy, Pilates and more. Call or email to find out more about what you can learn from Kelly's programs. Programs range from lunch and learns to one or two day courses.
The Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington DC conducts an annual program called Food As Medicine. It is the most comprehensive week long nutrition training program in the US. Check out www.cmbm.org for more information. Kelly is assisting with and will be attending this year's event which is being held June 23rd through June 29th in Baltimore MD. The special focus of this year's event is Obesity and Nutrition for Children. The faculty includes distinguished clinicians, researcher and medical school professors. Top healthy chefs will be there providing information on healthy food preparation too.
Check out Kelly's Weekly Wellness Blog at www.rl.tv to learn more tips on how to live well in the retirement years.
Kelly works with local companies helping their employees adopt healthy habits. She counsels people one-on-one or in small groups over many months to help them make small changes that result in long lasting improved health, happiness and productivity.
Call Kelly to schedule a holistic nutrition, holistic heatlh, physical therapy, gyrotonic exercise or pilates session at her DC studio location. Kelly is at the studio Tuesdays, Wednesdsays and Thursdays.
The studio is located at:
4708 Wisconsin Ave NW Suite 2
Washington DC 20016
Kelly's Healthy Kitchen Makeover and Healthy Grocery Store Tour packages.
Is your kitchen filled with unhealthy processed foods? Do you want to organize your kitchen so it is full of healthy foods that are easy to prepare? Do you want to learn how to grocery shop for healthy whole foods?
Kelly knows that to be healthy and have energy you need to eat an abundance of whole natural foods. She will come to your home and help you "trash the crap", reorganize your kitchen and stock it with healthy foods. Kelly will accompany you to the grocery store and/or market and teach you how to shop for whole natural foods, read labels to avoid chemicals and harmful ingredients and prepare healthy delicious quick meals and snacks. She will show you how simple and easy it is for your whole family to eat well everyday.
Kelly is getting Corporate America Healthy.
Schedule a series of Wellness Education Programs to motivate employees to take preventative steps for their long-term health and wellness. Kelly walks her talk and is spreading the word that living healthy can be simple and fun. Our most popular topics include:
Eating for Energy
Superfoods and Healthfoods
Backcare 101: Strengthening the Core
The Breath and Stress Reduction: Relax the Body and Mind
Check out the 2007-2008 Institute for Integrative Nutrition Catalog. Kelly is featured as a Graduate Profile. www.integrativenutrition.com.
On Saturday June 2, Sabrina Huffman will be leading a yoga class to benefit the Children of Uganda. This special class will be held from 1:30-3:00 at Hot Yoga located at 3408 Wisconsin Ave. Suite 205 Washington, DC 20016. The minimum contribution is $35 which will purchase 3 school textbooks. Please contact Jamie at 202-468-1110 or natelsonja@gmail.com. Space is limited. Make all checks to Children of Uganda.  | | | Mindful Walking  Walking is a great form of movement that can be used not only for exercise but also as a way to increase your mind/body awareness. What is mindful walking? By using awareness of the mind body connection you can increase the quality of your walking on many different levels. Think of walking as a form of yoga, meditation or tai chi. While walking you can focus on your body position, alignment, posture, breathing, movements, fluidity and awareness. Each time you walk you can turn inward and outward allowing new thoughts and challenges to arise. By using walking as a way to balance the mind, body and spirit you will not only get physically fit but also improve your whole life.
The following are a few keys to mindful walking:
Identify your intention. When performing any type of mindful practice you need to identify your intention. By setting an intention for your walk you are providing focus and motivation. Some examples of intentions could be: to walk for one hour everyday, to reduce stress, to walk outside and spend time in nature or to increase your sense of balance and calm. Your intention can evolve and change but be sure to set one.
Listen to your body. Pay attention to the signals your body is giving you while you are walking. Try to identify the source of the signal. For example if you are feeling a cramp in your calf determine if the way you are walking is causing the cramp. Maybe it is the shoes you are wearing or the surface you are walking on. Get rid of the source of the problem and do what you need to do to alleviate the signal (the cramp). Seek professional help if you have tried to identify the problem but can't.
Choose a daily physical focus of your practice. The following are a few things you can focus on to improve your walking technique:> Focus on your posture. Be sure to maintain correct postural alignment by stacking your shoulders over your pelvis and wrapping your shoulder blades down and back. Pull your abdominal muscles in and up to support your back and help maintain your torso in an upright position. Be sure your heels, knees and hips are aligned while walking. Maintain your head over your spine and do not let it go forward of the body.
Be light on your feet. Think of a string pulling your head up towards the ceiling allowing you to step softly and be as light as a feather. Notice that when your heel hits the ground it is very light. The less impact you make the less wear and tear you put on your joints including the knees, hips and back.
Level your pelvis. Engage your abdominals by pulling your belly button up and in. This will help prevent the pelvis from tilting forward or back too much. The ideal pelvic position is neutral which is between an anterior pelvic tilt and a posterior pelvic tilt. You do not want the pelvis to hike up when taking a step. You want it to stay parallel to the surface.
Bend your arms. This will increase the energy you use while walking. If you want to take a more relaxing walk allow your arms to swing straight by your sides.
Engage your buttocks muscles while walking and extend your legs behind you. The buttocks muscles help take pressure off the low back while walking. If they are not engaged low back pain may arise. Using the buttocks muscles allows you to extend the leg behind you more which will decrease the impact on your knees.
Keep your stride consistent and cadence natural. Your stride should feel comfortable and not strain or overstretch the lower extremity muscles. If your stride is too long it can put abnormal pressure on the joints. Keep your stride safe by taking shorter, quicker steps. Notice the natural flow of the body to determine your optimal cadence. Cadence is the rate at which your feet hit the ground. Each day you can challenge yourself with varying your cadence dependent upon what the body and mind need that day.
Focus on your breath. Do you take short quick breaths? Do you inhale and exhale through the nose or your mouth? Start trying to inhale and exhale through the nose. Then try to deepen your breath by inhaling through the nose and allowing the oxygen to get into the lower lobes of the lungs. The more oxygen you breathe in the more oxygen gets to the muscles and cells of the body. Challenge yourself with trying to slow down your breath.
Be Consistent and Enjoy the Experience. Don't let your daily chores and activities distract you from your intention to walk. Make walking a daily priority for your mind/body/spirit balance. Enjoy this daily time alone with just you, your thoughts and your walking shoes.
Happy Walking!! Learn more about exercise programs at Bradley Wellness, LLC | | | | | Eating Well  Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a classic raw veggie soup that is loaded with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions. This is a great way to eat raw and fill your body with enzymes. It is simple and easy to make too. Have fun with it. Go to your local farmer's market and get all organic fresh ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 cucumber peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
2 pounds red-ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ large red onion, cut into chunks
½ large green pepper, cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 ½ cups cold water
2 teaspoons sea salt or braggs amino acids
1 tbsp olive oil
Chopped cucumber for garnish
Chopped green pepper for garnish
Chopped red onion, for garnish
In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, water and salt. In batches, grind the ingredients in a food processor or blender, being careful not to blend them to a puree. Return the soup to a bowl, stir in 1 tbsp olive oil and cover and chill for several hours.
An easy way to eat balanced meals is to use a variety of healthy dips, sauces, dressings and spreads to dip raw veggies in, spread on sandwiches or lettuce or nori wraps or just use as a sauce on your favorite protein source or salad. Be creative and use the following as some ideas to create your own:
Guacamole:
1 or 2 ripe avocados, mashed
½ lemon, squeezed
½ lime, squeezed
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
6 small cherry tomatoes
Dill or arugala to garnish
-Mash the avocados in a bowl. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well.
Veggie spreads:
1 cup cooked veggies or cooked beans
1 handful parsley and chive, chopped
1 pinch coriander
1 tbsp tahini
2 tsp miso paste
½ onion, finely chopped
Mash and serve as a spread or dip.
2 cups parsnips, diced (yams or sweet potatoes fine too)
2 cups carrots
½ cup springwater
2 tbsp sesame tahini
½ tsp soya or tamari sauce (braggs amino acids)
Steam veggies. Puree in a blender and then add the tahini and tamari (braggs).
Sesame Miso Dressing
1/3 cup sesame or olive oil
¾ cup water
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp light yellow miso
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
Combine all ingredients and mix or blend until smooth.
Spread/ Dip Recipes from, "You Are What You Eat," by Gillian McKeith Learn more about Kelly's Healthy Kitchen Makeover Program and Healthy Grocery Store Tour | | | | | Bradley Wellness Newsletter The Bradley Wellness Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that provides practical and up-to-date health, wellness and lifestyle information that you can incorporate into your daily life. Each newsletter provides you with health, wellness and lifestyle events, programs, workshops, retreats, articles, exercises, activities, resources, links, recipes, inspirational quotes, and ideas for fun.
The Bradley Wellness Newsletter is designed to empower you to take action and live the life you love. We are faced with daily choices from what to eat, to exercise or not, to spend time with loved ones, to buy and eat organic local whole foods, to spend our dollars on green, environmentally friendly products and so much more. Each dollar we spend and action we take represents our values and passions in life. We have the freedom, ability and power to be mindful of our actions and choose the life we live. By making mindful daily choices we can help to heal not only ourselves but the environment and the world. Each month the newsletter will provide you with an abundance of information that will help you make better choices and take daily action.
Please forward this newsletter to anyone who can benefit from learning solutions to live well.
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