39 - Envisioning a Healthy Summer

We have a special treat this week as Christa King, Fitlandia's Founder and CEO leads us through a Mind Zoning® session about envisioning a healthy summer. If you're new to Fitlandia, Mind Zoning® is similar to a guided meditation where your brain is invited to relax, slow down and get focused, but differs from meditation because it incorporates the idea of creating a new thought pattern. Meditation is about clearing thoughts and creating peace and space in your mind whereas Mind Zoning® takes it a step further to create new neural pathways designed to support your healthy goals. Summertime Traps Summertime can be a trap for a lot of people. It's the time when healthy patterns of eating and exercise take a back seat to vacations; BBQ's, parties and fun. Many people begin the New Year with great energy and hope for a healthy lifestyle. They start losing weight and begin developing healthy habits, but when summer approaches, there's a mentality of, "Yay, I'm on vacation, I can eat and drink anything I want." The mindset is to eat and drink while on vacation and then get back on track once back home. The tricky part for those of us with sugar addiction or a reliance on alcohol, is that we may not get back on track and instead this behavior can drive us back to old patterns once our brain realizes how good the sugar or alcohol tastes and feels. Staying on  Healthy Track Be moderate Be thoughtful Be mindful of what you eat and drink Plan activities during vacation or trips with friends, or BBQ's or gatherings Build awareness Make good conscious choices that help support a healthy lifestyle Let's Begin (**Caution** Do not drive or operate machinery while Mind Zoning) Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted Position yourself in a comfortable seated position Taking a few deep breaths, allowing your mind and body to relax Starting at top of your head Closing your eyes Bring your attention to the very top of your head, imagine there is now this beautiful slow-moving cascading waterfall It comes over the top of your head so slowly and goes down the back of your hair, over your head and neck As it slowly passes by, notice how it is relaxing you and washing away any stress Now across your shoulders – leaving behind a completely relaxed body Cascading down your arms and torso Noticing how you've become heavier in your chair or wherever you are You're able to sink further into relaxation As that slow-moving cascading waterfall passes over your hips, your thighs and your knees Passing over  your calves, your ankles, all the way to your toes Noticing this beautiful, slow ever-streaming flow of water So comforting, so relaxing, taking you into the most peaceful space right now This beautiful wide-open place in your mind where you can release any stress, any chaos of the day Letting this beautiful slow-moving water remove it, wash it away leaving a completely relaxed body behind Now we invite the deepest part of your mind to start to think about your trips, adventures and plans, vacations far away, or nearby picnics and BBQ's, or a family reunion or a birthday – whatever you have outlined for the summer. You've been on this journey of health and wellness Creating the very best version of you Embracing a life of vitality, and becoming more conscious of a daily practice of: eating healthy foods moving connecting socially filling your mind with positive thoughts and goals As you think of your plans for the summer, call upon that Super Hero in your mind (that part of your brain that can do anything), trusting that if you can think it, you can become it. Call on your Super Hero now, and when you think of your plans for the summer begin to wonder how would that Super Hero comes into play to help you have the healthiest summer you've every had. Maybe your Super Hero would have you: go to bed earlier than ever have on vacation so you can get up early and get some exercise in before you start your adventures pop out of bed to get outside in your location for a brisk walk or run do a 7-minute hit workout Your Super Hero helps you come up with ways to help you incorporate movement in everything you do, like: taking a hike in one of the cities you're visiting doing a walking tour planning a day of shopping where you're walking the entire time And now your Super Hero comes in to help you eat healthy for the entire summer by: bringing a healthy dish to a potluck choosing high-quality proteins to eat at a friend's BBQ finding it easy to forgo those common things like chips, or grains or any kind of processed foods and sugar Your Super Hero makes it easy for you to make the healthiest possible choices in everything you do this summer. Its also a good reminder that if you do choose to have alcohol or processed food or sugar; that you release any guilt or shame with that, knowing that it will not serve you. Instead just realizing that there could be setbacks, there could be consequences, there could be delays, but there is no guilt. As you engage that Super Hero in you, notice how easy it is to have the healthiest summer you can imagine. You're able to overcome any obstacle at all. If you're traveling somewhere that is hot, or live somewhere hot, just notice how easy it is to get up early when it's still cool out and take advantage of that brisk, fresh morning air. When we do that movement first thing in the morning, we set ourselves up for a successful day. And now I'm going to invite the subconscious mind to connect with your inner Super Hero and call upon them anytime if you need a boost, reinforcement or a nudge of motivation. Your Super Hero is there for you. You might notice how easy it is to call upon them to strengthen you in those moments when you're challenged. You can call upon that energy and engage in that energy and keep moving forward to have the healthiest summer yet. When you're ready, open your eyes, coming back to this present time and space, feeling refreshed and energized. Fitlandia is genuinely on a mission to end dieting and turn that failure rate of 67% into a success rate of 70% or greater by not only being able to create a healthy lifestyle but to maintaining it by engaging the power of the mind. Head over to iTunes, subscribe to the podcast and give us on honest feedback on today's Mind Zoning®. Let us know what you"ll do differently this summer and we'll feature your intentions on a future podcast.