Alice Cappato, Author at HealthyLux

Pay attention.

No matter what you think, your body holds wisdom. Sometimes we need to listen to our body and not just our brain.

You have had a long and stressful day at work. Your feel a headache coming on, your shoulders are tense and you feel tired and drained. You wonder if you can make it through the week. This is your body telling you, it’s time to listen.

What is causing this stress and pain? What can I do differently so I don’t feel tired, cranky and miserable every day?

Your body is telling you to take a break. It is telling you not to wait until it is too late and you have a mental breakdown or a heart attack.

Listen to your body. When it says it’s tired and stressed that means you have to listen. It’s time to take a breath, step back and see what is causing such a stressful environment for you. And, what can you do? Do not ignore the wisdom of your body.

Your body is telling you there is something in your life that needs to change. These changes will heal your body and you will feel better as will all of your friends, co-workers and the loved ones around you.

Make a list of those things in your life that are holding you back, whether it be anxiety, overwhelm, fatigue, frustration, fear, insomnia. All of these will hinder your well being.

Our bodies are intuitive. Listen to your body and the signs they are telling you. Our body’s messages are calling for our attention.

You feel an energy drain when you are with a toxic person. Anger rises when you are in a manipulative environment. Then there is the love and inspiration we feel when we are in the presence of someone that loves and appreciates us. All of these affect our body in a negative or positive way.

It is time to start the healing process.

Be self-aware. Keep a journal and take time out of your day to meditate or moments of mindfulness. Slowly breathe in and out and listen to your body. Look at and focus in on a bird that you see hopping on the ground or another wonder of nature.
Instead of always giving in to the busyness and distractions of your day, go for a walk or sit on a park bench and look at the view. Take in your surroundings and you will see them through a different lens.
Tune into your body, notice how you feel and the sensations. Pay attention.
Let yourself be in the present moment. Being present helps you become more aware and awake.
Listen to the quiet voice inside of you. What does it say and are you listening. Write down thoughts and images that come into your mind so they don’t float away.

The wisdom of our body is calling out to us with a message. If you are not happy or healthy, it’s time to give your body attention and take action.

Natalie Bachiri – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux July theme – Your body holds wisdom

If you would like to volunteer for a Healthy Luxembourg, please contact us (contact@healthylux.lu). We can’t wait to hearing from you!

What killed your New Year’s resolutions?

They all seemed so attractive back then – at the strike of midnight I decided this was the year for me…

It was time to get fit, lose weight, stop drinking, go vegan, upgrade my partner, get the new car, fire my boss and get the job I deserve, and book that holiday in the Seychelles. I was committed and certain, I’d got my affirmations ready, joined the Gym and thrown out all the meat and dairy from my fridge…

How hard could it be – on the 1^st January I took action and it felt good…

I wrote my resignation and had it ready to hand in on the day after my bonus was paid – everything was set…

Then my credit card statement turned up, my car failed its contrôle technique and I opened a bottle of Red to calm myself down. Life began to creep back up on me, my Boss became more tolerable, I bought a bigger size jumper, I decided Vegans are all weirdo’s, my partner became less irritating and a camping holiday in Annecy isn’t so bad after all…

The passion and enthusiasm for the great life I visualised on December 31^st at midnight had evaporated into a feint echo by the end of January and I realised that my capacity for tolerance and making excuses was higher than my discipline and determination to make the changes that I knew I should.

Everything had become numbed down and dumbed down to a level of acceptance that meant staying put was more comfortable than making the changes – by the end of April I had been smothered by my comfort blanket.

So now, I still have the dreams and visions for myself in the future, but I need to find a way to make them happen – I need to get really uncomfortable with the present so I can move into my bright future. Setting goals and targets means nothing if we are not motivated to take action – and as most people are motivated by pressure and heat rather than light and potential – we also need a push and a kick to do our very best.

Success is easy – it’s the process that is painful. If the pain of doing nothing is lower than the pain of achievement then that’s what we’ll do – nothing. So if like my friend above you need to get your year back on track, get serious about what you want, and make them non-negotiable so you have no choice but to achieve them..

Get a Coach who will push you, get ready for the ride of your life, but don’t let life take over…

Join with Alice and the Team and get fit, go Vegan if you must and go book the holiday tomorrow….

Have a great second half of 2018…

David Holland– HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux May theme – Which were my resolutions in January?

The Benefits of Fresh Air when Exercising

A friend of mine recently got back from a trip to Denmark. One of the first things she told me about was the fact that almost all local mums seem to leave their babies in their prams outside the cafés in the streets while having coffee. The babies are of course in sight and the mother’s guarding eye always rests on them but still – the babies are outside in the cold taking a nap while their mums seem to be completely relaxed and have a nice time inside. And yes, all of those babies do in fact sleep!

Isn’t this what all mums look for? A little break every now and then, being able to relax without having to deal with your crying baby who wants to be carried around, is hungry or just wants to cuddle with its mum. As if you haven’t just spent another sleep deprived night doing everything you can to make your little one sleep. So, are we just doing it wrongly? Are Scandinavian mums better mums? Do they know something we don’t?

Numerous articles have been published about the fact that fresh air makes people sleep better, no matter the age. And it is in fact true – fresh, cool air helps one get a good rest (this is where the recommendation comes from to sleep in rooms that are no warmer than 18 or 19°C). You may have noticed that sleeping with open windows at night (of course the noise level should be low) makes you feel much more relaxed and fit for the day that lies ahead.

The same is true for physical activity. Most people know about the recommended threshold of 150 minutes of moderate exercise an adult should comply with each week. However, for all sorts of reasons, many fail to reach this minimum target. One way to keep one’s motivation up is to exercise outside. It is much more diverse to exercise in a park, for example, than to go to a gym. Especially now that nature awakes and the spring sun warms us. Also, practicing sports such as hiking, walking, biking and numerous other outdoor activities give you more choices for enjoyable exercise, which is likely to keep you motivated.

A perfect way of combing the aforementioned benefits of getting your baby to sleep in fresh air as well as getting some outdoor exercise for yourself is to participate in the Mammafit classes taking place a few times per week, also available during pregnancy. Lots of mums participating in the Mammafit classes agree that it gives them a lot of energy and that they feel revitalized after having participated in a class. If babies could talk they’d tell us the same thing – they take a good nap in fresh air at the same time as their mum is working out. As a result both of them return home in a good mood and with lots of good energy for the rest of the day.

Martina

Mum of two lovely kids

HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Wake up! Spring is in the air!

My Italian friends tell me that they say “Aprile dolce dormire” which means “April, sweet sleep”. According to Wikipedia, “April, sweet sleep is a popular Italian proverb, since it deals with the habits induced by the weather characteristics of the month of April, among which there is also the first heat, a sort of comfort and above all a sense of tiredness casued by the warmth of this period”.

Well I disagree that we should be sleeping in April! This is the month that we see the new growth on the trees – that gorgeous bright green that you don’t see at any other time of the year. The yellows and purples of the crocuses are pushing through and of course, daffodils! Why would you want to sleep through all of that?

For me, Spring is about new beginnings, much more so than January 1st. After the darkness of winter, the promise of the new year is never more evident than now. And biologically speaking as well, the days get longer so our bodies want less sleep. Imagine if you were sleeping in a hunter/gatherer society without artificial lights or window blinds. You would naturally start to make use of more light, staying up later in the evening and waking up earlier in the morning as your body adapts to the changing day length.

It’s no surprise that you see more people out running at this time of year – mentally, it’s much more pleasant to head out in the early morning or in the evening when it is still light. The condition of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) often starts to lift at this time of year too and we find an energy that may not have been evident during the long, dark days of winter.

So why not use this abundant energy to motivate yourself and set some new targets? If your New Years resolutions didn’t make it past the 21st of January, you can use this as your chance to reset and start again. Here are some ways that you could make small steps to improving your year:
– Get up a little earlier and do 30 minutes yoga before the rest of the house wakes up. I love “Yoga with Adrienne” because each workout is between 25-30 minutes long. That is definitely doable.
– Start walking to work, get off the bus a couple of stops sooner or park the car further away.
– Eat spring greens. Get your body bouncing with some crunchy, fresh lettuce or even try some dandelion leaves to really stimulate your digestion.
– Get out and plant some stuff. Whether you have a garden, balcony or windowsill, planting things and watching them grow is a magical thing.
– Strawberries! This is when we start to see the first beautiful shiny red seasonal strawberries appearing in supermarkets. Full of vitamin C and bursting with flavour. Who can resist?

This winter has been particularly long and grey here in Luxembourg. Finally we are seeing some blue skies and warmth. Get yourself and your families out in the fresh air and blow away the cobwebs. Your body and your brain will thank you.

Lynsey Baxter – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux April theme – Wake up! April sweet sleep…?

Body image and sexual functioning in women by University of Luxembourg

Nowadays, many women may feel under societal pressure to have an ideal and sexually attractive body. The trend of being thin and slender is omnipresent and can be encountered in everyday life and in the mass media, e.g. in movies or magazines. Negative attitudes toward one’s body may lead to feelings of shame and embarrassment when the body is exposed during sexual activities. As a consequence many women avoid sexual contacts and become dissatisfied with their sex life.

Sexual dysfunctions and body image dissatisfaction in women are increasing, with prevalence rates being currently estimated at 50% and 38%, respectively. The potential societal and health costs are considerable, as a negative body image is considered an important risk factor for the development and maintenance of eating disorders, and sexual dysfunctions can negatively impact overall well-being.

Previous research has examined body image dissatisfaction and sexual functioning separately, but research linking these two areas is missing. The present project fills this gap by contrasting responses to pictures related to body image dissatisfaction (images of one’s own body) with erotic pictures in women with various levels of body and sexual dissatisfaction.

In the present study, we would like to investigate the relationship between body image and sexual functioning in women, in particular how body– and sexually–relevant stimuli are perceived and valued. The expected results will be important to help us understand better the role of body image and sexual functioning in the development and /or maintenance of body dissatisfaction and sexual dysfunction, and their potential interaction.

With the results of this study we hope to gain a better understanding of the links between a negative body image and sexual dysfunction. The results will help to improve existing treatments for women who are dissatisfied with their bodies and, therefore, have problems with their sex life.

Participation in the study includes two appointments. On the first day (3h) a detailed diagnostic interview will be conducted and a photo of the full body (without the head) is taken. During the second appointment (2h) participants are asked to passively view photos of their own body and those of others, and also erotic pictures on a computer screen while eye movements are monitored. Additionally, participants are asked to watch an erotic video clip while their general arousal (heart rate and sweating on your palm) is measured.

We are looking for female participants aged 18-45 who speak English, French, or German.

As a compensation participants receives €50, in the form of a Sodexo gift voucher.

Contact point

Agnieszka Czeluscinska-Peczkowska, M.Sc. (agnieszka.czeluscinska@uni.lu)

Research Unit INSIDE, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Research Group Self-Regulation and Health (Prof. Dr. Claus Vögele)

Is co-sleeping dangerous for your baby?

There’s no way to sugar coat it: SIDS truly is one of the parents’ worst nightmares.

I remember worrying to the point where I got up several times a night to check on my first son while he was sleeping. I was exhausted myself, and finally I had to sit down and come to terms with my fear. It is scary, but I realized I was doing everything I could to create a safe environment so the rest was out of my hands. I had to let it go.

My advice to parents is to do the same. Take the steps that we know can help prevent this terrible tragedy, and then get on with your life and enjoy your time with your new baby instead of being consumed by fear.

What is SIDS?

SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy infant (usually between 1 and 6 months) during sleep with no medical explanation. SIDS is rare, so when fear is taking over, remind yourself of this fact. Approximately 2500 infants die of SIDS every year in the US, but keep in mind that there are over four million babies born in the US in a year. Death rates have dropped by almost half since the Back to Sleep Campaign was launched in 1994 to inform parents of the importance of infants sleeping on their backs.

Many risk factors have been pinpointed, and fortunately there are things you can do to significantly reduce the chances of SIDS.

Have a healthy pregnancy. One of the risks can be premature birth and low birth weight, and while these are not always preventable, eating a healthy diet and getting good prenatal care can help.
Don’t allow smoking around your baby. One of the most significant risk factors for SIDS is exposure to cigarette smoke both before and after birth. Studies have shown that when babies breathe cigarette smoke, their risk of SIDS doubles.
Put your baby to sleep on his back. This is extremely important, as researchers have discovered that this cuts the risk by almost 50%.
Breastfeed your baby if you can. Although researchers aren’t sure why, SIDS rates tend to be lower in breastfed babies.
Provide a safe sleeping environment. Avoid putting your baby to sleep on soft surfaces he can sink into such as beanbags, soft bedding, or couches.

Does co-sleeping increase the risk?

There has been a lot of controversy about whether babies who sleep in bed with their parents are at greater risk of SIDS. Experts are divided on the subject, with some claiming the risk is up to five times higher with co-sleeping, and others claiming the opposite is true, and that in fact babies are safer sleeping with their parents.

Personally, I believe the safest place for your baby is in her own crib or bassinet. I also believe this is best in order to encourage great independent sleep skills and set up healthy sleeping habits for your child. However, if you do plan to co-sleep, please make sure you do it properly. Avoid having piles of blankets and soft pillows around your baby and make sure you never sleep with your baby if you’ve been using drugs or alcohol.

Take these preventative steps and try to keep in mind that SIDS is very rare so you can relax, enjoy parenthood and get some worry-free sleep at night!

If you have more questions about your baby’s sleep, do not hesitate to contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation.

Elena Werner – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux April theme – Wake up! April sweet sleep…?

It’s Spring, let yourself glow!

It’s difficult to think about spring when you are dealing with minus temperatures, but the beautiful bright sun has totally made up for the dropping degrees. This has inspired me to finally share some trends & tips for Spring Summer 2018 …. Take your pick & let yourself glow this season!

Gelato hues: Walk into your closet, select every pastel item in sight, and stack those ice cream shades one on top of another like a triple scoop coppetta. And you just created a trendy Ensemble!!!
Look out for tailored Denims in stores. A very trendy statement to make this season.
Pencil skirts: A very flattering & feminine style to accentuate those curves. Pair it with a spiky kitten heel.
Decent exposure: Adorn all possible transparent & sheer fabrics to flaunt your curves!
Crayon yourself: Crayon box solid colors are still going strong. Your clothes & colors have the power to generate confidence. Create the crayon look from head-to-toe.
Fringe & feathers on everything: From collars to hemlines to shoes to accessories! Flaunt them however you please.
Hot shorts: Forget the mini skirts this summer. You’ll be wearing shorts- all day, every day. Not just at the beaches, holidays & parks but also at official venues. Yes, tailored shorts with long-lines apt for suits & blazers.

It’s not easy to ignore the beauty trends when you talk about clothes….

So here are some trends to watch out for….

Glitter all the way, just tone it to pastel summer shades.
Life may not be great with short cuts …. But you may look great in them….Short hair is in trend with choppy fringes.
Nail art is coming back. It’s a great way to be in trend without trying too hard!
Cherry pop & pink shades for lip sticks will keep you looking young & fresh.

LASTLY, SKIN IS IN! A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAR, SMOOTH, SOFT & HRDRATED NATURAL SKIN.

Stay fashionable from out & within!!!

Neha Bhandari – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Personal stylist at StylizedU

HealthyLux March theme – It’s spring! Let yourself glow!

It’s time to Let Yourself Glow.

Here in Luxembourg, on Tuesday, March the 20th, the Spring or Vernal Equinox will bring us days with more light than dark as the Sun’s focus moves across the equator and begins its journey to the Tropic of Cancer; at precisely 17.15 Spring will have started.

With it comes new beginnings, new life, and opportunities for new growth. Also known as Ostara, the equinox has been celebrated throughout history by the Mayans, Romans, and Egyptians. It is thought that the name Ostara is derived from the Saxon goddess Eostre; from whose name we get the direction East or Est, Eostre also gave us Easter. The French for Easter, “Paques” is derived from the Latin “Pascha” meaning “Passover”.

As the new season arrives, it gives us all on an opportunity to make changes in our lives too, the opportunity for a new beginning, new health, vitality, and knowledge. It’s time to create something new, time to let old habits and patterns go, and time to reveal your radiance and energy.

It’s time to Let Yourself Glow.

Glowing comes from inside us, it is something we display to the world rather than have it superimposed on us by it. It’s an energy, a vibrancy that comes from us when we feel at our best physically, mentally, and spiritually. With this glowing energy comes confidence, certainty, and strength to not only live, but thrive and take on all life’s challenges and opportunities.

So how can we get this Glow…?

As with all things, it starts with a simple decision, a decision to make a change and then choosing to make a commitment to follow through to achieve the desired outcome.

There are three areas to focus on;

Mind – what is your mind telling you about yourself, what “system” of dialogue and knowledge is guiding your decisions, behaviours and outcomes…?Knowledge and understanding is the key to transformation, explore different ideas and principles, get back to reading those books you bought in the airport. Build yourself a different framework of knowledge and your internal dialogue will change too, enabling new decisions, choices and relationships to be developed.
Body – your body is not just a vehicle to carry your head around to meetings. Take time to look after it, you only get one.Eat healthy, stop smoking, drink less and move more – it’s quite a simple solution. Take up a class, join a group, start using your gym membership. Get the bike out, dust down the tennis rackets, walk the dog (get a dog; they are great for encouragement…)
Spirit – live with intention. Rather than knowing what you don’t want, realise what your DO want and allow yourself to be guided towards it. Living in flow with your intentions will reduce stress, bring peace and clarity.Meditate, be still, contemplate and feed your Spirit with the gift of tranquillity. Do something you love every day, be grateful, generous, and humble. Take time for YOU, only spend time with positive like-minded people – exclude those who don’t add positive energy to you.

The key here will not only the ability to accept and reveal your inner Glow, but to also let go of what has been holding you back, toxifying your environment and limiting your vibrational energy. Recognise the people, situations and environments that suck the energy out of you and avoid them, remove them from your experience wherever possible.

Have fun, let go and Let Yourself Glow!

David Holland – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux March theme – It’s spring! Let yourself glow!

Are the New Year Resolutions already forgotten?

Going a bit around, this is what the HealthyLux Passionate Contributors say… interesting, isn’t it?

“In those last weeks from January, I have experienced that things turn to be more difficult than expected, energy level is low, or clients would feel no longer capable of taking the next step, flu and children diseases are messing up the whole January plan, workload and stress is high, it is raining or freezing again, etc..”

When the first months of the new year are over, reasons not to keep our New Year resolutions show their teeth.

Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen

The whole process and emotional drivers might remain unconscious. And we all have our preferred self-saboteur behaviours.

Struggling with your new year resolutions now?

Take a step back and observe yourself. You can also imagine you’re someone else, and you’re watching his / her behaviour . What do I do now? What is driving my behaviour? Is my current action aligned with my initial intention to act ?

You can also ask yourself : What is the current color of my thoughts ? Are my thoughts helping me ?

It is definitely not about self-blame, but about being more objective about what is currently blocking you, slowing you down, or impacting your motivation.

There is no one time to change , learn something new, behave differently. Change will not happen in one big moment, but probably hundreds (or more ) of little moments throughout the year.

If something is very important for you now, if you can feel how much this new year resolution or objective is and remains very important for you, it is a very good moment to connect to your core motivation, and to act accordingly.

Nadège Ravoux

“This year I didn’t really put any resolutions for myself, but rather intentions. One of the important topics for me this year is to take everything once at a time, and to reduce stress and anxiety, which can come when we put too high expectations on ourselves. So I like to revisit the week and see where I could improve myself more. For example, going to bed earlier, taking time for self care rituals, quality time with my family …”

Vesela Savova Drews

“Oooooo – good question! Did I set myself any new years resolutions? 🙂

I haven’t really set myself any targets – other than maybe more ‘me’ time and to do one thing and do it well!”

Sabrina Foley

“I make every day new resolution.. so I try a little bit every now and again. 😉”

Kristel Weinreich

I personally don’t set resolutions because I find that things change throughout the year. However, I do choose a word of the year. My word for this year is “independence”. This word is important to me in so many ways and I look forward to the end of the year when I can see in how many ways it has applied for me.

Lynsey Baxter

New year, new GREEN resolutions ?

New year, new resolutions. Or should I say: new year, old resolutions? I must admit that I tend to repeat some resolutions every year, as I drop them even before summer. But there is one very important resolution worth trying and sticking to it: reduce food waste at home.

Since this community is about having a joyful and healthier life, talking about the environment is extremely important. According to the FAO1, about one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted.

The food currently wasted in Europe could feed 200 million people. And according to World Hunger2, the current loss and waste of all food produced for human consumption would be just enough to feed the nearly one billion people who go to bed hungry every night.

These facts certainly make you think about how much food people throw away daily in homes, restaurants and supermarkets. In fact, since the day I decided to live a more sustainable lifestyle, avoiding food waste is part or my family’s agenda.

Take bread as an example. How much bread do you throw away every week? What could you do to avoid wasting bread? Here are few tips I put into practice at home:

Freeze the amount of bread you think you won’t consume during the next two days
Use leftovers as a thickener for soup or stew
Make croutons for your salads
Make a delicious bread pudding

We can all find the best way to reduce food waste at home. Bea Johnson, the zero waste guru, manages to live a zero waste life (by the way, don’t hesitate to read her book “Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying your life”. It’s amazing!). I personally don’t manage to live a totally zero waste life, even though I would like to. But I try to follow the concept as much as I can.

Here are some rules I follow when it comes to food waste:

Shop smart: Plan meals and write a list of things you need before you go to the supermarket. Doing so, you will avoid impulsive buys.
When unpacking groceries, move older products to the front of the fridge and put new ones in the back.
Observe what you throw away on a regular basis. Should you keep baying it over and over again? A good tip is to freeze it before it gets no longer fresh or pleasant to eat.
Leftovers also taste good! Take them to work or simply eat them for dinner after a busy day. Who doesn’t love it when they open the fridge and see some pasta left from the day before? If you are worried about the fact that leftovers lose a little of their nutrients, just add some vegetables to it and it’s all good!

Living a sustainable lifestyle is good for you and good for the planet! Reducing food waste is probably one of the best resolutions one can have. And believe me, it’s easy to achieve it!

Have new year, happy GREEN resolutions!

Cintia Procaci – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux January theme – New year, new resolutions – Nutrition and Fitness challenge