For May’s Mental Health Awareness Month, our team engaged in virtual seminars focused on wellness. Below, we’re sharing helpful tips we learned from our guest speakers.
Madison Whitehead, The Fit Flamingo, @thefitflamingo
A personal trainer & nutrition coach, Madison uses self-love practices, mobility flows, and functional strength training to help her clients heal from negative beliefs, unlock pain in their body, and find food freedom.
Self-Care Tips
- “Self-love starts with your thoughts. Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it’s true. Instead, you can filter the negative thoughts that race through your mind and decide what you want to believe.”
- “Memories are stored in the brain, but emotions are stored in the body. It’s important to feel emotions and let them pass through you, through verbal expression or physical movement.”
- “Deep breathing calms our nervous system and provides mental clarity. Become aware of how you feel in this present moment so that you know how to move forward in a kind, loving way.”
Amy Shearer, The Recreated, @the_recreated_
Amy is a certified Life and Success Coach and NLP, EFT, TIME and Hypnosis Practitioner at her coaching business, The Recreated. She helps women release their fears so they can go confidently after their dream career.
“In acupuncture, a practitioner places needles in certain meridian points in your body to release blocked energy. Emotional Freedom Techniques—I call it tapping, some call it acupressure—is essentially the same thing minus the needles. In EFT we focus on nine meridian points to release negative emotions.”
Tapping points: The karate chop (center of chest), top of head, eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, underarm
“To begin, assess how you are feeling on a scale of 0-10. Anchor the emotion in your hand, using two fingers to tap at the Karate Chop point.
Tap through the remaining eight points to release the negative emotions. Reassess your progress on a scale of 0-10. If you are at a 2 or below, do another round of tapping with positive affirmations.
Remember you have the ability to release the anxiety that is inside of you at any time.”
Stephanie Middleberg, Middleberg Nutrition @middlebergnutrion
Stephanie is the founder of Middleberg Nutrition, a health and wellness practice in New York City. She is a member of Shape and Cosmopolitan magazine advisory boards and serves as the magazines’ nutrition expert, and she is featured consistently in other top-tier publications.
Coffee Time
“Coffee is a potent antioxidant and lends a short-term boost in brain function, but it can also disrupt your sleep and moods. I’d recommend two cups per day max, and avoid artificial sweeteners.”
Snack Strategy
“Plate all of your food, and eat while sitting down. Include one source of protein and one of produce. It especially helps to keep fresh produce at eye level so it’s easy to reach.”
Dinner Portions
“Make half of your plate veggies, a quarter complex carbs, and a quarter protein. For portion size reference, focus on your fist and your phone.”
