Most everyone desires to live a life of happiness, health and fulfillment. Sadly, however, it's not something everyone believes they deserve. It can seem crazy to think that all of us wouldn't believe we are deserving of the very best in life, but working in this field for nearly 20 years, I can say it's often true.

When people come to us desiring a healthy lifestyle change - whether it be to lose weight, to alleviate pain, to help relieve various physical ailments (i.e. heart disease, joint issues, lower back pain, osteoporosis, etc.) - their surface desire is true and very real. But when it comes to actually making the behavioral changes necessary to achieve their overall goal, most discover the roadblocks within themselves that prevent them from following through.

One of the root causes for this is the unconscious belief that we're not "good enough." Whether this message came from our parents, our teachers, our religion, or society, when we don't believe we are good enough, we don't value ourselves nor believe we are worthy. As a result, we struggle to make the consistent changes necessary to give us the life we deserve or desire.

Do you believe you are good enough? You may say yes, but look deeper. You might find a belief that has been holding you back. True change starts within!

Lisa Brisse & State of the Heart Fitness

For more thoughts from Lisa, check out her blog at: www.stateoftheheartfitness.com/blog

We all are very familiar with a coach, particularly a sports coach. A coach is there to guide his players with a certain desired goal to be the best they can be, while providing the steps to getting there. An athlete can have all of the talent in the world, but if they don't have a coach to help them refine those skills and talents, along with the mental discipline, a player may never experience his full potential.

We don't have to be an athlete to relate to this. If we truly desire to be the best we can - no matter what aspect of our life - we all need a coach, whether it be a business coach, financial coach, life coach, or a wellness coach.

There are 12 themes commonly cited by clients when they make the decision to invest in working with a wellness coach, which ones fit for you?

1. Quick Fixes Over - "I'm done with quick fixes and want to make changes that last."

2. Precious Asset - "I have decided that health is my

3. Get Off the Fence - "I am fed up with sitting on a fence and want to commit to a wellness path."

4. Not About Weight - "I realize that it's about wellness and not weight."

5. Be the Boss - "I want to be the boss of my health and wellness and quit delegating responsibility to others."

6. Health Style - "I'd like to develop my unique health style rather than use one-size-fits-all approaches."

7. Mental Game - "I know what to do and now want to master the mental game, turning intention into reality."

8. Peak Performance - "I recognize that to reach peak performance at home and work I need peak wellness."

9. Big Picture/Small Steps - "I know that an extreme makeover isn't the answer and I want to take small steps that are powerful."

10. Confidence - "I'm finished with self-doubt and want to build confidence in my ability to master wellness."

11. Winning the Wellness Game - "I want to focus on winning the wellness game and not losing or quitting."

12. Close the Gap - "I want to close the gap between where I am and where I want to be when it comes to my health and well-being."

Are any of these statements YOU?  Give us a call or email us for your complimentary Wellness Coaching Session!

Taken from the Coaching Manual
by Margaret Moore & Bob Tschannen-Moran

"Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow."
-- Henry David Thoreau

Every day I have patients who come to me asking what they should take to help prevent memory loss or to treat depression or "brain fog" -- a loss of ability to concentrate fully. I have several supplements that can help those things, but there is one prescription that is more proven, consistently helpful and accessible than any pill, prescription or over-the-counter supplement. It's called exercise.

Evidence is mounting that physical exercise is good for the brain as well as the body. Of course we know that vigorous cardiovascular exercise, like running, elicits an increase in endorphin production, those feel-good chemicals made by our brain that elevate our emotions. But we also know that there are other, longer term, neurologic benefits of exercise.

It turns out that aerobic exercise slows the loss of gray matter, the part of the brain that atrophies as we age. This is one way in which exercise keeps us mentally young. Gray matter makes up the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that allows for processing of information. Research shows that the more dense the gray matter is in a particular region of the brain, the more intelligence or skill the brain's owner is likely to have.

While such aerobic exercise like running or using the elliptical machine prevents brain aging, scientists have found that anaerobic exercise, such as working out with weights, stimulates the creation of new brain cells in the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning -- the dentate gyrus (part of the hippocampus). Many people think that the brain stops growing by adulthood, but new nerve cells continue to be generated in the hippocampus throughout our lives. Exercise can help stimulate the growth of such cells, which are essential to learning.

On the flip side, stressful events have been shown to destroy these newly developed nerve cells in the hippocampus, making it harder to retain new lessons learned or memories created. This is how those stress-reducing endorphins that get stimulated by vigorous exercise can help protect your brain.

There are other ways in which exercise is neuroprotective, meaning it builds up our ability to defend ourselves against neurologic decline. Exercise causes levels of a substance called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) to increase. BDNF has been called "Miracle-Gro for the brain" by Harvard Psychiatrist John J Ratey, MD in his book "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" because it helps nerve cells transmit information better. In fact, low levels of BDNF are associated with depression; so increasing BDNF through exercise can be a natural antidepressant in a more permanent way than that surge of endorphins.

One more way that exercise helps the brain is by preventing brain damage from stroke. Many studies attest to the benefit of cardiovascular exercise in preventing or minimizing atherosclerosis, the process by which arteries get clogged with plaque. Strokes occur when such plaque-ridden arteries interfere with blood flow to the brain. One recent study showed that men engaging in intense physical activity had less than half the risk of stroke as those who did not engage in such activities. Furthermore, for those who did have a stroke, the ones who had been exercising before the stroke recovered greater and faster than those who were not physically active. So, exercise was like a great insurance policy that protected people from having stroke and helped them get better even if they did have one.

People spend enormous resources investigating and purchasing supplements that have far less evidence supporting their use in preventing neurological decline than does simple exercise. It may be easier to pop a pill than to go for a run, but the benefits -- both short and long term -- are more predictable with the running than with the pill.

Myles Spar, MD, MPH is the Medical Director and Director of Men's Health at the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine (www.akashacenter.com)  in Santa Monica, California. Dr.Spar is board certified in Internal Medicine and completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine with Andrew Weil, MD at the University of Arizona. In addition to his practice at the Akasha Center, Dr. Spar directs the Integrative Medicine at the Simms-Mann Health and Wellness Center of the Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the United States.

Did you know?

--Most restaurant meals are two servings.
--Most of the fiber in fruit is in the peel.
--Spaghetti squash can be used like actual pasta!
--Breakfast helps to maintain a healthy weight.
--Consuming just 100 more calories a day than you expend can result in a 10 lb. weight gain in a year?

Join us for our first
Full Moon Hike of the year! 

Sunday, April 17th

Los Liones Trail
Meets: 1st parking lot on right of Los Liones road
Time: 7-9:30 pm
Suggested Donation: $10

Call or Email TODAY to REGISTER @ (310) 899-4046!

We only have
ONE HOME, ONE PLANET:  MOTHER EARTH

Come join us for our
EARTH DAY BEACH WALK & MEDITATION
Friday, April 22nd

Time:  7:00-7:45 pm
Meets: at the grass square on the
beach side of the Loews

Email or call us at 310.899.4046 for more info!

   Come have FUN with the

HEARTRUNNERS
In the midst of their Training Program (12 weeks)


It's not too late to join!

9:45-10:45 Saturdays

Cost:
$15 Drop-In
Come try a session for FREE! 

Email or call us at 310.899.4046 for more info!

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State of the Heart Fitness, P.O. Box 7013 Santa Monica, CA 90406
T: (310) 842-5657     info@stateoftheheartfitness.com      www.stateoftheheartfitness.com

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