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1. 1. Take a 20 minute walk every day; do some stretches & relaxation; have at least 7 hours sleep
   2. Chew food well ,take time for meals and try not to eat less than 3 hours before bedtime
   3. Try not to drink with meals; drink juice, herb teas and water
   4. Try to avoid sugary foods such as desserts, (milk) chocolate, ice cream, cake and biscuits.
   5. Make half your plate fruit, salad or vegetables
   6. Try not to drink no more than 3 units of alcohol per week and 1 coffee per day
   7. Eat whole grain carbohydrates; avoid foods with additives
   8. Avoid beef, pork and fried foods
   9. Use low fat products; include oily fish and olive oil, nuts seeds & yogurt
   10. Have a good breakfast and lunch

Health Recovery Mentoring Programme

Are you a sufferer of pain, poor health,or are too easily effected by stress?

Many people suffer in this way and find long term recovery a real challenge. They get stuck taking medication which may give relief of symptoms but does not really address the origins of their complaint, plus the drugs may also have unpleasant side effects.

To get truly well you have to address the root causes of your health issues. These are generally:

1. The way you handle stress in your life (45%)
2. The food & drink you consume (35%)
3. Your activity levels (20%)

Unfortunately the NHS is not set up to deal with these three in any significant way and its first port of call is just the relief of symptoms via the use of drugs, which unfortunately side-steps the real causes of illness. To get any significant assistance for these root causes one has to seek help from outside the NHS and only in this way can effective recovery really take place. When this occurs you will know it because you will be better able to lead a full, active and healthy life with boundless energy!

You can see from the percentages above that stress plays a very important role in perpetuating one’s symptoms so my Mentoring Programme is uniquely constructed to address this, together with extensive general health advice. Ironically stress is the area of health that is most neglected and as you can see is the most important!

So here is a summary of my Health Recovery Mentoring Programmewhich aimed at guiding you back to health.

(I can’t make you healthy, only you can do this, but I can mentor you to help you address the three root causes as above)

To do this I use the following techniques:

1. Relaxation techniques (including breathing techniques, mindfulness & visualisation)
2. Osteopathic treatment & Massage (to address physical tension)
3. Counselling & Personal Development techniques( to retrain your mind into positivity) Including use of my Advanced Stress & Pain Recovery Workbook
4. Exercise & Dietary Guidance( to address the physical components of your health)
5. Homeopathy & Herbs( to assist the above)

This monthly programme will guide you down the road to recovery so that quite quickly you will feel like you are back in charge of your health. With your symptoms truly minimized, you will once be able to participate fully in your life, with the added bonus of feeling, lively, active & happy.

For more information or to enroll on my mentoring programme call 020 8954 2254 or email info@irvingboxer.com

The 4 tenets of a healthy mind

Staying healthy in the 21st century is a real challenge because we do not appreciate the importance of the power our Mind over our health and life in general.

Combine this with healthy nutrition and an active lifestyle one has the three components of our life.

The latter two are readily spoken about but the power of the mind is a totally neglected commodity which in reality governs every aspect of our life. Our health, our relationships and even our financial success can be attributed to the levels of positivity or negativity that ensue within our brains. Mastery of the way we think and feel is the key to a happy, healthy and successful life.

As mentioned above eating healthily, getting regular exercise combined with adequate sleep, being mindful and learning relaxation will allow health to dominate in one’s life.

After 40 years’ experience of helping people recover their mental & physical health and diminish their aches & pains I have this question to ask:

How does one know when one’s body is at its optimal healthy functioning?

That’s easy! You feel energetic, healthy and your mind is focused on happiness.

So how do you promote that happy state of mind?

In my view there are 4 factors which I call the 4 Tenants of a Healthy Mind that if adhered to will promote love, optimism and a sense of wellbeing.

1. 1. Assume 100% responsibility for your life. That means saying to yourself “I’m in charge” and thus believing that you are the Commander of your ship. Power and control are the number 1 factors that affect the way we feel. The less power and control we perceive we have the more vulnerable, frightened and anxious we will feel. It then follows that we go on to believe we are the victims to our life and not the creators of it.
   2. Know that your capability is greater than any adversity life may throw at you. Learn to say to yourself “I can cope with everything”.
   3. Never ever underestimate yourself . This is probably the most important tenant as every anxious thought we have has its origins in not appreciating ourselves and our ability. Learn to develop the inner strength and confidence to big yourself up. Action: clench your fist and say “I have great faith in myself”.
   4. Wherever you are, whoever you’re with and whatever you’re doing always let it be an opportunity for you To Shine and be the best you can possibly be. Whenever that opportunity arises make sure you are ready.

Take these 4 tenets with you wherever you go. Make them your 4 daily mind gym activities and you will find your life filling up with Joy, Riches & Success. We can all do with some of that!

For further mentoring on recovering your mental or physical health and reducing your pain please get in touch at info@irvingboxer.com or 020 8954 2254.

If you want to know the answer then ask yourself these questions:

1. Are easy going, calm & relaxed or do you worry or get irritable.
2. Are you mostly happy or are you prone to moodiness?
3. Do you express your emotions easily or are you prone to being hurt or resentful?
4. Have you had any serious emotional upsets either as a child or adult?
5. Do you exercise daily?
6. Do you eat mainly plant based foods or are you fond of meat, dairy, bread & sugary foods?

All these factors contribute to your state of mind. Which way is your life going?

If you’d like any help with your health, aches & pains or unhappiness please get in touch 020 8954 2254 or info@irvingboxer.com There is a lot of free advice available so don’t be shy!

As this is Mental Awareness week I thought I offer my thoughts on mental well-being from working in the Well-being industry for 40 years.

My first thoughts are that it is over-looked & underestimated!

Our minds actually rule our lives and for sure have a huge impact on our health as well. The sad thing is that this is virtually ignored by the medical profession which mainly through time constraints can only focus on symptom management rather than addressing causes. As a result health & well-being are rarely addressed neither physical nor mental.

If we start to think about how our minds have affected us physically from a young age I’m sure you will remember how you felt prior to exams or your driving test. Those anticipatory nerves will have left their mark most probably on your digestion or waterworks or caused a headache or insomnia. And so it starts. Magnify those in intensity & duration and you have a lot of the common ailments we go to our doctors for every day brought on by our everyday emotional traumas such as bereavement, divorce, disappointment, abuse, humiliation etc

A simple example is IBS (irritable brain syndrome as I like to call it!!). Unfortunately when considering something like IBS we are too quick to consider what we are eating rather than what is eating us so our minds are neglected

So now we know about how our bodies are affected by our minds let’s explore what affects our minds.

Tip No 1. Eat well for your mind not just your body. Fruit & veg are the mainstay of nutritional protocols as they contain all the micro-nutrients required to be healthy. The mind especially requires B vitamins, Magnesium, Fish oils & Probiotics so make sure you eat plenty of whole grains, nuts & seeds, green leafy veg, oily fish and live yogurt. Avoid coffee & alcohol one knows they affect the mind adversely.

Tip No 2. Rest, relax & exercise. Getting 7-9 hours’ sleep is crucial to preserve & repair our mental well-being. Plenty of research links lack of sleep to many mental health issues, let alone concentration & memory. Having some quiet time during the day will boost mental focus & acuity and Mindful Meditation is an excellent way to do this. The worst comment is “I don’t have time to meditate”!!! Exercise is also a proven way to boost mental well-being as endorphins & serotonin are produced in abundance.

So those are the relative simple aspects to creating mental well-being now we come on to what I call the Mind Gym work. This is just as valuable as the ordinary gym but is the most neglected part of health therapeutics.

Tip No 3. Create Happiness/ Gratitude/ Appreciation. The first step to improving your mind is to ‘Look for Good’ (Love). Making yourself feel good will be the outcome and this is the primary healing factor for your mind. Happiness is the monitor as to how you are mentally. To promote happiness make a list of all the good things in your life; what you are proud of; what excites you; what you are grateful for; where there is love in your life; Make a picture representation of all these and look at it every morning to remind you about Who You Really Are & what your life is about.

Tip No 4. Feed your mind with Positivity. Listen too uplifting music; watch comedy programmes; read spiritual works; seek out inspirational speakers on You Tube such as Wayne Dyer; Anthony Robbins; Eckhart Tolle; study the Law of Attraction & The Secret; Listen to The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. DO NOT WATCH THE NEWS!!!

Tip No 5. Start Journaling At the end of the day writing about your experiences is a very good habit. It firstly once again helps you appreciate the good things in your life but secondly it gives you the opportunity to get off your chest or out from the back of your mind the things that have upset or annoyed you. These ‘traumas’ if internalized are the seeds of unhappiness and also are the maintainers of poor health and chronic pain.This is the true definition of the too easily dismissed term ‘psychosomatic’. For me this term accurately describes what really happens to us when we internalize our emotional traumas.

(These traumas are not made up but could be considered fantasies as their origins are often, but not always, misinterpretations of our life experiences. To our damaged minds & everyone’s are to a certain degree, our experiences all appear real but they may not be. e.g. FEAR is described as False Evidence Appearing Real!!)

These traumas create an internal turmoil which then goes on to initiate physical tension & chemical dysfunction and thus damage our mental & physical well-being.

Writing about these traumas allows for their expression and then the ritual throwing away of the script represents a cleansing of the mind. It also gives an opportunity to analyse & understand ones experiences better and also maybe to promote forgiveness or acceptance which are major factors in healing & recovery.

Tip No 6. Revisiting your Childhood (please note this should be done under the supervision of a therapist). This is where it all begins and our life path is created. It has been found that during the first 15 years of our lives the origins of our future health & happiness are laid down. The more Adverse Childhood Events [ACEs]such as divorce; bereavement; abuse; alcoholism; illness; neglect etc we experience the more our future physical & mental well-being will be compromised. Add to those our future life traumas and you can see why a daily visit to the Mind Gym is just as important as the physical gym!! Understanding, accepting & forgiving your ACEs is fundamental to improving, particularly, ones mental well-being and thus shouldn’t be tackled alone. However, it can be incredibly therapeutic for health recovery.

If you are interested in hearing about my Unique Stress Therapy Sessions that incorporate all the above & more please give me a call on 020 8954 2254. The first introductory session is at my expense so you have nothing to lose to find out more!

• Back pain is the most common problem that GPs have to deal with. 10m sufferers in UK
• Costs billions in absenteeism.
• 80% of people suffer with back pain
• Rest, painkillers, Surgery, X-rays & MRIs are mostly unhelpful; MRI just show NORMAL ageing not pathology; painkillers have side effects
• Back pain is a bi-product of our sedentary lifestyle; some people are sitting for up to 10hrs per day
• SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
• 10,000 steps a day is a good target. Stand up every 20 mins
• Your back is a strong structure and responds to activity & exercise
• Children sit for 10 hrs a day! Some are indoors more than prisoners
• Use sit stand desks; they produce less pain & better concentration
• Get out doors and be active; improve mental & physical well-being
• Stress & anxiety; past emotional traumas; Adverse Childhood Events are triggers for back pain too
• Tai Chi; Pilates & Yoga can help with back pain

How are you getting on looking after your mind?

With all the constant news about mental health issues do you have a way of taking care of yours?

Do you realize that if you internalize emotional trauma (stress) from your life, it can create internal emotional turmoil which may manifest either emotionally as anxiety or depression, or physically in the form of conditions such as IBS, asthma, eczema, headaches, aches & pain etc.

Many people are reactive to their mental experiences but there are certain actions and thought processes (mental exercises) that can diminish the influence of stress and make you more resilient.

Here are 10 mental exercises care of Wayne Dyer (Personal Development Coach) whose work I would urge you to follow.

1. Don’t look to be offended. (It will only upset YOU!)
2. You attract what’s inside you. (Look inside for your answers!)
3. No resentments are justified. (They are like snake bites where the poison flows through you!)
4. Have a mission for your life. (It will give you purpose!)
5. EMBRACE THE SILENCE. (Mindfulness & quiet promote healing!)
6. Give up your personal history. (Acknowledge your baggage but move on and live in the now!)
7. You can’t solve a problem with the mind that caused it. (Learn to change your mind; your views & opinions!)
8. Learn to dream more. (Create the life you want so you can experience it!)
9. Connect with SOURCE. (There are incredible natural forces out there waiting for you to use them!)
10. Weak thoughts create a weak body. (Don’t be a victim; Love yourself & make self-empowerment your lifelong project)

I hope you enjoy these useful and are able to bring them into your consciousness.

For any further assistance with mental or physical well-being please get in touch.

The first step in this process is to become aware of the profound influence your mind has on every aspect of your health & your life. Your earliest experiences will carry with them an emotional attachment which will either be positive or negative. The positive ones will enhance your self-esteem & confidence and the negative ones will be the seeds for insecurity & inadequacy. They all have an effect on your body’s chemistry for better or worse so if you have any long term pain, health or unhappiness issues they will most likely originate from your mind. These experiences and influences will continue throughout your life helping or hindering you along your life’s journey so managing your Mind will dramatically help improve your situation. The primary aim of the My Mind Gym is to create feelings of happiness which will ultimately promote mental & physical well-being. That is not to say that your diet and activity levels are not important to but My Mind Gym is just focusing in the brains influence.

Philosophy: It’s really important to understand what you are aiming to do in My Mind Gym so here is the philosophical mind-set to guide you:

• Take 100% charge of your life; ask yourself what can I do?
• Have total faith in your ability to solve any problems that might arise in your life
• Remember ‘What goes around comes around’ so give out love & positivity if that’s what you want back!
• Never underestimate yourself as Inadequacy & Inferiority are your Life Inhibitors!!
• See your life as your opportunity to SHINE & be your best!

Exercise 1: Journaling

At the end of each day get in the habit of writing about your day. If it’s been good be sure to appreciate all that has happened and even if it has been uneventful find some things to appreciate.

If it has been not so good, writing about it will help you become aware of and ultimately release those emotions attached to the event. It’s important to own your feelings as they come from you. We all have different perspectives and sensitivities and this exercise will help you recognize yours. It’s not good to harbour bad feelings about anyone or anything so trying to release those feeling will help your mind release its hold on you and your health. Looking to Forgive, Understand or Accept are crucial parts of this exercise and will help you get on your path to recovery.

Exercise 2: Word reversal

Divide a page into two with a line down the middle. On the left hand side write down all the negative adjectives& phrases (lies) you might say to yourself regarding your behaviour, your health, your job, your relationships e.g. useless, hopeless, failure, no good, waste of time, pathetic, always ill, disliked etc etc.

Now on the right hand side write the opposite word or phrase e.g successful, happy, healthy, capable, popular, fortunate etc

Tear off the left side and keep the right side with you to read regularly during the day; adding to it when appropriate.

Exercise 3: Vision Board

Make a list of all the good things in your life; make a list of all your aspirations & dreams in relation to your mental & physical Well-Being, your work & prosperity, your relationships and finally your connection with God/Universe.

Once you have this list use Google to find a picture representation of the words you have used and then add them to a piece of A4 paper and create a vision board of all the good things in your life. Regularly look at this vision board.

Exercise 4: Speedy Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a crucial part of the work you will do in My Mind Gym so following this simple routine will help your mind switch off and your healing and repair process switch on. This will allow you to achieve your full potential physically & mentally. Mindfulness is the art of just being present in the moment, relaxing and just allowing the outside world to pass you bye.

• • Find somewhere quiet and sit down and close your eyes.
  • Place your hands on your lap and be aware of your feet on the ground and your back & legs against the chair.
  • Take 3 deep breaths feeling the air fill your abdomen not your chest.
  • Be aware of the quietness of where you are (but don’t block out any sounds just acknowledge them).
  • Be aware of any sensations in your body.
  • Let your breath dictate your state and just allow the air to flow in and out.
  • If any thought intrude just increase your awareness of your body & breathing and allow them to go. The same with any intruding sounds.
  • Just stay like this for as long as you can.
  • Repeat as often as you can.

If you would like any further assistance with any Stress Management please feel free to contact me at info@irvingboxer.com

When you are sitting at your desk or in front of the TV do you think about the consequences of what you are doing?

Did you know that sitting is the new smoking and that if you have a sedentary job you are twice as likely of dying young? That’s not good news for our computer focused world!!

The link between illness and sitting first emerged in the 1950s, when researchers found London bus drivers were twice as likely to have heart attacks as their bus conductor colleagues.

Sitting for too long enhances the immobility associated with back pain and we all know that staring into a computer screen for a long time puts a lot of strain on one’s neck muscles.

Sitting or lying down for too long raises your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Moving throughout the day can help even more than exercise to lower your risk of all these health problems!

Too much sitting can also be bad for your mental health

Sitting also for long periods is thought to slow the metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat. Many adults in the UK spend more than seven hours a day sitting or lying, and this typically increases with age to 10 hours or more.

Too Much Sitting Is Killing You (Even If You Exercise)

Here are some further side effects!!:

• Poor Blood Circulation
• Weakened Muscles
• Posture Problems
• Brain Damage
• Anxiety and Depression
• Cancer

However here are some solutions

For children:

• Limit screen time, such as TV and video games, to just one to two hours a day. In children under five, the advice is to limit the time they spend watching TV, travelling by car, bus or train, or being strapped into a buggy.
• consider ways for children to “earn” screen time
• agree a family limit to screen time per day
• make bedrooms a TV- and computer-free zone
• set “no screen time” rules to encourage kids to be active
• encourage participation in house chores such as setting the table or taking the bins out
• choose gifts such as a scooter, skateboard, ball or kite to encourage active play

Parents could lead by example by also reducing their TV time and other sitting-based tasks.

Adults aged 19 to 64 are advised to try to sit down less throughout the day, including at work, when travelling and at home.

• stand on the train or bus
• take the stairs and walk up escalators
• set a reminder to get up every 30 minutes
• place a laptop on a box or similar to work standing
• stand or walk around while on the phone
• take a walk break every time you take a coffee or tea break
• walk to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling
• swap some TV time for more active tasks or hobbies

Some older adults (aged 65 and over) are known to spend 10 hours or more each day sitting or lying down, making them the most sedentary population group.

• avoid long periods sat in front of a TV or computer
• stand up and move during TV advert breaks
• stand or walk while on the phone
• use the stairs as much as possible
• take up active hobbies such as gardening and DIY
• join in community-based activities, such as dance classes and walking groups
• take up active play with the grandchildren
• do most types of housework

My simple tips are to stand when answering the phone or regularly go & get a glass of water.

For more advice on pain or stress management and other health issues please get in touch.