Usawa Holistic Healthcare

09/03/2023

How can you lose weight without having to exercise daily?

Avoid snacking in the day and especially after-dinner snacks. Why? Because it's all about insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that helps glucose in your blood enter cells in your muscle, fat, and liver, where it’s used for energy. Insulin is also your fat-storage hormone, telling your body to store fat around the belly rather than burn fat. Insulin resistance is when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don't respond well to insulin and can't easily take up glucose from your blood. Insulin resistance develops when you snack throughout the day.

As a result, your pancreas makes more insulin to help glucose enter your cells. More insulin means more fat is stored.

Do you want more tips on weight loss? DOWNLOAD our FREE resource on the 7 common mistakes most people make when trying to lose weight via our website today 👇

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/y8g7e9

07/03/2023

Let's face it, we often make decisions without even realising it. We're on autopilot, not really paying attention to what's driving our choices. And when we're distracted, it's even harder to resist temptations and make choices that align with our long-term goals.

This is why so many people neglect healthy food choices when overly busy or distracted.

So, how can you slow down and avoid the symptoms of being stressed? Let us know your secret weapon in the comments below 👇

02/03/2023

02/03/2023

Are you one of the many people who dread public speaking? You're certainly not alone.

In this Six Hats podcast, you can learn key strategies for transforming your confidence in public speaking from experienced coach Sarah Denholm.

Remember, public speaking is a skill that can be learned, and this conversation will provide inspiration for overcoming your fears. Listen now (link in bio).

28/02/2023

This is your sign: today is the day you should try alpha meditation.

Alpha meditation, which involves closing your eyes and focusing on increasing alpha brain waves, can lead to deeper levels of healing, health, happiness, creativity and success, according to research. It can also help with better sleep, reduced depression and anxiety, and improved problem-solving abilities.

The Silva method is one popular method for guided alpha meditation, but it's important to find a method that resonates with you.

Have you tried alpha meditation before?

23/02/2023

Let's talk about intermittent fasting...

According to Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson, who has researched the subject of intermittent fasting for 25 years, our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for prolonged periods of time.

Historically, humans were hunters and gatherers who had to learn to survive without food for extended periods. This is because it required a significant amount of effort and energy to hunt and gather food.

By fasting for 12 hours overnight, the body will exhaust its sugar stores and begin to burn fat, providing both what the body needs and something that is easily achievable.

16/02/2023

Do you watch TV or Netflix to help you relax before bed? Here's why this habit is making you more stressed...

A Harvard study found that blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much as green light. The circadian shift was 3 hours for blue light and 1.5 hours for green light. What does this mean? Watching TV/Netflix before bed affects the quality of your sleep. This means you may be finding it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep, and hence wake up feeling unrefreshed. This has a domino effect for the rest of your day.

Take action: Turn off screens at least one hour before bed and observe how you feel.

16/02/2023

At Usawa, we are a dedicated group of skilled professionals who adopt a comprehensive approach to wellness.

We focus on functional medicine, addressing the underlying causes of illness rather than just treating symptoms. This allows us to provide personalised treatment plans, with our ultimate objective being to empower our patients to attain long-lasting and sustainable health outcomes.

14/02/2023

Does emotion sometimes get the better of you?

As Property Advocate extraordinaire, Wendy Chamberlain describes, the way people handle their emotions can be the difference between making a smart choice and a... well, you get the idea.

So, what techniques do you leverage when feeling overly emotional?

Listen to this full episode with Wendy discussing buying and selling homes on Apple podcasts today (link in bio).

07/02/2023

What do you think about coffee? Do you need it to start the day or is it making you feel tense?

03/02/2023

If you're feeling burnt out in your career despite the success, and desire more time and energy, our course - The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to De-stress - is tailored for you.

You will learn practical tools and strategies to improve your daily life, enabling you to do more of what you love, feel better, and reach your aspirations. It's time to take charge of your wellbeing and invest in yourself - sign up for this course today 👇

https://usawalearning.thinkific.com/courses/The-Ultimate-Stress-Toolkit

01/02/2023

This is your daily reminder:

You are important. You matter. Your contribution to humanity is needed, wanted and much appreciated.

30/01/2023

Have you heard of Gut Directed Hypnosis?

It is a proven, effective treatment for gut disorders including Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s almost hard to believe how quickly it works but once we understand that the nervous system is connected to the gut, it all makes sense.

Our brains absorb information more powerfully when it’s in a Theta brain wave frequency. Hypnosis lowers the brain wave frequency to Theta, thus enabling changes in our psychology and our physiology. During hypnosis, you will go into a deeply relaxed state which enables suggestions to go deep into the habit-forming part of the brain. Suggestions and metaphors are used to normalise the gastrointestinal function.

Research conducted at Monash University here in Melbourne, Australia, has shown that GDH improves gastrointestinal symptoms in people with IBS by 70–80 % and these improvements are maintained long-term.

27/01/2023

What is Locus of Control?

Locus of control refers to the degree to which an individual feels a sense of agency in regards to his, his or her life. It’s a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives.

Someone with an internal locus of control will believe that the things that happen to them are greatly influenced by their own abilities, actions, or mistakes.

A person with an external locus of control will tend to feel that other forces such as random chance environmental factors or the actions of others are more responsible for the events that occur in the individual’s life.

Here’s where it becomes interesting. Research has generally suggested that those with a more internal locus of control are more successful, healthier and happier than those with a more external locus of control!

More studies have also shown that those with internal locus of control feel that they control their own destiny rather than their fate being determined by external forces. As a result, they tend to be happier, less depressed and less stressed!

So where do you sit? Do you have an internal locus of control or an external locus of control? Let us know in the comments below 👇

25/01/2023

This year, we want to help women find balance in their lives by juggling their 6 roles each day. You know the 6 roles? Everything from being a woman, partner, daughter, mother, business owner and professional.

We're doing this through our Six Hats Podcast. And in the last month of the podcast series, we've deep dived into the following topics...

🎙 Are we influenced by our tribe? Dr Thuvaraka Vetpillai
🎙 Do women behave differently to men in business? Shannyn Merlo, Business Coach
🎙 Overcoming high stress as a lawyer with Sharn Hobill
🎙 Buying and selling homes made easy with Wendy Chamberlain

Listen to the podcast today (link in bio).

23/01/2023

With the holidays behind us and the stresses from work appearing again, how can you make sure you don't feel like you always need to be "on"?

We asked Usawa's Yoga Therapist, Erika Newberry, and this is what she had to say...

"This is an excellent question and reflection. It was actually a prompt for me to create action around something that had been in my mind for some time now. I have most definitely been guilty of always being on call in the past which I've found doesn't serve anyone in the long run. One way that I have created a boundary around this is by changing the text in my email to notify people that my admin days are from Wednesday to Friday. This way people know what to expect and I don't have to carry a sense of urgency every time an email arrives in my inbox. Another way I ensure I'm not tempted to be 'on call', is by putting my phone on 'do not disturb' so that I can be really present with my loved ones in my time off. These are a couple of strategies I've found really easy and effective."

20/01/2023

Could you be suffering from chronic stress and you don't even know it? Let's find out - 🙋‍♀️ raise your hand if you're...

👉 Having difficulty concentrating.
👉 Experiencing racing thoughts.
👉 Having a negative outlook.
👉 Feeling depressed or unsatisfied with life.
👉 Having more mood swings or angry outbursts.
👉 Experiencing anxiousness and agitations.
👉 Isolating yourself or feeling lonely.

These are some of the common symptoms of chronic stress. And often, this is most common in people who are always busy.

So why do we love being busy?

Researchers have found that this may be influenced by the fact that when we complete tasks, our brain releases the pleasure hormone dopamine, which makes us feel good.

We can get hooked on this feeling and rewarding experience, so we want it to be repeated. We then crave this pleasure again and again.

Other reasons for being busy include fear of missing out, avoiding negative emotions, striving for success, being busy is your identity, you may feel guilty about doing nothing or you find it hard to relax.