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Who has time to meditate?

05 Friday Feb 2021

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breathe through your nose, breathing, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, meditate, meditation, relax, Yale University

You do! Because all you need is 16 SECONDS a day to alter your brain! Yale University researchers found meditation decreases activity in the brain area responsible for negative thoughts, and a wandering mind – which is typically linked to ruminating, worrying about the past and future, and being less happy. But meditation keeps you focused in the present. It also physically changes the brain. It increases brain cell volume in the hippocampus, which regulates emotions. And decreases it in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress. 

And all you need is 16 SECONDS a day – as long as you’re consistent! So breathe in for a count of 4… hold it for 4… exhale for 4 seconds… and pause for 4. Done.

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Feeling anxious, or unable to concentrate?

17 Tuesday Nov 2020

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anxiety, anxious, calm, calmer, calming, concentrate, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, lemon balm, memory

Grab some lemon balm! The leafy plant from the mint family contains compounds that prevent the breakdown of a brain chemical linked to focus and memory. Lemon balm also contains brain-boosting quercetin and energizing caffeic acid… a combination proven to ease anxiety, and enhance problem-solving, focus, and recall. Your best bet: Place a drop of lemon balm essential oil on each palm, cup your hands over your face, and take 10 slow, deep breaths. And you’ll feel calmer, and more focused in no time!

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Here’s a one-minute meditation to help kick your food cravings.

04 Friday Sep 2020

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Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, crave, cravings, decrease stress, destress, focus, food cravings, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, meditate, meditation, relax

It comes from Bob Roth, one of the most experienced and sought-after meditation teachers in North America. 

Here’s what to do:

Place 3 fingers of your left hand on your right wrist and find your pulse. 

Then, let both hands rest in your lap. 

Close your eyes.

Focus on the feeling of your pulse.

Allow your thoughts to come and go, not focusing or dwelling on them. 

After a minute, you’ll feel more relaxed – and you’ll be less likely to reach for food to self-medicate your stress.

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Keep your mind sharp as you age!

20 Thursday Aug 2020

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balance, brain, brain health, catch, coloring, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, focus, hand-eye coordination, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, memory, play an instrument, play catch, playing catch, puzzles, sing, sing-along, singing, timing, vision

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I’m all about brain health – and keeping our minds sharp as we age. And although doing puzzles, coloring, and playing an instrument are proven ways to keep neural connections firing, there are other things we can do in our daily lives that help.

Like, learning the words to your new favorite song. That exercises the parts of the brain responsible for focus and memory. Plus, the concentration required to pick out the lyrics releases brain chemicals that stimulate neuro-plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to form new neural connections throughout life.

Another way to improve brain health: Play catch. A study in the journal Nature Neuroscience found that catching and throwing require us to coordinate physical things like vision, balance, and timing, along with more abstract concepts, like spatial relations and anticipating future movements. And that means, practicing hand-eye coordination helps our body beef up the mental circuits that transmit data from one place to another.

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Get more energy with this breathing technique!

22 Monday Jun 2020

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Ayurvedic, Ayurvedic breathing technique, Ayurvedic medicine, breathe, breathing technigue, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, emotional, focus, India, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, mental, more energy, nose, nostril, wellness

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Get ready to be more energized and alert in 2 minutes with a simple breathing technique. It comes from Ayurvedic medicine, a type of holistic, whole-body healing developed 3,000 years ago in India. And it’s based on the idea health and wellness is physical, mental AND emotional.

So what’s the Ayurvedic breathing technique?  Sit or stand comfortably, and use a finger to press your LEFT nostril shut. Then, breathe in slowly through your RIGHT nostril and exhale slowly. That activates nerve endings in the right nostril linked to alertness. And in 2 minutes you’ll have renewed focus and energy.

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Need an instant pick-me-up?

19 Tuesday May 2020

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coffee, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, energy boost, focus, increased blood flow, increased energy, increased focus, instant pick-me-up, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, menthol, morning coffee, morning tea, peppermint gum, peppermint tea, tea

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Swap your next cup of coffee for peppermint tea… it’s proven to boost your energy, focus AND alertness within minutes. That’s from The International Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers found that mint’s aroma alone helps stimulate the brain’s memory centers, which means it’ll clear up any brain fog that’s slowing you down, and help you focus. It’s similar to what happens when you first bite into a piece of peppermint gum, and you get an icy cool sensation in your mouth that wakes you up!

Meanwhile, menthol – which is the active ingredient in mint – is proven to relax muscles and arteries in a way that increases blood flow. The upshot being that if your energy is being dragged down by stress, for example, sipping peppermint tea is the perfect way to get your energy back.

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Knitting is a great way to lift your mood.

24 Tuesday Dec 2019

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Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, embroidery, feel happy, focus, happiness, happy, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, knit, knitting, mood boost, repetition, sewing

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In fact, anything that engages both hands in rhythmic, repetitive motion can have the same effect – like embroidery or sewing. That’s according to the journal Neuro-psycho-pharmacology. The repetitive movements trigger your brain to release the mood-lifting chemical serotonin… and when your mind is focused on an absorbing task, it blocks out negative thoughts.

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Improve thinking and focus by placing a plant on your desk.

19 Wednesday Jun 2019

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anxiety, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, de-stress, desk, destress, focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, nature, plant, plant on your desk, spider plant, stress, thinking

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We’ve said before that having a plant on your desk can improve your thinking and focus. That’s because being within eyeshot of something from nature triggers the release of positive brain chemicals that make you feel refreshed and recharged. Well, there’s even more to it than that. By afternoon, indoor air pollution is at its peak. And according to Johns Hopkins University researchers, those chemicals increase brain inflammation – which produce feelings of anxiety. But if you have a plant on your desk, it’ll absorb the pollutants and pump out oxygen, which can leave you feeling calmer. And one of the best plants you can get is a spider plant. It thrives indoors – is hard to kill – and within 24 hours, it’ll soak up 87% of airborne pollutants in the immediate area. And not just carbon dioxide. It’ll eliminate dangerous volatile organic compounds – like benzene, ozone, and formaldehyde – that are emitted by plastic, fabric, computer printers, and cleaning solvents.

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Want increased brainpower?

07 Thursday Mar 2019

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Avocado, avocados, brainpower, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, dopamine, East Carolina University, focus, increased focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, memory, memory lapse, memory loss, think, thinking, vitamin K

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Eat more avocado! Research at East Carolina University found avocados contain high levels of vitamin K and pantothenic acid… a nutritional one-two punch that improves communication between neurons, and boosts production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which boosts focus. After eating just half an avocado a day for a week, your risk of brain fog and memory lapses will be cut in half.

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To feel more energized in the morning:

25 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

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brain, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, cortisol, ear plugs, earplugs, energized, energy, focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, morning, sleep, sleepy, tired

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Go to bed wearing earplugs! A joint study between British and Swedish researchers found people who feel foggy and slowed up in the morning probably aren’t producing enough cortisol, a natural brain-energizer that wakes us up, and heightens our alertness. But wearing earplugs to bed blocks low levels of overnight noise – like nearby traffic, or barking dogs. And research shows that when the quality of our sleep improves, our brain churns out more cortisol in the morning – giving us more focus and energy.

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