Tandem Health Beginner's Guide by Elizabeth Stackpole

TA N D E M H E A LT H A Beginner’s Guide to Self Care

A COMPANION GUIDE TO THE BOOK:

Where Science Meets Soul: Overcome Your Biology, Meet Your Original Self, and Live the Life You Are Destined For.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

HYDRATION

DIGESTION

MOVEMENT

MINDFULNESS

JOURNALING

SCHEDULE

Hey you; yes you. The person who is in search of forgotten fragments of their soul. This will not be easy, but you must give yourself grace. This is a trial for you to be kind, gentle, and forgiving. Please, forgive yourself for your human condition. Ask yourself this: do I love myself? Do I treat my mind and body as though I do? Take this guide and go forth as you will; it is my hope that you may learn to find peace within yourself.

Thank you to Elizabeth Stackpole, for helping bring my vision to life.

LET’S GET

HONEST

WITH OURSELVES and I mean really honest

In order to grow, you must challenge your comfort zone. You can only meet another as deeply as you’ve met yourself. So now I invite you to learn the painstaking but necessary component of self compassion. We must cultivate forgiveness and an unconditional love for ourselves that allows us room to experience a full life no matter what is going on around us. I’m so blessed to be able to share this with each of you. Thank you for having the courage to start a small step on a huge journey to the new perspective you’ve been longing for – the one that changes lives.

HUMANE /hyü-ˈmān/ adjective: having or showing compassion or benevolence.

HUMAN

TANDEM

/ˈhyü-mən/

/ˈtan-dəm/

adjective: of or characteristic of people’s better qualities, such as kindness or sensitivity.

adverb: alongside each other; together.

DRINK WATER, Lot’s of water

Every day of the program, drink 1/2 your body weight of water in liquid oz per day. So if you weight 140 lbs, you should drink at least 70 oz of water per day.

Water is the foundation of life as we know it; water fills every inch of our being. It is a very precious resource that many take for granted. Make water the center of your health. Start here and see where you can go when you are giving your body adequate amounts of this lifeforce. A fun experiment: Did you know that you can test the pH of your drinking water? You can also test your water to see what else is in it; the correct balance of acidity and minerals is imperative. See what you can discover about the water you are fueling yourself with.

EAT ONE HEALTHY MEAL that you feel good about Every day of the program, eat at least one meal that you feel really good about. This healthy meal is determined by YOU. The following page has information about the digestive system, so that you can move forward with knowledge of how your digestive system affects you, as well as how you can help it get to its healthiest state. The idea is to eat with intention and feel good about what you are putting into your body. You can still have other meals and snacks, but at least once per day, sit down for a meal that your body will thank you for.

PROBIOTICS PREBIOTICS ANTIINFLAMMATORIES

• Micro organisms that help us digest and utilize food. They also create our microbiome, known as our gut flora. • Where does our microbiome come from? We are not born with a microbiome, we develop it during birth. • We need to eat specific foods which contain the correct bacteria in order to have a balanced microbiome. • Fermented foods

• These are what our microbiome eat. They are compounds in food which help our microbiome grow and maintain balance. • Fiberous foods

• Compounds found naturally in food which reduce inflammation within the body. • Why does our body become inflammed? Immune reactions to potentially harmful agents cause inflammation. • Everyone reacts to food and our environment differently, therefore what can cause inflammation, and how it affects the body, can vary from person to person. • Antioxidants and fatty acids

DIGESTION

Find Health Through Balance

PROBIOTICS

PREBIOTICS

ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES

Yogurt Kefir Kombucha Sauerkraut Tempeh Miso Kimchi Pickles Sourdough bread

Asparagus Avocado Banana Dandelion Eggplant Endive Radicchio Garlic Sunchoke Jicama Legumes Whole grains

Tomatoes Berries Nuts Extra virgin olive oil Leafy greens Salmon Tuna Sardines

Builds Strength

Every day of the program, do 20 minutes of movement Your body is capable of amazing things. You are strong. You are adaptive. You are a biological being who was made to move. Let us honor this by allowing space in our lives for movement. I am asking you to participate in intentional movement and to move your body in ways that may stretch your comfort zone, just ever so slightly. We cannot know what we are capable of until we reach the outer limits of these capabilities. But you mustn’t rush. Or strain. Or try to push yourself past this point. It is in this balance where we find peace within the movement and peace within ourselves; and each individual’s point of balance is ever changing as they move along in their journey. Find a movement practice which speaks to you and that works for your lifestyle, then do this every day. Do it when you feel good, bad, happy, sad, numb, elated...examples of such practices are: yoga, Tai chi, Qigong, kickboxing, biking, spinning, running, swimming, etc. There are many options, and many resources. Now go and learn how to move with intention.

BE MINDFUL For ten minutes every day Whether it’s through guided meditation or simply sitting in silence with yourself, take time every day to press the pause button. To be mindful means to be aware of your thoughts. If left to their own devices, our thoughts will run rampant. We think without thinking and this can lead to a tangled mess in our minds. Do you ever have the same thought circling around in your mind, over and over? Is this helpful? Usually not. Do you find yourself getting distracted throughout the day, or feeling on edge but you’re not sure why? Also not very helpful. To stop these circulating thoughts we have to be conscious of what and how we are telling our brain to think. In other words, we must be mindful of our thoughts. Being mindful can help us bring our focus back to the present and calm the rampant babbling. As with movement, there are many techniques for mindfulness as well as many resources to teach you. Some tips to start you on the right path: put away your phone. Be still. Breathe.

JOURNAL

YOUR THOUGHTS

Here’s something you try not to think about ... All that we deny or repress about ourselves (even the parts we do not like or want to accept) become a part of our deeper subconscious selves and manifest in our environment in potentially damaging and usually unpleasant ways. Everyone does this – this is just another pesky side effect of that human condition thing we talked about earlier. Why is this a default behavior? Well, anything that is incompatible with our chosen conscious attitude (also described as how we want to be seen either by ourselves or others) is pushed back into the corners of our mind and has no outlet to be acknowledged or processed, and therefore it must sneak out and disguise itself to us in order to come to the surface; this usually happens in our everyday environment whether we make that connection or not. Once per week, journal for 15 minutes using the three prompts on the following pages.

Journal Entry 1

CHIRON:

THE WOUNDED WARRIOR In Greek mythology, Chiron, a centaur, was the world’s greatest healer. He could heal any ailment known to man or beast under any sky. Ironically, his death occurred due to an injury from a poisoned arrow that he could not heal – the only ailment he could not cure was his own, and thus he was placed in the sky by his half-brother Zeus to be honored for his devotion to healing others. Write about an emotional wound of your own that gives you the unique ability to help others in a situation that relates to yours. Write down where the wound comes from. Maybe it’s a trauma, a mistake, a loss, or an unjust action--whatever the case may be, explain it in as much detail as you can. Then write about how this experience aids in your helping lift up or heal others.

Journal Entry 2

A DICTIONARY OF

TRUTH Define each of the terms and concepts below in your own words. There is no need to research or use a dictionary. What do these common words or phrases mean to you? How do they fit into your life? Do you struggle with them? Do they leave a bad taste in your mouth or a sweet sentiment in your memory? For each word, write down your unique definition, your experience with it, and be honest with yourself. That is the only way this will work! Give yourself room to acknowledge that some of these qualities that we possess may not be so pleasant, and remember to give equal attention to the positive feelings that contemplating some of these qualities will evoke. It is this balance that reassures us that we are moving in the right direction. Structure does not equal security, but a true self awareness always radiates peace within.

humility patience

honesty

overindulgence

anxiety / excessive worrying

jealousy

time management

judging others compassion

procrastination gratitude

kindness

Journal Entry 3

AN ACT OF

REFLECTION

First, list five human beings that you strongly disagree with or who exhibit opinions/behaviors that you cannot stand. What is it that bothers you? Why? Describe each of your five choices in as much detail as you can. Secondly, go through each choice over again and evaluate yourself next to the opinion or feelings you hold onto in regards to them. If your friend Yahtzee is hypocritical toward her children and that drives you up the nearest wall, see if you can find a reflection of yourself or your past in the less desirable qualities you can identify in her – such as hypocrisy (because we have ALL wrestled with that one, let’s be real here). The idea is to humble yourself next to every other structure of our universe. The parts are a whole for a reason, and we must learn to coexist with the unpleasantries that we come across instead of constantly trying to separate ourselves from what we don’t like or understand, or else they will hinder our ability to grow, expand, and find insurmountable beauty in our existence.

WELLNESS JOURNEY

SCHEDULE Three Weeks of Self Care

MONDAY – FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

• Drink 1/2 your body weight of water in liquid oz

• Eat one nutritious meal

• 20 minutes of movement

• 10 minutes of mindfulness

• 15 minutes of introspection using the given prompt

• Take action and do at least one thing that will set you up for success in the coming week