MINT Health Magazine Spring 2016

Boundaries, Balance & Being Present WHAT

Living in Mint Condition

Healthy, Easy Spring Salmon Dinner

MINT

WHAT THE FODMAP?

Health

Issue I, Volume I March April May 2016

Keeping the Peace: Cleaning Up Workspace Bullying

MINT

Health

PUBLISHER roberson SQUARED EDITORS IN CHIEF Jenny Bair & Betty Murray CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Denise Ackerman Jenny Bair Brenda Briscoe Julie Floyd Betty Murray Dr. Kristi Rosipal Christine Shanklin Robyn Short Holly Signorelli

Photography: 123rf, Google Images

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REGISTRATION ON OR USE OF THE MAGAZINE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF MINT Health MAGAZINE’S USER AGREEMENT AND PRIVACY POLICY. THE MATERIALS ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED, TRANSMITTED, CACHED OR OTHERWISE USED, EXCEPT WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM MINT Health MAGAZINE.

in MINT Condition…

Aging …………………………… 5 55……………………………5 Body …………………………….. 7 Living …………………………... 11 ………………………………….………

Love-ing ………………………... 20 …………………….. …………………………..………………

Mind …………………………….. 27

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Money …………………………… 29 ……………………………..

Recipes …………………………... 33 333333……………………………..

Spirit …………………………….. 41 Women ………………………….. 43 …………………………………………….

Working ………………………… 45 ……………………………..

4545……………………………………… ……. ……………………………..

On the Cover The power of living and being in Mint Health! ……………………………………… ……. ……………………………..

Letters from the Editors

Do you smell it? The inspiring, powerfully intoxicating scent of MINT? It grows with enthusiasm, pushing us to move forward symbolically, thus giving us this name for our new, online international magazine, MINT Health Magazine: Living in MINT Condition. I and my business partner Betty Murray, have been dreaming of this creation since at least 2005, and now it’s coming true. We're beyond excited to share our first edition with you!

We have gathered incredible material, contributing writers, and beautiful imagery, and we have reliable product advertisers we personally use and trust. Our magazine will be quarterly. Website and Social Media (Facebook, You Tube, Google +) are under development and will be revealed soon. In the meantime, ask yourself, "Don't I want to be cool, calm and MINT‐minded?"

I will be debuting my MINT Membership at the same time, so that you may have the right expertise to support you in your endeavors to live a full, vivacious, and zesty life. Membership will have three program options, all by phone, so wherever you live, you can get the advice you need, just one call away. We will also have, for those who want more customized experiences, options for a MINT team to come to you or for you to visit a destination location for a VIP experience. Coming too are offers for online educational events and in‐person retreats for the savvy MINT Living crew.

It is my heartfelt hope that something in this magazine will give you an Ah‐Ha moment in some area of your life, and real concrete steps to make it come to fruition; that sweet spot where the rubber meets the road of ACTION in life. I hope also that you use it to decompress from life a bit by taking a few minutes away from the business of life to enjoy the beautiful pictures and absorb the great content. May you become cool, calm and MINT‐minded. Please use us as a go‐to resource for your medical, health, relationship, and business needs.

With lots of love, Jenny

It has been a long time dream of ours to be able to reach a larger audience to share the skills, insights and actionable steps to become your own health advocate. MINT Health Magazine is a culmination of 12+ years of dedicated work sharing the latest and greatest, tried and true information that you can use today. MINT Health Magazine is a place for me and the selected experts to reach out and touch your heart and soul, share a little piece of ourselves, and build a greater community armed with the power to change their health and change the health of their communities.

We selected springtime as the inaugural issue for MINT Health Magazine because it is a time of renewal and growth. In this issue, we have selected several feature writers who have touched us in many ways and who have stories to tell and tips and tools you can use. We have spring recipes for fantastic meals and recipes for aromatherapy infusions. We also have feature articles about the latest research in fat loss, getting organized, transforming your money story, and so much more.

I truly hope that MINT becomes a resource that you reach for to enrich your life and the life of those you love.

With love and light, Betty

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Pain Recovery with a Twist

By Brenda Briscoe, LMT

Have you been in pain so long you can’t remember what it’s like not to be? Tried everything you can think of to get rid of it? Are you at your wit’s end? Well, keep reading. This may be music to your ears.

At Living Well Health & Wellness, we are using some unique modalities to bring recovery that is profound and long‐lasting. Our clients are getting back their lives. Who would guess that such gentle work ‐ Bowen Therapy ‐ would bring deep core changes at the cellular level! Who would imagine that LED lights could bring permanent resolution to long‐standing conditions like peripheral neuropathy! These two therapies work together synergistically to achieve recovery that is unmatched by many others.

Bowen Therapy was introduced in the U.S. less than 25 years ago and is still largely unheard of.

Developed by Tom Bowen of Australia, this gentle technique is changing lives in an amazing way.

With its slow, rolling skin movements on acu‐points along the spine, Bowenwork quickly brings the mind and body from fight‐or‐flight into rest‐and‐relaxation of the deepest kind. Then the therapeutic work takes on a life of its own as the practitioner plucks tendons and rolls over muscles, sending new nerve signals to which the body can respond differently. When the body is stuck in a pain/spasm/pain cycle, Bowen Therapy is just the ticket to break this cycle, telling the brain that it no longer needs to continue emitting pain messages but can relax and let healing take place.

LED (light emitting diodes) phototherapy provides gentle but powerful non‐coherent light to create an environment in which change may occur more rapidly. Also known as low‐level light therapy (LLLT), these pulsed red and infrared wavelengths travel deeply to effect healing. The equipment is cleared by the FDA for increasing blood/lymph circulation, as well as decreasing pain/swelling/inflammation.

How do LED lights accomplish these effects? In several ways. By stimulating the release of nitric oxide, blood vessels are dilated so that more oxygen and healing nutrients flow to the painful areas. At the same time, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is released, which helps with cellular

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repair, as it allows cells to accept nutrients and get rid of waste products faster by increasing the energy level in the cells.

In addition, collagen is produced to repair damaged tissue and replace old tissue. Also, LEDs raise the temperature of the cells through a photochemical reaction. Plus, the photons of light energy enter the body as negative ions. This causes the body to send positive ions (calcium and others) to go to the rescue of the area being treated, relieving pain.

You might wonder what this therapy looks like. Black plastic pads with cloth backings have near‐infrared bulbs (invisible to the naked eye) embedded in them. The pads may be placed anywhere on the body that is affected by pain, except over a developing fetus or malignant tumor. Velcro straps are used to hold the pads in place. Goggles with blue and red LED lights placed over the eyes stimulate the brain to release melatonin and serotonin, bringing the body into a theta state conducive to healing, thereby being effective for ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia. An LED helmet for the head successfully resolves issues caused by concussions.

The focus of Living Well’s Pain Recovery Clinic is:    

Migraines/headaches/depression/anxiety/concussion Chronic pain (back/neck/joint) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome/Arthritis/Renaud’s Peripheral Neuropathy/Fibromyalgia

With this twist on pain therapy, greater gains are made synergistically than by using either of these powerful tools alone. Clients purchase packages, which include LED and Bowen Therapy, plus nutritional supplements to support the healing process, as well as nutritional guidance. Other therapies may be added, when needed, including essential oils, ionCleanse foot baths for detoxification, and vibrational plates.

Brenda Briscoe, www.livingwelldallas.com, www.bowentherapyindallas.com, bowenguru@gmail.com, 972‐930‐0260

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How Fat Can Help You Burn Fat and Lose Weight Without Hunger

By Betty Murray

Have you been counting calories only to Your body secretes less CCK after you be met with frustration when you aren’t lose weight. When you are thinner, you losing weight? One of the reasons will feel less satisfied with the same meal calorie‐restricted diets tend to fail is than you did before losing the weight because cutting calories increases and your cravings for unhealthy foods hunger and food cravings and cutting too will increase. many calories slows the metabolism.

A ketogenic diet for weight loss keeps Cutting calories to lose weight doesn’t you from getting caught in this trap. suppress your appetite. In fact, it causes

your hormones to work against you, by Ghrelin (a.k.a. “the hunger hormone”) is telling your brain to eat more. Ketosis, on released from your intestines and the other hand, is an effective appetite stomach and increases hunger. During suppressant. normal fasting, grehlin levels go up, and

when you eat, grehlin drops in response to nutrients circulating in your blood. It goes up during normal fasting. When you eat a meal, ghrelin drops in response to nutrients circulating in your blood. If you are in a ketogenic state, grehlin levels do not increase with weight loss.

How Much Ketosis Is Enough?

How Ketosis Suppresses the Appetite How much ketosis do you need to Appetite suppression through ketosis effectively lose weight? A recent study happens in more than one way. First, by published in January 2015 in eating more fat and cutting bad carbs Obesity Reviews found that a blood (sugar, bread, etc.), your blood sugar will ketone level of 0.5 mM was sufficient to stabilize. significantly suppress appetite in

participants on a variety of diets. In the Scientists have found that ketones have average person, circulating levels of an impact on hormones that regulate ketones are typically at ~0.1 mM after an hunger and satiety. Ketones help to overnight fast. increase production of cholecystokinin

(CCK), a hormone, which makes you feel The ketogenic diet has been around for full, and reduce production of ghrelin, more than 90 years, first designed in which is known as the “hunger 1924 by Dr. Russell Wilder at the Mayo hormone.”

Clinic as a treatment for epilepsy. As

more anti‐seizure medications hit the After you eat, your intestines release CCK market, the ketogenic diet became less — a powerful regulator of food intake.

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popular. In 1994, the Abraham family started The Charlie Foundation promoting the ketogenic diet after their young son Charlie recovered completely from daily seizures while on the diet.

The ketogenic diet isn’t just a treatment for seizures, however. It is also ideal for weight loss, reducing glucose levels, and improving insulin resistance.

Also known as a low‐carb diet or the low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet, the ketogenic diet is high in fat, adequate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. When net carb intake is reduced and healthy fat intake increases, it changes the way energy is used in the body. Fat is now converted in the liver into fatty acids and ketone bodies, which are used as energy.

When you consume high amounts of carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, so it will be chosen over any other energy source, such as fat.

Essentially, a diet that is high in carbs means the body burns glucose for energy, leaving your fat stores untouched.

By reducing carb intake, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis.

During ketosis, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver.

The goal of the ketogenic diet is to force your body into ketosis through starvation of carbohydrates, which means your body will begin to burn fat for energy, rather than glucose.

What Do I Eat on the Ketogenic Diet?

What you eat depends how fast you want to get into a ketogenic state. The more restrictive you are on your carbohydrates (less than 25g per day), the faster you will enter ketosis. Normally, anywhere between 20‐30g of net carbs (total dietary carbohydrates minus the total fiber) is recommended for weight loss, but the lower you keep your glucose levels, the better the overall results will be.

On the ketogenic diet, your macronutrient intake should be around 60‐80 percent fats, 20‐30 percent protein, and five percent carbohydrate.

Limit your carbs and think about eating 100 percent Paleo — no beans, grains or legumes, and have most of your calories come mostly from vegetables, nuts.

Avoid refined carbohydrates such as wheat (breads, pastas, cereals), starch (potatoes, beans, legumes), and fruit.

Eat plenty of dark green, leafy vegetables.

Most of your meals should include a protein with vegetables, and an extra side of fat. For example: chicken breast basted in olive oil, with a side of broccoli and cheese. Steak topped with butter, and a side of spinach sautéed in olive oil.

Feeling hungry throughout the day?

Snack on nuts, seeds, cheeses, or almond butter to curb your appetite.

Betty Murray, CN, IFMCP, CHC , Certified Nutritionist & Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, www.livingwelldallas.com, 972‐930‐0260

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Getting Your Space & Your Spring Resolutions into MINT Condition

By Jenny Bair, MHE, The Inner Organizer

As a professional organizer and behavior change specialist, I get excited about the upcoming possibilities that spring brings. By the spring time, it finally feels like I’m ready to get going on the New Year’s Resolutions that I set for myself back in January. I enjoy reflecting on whether I succeeded for myself in the quiet reflection of how I contributed in the previous year and how I want to move forward for the rest of the year.

Getting organized is the key to making many other healthy behaviors happen. The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) claims that getting more organized makes the top‐five list of resolutions. NAPO actually dedicates the entire month of January – GO Month (Get Organized Month)‐to helping folks accomplish this goal. I have collected the top three most common frustrations and challenges voiced from my clients and created some ideas to help in making these challenges turn into a realized goal. There is a strategic link how a goals first into your time schedule and how the goal can be accomplished in your living and/or working space. Time is often the dictator of where we choose to put our thoughts, energy, feelings, passion, relationships and money. Our living or working space dictates the time schedule and provides room to bring these goals to fruition by housing functionality and motivating aesthetics.

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Take a few minutes to look at the some of the common challenges that busy people must address, and brainstorm some ways to approach them differently. The goals is to develop a strategy for creating the life of your dreams, becoming the person you want to be and moving your personal and/or professional life in the direction of your choice.

1. If I only had a week without my family, I could get everything done.

Re‐frame and New Spring Resolution...I will encourage my family to do their part to pitch in, and I will take more time for myself by creating cleaning and organizing blocks into our family schedule.

STOP taking on everything yourself (even if you’re single, you can still delegate some tasks). START making systems for every family member to get engaged in the living environment. Burnout and resentment are the result of a “do‐it‐myself” attitude. And, if you really had a week off, cleaning and organizing probably is not the way you would like to spend it. I bet long naps, good fun, walks and talks with friends would be a whole lot more rewarding and fun.

New Spring Consideration Have a family meeting and designate on daily, weekly, bi‐weekly and monthly schedules. Create POWER HOUR Monday‐Thursdays at home. One hour each day dedicated to cleaning, organizing and attending to Life Administrative tasks. This will free up time for family, friends and fun on the weekend.

A POWER HOUR is an hour a day of task to attack Life Administrative tasks. We all work better with time limits. Create a family contest: Whoever accomplishes their list first (without compromising quality) wins a prize. Everyone in the family engages in their POWER HOUR tasks at the same time.

Tasks can be scheduled for daily, weekly, bi‐weekly and monthly. Tasks that you might consider having every day is picking out clothes for the next day and setting them out; packing the backpack and/or briefcase; signing all school papers that have to be returned to school; packing lunch; or loading and unloading the dishwasher. It may take more time to model how to do something with your children when they are small, but that will help develop strong habits that will help save you time as they grow up.

After you have come up with the list, it should have some prominence in the kitchen and the kids’ rooms or bathrooms so that it is in sight of every family member every day. Laminate the list so it will hold up for half a year or more, and use plenty of good erasable markers. Dedicate a color for each family member.

Rewards, if any, should be agreed upon by the parents before the family meeting to let the children know when and how this process will happen. This is also the time to develop consequences for failure to do their portion of the POWER HOUR task list.

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Make cleaning and organizing fun by having the family members draw names for who gets to choose the music during POWER HOUR. Sing, dance and organize your heart out the upcoming day.

Many hands make the workload manageable and teaches every person to have responsibility for their things and the household at large. Develop an organizing system: Master Bedroom and Bathroom Monday, Living Room on Tuesday, Laundry Day on Wednesday. It will become habitual to you and your family what needs to be done on each day; and you will not have to spend your weekend cleaning.

2. My workout equipment has become our second closet; it’s great for hanging dry‐cleaning.

Re‐Frame and New Spring Resolution…I will find the best place for this workout gear and set a time to really make workouts fit into my schedule. Try to avoid doing too many tasks in the bedroom area such as exercising, watching TV or working at a computer station. Keep the bedroom activities to a minimum‐ too much activity stimulates the brain before sleep instead of creating the necessary calm.

New Spring Consideration Move your workout area to another space in your home that will actually fit your personal preferences.

Set days and times for your exercise to happen. This is the difference between “fixed” time and “flexible time.” Fixed time is a time that an activity has in your time schedule this is accounted for just like work time. Flexible time is time that doesn’t have any particular activity scheduled into it. When an activity as important as exercise becomes a flexible activity, it rarely happens. If you are trying to get an activity into your schedule that you want to happen, schedule it with yourself, and enter it into your calendar. Set exercise time during your best time of day. Never hang anything on your workout equipment or it starts not looking like workout equipment‐at least subconsciously.

3. The mail has taken over the counter.

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Re‐frame and New Spring Resolution…I will sort my mail right the H.O.T.T.! Paper Command Central in our kitchen and will take action daily and weekly as needed. I will fall in love with my beautiful kitchen remodel all over again. STOP using the countertop as storage. START creating a paper action system that will help you gain control over your paper. You will greatly reduce your stress when you are looking for a certain piece of paper that requires action.

New Spring Consideration Put a shredder and trash/recycle bin near the area you tend to sort (or drop) mail. This will encourage instant purging of mail. Dedicate five‐ten minutes a day to sorting the current incoming paper for that day. Paper has a Life Cycle that includes: Action, Purge, Reference and Archival.

When you honor what stage the paper is in and what action needs to be taken, the overwhelming aspect is decreased. You will need an open file box, with file folders, hanging file folders and a label maker to start your action box. Consider labeling the files with actions that make sense to you; your life and your family.

For example, some topics might be to email, to call, to schedule, and to pay. Get the file folders that you enjoy looking at or that match your décor—just say no to army green file folders…boring. With these tips and some thoughtful planning, your family should be able to develop strategies to pitch in and make it all happen together, with a sense of structure and FUN! If you need more help to make these strategies happen, then there is an answer of team organizing, phone coaching & organization and also the Be Free! Life Cleanses delivered quarterly into your inbox with plenty of video education.

“Don’t AGONIZE; Just Get Organized to Be Free!” Jenny Bair, The Inner Organizer, www.livingwelldallas.com, www.jennyjbair.com, jenny@livingwelldallas.com 972‐930‐0260

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FROM RECKLESS GARAGES, UNORGANIZED HOME OFFICES TO DATELESS MARRIAGES; GET YOUR GROOVE BACK IN

Your SPACE, Your LIFE, and Your LOVE LIFE

with The Be Free! Life Cleanse

by Jenny Bair and Christine Shanklin The Quarterly BeFree! Life Cleanse includes Seven days of interactive educational videos and emails plus two accountability coaching calls. This program fits easily into your busy, on the go life by phone and computer. You can be anywhere and learn to Be Free! of what no longer serves you to a life that you are ready to live.

Join the Be Free! Life Cleanse by contacting Living Well Dallas at 972-930-0260.

Learn more about Jenny Bair & Christine Shanklin at www.livingwelldallas.com

Advertise with Us! Reach Readers around the World with your message!

Contact Jenny Bair 972‐930‐0260 office Living in Mint Condition

What to do with a Crazy, Cluttered, & Chaotic Closet?

By Christine Shanklin

Well, you organize it of course! Before you get started there are just a few things you will need.

A few hours of un‐interrupted time and some large trash bags. First remove all the clothes from your closet. Assess each piece of clothing and determine which pile they go into:

Trash: Items that are irreparable, ripped, and stained. These go into a garbage bag.

Alterations: Things to fix, hem, or need a button. Take these clothes to a seamstress immediately.

Donate: Items that you no longer want that are still in good condition can be donated to family, friends, or charities. Knowing that these are going to someone else that can use them will help to make the process easier. Another incentive is that most donations offer a tax write‐off.

Donations will go into garbage bags to be given away.

Keep: Items that you LOVE and wear on a regular basis or intend for a specific event. Make sure they are in good condition, fit well, and still in style. Keep in mind that the average person wears 20% of their clothing 80% of the time. Always aim for a simple wardrobe that is comfortable, attractive, and interchangeable. Only keep the clothes that you feel good about wearing.

Once you have determined which clothes you are going to keep, you are ready to put them back into your closet. Keep clothes organized by categorizing them. For example hang all long‐ sleeved shirts together, short‐sleeved shirts together, pants together and so on. Hang the

categories grouped by color. This makes selecting and coordinating outfits faster and easier.

Keep out of season clothes in the back or in another closet. Same thing with those “Wish Clothes” that don’t fit but you can’t yet bear to get rid of them. Hang all of your clothing facing in the same direction. Believe it or not this makes the clothes hang neater and saves space.

Empty hangers can be stored in a basket or laundry room to save room on the clothing rod. When you are through with all of your clothing, continue this same process with your shoes, purses, belts, hats, scarves, and all of your other accessories.

Now you are done and your closet looks fabulous, what do you do to keep it this way? Spend just five minutes a day to help keep your closet organized going forward. Motivation is what got you organizing in the first place but creating a habit is what will help you to keep it going. A good time to go through all of your clothes again is at the beginning of a new season. When spring comes around go through all of your winter clothes. If you did not wear something in your closet that past season, there is a reason. Now is a good time to let it go! And last let’s be honest, we are all going to bring home new items in the future. Remember the one in one out rule. When you buy something new, get rid of something old. This will help your closet from getting overstuffed!

Organizing seems enough like work as it is. No need to keep it that way. Anything you can do to liven up the process is always welcome. Put on your favorite music, where something comfortable, get your kids involved and make a game out of it. I might sound crazy saying this, but organizing can be fun. Plus it is all worth in the end, I can promise you that!!!

CLUTTER + MESS = STRESS Christine Shanklin, Professional Organizer www.ClosetsByChicka.com ClosetsByChicka.com 214‐350‐4837

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Is Intimacy painful? A solution is readily available!

By Dr. Kristi Rosipal, PT, DPT

Many women experience problems with sexual function at some point in their lives.

Female sexual dysfunction can occur at all stages of life, and it may be ongoing or happen only once in a while. Many women are unable to enjoy social activities with family and friends, exercise for their health, or engage in intimate relationships due to embarrassing urine leakage, or persistent pain in their lower stomach or pelvis. Pelvic pain is pain in the lowest part of your abdomen and pelvis. In women, pelvic pain may refer to symptoms arising from the reproductive or urinary systems or from musculoskeletal sources.

How do I know if I need pelvic physical therapy? Physical Therapists are healthcare experts in evaluating and treating the muscles, joints and the movement of the human body. Urinary incontinence and pelvic pain are among the many things that can happen because of weak muscles or dysfunction through the pelvis. A physical therapist specializing in the treatment of pelvic pain can return you to the enjoyment you deserve, in your social life and the bedroom.

Depending on its source, pelvic pain may be dull or sharp; it may be constant or off and on (intermittent); and it may be mild, moderate or severe. Pelvic pain can sometimes radiate to your lower back, buttocks or thighs. Non‐invasive treatments are available through pelvic physical therapy.

Achieving pain free intimacy! Dr. Kristi Rosipal, RosipalInstitute.com, RosipalInstitute@msn.com, 972‐735‐0920

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Rosipal Institute for Pelvic Therapy Solutions

specializing in the treatment of pelvic pain, incontinence and painful intimacy

Take this Self-Test, “Bored Roommates or Passionately Connected?”

by Jenny Bair, MHE, The Inner Organizer, AACC & ICCA Member, NAPO & DFW NAPO Member, MINT Health & MINT Membership Director, and LOVE Enthusiast & Supporter

Directions: Answer the questions with a gut response of Yes or No. Then count up the Yes and No answers to find out the area your relationship might be for this season. Great news, no matter where you are today it can always change by the two of you with concerted mission, energy, momentum, and LOVE in action.

1. Do you spend 20 minutes or more talking to your spouse a day? (Kid-free) Yes No 2. Do you "get it on/make love" to your spouse once a week?

Yes No 3. Do you go out on a Date Night at least once a week with your spouse?

Yes No 4. Was your last conversation about money matters or big house project/s in a sit-down money date?

(Not just passing in the hallway) Yes No 5. Do you feel respected and supported by your spouse right now in life?

Yes No 6. Do you feel you are respectful and supportive to your spouse right now in life?

Yes No Scoring: If you answered 5-6 YES responses, then keep up the great energy and work in your marriage.

Keep on!

If you answered 3-5 YES, then you might need to do a little tune up to turn up the romance, communication and time together.

If you answered 1-3 YES, then your marriage wheel has rolled a little off track. No worries, you can change course and tweak to get what makes you and spouse more satisfied. Every day gives the opportunity to start anew.

This is just a scale; use your "inner knower" to make a decision about moving forward with embracing some changes. You are an expert in your own life; you'll know when you're ready to do something different.

A GREAT Marriage Adventure is a journey; not a destination.

It's a series of ARRIVAL moments.

You contact Jenny Bair at: info@livingwelldallas.com, or call 972-930-0260 or see www.jennyjbair.com.

No usage or copying of any portion of this self-test can be used without the permission of the author, Jenny Bair, MHE.

Listen to Jenny LIVE AT WWW.PEGASUSNETWAVES.COM Weekly on Wednesdays at 1PM & 8PM or Fridays at 12PM CST Ms. Bair, MHE will be interviewing the leading experts on topics relating to Food, Life and Love.

Get your burning questions answered and get tips to LiveFULLY and Be Free to live the life you truly desire.

Learn More about Jenny Bair, MHE, COO at www.livingwelldallas.com Follow Healthchat on Facebook, YouTube & Google+

Let the

REAL YOU Emerge!

Do You Want to Feel like a Million Bucks instead of “Fatigued, Frazzled and Fat?” Do You Dream of a Life with More Meaning, Deeper Relationship and More Connection in your life?

Would You Like to Transform your Health and Wellbeing while Transforming the Chaos in Your Life into Manageable Peace?

Then, the dynamic team of Jenny Bair, MHE and Betty Murray, CN, IFMCP, CHC - founders of the integrative functional medicine clinic Living Well Health & Wellness Center, have 40 + years of combined expertise in helping their clients maximize their health and wellbeing to get more out of life. This duo has a proven track record of serving thousands of clients.

These recognized leaders in health and wellness work with you to develop a plan of action from the inside out - whether you want more energy, lose weight or balance your hormones to exponentially creating more time in your life and breaking through barriers that are holding you back. To become the best possible you, you must be in top form physically, mentally and emotionally. We help you get your mojo back so you can play big in the world.

How do we do this?

Betty helps get in your best physical shape of your life by optimizing your genetic potential through nutrition and diet through the lens of functional medicine – ultimately balancing hormones, creating a lean, healthy body and increasing energy so you can play big. Betty uses the approach “Test!

Don’t guess!” We use the latest in genetic and functional nutritional testing to give you a full Metabolic Blueprint® to optimize your body for top performance.

Jenny is a master of helping you get to that “Ah-Ha!” moment to breakthrough areas where you are blocked personally and professionally. Her “NOW Method of ACTION” is the catalyst program to helping you become the business leader, partner, parent and friend you want to be. She can help you craft the life and relationships you want in your life.

Together these two approaches help you have the energy and stamina to radically remove roadblocks and gives you the map to steer your life in the direction you want to go.

It all starts with one call. Let the exploration of YOU and who you are ready to BECOME set precedence.

Your new life will be crafted together with Jenny and Betty starting with a health strategy session. We create a combination of in person appointments, virtual appointments, VIP retreats and more! You can set up your Strategy Session with Jenny Bair by calling 972-930-0260 and decide together how to EMERGE forward in a way that’s right for you.

To learn more about this dynamic duo see www.livingwelldallas.com, listen to their online radio shows on www.pegasusnetwaves.com, watch their videos on You Tube: HealthChat with Jenny Bair https://www.youtube.com/user/healthchat/videos?view_as=subscriber and Living Well Health and Wellness https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDj4theDWtqcKywiVtjLLBA

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“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has beauty, power and magic in it.”

– Johann von Goethe

Enlighten Me! Take this quiz to see if a Professional Organizer or Coach can help you with time, space or balancing your life. If your answer to a question is "TRUE", circle the number next to the question.

Your Space 12) Do you find it difficult to make time for yourself?

1) Do you find it difficult to create or maintain order 13) Are you longing to make radical changes in your on your desk, in your closets or drawers? physical lifestyle? (Weight loss, smoking cessation, 2) Have you repeatedly tried to create organization better eating habits, more exercise…) systems, at home or in the office that never seem 14) Are you regularly forgetting important events or to last? appointments?

3) Does your car "not" fit in your garage?

15) Do you find yourself scrambling to get things done 4) Do you know where your family's important at the last minute? paperwork is‐‐ insurance, wills, financial ‐‐ right 16) Do you feel you could get further in your life, if now? only you had someone to motivate you?

5) Does it seem you are regularly looking for Your World something… your keys, your shoes, scissors, etc.?

6) are you embarrassed or ashamed to have people 17) Are you dreading an upcoming event because of over because of the clutter? all of the planning and details that you must take 7) Can you actually work at your desk in your home care of? office?

18) Do the people you work with seem to operate Your Life reactively rather than proactively?

19) Does your business waste money on office 8) Do you feel your life is out of balance? supplies it already has, but doesn't know where to 9) Does your life bore you? find? (i.e., scissors, paper, tape, pens, staplers, etc.)

10) Do you wish you had more time and energy for 20) Would your life be easier if your team or office fun stuff? "got it together?

11) Do you feel stuck and long for real, lasting change in your life?

Scoring Give yourself one point for every YES or circled question.

1‐5 Congrats, you have a true talent for getting and staying organized. Keep up the good work!

6‐12 You understand the ideal of being organized, but actually applying your insight to your life is difficult. You find yourself wishing someone would magically appear to straighten up your life.

13‐20 Organization is NOT your strong suit; in fact, your business, home life and/or self image are suffering. The good news is you CAN make order out of the chaos in your life! Simplicity, productivity and efficiency are within your reach.

Whether your needs are great of small, whether you need an organized closet or new lease on life, you have com to the right place. If you are ready to get your life in order, our Living Well team can help.

Call Jenny Bair, The Inner Organizer, Director of the LWD Professional Organizers & the MINT Membership at 972‐930‐0260 or email at info@livingwelldallas.com. www.livingwelldallas.com Copyright © LWDallas, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be copied or utilized without written permission of the authors at LWDallas, Inc.

Boundaries, Balance, and Being Present Holly Signorelli, CPA The Money Therapist ®

Starting a new business can be very daunting, especially if you have spent the majority of your life as an employee. These days we all wonder what security really means as we see so many jobs disappearing due to technology combined with so many corporations outsourcing to other countries.

Maybe you are one of these women, finding yourself starting over and wanting to create your own business. No matter what your story is financially, I’m here to tell you that you CAN start over and you CAN create a strong and profitable business. In order to do this though, you must start out with boundaries, balance, and being present.

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One of the things I have seen the most over the last three decades is that women tend to not have boundaries. Having boundaries is critical to the success of your business and your overall wellbeing. We are in a new age, where woman want to work. When you take a woman’s passion, combined with hard work, it has success written all over it. The problem is that since the statistics of female breadwinners have really spiked over the last decade, it’s creating a new tension at the office and at home. A great majority of working women are still handling much of what goes on at home and with the kids, either because they are single parents, or they still feel that the home and kids are their responsibility.

Because of this, it’s very common for me to be working with a woman in her business, and to clearly see that she is stressed out, always trying to make everyone happy and forgetting about herself. It’s imperative that you, as a woman, take care of yourself. This means having a schedule for the office, your home, your spouse and kids, and most of all yourself. Everyone knows the airplane analogy; if the cabin air drops emergency masks, to put the mask on yourself first and then your child. Obviously, you cannot take care of your family or your clients, if you are not taking care of yourself. When you choose to have a schedule and stick to it, as well as your private time to work out, get a massage or pedicure, or go to brunch with your girlfriends, then you will feel refreshed and be fully present in everything you do. I love the idea of the goddess hour in which you have a time frame when you get home that is all about YOU. I know this is tricky for the single moms out there, because I was one for a long time, but if you are creative, you and your single mom friends can make it work by taking turns with each other’s kids.

Another benefit to boundaries can be found in how you handle emails. The best thing you can do is take off the pop‐ up feature on your mailbox because it is very distracting and creates a sense of urgency that takes your focus off the current project. When I started to look at emails during specific intervals (like every two or three hours) and FULLY read them and answer them correctly, I found that I had more time.

You see, people always scan emails and fire back with an answer to the wrong question. This results in 10 emails instead of one, because the answer just creates more questions. By fully answering the first time, your client will be happy and you will not have an inbox full of repeat emails. This completely changed my office last year, especially during tax season when there is so much to do anyway!

So create boundaries for yourself and your schedule, and balance your time effectively so you can be present in all you do. And most of all, make sure that YOU take care of YOU.

Holly Signorelli, CPA The Money Therapist® www.TheMoneyTherapist.com

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“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

Pablo Picasso

What the FODMAP? A Backyard Spring Salmon Dinner

Lemony Dill Salmon

by Julie Floyd Ingredients Needed: Fresh Wild Salmon, Lemon, Fresh Dill, Salt, & Pepper Take one large salmon filet and cut into smaller serving pieces; about 3-4 ounces.

Then, rinse and pat dry.

Place salmon filets in flat glass dish, skin side down.

Sprinkle the filets with salt and pepper.

Melt one half stick of butter with juice of one lemon and two tablespoons of fresh or dried dill. Pour over filets and marinate until cooking time; 3-6 hours in the refrigerator.

Then grill salmon until done; usually 5-8 minutes depending on thickness of the filets. You can plate with some fresh dill flakes and lemon slices.

Cheezy Potato Casserole

by Julie Floyd and Jenny Bair, MHE Ingredients Needed: GF Frozen Hash Browns, Lactose Free Sour Cream (Green Mountain Brand at Whole Foods & Sprouts), GF Cream of Chicken, Mushroom or Celery Soup, Cheese, Butter, Salt, Pepper, & Chives Mix one 16. package frozen hash browns; do not have to be thawed (Shredded, Southern style bits, Diced, like plain O’Brien or Mr. Shreds) with one carton Green Valley Organic Lactose Free Sour Cream – 8 ounces, one stick melted butter, one carton of gluten free soup (I use Imagine brand in the small box), about ½ tsp salt and pepper, 1-2 tablespoons freeze dried chives and one package 6-8 ounces of shredded cheese. (Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Parmesan – we like Parmesan!).

Mix all ingredients together and spread into a 9x13” baking dish that has been sprayed with a GF cooking spray with no propellants i.e. Like a canola based spray or real butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes; bubbly and light brown around edges of pan.

You can add crumbled cooked gluten free bacon or chopped ham, chopped green chilies, or diced pimentos. Make sure if you’re sensitive to onion and garlic to read the labels closely if using a bacon or ham. There usually aren’t leftovers on this dish.

WTF Strawberry Orange Spinach Salad Created by Julie Floyd Ingredients Needed: Romaine, Spinach, Drained Mandarin Oranges Rinsed, Strawberries, Pecans, GF Chipotle Chili Powder, Pure Maple Syrup, Salt, Pepper, & Parmesan Cheese. Top with a WTF Salad Dressing of your choice. (We think that a poppy seed or maplemustard poppy seed is the best) Tear two small heads of rinsed and dried romaine lettuce into a large, wide salad bowl. Tear 4 cups rinsed and dried spinach with the romaine and toss together. Sprinkle small amount of fresh ground pepper and sea salt on top of the greens.

Toast ½ cup of chopped pecans over low heat in small saucepan for 3-4 minutes, stirring to toast and release oils. Remove from heat and add ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder and one tablespoon pure maple syrup. Toss together and spread on small cookie sheet and place in freezer to cool.

Slice one pint of fresh strawberries and add one small can drained mandarin oranges. Spread the strawberries and mandarin oranges on top of the greens and then sprinkle the cooled pecans on top.

Sprinkle with ¼ cup flaked parmesan cheese.

Serve with your favorite salad dressing. (Our family favorite is a FODMAP Poppy Seed Dressing).

WTF CHOCOLATE FLUFF in a Pan Created by Julie Floyd & Jenny Bair, MHE Ingredients: Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, Pamela’s Shortbread or a GF WTF approved Pecan Shortbread Cookie/s, Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Whipping Cream, Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Cream Cheese, Powdered Sugar, GF Vanilla, Butter, Dairy Free Milk (your choice from FODMAP list like unsweetened rice) Place large glass or metal bowl in the freezer with the blades from the mixer you will use to whip the whipping cream. Set one package of Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Cream Cheese on counter to soften. Take the entire package of shortbread cookies and smash them in your favorite way; try getting out your aggression and go old school with a rolling pin in a large baggie. You can always use a bullet or food processor too if you don’t want to use the rolling pin.

Reserve ¼ cup of the cookie crumbs and set aside. Then add ¼ cup melted butter and spread in bottom of 9x13 baking dish (2 packages of Pamela’s if you’re not using the pie shells). Bake at 325 for 5 minutes and set aside to cool. Melt one package of Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate morsels with one tablespoon butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir until smooth and add two tablespoons of dairy free milk (I use original unsweetened Quinoa-Rice milk) and one tablespoon vanilla. Remove from heat to cool. While chocolate is cooling, whip the two cartons of Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Whipping Cream with one cup of powdered sugar and two-three tablespoons of vanilla and whip until it forms soft peaks. In a large bowl, fold the cream cheese and chocolate together. Then fold in half of the whipped cream.

Spread the chocolate mixture on top of the cooled crust. Then spread the remaining whipped cream on top of chocolate layer. Then sprinkle the ¼ cup cookie crumbs on top. (You can also sprinkle some gluten free shaved chocolate or 1 tablespoons chopped pecans on top). Cool for 3-6 hours and serve.

To learn more about a SIBO/FODMAP Diet contact Jenny Bair or Betty Murray at Living Well Dallas at 972-930-0260.

Lunch 250 Calories

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH? The new Paleo & Gluten Free eating plans by Metabolic Blueprint Now availible on the MakeMyPlate App

SMOOTHIE RECIPE Smoothie Ingredients: 2 frozen acai super fruit packs 1/2 cup frozen banana 1 cup frozen pineapple 1/2 cup frozen strawberries 2 drops doTERRA Lime essential oil 1 cup water Topping Ingredients: 1/4 cup granola 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1/4 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 avocado 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 cup fresh raspberries 1/2 cup fresh strawberries *Makes 2-3 servings

Acai (pronounced ah-saw-ee) is a delicious Brazilian super fruit that is packed full of nutrients and tastes like a chocolatey blueberry. (Need we say more?) Acai Bowls are gaining popularity in health restaurants and are commonly paired with delicious fruits and granola. The bowls are wonderfully versatile and can easily be customized to fit your taste-buds. Acai is great for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert and pairs perfectly with any doTERRA citrus essential oil.

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Essential Recipes from doTerra for Diffusion

Favorite Blends for Discovering the Powerful Effects of Diffusing Essential Oils.

If you have questions about which essential oils might be right for you or about contraindications then please refer to these article sites, www.DoTerra.com, www.mydoterra.com/befreejennybair, or call Jenny Bair at Living Well Dallas at 972‐930‐0260.

Assembled by Jenny Bair, MHE, Do Terra Consultant & student finishing Aromatherapy Certification from the Aromahead Institute

UNLEASH THE POWER OF OILS

Jenny Bair of MINT Health and Membership wants you to discover the amazing power of plants through DoTerra oils.

Order today at www.doterra.com/befreejennybair In depth aromatherapy education and diffusion recipes customized to your health needs are available in Jenny Bair’s MINT Health & Membership program. To learn more, ask about the program at (972) 930-0260.

Learn More about Jenny at www.livingwelldallas.com.

Follow Jenny Bair on FACEBOOK

Finding Delight

By Denise Ackerman

Do you ever have those moments when you are in the midst of something and you lose all sense of time? You feel totally present within yourself, within the activity and within the moment? Think about it.

When does that happen to you?

I found this happen to me recently as I worked with a fellow coconspirator on an event we are planning. She’s a coach too; the kind of person I love to hang with. The class is all about vision and purpose; two of my favorite topics. It is in fact something I am passionate about and it just happens to be my business.

Heads together and our hearts totally in the moment, we got lost in time. Before we knew it, three hours had zipped by. We were astounded that so much time had elapsed yet those hours were sweet with delight and inspiration for both of us. We were in our zones.

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What is your "zone of delight"? How often do you allow yourself to play there? Think about a moment so delicious you can still close your eyes and feel it. We are all gifted with a passion for something and it is in this place in our soul that real magic happens.

My magic happens when I’m creating and inspiring others. A friend, who spent years as an engineer making sure airplanes don’t fall from the sky, dreams about the intricacies of design and numbers. For me, that seems so foreign. The point here is we all have our own gifts, our own “thing” that calls to us.

The author, Danielle La Porte, says in her book, The Desire Map, that it’s our “Light to steer by”.

Our deepest desires for completeness and connection to ourselves are where we find our own “zone of delight”. Imagine how sweet it would be if those moments were knitted together in a daily tapestry called our life?

Now consider this. What if your deepest desire could be born from one of your greatest fears?

What if the very thing you fear the most, a thing that would humiliate you was the Universe telling you to move through it? This happened to me. When I was young, I was unbearably shy yet I always wanted to be on stage. I dreamed of being a singer with a cheering audience. At sixteen, a choir director asked me to sing a solo. My heart leapt at the chance to finally use my gifts yet my fears got in the way. I said no. Making my fears rise like a giant in my mind, I squelched my joy.

In my earlier business life, I took a job where I had to occasionally lead meetings. It was terrifying!

My body would vibrate with horrific fear every time I had to stand in front of a crowd. Yet, little by little with repetitive action, I suddenly realized the little diva inside me was finally in her zone.

With a song in my heart, I now love to stand before others and capture their minds and hearts in words of inspiration. Facing my fears, I found my zone.

In our businesses, what would happen if we infused our days with more of our zest, our zones of delight. It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of hum drum, day after day. If you find yourself there, what could you do to add some delight? When we move through our fears and add a little spice, even the most mundane can become more fun.

Today, take a moment to consider your own “zone of delight”. What calls to you? If you are not having enough moments like that in your life, then find some time to discover and allow it to happen. Put some "delight" back into you!

Denise Ackerman/Business and Life Strategist, Speaker and Coach/The Radiance Coach/Theradiancecoach.com/denise@theradiancecoach.com/214‐ 478‐3244

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Top 10 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy Betty Murray, CN, IFMCP, CHC

You've decided to take the plunge into parenthood but you are unsure of what measures you can take with your nutrition and lifestyle to make sure your baby is healthy. Often would be parent’s are not given clear directions on proper nutrition before and during conception because, even today, nutrition is often an elective in medical school so your doctor may not be well versed in nutrition. Here are 10 things you can do to ensure you give your baby the best chance to be healthy?

1. Find a doctor or midwife who understands your values and desires. Your relationship with your OB/Gynecologist is probably the most intimate doctor – patient relationship you will ever have.

Make sure that you and your doctor are in a collaborative relationship rather than just finding one that works with your insurance.

2. Get your hormones tested ‐ especially all of the thyroid hormones. According to the Journal of Neurological Sciences, thyroid deficiency in in mother's during pregnancy, specifically changes in intrauterine levels of thyroid hormones may result in permanent changes of the brain indicative of those seen in brains of those with autism. This could result from dietary and/or environmental exposure to antithyroid agents including mercury, fluoride, coal derivatives and PCB's.1

3. Pay attention to the amount fish you eat. Coldwater wild caught fish such as salmon is is a good source of omega 3 fat, which is vital for your baby’s brain and nervous system development. But, fish also contain high levels of toxins like mercury and PCBs. Keep your intake of fish to 2 servings or 12 ounces weekly and avoid canned tuna. Better yet, take a high quality fish oil that contains 2000mg of EPA and DHA.

4. Get checked for allergies and sensitivities including foods. Allergies are immune reactions to substances that can be eaten, touched or inhaled. Studies show that a child can inherit a predisposition for allergy from the parent. If the parents have allergies or sensitivities, the child will have a 75 to 100 percent chance of having the same allergy. If neither parent has allergies the chance drops to 10 percent.2

5. Clean up your diet. Your diet should be made up of organic vegetables, fruits, free range and grass‐fed meat, healthy fats and be free of chemicals and preservatives. If you have food allergies, remove those foods from your diet as well. What toxins we eat have a straight shot to our unborn child.

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6. Make sure dad cleans up his diet too.

Attention has always been on the mother’s diet during pregnancy; however, recent studies show that healthy fetal development is strongly tied to the nutritional status of the father as well even before conception. Dad’s intake of folate and other nutrients are passed on to the embryo during development just like mom’s. Rat studies show an almost 30% increase in birth defects the litters whose father’s had folate insufficiency.3

7. Get your B Vitamin status checked before becoming pregnant. Some gene mutations in how your body utilizes B9 (folate), B12, and vitamin D have an impact on how much of these nutrients are available to your baby during development. Deficiencies in folate, B12, B6 and vitamin D have been tied to obesity risk, neural tube defects and Spina Bifida. Have your doctor test these gene mutations: MTHFR C677T and 1298C as they affect your ability to use folate. In addition, have your doctor check serum B12, B9, B6, vitamin D levels, formiminoglutamic acid and methylmelonic acid for both parents. Formiminoglutamic acid and methylmelonic acid determine if you can metabolize folate and B12 properly.

8. Check your supplements and diet for intake of too much Vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential in fetal development; however, intake should be limited to in between 8,000IU to 10,000IU daily from all of your food and supplement sources. Too much vitamin A increases the risk of birth defects to the brain, heart and other organs.

9. Review the herbal supplements you might be taking – some may be unsafe during pregnancy.

Most herbs and supplements have not had safety testing in pregnant women and are therefore considered unsafe. And some herbs such as licorice, black cohosh, Aloe, Senna, and St. John’s Wort have been found to cause stimulation of the uterus and cause contractions, which may result in miscarriage or pre‐term labor.

10. Remove chemical toxins from your house and environment such as cleaning supplies, pesticides, herbicides and solvents. A study conducted by the Environmental Working Group found an average of 232 chemicals in the cord blood of 10 children born in 2010. This study and others find an association with chemical exposure and fetal development.4 Replace these items with natural alternatives including non‐toxic bedding, cleansers, soaps, aluminum free deodorants; and replace plastic water bottles with reusable stainless or glass bottles.

Betty Murray, CN, IFMCP, CHC , Certified Nutritionist & Functional Medicine Practitioner, www.livingwelldallas.com, 972‐930‐0260 Resources 1. Roman, G. (2007). Autism: Transient in utero hypothyroxinemia related to maternal flavonoid ingestion during pregnancy and to other environmental antithyroid agents . Journal of Neurological Sciences, 262(1‐2), 60‐70. 2. Shinohara Makiguchi H, Saito H, Matsumoto K. Symptoms of allergic rhinitis in women during early pregnancy are associated with higher prevalence of allergic rhinitis in their offspring. Allergol Int 2007;56:411‐417 3. R. Lambrot, C. Xu, S. Saint‐Phar, G. Chountalos, T. Cohen, M. Paquet, M. Suderman, M. Hallett, S. Kimmins. Low paternal

dietary folate alters the mouse sperm epigenome and is associated with negative pregnancy outcomes. Nature Communications, 2013; 4 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3889 4. http://www.ewg.org/research/body‐burden‐pollution‐newborns

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Experience the Ripple Effect of Positive Change Mediation | Dialogue Circles | Conflict Coaching

Robyn Short (214) 240-4503 robyn@robynshort.com

Keeping the Peace: Cleaning Up Workplace Bullying

By Robyn Short

At one time or another, many of us have been affected by workplace bullies — either directly or indirectly. Two surveys, one by Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) and the other by Zogby International, define bullying as, “repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevent work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation and humiliation.” The WBI study found that as much as 35 percent of workers have experienced bullying. Even more astonishing is that the vast majority of bullies sit in management and executive seats, which means they are able to leverage their power to suppress complaints against them.

Although bullies are often the catalyst of short‐term spikes in production, the behavior is insidious to creating long‐term productivity. In fact, a study conducted by John Medina found that individuals who are bullied in the workplace performed 50 percent worse on cognitive tests than their non‐bullied counterparts. Another study, this one conducted by Dr. Noreen Tehrani, found that individuals who experience workplace bullying exhibit similar psychological and 46

physical symptoms — such as nightmares and anxiety — as victims of violence from Northern Ireland and soldiers returning from overseas combat.

The impact of workplace bullying is far more significant than hurt feelings. It actually hurts the brain, and it hurts the heart.

A study conducted by Anna Nyberg of the Stress Institute in Stockholm of more than 3,100 men in a typical workplace environment over the course of a 10‐year period found that employees with bullying supervisors — defined as incompetent, inconsiderate, secretive and uncommunicative — were 60 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or other life‐threatening heart conditions.

According to Workplace Bullying Institute, the following are just a few of a long list of behaviors indicative of a bully: 1. Deceit: Repeatedly lying in order to get his or her way, creating false hopes with no plans to fulfill them 2. Intimidation Using fear‐ inducing language and behavior 3. Ignoring: Failing to invite someone to a meeting; purposefully avoiding the person or being selective in the attention that is paid 4. Minimization: Discounting or blatantly failing to address someone’s legitimate concerns or feelings 47

5. Shame and guilt: Making employees constantly feel that they are the problem, shaming them for no real wrongdoing or making them feel inadequate and unworthy So, what can a person do when a bully is wracking havoc on the workplace? Focus on cleaning up workplace communication.

Communication is critical to managing bullies, but it takes courage and emotional regulation. Following are several tips for creating clear and clean communication: 1. Self‐regulate. Aggressive behavior can be very psychologically and emotional jarring, causing the fight or flight mechanism to kick in. Focus on breathing to ensure a consistent flow of oxygen reaches the brain so the ability to remain present and alert is possible.

2. Label the behavior and recommend a different behavior. Label the behavior — not the person. This lets the person know you are aware of his or her action actions and informs him on how he might behave differently.

3. Active listen. Restate or paraphrase what was heard. This serves a dual purpose of confirming the listener correctly heard and understood what the speaker said and also provides the opportunity to verify that it was interpreted accurately. This practice allows both parties the ability to gain important insight into the emotions and feelings of one another and humanizes each other in the process.

4. Engage a conflict coach. A conflict coach can help one or both parties learn to communicate more collaboratively and productively. Individuals who rely on bullying as a management tactic tend to behave aggressively because it is a default mode of communication — they have not learned to manage effectively. With coaching, each person can clean up communication and increase trust.

Bullies exist in almost every work environment. Learning to keep the peace by cleaning up communication can increase collaboration and build a pathway to trust, which is paramount to emotional and physical well‐being.

Robyn Short, robyn@robynshort.com, 214.240.4503

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“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all Ridicule and Deformity…and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.”

William Blake