Declutter Your Mind

FIVE TIPS FOR A STRESS-FREE SPRING

By tracy Flaherty

When you think of spring, you may think of spring cleaning your home and your property. But have you ever thought about starting within your own mind? It’s a wonderful feeling to de-clutter your home and start to beautify your surroundings but take it a step further and “spring clean” your mind first. It’s time to freshen our mind, body and soul and look forward to the sweeter and brighter days of this beautiful season. Follow my tips below and try the meditation at the end. Incorporating a meditation practice is key to de-clutterring your mind.

CLEAR AWAY THE DISTRACTIONS We are distracted and bombarded with email, social media, texts and phone calls all day long. Turn your phone off one hour before bedtime and do not turn it back on until after taking a few moments to breathe in the morning. Unsubscribe to email that is not serving your highest good and that you really don’t need. Limit your time on social media and apps. Make a to-do list in the morning to keep you focused on what really matters and needs to get done. PRACTICE GRATITUDE The benefits of practicing gratitude are miraculous. People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect on what they are thankful for experience more positivity in their life and experience more compassion and kindness towards others and, most importantly, towards themselves. A simple and effective way of doing this is by keeping a gratitude journal. Taking the time each morning or evening to write a few brief reflections on the moments we are thankful for and the people we are thankful for can magically increase our well-being and transform our lives for the better. Gratitude brings on happiness, joy, balance and satisfaction. A grateful heart brings even more abundance.

SAY GOODBYE TO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND LIMITING BELIEFS We all have that voice in our heads. The little voice that tells us we are not good enough, smart enough or deserving enough. When you get a negative thought, take note of it, dismiss it, forgive it and let it go. Next reach for a new positive thought. One that makes you feel good. Focus on what is good and what is working well in your life. Surrounding yourself with positive people who lift you up and support you is also key.

HIP INJURIES REJUVENATE YOUR HEALTH The hip joint and groin muscles are susceptible to Part of creating better mental health can be found injury due to the mechanics of the skating stride. Some in what’s on our plate and how we move our bodies. of the most common soft tissue injuries in hockey Small steps like taking a walk around your neighborplayers include a groin strain and a hip flexor strain. hood, signing up for a yoga class or dancing around Off-season strengthening and dedicated stretching the house can increase serotonin, the feel good horbefore and after practice are important to prevent these mone. Eliminating sugar, incorporating more seainjuries. In addition, a direct blow to the outside of sonal fruits and vegetables and drinking more water the hip can cause a hip pointer or trochanteric bursi- are simple steps to enhancing your health and relievtis. Hockey pants with reinforced padding over these ing anxiety. vulnerable areas may help protect them. INCORPORATE A DAILY MEDITATION PRACTICE Like any practice, you must want to do it in order to achieve results. It’s really very simple and easier than KNEE INJURIES you think. Beginning a meditation practice requires only your slight willingness. Your desire for more peace in your life, less stress and better focus and so many other benefits is all you need to get on the path. Start by taking 5-10 minutes each morning to close your eyes, focus on your breath and be still. The thoughts will come and that’s natural, just let them go and return to your breath. Try counting four breaths in and four breaths out through the nose. You can also try repeating a mantra like “om” or “peace begins with me.” Start a daily meditation practice and stroll into this season with a spring in your step. Dr. Michael Gross is the founder and director of Active Orthopedic and Sports Medicine. He is the chief of sports medicine at Hackensack/Meridian University Medical Center. Dr. Gross has written numerous articles and book chapters on sports The medial collateral ligament is most susceptible to a sprain because of the leg position – pushing off the inside edge of the skate blade – and contact to the outside of the knee. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) disruption and meniscus tears (torn cartilage) can also Tracy Flaherty is a certified integrative health and lifestyle coach; meditation teacher; and the author and founder of Be Well Nourished. She integrates meditation into her health coaching practice as well teaching meditation one-on-one and in-group settings. injuries. He has taken care of some of Bergen County’s finest athletes, from weekend warriors occur but are less common in hockey than in other sports such as football, soccer and basketball. You can find her meditations on the Insight timer app and on her Instagram page @wellwith_tracy. to professional athletes. Dr. Gross can be reached The mechanics of the skating stride makes the hip by email at drgross@activeorthopedic.com.and groin muscles susceptible to injury. Some of the

Probably my favorite element of my test E450 All-Ter- most common soft tissue injuries in hockey players rain was how well it handled NVH. Equipped with an include a groin pull and a hip flexor pull. A severe inline six-cylinder, turbocharged engine that produces about 360 horsepower and nearly 370 lb.-ft. of torque, you wouldn’t know it. That’s because the engine is silky smooth. While you will hear the motor spin up if you strain can be a nagging injury that limits performance throughout the season. A direct blow to the outside of the hip can cause a bruise (contusion) of the iliac push it, the sound is not overly intrusive into the cabin. crest (hip pointer) or trochanter (trochanteric bursitis).

Helping this was the fact my test vehicle had the Acous- Avoiding injuries in hockey has to do with properly tic Comfort Package, meaning, it boasted additional fitted equipment, making smart plays, following the sound deadening insulation as well as thicker glass to rules and a lot of luck because hockey is inherently reduce noise. It really pays off as at speed it sounds as risky. Understanding how the injuries occur, recogthough you’re traveling at 20-30 mph when in reality nizing them when they occur and seeking the best you’re doing three times that. You won’t stress your treatment will help you enjoy the game at whatever vocal cords in this E, that’s for sure. Once again, this is a trait found in the flagship model. level you are playing.

All in all, I was extremely impressed during my time with the All-Terrain. Not only did it deliver with space, comfort and excellent control of NVH, it also did the unexpected.

Power was more than adequate, which says something coming from someone who regularly drives autos with more than 600 horsepower, and when in Sport mode you can have a giggle or two. During an Everglades excursion we had to slow down to travel for about five miles on dirt roads. In most vehicles this isn’t exactly a brilliant situation since you can damage the underside of your car. But with the All-Terrain, the button to raise the vehicle’s ride height came in handy. Phew!"It is so hard to keep them reading. Reading has become a challenge

Add in the extra utility provided by having a long roof and in the modern age. There are so many places you can go to not read. It I quickly found myself examining this E450 even closer. Frankly, I am considering adding one to my fleet. has fallen out of favor and because they [students] have access to so much technology, reading pales by comparison. So film is a great Why, you ask? Well, it’s this simple: It can do anything and it flies under the radar. For me, that’s as close to perfect as platform.” it gets. Make mine black on black, fully loaded and optioned with the 19-inch AMG wheels, please. Loccke said one of her inspirations for using film in the classroom is to provide her underclassmen with a reward. Her students are always asking her if there is a film that corresponds with the book so she uses the film as a payoff once the students have finished reading the novel. She shows as many as three movies a year to her underclassmen. Time constraints – her classes are 40 minutes long – usually prevent her from showing more. “A lot of what they read they read on their own [and not in class],” Loccke said. “The movie is a great way to provide a communal feeling and it provides something they can share together. You can have a discussion and share it and the movie is something we all experience at the same time so it is very unifying.” Such was the case when Loccke addressed the largest classroom of her career on TCM.