FRANCA BLOG

We all have a certain amount of ‘toxicity’ or blockage in our lives-issues, people and beliefs that block us, slow us down or drain our energy. We put up with clutter, niggling unfinished tasks and ‘less than ideal’ situations that divert us from the important things in life. If you want to be clear about your future, you need to get rid of as much of this ‘toxicity’ as possible.

What are the niggles, big and small, in your life at this moment? Maybe you haven’t really noticed until now all the little annoying things that are holding you back. We tolerate so many things unnecessarily. A negative friend, a freezer that’s too small, a music set, a photocopier that doesn’t work properly, a pile of ironing, unfinished paperwork, a wilting plant, a dirty car, a client who wears us down, -the list is endless!

We owe it to ourselves to constantly boost our self esteem. No body will do that for us. Bearing that in mind, it is then imperative that we device ways of boosting our self esteem continually. Try repeating the following affirmation ten times every morning and evening to boost your self- esteem. ‘I know who I am and I love who I am, I am wonderful, and I love and accept myself as I am right now.’ Cardiovascular exercise is a great way to beat stress-try something fun, such as belly dancing and other indoor games or exercises, to give yourself a shot of endorphin feel-good factor.

Every once in a while it is good to de junk your whole life from emotional junk or baggage to physical surroundings. Occurring again. You can also de junk your feeding habits by cutting down on alcohol and junk food.

You can follow these steps by indulging yourself in meditation and detox of your body and your mind and blitz your environment.

Always ask yourself, what else can I do to simplify my life when you are on this journey?

Is there anything draining your energy at this moment? If anything has escaped from your previous list, write it down now, together with a plan for eliminating or making appropriate changes to it.

Clutter drains you of energy, so sort everything out, decide what to keep, throw out, give away, sell or store. Get rid of anything you don’t absolutely need. Assign a home to everything you wish to keep and get organized to prevent the build up from

Most people become so busy that they have forgotten how to enjoy life and celebrate themselves. Become more present in each moment. Notice the abundance of nature and life. Live for every moment. Give yourself time to slow down, notice all the details of your day-today life and take advantage of the external and internal cues around you. As you pay more attention to your world and adopt an open, receptive state of mind, you’ll start to see more and increase your awareness of flow. This is a time for inspiration and gaining new insight and fresh perspectives on things. When you’re caught up in a fast-paced goal-driven life, you can fall into the trap of living in the future and overlooking the magic of the present. But when you pay attention to the moment, you’ll probable be pleasantly surprised by the great opportunities that are staring you in the face, simply waiting to be noticed! Never miss an opportunity to celebrate yourself.

Sometimes in life we get to a situation where we find ourselves at a road block. However, there are some things you can do to help yourself get over these blocks. Once your energy blocks, niggles, limiting beliefs and clutter have been taken care of, you’ll find you’ve created more space in your life for positive energy. What can you do to get more of this? Consider the following questions:

• Which people and what activities gives you mental and emotional energy, inspiration and zest for life?
• What type of changes can you make to your health and well-being to increase your physical energy?
• Take action to incorporate these energy boosters into your daily life!

Remember that in order to change your life, you need to change your approach and motivate yourself on your own terms. What works for you as an individual may not work for someone else. The more you understand yourself, the greater the likelihood of overcoming your resistance to blocks in your life.

To acknowledge different kinds of love essential to each gender, does not mean that men do not need any of the love essential to women, and vice versa. It therefore implies that good understanding of these essential loves that your partner needs is a powerful tool for improving relationship and achieving great friendship with your spouses.

For example, when a woman expresses her trust and acceptance of her husband, he begins to reciprocate and automatically return his respect, devotion and care to his wife. In the same way, when a man shows care and expresses good understanding to his wife, she instinctively and automatically reciprocates with trust and appreciation of him.

Men become fully perceptive and appreciative of the love needs of women when their own primary or essential needs and desires are first fulfilled. Likewise, a woman can truly value and appreciate her man’s essential love needs and desires when her own parts are fulfilled.

A man feels empowered when he is trusted, accepted, appreciated, admired, approved of and encouraged. A woman’s encouraging attitude gives hope and courage to a man by imbibing confidence in his ability and character. To trust a man is to believe that he is doing his best and that he wants the best for his spouse.

A woman’s attitude and good character can indeed encourage her man to be all that he can be and motivates him to give her all the love needs and desires that she may need for a happy married life.

The feet are the parts of the body that are easily neglected. But it is indeed very easy to take care of the feet. Apart of regular washing and moisturising of the feet and wearing feet coverings that fit, there are other measures that we can take to look after our feet If you’re going to the gym or the pool, remember the fact that the moist atmosphere of the changing rooms make them a breeding ground for all kinds of microorganisms, most commonly those that lead to athlete’s foot (a fungal infection) or plantar warts and veruccas (transmitted by a virus). So beware, don’t go barefoot. Avoid the risk by always wearing flip-flops-even in the shower and changing into a clean pair of shoes before you go home.

Did you know that rheumatoid arthritis can be caused by stress and anger. This inflammatory condition, which can affect people at any age and causes pain and swelling in the joints. Bad-tempered people are often unhappy, this constant underlying anger actually causes physical changes in the body’s cells, leading to inflammation. Anger and stress reduction is necessary to reduce the impact on the overall well being of the body and possible stop arthritis.

Roast pork dinner recipe is featured in the healthy living with Dr Franca.

Ingredients

a. Pork chops

b. Potatoes

c. Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and spinach (optional) )

d. Onions, garlic, ginger

e. Spices (curry, thyme, basil, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper)

f. Olive oil, sesame oil, salt and fresh red hot chili pepper and seasoning

g. Beef gravy granules.

Directions

First is to marinade the pork chops with a mixture of olive oil, sesame oil, chopped onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, basil, thyme, curry, nutmeg, chopped red hot chili peppers, salt and seasoning.

Peel the potatoes and cut in chunks. Put them in an oven tray and sprinkle olive oil, sesame oil, salt and black pepper then put in preheated oven for thirty minutes.

Place the pork chops in an oven tray and put in preheated oven for thirty minutes.

Boil the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

Put some granules in a bowl and pour in hot water

Chop the washed spinach

Voila our delicious roast is ready.

Bon apetit

Studies have stated that one have to stand up and rest our backs while sitting down working on our desks. We are supposed to get up from our desks every two hours or hourly if we can. Then take a break of about ten minutes. This rests our backs from the pressure of constant sitting down and our eyes from constant stare on the screens. Of course, if you’re hunched over your desk all day, that’s going to cause aches and pains. But Business or work pressure and concerns about money also seem to make people hold themselves in a very stiff, tense way all the time.’ A study in the journal Spine suggested that people who react badly to stress were more likely to use the wrong muscles when picking things up. Massage and physiotherapy can help in the short term, but it is imperative to find ways to relieve the pressure. It helps to have a strategy at ways to ease your workload, and build in some routine in stress-management techniques such as gentle form of yoga or meditation which can help soothe anxiety. Taking regular breaks from our desks are more necessary now a lot of people are working from home.