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A HUG A DAY...

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Wellness Journalism: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

One of the best things you can do for your financial wellness is to keep your spending in alignment with your values. If you support the sustainable food movement, for example, you don’t buy McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Every dollar spent is a vote cast. Recognize the power of purchase!

In a culture that has diligently attempted to make consumerism a value of its own, it may seem difficult to untangle yourself from the habits of convenience that typically govern your spending. Rather than making sweeping assumptions about how plausible it might be to effect change with your spending power, it’s helpful to simply consider one purchase at a time. Before you swipe your card or slap your dollar down, ask yourself: does this purchase represent my personal beliefs? Does it support my goals?

Of course, making an educated decision is dependent upon education itself. Know where your products (food, clothing, household, etc) are coming from. Do a little research. Watch relevant documentaries, read articles, etc. Information is widely available as more people become aware of their impact.

And, when you do choose to invest your money in any given person, place, or thing: do it with joy!

For helpful information about balancing budgets, setting goals, managing credit, planning for the future, and everything else to do with smart spending....check out CashCourse, a comprehensive guide to all things finance.

Wellness Journalism: Building More Mindfulness

Attitudes: The Foundations of Mindfulness (Part II)

Taken from Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
and expanded by Gina Tang, Wellness Journalist

Trust: Developing a basic trust in your experience is an integral part of mindfulness training. Trusting your experience in the moment allows you to experience “reality” in a new manner.

Example: A surprise visit from a family member during the week of midterms means that you aren’t able to adhere to the study schedule you created for yourself. The panic sets in: When will you study? What if you don’t get enough time? What if you have to pull all-nighters trying to cram and then fail your tests anyway just because you’re tired? Suddenly, in a moment of mindful inspiration, your concerns give way to trust—trust that you will be able to manage your time, balancing family obligations with studying. You create a new study schedule that basically outlines a commitment to breathe, study whenever you can, and trust the outcome. As it turns out, you discover several creative new studying opportunities that you never would have thought existed. By test time you feel prepared, and more confident than ever.

Acceptance: Acceptance means seeing things as they actually are in the present moment without trying to change them. Sooner or later, we have to come to terms with things as they are and accept them. This is true even if you don’t like how things are and would like to change them.

Example: It turns out that your new roommate is vegan—a devastating blow to you, an aspiring chef who delights in cooking as many cheesy dishes as possible to share with the household. You fear that this will put a heavy damper on your weekly dinners, because now you’ll either have to make an entirely separate entrée for just one person, or force the entire meal to exist without the gooey goodness that is cheese. Your commitment to your culinary inclinations is such that you consider giving up cooking for your roommates altogether, just to settle the issue, and you mope around the house for weeks. Instead of this paralyzing frustration, however, you could whip up some mindful acceptance—you aren’t responsible for the dietary choices of others; only for your own cooking and eating preferences. It’s up to you whether or not you want to cater to the new roommate or just keep cooking your favorites. Either way, you save yourself a tremendous amount of energy by simply accepting reality.

Letting Go: Our minds get caught by habitual ways of seeing, thinking, and reacting. Cultivating the attitude of letting go, or non-attachment, is fundamental to the practice of mindfulness.

Example: You’ve just gotten out of a year-long relationship. The break-up was tough: a lot of back and forth, failed attempts to reconcile, and exhausting evenings of circular conversation. You’ve been craving peace of mind so badly that finally cutting everything off feels like weight off your shoulders. You’re re-emerging into an autonomous lifestyle, and rather enjoying it. Then an encounter with your ex—in the arms of another—at a party, sends you spinning into a mind-numbing onslaught of pain and regret. It becomes clear at this point that if you cannot let go of the past, your world will be filled with suffering. So you decide that you will not revert back to self-doubt and the torture it presents. Instead, you do what you had once thought of as being impossible: mindfully setting the intention to let the relationship go, once and for all. When you feel your brain reaching for the past (and all of its corresponding ifs/ands/buts, you root down into the present moment (and its corresponding freedom). And, as you gain stability in this new state of surrender, you find that letting go is actually easier than holding on.

Wellness Journalism: Building Mindfulness

Attitudes: The Foundations of Mindfulness (Part I)

Taken from Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
and expanded by Gina Tang, Wellness Journalist

Non-Judging: Mindfulness is cultivated by assuming the stance of being an impartial witness to your own experience. To do this requires that you become aware of the experience of constantly judging and reacting to inner and outer experience.

Example: You’re down to the wire, studying hard for midterms. At a group study session one of your classmates starts gossiping about drama that has nothing to do with class material. The irritation you feel is overwhelming, and a highly critical internal monologue sets in—you start thinking about how your time is being wasted, how frustrating it is to try and study when other people are creating distractions, etc. In this moment, you are consumed by your experience of judging the classmate’s behavior. A mindful attitude, however, bears witness to the irritation but is not swept away by it. You accept that the distraction is happening around you, without actually distracting yourself—in other words, you don’t internalize it. Instead of casting yourself into a state of judgment, you can choose to stay focused on your own material. And eventually, the classmate settles back into studying too.

Patience: Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept that sometimes things unfold in their own time and that our efforts to control are often part of the problem.

Example: There are four people in your group and the project is due at the end of the week. Each member of the group has taken charge of a particular section of the project, and the agreement is that everybody will submit their portion well in advance of the deadline. You’ve posted your part, along with two others, and find yourself waiting for the final segment from the fourth member—and losing patience with it. Your impatience is such that you start badgering the fourth member via email and text, making a spectacle out of it with the other group members and raising general hell. You actually start doing some of the work yourself, convinced that it isn’t going to come in on time otherwise. When the fourth member submits the completed material, the day before it is due, it comes with the revelation that there had been a family emergency that required a quick trip out of town. Since the project was on time after all, the entire episode leaves you feeling like a jerk. A mindful attitude would not have proactively pestered, rather, allowed the fourth group member the freedom to accomplish the segment and submit it to the group according to the plan. You save yourself a great deal of energy and frustration by simply giving space to the situation, and responding—when necessary—to challenges that arise with a level head.

Beginner’s Mind: The richness of present-moment experience is the richness of life itself. Too often we let our preconceived ways of thinking and our previously formed beliefs about what we “know” prevent us from seeing things as they really are or taking a fresh perspective.

Example: A friend of yours invites you to go check out a documentary screening—an important film, the friend says, about the corruption of the food industry and the health hazards that are often over-looked and under-reported. You don’t want to see it, though. You figure you already know what’s healthy and what isn’t, and you’re satisfied with what you eat, and the way you eat it. Fast forward a few years: you are sitting at dinner, and your date starts talking about the same movie—and convinces you to watch it. You are shocked by what you learn, and find yourself wishing that you had seen it sooner, certain it would have made a positive difference in your life. A mindful approach doesn’t dismiss new opportunities on the basis of assumptions, but carries an open mind to new information, new people, and new experiences.

Wellness Journalism: Stressing You

Last week’s blog post explored stress using the metaphor of waves in the ocean.
Now, let’s take a more scientific approach.

Your nervous system is divided into two operating platforms: sympathetic and parasympathetic.

When the parasympathetic nervous system sits in the driver’s seat, your body enjoys “rest and digest.” This state of being feels nice and comfy—like life is going fine and you are going right along with it.

The sympathetic nervous system, in contrast, is triggered by a perceived threat (historically this included lions, tigers, and bears—but today’s homo-sapien is more often faced with final exams, an angry partner, or being broke). The body then responds with “fight or flight” preparedness. In physiological terms, this translates to cortisol release; with it comes muscle tension, increased blood pressure, cessation of digestive function, and shallow breathing. As you can imagine, this state of being is not conducive to normal daily life. Yet many of us run around all day as though we are at gunpoint.

Dr. Kathleen Kawamura and The Stress Management Group define stress as the perception of threat combined with the perception of an inability to cope. In other words, here comes trouble, and it’s gonna getcha. But if the “trouble” has been self-generated, it can also be self-mediated (in other words—if you made it up, you can also remove it).

Cognitive Psychology emphasizes a rational approach. You can examine your perceptions, and restructure them as needed.

To decrease a perception of threat, ask yourself:
• How bad is it really? Does this fear have a tangible basis?
• How likely is it that this feared event will happen?
• What is more likely to happen?

To decrease perception of inability to cope, ask yourself:
• If this did happen, how would I cope?
• What are my options?
• How have I coped with similar situations in the past?

Of course, it’s also effective to bypass the mind altogether and go right into the body—as the body is always ready to release stress. Exercise, sports, yoga, deep breathing, massage, and skipping happily down the sidewalk are just a few of the many ways to engage yourself in the present moment (a realm where the future—and any potential threat it may carry—is not a complication).

Wellness Journalism: Surfs Up!

One of the major factors affecting your sense of emotional well-being is stress—and how you handle it.

We live in a world of “sink or swim” and it’s easy to lose sight of the shore sometimes. With busy schedules and demanding classes, we hardly have time to take a breath between deadlines, or catch up on the little things like laundry, dishes, or shaving. Often we struggle under the added weight of relationship drama, malnutrition (skipping breakfast, eating Burger King for lunch…), being hung over, or running on a sleep deficit.

How can we keep ourselves afloat as we face wave after wave of assignments, projects, and exams? Is it possible to move with grace through the hectic pace of the quarter?

When you are out in the middle of this vast ocean of existence, how do you ride the tide?

Taking the stress/wave metaphor further, let’s look at your options. Your first instinct—wired into you early on in life, perhaps—is to flinch, fight, run, resist, or otherwise avoid the impact. You perceive the wave as an enormous beast that threatens to overwhelm you, swallowing you whole in a whirl of white water. So you burn a lot of energy trying to paddle away; a turbulent, exhausting, and frightening experience. This reaction to stress creates a sense of hopeless stagnation, compounded by a fear of drowning under the pressure. And, inevitably, the wave smacks you in the head.

What a solid emotional education will teach you, however, is to surf—a sporting effort requiring an active determination to engage the wave. In other words, “going with the flow” is an athletic art. And it gives you a certain response-ability: calm and confident (and maybe even a little curious), you make a choice. You can paddle into the wave, pop up, and go for a ride—using whatever surface area is available to you—or you can swim into and duck under it, letting it wash over you. Cultivating energy in this way provides an experience of surrender and release, transforming the wave into an infinite realm of possibility; every time you go for that ride, something awesome happens.

You determine your experience. Each wave is a unique opportunity to embrace the present moment and its vital buoyancy. The practice of mindfulness allows you to make your choices actively, rather than reactively. Responding with intention, you empower yourself!

Of course, you can always benefit from friendly guidance and support. The Counseling and Psychological Services team here at UCSD offers just that. Their website provides suggestions for meditation and mindfulness exercises that broaden your board, so to speak.

Here’s one now: When you feel a wave coming (or find yourself in the middle of one), set aside a full five minutes to focus on deep, abdominal breathing. You can contract and relax your muscle groups in sequence, starting with the toes and moving up the body. This serves to reconnect your head to your feet and facilitates self-navigation.

8 Dimensions of Well-being

UC San Diego Health, Recreation & Well-being, in partnership with The Zone, brings you

8 Dimensions of Well-being!

Stay balanced throughout the academic year, as each month focuses on a different dimension of wellness.

Emotional Well-being (October)
Optimism, trust, self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-control, self-confidence, satisfying relationships, and an ability to share feelings

Financial Well-being (November)
Adopting smart fiscal management practices and being prepared for all possible expenses: short-term, long-term, and emergency

Spiritual Well-being (December)
Posessing a set of guiding beliefs, principles, and values that give meaning and purpose to life

Physical Well-being with emphasis on exercise (January)
Exercising, avoiding harmful habits, recognizng the signs of disease, getting regular physical exams, and taking steps to prevent injury

Social Well-being (February)
Good communication skills, developing the capacity for intimacy, and cultivating a support network of caring friends and family

Physical Well-being with emphasis on diet and sleep (March)
Understanding the relationship between nutrition and stress, eating intuitively, and getting enough rest

Environmental Well-being (April)
Advocating for sustainable change, contributing to the health of the planet, and living a “green” lifestyle

Occupational Well-being (May)
Gaining personal fulfillment from employment, maintaining a sense of balance, and utilizing talents

Intellectual Well-being (June)
Openness to new ideas, a capacity to question and think critically, and the motivation to master new skills

Wellness Journalism: Getting in Gear

With the start of fall quarter on your heels, you may find yourself running on overdrive—if so, slow down and look both ways! In the rush to get ready, you risk showing up to your first day of classes already huffing and puffing. This is hardly an effective way to begin the marathon sprint that is the 10-week academic quarter.

3 Steps to Your Best Start:

1.Honor The Golden Triangle: Eat-Exercise-Sleep. With this fundamental physical foundation you set yourself up for maximum productivity and mental efficiency.

• Eat a balanced diet and don’t skip meals—especially breakfast. Keep healthy snacks in your backpack. Food is fuel; you get out what you put in. Go for high octane stuff like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and lean protein.

• Engage in significant physical activity—be it dance, gym, yoga, ball games, running, or jousting—at least three times a week. You can also build exercise into your schedule by walking briskly between classes, riding a bike to various local destinations, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Sleep—seriously. The average human being requires seven hours of sleep a night. When you deny yourself these precious hours of restoration, relying on caffeine to get through the day, you do a major disservice to your engine.

These three elements are your basic formula for functionality. Get into a good rhythm right off the bat, and sustain your groove all quarter long. You’ll have a much smoother ride.

2. Get Ready, Get Set. Environmental setting has a critical impact on your performance. Clean and organize your bedroom and work area (ideally you have a separate space designated for each). Make sure you have appropriate and comfortable furnishings, and decorations that uplift and inspire you. Note: creating a customized habitat doesn’t have to be expensive! Utilize Craigslist and Freecycle to acquire what you need (and get rid of what you don’t).

3. Adjust Your Attitude. It’s essential that you approach the challenging weeks ahead with the right mental posture. If you go into a hard class with a grumble and a grimace, you are going to have a very different experience than if you invite the course with willing confidence and open arms. Granted, there may be moments when you feel yourself falling off track—when this happens, take a deep breath, and redirect your train of thought. As Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are usually right.”

Wellness Journalism: Got Power?

Last Thursday I was sitting at my computer typing an email, when suddenly, everything went dark.

My first thought was, “Oh no! The power is out!” This was immediately followed by feelings of amusement and relief; I no longer had anything to do. Soon my coworkers and I learned the extent of the outage: Not just our building? Not just our campus? Not just our zip code? As we adjusted to this newly appointed reality, we had a lovely conversation about global climate conditions and our sense of purpose in life. Then we went home.

As I walked back to my little apartment, passing every car stuck in traffic, and I began to notice two things: 1. People were outside—walking, sitting, exercising—and 2. People were talking to each other. Having been released from the compulsion to keep up the pace, each in their own space, staring at their respective screens, people had emerged into the community. Some were enjoying $1 scoops of ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Others were waiting in a huge line in front of the grocery store to get water, cash only. Still others had put blankets down on the grass and were reading in the afternoon light. It was a perfect opportunity, I decided, to poll my fellow Americans.

My question was simple: “How does it feel to be powerless?”

Most people seemed to be taking it in stride, shrugging it off as a temporary disruption, enjoying the rest of a gorgeous summer day. Those with complaints had reasonable ones (It took me two hours to get home; I might miss my flight to Seattle tomorrow; nothing is open).

The entire crew of Regents Pizza had posted around tables outside of their store. One man in particular was smiling so broadly as I approached that my question was already answered. “What can I do?” he said, thoroughly pleased. “It’s out of my hands. I get to relax. I have been working all my life. This is great.”

“But what if the power doesn’t come back on?” I challenged him.

“Then I go back to the old days, like my grandparents used to do, growing my own food. I can survive with anything, using what’s around me.” Even my suggestion that there would be no cold beer didn’t faze him. He saw no problems, only solutions. Take the beer, he said after a moment, and bury it in the sand at the beach overnight. In the morning, it will be cold. Voila.

Others, however, didn’t share his exuberance. “It’s not good,” said a strained-looking man, on his way to his car. “There’s a lot of stuff…” he waves his hand around, indicating something sinister in the air. And he had a point—this was a reality check. How dependent are we on external systems to provide our basic needs—systems that, when feces hit the fan, may be dysfunctional?

As night fell I could see candlelit dinners under a sky full of stars. It felt peaceful. And I was reminded that we have the right—and the responsibility—to keep this peace in our lives. Technology is a wonderful tool. But we musn’t let it distract us from learning to be present, to sit with our friends and families, or talk to our neighbors. It is when we unplug the machines, and tune in to ourselves and each other, that we rediscover the charge in human connection.

It’s Monday now and back to business as usual. But I hope the lesson stays home: where does our power really come from?

Wellness Journalism: Rare Footage

There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path. We are charged with deciding where to put our feet…and there are many challenges to meet when it comes to making both small and large choices during the day. When we know we want to create positive change and yet find that something—inertia, perhaps—seems to keep us trodding the same beaten trails, it can feel as though real change is out of reach.

I know that caffeine, processed sugar, and alcohol are toxic for my body. I know that eating that third helping of mashed potatoes is going to make me too full, and too tired to function effectively after dinner. Where is the disconnection between my head and my feet (and hands)? I find that I go through cycles: healthy eating punctuated by a few days of debauchery, weeks without caffeine followed by indulged coffee cravings, months without drinking and then an entire bottle of wine down the hatch. I push for sustainable change, and then find myself swinging back into old patterns.

Thich Nhat Hanh calls this “habit energy.” In his book of Zen teachings, Be Free Where You Are, he writes:

"Every one of us has habit energies that push us to say and do things we don’t want to say or do. These habit energies damage us and our relationships to other people. Intellectually we know that saying or doing a certain thing will cause a lot of suffering, and yet we still say or do it. And once you say or do something, the damage is done. Then you regret it. You say, “I am not going to say or do that thing again.” But though you say this with sincerity, the next time the situation presents itself, you say or do the same thing. This is the power of habit energy.”

Whether we suffer from repeated relationship dramas, unhealthy eating and/or drinking patterns, or other compulsive behaviors, Thich Nhat Hanh recommends the following: when habit energy rears its gnarled head, recognize it, smile at it, and let it be. There is no need to fight or judge OR indulge; the simple act of mindful acknowledgment is enough to knock it off center stage. Say, “Hello, there, habit energy. I hear you, but you are not the boss of me,” with absolute confidence and deep, loving breaths.

At first I thought this sounded overly simplistic. But as I work with mindful awareness and breathing, I find that my own voice—that which represents the change I want to see—becomes stronger, and the habit energy becomes weaker. It’s like developing new muscle memory. Even my slip-ups don’t have the staying power they used to; I find that I regain my footing much more quickly, and with less energy wasted on self-criticism. And, when I look back, I find that I’ve come a long way forward.

Wellness Journalism: Independence Day

On the 4th of July, I accompanied a friend to a musical jam session in a beautiful backyard overlooking San Diego. Cupcakes and fireworks aside, something happened that had a great impact on my perception of freedom.

The musicians gathered were among some of the more established local talent, and they rocked. One drummer in a Hawaiian shirt and cowboy hat was very smooth and skillful; I learned he had been a close associate of Buddy Miles. A long-haired bass player had fingers made, apparently, of the same material as Gumby. Then there was a sultry blonde vocalist whose blues gave me the chills.

It wasn’t long before I noticed a woman flitting about the party in a world of her own. She was bone thin in a denim shirt about seven sizes too big, a woolen beenie over her head, and thick glasses that covered most of her face. While the band played, she danced wildly in the grass. Between sets she sauntered up to the microphone and sang something garbled, then said, “Yay, me!” The other guests in attendance more or less ignored her, although there were a few chuckles.

At one point the drummer in the Hawaiian shirt came up to The Loon (as I had begun to think of her), put his arm around her shoulder, and offered an explanation about her being his wife. When people laughed I assumed he was making one of those flippant jokes that helps make an awkward situation more comfortable, at the expense of the individual responsible for the awkwardness.

Soon, The Loon was frolicking again, arms and legs thrusting and punching as she surrendered to her own internal momentum. She created quite a contrast to everybody else at the party, who stood drinking their drinks and eating their eats and making small talk. I made an admiring comment to my friend that, quite appropriately, The Loon was celebrating her independence.

Then my friend told me she really was the wife of the drummer, the accomplished professional musician who had recorded with Buddy Miles and had the confident demeanor that people asire to. And here was this woman who looked exactly like an escaped lunatic, which people tend to avoid. The fact that they were husband and wife blew me away—but in that moment, it was my own surprise that surprised me the most.

I realized that celebrating freedom from the British stands pale in comparison to celebrating freedom from our own criticisms, judgments, and standards of normalcy. We think we are free, standing around a lovely backyard, enjoying our three-bean salad. But freedom is a matter of perception, and this evening reminded me that I was bound to an assumption of what is socially desirable. The truth, in fact, is that I wished I was dancing in the grass too. So I did.

We are as free as we set ourselves.

Wellness Journalism: What To Do?

Every summer break (or winter break, or spring break, for that matter) I get excited about all of the projects I can accomplish with my free time: re-organzing my living room, writing a manuscript, planting a garden, teaching my 5-year old to read at a 5th grade level, researching graduate schools…

…and then, before I know it, I am wondering where the time has gone. How it can be that I don’t seem to have gotten anything done?

If this sounds familiar, you may be experiencing “Temporal Obselescene in Determination of Objectives” (TODO). My To-Do List hangs on my wall in innocent expectation, quietly awaiting fulfillment, while I bounce off to run errands or meet friends or do laundry.

Some things happen in time and some things happen out of time. Let me explain.

The projects I get excited about require a certain creative energy. If I am not cultivating this specific energy, these projects will not get done. Simply making time for them isnt enough. I have to be in the right frame of mind—otherwise, I will find that I am busy doing something else.

How, then, to shift gears? One approach I am taking is to change my routine and shock my system, so to speak. Every morning when I wake up, instead of stumbling into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, I stumble to my desk. I choose one task related to my goals, and make it a priority. I schedule my day around IT, rather than trying to fit IT into my day. I then visualize it, nurture it, feed it with my intentions and energy, do rituals and prayers and voodoo and anything else that focuses my attention on the task in new and unusual ways. I talk about it, think about it, dream about it. I make it the apple of my eye. Then comes the tricky part: I let it go. I surrender to the flow of what comes that day, trusting that it will unfold according to a master plan. I realize that the expectation of doing actually prevents being (which yields happening). Then, at the right moment, I discover the impulse—the magic mind frame—and I find that the goal is achieved almost effortlessly. It comes about in a natural sort of way, nothing like the feeling of contrivance that lingered before.

Go ahead, try it! You have nothing to lose…not even time.

Healthy on a Budget!

Be Fruit-full...

Get your summer taste buds blooming with fruit on sale for 99c a pound (or less!)

From Ralphs to Whole Foods to Farmer’s Markets, fill your baskets with affordable fruit during the summer months. This time of year, you can find peaches and nectarines on sale for around 88c a pound at Henry’s market, and bananas for 19c each at Trader Joe’s. Loaded with vitamins and fiber, fruit is a great alternative to refined sugars when you are in the mood for a sweet treat!

Ready for an Outback Adventure?

Summer offers fabulous opportunities to frolic outside. Here are a few common questions and answers from the folks at Outback Adventures to help get you out the door!

1) Q: I am interested in trying out a new outdoor activity, but I am unsure how to go about it. Are there any tips to help me get started?

A: Outdoor activities like kayaking and rock climbing may be a little intimidating to the beginner. However, surrounding each of these are entire communities of friendly, helpful people who are eager to teach others about the tricks of their trade. One such community can be found right here at UCSD-- at Outback Adventures. Outback Adventures is a student group on campus comprised of rock climbers, backpackers, kayakers, surfers, and overall outdoor lovers. Throughout the year, we provide a multitude of opportunities to get newcomers and old-timers alike outdoors and having fun. Each quarter, our team of experienced guides facilitates trips for all skill levels that encompass all types of outdoor activities. We also operate the Outback Climbing Center and Challenge Course for people wanting to hone their climbing skills. No matter what activity you are looking at getting into, there are people willing to support, guide, and teach you all you need to know in order to be successful and have fun outdoors.

2) Q: What kinds of activities can be done in the outdoors? Do they incorporate all skill levels?

A: There are limitless activities you can do in the outdoors, all of which are beginner friendly. For people who have an urge to be out on the water, surfing, kayaking, and canoeing are great sports to start with. Each involves separate skill sets that are easy to pick up by those who are learning, but that also provide a challenge for those looking to advance their techniques. For those who prefer to stick to land, backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, and mountain biking can get you out and about and setting your own pace - from slow and steady hiking on trails to extremely technical climbing routes on rock faces. While La Jolla may never see snow in its lifetime, the mountains to the east of it get flurries every winter. To utilize this frosty playground, outdoor lovers can go downhill and cross-country skiing, as well as snowboarding. This keeps the action high even when the temperature is low. No matter what the time of year, the location, or the skill level, there is an outdoor activity that will fit perfectly with your interests.

3) Q: What are the physical benefits of outdoor recreation?

A: Just like other sports, outdoor activities can be physically demanding and rewarding. Backpacking miles a day with 40+ pounds of weight on your back can be exhaustive and climbing around on jagged rocks can put a lot of wear and tear on your hands. However, the overall benefits from these and other activities can be amazing. While most will improve your overall physical strength and endurance without a doubt, certain ones can enhance surprising areas of your body. For example, climbing can improve the strength in your hands, wrists, and back, while kayaking can develop your core. Cross country skiing can give you the same benefits of running without putting jarring stress on your joints, and mountain biking can exercise almost all of your muscle groups at the same time. Of course, injuries are a risk when participating in any outdoor sport, but by following safety guidelines, being aware of your surroundings, and knowing what your own physical limits are, you can help to prevent accidents and continue enjoying your activity.

4) Q: Are there any spiritual/emotional benefits to being in the outdoors?

A: Absolutely! Being in the outdoors, away from the stress and hubbub of everyday life, can truly alter one's life perspective. The rolling waters of the Pacific Ocean; the towering peaks of the Sierra Nevadas; the firery sunsets of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park—all of these elements can provide a chance to free your mind from your day-to-day responsibilities and allow you to to focus on truly Being. For thousands of years, people have lived and developed a working relationship with the world around them. In today's busy environment, it can sometimes feel as if this connection has been lost, but all it takes to reestablish it is to step outside and submerge yourself in the earth's splendor.

5) Q: What types of activities does Outback Adventures provide?

A: The guides at Outback Adventures lead a variety of trips, short and long, throughout the year. Our day trips range from snorkeling and kayaking off of La Jolla Shores, to hiking Cowels Mountain under a full moon and rock climbing around Mission Gorge. For those wishing to go on a weekend jaunt, we offer caving trips to Anza Borrego and climbing/backpacking trips to Joshua Tree National Park. During spring break we also facilitate week-long outings which involve surfing or kayaking in Baja California and backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Whatever your schedule, skill level, or outdoor interest, we have the perfect trip for you!

Want to know more about Outback Adventures or outdoor activities in general? Visit our website at http://recreation.ucsd.edu/outback-adventures.html or drop by the Outback Adventures headquarters located behind Sixth College.

Wellness Journalism: Whole Brain Fitness

Though the brain is an organ, it can be trained like a muscle. You can make it more flexible, strengthen its powers of concentration, or increase its weight-bearing capacity (figuratively speaking).

In an academic environment, certain parts of the brain get a lot of exercise—primarily those involved in act of studying and taking tests. There is a great deal of reading, memorizing, analyzing, reviewing, and recalling. While the intellectual prowess cultivated in the classroom is wonderfully useful in its own right, balanced mental fitness requires additional consideration.

Cranial Calisthenics for the Prevention of Lopsided Lobes

1. Read for pleasure. Browse the internet for blogs and articles that capture your interest, or pick up a book you’ve been curious about.

2. Switch up your routines. If you are right handed, use your left hand for awhile. If you always drink coffee in the morning, have a cup of tea instead.

3. Play! From sports and games to fort-building and tree-climbing, activate your imagination.

4. Engage in lively conversation and friendly debate. Challenge and explore conventional schools of thought, social norms, and institutions.

5. Reflect. Take some quiet time in the evening to think about your day—you’re likely to discover an aspect or two that’s marked for review.

6. Have new experiences. Go someplace you’ve never been, do something you’ve never done, or get to know somebody you haven’t met.

7. Create open-ended opportunities. Whether it’s drawing a picture, writing a story or poem, painting the furniture, inventing a recipe, or reorganizing your room, cultivate the creative flow.

Intellectual Wellness isn’t just getting good grades, although good grades are often a happy byproduct of Intellectual Wellness. Train the whole brain!

Wellness Journalism: The Power of Thought

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Contemplations on the power of thought

Thoughts are your consciousness interface with the environment. If you begin to watch your thoughts, you’ll notice that your thoughts can generally be divided into two camps: productive thoughts and consumptive thoughts. Productive thoughts are those which create, build up, encourage, look forward, motivate, or inspire. Consumptive thoughts, on the other hand, tear down, discourage, or cast judgment. They tend to be self-destructive, self-defeating, or self-discouraging.

Consumptive thinking is not efficient—in fact, it’s usually not even logical. Yet for some reason, consumptive thoughts have a way of eating at the mind, costing a lot of valuable energy, eroding at mental vitality. You mind is a garden and your thoughts are your seeds. Will you harvest flowers or weeds?

When you can hear yourself think, you can begin to identifying that which supports your well-being and happiness, and drive your decisions accordingly. Maybe you pursue a career that you love because you think you deserve it and can do it well, instead of choosing a job for security because you figure your bills will be paid. Perhaps you decide to be single because you’re discovering and defining yourself on your own terms, and not according to what a potential partner may want.

Then there is that magical moment when you catch yourself thinking you can’t do something, only to remind yourself that you can. Remember “The Little Engine That Could?” We encounter this story frequently as children, but it seems to drift into the past as we emerge into a world where the messages of society do not always reinforce this lesson. We learn instead that “life is hard.” This can make things difficult. In fact, life doesn’t have to be a crisis—though it can certainly be a challenge. Think of it as something to rise to instead of resign to.

Having the freedom to think—and flexing your power—is at the heart of Intellectual Wellness. Reserve the right to your thoughts. The potency of free-thinkers is so strong that oppressive governments over the course of history have feared them; “intellectuals” were persecuted, even killed. Those who dared to contradict the system were disempowered and disenfranchised. You are in the university, a naturally occurring think-tank. Explore.

Finally, thoughts are not predetermined. You are not destined to think tomorrow what you thought yesterday. If there is an area of your life you aren’t happy with, consider changing the way you think about it. Remember: what you think determines your feelings, behaviors, actions, decisions—it steers the course of your life. To maximize your mileage, optimize your thoughts.

Study Tips for Finals!

Finals are here again! You might be running on overdrive in an effort to get everything accomplished. Here are some helpful things to remember this week:

Time management & prioritizing. While you are studying, apply quality of attention control. Do not do the semi-study with one eye on your phone and the other on Facebook. When it comes to final exams, the major source of stress is feeling ill-prepared and worrying about whether you had time to study enough. Don’t waste your energy worrying. Plan your study time and trust yourself to focus. (Hint: FOCUS!)

Take study breaks. When you are digesting information at a rapid pace, it’s important to take breaks! Your brain requires a re-fresh: get up, stretch, or stare off into space. One of the most efficient ways to relax your mind muscle is to bring your attention into your body, breathing with awareness. It’s reasonable to think of spending approximately ten minutes on break for every hour of study.

Eat plenty of health snacks. If you want to maximize your mental efforts, avoid refined sugars and processed food. Instead, stock up on whole foods: complete grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy protein sources. Foods that are high in healthy omega fats—nuts, avocado, fish—are thought to grease your gears. What’s good for the body is good for the brain.

Utilize study sheets and study groups. Make study guides and read them first thing in the morning when you wake up, before other impressions have a chance to settle in. Study groups are also very effective, especially if you have a tendency to fall asleep when studying alone. Just be mindful that the group stays on task.

Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep at night is a real pickler when it comes to performance. Sleep deprivation decreases motivation, concentration, attention, and coherent reasoning. It decreases memory, self-control, and speed of thinking. This is the last thing you want to do to yourself before a big test—so put a good night’s sleep first on your list.

Exercise. One of the best ways to increase the flow of oxygen to your neurons after staring at a screen or book for many hours is to get up and move around. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking, running, or biking, will restore brain function. Enhance your educational endurance with exercise!

Ask your professor for help. If you aren’t sure about a particular point, don’t wait until the last minute—your study group partners might not understand it either. Approach your professor or TA ahead of time and ask for clarification.

Keep things in perspective. In all likelihood, this final is not going to be the defining moment of your life, or even your academic career. If you don’t get the score you hoped for, don’t lose your head over it.

Wellness Journalism: Fully Occupied

Occupational Wellness can be a real issue for students who, in addition to a full class load, have the added obligation of working a part-time or full-time job. To investigate this delicate act of balance, I tracked down one of UCSD’s busiest—and most successful—student workers. Antonio Romero is a 3rd year International Studies and Economics major at ERC.



Wellness Journalist: Antonio, tell us what your current workload is.

Antonio: I am taking 12 units—Economics, History of Europe, and an International Operations class. Then I work two jobs. I spend about 20 hours a week as an aid to Rudy Ramirez, council member for the city of Chula Vista. I manage the internship program, public relations, administration, and event coordination. My other job is at Rosetta Stone, where I work 10-18 hours a week as a language consultant.

Wellness Journalist: So you’re basically in school full time and working full time. How’s it going?

Antonio: I am the number one salesperson with at the moment, making twice my sales goal for Rosetta Stone. And I have a 4.0 GPA.

Wellness Journalist: That’s impressive! What’s your secret for managing time and getting things done?

Antonio: I choose to have fun and I choose to study. If I am going to study, I really sit there and study. I’m not distracted by other things. Likewise, when I am being social I really focus on being social—that way, I feel satisfied, not isolated. The key is being able to focus and hone in, block out the time, and stick to it. Then when I am studying I feel like I am getting a handle on my coursework, and when I’m working I feel like I am doing well at my job.

Wellness Journalist: You maximize your efficiency by being fully present and attentive to the task at hand…such a simple concept. Any other gems of advice?

Antonio: I think they key is to do what you like. Do something that doesn’t feel like work. That’s going make you competitive—you’ll have more energy, and more enthusiasm. That’s going to make you shine, because it’s really you coming through. And don’t sacrifice short term recognition for that which is true for your soul and really makes you happy.

Wellness Journalist: I think you’ve just summed up the very heart of Occupational Wellness. Thanks!

Wellness Journalism: Got Your Back?

“Ergonomics” is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. At its simplest definition, ergonomics literally means the science of work. The most immediate application of ergonomics is body dynamics—or, being aware of your physical position in relation to the world around you and knowing how to execute yourself most effectively.

As I go about my busy day—lugging a heavy backpack, sitting in class, typing at the computer—it’s easy to forget that by back is working at least as hard as my brain. While I may be able to get away with it now, the continued twisting, twerking, and tensing really adds up. A staggering 80% of the population will suffer from back pain, and those most affected are the 30-50 year olds. If I don’t want the most productive years of my life to be stunted by spinal strain, I’d better start protecting my posture now.

They key is to preserve the natural S curve of the spine as much as possible. Here are some specific ways to promote good posture:

Typing at the computer: Sit high enough to keep a minimum 90 degree bend in the arm; your wrists should not be higher than your elbows. Get up and stretch every once in awhile. Flex your hands and arms opposite of the typing position, and rotate your wrists and neck.

Carrying a bag: Only carry what you really need, and try to balance the weight as much as possible. Backpacks should be worn with both straps on. If carrying a bag with only one strap, switch shoulders periodically.

Driving in the car: Move car seat forward until you have a 90 degree bend at the knees, keeping them level with the hips. You should be within easy reach of the steering wheel.

Sleeping: Maintain alignment by sleeping on your back with a pillow under the knees, or on your side with a pillow between the knees.

Lifting: Keep feet firmly planted at shoulder width, bend knees, and tighten your abdominals. Use the strength of your legs to do the lifting. Keep the weight of the object as close to your body as possible—lifting a 20 lb bag 20 inches away from your body produces 400 lbs of compression force on your spinal disc fulcrum point. Also, it’s better to push than to pull.

Standing around: Alternate position by shifting your weight from one leg to the other.

Physical alignment promotes mental alignment. Back it up!

Special thanks to Julia Jensen with UCSD Environmental Health & Safety

Wellness Journalism: Put Your Best Face Forward

When Opportunity Knocks, Be Ready to Open the Door
(Rather than being naked in the bathroom.)

UCSD has its very own Occupational Wellness guru and her name is Sara Henry. She is the director of The Center for Communication and Leadership and knows all about networking, public speaking, and interpersonal relations.

I recently attended Sara’s discussion of that magical key to success known as networking. She made some really good points about the importance of establishing rapport, being genuine, and upselling strengths.

Something else she said really struck a chord: “From the moment you leave your house in the morning, be ON.”

Once you’re out in the world, you never know who you will run into, or where, or when. You want to be in the habit of being professional and respectful at all times.

Examples:
• You cut off another driver on the way to an interview, only to discover that the driver is interviewing you.
• You’re picking your nose when an attractive customer walks in.
• Your boss overhears you cussing out your mother on the phone.
• You’re asleep in class.

Life is full of ironic surprises, and people are paying attention (even when you aren’t). Don’t be caught with your pants down. Before you ever get hired, you are charged with the responsibility of self-promotion. Remember—a first impression might be your last.