January 2024
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Eat Free. Live Fierce.
Meet Wellness Advocate Leslie Jordan Garcia “Embrace Your Community”
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V I EW POINT A Shiny New Year! Happy 2024
By Damita Miller-Shanklin, Editor-in-Chief
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appy New Year! We have said goodbye to 2023 and we are leaning into 2024. Wow! Have you decided on your new mantra of the year or your new word? My mantra is Be True To Myself and my word is Fearless. As I plan my shiny new year, I will take into account my mantra and words to plan how I will live and bring happiness into my life. I hope your shiny new year will be full of adventure, growth and kindness. I’m looking forward to my new year and shining bright. Have a great year everyone! Damita Miller-Shanklin, Editor-in-Chief Ujima Magazine is a free news publication. For Advertising Opportunities email UjimaMagazineAds@gmail.com
Fresh Start: 5 Quick and Effective Ways to Declutter Your Space for the New Year
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ealthy Living is not just about eating right and exercising but it is also about living a decluttered life. In order to start off the new year in an organized way you will need to declutter your life. There are 5 Quick Ways to De-Clutter your Life for the New Year 1. Donate or Sell Unused Items: Go through your belongings and identify items you no longer need or use. Donate them to a local charity or sell them online. This is not easy for me. I am a small hoarder :). I do not like throwing out or donating my things. 2. Create Designated Spaces: Designate specific areas for different types of items. For example, have a designated spot for keys, mail, and other frequently used items. This helps prevent clutter from accumulating in random places. How many of you have mail stacked on the kitchen counter? 3. Set a 10-Minute Rule: Dedicate 10 minutes each day to decluttering. This can be a quick sweep through a room to put away items that are out of place. Consistency is key, and small, daily efforts can prevent clutter from piling up. 4. Digital Declutter: Decluttering isn't limited to physical spaces. Take some time to organize and clean up your digital life. Delete unnecessary files, organize your desktop, and unsubscribe from email lists that no longer interest you.
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5. One-In, One-Out Rule: Implement a rule that for every new item you bring into your home, one old item must be removed. This helps maintain balance and prevents the accumulation of unnecessary belongings. The key to successful decluttering is to start small and stay consistent. Breaking down the process into manageable tasks makes it less overwhelming and more likely to become a lasting habit. UjimaMagazine.com
A Year-Long Adventure:
Staying Strong with Your Goals By Damita Miller-Shanklin
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chieving your goals requires a combination of planning, commitment, and consistent effort. Here are some steps you can take to increase your chances of accomplishing your goals throughout the year: When planning how to reach your goals is to set clear and specific goals. You can not be vague, instead make it specific like "lose 10 pounds in three months” not just “lose weight.” Put your goals into smaller, manageable tasks. You can see your progress easier and not become overwhelmed. Establish a timeline and deadlines for achieving your goals. Identify the most important goals and prioritize. You can focus your energy on what matters and avoid spreading yourself too thin. Then create a detailed plan outlining the steps you need to take to achieve each goal. This will be your roadmap to help stay organized and monitoring your progress. Your roadmap will work best if you are flexible. Be open to adjusting your plan as necessary. Circumstances can change and being able to adapt is a key to handling challenges. 1. Monitor Progress: Regularly assess your progress against the timeline and adjust your plan accordingly. Celebrate small victories to stay motivated. 2. Stay Motivated: Find ways to stay motivated throughout the process. This could involve setting rewards for achieving milestones or reminding yourself of the reasons behind your goals. 3. Seek Support: Share your goals with friends, family, or a mentor who can provide encouragement and hold you accountable. Having a support system can make a significant difference. 4. Learn from Setbacks: It's normal to face challenges and setbacks. Instead of getting discouraged, view them as learning opportunities. Analyze what went wrong, adjust your approach, and keep moving forward. UjimaMagazine.com
5. Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. This positive reinforcement helps to maintain momentum and reinforces your commitment. 6. Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself during the process. If you encounter difficulties, don't be too hard on yourself. Learn from mistakes and use them as stepping stones toward improvement. 7. Review and Reflect: Periodically review your goals and progress. Reflect on what's working well and what needs adjustment. This self-reflection can guide your future actions. Remember, the key is consistency and perseverance. By staying focused, staying adaptable, and maintaining a positive mindset, you increase your likelihood of achieving the goals you set for yourself. Link to Visit: https://actionforhappiness.org/takeaction/set-your-goals-and-make-them-happen p3
Empowering Yourself in the New Year A Guide to Starting Fresh with Depression By Damita Miller-Shanklin
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tarting the new year with a focus on mental health is a positive step, and it's good to seek ways to support yourself. If you're dealing with depression, it's important to approach self-care and improvement with patience and selfcompassion. In the quiet embrace of a new year, you may find yourself standing at the beginning of change, determined to navigate your life with depression. You have to approach your journey with patience and self-compassion, setting the stage for a positive and transformative year. You began by setting realistic goals and breaking them down into manageable steps. Each small accomplishment reminds you that every step matters. To provide structure and stability, establish a daily routine. Prioritize regular sleep, balanced meals, and exercise as part of your self-care strategy. Consistency in your routine helps secure a sense of control over the unpredictable nature of depression. Recognize the importance of social support, connection with friends and family, and having a network of support becomes invaluable on your difficult days. Professional support can play a crucial role in your journey because it provides a safe place to explore your emotions, manage challenges and build resilience. You will want to integrate self-care activities into your routine, such as meditation, mindfulness, and hobbies that bring you joy. These moments are an opportunity to recharge. With depression, be mindful of your thoughts. You may want to practice cognitive-behavioral techniques to challenge negative patterns. Work on a positive and compassionate inner dialogue. Identify the sources of stress in your life, and work on managing or eliminating them. Learn to say no and do activities that positively contribute to your well-being. Celebrating, acknowledging your achievements, and creating a sense of accomplishment provides motivation to continue moving forward. Keep a journal to document your success, and positive experiences. In moments of challenge, try deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and guided meditation to manage stress and promote your emotional well-being.
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Six Ways to Organize Yourself and Become Productive Being organized and productive is important. Both are needed to get things done and prevent being overwhelmed. The tools that most of us use are calendars, apps, and to-do list. These are good ways to start but how do you make them work for you on a consistent and daily basis? 1. Create a To-Do List: • Make a daily or weekly to-do list to outline tasks and priorities. • Break down large tasks into smaller steps. • Regularly update and review your to-do list. 2. Time Blocking: • Allocate specific blocks of time for different activities throughout your day. • Group similar tasks together to minimize context switching. • Set specific start and end times for each block. • Include breaks to refocus. 3. Use a Calendar: • Keep track of deadlines, appointments, and meetings using a digital or physical calendar. • Set reminders for important events or tasks. • Schedule dedicated time for focused work and do not overload your schedule. 4.Declutter Your Workspace: • Organize your physical and digital workspace to reduce distractions. • Keep only essential items on your desk and file away documents. • Create folders on your computer to organize digital files. • Regularly clean and declutter. 5. Prioritize and Delegate: • Identify tasks that only you can do and prioritize those. • Delegate tasks that can be handled by others to free up your time. • Learn to say no to tasks that do not align with your priorities. • Focus on high-priority tasks that contribute to your long-term goals. 6. Embrace Technology: • Use productivity tools and apps to streamline tasks. • Consider project management tools, note-taking apps, and collaboration platforms. • Leverage automation for repetitive tasks to save time. We all have different productivity methods, so it's important to explore and find what works best for you. Consistency is key. UjimaMagazine.com
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Eat Free, Live Fierce:
A Conversation with a Wellness Advocate Leslie Jordan Garcia By Damita Miller-Shanklin, Editor-in-Chief
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eslie Jordan Garcia, MBA, MPH: Leslie is a every individual's identity, regardless of race, multi-certified ED Recovery and Wellness body size, or cultural background. She professional who is on a mission to help challenges the conventional Western heal the food and movement relationships of perspective on health, advocating for the BIPOC so they can thrive from within systems of recognition and celebration of diverse cultural oppression. Her career spans across the practices that contribute positively to our wellindustries of community health, diversity being. She shared a real-life example of a client initiatives, education, and non-profit sectors who faced childhood food insecurity, leading to and includes positions as educator, campus her restrictive eating patterns as she became mentor, program directors, and diversity an adult. Through coaching, the client learned specialist. She feels fortunate to combine to manage stress, nourish her mind, body, her education, expertise, and and spirit, while addressing other experiences to positively aspects of her well-being, which ...the impact the health outcomes and resulted in a transformative journey. discussion lives of her clients and began around the community. Jordan’s Wellness Company does mission of removing offer multiple services. The systemic barriers to Leslie Jordan Garcia the Founder services range from Body optimum wellness for and Owner of Leslie Jordan Image Coaching, Movement BIPOC individuals Wellness. In a recent chat with Education, and personalized Jordan, it is very clear she is a support for those dealing with passionate advocate for wellness. weight and size bias. It is important to Her mission is to remove systemic Jordan that everyone has accessibility barriers to optimum wellness for BIPOC to wellness individuals. This is done through focusing on services. This includes an emphasis on eating disorders and eating recovery, with a providing equitable pricing and online options. focus on movement. Jordan supports others in embracing their authentic wellness journey Jordan’s Wellness Company does offer multiple using a holistic and decolonized framework. services. The services range from Body Jordan stresses the importance of honoring Feature continues on p6
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Image Coaching, Movement Education, and personalized support for those dealing with weight and size bias. It is important to Jordan that everyone has accessibility to wellness services. This includes an emphasis on providing equitable pricing and online options.
Eat Free, Live Fierce = the right to enjoy nourishing foods while advocating for food accessibility.
As a fan of taglines, I was very curious about hers, "Eat Free, Live Fierce". Jordan explains it emphasizes the right to enjoy nourishing foods while advocating for food accessibility and taking away the systems of oppression. It is a very cool tagline. What about her podcast? Her podcast goes by her same company tagline, Eat Free, Live Fierce Podcast! currently on Spotify! The podcast aims to amplify stories of individuals who have overcome societal pressures and professionals working towards positive change. Leslie Jordan Garcia encourages individuals to recognize their right to
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dignity, respect, and quality healthcare. She offers affordable solutions, including online memberships and support groups, and extends an invitation to inperson classes in Austin. The hope is our conversation sheds light on the multifaceted approach to wellness, emphasizing the importance of removing oppressive systems and fostering a sense of empowerment for all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds or identities. For more information about her services and exercise classes, visit her website at https://ljordanenterprise.com UjimaMagazine.com
active LIVING Tips for choosing new hobbies to start Tip #1: Understand your lifestyle. Tip #2: Think of activities that respond to your values. Tip #3: Consider your interests and experience. Tip #4: Start small and schedule your time with the new hobbies. Tip #5: Make time for your new hobby. You may have a hobby, thinking about a new hobby is another way to create change in the new year. Good Luck
Self Care Reminder Continue your self care routine in the new year. It’s so important to your mental health. One way to enhance it this year, maybe try a self care journal.
Mary Linnen, Editor
A way to document your days of happiness and productivity. Sounds like a peaceful way to start or end the day!! Check your local book stores.
Organizing important documents Goals. Goals. Goals! There are so many books, podcasts, and just general advice regarding personal goals. If you don’t already have one, give it a try in the coming year. Remember it is never too late for new beginnings. How do I choose my personal goal ? First consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it. Set SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant and timebound) goals that motivate you and write them down to make them feel tangible. Then plan the steps you must take to realize your goal, and cross off each one as you work through them. Courtesy of mind http://tools.com
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This is really a necessity. If you become ill or just plan to travel, having important documents in a safe place and organized is a must. Examples are things like your birth certificate, marriage certificate, Social Security cards, retirement accounts, life insurance documents, will and powers of attorney. You need to keep all of these things—forever. Make sure your parents do the same. Keep their will and the power of attorney safe and updated. When it comes to paper documents, you’ll want to create a legacy drawer—a safe, sturdy place to store and organize your important documents, like a fireproof document safe, lockbox or cabinet. Courtesy of Ramsey Solutions
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If you are still feeling all the food you ate during the holiday season, you may be interested in eating something light and tasty. How about a nice salad? Below is a salad that you may want to try. A refreshing light pasta salad with a delicious Asian flair. INGREDIENTS • 5 chicken breasts • 8 scallions finely chopped • 4 oz. slivered almonds • 1 pkg. Chinese noodles • 1 large head of iceberg lettuce • 4 stalks celery finely chopped • 1 pkg. sesame seeds lightly toasted Dressing: • ½ cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. seasoned salt • 6 Tbsp. white vinegar • 1 tsp. pepper • 1 tsp. Accent® Flavor Enhancer • 8 tsp. sugar
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INSTRUCTIONS 1. Boil the chicken breasts until cooked through. 2. Cool and shred (do not chop). 3. Combine with all the other ingredients and toss. Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com Photo Credit: Flickr User, Alpha
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