Fall 2017
BalancedLiving Balancing Your Two Lives pg 4 A Serious Look at Fainting pp. 6-7
...In this issue... A Guide to Holiday Survival Got Goals?: Financial Planning Tips MINES Eye: Yoga to Ease Fatigue and Tension
BalancedLiving Fall 2017
MINES & Associates 10367 West Centennial Road Littleton, Colorado 80127 800.873.7138 www.MINESandAssociates.com
A word from your Employee Assistance Program...
. . . . . . . . C re d i t s . . . . . . .
The Staywell Company, LLC ©2017 Balancing Your Two Lives pg 4
Welcome to the Fall 2017 issue of BalancedLiving!
A lot of people say that Fall is their favorite season. What are your feelings on the subject? Do you like the changing leaves, cooler temps, and fall holidays? Here at MINES we think every season has its bright side and we are always here with resources to help make the most of any part of the year!
This fall we start off on page 4 with an article to help balance your work and personal life. Next we follow it up with a guide on holiday survival for ways to make even to most hectic of holiday times fun and rewarding. On the wellness side, page 6 examines fainting and some of the things to watch out for. Next up, page 8’s article is all about financial planning and goal setting. Finally, relax with some tension easing yoga poses on page 10 and enjoy some delicious Balsamic chicken with a recipe from food.com on page 11. Remember your Employee Assistance Program is available 24/7 at 1-800-873-7138 to help you with issues in your life that may be going on this fall or anytime of the year. To your health!
– The MINES Team
Life Advantages - Author Delvina Miremadi ©2015 A Guide to Holiday Survival pg. 5 Wellness Library Health Ink and Vitality Communications ©2016 A Serious Look at Fainting pp. 6-7 Financial Planning Association ©2017 Got Goals: How Financial Planning, and a Skilled Planner, Can Get You There pp. 8-9 The MINES Team MINES Eye: Yoga to Ease Fatigue and Tension pg. 10 www.food.com Recipe: Balsamic Chicken Thighs pg. 11
2017 Total is your way to connect the dots between the 8 core dimensions of wellness: Physical, Occupational, Intellectual, Environmental, Financial, Social, Spiritual, and Emotional Wellness. Understanding these dimensions is the first step toward a sense of complete wellbeing. In 2017 we take this concept of wellbeing and tie it into the bigger picture, your community. Your community’s wellbeing and your own are tied together in a two-way street. Simply, you influence others, and in turn they influence you. All year we will be looking at ways to strengthen your connection with your community by providing information, insight, and resources to help you on a personal level along with ways to give back to the community so that we can all help each other be well and flourish!
Total Wellbeing Community
In 2017 we aim to build on the concept of communal wellbeing. We will be providing resources, stories, and tools to help you stay well and it turn help those around you with their wellbeing. Check out our articles in this magazine and head to minesandassociates.com/ newsletters to check out our monthly newsletter with even more great wellness information.
Enhancing Social Wellness Inspire Wellbeing
The 8 dimensions of wellbeing don’t just apply to one person, they apply to our entire society. Social influence is a huge factor that contributes to each of our levels of wellness, but it all starts with the individual. With this in mind, our challenge to you in 2017 is to see how you can not only enhance your own wellbeing but those around you as well. Get out there, get involved, be well, and see if you can’t inspire your friends and loved ones to do the same. Game on!
Total
Wellness Webinars
Support from the experts
Wellbeing
Join our partner, Brown Richards, for any of their monthly webinars. 2017 will cover great new topics ranging from improving your credit, having a stress free summer, turning negatives to positives, and much more! Visit our website to learn more, or register for upcoming events at www.minesandassociates.com/webinar.
Is there a topic you’d like to see us explore? We’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an e-mail at communications@minesandassociates.com and let us know what you’d like to see.
www.MINESandAssociates.com | 800.873.7138
Balancing Your Two Lives Among the essential ingredients of a balanced life are meaningful activity, physical and mental health, satisfying relationships and peace of mind. To achieve that balance, you must successfully juggle the demands of your work, personal life, family and relationships.
“If you’re spending too much time working, and your personal time disappears, it’s likely you’ll become exhausted, stressed and irritable,” says Bee Epstein-Shepherd, Ph.D., a psychologist in Carmel, Calif. “Each of us has an average of 112 waking hours a week in which to satisfy all of our responsibilities. The more successful we are at completing our work and taking time for ourselves on a regular basis, the more often we’ll feel satisfied and in control of our lives.”
Professional balance
Dr. Epstein-Shepherd says you should do three things every morning to start your workday with a sense of balance and purpose: • Eat breakfast • List your daily goals • Determine your top priorities to plan your day
“When setting your goals for the day, ask yourself, ‘If only one thing could be done today, which activity would it be?’ The answer should be your top priority,” she says. “To build your list, ask yourself, ‘If only one more thing could be done today, what should it be?’ It’s best to prioritize your list according to importance, not how easily a task can be completed.” You may find you feel out of balance when your workspace is disorganized. The following organizing system can make it easier for you to find things you need when you need them: • Arrange a specific place for files and tools and put them back after you use them. • Don’t use your desktop for storage. It should hold only those items you use every day. • Create a workable filing system to avoid paperwork pileup.
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• Use color coding. It makes any item easier to find. • Don’t save everything you think you might need someday. Clutter makes it more difficult to find what you really need. • During the last 10 minutes of every workday, make a list of what you have accomplished. “Give yourself credit for what you get done each day, and you’ll go home with a sense of completion instead of frustration about what you didn’t get done,” Dr. Epstein-Shepherd says. • Then, outline what you need to tackle tomorrow. • Finally, make a list of the work-related problems you could be taking home. “Then tear up the list and throw it away to rid your mind of unfinished business and worries,” she says. “Doing so will help you make a clean transition to your personal and home life.”
Personal balance
The greatest challenge for many of us is to carve out time for ourselves despite the unceasing demands of work, family and relationships. “But it’s imperative you make time for rest and relaxation,” Dr. Epstein-Shepherd says.
Begin by setting aside the equivalent of an hour a day in which you do things you want to do. You can schedule that hour before or after work. Treat these appointments with yourself with as much respect as you would a meeting with a client or supervisor. Studies have found that people who take time for physical and mental rejuvenation accomplish more and are happier than those who don’t take the time. Creative people often get their best ideas while taking a walk, gardening or taking part in activities not related to work. “People who use their evenings, weekends and vacations for personal rejuvenation are more energetic and productive at work and play because they’re living a life that is in balance,” Dr. Epstein-Shepherd says. M
A Guide to Holiday Survival For many, the holidays are a time to share in the joy of family traditions and create new special memories. But for some, these expectations can make holidays stressful, especially for those that feel disconnected from family or friends, those that feel alone, or those that may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder. Regardless of your situation, some degree of stress and tension around the holidays should be expected. Consider some of these suggestions to help prepare you for this busy time of year and make the holidays a special time in your own way.
Create Your Own Traditions
The holidays are directly connected to the traditions of the past. When those traditions are additionally connected to painful or troubling memories, it’s time to create healthy traditions of your own. Think of new events you can participate in on your own or invite new people to join you in an old tradition. Make a point to keep your new traditions alive each year, and they will start to add happy memories to your holiday spirit.
Be a Participant
Sometimes what you need are good friends around you. Look for opportunities to get involved in holiday activities that get you out having fun with friends and family. Attend parties, invite friends to local activities, or even take a trip to some regional events. A little holiday spirit can go a long way.
Ask for Others to Chip In
Just because you are hosting the holiday event does not mean everyone else gets to sit back and do nothing. Remember, the true meaning of holidays often comes down to sharing the holiday experience with the ones you love and feeling thankful and blessed. Welcome everyone to share his or her favorite recipe or bring a game that helps unite everyone. Getting together on a holiday because of tradition is one thing, but joining families and creating new memories and traditions will bring you closer and make the time you spend together more meaningful.
Keep Your Life in Focus
It can be easy to focus on what you don’t have, and not what you do have, during the holidays. Make a point to celebrate the good things in your life. Contact your friends and remind them of how much you value their friendship and support. Another great way to remind yourself of how fortunate you are is to volunteer at a local charity or food kitchen to help others and give back to your community.
Be Willing to Get Help
The holiday blues can be difficult to manage for anyone, but for some, they can be especially limiting and inhibit your ability to function regularly. If you need help, talk to someone – a friend, a loved one, or a trained counselor. Talking about how you’re feeling and what triggers those feelings can teach you new ways to cope and can help keep your holiday blues at bay. M
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A Serious Look at Fainting It sounds like melodrama: People hear bad news or see blood, and the next thing you know they’ve fainted.
But it’s reality for many Americans. They’re prone to fainting (called “syncope” by doctors), which can be triggered by stress, standing too long and other fairly simple causes, says Fetnat Fouad-Tarazi, M.D., director of the Syncope Clinic at Cleveland Clinic. No one knows why. “Television and movies almost always show women fainting, when in reality fainting is a problem shared by men and women equally,” she says. The problem usually has no serious cause and surfaces when you’re young. Triggers include: • Hearing bad news
• Standing a long time • The sight of blood
• Seeing a rodent or spider • Coughing hard
• Being in a crowd
• Speaking to a group
• Stimulants, such as caffeine
• Urinating while standing (for older men)
“ Fainting is a reason to call your doctor so that he or she can rule out the possibility of a serious cause,” he says. “You should not take it lightly.”
Doctors become more concerned when an older person with no history of fainting begins passing out, or when the reason for passing out isn’t clear, says Thomas Cavalieri, D.O., chairman of medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine. “Fainting is a reason to call your doctor so that he or she can rule out the possibility of a serious cause,” he says. “You should not take it lightly.”
Serious causes include: • Seizures
• Abnormal heartbeat
• Circulatory problems that limit blood flow to the brain • Brain or nervous system disturbances • Dehydration
Whatever the cause, all fainting results from a sudden drop in blood pressure that keeps the brain from getting enough blood, says Dr. Cavalieri. Dizziness usually occurs just before you faint. Usually you have time to sit down.
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Certain medications, including some for high blood pressure, heart problems and depression, can cause fainting. So can a lot of alcohol. In many cases, blood that should be returning to the heart instead pools in the legs while standing or in the stomach after a large meal. That unbalanced blood distribution makes you more likely to faint.
Most people who faint stay “out” a few seconds to less than a minute, says Dr. FouadTarazi. “If it lasts longer than two or three minutes to five minutes, it could mean more serious trouble,” she adds. “Call 911.”
How to cope
What can you do if you’re prone to fainting?
Educate yourself about triggers that can make you faint and ask your doctor what you can do to prevent fainting. For instance, people prone to fainting after a large meal sometimes wear abdominal binders during meals and for a few hours afterward, says Dr. Fouad-Tarazi. That prevents blood from pooling in the abdomen. Doctors sometimes suggest physical therapy and support stockings to keep blood from pooling in the legs, or exercise to improve circulation. Leg movement while standing may help keep blood from pooling in the legs.
Doctors may tell people to have food or drink containing salt, such as crackers, pretzels or a sports drink, notes Dr. Fouad-Tarazi. Avoid taking salt tablets without a doctor’s advice. Salt will raise blood pressure, making a sudden drop less likely. But added salt isn’t good for many people who have high blood pressure, so you should ask your doctor before increasing your salt intake.
“ If you feel faint: Make sure you’re in a safe place... Lie down after you’ve safely reached a sitting position... Turn onto your side to prevent choking...”
If you feel faint: • Make sure you’re in a safe place, then sit down right away so you don’t fall and injure yourself. • Lie down after you’ve safely reached a sitting position. Prop your feet up on some pillows or a jacket so that your feet are above the level of your heart. This raises blood flow to the heart and in turn the brain -- exactly what you need.
• Place your head between your knees, if you can’t lie down, to increase circulation to your brain. • Turn onto your side to prevent choking if you feel nauseated.
If you do faint, remain lying down for 10 or 15 minutes once you wake up, to improve circulation and promote recovery. Also, try moving your legs to increase blood flow. M
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Got Goals?
How Financial Planning — and a Skilled Planner — Can Get You There Like a GPS is to finding a destination, a business plan is to starting a business, and architectural drawings are to building a home, financial planning shows an individual or a family how to turn vision into reality, how to achieve their goals and meet their responsibilities through wise management of their financial resources. “Financial planning is understanding where you are today and committing to take the steps to get where you want to be tomorrow,” explains Robert A. Mecca, CFP®, with Robert A. Mecca & Associates in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
At the heart of financial planning is the premise that having a detailed, articulated, and comprehensive financial vision puts a person in better position to get where they want to go in life, both in the near term and over the long haul. “Say in a year you want to be free of credit card debt, or in five years you want to pay for a child’s college, or you want to retire in 10 years,” said Mecca. Financial planning is the process by which a person or family works with a financial professional to set goals like these, financial and otherwise, and to develop an articulated vision — a financial plan — for meeting them. As much as a financial plan is about the “big picture,” it typically includes specific steps and strategies for accomplishing near- and long-term goals, with the flexibility to adjust to changing life circumstances and external conditions.
The financial services field includes a wide range of specialties, some focused strictly on investing and investments, for example, and others on insurance, tax strategy, or estate planning. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, a certified financial planner delivers advice and strategic guidance on these types of financial issues through a holistic process which recognizes that a person’s life circumstances and finances are inextricably linked. “A certified financial planner is able to take a look at the bigger, broader picture,” explains Mecca, “and work on strategies to help a person accomplish what they want to accomplish.” Financial planning may encompass investing strategy, retirement and insurance planning, debt management, tax planning and more. Not only do people who work with a CFP get a well-defined financial plan to serve as their blueprint for the future, they also gain access to a financial professional who, by virtue of the CFP designation, must adhere to a code of ethics and a fiduciary standard that require them to put their clients’ best interests first. So how to go about finding a skilled, knowledgeable financial planner who’s well suited to your mindset and your situation?
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Some suggestions: • Start by asking people you trust — Ask your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. — for referrals. Referrals often are the most reliable way to find a financial professional, according to Mecca.
• Visit the Financial Planning Association’s searchable national database — You can search the database of personal finance experts at http://www.FPAnet.org/PlannerSearch/PlannerSearch.aspx. • Meet with the financial planner face-to-face — Meet with any prospective planner if possible, to get a feel for their philosophies and approach, their experience and areas of expertise, how they are compensated, etc.
• Ask plenty of questions of the prospective adviser — Are they incented to sell you certain products? Are they skilled in areas that you view as particularly high-priority, such as investing, debt management or life insurance planning, for example? The meeting, and the answers to those questions, should go a long way to helping you determine whether there’s a good fit. “Good chemistry [between adviser and client] is indeed important,” asserts Mecca. “This is a person who could be handling your personal financial future, so it’s critical that you are comfortable with them.” Good chemistry matters. But ultimately, it’s getting consistently good results for clients that sets a financial planner apart. M
Keep in mind that you can use your EAP sessions for financial matters and goal setting. Call us at 1-800-873-7138 to start talking with someone that can help today!
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MINESEye
The importance of staying mindful.
With MINES Eye we will focus on meditation techniques, basic yoga poses, and mindfulness practices to help you stay in control of your thoughts and expand the capabilities of your mind as well as body.
Yoga to Ease Fatigue & Tension
This month we will look at two back bend poses that have been found to help improve circulation, ease stress, and help ease back pain. As always start slow, focus on your breathing, and stop what you are doing if you feel any pain or discomfort.
Pose 1 — Bow Pose
• Begin by lying down on your belly with your hands to your sides, palms up.
• Exhale, bend your knees while bringing your heels towards your butt as close as you can. Reach back with your hands and grab you ankles. Make sure to keep your knees no wider than your hips. • Inhale and lift your heels away from your butt while still holding your feet. At the same time lift your thighs off of the floor causing your head and torso to begin to raise off the floor as well. Bring your head back and look forward. • Breath in and out slowly while holding the pose for 20 to 30 seconds if you can. Release as you exhale and relax with your body once again fully on the floor. Repeat 1 or 2 more times if you want.
Pose 2 — Camel Pose
• Begin by kneeling on the floor with your knees at hip width. Keep your back and thighs in line, and the tops of you feet and shins firmly on the floor.
• Place your hands, with fingers pointing down, on the top of your butt and gently push your pelvis forward. Inhale while pushing your shoulder blades back to stretch your chest. Careful not to push the front of your hips too far back. Try and keep your hips in line with your thighs.
• Exhale and lean back while keeping your head up and your thighs and pelvis tight. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can drop both hands back to your feet. However, beginners will probably need to go one hand at a time and if needed tilt your thighs back a little to assist with reaching all the way back.
• Inhale and while keeping your hands on your feet push your pelvis towards your ribs making sure not to compress your back by sticking your ribs too far up or out. Turn your arms so that the elbow creases face forward (see picture) and drop your head back. Make sure to keep your neck relaxed, do not strain your neck.
• Stay in this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute if possible. When done, bring you hands to the front of your pelvis for support while you bring your torso and head gently back to the starting position. Now may be a good time to lay on the floor in a neutral and comfortable position to rest and breath deeply for as long as you’d like for rest and additional relaxation.
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SEASONAL RECIPE
Balsamic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients: • • • • •
2 lbs skinless chicken thighs Salt and pepper, to taste 1/4 cup chopped shallot 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar Cooking spray or butter to coat pan
Directions: 1. Spray large frying pan, preheat on high. 2. Rinse and pat dry thighs. 3. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Brown well on all sides. 5. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for approximately 25 minutes,or until thighs are done depending on size. Make sure they are at least 165 degrees. 6. Add shallots, cook for 2-3 minutes or until they soften. 7. Stir in balsamic vinegar, cook for about 1 more minute, turn chicken to coat thoroughly. 8. Spoon sauce over thighs to serve. All done, enjoy!
Makes approximately 4-5 servings Nutritional analysis (per serving): 291.1 calories; 8.9 g fat (2.3 g sat); 188.2 mg cholesterol; 4.4 g carbohydrates; 2.4 g from sugars; 44.9 g protein; 0 g fiber; 199.9 mg sodium. M
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Helping you keep
your balance
Your Employee Assistance Program is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week It’s confidential, FREE, and available to you and your family. For information or confidential assistance call 1-800-873-7138