 Copyright@ Simona Zaino
Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. **** Carl Jung once said ''the privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are''. Once you have become who you truly are, being authentic is the willingness and ability to show it to others. But what is the value of authenticity in a world where human communication takes place across various technological platforms, geographical locations and cultures? And is it possible and desirable to be authentic when it is so easy to create a persona that represents the 'glamorized' version of you? Let's start by defining authenticity. The most common definition in dictionaries is ''the quality of being genuine and real''. Therefore authenticity entails an individual possessing certain traits: 1. Self understanding: an awareness of their own identity, values and beliefs 2. Living up to their values: consistency between values and behaviour 3. Transparency in personal relationships: expressing their genuine feelings and opinions to others and not being afraid of showing vulnerability So how do we achieve authenticity? Here are some suggestions: 1. Self-exploration Look inside yourself with courage and an open mind and identify who you are right now, whom you want to become and whom you don't want to be. Identify what you want to keep and what you want to change about yourself. 2. Accept you're not perfect.. and neither is everybody else! Nobody is flawless or perfect. We all behave according to our current beliefs and we judge any situation based on them. Sometimes our beliefs lead us to misjudge a situation, which in turn leads to undesired results. When this happens we need to review our beliefs. This is part of the natural human process of learning and adapting. Recognizing that you need to fine-tune your beliefs to fit the new situation is not a sign of weakness. It is the way to facilitate adaptation. Don't let you ego get in the way! Accept your 'mistake' in judging the situation, understand what led you there and fine-tune your beliefs to the new reality. 3.Recognize when and why you're wearing a mask Sometimes we were a mask to protect ourselves, usually when we feel that exposing our true identity is not 'safe' with certain individuals or within certain organizations. And other times we do so to create a sense of belonging to a certain group or to increase popularity (in the case of a public figure, for example). Have you been doing this? If so, being aware of it will help avoid confusion between your mask and your real self. Make a clear distinction between the two and evaluate when/if it is worth continuing to wear a mask. You may realize that, in some cases, expressing your authenticity will require limiting your interaction with the people and situations that 'threaten' it. 4. Be spontaneous and 'improvise' more Spontaneity is the quality of responding to a situation without filtering or planning. It is the 'go with the flow' attitude. This may seem scary in certain situations, as you may feel that the lack of planning exposes you to uncertainty. In reality, our instinct, coupled with the right dose of caution, will help us handle most situations safely. And what if we improvise and something goes wrong? Then go back and read point 2 above :) 5. Constructive criticism is your friend Take constructive criticism and advice on board. Genuine, unbiased feedback that aims to supporting and facilitating our learning process should always be welcome as it improves our understanding of and adaptation to any new situation and experience. If we understand what authenticity truly is, we can easily identify the key benefits:
Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition & Life Coach . Read about her here Image: free Adobe Stock Images Copyright@ Simona Zaino Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. **** Wellness or wellbeing is usually described as a general sense of balance that encompasses body, mind and spirit. The perception of wellbeing is no longer confined to physical fitness but includes mental balance and a general sense of purpose too. Medical science has now recognized that body and mind work in unison. So achieving a sense of wellbeing requires action on both fronts. Also, the focus of medical science has shifted from mainly curing diseases to prevention, i.e. maintaining the lifestyle that helps us stay healthy and happy. Interestingly, modern science has now widely accepted what ancient Yogis had already discovered thousands of years ago. There are four pillars to wellbeing and these can be identified as follows: 1.Balanced diet 2.Exercise 3.Relaxation 4.Balanced Mind Balanced Diet A balanced diet is one that provides you with nutritious food (macro and micro nutrients), the right amount of calories (depending on how much energy you need) and calories intake distributed correctly throughout the day (depending on your activities). This is necessary for disease prevention, longevity and maintain a good level of activity throughout our entire life. Exercise Exercise is any physical activity that helps you improve flexibility, strength and cardiovascular resistance. Currently, experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, five days a week. Relaxation A state of physical and mental relaxation can be achieved in various ways: Yoga, massage therapy, walking, active social life, holiday breaks, etc.) Sleep is also an important part of relaxation as it is through sleep that the body regenerates and the mind rests. Balanced Mind Our thoughts play a big role in the way we perceive a given situation and the effect it has on us. Thus gaining control over our thoughts and establishing a positive mindset is key to keep stress away. No matter what our life experiences are, through various techniques and practices, it is possible to train our mind to focus on positive and constructive thoughts and also help us find a sense of purpose. An experienced Wellbeing Coach can guide you on all these four areas and help you create a healthy, balanced and fulfilling lifestyle. Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition & Life Coach . Read about her here  Copyright @Simona Zaino) Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. *** The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged people to find new creative ways of exercising and keeping fit while staying at home. Step aerobics is a form of exercise that involves stepping up and down onto a stationary block. It seemed to have disappeared in gyms but it has now made its comeback during the pandemic, due to its benefits and the fact it can be practised in a small space. Let's see what the main benefits of Step Aerobics are: 1. It's fun! Exercise causes your brain to release chemicals known as endorphins. Endorphins stimulates good mood and reduce stress and anxiety. The use of upbeat music during the class will also help energize you! 2. It burns calories Since step aerobics is a form of cardiovascular exercise and weight bearing exercise, the number of calories that you burn is quite high. On average 45 minute of step aerobics can burn up to 450 calories 3. It helps increases bone density Weight bearing moves such as stepping up and down force your bones to generate more mass, thus increasing their density, size, and strength 4. It improves your cardiovascular resistance Studies show that 1 hour of step aerobics is equal to running about 7 miles. Step Aerobics is a fantastic way to improve the efficiency of both your lungs and your heart. thus reducing the chance of cardiovascular related illness. Aerobic workout also brings more oxygen to your muscles. 5. It improve your balance and increases leg strength Stepping up forces you to exercise each leg separately, thus improving your single-legged balance. It also utilizes virtually every muscle in the leg, thus increasing general leg strength. 6. It can be low impact Step aerobics can be adapted to become low impact exercise. Low impact exercises are those where you keep one foot on the ground at all times, thus reducing the stress on your joints. People who have weak ankles or knees definitely need to engage in low impact exercise. 7. It does not require much space Step aerobics is also very versatile! You can do it virtually anywhere as it requires very little space. It is the ideal form of exercise during lockdown! Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health & Wellness, Nutrition & Life Coach based in Dublin. She teaches Yoga, Pilates and Fitness classes (also online). See: www.eatdancebreathe.com/services.html  (Copyright 2021, Simona Zaino ) Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. *** A new strict lockdown has just been announced and it seems it's here to stay for the next few weeks. Our mental approach can radically change the way we experience it. We can choose to succumb or thrive! Here is a quick guide to hep you thrive and make the most of these challenging times. Stay healthy mentally and physically Exercise, eat nutritious food and create relaxing moments throughout the day. Watch my free tutorial for some easy tips to stay healthy and happy during lockdown Don't resist change. Embrace it! Lockdown has 'forced' us to change our everyday routine, to drop things that we regularly did or do the same things but in a different way (i.e. wear a mask when shopping, drinking your coffee in the park, living with the 'essentials'..). Why resist these changes? They are unavoidable. The more you resist, the harder it feels. Try navigating change with an open mind instead: just go along with and ease into it. You'll eventually realize it's not the end of the world! Focus on what you CAN do Instead of solely focus on what you cannot do, try shifting your mental focus towards the things you still can do. Dedicate time to them. Go for regular walks in the park or around traffic-free city streets, cook together and share a meal with your family or housemates, read those books you never had time to read when you used to sit in traffic for hours on your way to work, play with your children, take up a new hobby, chat to friends online.. It won't last forever whatever dramatic changes we are going through at the moment, they are only temporary. Better times will come! But in the meantime, enjoy what you have.. Do a life spring clean Temporary slowing down your life pace is not necessarily a negative thing. Occasional quiet time allows for the necessary 'space' to focus and reflect over what we truly want to keep in our life or let go (physically, mentally and emotionally). Have fun! Watch a comedy film, share jokes with friends, dance, sing.. do anything that makes you laugh! Laughing helps your body and mind relax and shift the focus away from negative thoughts. With a little help from your friends.. If you're feeling down, reach out to family or friends and share your concerns. Sometimes all we need to brighten things up is somebody to give us a different perspective. And people around us will only be delighted to help! Try online volunteering! In these challenging and uncertain times, offering help to those in need will give you a sense of purpose and personal fulfilment. Online volunteering is safe and accessible to everybody. Related articles: Rethinking our Fear of Change Related tutorial: 7 Simple Tips to stay Healthy and Happy during Lockdown Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health & Wellness, Nutrition & Life Coach based in Dublin. She teaches Yoga, Pilates and Fitness classes (also online). See: www.eatdancebreathe.com/services.html  Online Yoga, Pilates, Fitness classes (via Zoom)
Price: €12 per week (take as many classes as you like). View timetable here (Copyright 2020, Simona Zaino ) Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. It was not long ago when neuro-scientists believed that an adult developed brain was not capable of changing. More specifically, scientists believed that neurons connections in the brain (i.e. synapses), once established, became fixed or 'hardwired' New studies are now challenging this belief (see 'The Brain that Changes Itself' by Norman Doidge). Far from being unchanging, the brain is actually a 'plastic' organ. A plastic brain is a brain capable of changing its structure to adapt to new tasks and new situations. 'Neuro-plasticity' is the neurons' ability to change the old connections if they cannot efficiently handle the new task so that new connections can be established. This is a ground-breaking discovery if we think in terms of our ability to make changes and adapt to new circumstances in life. From a neuroscience point of view, changing acquired habits (anything from thought patterns to eating and exercise routines) requires the creation of new synapses in our brain. The more efficient our brain is in doing that, the faster we adapt and change. On the other hand, the more established the old habits (and the relevant synapses), the harder it is to change them. Is it possible for us to increase brain plasticity and its efficiency at dealing with changes? Challenging our brain by learning new skills is certainly a way ok keeping the brain fit. A regular Yoga practice can act at a deeper level to increase brain 'flexibility'. On the one hand, the practice of Yoga postures provides a physical and mental challenge: flexibility, balance, strength and focus are the main skills we need to execute and hold a pose in a effortless manner. On the other, meditation and breathing exercises usually included in a traditional Yoga class, will have a calming effect on the mind. And a calm mind is more efficient at 'isolating' the specific task to be carried out thus producing a 'focused effort' Related articles and tutorials in this blog: Covid19: rethinking our fear of change What is Yoga? What are its benefits? Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health, Nutrition & Life Coach based in Dublin. She is also a Yoga and Pilates instructor and teaches group, private and online classes.  (Copyright 2020, Simona Zaino )
Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. The Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lock-down has left us with no choice but facing dramatic changes. No time to get ready for these changes. And no chance to debate on whether we should 'embrace' them or not. We just had to. And these were not marginal changes. We had to re-design our entire life (work, family, leisure time, health and wellness) around the common number one priority: keeping social distance to try and slow down contagion. If last year somebody had predicted this would happen, we would have not believed them! We would have not believed that we, human beings, are capable of making such radical and quick changes to adapt to new circumstances. And still, when necessity called for it, we did change and adapt. Can we then rethink our fear of change in light of our response to the Covid19 pandemic? Usually, fear of change is triggered by our perceived inability to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. We think we are not strong or brave enough to make the necessary changes to improve our life. We think that making changes is too hard for us and decide to stay where we are, even if 'where we are' is not doing us any good. We think.. and all this thinking is what impedes the badly needed change. But Covid19 did not give us time to think. Covid19 came suddenly and we did not have time to assess our 'readiness' for change. Covid19 came and swept our certainty, life routine, stability and security away and left us with no choice but embracing changes. And guess what? We all 'magically' did it! We embraced the changes and survived. And some of us even thrived in this 'new normal'! Covid19 is a powerful life lesson, showing us the incredible resources that lie dormant inside ourselves. The same personal resources we need in order to trigger and sustain positive changes in our life. So next time you 'think' you cannot make those positive changes in your life, think again.. If you changed for Covid19, you can change for yourself. Author: Simona Zaino Simona is a qualified Health, Nutrition & Life Coach based in Dublin. Do you need guidance to make those needed changes in your life? Contact me personally to arrange a private coaching session (health, nutrition, general wellness, etc.). Online sessions available. Click here for contact details (Copyright 2017, Simona Z. )
Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. Going home from a New Year's Eve party last night, I started reflecting on the wishes of a Happy New Year that had been profusely exchanged among guests at midnight. 'I wish you a very Happ New Year!' shouted everybody with a big smile on their face after the customary countdown reached 1... A Happy New Year? For sure the New Year is going to have happy moments. But is it not setting the expectations too high when wishing somebody a FULL year of happiness? And what if the year ahead does not prove to be a happy one and it brings a series of challenging, difficult, upsetting life events instead? It's happened to me. It's happened to some of my friends in the past few years. I'm sure it's happened to you too. No matter how much happiness we wish for those around us, the year ahead will be a roller coaster of happiness and sadness, joy and frustration, excitement and disappoitnment. And being human is about experiencing all of this. Expecting to be happy all the time is just not realistic. If you recognize this, you will be mentally prepared to deal with those life challenges. And you will not feel ashamed to ask for support when you need it, instead of putting on a happy face all the time. So what are my wishes for the New Year? I wish you to peacefully accept life with its ups and downs. I wish you to have the strenght to smoothly navigate through the challenges of life. And if you can't find that strength, I wish you to find support and comfort in those around you. Related readings: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/constructive-wallowing/201506/put-happy-face-your-own-risk (Copyright 2016, Simona Z.) Full or partial reproduction of this article requires permission from the author. I recently visited Denmark. As any tourist would do these days, I carried out extensive Google searches on places of interest and the local culture before my departure... I googled anything: from best castles to recommended restaurants and how to greet people in Danish. I left to Copenhagen thinking I knew all I needed to know to spend three pleasant and relaxing days away from Ireland. Little I knew that Denmark with its tranquil natural landscapes, gorgeous buildings and romantic canals would reveal an interesting perspective on life.. But let's start from the beginning. The very first place I visited was the absolutely stunning Glyptoteket (=museum of statues) in Copenhagen. Being from Sicily, I am accustomed to the sight of ancient marble statues from the Greek and Roman civilization. We have hundreds of them on display in our museums. But this place was simply unique in the way the statues were arranged in each room and also the carefully designed lighting that almost brought each statue to life (see photos below). It was late in the evening. Apart from the spotlights pointing at each statue, the room was otherwise in darkness, so much so that it was actually hard to read the labels that described each item. The concept applied by the museum designers was very simple: instead of eliminating darkness using cold flood lights to light the rooms, they had used the contrast light-dark to create depth and highlight shapes and nuances. The following days, walking around Copenhagen after sunset, I noticed the same concept had been adopted to light up most buildings in the city (see image below). In a country where winter days are very short and sunlight is limited to few hours a day, could this be a trick to turn darkness into a tool to see things under a new light? This would imply that light and darkness can actually co-exist and even enrich each other. Darkness on its own or light on its own could not create the same deep image generated by the light-dark contrast. It is by carefully balancing both that we add extra dimension and depth. The practice of Yoga teaches us to look into both darkness and light and achieve the poise required to balance both into our life, thus highlighting nuances and dimensions that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
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