Dear Wellness Seekers,
Spanista Salutes International Women’s Sunday March 8th. Funny thing is I discovered this dedicated event not while in the US but while I was in Australia. I do find it of interest that we here in the states seem to let it fly under the radar screen, while in other countries around the world it is top news.
I would love to ask you, why you think that is?
The United Nations established International Women’s Day as a platform to raise consciousness of the plight of women which is especially difficult in some cultures where women are suppressed in society. It also celebrates women’s accomplishments past, and presents while focusing on growing awareness of critical issues that need to change for the better. Great burden falls women around the globe to raise children and care for the family which includes providing financial support. To put that into context over one third of this population lives on less than $1.25 a day per UN reports.
Yet in the developed world women have made great strides educationally, professionally, financially and personally. To my mind the biggest advantage women have gained over the past 40 years has been CHOICE. We now have the ‘opportunities of choice’ to do anything we choose to do if we are prepared to cultivate our talents and work hard for it. There are many role models that once did not exist. Doors are open that were once closed. Guess that is why this years theme is “Make It Happen.” Based on the Infographic I chose to share above from the UN, the media seems to propagate the myths of gender.
Modern society points out, benchmarks on issues for change make us aware much progress is are yet to be realized. And interestingly they have to do with benchmarking women to men. But I want to offer an alternative opinion here. My salute to International Women’s Day comes in the form of a challenge. When will women stop comparing and start advocating our advantages – that our differences are supreme and exceptional onto their own right? One of our advantages, when well cultivated, is Emotional Intelligence – but we do not recognize it as such. ( I refer to yesterday’s post.) Other cultures seem to have a broader understanding of this than we do in the US. After all we are all Global Citizens thanks to the internet and commerce. Once again I do wonder why? Do you have thoughts on this you wish to share? Do comment?
Spanista Salutes International Women’s Sunday March 8th will share an example by way of an article I discovered called, “Do Women Have Higher Emotional Intelligence? How to Raise Your E.Q?” It highlights the story of Lady Catherine Ashon’s major diplomatic coup. I quote from the article, “It’s being described as one of the great diplomatic triumphs of this century. Iran has agreed to temporarily halt its nuclear program for six months in return for an easing of sanctions. The deal was done after weeks of diplomatic talks in Geneva with much of the credit going to Lady Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. In particular Lady Ashton is being praised for her high level of emotional intelligence.”
The article goes on to offer 6 ways to evaluate your EQ by Daniel Goleman the Father of the Emotional Intelligence Movement and the ground breaking book Emotional Intelligence I & II. Check it out by clicking on the link above.
Spanista Takeaway: Mr. Goleman offers,”Emotions guide everything we do. Indeed, emotional intelligence is regarded as a far stronger predictor of success – in work, love and life – than traditional measures of intelligence, with 90% of leadership success being attributed to a high EQ.”
My Women Wellness Seekers, I think it’s time we stop defending ourselves and change the conversation to frame up our distinct advantages starting with cultivating our Emotional Intelligence and Wellbeing.
Thoughts? Please comment.
Credit for the Infographic: UN Women, The Beijing Critical Areas of Concern Deconstructed. Visit UNWomen.com/CS Focus 59.
To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,
Ginny
Dear Wellness Seekers,
Americans Misunderstand Cultivating Emotional Wellbeing Benefits. Yes, I believe this to be true. I really believe the vast majority of us do not get it. Worse yet because we do not understand it, how to cultivate it to realize our benefits we have become victims. Victims of access to quick fixes like prescribed medication that only masks our real issues.
Spanista was shocked to read that in America, at least one in four women now takes a psychiatric medication, compared to one in seven men. Can this really be true? Am I the only one that is shocked by this. This was reported by Julie Holland in the NYTimes article “Medicating Women’s Feelings” in Sunday’s Opinion Section. She is a psychiatrist in New York and an author of the book “Moody Bitches: The Truth About the Drugs You are Taking”.
Spanista applauds Dr. Holland for taking on this subject in “Medicating Women’s Feelings” (click to read it). To me this is not only about women, it is also about men. The dependence on the artificial formulas are having negative effects on our lives. To me this does point toward our societies lack of understanding about the power of emotional wellbeing. However there is no pill to learn this – nor do they teach this is our growing years. You have to take the initiative to become self-educated.
This is why I created Spanista, to offer a new platform to starts conversation about the importance of Self Care – to offer one source for sharing information, guidance, methods and solutions. This is to create a community conversation around such topics.
In the Spanista Philosophy there ways to begin cultivating your Emotional Wellbeing. Please take of read of it – it may open up ideas on how one can take control of ones life to get better results. If after reading this you feel you are out of touch with yourself the first thing is to stop and takes stock in yourself. You deserve a joyful life.
1. Set time aside to become self-aware of your circumstances. Do it. Do not wait.
2. Resolve to put yourself first so you can get in touch with who you really are now.
3. Work to get out of your head and into your body, this is where your true feelings reside – they are not in your head.
You are about to begin your Journey to Joy. While there are times when medication is warranted – it should not be left to this. You will benefit by overlaying Self Care Practices to the mix for a holistic solution.
.jpg)  PINIMAGE
Americans Misunderstand Cultivating Emotional Wellbeing Benefits does focus on women. For women especially – we deserve to treat our hearts, bodies and mind with great reverence. Like this delicate tulip stem – we are beautiful from the inside out but require water to survive – consider emotional wellbeing you cultivate the water that helps the flower thrive. Without it, it withers and dies and untimely death. You deserve to thrive!
let me know your thoughts about this insightful article by Julie Holland.
To Your Self Care Journey to Joy,
Ginny
Mindful Work by David Galles Helps Many Realize Happier Lifestyles is worthy of sharing. Spanista discovered this book in the article I posted about yesterday titled ‘Good News Monday: NYTimes Article Aetna’s CEO’s Management by Mantra’. Just scroll down to read it. The reporter is also the author of this book. After I wrote my post to share with you, I jumped on Amazon to order Mindful Work straight away. I look forward to diving into the contents.
But setting that aside, honestly, reading this did get me thinking about benchmarking where we are in our Self Awareness Journey right now. Why? Well, we are 60 days into the new year and this feels like a good time to check on how the Self Care Agenda we set in January 2015 is informing our lifestyle. Have we made progress with putting our Self Care needs first? Are we on track with adopting new practices outlined in the Spanista Self Care Philosophy? Are we learning some new things about our inner wellbeing? Have we found a new groove? Or, are we veering off track to return to our old habits? Depending on the answers, perhaps this could help, especially if your dedication to work is pulling you off track.
As you may know by now, Spanista advocates a form of mindfulness called Self Care Reflection Rituals. While I explored meditation it did not suit my life, but Reflection does – especially Reflection Walks. That is why I was attracted to both the article and the book which focuses on the role of the work environment in helping us.
I have experienced the benefits first hand and am very supportive of companies offering this type of modified mindful exercises in the workplace. The positive effects go with you when you leave the office and bleed into your lives, bringing emotional wellbeing over time. You must trust me with this – it really works.
Now back to the book – here is the overview of Mindful Work on Amazon.com:
“A New York Times reporter reveals what business leaders around the country are already discovering: Meditation may be the key to fostering a happier, more productive workplace. For the past few years, mindfulness has begun to transform the American workplace. Many of our largest companies, such as General Mills, Ford, Target, and Google, have built extensive programs to foster mindful practices among their workers. Mindful Work is the first book to explain how all sorts of businesses and any kind of worker can benefit from meditation, yoga, and other mindful techniques. As a business reporter for the New York Times who has also practiced meditation for two decades, David Gelles is uniquely qualified to chart the growing nexus between these two realms. As he proves, mindfulness lowers stress, increases mental focus, and alleviates depression among workers.”
Here is a review from a CEO who gets it, “Gelles deftly shows the power of mindfulness to change individuals, businesses and our world for the better. Mindfulness is a practice we need to embrace, and we cannot be afraid to follow this path.”
—Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, Salesforce
Spanista Takeaway: Mindful Work by David Galles Helps Many Realize Happier Lifestyles can be a catalyst for both personal and professional changes in the workplace. He also has a website – mindfulwork.com. Spanista encourages you to explore the topic more. It is time well spent if you want to create a more joyful life. If you are already a believer it will reinforce your beliefs. If not, you may be encouraged to explore it. Great.
May I ask, are you apt to share this with your Human Capital leader in your organization? Do share your thoughts on this.
To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,
Ginny
Dear Wellness Seekers,
Good News Monday: NYTimes Article CEO’s Management Mantra by David Gelles is a welcome breath of fresh air for Spanista. It tells the story of the pioneering Chief Executive Officer of Aetna Health Insurance Company, Mark T. Bertolini, who experienced a life changing skiing accident a few years ago, that opened his mind to think differently about achieving wellbeing. For him, like many others, he realized traditional medical methods were helpful to a point. Living with prolonged discomfort post accident, affected the quality of life he had long taken for granted. It beckoned him to seek new solutions to address his own unresolvable pain points that were not just about the physical dis-stress, but also the emotional toll.
In the “A CEO’s Management By Mantra” article in the Sunday NYTimes, it tells the story of how Mark’s quest lead him to research various pathways reported to deliver real results including ancient approaches to mind management. Thank goodness there is a growing body of evidence published by credible institutions on these topics in western medicine as our scientific experts have been slow to accept. Mark’s exploratory of alternatives encouraged him to adopt a new holistic lifestyle philosophy to wellbeing that has gone beyond the personal, to shaping a new culture at the large health insurance company he leads. As these practices generated positive results personally, he had an epiphany, one that lead him to inspire his organization to embrace trials of both meditation and yoga. But it took some convincing even of his own medical staff. In the end clinical evidence won the day, and great results are being reported internally.
 PINIMAGE
AETNA is one of the top 100 companies in America. This kind of leadership take courage. Having worked in large companies I appreciate the boldness of a visionary. They are rare and I applaud him. The moves he is making to lead the company’s employees into an enlightened wellness culture appears to also be helping enhance the financial wellness of the corporation. Now this is really big news. The article states that: Under Mark Bertolini’s leadership, the company has record enrollment and the stock price has increased three fold. These positive results stem primarily from the programs inclusive of meditation classes and yoga classes. More than one quarter of the companies workforce of 50,000 have participated in at least one class, and those that have report, on average, a 28 percent reduction in stress levels, a 20 percent improvement in sleep quality and a 19 percent reduction in pain. They also become more effective on the job, gaining an average of 62 minutes per week of productivity each, which AETNA estimates is worth $3,000 an employee per year. Demand for the programs are on the rise as results are shared employees; every class is overbooked.
“We have this groundswell inside the company of people wanting to take classes,” Mr. Bertolini said. “It has been pretty magical.”
PINIMAGE
Spanista Takeaway: A more holistic approach to wellbeing is long overdue in the corporate world and Spanista applauds the efforts of Mr. Bertolini. This CEO even wears his enlightened commitment for everyone to see with an engraved amulet that is engraved with the Sandskrit character “sohum” – “A Devine Connection to the Universe”. Spanista encourages any positive steps taken to self awareness – especially when it comes to understand our emotional fitness and wellbeing practices. I do hope that soon the idea and practice of Self Care will be encouraged by more CEO’s. Only they can set an example of better ways to live that offer more joyful lifestyles. Soon I hope massage therapy will become part of an integrated solution when people make the connection and benefits on a higher level.
What do you think of Mark Bertolin’s efforts – are they exemplary?
Would love to hear your comments – please share them below.
To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,
Ginny
Dear Wellness Seekers,
Friday Wellness Tip: Art Museum Weekend Escape Dali Museum St Petersburg hopes to inspire you to act. With winter’s intensity prolonging everywhere in the country (only Florida has not seen actual snow but it is plenty chilly here today) is can begin to affect how we feel. Even the strongest Spanista can struggle to hold onto emotional wellbeing when facing day-to-day struggles that winter sends us.
Spanista suggests breaking with your normal routine or your desire to stay in by taking a day trip to your local Art Museum. I will illustrate though my Museum Day at The Dali. The delight of planning a full agenda can be of five varieties:
1.) Immerse yourself into beautiful visual stimulus by way of curated collections of master works and life artifacts – explore the life of the artists in the collection as it can enrich understanding the work, culture, period in history. Adopt a work that emotionally connects.
PINIMAGE
2.) Take advantage of Docent Tours or headsets that will help you escape into the exhibits that are featured by the museum curators. You will be transported into another world. Buy a book before you enter – have lunch and do some exploring so when you see the works you can make them in the book and revisit the experience.
PINIMAGE
3.) Focus on the Architecture of the structure, new or old – explore the designer’s background. Many have gardens which can take on a stunning character in winter if you wish to stroll in it.
PINIMAGE
4.) Plan a light meal at The Cafe – the atmosphere is a bit like being in Paris Cafe Culture for a while as you see very interesting types of people collecting there like well-traveled internationals and/ or creative souls who want to absorb the positive energy. Can you see the big Dali mustache in the garden through the windows? Let me know if you found it.
PINIMAGE
5.) Unique Shops are full of fantastic treasures from jewelry, home decor, art books, to creative tools and mindful toys that focus on artistic to beautiful art pieces you can take home to enhance your environment.
PINIMAGE
Friday Wellness Tip: Art Museum Weekend Escape Dali Museum St Petersburg is a simple tip for your Spanista Self Care. Visiting the Dali Museum reminded of what a total experience like this can do for spirit and soul. It can uplift, inspire and fill you up with joy. A joy that last and hovers about the typical fleeting joy of some quick hits like eating a great meal – enjoy for the moment but soon forgotten. And bring you closer to those you do it with, if you choose to share the experience with loved one. The pics I share here are examples of the five delights to plan around to fill your day.
If you do make a Wellness Museum Day Trip – please do share it with us, won’t you?
Have a great weekend and do stay warm.
To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,
Ginny
|
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)