Share Your Love Story And You Could Win A Movement + Massage Session With Anne!

This month Anne is looking for LOVE! Your love stories of course. Keep reading for details about how you could win a one on one session with Anne just by sharing the love…

February is American Heart Month, a campaign designed to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Here are four things to can do right now to take control of your health and improve the odds for you and your heart:

1. Commit to getting regular exercise. The American College Of Sports Medicine recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. This should include strength training, balance and flexibility work, and neuromotor exercises to improve coordination and agility (yoga and TaiChi are recommended)
2. Maintain a healthy diet. Load up of a wide variety of veggies and fruits in all the colors of the rainbow. Consume an adequate amount of protein throughout the day, limit sugars and processed foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store first. If it has a commercial it’s probably not something you should be putting in your mouth.
3. Have your blood pressure checked. According to the CDC, people with high blood pressure are 4 times more likely to die from a stroke and 3 times more likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure. If your blood pressure is outside of the normal range discuss your options with your doctor. These may include smoking cessation programs, engaging in regular exercise, changes to your diet or medication.
4. Reduce stress. Oh man this one is a biggie. In fact it may be the most important thing on this list. We all experience positive and negative stress throughout our lives and some events or times in our lives are more stressful than others. You can’t avoid stress, but you can manage your reaction to it. How? Sit quietly for five minutes every morning and focus on your breath. Call a friend or loved one to chat. Go for a walk on your lunch break. Take up yoga, tai chi, swimming, or any meditative repetitive form of exercise that you find calming. Tell someone that you love them.

Which brings us to our February love stories. Showing compassion literally improves our physical health. Research shows that when we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down, we secrete the “bonding hormone” oxytocin, and the pleasure centers of our brain light up like pinball machines.

Every day I get hugs and kind words from you and it truly warms my heart. I know you have a love story (or stories) to share and I want to hear them! How did you meet your spouse, what sweet thing did your child say this week, do you have a pet that brings you joy, is there a physical place that fills you with love?

This month I ask you to share your love stories either on Fluid’s Facebook page or in the comments below.

Anne will pick one lucky winner of a Movement + Massage session. Get on it though – winner will be picked on or before February 29th.

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood) Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She offers small group and one on one training to provide stress relief, build muscular strength, improve joint function, and decrease chronic pain.