Sometimes it takes us the better part of a lifetime to discover our life’s work, even though we may have been doing it our whole lives without necessarily realizing it. Our life’s work is not always what we do to make money, although we often think it should be, and sometimes this way of thinking prevents us from seeing clearly what it is. It may be the work of having children, caring for them, and running a household. The way we know our life’s work is by how we feel when we are doing it.

When we are doing our life’s work, we feel an uncanny sense of ease and alignment. This doesn’t mean that the work is always easy, and it doesn’t mean that it’ the only work we have to do; it just means that there is a conviction deep inside us that tells us we are in tune with our innermost self. When we are engaged in our life’s work, our bodies feel more alive, because our energy is devoted to a cause that, in turn, feeds us. We may be tired after engaging in our life’s work, but we are almost never depleted. We feel grounded in the world, knowing that we belong here and have something important to offer.

When we are deeply unhappy, depressed, or subject to one illness after another, this may be due to a sense of disconnection from our life’s work. At times like these, finding the work we are meant to do is an essential act of healing. Most of us remember a time when we felt fully engaged in some act of work, service or creativity, and it is here that we may rediscover the work we are meant to do now. On the other hand, it may be time to explore what inspires us through volunteering, taking a class, going back to school, or just doing whatever it is we long to try. We all have callings, and when we find them, we owe it to ourselves to nurture and protect them, because while they may or may not be our livelihood, they are the keys to our wellbeing.

You feel deprived. Diets that don’t allow certain types of food (carbs, fat, sugar) in moderation are simply not practical, not to mention unhealthy – eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates imbalances in our bodies.

You “plateau” after losing a few pounds. There’s actually a second component to healthy weight loss: exercise. Often your body adjusts to a new way of eating, and it’s only with increased physical activity that the pounds will continue to melt away.

You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you have no means of lifelong, healthy diet maintenance, and the pounds quickly come back.

§  After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. Restricting your food intake slows down your metabolism – another reason why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.

§  You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation and overindulged, doesn’t mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture – an occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. And again, diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating – when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.

§  You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs may be cost-prohibitive and less practical for long-term weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.

§  You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations revolving around food. Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?

§  The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs in 2 months – and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises, and most are simply not realistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!

Dr. Bankole offers the innovative, Ultra Lite Weight Loss program to people interested in  permanent  health and weight loss.  The program was voted the #1 weight loss program in 2005 and 2006 by readers of Slimming Magazine.  Developed by a naturopathic doctor in Australia, Ultra Lite has been in use for fourteen years now.   Over 500,000 people have successfully used the program.  The great news is that when this program is followed the results speak for themselves.  Without the use of drugs or stimulants, Ultra Lite offers an average weight loss of 3-5 pounds per week.

An effective program is based on healthy food choices, proper ratio of protein to carbohydrate, adequate caloric intake and exercise.  The Ultra Lite program is predictably successful because it ensures just that.  In addition, it ensures the four components of a successful weight loss program.  These components are:

Weight lost during the program is fat with the protection of muscle mass. Food purchased and eaten is normal and easy to access.  Also, a thorough understanding the “good, the bad and the ugly” of foods so unhealthy and sabotaging eating habits don’t return.

Food allergies and sensitivities are identified so the offending food can be eliminated or reduced to avoid water retention and the reacquiring of lost weight.

Pinpointing any of 14 conditions such as thyroid dysfunction or other hormonal disorders that if not addressed can prevent successful with weight loss over time.

In this way all the major issues concerning why people are not able to maintain weight loss over time are addressed and the likelihood of people succeeding are significantly increased.  The accomplishment of getting people to lose their excess fat, learning how to keep it off over time, and having food support health instead of destroy it is the greatest gift of health people we can give ourselves.

The Program in Action

1. You will be given all the resources needed including recipes and food lists to properly combine protein and carbohydrates to promote optimal fat burning.  This is where all your calories will come from minus the added essential fats you’ll take.  This will promote a fat burning metabolism which we will have you verify daily with a simple home test.  The program is structured, easy to administer and eliminates guesswork.
2. Participants consume four tasty packets  (these come in a variety of flavors) which provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.  The nutrients are balanced to support your success on the program.  Some people with certain medical conditions will need one or two additional nutrients which will be recommended.
3. You’ll need to consume 8 glasses of water daily.
4. There are weekly appointments to check your progress, weighed and measured, food consumption is reviewed to see if your protein and carbohydrate ratio needs adjusting and any questions are answered.  You will also receive the coaching and motivation needed to succeed.
5. Once your target weight is reached you will be placed on a well-balanced maintenance program with quarterly check-ups to help you achieve Lifetime Weight Loss and health.

If you are ready to lose some fat, lower your blood sugar, improve your cardiovascular health and look younger and better than you have in years. Request an “Ultra Lite” appointment today and be sure to mention Yoga with Ajene!

• Help detoxification of the body and boost immune system
• Increase blood circulation, lower blood pressure
• Good for muscle relaxation, increase flexibility in your muscles, increase mobility
• Improve breathing
• Improves posture, balance, corrects body alignments and dissolves energy blockages
• Improves athletic performance
• Help arthritis and back pain
• Help tone the body, strengthen joints and fight diseases, including chronic joint problems
• Prevents illnesses and alleviates degenerative diseases
• Slows the aging process

Mental Benefits of Thai Massage

• Improve your outlook towards life; builds an emotional balance
• Help with concentration and creativity/ Mind and body concentration
• Clear and calm your mind
• Help you gain mental clarity

Psychological effects of Thai Massage

• Reduce and relieve stress and anxiety
• Help people boost their inner energy levels
• Develop discipline and self-control
• Achieve better health, increases health and vitality
• Raise the energy level and stamina
• Build internal power (and creates a natural confidence)

Contact us to arrange your first session!

1) Regular, low-impact exercise — you don’t have to go to extremes
A regular exercise / movement program is not only the best way to maintain a healthy weight; it’s also one of the most powerful protective practices against breast cancer incidence and reoccurrence for all women. A recent report from the World Health Organization tells us that there is a 20–40% decrease in the risk of developing breast cancer for women who are physically active regardless of menopausal status, type, or intensity of activity. Try taking two stairs at a time, parking further from your destination, practicing yoga or Tai Chi, or even just walking.

2) Enhance your estrogen metabolism — and your detoxification pathways
One of the strongest associations with breast cancer concern higher levels of circulating estrogens in a woman’s body, particularly after menopause. Leading-edge research suggest breast health is partially determined by how well we convert and excrete estrogen metabolites in the body. This means effectively transforming both the estrogens that naturally occur in our bodies and xenoestrogens, or those that your body encounters through your diet and environment. Some sources of xenoestrogens include plastics and hormone or anti-biotic fed meat. We now know that heavy exposure to xenoestrogens can increase some women’s risk for developing breast cancer. Most environmental toxins and our own toxic hormone byproducts are flushed out through the gut and liver, but if toxins like xenoestrogens build up, they can block natural elimination and provoke a cascade of health issues, including weight gain, inflammation, and hormonal imbalance, which can in turn, increase your risk of breast cancer. Should reactive toxins accumulate in our bodies, we may feel perpetually exhausted, bloated, irritable, or just generally unwell. Ridding the body of these toxins can be of huge benefit for breast cancer prevention.

3) A good night’s sleep can put breast cancer cells to rest
Many may simply be unable to sleep due to stress or anxiety — our brains can feel like they’re spinning, keeping us awake at night. Current research shows that variation in our nighttime production of melatonin (a hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle) may be a predictor for whether or not we might develop breast cancer. The same melatonin which makes us all feel sleepy, actually makes breast cancer cells ―sleepy‖ too – in fact, melatonin was shown to slow breast cancer cell growth by 70% in one recent study. Sleeping well isn’t about just lying down and closing one’s eyes — instead, you can actually re-train your body to sleep, particularly if you’re troubled by insomnia. Here are a few simple behaviors you can adopt that favor optimal melatonin production in your brain:
Dim the lights and find the darkness. Aim for eight hours of sleep. How much sleep each woman needs varies, but we usually need 7–9 hours.

4) Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet best supports hormone balance and promotes elimination of toxic build up in both the gastrointestinal tract and within the lymphatic system of the breast. A vegetarian diet focusing on dark greens and cruciferous vegetables has been shown to help detoxification pathways in both the gut and liver. A study presented by Sherwood and colleagues, showed that vegetarians excreted threefold more estrogen in their feces, had lower urinary excretion, and had 15-20% lower plasma estrogen levels. The above studies show a positive correlation between high plasma levels and estrogen and consumption of fat, as well as, a negative correlation with consumption of a high fiber diet.

With breast cancer incidence increasing, there’s good reason to be concerned about this freighting diagnosis. In spite of this, following the above mentioned recommendation should provide you comfort in knowing you are practicing sensible and reasonable steps to help protect your health

Dr. Cynthia Preston via Inland Natural Medicine and Dr. Ayo Bankole