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With holistic health practices gaining significant momentum, consumers are constantly looking for unique ways to utilize its benefits. We spoke with top health and wellness professionals around the country to give us their best hacks for holistic health and healing at any age!
Susan J Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., Licensed psychologist, Forensic psychologist, Attorney, and Author of “From Deep Within.”
Hack: Embracing Loss: Losing, Learning, Letting Go, Living, Laughing
Hack: If you think you are not funny, keep humorous reminders around
Hack: Brains just want to have fun
More and more consumers are turning to natural, alternative, holistic practices to enhance their lifestyle and take a more active role in their health and wellness. Holistic health is an approach that is widespread today. More than just exercise and nutrition, it focuses on the mind, body, and spirit, combining a sense of purpose, character strength, meditation, and mindfulness.
With holistic health practices gaining significant momentum, consumers are constantly looking for unique ways to utilize its benefits. We spoke with top health and wellness professionals around the country to give us their best hacks for holistic health and healing at any age!
Hack: Work to rewire your brain & activate your brain plasticity!
Everyone enters their “flow state” in a different way. Artists or musicians will do it differently than an athlete or an entrepreneur. The first brain hack is to understand where your “flow state” is and how to get there.
“To me, it is a feeling of full connection to all things, but from a scientific perspective it could be seen as a mental state where you are happy, in good health, and very highly productive without feeling negative emotions.”
It used to be that people thought it was only for the elite like athletes or top performers. But it’s available for everyone, and that is why it is growing so fast in popularity. A big tip for getting into flow is to have good health. Any physical health problems will distract you from the flow state.
Think if we all had four different brains. The heart brain is the emotional part of your brain, the other brain is the gut brain. Surprisingly, your gut has as many or more nerve cells than your brain has, which influences us tremendously. This is a big reason why bad health can affect your flow state because it is directly sending signals to your emotions. Things like hormonal messages come from the gut. The third brain is what I call the womb brain. This is not just a place for women, but also the same place in a man’s body. This is where the energy for creative actions and the desire to create comes from. The fourth brain is the one on top that everyone already knows about. I encourage people to get in touch with the emotional and gut brains more because we are very conditioned to only think rationally. The other brains help you get into flow state and garner intuition. Trust your gut and intuition. You get messages from the energy around you. Tap into that and you will be much more successful.
Dashama Gordon Founder of The Flow State, Oneness Movement & Pranashama Yoga Institute
Website: dashama.com
Bio: Dashama is an internationally known Author, Life and Business Strategist, Speaker, Producer and Yoga Teacher. Founder of the Global 30 Day Yoga Challenge, Perfect 10 Lifestyle and Pranashama Yoga Institute. She is an award winning innovator in the field of yoga, conscious business, mind/body transformation, and healing. Her videos can be seen by over 85 million viewers across multiple platforms including Daily Yoga app (world’s large yoga app with 30 million subscribers), Alison Education online (11 million learners), Fitfusion via ATT Uverse and BroadBand TV (30 million viewers), Udemy online learning, Mindvalley online learning, as well as throughout the Marriott, Hilton and Shangri-la hotel brands via her Fitness on Demand partnership. Dashama, a media favorite, has been featured on ABC, NBC, FOX News, Oprah.com, Discovery Channel, Cosmo Magazine, Teen Vogue, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc, TechCrunch and Times of India to name a few. She has spoken at events in many countries and at the United Nations, University of Virginia, Warwick Business School, and Sony Motion Picture Studios to name a few. With a college degree in international business and communication, she has been a spirit-driven entrepreneur consulting for and creating international brands and businesses for over 15 years. She teaches that the power of the mind, discipline, and positive intention are the greatest influences to your conscious evolution and success.
Hack: Change your thinking about mental health
After working with the mentally ill for many years, the stigma around mental health is a major problem. People should think of those suffering from mental illness as individuals first. If we talked about other groups like a minority the way we talked about the mentally ill, it would not be allowed. For example, in the Vegas shooting, the police were looking for a motive. Once they discovered the perp was taking antidepressants, they stopped looking for a motive. That stigmatizes everyone taking antidepressants. This affects how society treats mental illness and makes people avoid getting help.
Susan J Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., Licensed psychologist, Forensic psychologist, Attorney, and Author of “From Deep Within.”
Website: https://msipress.com/product/from-deep-within-a-forensic-clinical-psychologists-journey/
Bio: Susan is a multi-credentialed mental health professional with the unique combination of licensed psychologist, forensic psychologist, and attorney. She has 25 years of experience in clinical practice with unique populations who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. Dr. Lewis is a sought-after consultant, and as a national seminar instructor, she trains hundreds of mental health professionals each year.
Hack: Start looking for humor in every situation
The simple way to increase your sense of humor is to start looking for it in every situation. Even when dealing with loss and pain, looking for the humor is a great way to help progress. I worked in the death and dying world and one day saw people going up to a coffin with a loved one in it. They leaned over and remarked, “He never looked better” and that type of funny helps to heal.
Hack: Embracing Loss: Losing, Learning, Letting Go, Living, Laughing
Firstly, realize we all die and that loss is common, learn from it and let go of the loss. Once you learn to let go, you can start living again and then finally laugh about it.
Hack: If you think you are not funny, keep humorous reminders around
I like to pass out clown noses. I recommend having some fun stuff around that makes you laugh and smile. Enhance your good mood by surrounding yourself with reminders that there is joy and humor in this world.
Allen Klein, Aka “Mr. Jollytologist”®, shows audiences worldwide how to use humor and positive thinking
Website: www.allenklein.com
Bio: Through his books and keynote speeches, Allen Klein (aka “Mr. Jollytologist”®), shows audiences worldwide how to use humor and positive thinking to deal with not-so-funny stuff. He is an award-winning professional speaker and author of 28 books including, The Healing Power of Humor, You Can’t Ruin My Day, Embracing Life After Loss and Positive Thoughts for Troubling Times. He is also a TEDx presenter and blogger on happiness. Comedian Jerry Lewis has said that Allen Klein is “a noble and vital force watching over the human condition”.
Hack: Brains just want to have fun
You can boost your health and brain happiness by just having fun! We all see fun differently, so find out what fun means to you. It changes over your lifetime too. For example, think back to when you were a child and remember what was fun then. Also, if you’re having difficulty thinking of fun stuff, ask yourself what makes you curious. Curiosity is the key to vibrant aging.
Hack: Think about vibrant aging
Don’t think about the concept of anti-aging. What is the opposite of anti-aging? Pro-death? Instead, think about vibrant aging. You will age but the choice of how you do it is up to you.
Hack: Be grateful
Studies have shown that practicing gratitude daily helps your health. Cultivating gratitude and curiosity will help you have a vibrant life at every age. Watch for her upcoming book, 5 easy brain-boosting life hacks you can do in less than 5 mins.
Cristina Smith, Award-winning author of the “Yoga for the Brain” series & Founder of the Subtle Energy Center.
Website: www.cristinasmith.com
Bio: Cristina Smith is the founder and CEO of the Subtle Energy Center and award-winning author of the Yoga for the Brain series. Her research, discoveries, and teachings have helped thousands of people bring more health and happiness into their lives.
Hack: Change your beliefs if you want a different outcome.
Our beliefs are the core of all things. We keep repeating the same patterns in life if we don’t change our beliefs, so I have created a methodology to change beliefs.
Many people think you don’t change beliefs, so the idea of having a simple method to do so is a big deal. Some of the discussion around beliefs show that it is, in fact, possible. The first step starts with you. If we want to change the world, we must first look at our own beliefs and be open to changing them. Beliefs such as that ‘we do not deserve love or happiness, or to have material things are based on scarcity. These are personal beliefs that we can change, and should. We also hold collective beliefs about the world around us. For example, the beliefs that ‘the world is here to exploit to our ends’ and that ‘resources are endless’, or the belief that ‘we are separate from the environment impact on how well we treat the natural world we live in, and can also be changed.
These beliefs drive our actions. The consumer culture that underlies a lot of the destruction of the environment. Companies tend to trigger our beliefs about how good we are, suggesting that unless we buy their product we are not complete. The answer to this, according to the advertisers, is to buy more things. Positively changing our world starts with changing our need to be better than others and our desire for more than we need. When we do this we recognize we are enough as we are, and we don’t need things to be happy or fulfilled in life.
Yasmin Davar, Author of “Our Peaceful Planet: Healing Ourselves and the World for a Sustainable Future.”
Bio: Yasmin Davar is a visionary thought leader and social change agent. She is well-known for showing people how to create peace and sustainability in their own lives and in the world with easy-to-follow, practical, solutions-focused advice. Her passion is to empower people, because everybody has a role to play, and everyone’s contribution is valuable. Yasmin was inspired at a young age to undertake work that would make a positive difference to the world. She is an environmental engineer with a Masters degree in International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. She has training in Corporate Governance and has studied personal development for over two decades. Davar is the author of Our Peaceful Planet, which contains extraordinary ideas that have the power to transform lives and the planet.
Hack: Don’t Stop Believing
People dealing with health issues need to hold on to the belief that there is a solution that can heal you. Keep the faith, keep trying and searching. It takes a long time to get results. This is the secret to my miraculous turn-around.
Hack: Limit electronic radiation
Limit your close exposure to Bluetooth devices and be aware of all the electric radiation in the atmosphere. I believe it is affecting the younger generation. Recently, Apple got bad press when a study showed that their Bluetooth earbuds created a risk of inner ear problems. See full article here: https://www.businessinsider.com/do-airpods-cause-cancer-2019-3
Beverly Jensen, Author of the upcoming book “21st Century Wellness Rx: Health Hacks to Treat, Cure, & Prevent Chronic Dis-ease.”
Website: www.womensmedicinebowl.com
Bio: Beverly A. Jensen, Ph.D., is a life-long practitioner (70 years young) of the natural healing arts. She grew up in a family that practiced traditional or non-AMA forms of healing, and she’s lived and worked in several countries where her knowledge of natural medical treatments and remedies grew. In the late ‘80s, and again 10 years later, she developed autoimmune diseases which orthodox medicine couldn’t diagnose or treat. Her repertoire of natural treatments expanded to find healing solutions. After managing a health project in the Czech Republic that used the internet for health promotion, Dr. Jensen decided to create a website for information and education on natural healing systems. In 2003, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com was launched. Dr. Jensen is a certified health coach working with individuals and organizations and author of the forthcoming book, 21st Century Wellness Rx: Health Hacks to Treat, Cure, & Prevent Chronic Dis-ease.
Hack: Practice Hopeology
How to release the power of hope you ask? Hope can change the world. Every time people get more hopeful it creates positive change in the world. In America for example, we are in a hope crisis and you see it in the suicide rate climbing. The first way to be more hopeful as an individual is to THINK HOPE. How we do that? Look for good in the challenging situations we live. If you look for the silver lining, you start to find solutions. The second way is to train your brain by taking “hope breaks.” Schedule times in your day to take 5-minute breaks. During the break, stop and go to a quiet place and breathe in 5 to 10 breaths. Then, think of good things happening in your future. Think of what you want to come true positively in your life. Say it out loud. “I am going to get hired and it will work out.” The third way is to spread hope! Make hope connections and have a “hope chat” with someone who needs it. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others.
Rosalind Tompkins, Founder of Turning Point International Church
Website: rosalindytompkins.com
Bio: Rosalind Y. Lewis Tompkins’ whose trademarked moniker is Hopeologist®, received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree from the Five-Fold Ministry Theological University in 2012 recognizing her as a Humanitarian for the work that she has done to end drug and alcohol addiction and to relieve the suffering of families afflicted by the disease of addiction through her work with Mothers In Crisis, Inc. Dr. Tompkins founded Mothers In Crisis, Inc. (MIC) in April 1991. Mothers In Crisis is a 501c3 federal tax-exempt non-profit organization committed to linking families and communities together to provide networks of support and encouragement for families to live productively, empowered, hope-filled lives. Through MIC she has impacted the lives of over ten thousand families. In June 2017, Dr. Tompkins was instrumental in getting the designation for April to become the National Month of Hope through the National Day Calendar. In keeping with her humanitarian call, Dr. Tompkins has traveled throughout the nation and around the world to many countries including East, Central, and South Africa, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Turkey, to spread hope to those most in need, i.e., widows, orphans, and refugees.
Dr. Tompkins is the published author of “Nimble Anointed Words Empower, N-AWE, a book of Poetry”, “What Is It? Defining, Finding, and Obtaining Your It”, “As Long As There Is Breath In Your Body, There Is Hope”, “Rare Anointing”, and “You Are Beautiful”. Dr. Tompkins believes that hope can change the world. She is an inspirational and influential hopeologist® and poet whose passion in life is studying and spreading hope while empowering others to spread hope as they tap into their God-given power, potential, and purpose.
Alyssa Longo is an editor for Brainhackers.com and works at sister company Farrow Communications as their Senior Media Relations Specialist and Talent Acquisition Coordinator. Much of her responsibilities include creatively writing original blog posts, website content and media releases, media pitching, client relations, and assisting in social media campaigns (Hootsuite Certified). As internship supervisor, she oversees the hiring and responsibilities of incoming interns for Farrow Communications. A proud SUNY Fredonia alumnus with a Bachelors Degree in Public Relations, she enjoys creative writing and is thrilled to be in an industry that she loves. Alyssa can be found outside the office roaming for home goods at TJ Maxx, playing with her dog, and singing any chance she gets!
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