LYW Mainstays Method

LYW Women’s Bodies | Mainstays Method. Welcome to my first *official* blog post! I am so excited to share what's been on my mind for what feels like a lifetime with a bit more room to write it all out. 

What does it take to live well? There is so much noise out in the world with tips, lists, tricks, trends, hacks, ingredients, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and must-haves – all supposedly necessary to live well and feel good. It’s hard to know how all these bits and pieces make for a whole, healthy person when so much of what we hear are snippets of what we seek.

But what if you don’t clamor for those things anyway? What if what you want to is simple, intentional, wholesome, intuitive, natural, authentic, intimate, timeless, purposeful and personal, made just for you?

Live Your Well was conceived from wanting to know what was essential, proven true by centuries of human existence and by the power of scientific rigor to live well. We live in the Age of Knowledge, digitized, with information at our fingertips but overloading our minds. At LYW, we’ve scoured academic books and journals, scholarly articles, and crossed multiple disciplines searching for this wisdom. We’ve combined our scholarly search with professional and personal experiences and have synthesized simplified health and wellness for you. We break it down in seven ways—the Mainstays Method--for you. 

RELATIONSHIPS

Connection to family, friends, community and self. The quality and quantity are fundamental to individual and community wellness. This is something we all know is true. We know we need a “tribe,” and what the science shows us is the more each member of our tribe know each other the better off we feel. What makes high-quality relationships so impactful in our lives is our essential interconnectedness and basic empathy that are hardwired in us. We often hear that “we must have empathy” or to be “empathic,” as human beings we are. Period. However, our capacity for empathy is often shrouded by the many demands and distractions of everyday life. We are also unequivocally interconnected and dependent on one another. We simply cannot live without each other and live well, the research says this too. Empathy and interconnectedness are soft, quiet connections that are always with us and can be uncovered by our attention. LYW aims to help you recover your attention and dedication to those whom are meaningful to you, including yourself.

NOURISHMENT

What you put in and on your body. When it comes to food, our society has been obsessed with macronutrients and calories for over 50 years, along with a research community that seems to change its mind about things every other year. The result is most of us don’t really know how to eat or what “food” is. In a recent post, I talked about a meal, a ½ plate of vegetables and fruit, ¼ plate of grain or starch, and ¼ plate of protein with a good dose of fat. That’s it. Simple and timeless. Even more concerning than our food situation is our understanding of what we’re putting on our bodies. Because of lack of laws for labeling and ingredients, we truly don’t know what’s in products like hand soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioners, lotions and creams, and their effects on the body. The accumulated effects of all these foreign substances is what is called “total load” that our body, specifically our livers, takes on when we expose it to the menagerie of chemicals in our body, beauty and hair care products, in addition to what’s in our food. With LYW, we will help you better understand both food and body products that are naturally good for you.

NATURE

Being outside, in the natural world. Modern science is catching up to the long felt healing experience of nature. For example, in studies at the Nagano Prefecture in Japan, researchers found that just a day in the woods increased the levels of natural killer cells, a specific form of white blood cells made in the spinal cord, for up to 7 days afterward! A whole week’s worth of benefit! In these same studies, researchers also found an increased activity of natural killer cells. The increased activity meant that those cells were more effective in detecting and eliminating viruses and cancer cells. The best part? To receive these benefits you don’t even have to do anything. No hiking, biking or walking required. All you have to do is be in it. LYW will take you outside to reconnect the essential, our Mother Earth. 

MOVEMENT

Physical activity, in any form. Also known as exercise. The notion has been pressed deep into our minds over decades. We. Must. Exercise. Many of us, however, dislike “exercise,” because it feels too formulaic or painful; it’s expensive or “we just can’t fit it in.” It’s yet another thing we have to plan for. From the LYW perspective, we move our bodies because it must, and the research on this is conclusive. Regular movement aids in every function in the body, enhancing physical, mental and spiritual health. We’ll show you how movement can be enjoyable, ever-present, strengthening, and at little cost. 

REST

Sleep, stress management and down time. Like relationships, quality and quantity of rest matters. In terms of sleep, the quality and the amount of time you spend sleeping has shown to affect mood, memory, attention, mental and physical performance, and lack of sleep increases inflammation in the body that can be precursor to degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. However, it’s not only sleep that’s needed for a healthy, well-functioning body. Throughout the day the body must be reminded that it is safe and well-cared for; to do that, simply enter into a resting phase, such as meditation or a quiet moment closing your eyes. LYW will help you rest with guided meditations and group classes with our sisters meant to bring the mind/body/spirit into a state of repose.

SPIRIT

Connection to your purpose and meaning. The premise of LYW began in the field of psychology, the study of the soul. Today’s current practice of psychology largely eschews conversation and research into the soulful and spiritual realm.  We’re doing the opposite.  We’re going deep into those conversations and research from allied fields because we know that the connection to forces larger than oneself, finding purpose and meaning is the work of the soul and a key towards happiness in life.

EXPRESSION  

Creative activities, in any form. There is no truer story to tell than your own and no better time to witness the stories of our sisters than now. Over the course of millennia, cultures that exalt the feminine thrive along with the arts. We will share the stories of all womxn (yes, I meant write womxn) in their creative endeavors to help us remember who we are and inspire us to live a life that is all our own.

There is so much life to live without tricks and trends, that is so much wilder, weirder, magnificent and meant just for you. We’ll show you how to live your well with simple, everyday gestures, and be with you as your guide and companion all along the way. #liveyourwell

Photo x @mariellechua