John Aaron Wellness

Alright! The holidays are officially over… and Public schools officially resumed classes today. Yeah!!! (For those of you with kids, you know what I’m talking about…) Anyway, two weeks of vacation – holidays, family, food-food-food, flus and lots of late nights all came to an end this past weekend. Whew! Now I’ll bet I’m not the only one left to deal with the aftermath of all that less-than-healthy eating… Is your body puffy and bloated? Your joints are achy? Your clothes feel tight? Me, too… ;-) So to help us both through this “recovery” plan, I've outlined the 5 awesomely easy steps you’ll need to quickly and seamlessly get back on the fitness fast track. Step One: Get Focused. The holidays happened. You ate things from your “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have, but now the party is over. Draw a line in the sand. The bad eating stops now. Today. Don’t beat yourself up for falling off the fitness wagon particularly if it was shared in the...

Anyone who knows me knows I love my Joe…. err, “cup of joe” that is. In fact, I’m enjoying a cup as I write this post. However, as a wellness professional that little admission of guilt has gotten me a few sneers and looks of condescension. Caffeine is BAD for you, they say! Well, perhaps abusing caffeine may be “bad” for you, but ‘caffeine’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘coffee.’ Despite this fact, coffee has gotten a bad rep over the years after a few health experts linked it (or rather, linked caffeine abuse) to several diseases. But is coffee actually that bad? Probably not; new research shows that drinking coffee in moderation provides numerous health benefits. Antidepressant It might seem a little odd to find that coffee could help with depression, but new research has shown that it does just that. Now, don’t go throwing out your prescriptions or quit counseling just yet though, coffee is not a cure for depression. Rather, the caffeine in coffee helps regulate your mood trans...

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” This is a quote by Paulo Coelho in; The Alchemist. Love can be many things, but one of the things I find most important is that it can be an inspiration, the impetus needed to achieve greatness. However, the interesting thing about inspiration is that it is not eternal. Inspiration is a temporary thing. Unlike love,  a constant, an eternal principle; inspiration is fleeting. Think of inspiration as a glass of milk or fresh fruit. If left out too long, it becomes unpalatable and eventually - useless. So, it amazes me to meet clients with personal goals of losing weight, getting in better shape, gaining control of their health or their career, and then wanting to do it all starting next week or next month . My question is always, “Why not start now?” If you are inspired to start eating more healthily on a Friday evening, why wa...

Happiness feels great! It makes everything in life a little easier to handle, the bad moments don’t seem quite so bad and the good moments feel much better. Your mood gets a boost and your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers seem light and easy. Yep, there’s no doubt about it; being happy will make every part of your life a little bit better. So, it’s hard for me to believe that there are people out there who don’t know how to be happy or are waiting for happiness to find them - but it’s true. They are content to just sit around and wait in limbo or misery. Well, to them I say; happiness doesn't just “happen!” Like anything else, it is something that you, at the very least, look for. You have to put effort into being happy. Understanding this is one of the key things to do to becoming happier. With that bit of knowledge, anyone can be happy. Yep, that’s right, you don’t even have to be rich or famous or beautiful to be happy. In fact, studies have found th...

Sooner or later, each of us will come in contact with people who will leave us feeling frustrated and depleted. I call them ‘soul suckers’ because of the kind of negative inertia they evoke that can pull us down and crush our spirit before we’re even aware of what’s happening. Oftentimes, these encounters can leave us in a similar sense of negativity, too. You may already know that much of what I write about involves proper nutrition, stress management, and physical movement. I even write about toxic foods and environmental contaminants, but the truth is that there are toxic people, and they can take just as much of a toll on our health & wellness! I’ve not been immune to these encounters myself which is why I want to teach you how to identify – and avoid – such people in your life, too. Just so you know, interacting with a toxic person always feels like a fruitless battle. You know the type; long on problems and short on solutions (because they aren’t really looking for sol...

Today's post is short and sweet. So, I want to talk about stimulating your stamina and physical strength quickly. These are two tools you cannot go without if you want to have a life of purpose and fulfillment. To begin, let's discuss the key players; your muscles. Muscles are funny things. They respond to just about any type of training, as long as it's challenging and as long as it's not the same darn thing you've always done. That's the beauty of what's called "density training:" It's a whole lot of stuff you haven't tried yet. And best of all, you can work all your major muscles in a fraction of the time it takes to to 'traditional' weight training. Here's how it works: Instead of counting reps and sets, you'll focus on the total amount of work you can accomplish in a fixed amount of time. For example; let's use abdominal crunches or push-ups. Instead of doing a specific number and then stopping, try doing a...

The challenge of transforming your body is not a onetime event.  It doesn't happen magically in 6 weeks or less because you chose to purchase the latest gadget you found on TV in the middle of the night.  You can't buy it in a special box of food or in a program that doesn't include the three pillars you need for success - strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and supportive nutrition. The change comes through your constant pursuit of making yourself into a better, fitter, healthier and more balanced person every day. Each change you make, and every positive decision you choose, brings you a step closer to your goal and your vision. Here is a great example of this universal truth... Two recent studies published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that within 10 minutes of drinking about a pint of water, the metabolic rates of both men and women increased by as much as 24 to 30 percent.  Other drinks did not have the same effect. ...

Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite season is autumn. Something about its warm glow and harvest season just gets my energy up. Spring, however, would be my close second. After all, you can’t have a fall harvest without spring planning and planting. And, while MY idea of spring gardening usually involves “telling” Alex (that's my 'other half' in case you didn't know) where to plant this year’s greenery; I've discovered spring to be a perfect metaphor for reviewing my life and instituting changes for the future. It provides a clean slate, perfect opportunity to set clear goals, and watch them grow into reality. So, this spring I decided to copy the growth you see in nature. I want to see how it affects my own goals, perceptions and desires for self improvement. I’m not generally one to meditate. I always thought of it as an alien experience for me and I thought you might feel the same way. So, I thought I would outline my process to help you get star...

I’m sure I am not the only one to have ever taken their stress, anxiety, or depression out on a nice big bowl of ice cream or potato chips. Hey, when you hurt, you need comfort – right? Unfortunately, sometimes we forget why we have certain cravings and tend to go on auto-pilot when it comes to self-medicating with food. There are two basic thoughts about why we ‘crave’ certain foods: One is that our body is lacking in specific nutrients, the other is that we have triggers that activate our cravings such as habit, or emotional events. Whatever the cause, cravings are important to pay attention to and address. So what can you do to stop stuffing down your feelings with food? Well, there is the usual “fight the feeling” theory that holds some merit. But, just fighting the urge can be tough. However, I discovered that the brain can misinterpret the body’s need for water as a craving for food. Weird, huh? Try this, when you feel a craving, drink a full glass of water. Then “figh...

Along with the proven results of relieving stress, did you know that massage is also beneficial for weight loss? Stress increases fat storage in the body which makes losing the pounds difficult if your stress level is not managed. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little thing called Cortisol? It’s the name of the responsible hormone that’s secreted under mental, physical, or emotional stress. Cortisol causes fat to be stored instead of burned, thereby causing weight gain. Additionally, massage is also crucial to another necessity of healthy weight - massage aids in the circulation of fluids in the body. This allows for a healthy flow of energy and nutrients to circulate. Massage also circulates the waste out of the body, which is why we always hear about drinking plenty of water post-massage. Metabolic waste is then flushed out of the system after the manual movement of the tissues that occurs during massage. So, let me encourage you to "belly up" to the massage table. It wi...

I have got to say that my sleep is always best when I’ve got a cool pillow to rest my head on. Nothing starts your day off better than getting a good night's sleep. And, since getting a full night’s sleep is essential to overall health, finding the right pillow can help. "Pillows can not only impact the quality of our sleep, but also how healthfully we rest and recharge," says sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist and author of ‘Beauty Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great Through Better Sleep.’ Just as a good pillow can help your health, using the wrong one can make you miserable.  A bad pillow won't be the cause of any of these problems, but using the incorrect pillow can worsen headaches, neck pain, shoulder and arm numbness, discomfort, and induce sneezing, and wheezing. All of which can keep you from getting a good night's rest. Don’t forget that if your pillow is old, it is more than likely overflowing with dead skin cel...

Yes, I know. Halloween just ended... But, like it or not, the "Holiday Season" is officially here and that's what I want to write to you about. Did you know that this Holiday Season we are expected to attend an average of around 30 hours (or more) attending parties, social events and family gatherings during the next 8 weeks alone? The number surprised me: that's nearly 5 hours of partying a week! What's more alarming is that those hours don't even include your shopping, travel time or the hours spent cooking in preparation for those parties and events! So, with this in mind, I offer 3 simple tips to help maintain your health, wellness and "sanity" through this flurry of holiday season activities. Relax Your Muscles. After spending time on your feet, sit down and actively relax your muscles by tensing and relaxing each large muscle group. Start with your head by doing some gentle neck and shoulder rolls. Then work your way down through your ha...

Moo juice. It’s more than a kid’s drink and fortunately for me, I never grew too old to stop appreciating a tall cold glass of milk. I’m even more psyched about it now that I know about a Dutch study performed on hypertensive adults 55 and older. The research data suggests that low-fat dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt may lower blood pressure or even help prevent hypertension all together. Here’s How it Works: The key is in the minerals and avoiding “fat free” dairy. It seems that consuming milk with a modest amount of fat helps to increase the bio-availability of calcium in the dairy. This makes the calcium easier for the digestive track to absorb. In addition to being a great source of calcium, low-fat dairy is also an excellent source of two other blood-pressure-lowering nutrients: magnesium and potassium. Here’s How Much You Need: As part of a daily regimen, you should consider following the guidelines of a 2006 study from Harvard Medical School, which sugges...

We were feeling good! In fact, we were somewhat giddy. We had just returned from picking up our daughter from her week-long visit with Granny & Pawpaw in Northeast Texas. And at the same time, we were expecting the homecoming of a very dear friend that had been working in New York for the past three months. Alex asked if it wasn’t kinda silly to be so excited to have them back home. I said, “Not at all. They’re family.” That phrase stuck in my head and got me to thinking. I know – dangerous, right? Well, the funny thing is that when I look back on our life together, I would have never pictured Alex and me to be where we are now. Oh, we’ve had our shares of ups and downs. There have been times, scary times, when it felt like the only thing holding us together was a worn out piece of string. Yet here we are, together still, nineteen years and counting. How did we do it? Well, I could say it was purely devotion, discipline or true love. I could even say stupidity and I wouldn...

It's a shame that many people perceive massage therapy as a luxury or physical indulgence. Yes, it can be expensive - but not as expensive as illness or disease, and its benefits way outlast treating yourself to a fancy new outfit or expensive dinner. True, while getting a good massage can make you feel like pampered royalty, it is actually the physiological benefit of receiving a massage that extends far beyond the actual treatment. According to the Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies "Nowhere is massage's impact on the body more profound than in those who have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For individuals who are HIV positive, the cellular battle within the immune system can get a significant wellness boost from regular massage therapy." As I've always believed, Wellness is not a luxury; it's a necessity. As Always - Enjoy Your Life! John Aaron Villarreal The Legal Stuff: The content and information on this site is not intende...

So, we spent this past Easter at the in-laws place. They’ve got a nice chunk of land in the wooded area of northeast Texas and their home is set deep within their acreage so that, looking out, you see nothing but nature. Rabbits, and squirrels abound and it’s not surprising to find a hummingbird or two there this time of year. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place filled with family, love and special moments. I can still see Lexi among all the grandchildren racing through the field. She always has such a joyful look about her when she runs. It’s a scene that is awesome, inspiring and –to me- very precious. You don’t have to be a parent to feel this way, though. I’m sure you’ve experienced moments in your life that you wish you could capture and relive over and over again; like watching the favorite parts of a movie about your life. Unfortunately, life can’t be lived that way. It must be consumed as it is given to us, the good and the bad. This is why each moment we have must be w...

Today I want to write about dreams. Not the kind you have while sleeping, but the kind that really get you excited about life! The dreams you have for yourself, your family, the world. Personally, I live by the little dreams of love, success, hope and happiness that float around in my head. I assume that all humanity has similar “floaty” dreams and goals. Fantasies of achieving something great are part of the spirit that drives each of us forward. They start with the tiniest seed of an idea, and like children, you love them because somehow they are a part of you. You nurture and grow these ideas and as they grow so do your hopes.   But, what happens when these ideas, through no fault of your own, fall apart? Heartbreak is what. You may even become bitter about the very thing you once loved so dearly. Maybe that “perfect” job you’ve worked for all your life didn’t pan out, or perhaps you have an argument with a loved one and this makes you feel like giving up. You ...