by Moana Schwertsik | Mar 15, 2023 | Body, Self Care Toolbox, Uncategorized
Healthy Habits
Healing our Bodies with Nutrition
As a craniosacral and polarity practitioner I have had the privilege of working closely with several clients who wanted to make changes to their lifestyles because they realized how unhealthy they had become. Although my involvement was as a bodywork practitioner I could observe how they made changes to their daily eating habits. Once they were able to create healthier eating habits we could all see how they were healing their bodies with nutrition. It was often a profound change. And it makes sense, the food we eat today creates the cells for tomorrow and gives us the energy to keep our bodies healthy and strong for the work tomorrow.
So I set out to get my certification in nutrition coaching because I realized how spectacular the body is at healing itself, but also how difficult this can be for so many of us. It is a challenge to change something so habitual for us. But once we understand that we can really make a difference and improve our lives with healthy eating habits it becomes a little easier.
I always thought I was eating pretty healthy, but over the last few years I have learned so much and I feel I want to share some of that with you. It’s is a long journey and really a change for life. The way I approach it is not a quick fix or a one size fits all diets. I will not dictate what you can or cannot eat. You will be doing the work to find out what works best for you, and I can help you with whatever challenges come up along the way.
My goal is to help you understand what is beneficial for our body and soul, help you get through or over some stumbling block, (because we are going to find some), and get you out much stronger and healthier the other end. Rather than dealing with the treatment of disease I focus on wellness and prevention of illness through proper diet and nutrition to achieve optimal health.
Let’s get started
Firstly, finding your starting point is important. It helps to take a close look and evaluate where you are today. What and how have you eating so far? Simply by making a list of what you are eating on a daily basis will give you a better understanding and greater clarity of where you truly are. Often we forget some of what we ate and do not realize the impact that had on us. So be very honest and take the time when you make your list of foods consumed.
Secondly, setting a goal of your end result. Create a detailed image of what you want your end result to be. Here again, be specific, immerce yourself and feel the outcome as if you’re already there. Create a vision board for your goal.
Thirdly, the hard work starts. Now we have to create smaller short term goals. These smaller goals should be realistic and fairly easy to achieve at the beginning. It is important to recognize that it will be difficult at first to make changes to lifelong habits. But be persistent!
Nutritious Foods
Even if you only change one small thing and stick with it, that change will become a habit on which you can now build another new habit.
Making habit changes requires a lot of determination. Having the support from family and friends could have a great impact. It is important to surround yourself with people who will support you on this journey.
The changes which you are deciding to make should be to improve a balanced diet. There are several ideas out there but my plate.gov is a great resource and will get you started in the right direction.
Figuring out the ideal calorie intake for you is the next step. This depends on many factors which include but are not limited to age, sex, and activity levels. Most women need 1,600–2,400 daily calories to maintain their weight. Most men need 2,000–3,000 calories.
If you want to be very exact you can reach out to me or any nutrition coach and we can help you with the calculations. But for starters you can figure out how many calories you are eating daily right now and adjust you amount of calories.
That being said I believe it is important that you do not go hungry and this is where things can become a little tricky for some people. This is where you need to learn which foods will help you feel full and satisfied and keep you within you caloric goals.
Then there is also the task of learning to read food labels. That can be a little tricky, but it’s good to make it a habit to look at the labels and check for the ingredients. Remember the ingredients are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts.
Healing our bodies with nutrition is a life journey, but it is worth taking the first step.
If you want to start your journey with me come join me in my first of a series of workshop starting on Mar 28th 2023.
by Moana Schwertsik | Feb 28, 2023 | Self Care Toolbox, TOOLSday
Window Cleaner – Tools Day
Window cleaners can cost a lot and not all leave you with a streak free shine. Long time ago I had a summer job at a bed and breakfast and the host showed me how she cleaned the windows. I should add that she was one of those ladies who wanted her windows spotless. After all the beautiful view was one of her selling points. All she used ever on her windows and mirrors was a mixture of white vinegar and water. To make sure there was no fuzzy debris on the window she would clean it with old newspaper. It worked like magic, and I have used it ever since.
Let’s start with the basics of the window cleaner.
In a spray bottle combine:
Just a little shake and this window and glass cleaner is ready to be used. You will be left with clean windows and a fresh smell in you home without the use of any chemical. Yay for an easy way to serve our mother earth.
To learn about other recipes follow our Youtube channel and to find out more about us at Whole Self Unity
by Moana Schwertsik | Jan 18, 2023 | Body
Why did nutrition became important to me?
Why did nutrition become important to me? Well, I grew up in a family which took great care in eating healthy and nutritious foods. We’d often go to the farmers directly to get our milk, eggs, and sometimes even the whole chicken. I remember special trips to get some honey right from the beekeeper, this was quite the experience. One time the bee farmer gave me a piece of honeycomb and as you can imagine the honey dripped all over me, because I couldn’t eat it fast enough. It was soooo very sweet and yummy. My hands and clothes were sticky for the rest of the day, but that was ok, that experience of fabulous honey straight from the comb will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Nutritious Foods
We also sat with the family for most meals and it was a relaxing time. We would sit and enjoy our food and a conversation, chewing our food slowly and enjoying the flavors.
Then I grew up and went out into the world on my own. I got swept up into the world of rushing all the time and not taking the time to sit and eat and truly enjoy my food. Short lunch breaks if you got any at all. What I realize now is that when you are in it you don’t stop and think about how hard that is for you body.
The journey can be long.
Then one day I realized that my digestion was suffering. There had been a series of events that happened in my life and I decided to stop and reevaluate what I was doing. The one thing I learned was that as they say ‘we are what we eat’. I did take a closer look at that and started to recognize that I was not choosing my foods wisely. Most of what we need has been provided by nature. All the good and nutritious stuff, the vitamins and minerals are all provided to us. I set out on a journey to change my diet habits and improve on the foods I was eating and get back to enjoying the process of nourishing my body.
It has been a longer but fun journey and I honestly feel better. There have been a lot of changes, some easy and some quite hard. Some habits are really hard to break. Many habits have an emotional component attached to them and the were the most difficult to change.
As I continue to make changes and learn more about nutrition and what the body truly needs to be healthy, I have become stronger with more energy and fewer aches and pains.
Along the way I became a nutrition coach and would love to pass on some of my knowledge and support on. I will continue to share some of my journey and how the different changes have helped me feel better and stronger. Feel free to check out our Youtube channel for some more insights.
by Moana Schwertsik | Jan 10, 2023 | Self Care Toolbox, TOOLSday
Let’s try a homemade Air Freshener.
A breath of fresh air, who doesn’t like that?
This is so easy to make and use and can lift your mood in your home and office setting. And if you are anything like me you will soon have several of them around the house to use at any time.
Air Freshener | Tools Day
Let’s start with the basic air freshener.
In a spray bottle combine:
- White vinegar
- 20-30 drops essential oils of your choice
Play around with the amount of essential oils you are using, some are stronger than others and some of our noses are more sensitive than others.
Here are just a few ideas of which essential oils to use:
Lavender will help to calm the senses.
Peppermint will be more uplifting.
Rosemary has been proven to help concentration.
Lemongrass can help with those lingering cooking odors.
Most important is trying different options and learning what works best for you. Maybe get really creative and mix a few oils together.
To get other recipes follow our Youtube channel or if you want to learn more about us check out our website
by Moana Schwertsik | Nov 16, 2022 | Newsletter
Thank You For Your Support!
A huge thank you to everyone who came and made our annual 100 Hours of Healing such a successful fundraising event. We hope you enjoyed everything we had to offer, with technical difficulties and all. We certainly had a lot of fun during this event and hope you were able to find something you enjoyed. The presentations ranged from supporting our emotional well-being like “Finding your Life’s Purpose” to “Getting Unstuck”. Maybe you were finding something more spiritual like “Karuna Sound Healing”. Did you need maintenance for your physical well-being and try the “Stretching Clinic” or “Nutritional Goal Setting”?
100 Hours of Healing annual event 2022
If you missed us over the weekend, don’t worry, we are offering our presentations through the end of the year. Simply go to our events page and search through the list. You are sure to find something of interest and each presentation in only $5. With this small donation you can make a difference in someones life.
Your contribution will fund our charitable efforts, providing sliding scale or free classes to those in need. Our focus populations are: military/veterans, first responders, healthcare workers, education workers, elders, and those in financial need.
Also, if you are unable to support us with a donation at this time, you can help grow our community by joining us and following our Youtube channel. We have many helpful tips for self care with our Tools Day program. There is much more to come in 2023, so please subscribe and you will be updated as we add more helpful information.
Getting ready for MEander2MEnd
Furthermore, I’d like to direct you to our upcoming events. Personally I am very much looking forward to second Meander2Mend movement event. This is not a speed competition, but more of a ‘let’s train together and encourage each other to get moving’ for a few months. On February 26th, 2023 we will gathering where we can show off our
MEander2MEnd
accomplishments. Everything will be virtual and online, so we would love lots of pictures during training, which will encourage other to keep going. We all know movement is good for our health, so let’s have some fun while we do it. Let your creativity shine, which is your favorite way to move? Bike, hop, skip, swim, meander, run, walk, or tell us your way of moving, let’s explore and then share with us. Thank you!
We have new Meander2Mend T-shirts this year, I just ordered mine. Here is the link to get your own.
And while you are there, you might want to consider getting a journal for your journey.
Sneak Peak into next year.
Additionally, our own Amy Alward will be starting a series of Reiki classes in January.
Level UP self-care with an Online Reiki Class
Anyone can learn! This class is for beginners who want to learn Reiki online from home. Together, we will explore the flow of energy in and around us. Practical lessons and “experiments” to try at home are part of the format. Questions that come up can be asked at the next class. If you need time to process and practice, if you need to stay home, this is your class.
In the past, the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT) has taught this class in-person as an all-day (8-hour) event. This class offering has the same curriculum, broken apart and delivered online. We offer classes this way to:
- save fuel, time, and money (no travel)
- limit sensory inputs (attend in your environment)
- encourage exploration on your own between classes
- improve class experience (more time to share)
- get to know one another better (make connections to others like you)
For more details and registration please go to our calendar
And I, Moana Schwertsik, will be offering a series of talks on nutrition and am lining up a few guest speakers (dates to be announced). My goal is to give everyone some very good insights as to how our nutrition and our eating habits do affect our health. As a nutrition coach my goal is to help you make lifelong changes to your diet habits so you can go on with living your best and healthier life. One on one nutrition counseling will be offered starting in March. You can reach out to me by scheduling a 15 min free consultation here. Let’s chat and see if I can help in any way.
Help us help others
Please help us grow and expand our community. is there something specific you are looking for and not seeing it here or on our website? Let us know what yo are after and maybe we can add it to our list of offerings.
I had so much fun this year during our 100 Hours of Healing fundraising event and am already looking forward to next year. Before we get there we have a lot going on. Please check back regularly since we are constantly updating and adding new events to our calendar.
Lastly, as a thank you for your support we have a free gift for you, Karuna sound healing. This is a gift from our own co-creator Amy Alward. Please follow the link above and to receive your gift. And thank you for your support.
