Happy Holidays! Thank you for being here, we hope you and your families are full of abundance and cheer this holiday season. Did you know that Optimal Wellness offers corporate yoga and yoga for special events? We have worked with local businesses, sports teams, sororities, bridal parties, kids camps, CHAARG, and private group classes. If this is something that interests you, your team, or your event, please reach out and let us know how we can help.
This Month’s Resources
The Circadian Code
This was another life changing book! The idea that our waking and sleep cycles operate according to an internal clock called the circadian clock has been around for centuries, but it’s only been in the past few decades that we are learning the circadian clock does much more than control sleep.
According to Dr. Satchin Panda, author of The Circadian Code, our body plays host to innumerable internal clocks that control everything from our sleep to our mood to our gene expression and disease risk. Unfortunately, our modern world wreaks havoc with these circadian clocks. The combination of poor sleep hygiene, too much exposure to blue light, poor diet, and lack of activity at the right time of day throws our whole circadian system out of balance, resulting in increased vulnerability to a host of maladies from cancer to heart disease to depression. Worse yet, it only takes a few days of living out of balance to throw off our body’s well-regulated circadian clocks, says Dr. Panda.
Like most people, you probably wake up, get hungry for meals and doze off in bed around the same time every day. If you’ve ever experienced jet lag or pulled an all-nighter, you know that this schedule can easily be thrown off kilter. But for some people, that imbalance—difficulty sleeping at night, hunger at odd times, or sudden fatigue at noon—is a constant. If you’re one of those people, Dr. Satchin Panda, one of the leading researchers on circadian rhythms, has a plan to reset your body clock.
Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock—why it’s important, how it works, and how to know it isn’t working—The Circadian Code outlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It’s a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn’t interfere with your body’s natural rhythm. Dr. Panda’s life changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease. Learn more from an interview with Dr. Panda here.
What is Hydrolyzed Collagen?
Collagens type I, II, and III are typically hydrolyzed and used as oral supplements, which have demonstrated promise in improving skin health, decreasing joint pain due to arthritis or athletic injury, and ameliorating hypertension. Hydrolyzed collagen, also referred to as collagen peptides or collagen hydrolysate, is derived by denaturing, or breaking down, collagen into smaller amino acid chains (called peptides) by thermal or enzymatic means. The amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline are the most abundant amino acids in hydrolyzed collagen.
Great Lakes Wellness is a company that has been perfecting collagen for 100 years! They created the first taste-free, single ingredient collagen that could be mixed into any beverage, so health-conscious folks like you could actually enjoy drinking it. We love their collagen in hot chocolate, smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, and applesauce!
Collagen Hot Chocolate
This recipe has been an Optimal Wellness staple. Nutritious, filling, and so tasty!
- 8-10 oz of milk (We use Hartzler Dairy whole milk, out of Wooster, Ohio)
- 2 scoops of Great Lakes Wellness hydrolyzed collagen
- 1 tablespoon of raw cacao
- 1-2 tablespoons of local honey
Costa Rica Retreat!
Find our facebook event here with all the details, suggestions, and updates! See the video below for lodging and find details on our website here.
