The 6 Elements of Recovery

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Years ago when I started lifting weights I chose to make fitness a priority. Value I do fitness of body mind spirit finances career and relationships. I see mental health recovery as possible when these 6 elements of the recovery lifestyle fit together in an organic way.

Cheers to living a long life of health wealth and happiness. Each of us can have an abundance of these three things when we realize that we have enough and we are enough.

My overarching goal is to give peers hope. For readers, followers, and audience members to choose hope over helplessness. There’s hope to evolve and grow to find our divine purpose.

Choosing recovery can make all the difference in how far a person can go. My aim is to share stories and teach people to be well. Even living with illness we can achieve wellbeing.

The goal is not to weigh 102 pounds or have six-pack abs. The objective is to live the life you love and love the life you live with despite and because of whatever challenge you face.

Andiamo!

5 Wellness Prompts

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This insight flashed into my head quickly too. I wrote about it in my July Ellemental column article for City Voices online the mental health journal.

Does any of us really like feeling adrift aimless and like we have no purpose?

Of course there are individuals living on earth who are content to work a 9 to 5 job, come home, and watch TV or scroll social media for two hours after dinneer.

They have no interest or inclination in keeping a blog to make a difference by sharing their ideas for How to Be Well.

They’re OK. Not everyone gets the same life assignment handed to them in the cosmic order of things.

I’m the type of person who gets these visionary hits at all hours of the day and night. Whether it’s 2:00 p.m. or 2:00 a.m. ideas come to me within seconds.

Whether we’re couch surfing Netflix all the time or hitting the gym on the regular I think that answering the 5 questions below can help us Be Well:

Why am I here?

What activates my energy?

How exactly can I act true to myself so that I can be well and whole living in recovery?

What brings me down, and how can I cut this out of my life? (Think of a person, place, or thing that drains your energy.)

What makes me come alive? (Go do this often.)

Being attuned to when our energy peaks and plummets throughout the day is the key to flourishing this way.

I recommend going on Substack and subscribing to Millie from the Vital Core. She gives health and wellness advice that is right-on. Like her recent article on why you get a 3:00 p.m. slump and how to remedy this without caffeine.

The 10-Minute Triumph

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One day about three week ago another flash of insight hit me. The words “The 10-Minute Triumph” tore through my head. Like every other idea I’ve gotten this one was an instant realization.

The fact is that getting older I’m not a silver sneakers athlete geared to running an endurance marathon. I’m more of a sprinter suited to engaging in short bursts of activity. Then resting right afterwards.

There should be no shame at all in not being the kind of person who is on the go-go-go in nonstop activity every day.

Maybe you have a medical condition.

Maybe you CHOOSE to practice dolce far niente the sweetness of doing nothing.

Maybe you’ve said: “Basta! Enough! I’m making myself ill just to prove I’m productive.”

Either way this is where adopting the practice of engaging in only 10 minutes of activity comes in. An even shorter time period than the 25-minute “Pomodoro” technique with a 5-minute break.

Here’s how it goes: We take 10 minutes on an activity. Then rest for as long as we need to afterwards.

The 10-Minute Triumphs will add up throughout the day.

Coming up 5 Wellness Prompts that we can ask ourselves.

The 3 Lifestyle Questions

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On an ordinary day like always happens I got a visionary hit again. This is when about three weeks ago The 3 Lifestyle Questions flashed into my head to ask to determine how exactly to live through a struggle and then approach living in the future.

These questions can be asked at any time in our lives. Recently I was faced with the reality that I’m not the 46-year old self I used to be 15 years ago. I’m 61 today.

In keeping with my life getting shorter–and yours if you’re older too–these are the ideal questions to ask. Though I think answering the questions when we’re younger can also help.

And by the way the answers could change if we ask the questions at different times in our life.

Faced with the possibility of not being able to lift weights I realized it was vital that I ask myself these questions. It turned out that I could continue to do strength training after all in a modified routine. Instead of stopping totally.

Partly because of realizing that my life had changed I knew it was time to answer the 3 lifestyle questions.

The 3 Lifestyle Questions that you can ask yourself too:

“What is non-negotiable?” to keep in my life.

“What is nice-to-have?” and I can do without.

“What is not ever to allow?” that cannot be in my life at all.

Simple. Effective. I realized that asking just 3 questions and answering them could open the doorway to living through a setback or struggle in better health when our lives are out of balance.

We can also keep an eye on the future this way. There’s a quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” This is what answering the 3 questions enables us to do: chart our course to go down to get to this future in a good place.

Getting Older and Bolder

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Nothing lasts forever. Challenges and setbacks are to be expected in our lives. Far better to accept the changes and move forward with what I call the 3 G’s of Getting Older: living with Grace, Grit, and Gratitude.

Getting older is the time to act bolder. To accept the twists and turns on the highway of life.

I turned 61. I’ve been thinking about the vagaries of getting older. I’m going to write a carnival of blog entries about what I’ve learned that is the wisdom I’ve gained.

I call your sixties the “This is It!” decade. Often at this time we’re caring for an elderly mother or father. And it’s likely that we have full-time jobs at the same time.

What I accept is that there will be no remodeling myself to have washboard abs or spending all day at a washing machine. At 61 years old I think social connections matter more than having a hot body.

Though now is not the time to give up exercising totally. Far better to lift weights only once a week. Then go to that ailing mother or father’s house on the weekend to be with them at the end of their days.

I use the term “social health” to talk about maintaining healthy relationships later in life. As loneliness is on the rise. With a person becoming frail and losing their independence like our mother or father could they might be embarrassed to have friends over their house. We as their children should go there instead.

Is the term social health already in use? It must be in use unless I’ve invented the term which I doubt. In the coming blog entry I will talk about the 3 Lifestyle Questions I thought up to ask myself. I think that followers to the blog will benefit by asking yourself these questions too.

In fact nothing lasts forever. Post-60 I would say we cannot risk resisting the changes coming on in our bodies and in our lives. The fact is that right now our life is telling us what we should do if only we will stop to listen.

We cannot afford to remain stuck in the past or to dwell on whatever glory days might have gone by. The other fact is that in our older years new glory days of a different kind await us.

Having the courage to accept the impermanence of everything in our lives will go a long way to helping us maintain our health as the clock ticks.

Coming up blog entries devoted to living life and loving life at whatever age you and I are. If age is just a number, we can live full of vitality and verve at any age even with whatever kind of limitations we might have.

Common Stress Questions Answered

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by Jackie Cortez, Guest Blogger

Common Stress Questions, Answered

Q: What are the first steps to identify the main sources of stress in my daily life?
A: Start by tracking patterns for three days: what happened, what you felt in your body, and what you did next. Circle the top three repeat triggers (people, tasks, time pressure, money, noise). Then choose one small change you can test this week, like shortening a meeting or batching errands.

Q: How can establishing a work-life balance help in reducing feelings of overwhelm and anxiety?
A: Clear boundaries reduce the constant “on-call” feeling that keeps your nervous system revved up. Pick one hard stop (end-of-day time) and one protected block (lunch or a walk) and treat both like appointments. Even modest limits create more recovery time, which lowers anxious momentum.

Q: What specific habits can I adopt to maintain a positive attitude during stressful situations?
A: Use a quick reframe: “What is controllable in the next 10 minutes?” Pair it with movement since getting exercise can help discharge stress energy. If stress feels persistent or heavy, connect with a mental health expert for personalized tools.

Q: How does improving sleep quality contribute to better stress management?
A: Better sleep improves focus and emotional regulation, so daily hassles feel less threatening. Choose one sleep anchor: consistent wake time, dimmer lights after dinner, or caffeine cut-off midafternoon. If racing thoughts keep you awake, do a two-minute brain dump on paper.

Turn Daily Awareness Into Steady Stress Relief That Lasts

Stress can sneak in through familiar triggers and pile up until it feels like life is running the day instead of the other way around. A simple stress-spotting mindset, notice patterns, respond early, and practice small supports, builds stress management motivation without needing perfection. Over time, reflection on stress benefits makes ongoing stress reduction feel more doable, and the stress reduction outcomes often show up as a steadier mood, clearer focus, and better sleep. Small, repeated choices are the most reliable path to feeling better. Choose one next step you’ll repeat daily, like a brief check-in on what set stress off and what helped, and treat it as a commitment to wellbeing. That consistency matters because it strengthens resilience and makes everyday life feel more stable and connected.

Reducing Stress with a Career Pivot

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by Jackie Cortez, Guest Blogger

Could a Career Pivot Reduce Chronic Work Stress?

If the quick tools help at the moment but your job still keeps your stress level high, it may be worth looking at whether the work itself needs to change. Opening your own business can reduce chronic work stress when your biggest pressure points are things like lack of control, nonstop demands, or a poor fit with your role, because you can shape your workload and priorities more directly. To get started, choose a simple business idea, pick a name, file the paperwork to form your business, and set up the basics to operate day to day. If you want guided help, ZenBusiness is an all-in-one platform that can help business owners form an LLC, manage compliance, create a website, or handle finances. Whether you pivot or stay put, the next step is building daily habits that make you more resilient to stress over time.

Daily Habits That Build Stress Resilience

Stress shows up fast, but resilience grows through repetition. These small habits help you spot early signals, recover sooner, and make long-term stress management feel doable.

Two-Minute Stress Scan
  • What it is: Name one body cue, one thought, and one urge you notice.
  • How often: Daily, midday or before dinner.
  • Why it helps: You catch stress earlier, before it spills into your evening.
Reminder-Linked Reset
  • What it is: Tie these habits to your environment like a kettle boil to stretch and breathe.
  • How often: Daily, tied to one routine.
  • Why it helps: A reliable cue makes the habit stick on busy days.
Planned Downtime Appointment
  • What it is: Block 20 minutes for a walk, hobby, or quiet sit.
  • How often: 3 times weekly.
  • Why it helps: Scheduled rest prevents burnout from becoming your default.
Consistent Sleep Bookends
  • What it is: Keep a steady wake time and a 15-minute wind-down.
  • How often: Daily.
  • Why it helps: Regular sleep stabilizes mood and lowers reactivity.
Connection Check-In
  • What it is: Text one person a real update and ask one question.
  • How often: Weekly.

Why it helps: Supportive relationships reduce isolation and normalize asking for help.

5 Tools to Lower Stress

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by Jackie Cortez, Guest Blogger

Use 5 Quick Tools to Lower Stress This Week

When you’ve already spotted your stress triggers and early warning signs, you don’t need a total life overhaul, you need a few reliable “next steps.” Try these five quick tools this week and notice which ones calm your body and mind the fastest.

  1. Do a 60-second deep breathing reset: Set a timer for one minute. Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts, then out slowly for 6 counts, keeping your shoulders relaxed. Longer exhales signal “safe enough” to your nervous system, which can soften racing thoughts and tension. Use this right when you notice your first stress cue, jaw clench, tight chest, irritability, so stress doesn’t build momentum.
  2. Take a 5–10 minute movement break on purpose: Pick something easy: a brisk walk, a few flights of stairs, gentle stretching, or marching in place while water boils. Movement helps burn off stress energy and can lift your mood without needing a full workout. Tie it to a trigger you identified, like “after a stressful email” or “between meetings,” so it becomes automatic instead of optional.
  3. Set one small boundary that protects work-life balance: Choose a boundary you can keep for seven days, such as no work messages during dinner, a firm stop time two nights this week, or turning off notifications for one hour. Pair the boundary with a replacement plan, what you’ll do instead (shower, short walk, play with your kids, prep tomorrow’s lunch). If stress mainly comes from work demands, this boundary experiment also gives you real data about what needs to change long-term.
  4. Build a “sleep runway” you can actually repeat: Start 30–45 minutes before bed with the same three steps: dim lights, put your phone out of reach, and do a low-stimulation activity like reading or a warm shower. Keep wake-up time as consistent as you can, even on weekends, because your body learns patterns. If your stress trigger is late-night scrolling or worry spirals, write down tomorrow’s top 3 tasks before bed so your brain doesn’t have to hold them overnight.
  5. Try a quick mindset reset in writing: When something goes wrong, write 5–6 sentences answering: “What happened? What does this mean, and what else could it mean? What’s one helpful next step?” A practical version is to write a short paragraph about how you want to handle a similar challenge in the future, which turns stress into a plan. Keep it short and private, notes app, index card, scrap paper.

Used together, these tools help you respond earlier, recover faster, and see whether your biggest stressors are situational (a tough week) or structural (a role that keeps pushing your limits).

Managing Everyday Stress Successfully

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I’m going to feature Guest Blogger posts on the blog I keep here. I’m open to featuring other authors with a compelling voice and insightful ideas and information.

The four-part blog carnival here is courtesy of Jackie Cortez:

Effective Strategies to Identify and Manage Everyday Stress Successfully

For busy parents, caregivers, and working adults balancing deadlines, bills, and family needs, everyday stressors can start to feel like a constant background noise. The core challenge is that stress often becomes “normal” until it shows up as irritability, poor sleep, trouble focusing, or other signs of stress impact on health. General stress management begins with stress awareness, spotting what triggers tension and how the body responds, so choices can feel more intentional instead of reactive. With the right foundation, stress coping strategies become easier to use consistently.

Explore Alternative Stress-Relief Modalities Safely

Once you can recognize stress in your body and mind, it’s easier to test a few low-risk add-ons that help you unwind.

  • Mindfulness practices: Try a few minutes of quiet attention on your breath or present-moment awareness.
  • Gentle relaxation exercises: Simple, easy movements or guided relaxation can help release tension.
  • Essential oils: If scents feel soothing to you, use diluted oils and follow label directions to avoid irritation.

Understanding Your Stress Triggers and Patterns

Your stress signals make more sense when you know what sets them off. Stress mapping means spotting your common stress sources, your repeat patterns, and the earliest warning signs that your body and mind are shifting into stress mode. Many stress triggers can be thoughts, feelings, or events, so the “cause” is not always just what is happening around you.

This matters because catching stress earlier gives you more choices. Instead of reacting on autopilot, you can pause, name what is happening, and pick a steadier next step. Since stress is harder to pin down, simple observation is often the first practical skill.

For example, you might notice emails after dinner lead to tight shoulders, faster scrolling, and a shorter tone. That pattern helps you act at the first sign, not after you feel overwhelmed. With your early signs clear, small tools like breathing, movement breaks, boundaries, sleep routines, and a mindset reset work faster.

2026 Spring Lower Body Routine

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1.Goblet Squat: Hold DB up close by chest, squat 12 times. 2 x 12 reps @ 10lbs.

2.Glute Bridge: Lying flat on floor, tuck feet back and push hips up to ceiling, squeezing glutes. 3 x 12 reps @ 10-15 lbs.

3.DB Deadlift: Hold DB’s in front of body, palms back, bend knees and bring DB’s down to height of just below knees, then stand back up. 3 x 12 reps @ 2 / 8 lbs.

4.KB Romanian (Hamstring) Deadlift: Hold KB in front of body, keep knees straight, reach forward until you feel stretch. 3 x 12 reps @ 20 lbs.

5.Calf Raises: 3 x 12 reps @ 8 lbs.

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Plank 2-3 @ 30 seconds.

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Wall – Sit: 2-3 @ 30 seconds.

Twists x 15 reps.

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Leg Raises x 15 reps.

2026 Spring Upper Body Routine

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1.DB Chest Press on floor: 3 x 15 reps @ 8 lbs.

2.Bent Over DB Row: Holding DB in each hand, bend over at waist, hang arms, pull elbows in to tuck by your side. 3 x 15 reps @ 8 lbs. Also called suitcase row.

3.DB Shoulder Raises: Raise to the front, lower then raise to the side, repeat 8 times then rest. 3 x 8 reps @ 5 lbs.

4. DB Bicep Curl: Palms up, full range of motion. 3 x 15 reps @ 5-8 lbs.

5.KB Overhead Tricep Extension: Hold KB upside down, lift above head, bend elbow behind head, then extend all the way back up. 3 x 15 reps @ 10 lbs.

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Crunches x 15 reps

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Leg Tucks x 15 reps

Alternating Leg Raises x 15 reps

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Bicycles x 15 reps