Unable to find peace of mind? Are you too stressed to relax? Worried about losing mental ability as you age? Unable to get out of the rut your life has become? Revolutionary brain imaging technology guides mental exercise routines that can change your outlook, your health and the rest of your life. Be happier, more carefree and relaxed than you thought possible with simple, easy to understand programs.

Most people worry about losing their mental ability as they age. In fact, surveys show that fear of Alzheimer disease is the number one concern of people contemplating aging. It is never to late to strengthen our brains. We can grow the neurological pathways necessary to remain intellectually alert, emotionally fit and creative. We can increase our current brain capacity in various ways according to new brain imaging studies conducted at Harvard and other research centers. Our first task is to overcome the Mind/Body dichotomy. Your brain is simply a vital organ, one that requires lots of oxygen from good blood flow to function well.

To develop a sound mind and elevated spirit, our brains require physical and mental exercise, good nutrition, hydration, sufficient sleep, reasonable temperatures and light. If any of these essentials are lacking or diminished, mental functions suffer. Sometimes affected people experience diminished spirits or bad moods, for others mental functions can be adversely affected and depression may occur. While the recipe for a sound mind seems relatively simple, it is important to remember that most Americans are not even getting sufficient exercise to control weight, enough sleep to think clearly or enough natural daylight to maintain happiness.

The first step to a better brain is to increase physical exercise and to get more sunshine. We recommend walking. Our Smart Walks web site offers free starter programs. If you can not set aside 5 hours/week for exercise, learn how to increase your physical activity in your dally activities. Anything you can do to make getting more exercise more fun and to increase your enjoyment of movement will help to keep you motivated. The best motivators include things we can feel good about doing. Walk outside. Help others who need physical assistance. Play more with our children. Increase pleasurable sexual activity. Dance while cleaning. Participate in recreational sports. Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Each movement increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain.

If you chose to start an exercise program as part of an effort to improve your mental functions, It is important to set up a regular specific time to exercise and to have a backup plan or alternate activities for weather changes, trips, etc.

We can not stress enough how important it is to set realistic and appropriate goals over time. I try to identify a reward I really want for reaching each goal and then enjoy that reward! Sometimes I have to talk myself into following through with positive thoughts, visualization and other self-talk techniques.

Like any other lifestyle change, starting a regular exercise routine works best if you have a support system. If an exercise program is oriented toward social interactions, there could be exponential benefits for your brain. Just as physical exercise can be directed at improving different parts of your physical appearance, specific exercise can strengthen neurological pathways. These include the social skills that diminish most rapidly with Alzheimer Disease and other forms of dementia. Of course, having social interactions is not the same as having support for changing your lifestyle. When starting to get more exercise it is important to find others who encourage your actions and to avoid those who discourage your efforts. We encourage our walking clients to disregard negative feedback from others when starting a new program since others may simply be fearful of what change might mean.

Some change is important to acknowledge and use in maintaining motivation. For example, you might change your self-image to a person who does exercise regularly and visualize yourself as a healthier and happier person. Not all exercise brings instant pleasure and happiness, however, so it is best to maintain realistic expectations. Many of our clients think that the first 6 weeks of walking are the hardest because their bodies are adjusting to more physical activity which can bring muscle discomfort and foot pain for those wearing sneakers or shoes without proper support for walking.

When most people begin exercise programs, they expect some boredom. Smart Walks eliminate boredom because simultaneous mental exercises of the six major neural pathways are introduced with structured mental exercises to practice while walking. This is a more direct approach to strengthening the brain and neural pathways. In addition to increased blood flow from walking bringing more oxygen to your brain, the mental exercises are helping to expand and deepen neural connections for memory, concentration and focus, visualization, rhythm and intellectual capabilities. Mental exercises can almost eliminate physical exercise boredom while increasing the direct benefits of greater blood flow, deeper breathing and more sunlight on neural activity. Brain exercise with physical exercise is the ultimate self-help action!

Clinical depression can be a serious, disabling disease and we encourage people with symptoms of prolonged unhappiness, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of suicide and other signs of depression to seek professional psychological or medical assistance.

(c)2006, Dale Orlando