Kenya Moore’s White Caftan in Greece

Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 12 Episode 19 Fashion

Kenya Moore looked like an absolute goddess—yes I’m using that term a lot in posts about last night’s episode because it’s so applicable—in her white caftan in Greece at Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club, somewhere that I really never imagined I would see the Real Housewives of Atlanta.  And while you pretty much have to be close to some sort of royalty to afford looks by the designer of it, we’ll just take inspo from Kenya’s long, wavy hair, pair it with a Style Stealer and hit the beaches of Lake Michigan the Aegean Sea like a real life Real Housewife.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Tom Ford Open Side Caftan Sold Out at Bergdorf Goodman

Originally posted at: Kenya Moore’s White Caftan

You may
be in a funk because of the coronavirus, but, according to Certified Humor
Therapist and Laughter for the Health of It presenter Roberta Gold,
there’s no situation so dire you can’t find something funny in it.

Maybe
while self-quarantining you’re passing the time alphabetizing your spices.
Maybe you’re obsessively watching YouTube tutorials on converting cat food tins
to candle holders. Or maybe, like me, you’re manically cleaning out your
garage, a chore I’d expertly managed to avoid for over a decade.

See,
you’re laughing already! The tension is flowing out of you and you feel better
able to cope. According to Roberta, “Seeing the funny side makes one more
optimistic and helps create a positive mindset.”

Finding Fun in Life’s Absurdities

Roberta Gold is a member
of the Association
for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. This organization defines therapeutic humor
as “any intervention that promotes health and wellness by stimulating a
playful discovery, expression, or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity
of life’s situations.”

Roberta says life is an
attitude and she is an attitude adjustment
coach. “Although we can often neither change a situation we find
ourselves in, nor can we change another person’s behavior, we have complete
control over the way we look at life.”

Stress Is Real but Laughter Can Defeat It

Still,
there’s no denying that the pandemic is creating stress, and stress is mentally
exhausting and even disease producing. Here’s where laughter really proves its
mettle.

“Laughter
appears to cause all the reciprocal, or opposite, effects of stress,” says Dr.
Lee Berk, associate professor at Loma Linda University, who studies the way a
good laugh impacts your brain and body.

“Laughter
shuts down the release of stress hormones like cortisol. It also triggers the
production of feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine, which have all kinds of
calming, anti-anxiety benefits. Think of laughter as the yin to stress’s yang.”

Humor Is Therapeutic

People
have always known about the mind-body connection. Look no further than the
Bible, which states, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken
spirit drieth the bones.”

Ancient
Greek physicians, who used humor as an adjunct to other therapies, ordered
their patients to visit the hall of comedians as an important part of the
recovery process.

Along
the same lines, Native American shamans utilized the powerful impact of humor
in healing by bringing in their version of clowns. And so on through the ages
and around the world.

Fight Quarantine Effects with Laughter

All
of which brings us back to 2020 and back to you. Chances are you are
quarantined with at least one other person, and tempers can flare when the days
are long and the distance between one another is short.

Once
again laughter comes to the rescue. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster
than a shared guffaw or even a chuckle.

Since
we can be so critical of one another, Roberta Gold recommends that you
consciously look for three positive traits in your partner, spouse, or roommate.
This will help you ride out the temporary confinement in greater peace and
harmony.

How
can you keep up your spirits while on virtual lockdown? According to Roberta,
there are three concrete steps you can take:

Find Fun Things to Do

In
order to take your mind off the virus, play Monopoly, cook up s’mores, or create
a masterpiece with your grandchildren’s play dough.

Practice Your Aha’s

Say
“ah,” then “ha,” then “aha,” and start laughing. As Dr. Berk said, there will
be a chemical reaction in your brain. The amazing thing is, according to other scientific
researchers, laughter works even when it’s forced.

Reframe the Situation

Picture
the virus as Jell-O or pillows of cotton or something else ridiculous like that.
This visual image will help you cut down on the fear factor. Then you can take
a deep breath and start to change your perception of the risks you are facing.

To
sum up, laughter can help you get through crises, present and future, so now
that you have some time on your hands, you might as well spend it finding your
“humor bone.” It will pay big dividends.

Can
you see why it is said that, “Laughter is the best medicine?” Do you try to
find the funny side of life? When has laughter helped you through a difficult
situation? Please share your stories with our sisters!

If you practice yoga, you might be familiar with the positions called inversions that flip our bodies head down and feet up.

Mentally,
these positions can encourage us to turn our beliefs upside down and try an entirely
fresh perspective. When we get stuck in habitual thoughts, for instance, we
forget that we may not be right – that,
maybe, even the opposite is true!

I discovered Byron Katie’s book, Loving What Is, during a difficult family time about eight years ago, and it felt like a huge breath of fresh air turning my mind upside down.

A Beginning Born of Desperation

Katie’s
system, called “The Work,” originated
in 1986, on a February morning in a California halfway house. There, Byron
Katie woke up on the floor, intoxicated with joy, suddenly and inexplicably
free of all the thoughts that had been tormenting her.

After years
spent in a downward spiral of rage and despair, screaming at her children, and
barely getting out of bed, she had finally – out of
desperation – checked herself in to the halfway house.

That fateful
morning a week later, she woke up filled with the sure knowledge that all her
negative thoughts had been untrue. Everything in the world around her was
unrecognizable and delightful.

As she
began living her life in a new way, people started coming to her for guidance. Soon,
she was being invited to speak to groups all over California and eventually,
the world. To date, Katie has written four bestselling books.

So, What Is “The Work”?

“The Work”
consists of four simple questions and a turnaround that allow you to see your
problems in an entirely new light.

Katie
echoes many of the greatest world thinkers when she says, “It’s not the problem
that causes our suffering; it’s our thinking about the problem.” But she goes
beyond that statement to offer a simple system of self-inquiry that can lead
anyone to transform their perspective.

The Process

Here’s how
it works.

First,
take a pen and paper and write down a thought that is causing you pain. I
invite you to join me and try this for yourself.

We’ll use
the example, “As an older woman, people see me as having less value.”

Question 1: Is It True?

Be still,
and answer this as honestly as you can. Look for your own answers, not anything
you have been told or taught.

Question 2: Can You Absolutely Know That It’s True?

Look more
deeply. Look for answers that go beneath the ordinary response. Picture a wide
variety of situations, and check whether the statement still seems true.

Question 3: How Do You React When You Think That Thought?

Does the
thought make you feel hurt, diminished, insecure? Do you get quiet or act with
less confidence? Do you hold back on expressing your personality and sharing
your wisdom?

Do you
miss out on enjoying situations because you do not feel valued? Do you push
people away due to feeling hurt or angry?

Question 4: Who Would You Be Without the Thought?

Close your
eyes and wait. Imagine yourself, just for a moment, without this thought. How
does this feel? Imagine how you might live differently without this thought. Imagine
being confident and secure, not worrying at all about what others are thinking.
Imagine how people might respond to you.

The Turnaround

To create an incredibly powerful turnaround, turn the thought upside down and consider any opposites. For example, “As an older woman, the world sees me as having MORE value,” which certainly may be true. Or another turnaround could be, “As an older woman, I see MYSELF as having less value.”

With each
turnaround statement, take your time and deeply consider how it might be true
in your life. Look for specific examples of how the turnaround might be true,
maybe even more true than your original statement.

The idea
is to open your mind to other possibilities; alternative ways of seeing your
life that can bring you peace.

I love the
turnaround and use it on a regular basis to open my mind to new possibilities.

Here is
another example. My thought, “I need to help my grandchildren more,” can
become, “I need to help my grandchildren less,” or “My grandchildren need to
help me more!” All with some ring of truth!

Proven by Research

This process of inquiry fits with current research on the biology of the mind. Prominent neuroscientist Antonio Damasio (The Feeling Of What Happens) identified our tendency to get stuck in familiar, repetitive narratives about our lives that may not accord with the truth.

Byron Katie
provides a simple clear method of questioning these narratives. For me,
investigating a painful thought using the four questions and turnaround of “The
Work” brings great freedom as I shake loose the places where my mind has been
stuck and open up to other possibilities.

I highly
recommend her book, Loving What Is, to give you a fresh and original way
of looking at your life differently.

What painful thoughts plague your mind? How
can you use Byron Katie’s method of inquiry to transform them? What other methods
have you used? What were the results? Please share with our community!

Would you like to have
a stronger immune system? Would you like to feel more resilient in the face of
coughs, colds, bugs, and viruses? Would you like to bounce back quicker from
illness?

In this article, I am
going to talk about one simple thing we can all do to support our immune
system. And, by the way, it’s free!

Movement Keeps Us
Healthy

The one thing we can
all do every day to enhance our health is move more. It doesn’t matter whether
you call it exercise, physical activity, or movement, it’s going to help you
fend off viruses, bugs, and other nasties.

There is strong
scientific evidence that confirms the benefits of regular exercise on our
immune system. Since it boosts our physical and mental health, that’s a great reason
to find ways to be active and move every day.

The simplest reason
for this is that when we exercise, we increase our circulation (the rate at
which blood is pumped around our body). When our circulation increases, our
blood can deliver more oxygen and nutrients to all our cells, keeping them
healthy.

More blood flowing
round allows our immune system to act faster and more efficiently.

What Does the
Immune System Do?

Our immune system does
two important jobs.

Firstly, it’s
permanently on the lookout for viruses, infections, and other harmful elements.
This crucial process is called immunosurveillance.

Secondly, once our
immune cells see something suspicious, they need to rally the troops. They need
to call in other cells to attack and remove the intruder as quickly as
possible.

The more we move and
promote circulation, the better our immune system can perform all these
functions.

Which Kinds of
Exercise Are Most Efficient?

The type of exercise
that promotes our circulation is cardiovascular exercise (also known as aerobic
exercise, CV, or cardio). It doesn’t matter what we call it; it’s any activity
that gets our heart rate up and boosts our circulation.

To boost our circulation, we want to do more moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise. There are also known to be many benefits of higher intensity exercise, but there are also risks and precautions that need to be taken, so I will save that for another article!

You know you are doing
moderate-intensity exercise if you are getting slightly out of breath when you
are exercising. This, of course, means different things to different people.

For one person, a
brisk walk might qualify as moderate-intensity exercise. For others, it’s going
to be an uphill sprint on a bike. So it’s about doing what’s right for you!

When you are doing
moderate-intensity exercise, you should still be able to talk, but not sing. If
you can sing you could probably be doing a bit more. If you can’t even talk,
you are probably working too hard!

The key to
cardiovascular exercises is rhythmic movement of the limbs and the subsequent
increase in the heart rate. That’s what boosts our circulation and helps our
immune system to function to the best of its capability.

Interesting
Exercise Trivia

There are a couple of
other things that are worth mentioning.

There’s the
possibility that the brief rise in body temperature that is associated with
exercise is beneficial (in that it makes it harder for bacteria and viruses to
thrive).

There’s also a
suggestion that, as our breathing rate increases, we may flush our lungs and
our airways out a bit more and therefore get rid of bacteria and viruses
quicker.

There are also two
particularly important ways in which exercise indirectly impacts our immune
system.

The first is sleep. You may know that exercise improves the quality of our sleep. And our immune system needs sleep to function well. When we sleep, our bodies release important proteins, antibodies, and immune cells, all of which help to fight infections and inflammation.

So, we need enough
good-quality sleep if we are going to fight off viruses and infections.

Exercise also reduces
our stress hormones and helps to stabilise our mood. When we are stressed, we
release a hormone called cortisol. Too much cortisol suppresses our immune
system. So, if we want to stave off illness and avoid viruses, we need to take
steps to keep our stress and cortisol levels as low as possible.

I am aware this is
easier said than done at difficult times. While we can’t always change what’s
going on around us, we can usually take steps to modify our response or improve
our coping mechanisms.

Risks of Exercise

Before you go for that
walk, exercise class, or do a home exercise video, are there any risks
in terms of exercise and your immune system?

The only type of
exercise that could be a concern is prolonged, high-intensity exercise. We’re
talking endurance events, not dance classes or brisk walks.

There is some evidence
to suggest that prolonged, high-intensity activities can suppress our immune
system. However, that’s only an issue if you are planning on running multiple
marathons or taking part in some ultra-endurance biking/swimming events.

Otherwise, as long as
you’re doing an activity that you feel is appropriate for you, it should be
beneficial for your overall health and for your immune system.

How Do You Know If
the Exercise You Do Is Right for You?

When you exercise, you should feel like you are working but not overdoing it. Afterwards, you should feel better than you did beforehand. So, you might feel a little tired but in a good way, like after an energising walk by the sea.

You shouldn’t feel so
shattered that you can’t walk up the stairs or do anything else that day. If
you do your exercise class, then go home and have nap, that’s OK (I love a good
nap although when you call it a siesta it sounds even better!). But, if you go
home and sleep for the rest of the day, the exercise might have been too much
for you.

Use Exercise to
Your Benefit

Moving more often
could be your secret weapon to boost your immune system, fight off viruses,
coughs, and colds, and bounce back more quickly if you do get ill.

Take a second now to
think about what you could be doing to move more often and stay active. Try and
do things you enjoy. If you like being outdoors, find something in nature. If
you like music, try doing some dance. If you like being with other people, meet
a friend for a walk, to play pickleball, or badminton, or go to a class.

If you are keen to exercise from
home, an online exercise studio might be
the answer. Find something that you will be able to do easily
and will enjoy. Don’t make it harder than you need to!

What do you do to
boost your immune system? How often do you move? What kind of exercise leaves
you slightly out of breath? How do you feel afterwards? Please share your
experiences with our community!