Dopamine, chocolate bark, walking is the new running
5 Wellness Things with Ali Cabana
This week, I’m launching a new monthly-ish series called 5 Things. In these conversations, I speak with an expert about a topic they know well and ask them what’s filling their well.
As I thought of 5 Things, I knew I wanted to think about wellness and self-care in January, so I talked with Ali Cabana about what’s making her tick these days. Ali is a health and wellness coach based in Portland, Maine, and she’s the director of operations at Portland Power Yoga (PPY).
Ali was working as a dental hygienist and felt it wasn’t her calling. She’d been going to yoga and, on a lark, joined a teacher training program. “I left the training with this clarity that I have to teach now that I know this,” Ali said. She quit her job and dove in, sharing there was “probably a span of a year where I was like, ‘I don't know what is going on in my life, and I don't know where this is gonna go, but I genuinely knew that unless I do this, it will never happen.’”
Her favorite part of her work is the mentorship and mindset work she does, whether with clients or with leading others: “The goal of all of it is to raise awareness and to help people see like their magnificence and their potential.” We caught up on the wellness things that are inspiring her right now.
5 Wellness Things
1.) Dopamine
I've done a lot of research on dopamine over the last year. It's something I included as a keynote in my retreat in Costa Rica last year and in the program I'm doing here at PPY this month. Learning about dopamine and how to optimize it has helped me understand myself better and why I make the choices that I do.
Dopamine is responsible for that really excitable feeling that you get when you’re seeking something, like having pizza tonight, or going on a date you’re looking forward to, or shopping. It’s a huge driver for us as humans.
To understand your relationship to it, the first step is to notice if you're interacting with certain things in your life and it's creating high highs. I always tell people, think of the things that might not be the healthiest but are really spiking that dopamine in your brain, and—I hate to say it—get rid of it.
With our society, we are all so overstimulated by everything: social media, online shopping, alcohol, drugs, all these things that are huge dopamine hitters that our brains cannot handle, and then it's addicting. It's that feeling of instant gratification. I've realized that we get the spike of dopamine before we even do the thing. As soon as you do the thing, your brain's like, “Yup, we got it,” but you’re thinking, “I thought this would feel better.”
2.) Outdoor walks
I think walking is the new running in the health and wellness industry now. I love a walk every day in the morning with sunlight. If there’s no sunlight, that's totally fine, still go outside. Walking is so, so good for you. I've noticed a huge difference in my mental health, and research shows if you get out, get some sunlight in your eyes, it helps with so many things: depression, anxiety, your sleep the next night. It’s helpful for us in our industries, with creativity and joy. I'll go without my phone and have these killer ideas.
3.) A dose of fiction
I’m currently reading Atlas Shrugged. I'm a nonfiction gal, but a client gave me this book, and I've started to read it. It’s over 1000 pages, so it's totally daunting. It really makes you think about the true nature of humans: why we do what we do; at our core, are we good, are we bad?
4.) Meal prepping
I’ve been loving meal prepping lately. I've been making my own chocolate bark. On a sheet, I squish dates, then add dark chocolate and a bunch of nuts, pistachios, sea salt. I freeze it for two days, and then I use that as dessert for the weekend. It’s phenomenal, and it's unprocessed, and it's really, really good. When it freezes, it gets harder, but it still has a tiny bit of the chew.
5.) A specific gratitude practice
I do gratitude lists every day. I have a pro tip, and it's worked really well for me: I've been very specific about my gratitude. I don't have a minimum list, like I have to come up with three things. I just write down what I'm feeling, but I have made a promise to myself that I have to truly feel what I write down.
It changes the quality of what you write down, because it's no longer a list of 15 things. It's maybe a list of three, but those are things that truly in your heart, it viscerally feels like gratitude. I've noticed it makes your mind better at looking for specific things to be grateful for. Your mind starts to be open to things that are unassuming, and that's been really helpful.
Lightning round
Any other books you’re loving right now?
We're doing the 40-day program at PPY right now, and a lot of it's about habits and dopamine. I highly recommend Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke if dopamine is something that you're interested in.
Any podcasts you’re finding inspirational?
My go-to is Huberman Lab, purely because of the science. You're not gonna laugh ever—he's not funny. I've also started listening to comedy pods. I just started listening to Jason Bateman’s, and it's really fun.
Favorite spot in Portland?
LB Kitchen. They’ve got it all: great food, quality, and they’re quick.
Favorite yoga pose?
I haven't been able to do it for a while because I have a hamstring injury right now, but triangle. It feels really, really good in my body.
What’s the deal with electrolytes?
If you're sweating at all consistently throughout your week, with either workouts or especially with hot yoga, to replenish what you've lost, plain water is not going to do the trick. Electrolytes are the way that you are going to be able to absorb the water you’re drinking. Potassium, magnesium, and sodium. If you're drinking electrolytes, it will help with things like cramps, and it will hydrate you better.
Stay up to date with Ali here or here.
Reference Section
I spoke with Maggie Su about her debut novel, Blob, for Interview. You can read that conversation here.
The Cusp Reading Series launched in Brooklyn last week. It was so fun reading, and I loved hearing from Hannah Meyer, Swati Sudarsan, and Mia Arias Tsang.
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