Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up a daily dose of care designed to support you, cheer you on and remind you, always, just how wonderful you already are.

In Today’s Edition:

🥰Well-Being & Self-Care: Emotional Reasoning: Escaping Thought Traps for Better Mental Health
💖Longevity & Wellness: Fitness Friday - Pelvic Floor 101
✨Daily Affirmation & Daily Prompt

Many will try damper your expectations of your own ability to create change.
We want to do the opposite and help you see how much potential you have.
Every positive thing in this world was created by people who believed they could make a difference.
You CAN make a difference, we believe in you!

Emotions carry important information, but they are not always objective truth. Emotional reasoning happens when we assume that because we feel something strongly, it must automatically be true.

For example: “I feel anxious, so something bad must happen,” or “I feel unworthy, so I must not be enough.”

When emotions become evidence, temporary states can start shaping identity, decisions, and perception. This can make difficult feelings feel even heavier and more permanent than they actually are.

Common ways emotional reasoning shows up:
• 🌧️ Believing feelings reflect facts (“I feel it, therefore it’s true”)
• 😞 Assuming low confidence means inability
• 😬 Interpreting anxiety as danger
• 🪞 Treating shame or insecurity as proof of worthlessness
• 🔮 Letting temporary emotions define the future

Ways to gently create space between feelings and facts:
• 🥠 Ask: What am I feeling, and what do I actually know?
• 🧠 Remember: emotions are real experiences, not always accurate conclusions
• 🌿 Allow feelings without immediately building a story around them
• 💬 Use grounding statements like: “This feeling is here right now, I can give it space without jumping to conclusions.”
• 💙 Respond to emotions with compassion rather than unquestioned belief

Your feelings matter deeply. But they are experiences to listen to, not always conclusions to obey.

✅ Action step: The next time a strong emotion comes up, pause and ask: What are the facts here, separate from what I’m feeling?

^{Love, Lola Graham}

Most people have heard of the pelvic floor but could not tell you much about it. Here is what you actually need to know.

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sit at the base of your pelvis like a hammock, running from your pubic bone at the front to your tailbone at the back. These muscles support your bladder, bowel, and uterus, control your ability to hold and release urine and bowel movements, play a role in sexual function, and work as part of your core system to stabilize your spine and pelvis during movement.

When the pelvic floor is weak or dysfunctional, it can show up as leaking when you sneeze, cough, jump or laugh, a feeling of heaviness or pressure in the pelvis, lower back or hip pain, or reduced sensation during sex. It affects men and women, though women are at higher risk due to pregnancy, childbirth, and hormonal changes through menopause.

The pelvic floor responds well to targeted training; here are some exercises worth doing consistently:

Kegel contractions: The foundational pelvic floor exercise. Contract the muscles you would use to stop the flow of urine, hold for 5 to 10 seconds, then fully release. The release is just as important as the contraction; a pelvic floor that cannot relax is as problematic as one that is too weak. Aim for 10 repetitions, a few times per day.

Glute bridge: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. As you exhale, lift your hips by driving through your heels and squeezing your glutes at the top. The pelvic floor works alongside the glutes and deep core in this movement, making it one of the most effective functional exercises for overall pelvic stability.

Dead bug: Lie on your back with arms pointing to the ceiling and knees bent at 90 degrees. Slowly lower one arm overhead and the opposite leg toward the floor while keeping your lower back flat on the ground, think about pressing it hard into the floor like you’re pressing a button with your lower back. This trains deep core and pelvic floor coordination under load.

✅ Action Step: Try 10 Kegel contractions today, making sure to fully relax between each one. If you are unsure whether you are doing them correctly or if you have any symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, a pelvic floor physiotherapist can assess and guide you properly.

^{By: Joshua Graham}

^{A gentle invitation to integrate lived experience with kindness, perspective, and care.}

What’s one moment you can hold with tenderness instead of judgment?

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With love and care,

Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team

^{Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.}

^{Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).}