In our busy, hectic days do we often take a chance to reflect upon something that is free, good for our health, can’t be bought, available to everyone and doesn’t depend on a time schedule? Some evening if you have a few extra minutes around sundown stop and look up into the sky.
Flowers can be a selfless gift of love and appreciation, a thought of kindness and outreach or of sorrow and reparation. Roses carry their own special quality of thought and class. Receiving roses whether they be red, white, pink, coral or deep, flaming intense purple all have a story to tell. Throughout life occasions occur where roses seem to fit. Roses are the thorny, crowning, blooming, delicate flower in the garden. Roses may be my favorite – take a moment…..
Spending the day enjoying Jackson Square in historic New Orleans, Louisiana offers gaudy and decadent entertainment along with intelligent enrichment. New Orleans is a city of intense contrasts. Luxury automobiles speed down cobblestone streets while gaunt-looking carriage horses pull tourist-filled wooden street carts down asphalt boulevards. Scantily-clad beauties prance casually across the portico of historic churches while greasy, dirty, poorly-clad, unshaven men loiter on street corners that are briefly visited by smartly-tailored bride grooms walking to their wedding ceremony. The…..
Reading a review of the award-winning children’s book Runaway Smile and imaging the ants “windsurfing across a bowl of milk during the windy season” brought a smile to my face. Valentine’s Day gave you an opportunity to express your love, appreciation and tender feelings for others. Receiving gifts on this loving occasion generally brings a smile to your face. When you feel happy you release endorphins, neurotransmitters, which have a positive effect on your health. Smiling makes you feel happy……
We enter a New Year with a decade attached. Hopes are high and resolutions sharp. Anticipation drips off words and actions. Verbosity and intention our worth. Too much adrenaline may be our curse. Enjoying the feeling sways easy. Focusing attention skews the anticipation. Throttle and measure the pedal of movement. Counter annihilation of anticipation and propel yourself on a true course of achievement.
Just like our bodies are made to move, being healthy is dynamic. When was the last time that you made a health mistake? Did you correct yourself harshly or grant yourself a free pass? Often when we’re trying to achieve our healthiest selves we hold ourselves to a level of perfection that’s impossible to reach. Imagine that you’re a work in progress – you’re not done with yourself!!! Medical literature and research give us some measurable goals to observe along…..
Our neighborhood community garden has a pumpkin patch full of ripe, multi-colored, multi-sized gourds. I marvel at the variety of shapes in this garden yet each different fruit seems to occupy its own distinct place to make the garden a beautiful, restful place. There are small, white gourds with deep ridges lying next to large, deep-yellow colored pumpkins marked with misshaped forms. Long-necked gourds snuggle next to orange, perfectly round pumpkins that resemble artist-shaped displays. Surprisingly, this mismatched arrangement reveals…..
It’s the end of a busy, stressful day your feet are tired and the blood pressure monitor would probably register high enough so that your doctor is concerned. The fatty, salty burger you gobble for lunch is only partially digested because the hectic office environment keeps you jittery all afternoon. Evening commute Interstate bumper-to-bumper traffic jams have cars backed up for ten miles. Your drive home is eventful enough: you don’t need the road construction barriers marking a detour at…..
When was the last time you gave something to someone that was good for their health? We all read information about how to keep ourselves healthy – it’s usually while we’re reading through a magazine article in the waiting room of a doctor’s office or when a friend says to us “Ya just gotta read this great article about vitamins.” But do we actually sit down with someone we care for and talk about health issues or share our time…..
‘Having a capacity for adaptive change‘ is Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition for malleable. This remolding can be accomplished either by beating with a hammer or intentional pressure from an internal force. However, both of these methods require that the shape being changed is flexible, elastic, fluid, adjustable and adaptable. Gee! That sounds like a shapeshifter. Yet everyone can do it. It simply takes desire, planning, and routine. Sounds easy I know but these 3 steps are the basis of any change,…..
Each likes to design their personal space – a comfy chair, pretty flowers, favorite foods. Often we customize our exercise routine too much and end up with ‘tunnel vision’ when it comes to an expanded viewpoint on alternatives. Some swear by free weights. Others use aerobics. Still, others profess that it’s only truly pure if yoga tops the list. Possibly, the answer lies in a combination of all. The key is to get up and move! Your body has multiple…..
Saying NO isn’t easy – but vitally necessary. Especially true when someone you care for asks you to postpone your physical workout. Your workout routine keeps you healthy not only for yourself but your loved ones. Health, wellness, and vitality is part of being totally present for your family and friends. Truly, if the people in your life want you to be in their life for a long time they’ll understand your “NO.” “I love you, but no.” is a…..
Reaching centenarian status is a real possibility. A study in PLOS One indicates that adults who perceive aging in a positive light have a nearly 44% lower risk of developing dementia (WebMD.com, Sept./2018). Extensive studies by WebMD provide interesting statistics: 14 million, # of adults 65 and older with chronic health problems 67%, adults older than 65 with high blood pressure 88%, drop in dementia risk for women who are physically fit in middle age 1 in 4, adults 65…..
Storing critical information in your brain takes a three-prong strategy: saying the words, reading the words and most importantly writing the words. There’s power in the simple act of writing words. Writing locks into your memory the information that you need to remember and it’s more likely to stick in your long-term memory (WebMD June 2019). You will remember the items on your shopping list. Technology provides modern-day options such as cell phone apps and pictures sent to us on…..
People who are diagnosed with a chronic, painful, inflammatory disease, i.e. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, etc., may experience pain even when their inflammation is well controlled. Dealing with constant pain is exhausting, debilitating, physically draining, nutritionally challenging, fatiguing and can interfering with a person’s mood and memory ability. Centralized pain signals arise from distress changes in the central nervous system CNS which is comprised of the brain and spinal cord where pain alerts are processed according to a September/October 2018 article…..
HAPPY EASTER. We are celebrating this holiday season with family functions, festive meals, party planning preparations, and friendly conversations. Our checklist often begins weeks in advance with decisions being made that will showcase our finest and our best. We mentally and physically prepare by going through what we have and then become busy buying any needed items making sure that organization is our focus. INVITATIONS ARE IMPORTANT !!! Whether we call our guest on the phone, send out engraved invitations…..