Health & Vitality - My Ongoing Search

In this week's mail, I got the bill for a Reader's Digest subscription.  That is one magazine subscription that I'm very happy to purchase.  I used to get this magazine years ago, took a break from it and am very happily enjoying it again these past few years.  It provides a great variety in short reads and entertaining activities. The real purpose of this particular post though, is to convey just how much I appreciate the gift of reading.  I don't remember the exact time that I learned to read, but I certainly recall how delighted I was by having that skill.  The next related thrill was whatever age I discovered that I could get a library card and choose books to take home, rather than just having my school reader. That ability to use the public library literally opened up a whole new world to me.  I never got tired of the array of choice and delighted bringing home stories that were just for me, or it seemed that way.  We didn't really have a col...

We have had some particularly gloomy days here recently.  Aside from the daylight hours being much shorter, we've had several rainy or cloudy days.  There are good reasons why we can feel lethargic and glum in weather like this. Perhaps you have noticed how much better you feel during a winter vacation in a sunny, warm, beach location.  Or, even in the spring and summer months here when you can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your skin and feel the earth beneath your feet. Our bodies just function better overall, at an organ, system and cellular level when we have that connection to the sun and to the earth.  There are now good scientific explanations for this.  It's more than just a mood enhancer.  It changes our metabolic functions. Unfortunately, many factors in our modern lifestyle impact our ability to stay grounded and experience the benefits of connection to earth and sun.  The places we live and work usually shield us from the light wavele...

A newsletter that I get in my email gave me pause this morning.  It is a spiritual path seeking newsletter which does not come very frequently.  It was rather welcome after the deluge in my inbox in the last several days of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday offerings.  I guess today is Waiting Wednesday (my term) for all the things we have ordered. :) The newsletter I read was talking about when we are in a fallow phase of life, where we mostly feel tired and not excited about too much.  We may want to blame any number of people or situations for our exhaustion.  But, the author suggested another approach instead.  They asked us to look gently at whether we are living from our soul values. An example was given about how someone, even though physically exhausted for whatever reason, does something they are passionate about, that it is energizing.  That is a clue for identifying a soul value.  As with many other things, paying attent...

The holiday season can be a bittersweet time of year, especially if it has been a year of losing loved ones.  In my circle of family and friends it certainly has.  Both myself and my husband lost sisters this year.  My son and daughter-in-law and also my very dear friends lost their beloved dogs, who were also considered as members of their families. All the 'firsts' in the year after a death can be particularly heart wrenching, as we experience the events of the season or holiday from this perspective of loss.  But, what if, instead of dwelling mainly on our painful grieving, which has its place, we consider the legacy of love which they left to us. This legacy is passed on, not only in grand gestures or events of their lives, but mostly in the multitude of little things and memories. My eldest sister Judy, who died this past spring, was ten years older than me.  Because there were several children in our family, it fell to her as the oldest girl, to help...

This past weekend the Facebook posts with photos of completed Christmas decorating began showing up.  Some people decorate every room of their common areas.  Some have up to three Christmas trees.  I admire those photos.  It's all very lovely and festive.  Those people are the hares in the race to Christmas.  I am the tortoise. I'm not judging.  People have their reasons for wanting to get it all done early.  That way they can enjoy gazing upon their holiday décor for several weeks.  Or, they may be entertaining with holiday parties or family get togethers on whatever date works for them. I love the holiday season, the lights, the decorations, the food, the general sense of magic in the air.  But this year I'm just having a little trouble getting the momentum going for decorating.  Before our first snow, which is now gone thanks to a few days of rain, I got excited and put up the balcony lights and garlands.  We have been e...

This is one of those 'space between the stories' type of days for me.  It's Sunday.  Last night I went to a party, had several conversations, a glass of wine, some appetizers and dancing.  It was a lot of fun.  I did not even stay out late. However, due to the albeit pleasant stimulation of all my senses, I found myself wide awake at 3:30 a.m. thinking about the events of the evening.  Not being able to settle, I just decided to get up at 4 a.m. and read a novel for awhile before starting my usual early morning routines.  Such is life with the precarious balance of hormonal systems of a senior. So, it's been a sleepy, puttering around kind of day, doing odds and ends.  I moved around some art on our walls, something I do between the warm and cold seasons.  We have some pieces that are more wintry and they come out to be displayed in the main living space.  We have a couple of large framed needlepoint pieces stitched by my husband's gran...

This morning at my NIA class (dance fitness) the theme was Roots and Wings.  The class was taught impeccably by a guest teacher from Michigan who is a frequent visitor to our local NIA community. (Thank you Teresa!) When we are learning a new routine in this class, it is often taught to get comfortable with the base moves, what we are doing with our feet, before adding other movement.  If you do that, you can always go back to the base moves if you get lost in the choreography.  Once you are comfortable in the base, you have more freedom to expand or enhance your movements through your body, arms and hands. The focus of today's class went beyond those basics though.  All of the amazing songs that were included related to the concepts of security and freedom.  Those two words mean different things to us at different points in our lives. It often comes to mind at first to think of parents giving their children roots and wings in the way they raise them to be...

Today is Black Friday.  I admit that I have done a little online shopping for items that were priced very well.  That's about the extent of it for me.  I have no desire to rush out to department stores to bustle in crowds looking for great deals.  It would just leave me frazzled. One of the benefits of the neighborhood where I live is that it is within easy walking distance of local shops and services.  Since today is a milder and sunny day, I enjoyed a stroll to what we call 'the village' to do a bit of shopping.  This time, I only went into two shops, the health food store and a boutique. At the health food store I was able to pick up some organic produce for a couple of recipes, as well as some other organic food items and a supplement.  It's like a little general store with quite a variety of items.  Although I'm only purchasing a small part of my groceries here, it helps me to feel like I'm making some headway in buying better quality foo...

Okay, I may have overdone things a little.  Maybe going to three fitness classes in less than a 24 hour period after doing very little activity for a week was not my best decision.  As much as I enjoyed my classes and social time with friends at breakfast today, my energy tank suddenly emptied.  When I came home, after showering and dressing, I simply needed to rest and restore.  I sat in my recliner with my earbuds in, listening to one of my meditation audios for 40 minutes and dozing a bit. Although I had planned to do some holiday decorating in the apartment today, and also to go walking with a friend this evening, I have postponed both.  Instead I'll spend some time on the computer, read, maybe watch a movie tonight. It's very ingrained in our culture to keep striving and pushing ourselves.  Unfortunately, when we do it too often, it can have cascading negative effects on our health and vitality, a decline in health or perhaps full on burnout. So,...

After spending a full week at home to avoid further sharing my cold, I ventured out again this morning.  I actually did not mind having a quiet week mostly to myself.  By nature, I'm more introverted than extroverted, so I can usually find enough ways to fill my days.  And, there has been some social connection to others via email and social media.  But, it's not the same as seeing people in person. The classes I attend are not impersonal situations where people just show up for an activity and leave. They are places where I have made several friends whom I look forward to seeing on a regular basis. Sometimes I take this direct connection for granted, but, when I have had a break from it and return I am reminded just how important it is. To be able to give and receive a hug, make eye contact during conversations, share the nuances of humor in language can only happen in person.  Then there is just the shared energy in the space we create together as a group,...

Another feature of this time of year is the holiday catalogue.  Nowadays, I receive very few of them.  The longstanding Sears Wish Book met its demise a couple of years ago and Sears is now closed in Canada. Sears main competitor in the catalogue business was Eaton's, but it closed in 1999.  For many, many years since I was young we excitedly awaited the Christmas catalogue from both Sears and Eaton's, both department stores, which also had mail order business.  My mother used to place orders from those because shopping options were limited in our small home town. Even my own children would get excited about leafing through the Wish Book when it arrived.  It was a fun activity for them prior to the domination of the internet in retail marketing.  And, being able to order some gifts or toys by phone, and later online, certainly saved some time otherwise spent running around from store to store. Some of the big retailers create more of a holiday booklet r...

It's not even winter yet, but some days lately it has been feeling that way where I live.  We have already had a bit of snow which has stayed on the ground and rooftops.  But, it's really too early for all that and it will warm up and melt before long. I don't know about you, but I feel the cold more than I used to.  And, it seems, that once we have had a cold snap I'm easily chilled the rest of the season.  I'm aware this is not an uncommon experience for those in the senior set.  I live in an apartment building which happens to be home to a lot of seniors.  If elderly people live below us, we hardly need to turn our heat on all winter because their heat rises and warms us. I've been more easily chilled lately as I am recovering from a cold.  I'm wanting to keep my back and my neck warm.  Though I used to have a few fleece tops that I could wear over T shirts for warmth, I donated them to Goodwill when they became too large for me.  I'm ...

Do you know what fascia is?  It's the sheath of connective tissue throughout our body that covers and supports muscles, bones, nerves and organs like a web.  And, it turns out that it is living, moving, fluid filled tissue when it is healthy and behaving as it is meant to do. When I was in Occupational Therapy school, we had an anatomy dissection lab in first year.  We were dissecting the upper limb.  At that time, we just saw fascia as a tough tissue that needed to be carefully removed to access the muscles and nerves that we wanted to expose.  It turns out that it is much more than that. Fascia is constantly adapting to our movement to support us.  To do this well, it needs to remain hydrated.  But, too much inactivity, like sitting, compresses it and causes dehydration.  Likewise, excessive activity, like too much working out or training, or repetitive activity of any kind can do the same thing.  When fluid is not moving in our tissues...

As I approach my senior years, it strikes me that I may wish to redefine what creativity means to me. So far in my life I have associated the term with others who have wonderful artistic talent in a variety of realms.  For example, someone who creates music, dance, art, design, films, books, handcrafts, and so on.  In my social circle I know people who are very talented artists, jewelry designers, singers and musicians.  I am in awe of what they can do.  And, I see my own talents as being very far removed from theirs. It's not that I've never tried anything 'creative' myself.  I've dabbled in a number of classes or projects over the years.  Some of these have included:  learning macramé to make a plant hanger (it was the 70's!);  learning to crochet an afghan;  hand stitching a children's nativity set; taking a stained glass course;  making a hooked rug mat.  I would see things through to completion, for the most part, but there w...

I don't really have a green thumb, a natural talent for keeping plants thriving.  But, it's supposed to be good for the energy of a home to have at least a few for air purification and to boost mood.  When they are doing well, my mood is definitely elevated by looking at them.  When they are not, well, it's just sad. The current state of my houseplants is somewhere in the middle.  The apartment I live in does not have great natural lighting for plants unless I put them right on window sills.  Because we have large slat, heavy blinds on our windows this is not really workable for me.  I envision pots being knocked to the floor each time I pull on the cords of the blinds. Last year, one of my sons gave me three little pots of herbs for Mother's Day.  Because they needed quite a bit of light I did keep them on the kitchen window sill with the blind up in a fixed position to prevent catastrophe.  I did manage to keep them going enough to enjoy cut...

Alas, I have succumbed to a cold already, so early in the season too!  With all my health and wellness focus in recent years, I don't get them very often.  However, despite my efforts to support my immune system with good diet and supplements, a hacking cough appeared after a couple of days of a scratchy throat.  Boo! Who knows where I picked it up?  When I have been out shopping and so on I've already heard lots of people coughing.  I'm going to assume that my much less than desirable sleep pattern in the past couple weeks is a factor in my vulnerability.  And now, I will get even less due to waking up coughing.  Ah, the joy of a cold virus!  Not! When this kind of thing happens to me now, I JUST STAY HOME until the worst is over.  I am grateful that this is a viable option for me at this stage of my life.  Provided that my husband remains okay, he can do shopping and errands for us. I do not make a good patient.  I wish, lik...

I live in a city that is called the Forest City, as sort of its brand name I suppose.  There are a lot of trees here, and I have mostly lived in older neighborhoods that have very mature trees.  Though there are mainly deciduous trees, there are also many evergreens.  When I lived in houses I enjoyed the trees for their budding leaves in spring, their shade in summer, their beautiful colors in the fall.  The evergreens have their own seasonal beauty too and look especially pretty in winter decorated by snow.  At our last house we also had a cedar hedge around three sides of the back yard.  It, along, with all the other surrounding trees was home to many birds.  There are also lots of squirrels and raccoons in these old neighborhoods. When we moved to our apartment in 2012, one of the reasons we chose this building was the location.  It is in the same old neighborhood we lived in for many years.  Also, it is situated on a large property that...

Have you ever done a timeline exercise?  It's a common life or career coaching tool to help give a bird's eye perspective of life events, a way to see life patterns.  It can be done in different ways, from as simply as using one straight line on which you make a little mark to indicate significant chronological events, to something that is done in a more abstract, graphing way. I've done a few of these over the years, for both career planning and for more personal exploration.  It can be a really useful tool, but, its value is enhanced by making it more a subconscious exercise rather than just a mental one.  The baseline can be the concrete dates of significant life events.  Then, it can be enhanced by doing a freehand drawing of a path between those points, which may go up, down, zigzag, straight, circular.  The idea is to relax the mind and not think too much about it as you do that part. Looking at your style of timeline can help you see how you have...

In a previous blog post I mentioned how I like to enjoy my quiet early morning time to slowly wake up and move my body by stretching and gentle exercise.  After I have done that I enjoy savoring my first mug of green tea.  Along with my tea I often set my intention or focus of the day by using inspirational tools and sometimes by writing in a journal. These tools have changed over the years, but here's what I currently have on my kitchen table for handy reference as I start my day.  There is a little book called The Pocket Pema, which has paragraph length quotes from different books written by Buddhist Nun, Pema Chodron.  Then, there are four different decks of inspirational or oracle cards,  all by the same creator who is Colette Baron-Reid.  I've just really taken a liking to her style of teachings in the past few years.  They have beautiful artwork and messages that give both guidance and inspiration. The way that I use these is, to usually choo...

Today is Remembrance Day, when we remember all our veterans, both living and deceased, who fought for the freedom will still live in today in Canada. When I was growing up, I remember coloring pictures of poppies, learning the poem In Flanders Fields, and sometimes going with my class to the local cenotaph for Remembrance Day services.  But, I never really had a personal understanding of what it was about.  I had this notion that war was something that had happened far away and a concept that those who served were heroes, but not much beyond that. I am a post-war child, a child of the 50's.  In those times, in my family at least, details of war time service were not discussed.  I had great uncles who had served in the First World War and uncles who had served in the Second World War.  But I never really knew what they did. Once, I overhead an adult conversation mentioning someone who was 'shell-shocked'.  Since I'd never heard the term, I asked what i...

Today we had some snow.  It's not cold enough for it to stay and it's already melted.  But, once the snow is in the air in November, the holiday sparkle awakens in me.  Ever since I was a kid I wanted to believe in the magic potential of the Christmas season.  This was inspired not only by my religious education about the miracle of Christmas, but also by the increased generosity of spirit people displayed at that time, by the heartwarming shows I would see on TV and, by all the sparkly decorations that appeared.  It all seemed so magical and immersing myself in that felt really good. We didn't have a lot materially when I was growing up, but, my mom always tried to make the holidays special.  She was a very good baker and would make lots of cookies and squares.  She liked to decorate our home. My dad was a carpenter and he made large plywood hand painted ornaments to put on our front yard and even a roof high candy cane to prop against the house. ...

This will be my first foray post into the controversial area of dietary supplements.  I believe in this one so strongly that I don't hesitate to talk about it.  That supplement is magnesium.  But, I'll be referring to its use in more absorbable forms which the body can most benefit from. If you have ever had an Epsom salt bath to soothe sore muscles, or just to relax, then you are already aware of the effect of magnesium, in that case, in magnesium sulfate form. I used to be more a fan of these baths, with a little essential oil added.  However, I don't like the shape of our apartment tub for the longer soak required for this, so I don't do them much any more. Instead, I take on a daily basis, a combination of magnesium citrate and magnesium bis-glycinate.  I have them in a powder form to be mixed with warm water or, in a capsule form.  There are other forms too, but these ones, especially the bis-glycinate, are easily absorbed to do their job. Magnes...

This morning a friend texted me a little joke graphic.  It struck me as so funny that I laughed out loud, a full belly laugh.  And then, I read it again, and laughed again.  That felt so good! You may have guessed by now, if you have been following this blog, that I'm kind of a serious person.  I like to study things, analyze things and figure things out.  That very busy analytical mind occupies a lot of my waking and dreamtime hours. I do have a sense of humor though, and can be funny.  I just need to be really comfortable to express that.  I enjoy the kind of humor that is plain silly or fun, not the kind that demeans others.  I experienced too much of that in the form of teasing while growing up. The benefits of laughter are well known now, for the positive health effects from the cascade of feel good hormones that are released.  Our cells really appreciate it!  You may have read stories about people with serious illness watchin...

Continuing with the theme of yesterday's post about letting go in relation to seasonal changes and life changes, today is a good day to think more about this, as we have a New Moon in the sign of Scorpio.  The astrological sign of Scorpio is about going below the surface of things, the subconscious, the shadow side of our personalities.  It's also about death and rebirth, authenticity and truth. Thinking along the lines of the energy of the shedding trees shifting deeper into their roots, it is a good time to go within, to ponder what we need to let go.  This is not just in relation to physical things.  It could be something in the mental, emotional or spiritual realm as well.  What in your life keeps poking at you, asking for change?  What might you need to let go in order for that to happen?  What would you like to expand? Once we ponder these things, we can start to imagine how we would like to think, behave or act differently.  What would ...

The rapid falling of the leaves this week reminds me of the different cycles of life and has me pondering about letting go, what that experience has been like for both myself and others.  This is something that comes more to the forefront of the mind as I head into my senior years. The year I turned 50, I made the huge decision to let go of my professional career of occupational therapy, which I had practiced on both a full and part-time basis since graduating in 1977, for 27 years.  If I had been thinking mainly in terms of future financial security from pension contributions, I would have stayed in my last job for another 12 years.  But, I was ready for a change.  I have only done casual or part-time work in completely unrelated areas ever since.  In hindsight, which is often more clear, I sometimes regret doing that.  But, what's done is done. As mentioned in another post, that year of 2004 is when I began uncluttering my home in earnest.  That ...

On my bookshelf, I have a little book about aromatherapy, sort of a beginner's guide.  It was printed in 1999.  I don't remember exactly when I bought it but, we can assume sometime in the early 2000's. In it, there is a list of fifteen basic oils and basic directions for how to use them. I maybe bought a couple of those oils for a specific purpose. In books today, or on websites there are probably 10 times as many oils listed, if not more. The different ways essential oils can be used include:  diluted for massage or to simply roll on the skin;  inhaled as a vapor through a diffuser;  in a warm bath;  in a cloth compress placed on the body;  in balms, creams, lotions, shampoos, body wash or soap;  as a component of mouthwash.  Many products containing essential oils as an ingredient are available now.  It is also relatively easy to make your own when you want a customized blend. Probably the first way that I used them was in the bat...

Daylight Saving Time ended last night, meaning we turn our clocks back by one hour, or 'fall back' as I remember it.  I'm 64 years old and every year, I still get confused as to whether this is going to make the mornings darker or brighter!  Just as myself and my friends are getting despondent about it still being dark at almost 8 a.m. this time change comes along.  And, Hallelujah!  I realize, again, this morning that it's now brighter earlier in my day. For those of us who have sleep issues, particularly with early awakening, the time change presents another puzzle piece to solve.  For me, I didn't really relish the idea of being awake for the day at 3 a.m.  (For parents of babies and toddlers, including my son and daughter-in-law, whose son is frequently waking very early with teething pain, it probably does not make much difference.) Because I wake really early in the day, it's hard for me to stay awake in the evening.  I will often be falling ...

Yesterday we went to a movie, in an actual movie theater.  This is now a rare event, with the advent of so many films being available online.  We usually just watch movies on our TV.  However, this was one I wanted to see on the big screen.  We saw A Star Is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.  I had seen the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, but, it's been so long I had forgotten some of the plot line. This new version moved me deeply.  I admire and respect the talent of Lady Gaga, and expected her singing to be really good.  I knew Bradley Cooper as a very good actor but was not aware of his musical talent.  For me, he really stole the show.  His singing and guitar playing were very good but his acting of the lead male character role was impeccable.  Their performances made me really feel the story as something authentic. We got to see Jackson at the peak of his concert performances, floundering persona...

Here we are in November, at the beginning of the marketing rollout for the upcoming holiday season. I hear that some people do their holiday shopping year round, or, that others at least start in September to avoid a hectic pace later on.  Neither of those has really been my practice, but I admire both approaches for being that organized and aware of what to get for gifts. I have a wish list on Amazon.  It mostly contains names of books I've come across that I think I'd like to own.  It also contains suggestions I've received from family members.  I actually like to get suggestions or wish lists from them to guide me in my gifting.  I'd much rather buy someone something I know they want and will use. For myself at this phase of my life, other than books or music CDs, for the most part I prefer to receive perishable items like gourmet dark chocolate, cheeses, specialty decaf teas, natural soaps scented with essential oils and the like.  I really don't ne...

At my group singing class this week (described in a previous post) my teacher told me that she felt that I had another breakthrough song.  This was a bit of a surprise to me as the singer, because I did not feel like I had made major gains with the song I chose.  She, however, was speaking from her perspective as both teacher and listener.  It was more about how the song was conveyed, which she felt was authentically me.  This is a very sweet compliment to receive indeed. When I think back to my previous post about what really nourishes me and you, in relation to this form of expression we call singing, it strikes me that being authentically heard is very potent.  When we are able to connect deeply with a song's meaning for us personally, along with using our vocal techniques, we communicate clearly to our audience. This is not about belting a song loudly, even though that may be fun to do sometimes.  It's about finding just the right balance of resonan...