Health & Vitality - My Ongoing Search

Everybody is aware that our bodies contain a large percentage of water.  You may also know that even being only slightly dehydrated has repercussions on how well your body functions.  Some eyes are probably rolling already, with people saying 'Oh God, somebody else telling me to drink more water!'.  But, bear with me please. Benefits of being properly hydrated include helping all your systems function optimally.  Metabolism gets a boost, hormone signals work better, you have more energy and better brain function.  If you are feeling tired or have brain fog part way through your day, drinking water is a good first choice strategy rather than a caffeinated drink. While drinking several glasses of filtered water per day is still a good recommendation, it may not be well absorbed and used by your cells.  For example, sipping water over the course of the day is better than rapidly drinking a whole glass at a time.  Many people say they just cannot drink...

One of my email newsletters this week had an interesting theme which caught my attention.  It's from a couple who do coaching mainly for business situations, but the principles apply to life in general.  Their approach centers around staying away from what they call the dreaded drama triangle. People like to tell stories about their lives.  For millennia it has been a primary form of communication, for purposes of sharing, informing and teaching.  Stories can take on many forms ranging from verbatim narration about an event to just small sound bites. We learn from an early age that we get more attention and response from more dramatic stories.  Our life experience of this influences our way of thinking, creating a repetitive tendency to adopt a high drama style.  Even if we don't tell a lot of dramatic stories aloud, we sure tell them in our heads! You can probably remember some right now.  Just think of a recent time when something didn't go you...

We all have them, different ones for various situations.  They are our comfort zones.  Some are for social circumstances, some for work or volunteer scenarios, some for more personal, intimate situations and so on.  It's very typical for our range of comfort to be wider in one area than another.  It all comes down to the point at which we feel some kind of threat to our level of control, understanding or emotional security. I think comfort zones are related to the boundaries we decide to set for ourselves, whether that is happening consciously or unconsciously.  They are very personal.  For example, I am usually someone who might not speak out very much in a new social situation.  I am scoping out the situation and once I've ascertained it, may be more likely to speak up.  As for physical comfort zones, I'm not a big risk taker there either.  I wouldn't be one of those thrill seekers who wants to try some very challenging activity, like bun...

When I walk by a bakery, the yeasty smell of baking bread is intoxicating.  It draws me like a magnet in it's direction.  I enjoy admiring freshly baked loaves displayed on the shelves.  I've decided the attraction must be in my cell memory. I grew up on inexpensive white bread, the kind purchased in large quantities for a big family of hungry kids.  It was served at every meal.  Dinner rolls were for special meals like Christmas or Thanksgiving. I honestly don't recall when I first tasted non-white bread, but it was certainly past childhood, maybe when multigrain bread began being marketed as more healthy.  Since then I've enjoyed bread with more texture and flavor.  There was a period of time in my working years when I also had a fascination with bagels.  I would take one with cheese almost every day for lunch and would by a bowl of soup at the cafeteria to go with it. We also had an electric bread maker for awhile and would make homemad...

We would see the top of a head bobbing by the kitchen window, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of footfalls on the back steps and a quick knock on the back door.  In would stroll a relative, friend or neighbor of my parents.  The kettle would go on for tea or coffee and a visit would ensue.  Sometimes these were expected arrivals, but oftentimes not.  During these visits pleasantries would be exchanged, gossip shared and problems of all kinds discussed.  This was all typical when I was growing up. In current times, some aspects of life may try to convey to us that life is all about one big moment after another.  Society, advertising, movies, TV and other media put a lot of emphasis on this.  We are always encouraged to keep chasing after the next bigger, better job, income, home, car, vacation or relationship.  But, the truth is that, while achieving those milestones may give us temporary satisfaction, it is not the space we live in most...

A few weeks ago a pouch style envelope arrived in my mail without a clear indication on the package about where it originated.  I opened it to find a pair of socks with butterflies on them, two notepads with nature images, and a half dozen birthday cards with pretty foil seals for the envelopes.  It was from a wildlife federation, describing their services and seeking donations, all the while assuring me that there was absolutely no obligation. I have to give them credit for choosing a time of year when there is not a deluge of solicitation items in the mail, and also for doing something a bit different by adding in the socks.  In a drawer I have sheets of address labels with bird, flower and tree images from different organizations.  Usually, when I receive something like that, I put them away in that drawer, along with the donation card to decide later whether I want to contribute anything. But, this time I only sat on it for a day or two before sending a one t...

It actually saddened me at a gut level.  I thought I had heard rumblings about it before.  Today, I had the opportunity to speak with a mother and a grandmother with children currently in the elementary school system.  It is true, at least in the district where I live, that cursive writing is no longer taught in school and, is in fact, actively discouraged. I know that the use of technology in schools and in life is becoming dominant now, whether we like it or not.  But, how are kids to learn how to sign their names?  Won't they still have to do that on occasion?  They still do learn to print, and the emphasis is on being able to legibly do that.  Children have been found to have better recognition of letters and words when they learn to write them by hand, which is probably why at least printing is still taught.  It's just not the same as writing though. Pens or pencils and keyboards use different neural processes.  Handwriting involves ...

Recently I have had a few conversations with people about nutrition and supplements.  Because there seems to be a sense of confusion and resistance around this, I want to discuss it again. Sometimes I hear people say they don't want to take any 'pills' and if they 'eat well' they should get everything they need.    As I've mentioned before, this is unlikely with the lower nutritional quality of our foods in current times.  Chances would be better if we were all eating high quality organic foods, but most of us are not. Certain foods and nutrients help us repair at the cellular level.  When we shift to healthier foods and carefully selected supplements, we free up energy to be used for healing instead of using all our energy to make ineffective cells do their jobs.  Aging cells simply do not work as well as they used to.  When we are supporting our cells and organs with what they need to function at their best, our whole body can respond with more...

Although I am spending less time overall these days listening to multiple interviews on summits of different topics related to health and wellness, I tuned into one talk today.  This was on a series about reclaiming your energy. The speaker was a woman named Annamiek van Helsdingen, from the Netherlands, who does what she calls soul based coaching, a form of life coaching.  She has such a gentle spirit that, I immediately relaxed when I began listening to her.  She has an interesting perspective  and helpful strategies. She started with an example of a different way of looking at physical challenges, something that all of us go through and perhaps more as we get older.  She suggested considering not only what the challenge takes from us, but what it invites us to do.  Perhaps we need to look at something we have been ignoring.  (This can be true for any kind of challenge we experience.) Our culture has taught us that life can be controlled if we ...

Since we are still in the energy of the spring equinox and full moon, I decided today to listen to a recording of a reflection/ritual/discussion on aligning with these energies.  Further to my writing a couple days ago about easing into spring are some concepts brought to my awareness. Full moons are often a time when people choose to do a ritual of releasing what no longer serves them.  A different way of looking at releasing came up in the discussion.  The point was, that we don't necessarily need to get rid of some disliked aspect of ourselves or our life experience, expecting to completely clear it from our awareness. What might be more fruitful is to fully acknowledge those things and then turn them over in ritual to be transformed into something more radiant. The more we accept them, the easier they are to release. It seems to be one of the paradoxes of life that the more we try to bury what we consider negative, the more it unexpectedly returns to our awareness...

There are currently lots of pillows on my bed.  Several of them are part of my bedroom decor, intended to add color and interest to an otherwise white duvet.  Without a headboard, it seemed a good way to perk things up.  I used to think having a bunch of decorative pillows on a bed was just a nuisance for making the bed, but even I can change my mind. :)  I now like the way it looks and am used to arranging them every day. Then, there are pillows for sleeping.  Are you aware of the many different kinds of pillows available nowadays?  You can get a $5 basic polyester stuffed pillow at a discount store or you can spend hundreds on special designs, shapes, sizes and fillers to give you just the right kind of support for your many hours of slumber. We happen to have a variety of pillows.  But, most of our collection is related to my husband having a chronic issue with neck pain and trying to find ways to alleviate that.  It has resolved in large p...

Today is the spring equinox. when we have an exact balance of darkness and daylight.  Unusually, it is also the time of a Full Moon.  The Sun is moving into the zodiac sign of Aries, signalling the beginning of the astrological new year in the Western world.  The Moon, directly opposite, is in the sign of Libra. The full moon at this time adds more power to the energy of the shift into spring.  The sign of Aries, where the Sun is shifting today, is about fiery energy, power and activation, the perfect energy to move us out of the dormancy of winter.  Meanwhile, the Moon in Libra, is about balance, especially in relationships. As a result, we may feel the contrast between the push/pull of independence versus communion with others.  Personally, though I very much welcome the increase in daylight, today I feel sluggish and sleepy.  I've been dreaming more, which is not unusual around the time of a full moon, and this leaves me with mental and emotiona...

It happened innocently enough.  My husband, who is a computer technician, was helping me with a laptop problem the other evening.  He reconnected it and left it on the computer desk.  The next morning, I pushed the button to start it.  After a couple seconds it shut itself off.  Same scenario a few times in a row.  Well crap!  Called my husband at work to report and get advice.  He realized what he may have done inadvertently but thought he could fix it later when he got home. Part of my morning routine centers around sitting with my mug of tea at the computer, checking email and other regular sites I visit.  After a few minutes of feeling disgruntled, I reconfigured my day.  If you don't think you're addicted to technology, check what your initial reaction is when you are suddenly removed from it. :) Ironically, or as a synchronicity, if I choose to look at it that way, the timing was perfect.  I had started feeling an aversion...

I am an identical twin.  Growing up as a child, I remember us getting a lot of attention for that, mainly related to people having trouble telling us apart, or how cute our identical outfits were. When we were young, our mother sewed most of our clothes.  We dressed identically every day until in our teens we decided we each wanted to express our individuality.  Until then, my identity was primarily as a twin.  In those preteen years this did not disturb me.  I was very close to my twin sister and we tolerated the twin treatment together. Our facial appearance was plain and after needing eyeglasses upon starting school, those accessories added to the bookworm, plain Jane appearance.  We were recognized more for academic achievement rather than any sort of beauty as we both loved school and excelled there. Because we chose different course directions in high school, we no longer had the same classes, at least after Grade Nine.  This allowed us to b...

If you have been following my blog, with it's frequent focus on healthy lifestyle choices, you may assume that I stay away from desserts.  But, that would not be entirely true. Our Sunday dinner dessert is already made.  I usually cook a bigger meal on Sunday and make some kind of dessert recipe.  Today's offering is a berry crumble, gluten and sugar-free along with homemade lemon curd for topping, also sugar free.  I use grain free flour options and healthier versions of sugar substitutes in my recipes.  It takes a bit of practice, but results can be very good. We almost always had desserts when I was growing up.  My mother enjoyed baking cakes, pies, cookies and squares and was very good at it.  They were all delicious, making it hard to choose a favorite. As an adult, probably my most delicious dessert memory is from a short trip to Boston for a work related conference.  My husband made the trip with me.  When we went out for dinner ...

Today I had the privilege to attend the first live reading of a new play by actors/performers.  I had never actually been to a play reading or workshop event before.  It is quite different because the actors are literally just seated in a row, reading from the script in character. Even without a stage, set, costumes, lighting and so on, this can be a powerful experience.  It was so for me today.  The actors did a great job of portraying their characters and thus conveying the depth and emotional range of the story to the audience of 30 or so people present.  It was well received. When I was chatting with my husband about it later, in terms of how effective it was as a live reading, he reminded me about the difference between reading Shakespeare and seeing one of his plays performed.  Point taken. I enjoy live theatre but go to performances very infrequently.  That is going to change later this year though, as I plan to buy season tickets with a f...

I recently came across this meme on social media: 'Don't let anyone tell you fairytales aren't real.  I drink a potion made from magic beans every day, and it brings me back to life!' My morning magic potion now comes from tea leaves rather than coffee beans, but the effect is similar.  A favorite of ours for a few years now is green tea with jasmine blossoms.  We use loose tea leaves purchased from a tea shop and it is delicious and fragrant. To be honest, I drink more than one wake up cup.  In fact, I drink a few large mugs over the course of a couple of hours on days that I'm home for the morning.  But, my caffeine intake is limited to the morning, or my sleep is affected. I used to drink coffee in the past, enjoying different varieties. I would drink my coffee morning, noon and night and as so many do, used it as my mid-afternoon energy booster. However the time came when even decaf coffee in the evening had just enough caffeine to agitate my sleep....

My parents used to watch musical programs on television, like Don Messer's Jubilee (a Canadian program from the Maritimes) and The Tommy Hunter Show.  These shows often featured couples or a small troupe of dancers who would perform along with the band or singer.  As children, my sisters and I would sometimes try to imitate the dancers. The first structured dance lessons I attended were held at our local recreation center.  We learned square dancing, polka and probably basics like the waltz.  In the later phase of elementary school, a bit of dancing was introduced in physical education classes, probably to help us develop our social skills.  Very short after school dances were sometimes held in the gym.  Most of my early dancing was done with girls.  My first memory of dancing with a boy at one of these school events, was with a boy from class called Martin.  The main memory I have of that is his very sweaty hands!  The poor boy was so nerv...

That's a question I rarely ask any longer of others.  It may be partly because I seldom get dressed up enough to really be concerned much about it.  But, I also think it's because it's a more important question to ask myself.  That, and the question 'How do I feel?' In the spring of 1983, in my opinion, I looked and felt frumpy.  I was the mother of a three year old and a one year old, a homemaker.  I was not yet thinking about going back to work.  But, my mother's death in March made me think more about living my life as a better version of myself.  Impulsively, I joined a somewhat expensive and strict weight loss program, and rapidly lost a lot of weight. That decision also jump started a desire to look better and dress better, even if I was mainly at home.  The extra attention of the staff at the program, where I had to go for daily weighing and supplements, boosted my spirits and helped me expand my horizons again.  Not long after I w...

Before typing it here, I wrote this post, longhand, in a notebook, using an old pen resurrected from a drawer.  Everyone has a drawer, or some kind of container that holds a collection of old pens, right?  These usually include a variety with business or other organization names on them, the kind given away as promotions at events. Also in my stash are ones rediscovered from periodic cleaning out of desk drawers, old backpacks and so on.  I don't know where this one I was writing with came from, probably something left behind by one of my boys.  It's one of those fat ones with a fine roller ball tip, so it writes nice and smoothly.  But, I can tell it's running out of ink, because of the faintness in the writing. This is my beef with modern pens!  Seriously, are they made for obsolescence even more now, like throwaway plastic razors?  The short answer is sadly, yes. I write quite a bit by hand, as well as on the computer.  Usually in back to...

This past weekend, we visited our grandson, who is not yet two years old.  We had a lovely family visit and dinner.  Although he was not much interested in dinner, he certainly relished his dessert.  We were having Portuguese tarts and cake, both custard filled. He slowly dragged his fingers through the custard, scooping it to his mouth to gently pull in to his tongue.  His focus and concentration were deep.  The look on his face was sheer bliss.  He ate two servings, the same size as the adults were having!  Afterwards, with custard smeared on his hands and face and a full, round belly, he looked like a little Bhudda. Simple things bring great joy.  Sometimes I forget that.  Watching children and animals can remind us though.  Think of a cat, languorously grooming themselves;  or, a dog, lapping up a generous drink of refreshing water;  the sound of birds twittering in the trees;  the beauty of a bunch of tulips just ...

Most of the time, when I saw her, my Grandma was sitting in her rocker, using one foot to push back and forth, back and forth.  She wore a house dress with a bib apron over it, rolled down stockings and mule style flat slippers.  She mostly sat there and rocked, with this contented look on her face. That image of my paternal grandmother was how she presented in the last years of her life.  Prior to that she had lived independently in her own little cottage for many years after being widowed by the much earlier death of her husband.  When she could no longer manage on her own, she moved in with a sister, my great aunt, where she was content until her dying day. When I think of my Grandma in her rocking chair, it never crossed my mind as a youngster that she 'should' be doing anything else.  I don't remember wondering why she spent so much time in that chair rocking.  Maybe she was no longer able to be on her feet for long periods, or had bad circulation ...

I used to think that I was a great multi-tasker, especially when my kids were young.  There seemed to be so much to do in a day that I often felt like a juggler.  Sometimes I impressed myself with what I could accomplish, quickly darting from one thing to another. This strategy was sometimes applied at work too, though I have to say with less success because many of my work tasks required my full concentration and focus.  For awhile, multitasking was touted as a success strategy for women with families who also worked in a career.  No pressure! It turns out in recent years that neuroscience tells us that multitasking is a myth.  The brain just switches from one task to another in a start/stop manner.  We just think we are doing ten things at once when we aren't, except for very automatic tasks like walking while talking to someone for example. This myth was perpetuated to make over-scheduled people feel and appear more productive.  But, it is not...

It woke me with a start, from what had seemed a very pleasant dream.  This is not all that unusual for me, to be rambling blissfully through a dream scene until something said or done resonates so strongly that my mind literally wakes me to pay attention to it. In last night's dream, I am in a an unremembered place of work, where I have recently completed some project successfully and am praised for it by colleagues and manager.  I am riding high on this acknowledgment when, I'm asked to take a phone call which bursts my bubble.  When I answer the phone, I am being chastised by a senior staff for inappropriate remarks I have made which contravene policy.  I am threatened with dismissal.  Damn! My mother was very outspoken.  Let's say I learned it from her.  Over the years I felt I developed more of a sense of tact via my education and career, but when I feel passionate about something, words just pop out of my mouth which I may later regret. Alth...

Every day it seems, we are teased with a little more.  The hours of daylight are increasing.  The winter birds are more frequently coming out of their hiding places to show their colors and sing their songs.  A friend posted a photo the other day with over a dozen beautiful cardinals in one tree! Sunrise is a bit earlier each day and the colors of that are changing.  I've taken to calling them creamsicle sunrises, because the pastel hues remind me of that.  The quality of light in our days is shifting and every time the sun fully comes out we are drawn to our windows or to the outdoors. Now when I am out walking with my friend, the sun is melting the snow and puddles appear on the sidewalks.  We are at the tail end of what we hope is the last very cold part of winter, with a forecast of temperatures above freezing within a few days. The café I frequent has pots of forced tulips on display.  This reminds me to pick up a bunch of cut tulips at the ...

I never owned a Hope Chest as a bride to be.  It was not a custom in my family.  I only read about them in magazines.  To me, it was a romantic sounding notion, almost a promise of a successful marriage if you had all your basic linens and tableware to start your years of wedded bliss. Once married, and especially once I had children, my desires for various purchases for myself were deferred, put off till later for the most part.  I received many nice household items for gifts on birthdays and at Christmas. We always have hopes and dreams though, in any stage of life.  So, we can still create our own hope chest in a different way.  It does not need to be a big cedar lined chest.  It can be any kind of container you like, as long as it is appealing to you.  The main thing is that it is JUST for you. Perhaps you have a creative project which is ongoing, or something you would like to start.  Your hope chest could contain supplies for that...

Recently I've been reading some things that relate to differences in seniors now to those who were seniors in the previous generations.  For example, in the 1920's, middle age was defined as 40 and old age was by the fifth decade.  Now, middle age goes up to age 65 and the perception of old has shifted to the mid-seventies and beyond. If I look back on photographs of my parents or grandparents, they certainly did look a lot older in their 40's, 50's or 60's than most adults do today.  And, of course, longevity has increased.  This is felt to be due to factors like clean water, sanitation, safe food storage and improvements in health care among other things. Definitions of old or elderly really center around conditions which cause frailty leading to a loss of independence or ability to be self-sufficient. To our children, even those who are now in adulthood, perhaps we have seemed 'old' in some way for a very long time.  However, given how many people 6...

No, that's not a typo, it's just a play on words.  I'll be writing today about the Psoas muscle.  In case you are not familiar with it, it's the one you feel stretched when you do a lunge and then lean back a bit.  You'll feel it at the front of your hip. The Psoas is a long skinny muscle, but it's unusual in that it's attached at both the front and back of the body.  If it is tight you could feel it as discomfort in front of your hip, or, you could also feel it as low back pain. Mine tends to get tight on the right side.  It's on my mind more at present because a friend who also has issues with her psoas, recently shared some exercises with me to work on releasing, and stretching it as well as strengthening the muscles nearby. Because of where it's attached, the Psoas connects your torso and your leg.  It is the only muscle (one on each side) which connects your spine to your leg.  You use it while you are sitting, when you get up to stand and...

How often have you heard expressions like 'they have always been like that', 'it runs in our family', 'you are just like _____ '(your mother, your father) ?  It sort of begs the old nature versus nurture question again. As I may have mentioned in some previous posts, regarding health issues, medical research in the last couple of decades has discounted the former popular belief that our genes are our destiny.  There are actually not that many diseases which are directly predicted by our genome.  Rather, what has been found instead, via the scientific field of epigenetics is, that we may have many genetic tendencies but their expression is not written in stone. The gun may be loaded, as in a strong family history of heart disease, as existed in both my parents, but the trigger of expression is pulled from a cumulative building up of pressure from many factors.  So, I can no longer 'just blame my parents' for having high cholesterol or other risk facto...

This seems to be another time when several people in my circle of friends and acquaintances are dealing with various challenges, in varying degrees of severity.  These challenges range from unexpected medical issues, to work related problems, to the stress of making a significant housing move, and more. There just seem to be episodes in our lives when, in a way, the order of life which we expected to maintain falls apart.  It doesn't seem right.  It doesn't seem fair.  What did we do to deserve this?  Somebody, somewhere, should be able to fix this, to make it better.  These may be some of the thoughts which cross our minds. So, what do we do, how do we cope?  Some of us are more private about our suffering and others are more open.  But, in most cases, we will share our story of suffering with at least one other or, to many of the people to whom we relate. It is this sharing which eases the burden.  Sometimes we receive practical and h...