Health & Vitality - My Ongoing Search

There was a song by Seals and Crofts, called Summer Breeze, which I liked when I was younger.  The line in the refrain goes 'summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind'.  It's a little corny, but sounds nice and they had a good harmony.  I'm reminded of that song on a lovely end of June day today, when the sun is shining, temperatures are warm and a lovely breeze is blowing through the trees. I'd have to say this is my favorite kind of summer weather.  I like the warmth of the sun, but also the feeling of the air moving, the sound of the leaves rustling in the trees, and flowers swaying gently with their fragrances wafting.  There's just something so comfortable about it.  It's in weather like this that you can stretch out in a lounge chair and take a lovely nap.  Sounds like summer to me. After having a cool and wet spring here, where high pressure in the North allowed cool air to be displaced to the south, we now ha...

The hot weather is finally here.  You know it's really summer once it's warm enough to consistently wear sandals, and once the berry crops, like strawberries mature. Thinking back again to my childhood days, we spent a lot of our time running around outside barefoot, in flip flops or in those low cut canvas sneakers that used to be, and maybe still are, very popular.  Those were the days when it did not matter so much what I put on my feet.  They just served me whether I covered them or not.  In the summer, it was only once a week, for church, that they had to be pinched into any kind of dress shoe, and boy, did that feel weird after going barefoot or in flip flops all week. Now of course, it's quite a different story.  I never, ever wear thongs of any kind. My feet just do not tolerate them.  It's an invitation for foot cramps extraordinaire.  It seems like every few years I find a comfortable pair of sandals, which offer some support and are good...

This morning, I actually got out my ironing board and iron, a rare occurrence these days.  Now that we have hot weather, I'm bringing more capris and shorts into circulation.  Some cotton blends required ironing.  As I was standing there at the ironing board, my memories took me back to laundry days of my youth. In our house, we had a short laundry chute from the main floor bathroom to the basement laundry area.  My dad had built a large wooden receiving box which sat below the chute.  That's where laundry day started, hauling out the accumulated piles to sort and treat if needed.  You were never quite sure what you would find in that box.  Some unexpected items ended up there. I do actually remember when my mom still used a wringer washer.  That was a time consuming process, having to wash, drain, rinse and then feed every item through the rollers of the ringers.  The next step was hauling laundry baskets of wet clothing up the stairs an...

I know, I've written a number of times now about sleep issues and strategies.  But, an article I just read, was troubling enough that I'm back on the topic of sleep again.  The issue at hand is a controversial one, that of drug prescriptions for sleep.  The focus of the article was on a drug called Seroquel, which is actually an antipsychotic, for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.  However, prescriptions for it have risen dramatically in recent years, and they are for sleep. The scary part is, that this is a drug with known risks and potential side effects.  These include Parkinson's type tremors, dizziness, heart arrhythmia and sleep apnea, to name some.  Why have family doctors been prescribing it?  They have justified it as a last resort treatment and when patients are also dealing with anxiety and depression.  They also prescribe it in low doses which are presumably safer.  It has become a commonly requested drug by ...

Although not exactly a topic related to my own health and vitality, I wanted to draw attention to some animal welfare issues that have come into my awareness from a World Animal Protection newsletter that I get. A lot of animals which should be living comfortably and naturally in the wild have become victims of our social media and selfie craze.  I get as hooked as anybody watching cute animal videos on FB, but in future I will be paying more attention to the source. Here is something quite bizarre.  Did you know that Japan has interactive 'otter cafés' now?  Incredible, but true.  In order to meet the demand, wild otters are being poached.  Of course this is illegal but money talks.  Photos and videos of selfies with these otters apparently show up on social media and receive thousands of likes, perpetuating the craze. There are also many travel destinations around the world which offer photo ops with various types of animals which are kept in captiv...

In general, I'm not someone who tends to seek out distressing stimuli.  In fact, I purposely avoid watching or listening to the news, for example.  I seem to hear what I need to know from other people talking. Likewise, I avoid watching most TV shows or movies with blatant violence or horror, or a generally negative bent.  The same is true for books. Am I getting too soft shelled as I age?  Sometimes I wonder.  It used to be that I would actually enjoy reading a psychological thriller because it was fascinating to see how the mind of a psychopath or sociopath works.  Now, I just find it too creepy and abhorrent.  I also used to be willing to read novels which graphically portrayed terrible living situations for the characters, either due to family dysfunction or, cultural or political circumstances.  It felt like I should have a sense of that, in order to feel compassion. I don't completely avoid painful stories, but it's quite enough for me...

Last week, I had the privilege and pleasure to spend most of the week at the home of our almost two year old grandson.  I was helping out his parents while his mom was away for the week on a training course for work.  This was a big deal for the family, being the very first time that mom would be away overnight, and for several days. My job was to help out with child care when he was at home, and to cook nutritious dinners for my son and grandson for the end of their busy days.  My grandson still went to his little home based daycare, to keep up his routine.  Some days I needed to drive him there or pick him up, depending on his dad's work schedule. During the day, I had time to myself, to do self care, putter around, work on blog writing and peruse the dinner recipes left for me before deciding what to cook for that evening.  When the little one was home, it was pretty much non-stop activity until he closed his eyes to go to sleep at night.  I had no...

June 21st was World Yoga Day and also the day of the Global OM.  OM is the most commonly familiar chant sound and in a way, is considered a seed sound of the universe.  It is a way to both focus the mind and to shift the energy.  Many yoga teachers begin and end a class with a collective OM to invoke universal consciousness. With the growth of yoga in the Western world, more Westerners are embracing mantra chanting.  The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India over 3000 years ago.  They are refined sounds and each mantra has its own specific values, virtues and benefits. The word mantra means mind tool.  It is a tool to both investigate the mind and focus the mind.   Mantra can be considered as a target for meditation, a focus of attention.  It can be repeated mentally, with voice, or in a group.  Mantra allows you to shift your mindset and focus, to direct your mind to things that are productive rather than non-pro...

It's that time of year, when lighter, shorter, more revealing clothing and bathing suits come out.  What does that mean for most women?  Well, leg care comes to the forefront after perhaps several cold months of keeping them covered and not worrying much about the skin's visual appearance. Some women go all out, with leg waxing or even laser treatment for hair removal.  I'm not one of them.  A razor is still my friend, along with gentle depilatory cream for the bathing suit area.  I personally can't see going to the expense or discomfort of waxing when I might only get into a bathing suit a few times at most the whole season. Another leg appearance issue for a lot of women is varicose veins or spider veins.  These often occur for the first time during pregnancy and can become more numerous with subsequent ones.  They occur due to valves in the leg veins weakening and not closing properly.  Aside from pregnancy, other risk factors for developin...

Summer Solstice occurs at 11:54 a.m. EST on June 21st this year.  That is when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer.  This is the peak day of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere.  Where I live, we will have 15 or so hours of sunlight.  It's our longest daylight of the year and after this declines a bit each day.  Our summer has 'officially' arrived! Traditional celebrations of Summer Solstice happen in places like Stonehenge, in England, where crowds gather to see the beam of sunlight strike the center altar at the moment of solstice.  In Sweden it is traditional to eat the first strawberries of the season at Summer Solstice.  The June full moon we just had earlier this week is called the Full Strawberry Moon and coincides usually with the ripening of strawberries.  Near the summer solstice day, Midsummer's Day also occurs.  It represents the halfway point of the growing season for farmers. Astrologically, the Sun moves into the ...

You have probably read magazine articles, heard news stories or watched documentaries about the promising effects of stem cell therapy for different conditions.  We mostly heard in the past about star athletes having recovery from injuries from these kinds of treatments.  But now, there is more news for it being used for various medical conditions, and even as an anti-aging treatment. How did all this get started?  First, there were other forms of injection cell therapies that were used with some success, again, mainly for sports injuries.  Prolotherapy, where dextrose is injected into the injured area, tricks the body into healing itself.  It has been found to work well for people who are basically in good health but have suffered an orthopedic injury or condition.  It is still practiced by licensed physicians in Canada. Then came platelet rich plasma therapy, PRP.  Platelets are retrieved from your own blood and injected into the injured area to ...

Further to yesterday's post about looking at our personality and life patterns from the perspective of the four elements, Debra Silverman's approach to learning more about ourselves will be explored a little further.  She is passionate about the human condition and believes that when we learn to be more compassionate and understanding with ourselves, we will take better care, not only of ourselves but others and the planet.  She has a big picture point of view. For those who like them, yes, there is another questionnaire or self-survey you can do to get an idea of the strengths or weaknesses of your own personality elements.  You can find it online at DebraSilvermanAstrology.com and it is called the Four Elements Self-Survey. Silverman has outlined steps to working with each element.  These include: 1.  Explore - Go inside and identify the element's energies and patterns in your life. 2.  Articulate - Put words to your elemental patterns and speak ...

Different cultures have observed the influence of earth's elements over time as a way of being in an observer role, looking at the big picture.  We live in the context of the four elements of water, air, earth and fire and we are also each made up of them.  When they are out of balance, we experience discomfort and pain in our lives. Astrologer and psychotherapist Debra Silverman wrote a very interesting book called The Missing Element, to explore the elements as aspects of our personality.  She sees it as a learning opportunity to be able to develop our own observer role about ourselves, to see ourselves from a wise and compassionate perspective.  Related to this is also being aware of the elements of your personality and whether they are in balance. One of Silverman's unique perspectives is to help people recognize that the personality traits we usually want to get rid of are actually a natural part of us.  They can be an indicator of where our elements ar...

I've been listening to interviews about fatigue related illness.  Although it can be discouraging, I've become quite aware in the last year or so of the potential negative health impact of getting inadequate sleep and of generally having lower than normal energy as a result.  For people who are also aware of an infectious or other physical cause of their condition, for which fatigue is only one manifestation, it could be even more worrisome.  I don't intend to keep dwelling on the negative prospects of aging and illness, but sometimes we can learn a lot from doing so. When we are feeling physically unwell, we can be resistant to looking at emotional causal factors to our condition, because our symptoms are physical.  But, as was mentioned in the last post, people with chronic symptoms spend a lot of time in the sympathetic nervous system response of fight or flight.  For healing, we need to spend more time in the parasympathetic response of rest, digest and he...

The topic of meditation has been discussed in this blog before, but today I'm approaching it from a slightly different angle.  That angle is considering meditation as a healing tool for chronic illness. Sometimes, people who have developed a chronic illness encompassing a variety of ongoing symptoms have felt very driven to work hard at relieving those symptoms.  Stress levels can be high due to the ongoing experience of fatigue, pain, and loss of abilities, to name a few.  When we are in high stress mode, the sympathetic nervous system response of fight or flight can be switched on most of the time.  However, what is necessary for healing is the opposite, the state of rest, restore and replenish. Becoming more aware of the body-mind connection is helpful in approaching recovery strategies.  The body has a natural tendency to seek a state of balance and we can assist in moving towards that by learning to notice more about how it responds.  Mindfulness m...

I'm having a rather oneiric day.  That's the word that showed up in my word of the day from Merriam-Webster.  Oneiric means dreamy.  The origin is the Greek word oneiros, for dream.  My reason for feeling dreamy or spacey today is sleeping later than usual.  This may be partially due to no longer having a morning alarm, since my husband does not need to get up for work. As mentioned in another post, when I sleep better, I also dream more.  I did dream last night, but not something memorable.  However, I do sometimes have recurring dreams, and have had since I was young.  There are lots of different beliefs and ideas about dream interpretation.  Ancient societies considered dreams to be supernatural communication.  In current times, this may still hold true, but we are more likely to consider the psychological meaning of dream symbols. There are many dream dictionaries available.  I used to own one, but can't find it.  It mu...

It is not uncommon these days for individuals to be suffering from various physical symptoms, but just not seeming to fit a diagnostic category for treatment.  For example, maybe five years ago, when I went to my doctor for a physical, I was concerned about menopausal weight gain and wondered if my thyroid function might be low.  Routine blood work showed it was normal.  Despite getting regular exercise and healthy eating, I was tired more often and just not shedding abdominal weight.  The response was that this is 'just something that happens in midlife'.  Well gee, thanks, that's so helpful! I tend to do my own research about health related issues and look for strategies I can implement on my own.  As such, I have some books which contain questionnaires based on symptoms.  The results are meant to guide you in taking steps to feel better.  I have used those results to make dietary and supplement changes which have indeed been helpful to me. ...

The medical name for loss of strength and muscle function is sarcopenia.  It sounds like some terrible disease, doesn't it?  With aging, it does happen, and it contributes to risk of falls, fractures, hospitalization and reduced mobility in older people.  Those of us over 60 are sadly in this category of risk. After age 60, we lose about 1% of muscle mass per year, but we lose strength at about 3% per year!  Even short term inactivity can have a more adverse effect, and of course, being sedentary is even worse.  Not only strength is compromised, but also physiological markers like glycemic control and inflammation.  Yikes!  This is truly a scenario where the maxim 'use it or lose it' applies. Physical inactivity in seniors occurs for various reasons, from a short term illness recovery, to decreased social contact and activity, to needing a recovery period to mend a broken bone or a more serious medical event.  What we need to be aware of is, t...

There is an epidemic of fatigue associated with our stressful modern lifestyle.  One hundred years ago, people would sleep well all night and wake up energized for their day.  Now, this is much less common.  Being out of our natural rhythms drains energy.  With our overstimulating and demanding way of living, we either get less sleep than we need by choice, to accomplish what needs to get done in a day, or, involuntarily by either having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. To fight off common daily fatigue, we use more and more stimulants, like coffee.  It does provide energy, but at a cost.  Think of your energy reserves as a bank balance which you draw upon throughout the day.  Using caffeine or other stimulants, like energy drinks, draws from that bank, but does not replenish the balance. What we seem to forget is, that we need a balance between stimulation and restoration.  Energy needs to be cultivated.  The balance between ene...

Heart disease, heart attacks and strokes are the number one killer in North America.  I personally am considered at risk due to family history and having elevated cholesterol.  As has been discussed in other posts, in the 1950's and 1960's, the consumption of animal fat in the diet was demonized as the cause of heart disease.  I can remember my father being told to eat corn oil margarine instead of butter after a heart attack.  He used it religiously, as if it would cure him of the damage done to his heart. Now, we know that the greater dietary issue is the excessive consumption of sugar and processed foods (which also increased in the decades from the 1930's onward) causing the damage to our cardiovascular system via inflammation as a root cause.  Yes, I still need to be mindful of regulating my cholesterol levels, but simply not eating butter is not so much of a concern to me as limiting sugar.  When we think about the development of the heart in a hu...

Today's post is a bit of a hodge podge of tips gleaned from a few newsletters that I receive.  Given that yesterday's post was a bit longer, this one will be shorter. First off, some higher carb foods that are good for you.  Although all carbs convert to glucose and elevate blood sugar, simple carbs do it much faster.  When carbs are complex, the glucose is released more slowly.  They also contain more fiber, which helps you feel full as well as contributes to your gut health. The newsletter mentioned four top foods which meet those criteria.  Two are actually fruits which I generally no longer eat, but I'll share their healthy benefits.  (I mainly eat berries for fruit.)  Bananas, though high in carbs, are high in potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.  Bananas that are still a bit green, have the additional benefits of resistant starch and pectin, good for digestive health.  Apples provide vitamin C, antioxidants and plant compounds....

I've been intending to write a post about homeopathy for awhile.  Today, I watched a documentary called Just One Drop, which inspired me. First, some history of homeopathy is warranted.  In the 18th century, a German physician named Dr. Samuel Hahnemann was becoming discouraged with the side effects of conventional treatments like blood-letting and use of toxic substances like arsenic and mercury. He began experimenting on himself and his students with very dilute forms of substances.  Paradoxically, he found that the effectiveness of the remedy increased as it became more dilute, and there were no side effects.  Hahnemann developed a system of dilution and succussion, a vigorous shaking to release healing potential.  He called his system homeopathy and named the conventional system allopathy. Homeopathic treatment principles include the following.  Like cures like, meaning that which causes disease can also cure it in a very dilute dose, by acting as a...

Fear of getting older, having an aging and less functional body, and dying are common.  Our anti-aging culture fosters fear and creates an imbalanced perspective about aging.  It supports avoiding and not confronting our mortality.  The fact is, we are all going to die sometime.  More important is how we live, even as we age and suffer loss. The key to skillful aging, according to a sociology study is:  'a balanced outlook toward old age - following the natural cycles of one's body;  maintaining tranquility of mind;  cultivating a sense of harmony with oneself and one's surroundings;  and, gaining the wisdom of handling challenges and thus making adaptations accordingly'. Reading that 77 Questions book was a bit of a wake up call for me on how I have viewed getting old.  My perspective on elderly people from my past was, that they became 'old' earlier than we do now.  With all their health problems they lost their independence. ...

Most of us probably realize that there are changes we could make in different areas, which would improve our health and our quality of life.  We struggle with pushing ourselves versus remaining in our comfort zones. When we want to stay with our comfortable habits, there could be elements of denial or fear involved.  We might want to deny the impact of, say, an eating habit on our health.  Thinking about the consequences of eating too much sugar, for example, could lead to fear about diabetes and heart disease, as well as fear about how your life would change if you altered that habit. If you find yourself in the category of people resisting change, you are not alone.  According to research, less than 20% of a population who have identified risks like high blood sugar, are actually ready to take positive action.  Studies about overcoming bad habits and achieving health have described six stages of change, which are helpful to be aware of. 1.  You are ...

There is a connection to health, in our relationship to self, others and community.  Dysfunctional relationships inform us that something is out of balance in our personal growth and health. We start out with relationships with family.  They shape how we learn to relate to others.  Subsequent intimate relationships shape our present, and may mimic aspects of our family relationships.  Sometimes we choose intimate relationships as adults in an unconscious attempt to resolve old family issues. It helps to come to terms with our past if relationships have been dysfunctional, because it will contribute powerfully to our health and quality of life.  It's important to address any trapped negative feelings, on our own, with a friend or a therapist.  Some proven ways to release them are:  through catharsis, such as writing a letter you don't send;  through weeping and through laughter.  Learning to safely express sadness, anger and fear is benefi...

One of the advantages of spending several days with a friend this week is that she has a great library.  I can just scan a shelf and see what book calls to me.  Today it was one called 77 Questions for Skillful Living by Michael Finkelstein, M.D. Don't worry.  I'm not going to list his 77 questions.  It's a book about finding your path to your best health.  It covers four key categories:  self, relationships, nature and beyond.  He uses questions and examples to target these via examination of your purpose in life, the quality of your relationships, whether you are in tune with rhythms of nature and your connection to life before and after us. The following quote summarizes the essence of his approach.  'Health is a natural state of wholeness, marked by the establishment of dynamic balance, encompassing and fully integrating the areas of our mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, social and environmental condition.' Aside from reviewing the ...

In life, as in dancing, there are familiar steps, patterns and routines which are predictable, at least for certain periods of time.  For example, on average, you know how many years a basic education takes.  If you do further education or training for a vocation, programs run for a defined period of time.  There are beginnings, endings, transitions. In my dance based NIA class, there are reliable movement patterns, a certain number of basic moves, which are incorporated into each routine.  Even though the sequence of choreography changes for the type of music or the focus, once you have learned the basics, it gives you some sense of security in learning a new routine.  Your brain relaxes when it recognizes a movement pattern, and your body just follows through with it. There is one basic move which, let's say for the sake of this example is, one, two, cha-cha-cha.  It's almost always that way.  However, in a routine we learned awhile back, the cha...

You know that expression that goes something like, 'If you think you're enlightened, go visit your family for a week'?  Well, I'm experiencing something along those lines, in a way.  Nothing to do with my actual family though. This past weekend, I was away at a sleepover camp for an annual event called NiaPalooza.  I've spoken about NIA in other posts before.  It is one of my most beloved fitness activities, a dance based form of exercise.  Once a year, there is a weekend long event.  It is held in a rented venue to accommodate 80 or so dancers, who come from all over.  I have attended all 11 years and love the experience. This year, for the first time, it was held outside the city, at an actual camp, with shared cabins.  It was a beautiful location on a lake.  But, I'm not really a camper.  As a kid, I never went to camp.  The only camping experience I have had, is a very limited amount of tent camping with my husband.  Ho...