Service to Others (video)

Reaching Out!  

Helping People!

Wellness is moving beyond one’s needs helping others in the community.  What a pleasure speaking to Rotary 100 in Phoenix Arizona about ways to optimize the body-brain through movement and exercise.  Around 150 members and guests actively participated in a lively series of activities showing how to enhance body-brain function.  A group of volunteers led the moving Body-Brain Boogie overview (above) and the spirited Rotary Cheer.  Without any rehearsal, they did a rousing job.  Rotary 100 is an exemplary organization generously reaching out to help others locally and around the world.

Stand at Work – Not Sit

Lose Fat – Gain Productivity

The rage is carrying fitness into the workplace, getting out of your chair where electrical activity in your muscles drop, creating harmful metabolic effects including…less calorie burning, and more fat gathering.  Obesity, Type 2 diabetes rises, while enzymes responsible for breaking down lipids and triglycerides plunge, leaving more fat gathering in the bloodstream.  Patrick McCrann shares the ups and downs of converting an office to a fitter place, and Tim Ferriss shows how he reinvented his office. Both speak of the bountiful benefits resulting from standing rather than sitting hours on end. Get the derriere off the chair!  According to James Vlahos of the NY Times, Sitting is a Lethal Activity

Science of the Heart

  Heart's Role in Human Performance                            

Read research conducted by the Institute of HeartMath showing how the heart and brain communicate influencing people’s perceptions, emotions, health, and information processing.  Understand how excess stress negatively affects the heart-brain regulating the hormonal, immune and autonomic nervous systems.  In contract, see how positive emotions increases harmony and coherence in heart rhythms improving balance in the nervous system, optimizing overall well-being.

Notice the powerful effects of music on the body-brain.

Roadmap of the Brain (video)

Human Connectome Project

Neuroscience is jaw dropping; each neuron with millions and millions of pathways.  There is no simple redundancy.  We are now exploring the physical sub-straight of memory.  The Human Connectome project will one day show the origins of our consciousness of who we are.  Watch this remarkable video showing how neuroscientists are attempting to map all the neural pathways in the human brain.  One day the physical structure of individual memories and even faulty wiring that may result in some psychiatric conditions will be understood.

Photo taken from the National Geographic

7 Wonders of Water (Slideshow)

Get In Depth 

Health-Benefits-of-Water!

WebMD’s slideshow briefly shows how water boosts your energy, builds muscle tone, hydrates skin, helps you stay slimmer, stay regular, less constipated, and less stressed.  WebMD’s 6 Reasons article is more comprehensive. 

By far the most complete water information is found on the Health-Benefit-of-Water.com; it’s well worth your time!

Breathing Exercises (follow along)

Perform at Your Best!

Do As One website offers five conscious breathing exercises to follow.  Direct your breathing to the sounds and timing shown.   Choose whether to calm, balance, activate, release stress, and move stagnate energy from the body.  LiveStrong.com offers a 5 step technique for deep breathing.  WomentoWomen.com explains the medical benefits of effective breathing; it helps pump the lymphatic system flushing away toxins and other debris from the body.   Many other interesting facts and breathing techniques are given.  OnePowerfulWord is an excellence resource as well

Walk to Better Memory (video)

Keep Your Brain Sharp!

Watch Arthur Kramer, University of Illinois at Urbana reporting his research showing a 15% improvement in memory and attention in 6 months.  Older brains have Neuroplasticity to revise, building new neuro-networks with exercise and mental activities.

  

Get Trim with Jack LaLanne

Be His Fitness Friend!

Watch Jack’s first of 41 free TV Show; showing Trimnastics…what a treat!  Jack is so personable and motivational.  Participating will put a smile on your face while getting firmer, losing weight, being more beautiful and having more snap!  Chair exercises are included.  Jack reveals secrets about himself and he befriends you.  How refreshing!   

Get a natural face lift too!  Here's a bit more on Jack LaLanne.

“Your health account is like your bank account: The more you put in, the more you can take out.” Jack LaLanne

Exercise Brain Growth (video)

Maximize Learning at School or Work!

Watch this video showing how exercise grows new brain cells.  See how exercise improves our mood, vigor, and productivity while it decreases tension, depression, aggression, and fatigue.  Exercise increases our capacity to learn by increasing attention, motivation and memory. At the cellular level it increases neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, nor-epinephrin) and neurotrophins like BDNF (Miracle-Gro for the brain) which helps brain cells wire together needed to learn.  Exercise increases vascular flow providing more oxygen and glucose to the brain while helping remove cellular breakdown products.

Dr. John Ratey, clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of SPARK answers many questions (e.g., how much to exercise, what kind of exercise works best, why obesity slows learning, how to slow cognitive decline, how the heart influences brain function, and much more).