Rest and Relaxation

R & R is Essential for Creativity

Julie Lusk, writes in her Mind Body Help blog the significance of relaxation, including its connection to creativity. Albert Einstein’s quote, “Play is the best research” states this beautifully. According to Julie, “relaxing muscular tension is important to clearing away the mental ruckus and emotional debris to make room for clear thinking.” Good thought Julie!

Connect Massage and Movement

Maximize healing -- maintain youthfulness

A variety of massage therapy styles help heal injuries, resolve health conditions, integrate primitive reflexes, and promote overall wellness. Combining massage and physical therapy has worked well with MS patients. Thai Yoga Massage combines movement and massage to stretch muscles and boost the immune and circulatory systems, getting the synovial fluids and lymphatic system flowing. Infant massage and movement stimulates neurological develop speeding myelination of the brain/nervous system. Chinese medical body work Tuina Massage, uses pulling and plucking and Feldendrais offers natural effortless movements. Let’s combine massage and movement techniques, creating a powerful means to maximize our living and learning potential.

Aerobics to Weights

Nurse Researcher Offers Exercise Tips

David A. Boley at John Hopkins University School of Nursing has interesting things to say about physical fitness. According to a Newswise article, he believes “We have a tendency to focus too much on aerobic exercise,” adding that, “evidence shows that resistance exercises alter the cellular structure of muscle in a way that aerobic exercise doesn’t.”

How does your exercise program shape up? Do you include cardiovascular (aerobics), flexibility, strength and balance training?

Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid

New Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

Reduce risks of age-related diseases and improve overall health through diet. Click on the pyramid for serving amounts and healthy choices. This anti-inflammatory diet is a blueprint for a lifetime of optimum nutrition according to Dr. Andrew Weil. Read the articles posted on this website including Diet Tips.

Skirt Alzheimer’s

Cut the risk of dementia in half with exercise

RealAge reports moderately intense exercise twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes has been shown to cut Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 60%. Blood vessel health and the brain’s ability to repair damage are the suspected benefits. The Brain Pills article is also of interest.

Movement Nature Meant # 2 (video)

Wisdom of Stomach/Back Balance

Ruthy Alon demonstrates restorative potential of natural movements. Experiment with your body’s natural movements. Develop a wise stomach… let go of your hard abs! Listen to the relationships of your body to the ground. Don’t sacrifice your comfort. Keep your stomach soft.

Enjoy arching movements that release the full length of your body. Feel pulsating rhythm of motion having fun with Feldenkrais.

Pump Up on Caffeine

Protect Your Blood Brain Barrier

Ken Currier writing for Stuff Your Brain Likes website reports how a daily cup of java may help protect your brain according to a study at the University of North Dakota by Jonathan D. Geiger.

Research on rabbits may help you avoid saying, “What’s up Doc?” What do you think… ‘Is it too early to jump to conclusions?’

Physical Education Excellence!

What PE Needs to Be!

Gerry Cernicky is Physical Education’s most ardent advocate, encouraging developmentally appropriate physical education activities that are fun, creating a lifetime of health and fitness. Retired by not resigned to see his profession slip, Gerry offers voice recordings and hundreds of activities professionals can use to achieve a super successful program.

One of Gerry’s quotes, "He who dares to teach must never cease to learn" describes Gerry to the T! Visit this Master Physical Education teacher’s site and encourage others to the same.

Movement Nature Meant (Video)

Master Effortless Movement

Part One --Lying to Sitting

Ruthy Alon demonstrates the restorative potential of natural movement. Part One video is an introduction of Awareness Through Movement, showing childlike pleasure discovering new movement options while restoring your senses. Lying down to sitting up, search the effortless spiraling trajectory moving against gravity. Let go of trying to control the world. Reclaim the belief that life can be easy –accept easy is right – sense this right as pleasurable.

Moshe Feldenkrais, outlined movement that nature meant. Without competition, relearn your authentic way of moving. Observe subtle changes producing profound differences within your entire self.

Exercise and Physical Activity

Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging

National Institute on Aging offers a free comprehensive eBook with seven chapters helping people establish and maintain a fitness program. Chapters include: 1. Get Ready 2. Get Set 3. Go! 4. Sample Exercises, Endurance, Strength, Balance, Flexibility 5. How Am I Doing? 6. Healthy Eating 7. Keep Going and Frequently Asked Questions. WOW! I can’t think of a more complete tool for seniors and anyone else interested in physical fitness. Check out the complete listing of Resources too!

See Ways to Prevent Dementia

How Eye Exams Keep Your Brain Young

Am I seeing this right? My eye health offers protection against dementia? According to RealAge, people with untreated vision problems were nine (9) times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. That’s because poor vision keeps people from engaging in brain stimulating activities – like reading this blog, playing games, walking and socializing. Talking about walking, read the ‘Walk on the Cerebral Side’ article when you get back from your hike.

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

At-A-Glance: A Fact Sheet for Professionals

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS provides a fact sheet showing key exercise guidelines for children and adolescents, adults, and older adults 65 and over, as well as people with disabilities and pregnant and postpartum women. A list of Health Benefits is also provided. Check out the Be Active Your Way Blog.

Health Care Reform Bill

Six Wellness Provisions Are

Addressed in the Final Bill

Worksite health promotion programs are expected to increase according to the recent Health Care Reform bill approved by Congress. Don Powell, founder of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine outlined six provisions favorable to wellness promotion in his brief article. If you are a wellness promoter, now is the time to bring your work forward! AIPM offers excellent professional Journal Articles on their website addressing wellness.

Worksite Health Hub

Health Promotion with a G.L.A.D. Approach

Worksite Health Hub integrates, centralizes, and personalizes wellness activities offered by organizations. Worksites can achieve G.L.A.D. results using an interactive method that ‘Grabs’ attention daily, inspires ‘Learning’ in small segments of two minutes or less, helps individuals and families ‘Apply’ healthy practices, and for deeper reinforcement, encourages people to become ‘Dedicated’ to a healthy lifestyle. Participation throughout the program is celebrated, heightening the joy of wellness!

With over 26 years experience in the wellness field, I have been able to design the Worksite Health Hub combining the capabilities of the Internet and wireless devices with the experience Wellness Quest has gained developing motivational wellness programs. The integrated wellness portal Worksite Health Hub is a breakthrough in health promotion effectiveness. Check out Quest for Your Best! postings on this blog to see content that will soon come alive on our Worksite Health Hub! Jeff Haebig

Let's Walk the Talk on Obesity

Let’s replace lip service

with ‘hip service’!

Dr. Delos Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, reported in the February 18, 2010 issue of FORTUNE magazine that, “Obesity accounts for 10% of the cost of health care in the U.S. — we will never be able to control the cost of health care until we begin to control the epidemic of obesity. Two-thirds of the U.S. is overweight, and one-third is obese. We are the fattest nation in the world. Our rate of obesity is going up so much that probably half the U.S. will be obese in the next 20 years. We have to do something, and there are plenty of things we can do.”

How about insisting on Daily Physical Education with a fitness focus in our preschools and beyond? Let’s replace lip service with ‘hip service’!

Obesity Outweighs Tobacco Risk

Obesity is now just as much

a drag on health as smoking

Katherine Harmon writing for Scientific American reports the results of a CDC study revealing that being overweight has replaced tobacco as the leading contributor to poor health in the U. S. Smoking still causes more cumulative years to be lost due to premature death.

Health-related Websites

Ten health-related websites to add to your favorites list

I just heard from Hollee Enright, OD, Certified Nutritionist whose website has interesting articles and a short blog that is worth your attention. The Ten Health-Related Websites article caught my eye.

Get High without Chemicals

Wellness Quest for Your Best! Sing, exercise, laugh and enjoy other natural ways to perk yourself up. Body-brain ‘feel good’ chemicals you create can last longer, without nasty hangovers.

Health Benefits: Natural endorphin chemicals produced in the body and brain can produce feelings of peaceful calm and euphoria, while easing physical pain.

Quote: "Let us endeavor to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." Mark Twain

Humor: “Why did you get drunk in the first place?” “I didn’t get drunk in the first place… it was the last place.” Author Unknown

Post Script: Feelings of blissful euphoria can result from soothing massage, brisk aerobic exercise, helping people, meditation and other natural acts.

Quest Link: 20 Natural Ways to Get High: Part 1 by LiveLighter.org

Take Steps: How to Get a Natural High on eHow.com

Video: Emotional Sobriety by Tian Dayton on YouTube.com

Note: The cartoon is taken from Health Care-toons Calendar by Jeff Haebig and cartoonist Ed Fischer.

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Hypo-Slow Vestibular System (video)

‘Fidget is Legit’ in classrooms to aid

our learning challenged students

Video: We are creating learning handicaps in our classrooms for students with vestibular weakness when we don’t provide enough physical movement that stimulates the vestibular and connected visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioception (muscular) sensory systems. Attention deficit may result as the RAS, Reticular Activation System is under-stimulated by a hypo-slow vestibular system.

NCLB, Leave No Child Behind by insisting our learning challenged students have frequent opportunities to strengthen their body brain systems called upon to succeed in school. Daily Physical Education strengthens the vestibular system with repeated movements (e.g., rolling, spinning, bouncing, stop and go, balancing, etc.). Let’s move on this!

Emotional Sobriety (video)

Natural highs – healthy ways to feel good

Tian Dayton’s video briefly shows the importance of ‘turning on’ the body’s opiate system… endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, prolactin, and other calming and euphoric mood stabilizers released through wholesome activities. Emotional sobriety is learning how to live in the mid-range, achieving a balanced state to release the medicine chest within us, rather than resort to drugs and addictive behaviors.

Tian Dayton’s article, Body Comes to Therapy, excerpted from her book, The Magic of Forgiveness provides a thorough understanding of how emotions affects the body, including “How Emotion Travels Though the Body… The Positive Function of Fear and Anxiety… The Power of Thought… The Role of the Limbic System… It’s Never Too Late to Limbically Revise… and Limbic Resonance, Regulation and Revision.” Many forms of physical and emotional distress may be caused by pain internalize as a child. We need to confront these deeper origins of pain. Visit TianDayton.com for more insightful articles – this is a terrific site!

Use It... Or Lose It!

Wellness Quest for Your Best! Walk, bike, skate, swim, dance, or move another zestful way for 30 minutes today staying well within your fitness comfort zone. If you haven’t been exercising for a while, choose a shorter time period and activity you enjoy doing.

Health Benefits: Aerobic exercise helps build heart strength and efficiency, increases endurance, improves sleep, raises good cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure. Over time, aerobic exercise helps burn excess body fat and reduces risks of diabetes and other diseases including heart disease and certain cancers.

Quote: He who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything. Arabian Proverb

Humor: Just think, if you exercise for 1200 months you are guaranteed to live to a hundred! Author Unknown

Post Script: Be safe, check with your fitness specialist or health service before starting any new exercise program, especially if you are out of shape, over 40, or have a medical condition.

Quick Quest Link: The Benefits of Aerobic Exercise and many other excellent health related articles can be found on WeightLossforAll.com

Take Steps: How to Start an Aerobic Routine by eHow.com

Video: Walking -- Part 1: Start Quick and Easy

Note: The health cartoon is taken from the Health Care-toons Calendar by Jeff Haebig and cartoonist Ed Fischer.

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Explore Movement through Feldenkrais (video)

Awareness through Movement for

Vitality, Creativity, and Comfort

Are you experiencing tension, anxiety, pain, tiredness, lack of focus, or diminished creativity? Explore your own movements through Feldenkrais, a method that combines anatomy, physiology with physics, mechanics and martial arts to understand and optimize movements for increased vitality and youthfulness.

Watch the video or read Marissa Harshman's article 'Exploring Movement with the Feldenkrais Method'. You will learn how to move more seamlessly and effortlessly. Experience the effect of your body on your brain as movement soothes and refreshes your mindbody.

Richard Goldsand's article makes 'Awareness Though Movement', a key Feldenkrais approach, easy to understand.

Brain Research Helps Educators

Brains change based on experience…
Even students embedded in poverty!

Eric Jenson, author of 26 brain-based books connects teaching and learning to brain research. Eric has inspired people around the globe to use music, arts, physical activities, positive emotions, environment, engaging states, and other essential ways to help students of all ages and learning styles achieve their learning potential. He is a master teacher offering highly engaging books, articles, workshops and conferences involving people in the highly effective brain-based learning process. Sign up for a free monthly newsletter at JensenLearning.com.

Enjoy the movie, The Blind Side for a compelling story of a young man moving from poverty and illiteracy to living and learning success, emphasizing the adaptability of the brain when given a chance. This is a movie the whole family will enjoy.

Special thanks to Eric Jensen for inspiring me to put key learning ideas to movement as the Body-Brain Boogieman.

Your Everyday Guide

Free Physical Activity e-book from

TheNational Institute on Aging

Reading my Total Wellness monthly newsletter from Rutherford Publishing, I was directed to the National Institute on Aging offering Your Everyday Guide… a free e-book instructing older adults how to ‘Get Ready…Get Set… Go!’ forward and exercise. Here’s a terrific collection of exercises for endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. You can even track your progress using their daily, weekly and monthly progress charts – this is a superb resource.

Thanks to the insightful and delightful Total Wellness newsletter for leading me to this amazing guide!

Wellness Wheel (graphic)

The goal of wellness is balancing all seven areas

Don Alsbro, originator of Dump Your Plump motivational wellness program, perfectly represents the meaning of wellness using a graphic taken from his book, Take the Wellness Road. Spend time reflecting on this Wellness Wheel. Estimate what you have done in the last 24 hours to foster each of the seven wellness areas – Physical, Intellectual, Social, Environmental, Spiritual, Emotional, Nutritional, and Vocational. Determine your strengths and areas needing attention; joyously seek total well-being today.

Eating Well After Exercise

What You Eat After Exercise Matters

Newswise reports research from the University of Michigan, showing that “Many of the improvements in metabolic health associated with exercise stem largely from the most recent session of exercise, rather than from an increase in ‘fitness’ per se,” according to the study’s senior author Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz. “Specifically, the study found that exercise enhanced insulin sensitivity, particularly when meals eaten after the exercise session contained relatively low carbohydrate content. Enhanced insulin sensitivity means that it is easier for the body to take up sugar from the blood stream into tissues like muscles, where it can be stored or used as fuel. Impaired insulin sensitivity (i.e., “insulin resistance”) is a hallmark of Type II diabetes, as well as being a major risk factor for other chronic diseases, such as heart disease.”

Hyper-vestibular system (video)

Know why so many are challenged in school and life

People with an oversensitive or ‘hyper’ vestibular system often feel overwhelmed. Visual, auditory, tactile, proprioceptive (muscle and joint) and the attentional systems are directly connected to the vestibular apparatus located within the inner ear. Sitting in the back seat of a car, walking over a bridge, being on the playground, gym, or a class where there is excessive talking, writing or movement can be very challenging.

Rocking, walking, and other linear movements can soothe the oversensitive vestibular system, helping people relax and focus. As the video shows, at times we need to “rock it, to calm it.”

Physical exercises designed to strengthen the vestibular system can greatly help academics. Daily Physical Education taught by movement specialists enhances the body-brain helping students with a hyper-vestibular system achieve their living and learning potential.

Obesity and Early CV Disease

Childhood Obesity Alone May Increase Risk of Later Cardiovascular Disease

Newswise reports research conducted at Nemours Children’s Clinic, showing that obesity alone can predispose individuals to developing cardiovascular disease early in adulthood. Abnormalities in C-reactive protein, high fibrinogen, and other markers for predicting the development of cardiovascular diseases occurred in obese children as young as age 7, long before the onset of puberty.

Nelly Mauras, MD, senior author concludes, “It would be prudent for health care providers to advise more aggressive interventions to limit calories and increase activity in “healthy” overweight children, even before the onset of puberty.

Once again Daily Physical Education with an emphasis on fitness is advocated by researchers, within the medical community.

Note: The health cartoon is taken from Health Care-toons Calendar by Jeff Haebig and cartoonist Ed Fischer.

Exercise Can Ease Fibromyalgia Pain

Easy does it… well planned movement can reduce pain and build strength

Seems contradictory… but moving sore muscles and aching joints can benefit the body according to Gina Shaw writing for WebMD. Swimming, mild stretching and light aerobics can benefit many people. The National Fibromyalgia Association offers a bountiful resource of articles including this one by Lara Ozenne entitled, Staying Fit with Fibromyalgia.