Going Green

Ditch the disposables and use cloth handchiefs and dish towels instead. At the very least, look for paper products made from recycled content. According to manufacturer Seventh Generation, if every household in the United States replaced just one box of 85 sheet virgin fiber facial tissues with 100 percent recycled ones, we’d save 87,700 trees and 31 million gallons of water.

60 Second STRESS BUSTERS

What you can you do about stress?
Reduce stress in 60 seconds or less:
Deep Breathing:
Sit still and take three deep, slow breaths. Try to empty your mind of any thoughts. Concentrate on the breath entering and exiting your nostrils. Feel the air going in and out. Breath deeply and count your breaths backward, starting at 15.
Time Out
When you find yourself in a stressful situation, count to ten before you react. The slower you count, the better this works.
Mental Vacation
Close your eyes. Mentally place yourself in an environment that gives you peace and pleasure. Visualize your fantasy place and what you would do there.
Body Scanning
Yikes. As if your mental stress weren't enough, your body is tensing up and making it worse. Close your eyes and do a mental scan of your body, head to toe. Notice where your body is reacting to stress, then move that area to increase blood flow. If your neck is wired, for example, do head circles. If your shoulders are tight, do shoulder shrugs.
Muscle Releases
Choose a major muscle or an area of tension. Tighten and relax it for 60 seconds.
• Thigh: Extend your leg and contract and release the quadriceps muscles.
• Abdominals: Sit up straight and inhale, lifting the rib cage. Exhale into a very slight crunch, contracting the abs.
• Chest and back: Wrap your arms around yourself as if you were giving yourself a well- deserved hug. Walk your fingers toward your shoulder blades. Pull your shoulder blades as you curl forward, tightening the chest and stretching the back. Then reverse by rolling your shoulders back, squeezing your elbows together behind you.
• Face: Open your face wide--wide eyes, wide jaw--then scrunch it tight. Caution: Only the least inhibited should do this one in public in a well-lit place!
If you've got more than a minute to spare--you're stuck on a plane or bus, for example--you can keep on tightening and releasing different muscle groups. Five minutes will make you feel like a new person.

The Strengths of Building Muscle for Arthritis Sufferers

Lift weights with sore joints? Yeah, Right. You might think that lifting weights is harmful for people with arthritis. But think again. Building strength has built steam as a great way to help people with arthritis function better and end soreness, stiffness and pain. Studies show that weight training improves endurance, gains lean body mass and looses fat from the abdomen, back and chest.

(taken from an article written by Donna Rae Siegfried Posted 2/17/07, Arthritis Foundation News)

4 PILLARS OF GREAT HEALTH

SUPPLEMENTATION, DIET, EXERCISE, AND MENTAL HEALTH =

4 PILLARS OF GREAT HEALTH

Incorporate vitamins and supplements into your daily health regiment.

Fortify your body daily with natural foods (make it colorful) and beverages in your diet.

Physically challenge your body beyond your required daily activities with regular exercise.

Mental health is how you feel about yourself, your relationships, your surroundings, your spirituality, your stress management, and your self-fulfillment.

JUST PLANE STIFF

For all the travelers this season, sitting on a plane is tough on our joints. Here are some tips from the Physical Therapy Association to keep prevent stiffness and pain. Do each of them 5-10 times throughout the flight.

1. Heel raises: Sit with feet flat on floor, lift heels off floor, hold for 5-10 seconds and lower

2. Ankle circles: Lift one leg slightly off ground and circle foot clockwise counterclockwise each 15 times, repeat with other leg

3. Overhead stretches: Reach arms straight up and stretch for 10 seconds, lean to left and then right, bend at waist, open and close hands, circle wrists as your stretch

4. Back Twists: Reach right arm across body and grab the left armrest. Slowly turn body and head as far to left as comfortable and hold for 5-10 seconds.

5. Curl downs: Pull stomach and chin in while sitting and gently curl your body down very slowly, reaching hands toward the floor. Hold 5-10 seconds and slowly uncurl.

Happy travels!

DID YOU KNOW????

1. People who exercise regularly are at lower risk for obesity and heart disease.

2. Vigorous exercise is most effective to lower blood pressure, raising one's aerobic capacity, and improving insulin sensitivity.

3. HDL cholesterol, the healthy one, increases an average of 4.6% with exercise.

4. Exercise can decrease falls resulting in injury by 30%, and can reduce the risk of hip fracture 20-40%.

5. Regular exercise lowers the amount of estrogen circulating through the body in the bloodstream. Less estrogen equals less fuel for breast cancers.

6. Exercise pares off hormonally active fat tissue.

Living Life

"The key to a vibrant existence is making the most of available power sources, such as nutrition, exercise, vitamins, herbs, lifestyle enhancement, and spiritual practice." (H. Dowdle)