Buddha, Virgil, Aristotle and Mark Twain: intersection where health meets philosophy

For many, an inspirational quote can redirect our internal dialogues we hold within ourselves and advance us forward on the path of spiritual/physical wellness.

LIFE TURN-POINTS ENHANCED BY YOGA

Navigating Mindful Change Via Yoga

When we find ourselves at a new turn in our journey: death, divorce, marriage, birth, empty-nest, illness, new job, new boss, new city… give it a name, we discover that we must meet ourselves at a deeper level as we hit these pivotal moments. We likely feel a spectrum of feelings: discomfort, joy, stress, perhaps boredom, or pain, maybe fear, as we navigate the changes. Now at a personal life crossroad, I am rediscovering yoga as my threshold and vital mechanism in making the most of a new life cycle.

What's In Your Microbiome? 5 Steps to avoid diseases

What’s In Your Microbiome?

It is almost too “far-out-there” for many to believe or consider that what goes on in your gut or flora connects directly to whether we might suffer a heart attack, catch a cold, or, succumb to diabetes; but current research bears this out. The correlations are far more complex than what was commonly known when I was a young adult.

Energy Reboots: you don’t always need a pill or a gym

Be a “forest-bather,” why it’s smart to send our students, workers, children, loved ones, and ourselves, outside for a quick stroll near trees and plants on a frequent and regular basis.

The Japanese recognize the exceptionally healthful effects of the woodlands and park areas with a popular practice called  Shinrin-voku or “forest bathing” based on the therapeutic effects of being near nature parks, trees and plants.

3 key steps to your Health-Over

Your Health-Over: dissolving bad habits --- 3 key steps to getting started

For those readers who are looking to get started on a health-over, or healthier you- it is worth contemplating some of the falsehoods about succeeding in weight loss and fitness. Overcoming temptations is profoundly complex; positive, and permanent outcomes are sadly, somewhat rare.

Let’s begin with the word “willpower” which is a complicated process. In my view, the broad term “will-power” is as outdated a concept as the word “diet.”  It’s not as simple as willing something or digging deep to find that thing called willpower.

VALUE OUR LIFE CYCLES

I am still in the first few weeks of retirement. I feel a sense of liberating joy starting to flow through me in waves as I take in and begin to grasp what it means to retire and no longer follow protocols and regulations associated with my workplace. 

I had an epiphany this morning as I was listening to music and taking my walk. It is during these walks when the flashes of insight seem to be taking place.

It’s starting to feel like I’m turning 21, like the whole world is before me again. Granted, realistically there remain only about ten high quality years, but that seems like a long exciting spell of time to feel this way.  I’m lucky to be healthy and have that decade to look forward to and who knows, I could possibly have more than the decade. 

Turning Point: Use your training Table for anti-aging

Training Table and Retirement:

We have our turning points in life, a decisive moment and watershed events along our life-journey.  Learning to walk, learning to drive, turning 21, perhaps marriage, birth, funerals. Events that let us know we are embarking in a new and significantly different phase, or stage of our life.

 I reached yet another such exact point in time, In March when I turned 65. As the marker birth year approached, torrents of Medicare information deluged my home. Our society let me know that a major turning point is approaching.

Week 1 of retirement: Turning effect:

You’re old, it’s now and it’s real. The Training Table philosophy uses milestones as a pause for reflection, celebration, and healthy growth.

As an anti-ager, the 65^th birthday threshold is a time to reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. As of 7 days ago, I in fact retired from a 44-year teaching career and hence am at the threshold of a new phase.

So how do I feel?

I celebrate that the time is here, I’m a retiree and I’m fit and healthy. Achieving wellness at the time of retirement is no easy feat and that is a major goal accomplished, not to be taken for granted. The rules of the Training Table are serving me well now.

So, I make it a point to revel in the fact that I am youthful in body and older in phase of life.

Intellectually, I knew I was inevitably getting to that phase of retirement, but it rather stunned me to reach birthday 65. Everyone has been asking me if I have a "plan” and how do I feel?

Well, actually, I don’t really have a detailed one. I don’t know if I’m moving, down-sizing, and all that. I’d say my feelings are a combination of joy and anxiety. But I do have The Training Table and that the health tips and wellness information are certainly a huge part of the “plan.”

RETIREMENT RULE #1: Schedule out movement throughout the day:

Now that I am no longer in a classroom, running around all day after kids, walking up and down halls, or walking to campus spaces, my first goal is to find ways to displace the natural movements that are in a work setting, with a life that does not immediately incorporate movement. I have begun by putting together day schedules that incorporate fitness activities and have begun exploring my fitness options.

• ·         I’ve scheduled in:
•        walks around my neighborhood
• ·          Exercises on my spin bike
• ·         weights training sessions with a trainer
• ·         I stretch while I watch T.V. (I’ve left a small mat and stretch ropes in front of the TV to cue me in to move while I watch.)
• ·         Begin and end each day with some form of movement[LC1] 
• ·         Search and discover classes for yoga and stretch that fit my needs to be included in my weekly routine.         

  

BUMP IT UP; lay out some rules

So, week 1, RETIREMENT PLAN has been to pump up my exercise activities and to make a pact with myself that I will not become sedentary. Sorry, (me) no excuses about too much work- staying healthy is my new job description.

---

 [LC1]

Degunk your Engine; 3 Easy- Delicious replacements

3 Repalcements

Do you or family members use sandwiches as a lunch or snack staple? If the answer is yes, then today's entry will be of crucial value. Do you think about the nutritious option of sprouted grains and legumes in your sandwich bread? This entry is dedicated to making a healthier daily lunch and contains 3 of the primary lunch food replacements that have made a big difference in my health and ultimately in my weight.