Funf Rise

Running is cardiovascular activity per excellence, it gets the heart pumping and working hard for long periods of time. Therefore, it does put considerable stress on the body, mostly the heart and lungs. That’s why lots of people started to link heart problems to running due to all this extra stress. Well, is this conclusion a true scientific fact? Or, it’s just a myth that the media preaches to play on people’s fears and get attention?

This question became a big argument in the early 80′s with the death of running author Jim Fixx. But there are a few facts that you need to know about this guy before we go any further. Because there are lots of misconceptions about Fixx sudden death that needs clearing up. Jim Fixx started out a very unlikely runner. He was overweight; and smocked heavily. He was in a very bad shape and unhappy about it; so he took up running. Then he became known as a promoter and defender of running and published the famous book: “the complete running book”. That made a huge success at that time.

But during one of his daily runs, Jim Fixx suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly. As a result, some people held responsible running for his death and claimed that this was proof that running causes heart attacks and has harmful effects on the body. In fact, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Jim Fixx had a family history of heart disease. His father had died at the age of 42 due to a heart attack. Add to that his unhealthy life style for almost his entire life before he started running.

The truth is that Jim fix actually added years to his life through running, but more just adding years to his life, Fixx enhanced the quality of his life. It has been proven time and time again that running and other forms of exercise help prevent heart disease and improve cardiovascular effectiveness; and studies show that engaging in regular exercise like running can extend your life from 3 year to 10 years.

What most studies agree on is that a person who already has a damaged heart or an underlying heart disease, is more likely to die while running than if he or she were walking or resting.This makes sense because of the strain on the heart is obviously greater during strenuous exercise. Therefore, if you have a family history of heart disease, be cautious and don’t go over your limits.

Low vision has always been a part of life for older people, but it is becoming much more prevalent today. The research and technology that surrounds the topic has served to give more people the education that they need to understand their situation and find solutions that will work. Low vision can occur because of many different situations, including age, cataracts, diabetes, glaucoma, and other eye diseases. By taking the time to learn about vision loss, you will be better prepared for dealing with it and making the most of your life in spite of your vision issues.

Low vision is fairly easy to detect in its early stages, but most people usually blow it off and assume that it is just ‘old age’ when they can’t see as well as they used to. If you watch for the symptoms, you can often find better solutions from the start so that you don’t have as many struggles with your vision problems now or in the future. If you have troubles with any of the following, you might have low vision issues that are starting to occur:

-Difficulty reading, writing, or seeing clearly up close
-Trouble reading street signs
-A sensation that lights aren’t as bright as they used to be
-Difficulty recognizing faces or people from further away

The reason for these issues is that your eyes cannot focus like they once did. While most of the cases related to these symptoms are simply macular degeneration due to age, you don’t have to accept your vision loss as a fact of life. There are plenty of solutions that you can find to help you improve your low vision and get the most out of your life in spite of the vision loss that you experience.

Glasses, eye surgery, and other treatments are the most common suggestions for low vision issues. However, when you already have glasses or if surgical treatments aren’t an option, you should know that there are ways to deal with your vision loss even if it cannot be corrected. Today’s technology has created a better understanding of this issue, which allows companies to make better products and services for people who need vision loss aids and low vision assistance in their daily life. It is up to you to learn about low vision, discuss your options with your doctor, and find the products and services that will help you get on with your life despite your vision issues.

Tired, stressed, feel you need a break? There are many types of pain relief, but none as luxurious as a massage at a spa. We have all seen those day spas, massage shops etc. Many of us have frequent massages, yet so many of us haven’t even considered it. Well, consider it!

What ails you? Do you have chronic aches and pains, perhaps bursitis, fatigue, high blood pressure? Maybe your ailment is diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, depression? Maybe you are trying to stop smoking. Do you have low back pain, arthritis? All of these, as well as an enormous number of other ailments can be treated with massage at a spa. Many physical rehabilitation programs accept this as an acceptable form of treatment. Millions of people the world over are convinced that massage helps relieve these symptoms, as well as the tension of everyday living that can lead to disease and illness.

While a therapeutic massage is a long on-going process, usually performed in a clinic or doctor’s office, a quick trip to your local spa is something easily done.

It will refresh you, mind body and soul. A massage spa will offer such things as relaxing massage, a soothing facial, restorative body treatment, or combine therapies for a luxurious spa day. At these facilities, trained, certified and experienced therapists will see to it that you leave feeling relaxed and full of energy. Most spas have a great variety of massages they offer as well as different packages of massages. They might offer a basic, Swedish or relaxation spa, some specialize in a deep tissue massage, a sport or shiatsu massage, and reflexology. An ultra massage such as reiki, myofacial, pre and post natal massages are usually available, while some of these involve further certification. Why not try a luxury massage that involves a body wrap, a warm/hot stone, cold stone and luxury shiatsu, why you can even have a double body works which is two therapists working at the same time.

Massage therapy became popular in the US in the 1800′s and grew in popularity until the 1930′s and 40′s. The development of modern medicine discounted its benefits, and use dwindled. It made a re-appearance in the 1960′s and 1970′s when nurses began to use it to alleviate pain in patients. In the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta massage was deemed a core medical service, which gave it great credibility. If it can be used in the Olympics, don’t you want it?

How do Ito find the right one? One can have an international experience while receiving a massage. Try a variety of massages. Along with oils, feet, stones, hands etc, one must find one’s favorite type of massage. You may find that Lomi Lomi massage in Hawaii, Samoan, Shiatsu, Thai or even Chinese massage suits your needs. If not, then maybe try Swedish massage, or as the Swedes say, a classical massage.

No matter what the method you choose, you can rest assured, whatever the problem, from pain relief to anxiety, depression and a variety of diseases, you will find one to help. There is no way to blind-test massage therapy, as the person being tested is going to be touched, and we cannot deny that the sense of touch is very therapeutic by itself. Be sure to find your favorite massage spa, and what type of massage works best for you!

There are many ways to stay heart healthy and fit. For one, the best way to keep your heart in shape is to ensure that your diet is positive and a good reinforcement for a healthy heart diet. For example, you want to make sure that you are eating things that are beneficial and not detrimental to the health of your body and your heart. That means, don’t eat things with high cholesterol content, don’t indulge in red meats, fatty burgers, greasy chips, or anything with a lot of fat and cholesterol. These things are doomsday on a heart and will only lead to coronary blockages that pile up over the years till you realize all that greasy fat has blocked up your pumping machine and you will need a bypass surgery.

Eating things like fish and chicken that are freed of fats, or eating well prepared lean meats are the way to keep your heart healthy while still enjoying a rich diet.

Also eating fruits and vegetables help in keeping your heart healthy. Having whole grains is also a great way of protecting your heart and making sure it gets the nutrients to keep it healthy for a long time. It is an essential aspect of your being and you do not want to take any chances with it. So, avoiding unhealthy foods filled with fat will prevent fatty and life threatening blockages in the future and will ensure that you stay healthy for a long time coming.

Another way to stay heart healthy and fit is to work out. That means daily exercises that are specifically targeted toward keeping your heart in good shape and in good fitness. So, doing something like running on a treadmill or running a few miles around the track outside is a great way to ensure that you stay fit and healthy, keeping that aorta pumping healthy and staying in fit condition.

Being lazy and sitting on a couch doesn’t do anything but wear your heart out as you eat fatty foods and don’t work it out properly.

Then your heart doesn’t get to work out and you will find that a single flight of stairs has your heart pumping like crazy and unable to tolerate it. Do some cardiovascular exercises to keep your heart in fit condition so that your entire lifestyle and wellbeing is improved. Staying heart healthy means making some life changes that are all meant to help you in the long run.

Take vitamins and eat fruits and leafy greens, exercise, and do not remain lazy and indolent. Always keep your heart’s interests at heart, so that you live long and do so in a way that is healthy. Having a good heart means having a good life, and having a good life means happiness and mental peace for you and for those around you. Take the time to have annual doctor’s appointments, too, so you can check up on your heart there and also on your cholesterol levels now and again so you know where you need to target your specific diets.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

This is from a new book by Dr. Wayne Dyer. So is he talkin’ magic here, or what? Yeah, sort of and not really. What do I mean by this? Let me start with some anecdotes.

While I was studying at Georgetown University in Washington DC for my Masters degree, I was simultaneously teaching ESL (English as a second language) both at a university institute and for evening refugee programs. I used to take in some of my students and help them acquire missing life skills that would facilitate their success in America. One of my students was Neary, daughter of a Cambodian General who had been evacuated out during the war….(oops, conflict- it was never officially declared a war…) and who happened at the time to be a cook at a downtown DC Woolworths cafeteria. (That’s another story…) We decided to teach Neary to drive, and she was pretty bad.

Seemingly no sense of depth perception (bump), no concept of spatial awareness (get back in your lane!) and forget the minutia of parking (bump and bump again). One day, watching her squinting as she tried to maneuver the car, it hit me that perhaps she was having trouble actually seeing. So I scheduled an eye test, and sure enough, she couldn’t see! She was given glasses and INSTANTLY was able to safely and intelligently handle the intricacies of driving. The problem wasn’t that she was inept, she just couldn’t see. Once she could see, she behaved differently. Almost like magic… and thank goodness for that!

As a teacher I am aware of studies that show a connection between students’ sight and ability to read. In other words, poor vision caused difficulties in reading, which appeared to onlookers like that student was just stupid.

They were experiencing the behaviors- inability to sound out words and read coherently- and interpreting that as academic failure. So they were treated as dunderheads by teachers and fellow students year after year, which hardly does wonders for self-esteem. Someone somewhere made a connection between poor reading ability and the possibility the student had poor vision and when that was the case, glasses took care of the reading problem. Almost like magic! (Bolstering the damaged self-esteem took years to remedy.) Once you find the solution it seems so obvious in hindsight and you wonder how you missed all along. And, of course, when vision wasn’t the underlying problem other measures needed to be taken to improve reading ability.

What I’m getting at so far is that, depending on how we see things, or don’t see things, we behave accordingly. The behavior follows our vision- physical vision in these cases.

What’s also cool is that the same principle applies with mental vision, or perception, and our subsequent behavior.