Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners from all over the world will be celebrating World Tai Chi & Qigong Day on Saturday, April 26. This is the sixteenth year of the global event dedicated to these healing arts, which always takes place on the last Saturday of the month of April at 10 a.m. local time. More than 80 countries will participate in this special event, which educates the public about … [Read more...]
This Saturday, The Parkinson Alliance will be hosting its annual fundraiser Unity Walk in Central Park, in New York City. One hundred percent of donations from this 1.4-mile walk go toward research on Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Princeton-based Parkinson Alliance is the umbrella organization responsible for Unity Walk, the largest single-day fundraising and awareness event for the disease. The … [Read more...]
After a lifetime of imagining the day, West Hartford native Elizabeth Lynch was awed as she stood at the starting line, ready to compete in her first Boston Marathon last year. Ever since she watched her mother first run the race when Lynch was 7, she dreamed of the day she too would tackle the route. At 15, she sprinted Heartbreak Hill with her older brother as he ran the marathon. Then in 2013, … [Read more...]
Toward the end of 2013, I was looking for more tools to not only help me serve clients as a health coach, but to also become a part of my own healing regimen. I had studied and become certified as a holistic health coach, specializing in nutrition at IIN. I had studied as a women’s fitness specialist with NASM. I had even taking the first steps toward getting certified to teach various mind-body … [Read more...]
In the wee hours of Sunday, March 9, it will be time to change the clocks once again. At 2 a.m. most of the states in the country spring ahead. While the morning birds—which I have miraculously become after a lifetime of being a night owl—lose an hour of light in the morning, we can all enjoy the extra hour of daylight in the evening. More sunlight boosts serotonin, our “happiness hormone,” which … [Read more...]
It turns out that today’s post is going to be a more personal one. Yesterday, the uncontrollable muscle movements returned after a pretty significant absence. Yes, it certainly is a pain in the neck (and face and legs). Yet I haven’t been as disheartened as frustrated. So many plans have been canned due to the greedy movement monster: Dystonia. Last night I couldn’t go to the book club I was … [Read more...]
It shouldn’t surprise me that the beginning of my 28-day commitment to #VionicWalkabout Quest for Good Health would begin in the midst of some of our coldest days of winter. This is New England after all. I figure there are four options to start on the right foot with my new Zen walking shoes: 1. Hit the gym (or my parents’ house) – Claim a treadmill and walk nowhere for a half-hour. As long as … [Read more...]
I was born with what one physician noted in his doctor notes as “grossly flat feet.” While they aren’t the prettiest feet in the world, I believe what my doctor meant by “grossly” was that I had completely flat footsies, with no hint of an arch at all. What this really meant for me was years of shin splints, as well as foot, knee and, sometimes, even lower back pain, when standing or running … [Read more...]
Today is the last day of Heart Health Month, but there is no less need for greater awareness. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for men and women in the country. Yet according to a recent Heart Health Survey by Cleveland Clinic, 74 percent of Americans do not believe that they will die of heart disease. The survey also found that 32 percent are not doing anything to prevent heart … [Read more...]
Src: Flickr Creative Commons/Don Hankins "iPod Yoga Stretch"If you're at all like me, the music you listen to while you exercise can make or break your workout. If music is too mellow while you're trying to race for time, your pace can start to drag. If tunes are too uptempo while you are moving through a yoga flow, you may find it difficult to keep your breath and heart rate slow and even, making … [Read more...]