“Me” time is just what it sounds like – time for me.  It’s as much a vacation from the house and the family as it is from work and/or school.  It’s time to spend with no one but yourself.

All of us need time alone every once in a while.  To think.  To dream.  To wonder.  You can’t do that in the midst of the constant chatter that is daily life.

Being alone for a while allows the voice of God to be heard.  You can only hear God whispering to your heart when your spirit is still.

Although I “scheduled” some “me” time, you don’t have to wait until your next vacation comes around.  Take whatever opportunity comes along.  Grab your cup of coffee and instead of heading for the breakroom, head outside and take a walk around the block – alone.  Don’t think.  Don’t worry.  Don’t fret.  Just be by yourself for a while.  You’ll be surprised how refreshed it will make you feel.

Why not try it right now?

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: me-time, alone, spirit, mindfulness, meditation, quiet time

Related posts:

1. The Importance of Keeping a Journal

We spend our time at the Flying L Ranch in Bandera, Texas.  Located about 50 miles NE of San Antonio, the Flying L is right in the Texas Hill Country.  It’s a really nice place that blends a rustic, cowboy feel with comfortable and modern amenities.  There are plenty of things to do there, either alone or with the family, including golf, a full water-park, horseback riding, hiking, tennis, wildlife watching, or just sitting under a tree and reading a good book.

All of us live hectic lives of non-stop stress.  Do yourself – and your loved ones – a favor and plan a “mini” vacation as soon as possible.  It doesn’t have to be more than a day or two.  Just make sure you leave your stress at home and relax.  It will make a world of difference!

Related posts:

1. Vacation Time!

Then wouldn’t you know it – I got hurt and had to take a week off from working out.  Here’s what happened.

I was doing my usual Kickboxing routine and was on the speed-bag really making it “sing.”  I was having a great workout and my muscles were really feeling good.  Right next to the speed-bag station was a 4′x4′ square plywood box standing on end.  The box is there so that some of our younger students can have something to stand on in order to reach the bag.

Anyway, somehow I must have nudged the box rocking it forward while I was concentrating on hitting the bag.  The box slammed down hard and caught my foot right on the big toe.  You might as well have hit me with a hammer – the effect was exactly the same.

At first, I couldn’t feel anything but a tingling numbness.  It’s like when a bell rings – you hear the initial “gong” but then you continue to hear a “ringing” sound for quite a while afterward.  My toe felt like it was “ringing” – and not in a good way!

First priority – find out if anything is broken. I gritted my teeth and tried to flex my toes.  OK, I can move my big toe with no problem so no broken bones.  That’s a relief.  However, the “ringing-numbness” sensation is beginning to wear off to be replaced by a throbbing sensation.

Second priority – get some ice on it and elevate it to reduce swelling. Anytime you have an impact injury, the capillary blood vessels in the affected area usually rupture quickly filling the area with blood.  That’s why the area begins to look dark red or purple.  In my case, my toe started looking like a cherry tomato.  As the blood and fluid leaks into the damaged area, it swells creating pressure on the surrounding tissue and nerves – that’s what caused the “throbbing” sensation.  Getting an ice pack on my toe and elevating my foot within 5 minutes of getting hurt really helped to keep the swelling, and the pain, down to a tolerable level.

Common practice is to put an ice pack on the area for 10-15 minutes, and then take it off for 10-15 minutes before putting the ice pack on again.  That should keep the area cool enough to reduce swelling without risking frostbite.  Follow this schedule as often as you can for the first 24 hours.

Third priority – give it time to heal. Walking was really painful the following day, and the day after that.  However, I took things slow and kept my foot elevated as often as I could.  Keeping the area protected from further bumps and damage was also important – especially since wearing shoes was painful so I went barefoot as often as I could.

Unfortunately, this part you can’t rush.  You’ve got to give your body time to heal.  In my case, I was off my feet as much as possible for an entire week.

Fourth priority – keep exercising to the extent you can. Now, that doesn’t mean I sat on the couch and munched potato chips all day.  I still worked my upper body by lifting weights 3 days a week.  I just couldn’t do any running or jumping since my foot was out of commission.  To the extent possible, rest the part that’s injured, keep exercising the part that’s not.

Yes, I know that there are some injuries (like back or stomach injuries) that hurt no matter how you move and in those cases, lay off the exercise completely.  However, if you’ve got an arm or shoulder sprain, continue exercising your lower body.  Knee or foot injury?  Keep doing chest, arms, and back exercises.  Use some common sense but keep exercising to the extent you can.

Why try to keep exercising?  Two reasons.  First, exercising will take your mind off the part that hurts.  That’s a huge benefit all by itself.  Second, exercise will elevate your heart rate increasing the blood flow to the hurt area.  This will (in my opinion) significantly speed recovery time.

My bottom line is that I went from hardly being able to walk to resuming my Kickboxing routine (without the kicks of course) within 7 days of getting injured.  The key to getting back on track with your routine after an injury is to keep your priorities straight!

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: fitness, injury, recovery, rehabilitation, exercise, health, soreness

Related posts:

1. Getting Back Into Shape After Thanksgiving
2. What Is “Balanced” Health and Fitness?
3. Getting Your Knees Back Into Shape

Although a case of the flu isn’t that big a deal for most healthy adults, this disease tends to hit children and the elderly the hardest with over 150 dead in Mexico alone.  As a result, many countries are issuing travel restrictions as well as more closely screening people crossing their borders.

With all the fear and confusion creating numerous conflicting stories in the media, it’s difficult to know which information to trust.  However, there are a couple of simple, common-sense things that you can do to protect yourself and your family from the flu.

First, understand what you’re fighting. What is “the flu,” or more specifically, the “swine” flu?  Swine flu is the name given to the most recent outbreak of the flu virus.  It’s a type of flu that’s not been seen before.  It contains parts of some of the strains of flu that we’ve dealt with in the past including American Swine and avian, or bird flu.

This strain of flu virus is spread like any other flu virus:  primarily from airborne transmission but also from surface transmission as well.  In other words, the virus spreads from infected people sneezing or coughing which pumps the virus into the air where healthy people breath it in.  It spreads by surface transmission when infected people wipe their runny nose, for example, and then touch a door knob, phone, or other surface.  If a healthy person touches the contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth, they become infected also.

The symptoms are those of the common flu: headache, fever, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and muscle aches.  In the vast majority of cases, most people recover without any problems.  However, special care should be taken for those that are most at risk for complications – infants, people with existing respiratory problems, and the elderly.

Second, cleanliness is your best defense. Since the virus spreads through surface transmission, your best defense is to frequently clean common areas at home as well as at the office with a sanitizing cleanser.  You should also carry a bunch of pre-moistened wipes or a tube of hand sanitizer and wash your hands often.  Make sure your kids get into the habit of frequently washing their hands with soap and/or a hand sanitizer also.  This one suggestion is probably the most effective thing you can to do prevent your family from coming down with the flu.

So what about airborne transmission?  Is a surgical mask effective?  Well, yes and no.  The flu is a virus, something so small that a surgical mask isn’t going to stop it.  However, in most cases, the virus is spread by someone coughing or sneezing so the virus isn’t going to be coming out in single units.  They’re going to be in clumps clinging to the droplets of water or mucous that’s part of every sneeze.  In these cases, the “clumps” may be large enough to be trapped by the surgical mask.

You’ll find conflicting reports about the effectiveness of surgical masks.  They’re probably most effective in preventing infected people from sneezing on you, something that’s likely to happen in crowded situations like a subway or sporting event.

Third, keep yourself and your family healthy. This means making sure that you and your family is eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of fluids, getting moderate exercise, and getting plenty of sleep.  You want to make sure that your immune system is in peak condition and ready to fight off any attacks.  I don’t advocate taking mega-doses of vitamin C or anything else but a good multivitamin wouldn’t hurt.

Fourth, if all else fails. If all else fails and you or a member of your family gets sick, make them as comfortable as you can.  There’s no real “cure” for the flu but there are all sorts of over-the-counter medications for the symptoms.  If you or your family member is part of the high risk group (infants, elderly, or existing respiratory problems), then keep a very close watch and get medical attention if their condition appears to worsen.

If you’re the one that’s sick, stay home, drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest.  Most people recover within 5-7 days.  If it lasts longer than this, see your doctor.

Finally, this flu is really no more serious (or any less serious) than the other strains of flu we’ve experienced so the precautions are pretty much the same.  The best advice is to maximize your chances of warding off the disease by keeping common surfaces clean, washing your hands often, and by practicing good health habits (eating right, exercise, staying hydrated, getting plenty of sleep).

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: healthy, sneeze, cough, Avian, Bird Flu, Flu, Flu Virus, Runny Nose, Swine Flu, virus

No related posts.