Energy Express from Creators Syndicate

Twist And Shout: Dos and Don'ts For Aspiring Yogis for 07/07/2009

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I'm thrilled to see yoga catching on as much as it is. Everywhere I turn, I see growing numbers of men and women, girls and boys, dogs and cats, doing yoga for exercise, for enlightenment, for better health and as a way to meet people who have amazing tattoos.

It's a good thing, a sign that not only is the Age of Aquarius here, it is getting 60-year-olds to spring into handstands. Yoga i ...

Updated: Tue Jul 07, 2009

Summer Shorts: Tips for Slimming, Stretching, Swimming for 07/14/2009

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Living a healthier lifestyle is the goal. Making small, sweet changes in your everyday life is the way. Bit by bit, bite by bite, moment by aha! moment ...

One day, for instance, you're waiting for the elevator to take you five floors up. Suddenly, out of the blue, you hear a little voice inside your brain saying something like: "Wake up. Take the stairs." Step by step, you beg ...

Updated: Tue Jul 14, 2009

Bad Diagnosis? Caringbridge Lifts And Supports The Healing Process for 07/21/2009

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Medical crises happen. With awful regularity. You're in the shower, for instance, humming a tune, and you feel a garbanzo bean-sized lump. It turns out to be breast cancer.

Life as you know it changes in one horrific moment: Now what? Who do you call? What's the best treatment? How will your family get fed, carpooled and cared for while you sort through the confusion and chaos? Getting a ...

Updated: Tue Jul 21, 2009

En/X Alert: Put The Health Back In Health Care Reform for 07/28/2009

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Just after his election, I cheerfully dubbed President Obama our first Healthy Lifestyle Pres. "He's not Black, he's Green!" I wrote, big smiles all around.

In his first six months in the White House, President Obama and First Lady Michelle have clearly been walking the talk, getting up early to work out, planting organic veggies in the garden, telling parents to turn off the T ...

Updated: Tue Jul 28, 2009

Blue Zones: Red Hot Tips for Living Longer for 08/04/2009

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Living longer has fascinated humans for the longest time. Just think of all the myths, legends and TV diets that have held our interest over the years, all promising to reveal — finally! — the secret to a longer life.

But what if longer isn't better? Forget that for now. Let's focus on longevity — thriving into your 80s, 90s, 100s. What have the longevity scientists re ...

Updated: Tue Aug 04, 2009

Blue Zones II: How To Live Longer, Better, Sharper for 08/11/2009

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Last week and this week, too, the subject is living longer. Who knows the most about it, and what can we learn from them?

That's the subject of a life-changing book by Dan Buettner called "The Blue Zones," and the subtitle says it all: "Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Living the Longest." (National Geographic; www.bluezones.com) The magnificent elders ...

Updated: Tue Aug 11, 2009

Death Panel Playbook: How to Go in Peace for 08/18/2009

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Personally, I am in favor of death panels. Bring 'em on. Where's my living will? Will I die at home or in a hospital? Should I play music? Have it catered? And what about the machines that might keep me alive some extra days: Are they worth it?

Death. It's the one thing we all have in common with Rush Limbaugh. We don't know when, and we don't know how, but we all know it's coming. No ma ...

Updated: Tue Aug 18, 2009

Back to School ... Everybody for 08/25/2009

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The lazy days of summer are rushing to a close. Yikes! Labor Day is just ahead. Do you know where your picnic basket is?

Now is the perfect moment to play the Stop and Think game, a favorite tool of healthy lifestyle coaches like me: Ask yourself, were you happy with your choices this summer? Do you wish it had more laughs, less stress, more jumping in the waves, more time with family an ...

Updated: Tue Aug 25, 2009

Let's Call It Tedicare -- Medicare for the Rest of Us for 09/01/2009

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Soon Congress will return to session and continue the all-important work of health care reform. The law that is or is not passed will affect every one of us. I know you're sick of this stuff. So am I. But be patient — change is in the air.

I got a big, energizing whiff of it over the weekend, watching the funeral that was also the celebration of the life of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. ...

Updated: Tue Sep 01, 2009

You're the Principal: Start the Semester with a New Playbook for 09/08/2009

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It was a recent Sunday morning, and I was exercising my brain in front of the morning news shows. This edition of "Meet the Press" featured Katherine Sebelius, our secretary of health and human services. She spent most of her time serving up lackluster answers about health care reform, but at the end of the segment, host David Gregory mentioned swine flu and the millions of kids at ri ...

Updated: Tue Sep 08, 2009

Oh Baby! A Wake Up Call for Health Care Reform for 09/15/2009

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As the health care reformers continue to wrestle through the tricky and trickier issues of improving what we have now, this startling headline crossed my computer screen:

"It's Riskier to Have a Baby in the U.S. Than in Cuba or the Czech Republic."

Was this a joke? I couldn't let it go. I felt it my duty to check it out, or as we now say, click through — especially ...

Updated: Tue Sep 15, 2009

Thinking About Inking? Tattoo Tips for Those With a Burning Desire for 09/22/2009

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I've been writing my weekly syndicated column for 33 years this month, and somehow I've overlooked tattoos. What do tattoos have to do with living a healthy lifestyle? I have no idea, but so many conscious, vibrant and well-balanced people in my yoga class have them, they must mean something.

Butterflies on the butt, Sanskrit OMs on the ankles, limb-loads of serpents, peace signs, lotus ...

Updated: Tue Sep 22, 2009

Sacred Sweat: How to Add Spirit to Sport for 09/29/2009

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All sports have a mystical quality. Any time you run, swim, cycle, golf, do yoga, play tennis — you name it — you have an opportunity to alter consciousness in a wonderful way.

Shots of Red Bull will not take you there. It's called being in the Flow, that mysterious zone of effortless effort that connects body and mind, spirit and sport.

Why bother to develop the Zen s ...

Updated: Tue Sep 29, 2009

The Mediterranean Diet: Up Close and Personal for 10/06/2009

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I am writing today's column from a small, remote, magnificent Greek island. Blue sky, glorious sun, empty beaches. Be happy for me. A generous spirit is one of the marks of a healthy, happy lifestyle.

I am here, on my towel, researching quality of life issues. The Mediterranean style of eating is considered by many experts to be the "healthiest diet in the world." Why take Har ...

Updated: Tue Oct 06, 2009

Happy Walktober! Celebrate Falling Leaves and Juicy Knees for 10/13/2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Everything about walking is good for your health. It builds strength, reduces your risk of heart disease, juices up your joints, calms your mind, and helps you and your poodle live longer, happier lives.

There are some who still scoff at walking, dismissing it as exercise lite, not cool, maybe even a waste of your recreational time. These people — many of them wearing some form of ...

Updated: Tue Oct 13, 2009

Self-Care 101: Going Private with the Public Option for 10/20/2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Congress will continue to debate the Public Option, but I've already made up my mind. The public — that's you and me and everyone in the country — must opt for a healthier, happier lifestyle or we'll go broke trying to keep up with demand.

That's the only Public Option you can really count on. For now, we the people need to choose the healthier options over the ones that make ...

Updated: Tue Oct 20, 2009

If Baby Einstein Is Dribble, What Else Is Untrue? for 10/27/2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Have you heard? Those best-selling "Baby Einstein" videos will not make your baby choose calculus over patty cake. Darn. In fact, all those "Baby Mozart" and "Baby Shakespeare" pseudo-educational videos are messing with your baby's vulnerable and developing brain in a way that is absolutely alarming, according to the team of public health lawyers who recently made ...

Updated: Tue Oct 27, 2009

Running Debate: Are Marathons a Form of Body Abuse? for 11/03/2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

I'm in New York City this week, and Marathon Madness is in the air. There is no known cure. On Nov. 1, approximately 40,000 runners of every age, shape and thighs will line up at the starting line for the 40th anniversary year and attempt to run the magical, mystical, maniacal distance of 26.2 miles. I will not be among them — not this year, not any year. I've decided long-distance endura ...

Updated: Tue Nov 03, 2009

Life's a Marathon: Training Tips To Help Run Your Life for 11/10/2009

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Marathon running is not my field of expertise. I can repeat what I've studied and analyze for you the opinions of running experts, but I cannot coach you based on my own personal experience of hamstring pulls, profound nausea and severe knee pain. It's just not my path.

This is why I turn to Dr. Mark Klion, a sports medicine specialist at Mount Sinai's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery i ...

Updated: Tue Nov 10, 2009

Go Rogue This Thanksgiving! Five Ways to Spread Your Wings for 11/17/2009

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is what you make it.

Make it stressful and tense, and you'll wind up with heartburn even worse than the natural gas you get from too much of Aunt Lil's fabulous chestnut-and-chicken-sausage stuffing.

Carve out a sweet and cozy celebration of gratitude and grace, and you'll give your spirit an uplifting dose of time-well-spent.

It's up to you. This is your Th ...

Updated: Tue Nov 17, 2009