LynnAnderson

The Secret of Staying Young

After my cycle class one of my students came up and wanted to talk with me about feeling age creeping up on her. She is forty-two and beginning to feel the first pangs of getting older. From my perspective I smiled and assured her that forty-two was very young. I had better than a decade on her but nevertheless could understand her plight. I remember my own realization in my early forties that I was aging. It is when the first sign of wrinkles appear and perhaps the first few grey hairs arrive. Suddenly there are mild aches in the joints and energy drops a bit. I could only assure her that everything she was going through in body and mind was totally normal and that everyone feels the pangs of aging throughout their lives. More…

Take a Chance

When times are tough we all pull back and try to keep the status quo. But sometimes in the toughest of times resides the greatest opportunity.  Taking a chance against the odds often produces great gains. "Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish." Ovid More…

Passport To The Soul

A friend gave me a little book titled “Passport To The Soul.” It is full of little inspirational saying. It reminds us that the body-mind can only withstand so much and go so far without the strength of the soul. The spirit within is the energy that carries all of us to heights beyond our imagination. In these difficult times our deep inner soul can and will provide answers to all our questions and problems. The secret is to listen. Not just with your ears but with your eyes, your touch and all your senses. With the senses open and receptive infinite possibilities exist. In difficult times it is those who get creative that thrive. More…

Stress and Recess

When I was in undergraduate school studying communication and social-psychology I had the opportunity to study stress and its response using a bio-feedback machine. That was nearly thirty years ago. By today's standards our research was very primitive, however that early research helped us to understand stress and its ramifications on the body-mind. More…

Those Sexy B’s

The B vitamins are responsible for many body-mind functions among them our sexual response and health.  Specifically let’s take a look at B6, also known as pyridoxine. B6 is one of the most essential and widely utilized vitamins in the body.  It is a coenzyme which participates in over sixty enzymatic reactions involved in the metabolism of amino acids (one of which is trytophan which is what the body uses to create serotonin).  Too little of B6 is associated with problems such as dizziness, irritability, depression, nervousness, insomnia, and pins and needles feeling in the arms and hands. More…

IBS – one in five Americans

If you are a person with IBS, traveling can be a real problem. Not only does IBS affect a person on a daily basis but let them change their routine and it can be disastrous. It is said that one in five Americans have IBS. However IBS is a catch all for any digestive disorder that can not be identified. It seems it only has symptoms without a definitive physical pin point. Here is a definition from the national Digestive Clearinghouse Center. Note the reference to serotonin. From the National Digestive Clearing House Center Normal motility, or movement, may not be present in the colon of a person who has IBS. It can be spasmodic or can even stop working temporarily. Spasms are sudden strong muscle contractions that come and go. More…

No Worries

I just returned from three weeks in New Zealand and Australia.  Both countries were so clean, young and fresh.  After traveling through Europe and the Middle East it is amazing to visit a country that is younger than the United States.  By the rest of the world’s standards these two countries are rough, isolated, and vast.  But they are also beautiful, clean, and relatively hassle free.  The cuisine is simple and fresh.  The meats and vegetables are cooked using very little spice and virtually no sauces.  Nothing overly excites the palette; however nothing hides the authenticity of the food. More…

Down Under

Next week I am leaving for New Zealand and Australia. Naturally my interest these days are in anything that has to do with these two lands. I recently read that New Zealand has now enacted a law that will not allow obese people to immigrate to New Zealand. Because obesity has become such a world wide health epidemic New Zealand, England and other countries are thinking of ways to get people into living a healthier lifestyle which is good for them and good for healthcare. More…

Artichoke My Heart

Once considerate an aphrodisiac, artichokes literally feed your heart. It was most likely the Romans who over 2000 years ago cultivated this indigenous plant. As well as thinking it an aphrodisiac they used it as a salad and a green vegetable. Artichokes were brought to England in 1548 and the French settlers planted them in Louisiana in the mid nineteenth century. California is now the center of the artichoke crop. In fact my first encounter with an artichoke was when I moved to California over fifteen years ago. When I lived in Maine there weren’t any artichokes in the grocery. Too cold for artichokes and too cold for me! More…

Fava -rection

We all remember the children's story about Jack and the bean stalk. Jack planted beans that grew into a might stalk. This allowed him to slay the giant. The beans he planted may well have been fava beans and here is why. When most of us think of fava beans we think of Anthony Hopkins in the Silence of the Lamb. We remember him salivating over fava beans. Perhaps there is more to the bean than meets the eye. More…