Welcome to Halloween! Safety is always on a parent’s mind as kids venture out into the confectionery abyss of the night. Let’s face it, kids are excited and often even a bit out of their minds. Can you blame them? I’m excited even in middle age! As you all go out, keep in mind the […]
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Tweet, Tweet, Tweet-ah-lee-dee
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Are you on Twitter, sharing your daily goings-on? If so, you were part of some really interesting news which I’ll share in a moment. We’re exploring this wonderful and yet often maligned world of social networking to see how it could impact health. In a matter of days, following 10 different health organizations, I got […]
Read moreDo YOU Want to Live to 100?
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Who doesn’t? Actually, according to a USA Today snapshot poll, 67% of us say yes. The rest say poor health or being a burden to loved ones keeps them from wishing for the best. Party poopers! Have I got news for you… Centenarians are the fastest growing segment of our population. We do a better […]
Read moreBeauty and Folly Are Old Companions
By Gillian Pieper | Published:So said Ben Franklin. Aristotle hailed beauty as “the gift of God” while Socrates called it “a short-lived tyranny.” On the mirror of a bathroom at the Ritual Coffee Shop in Des Moines, Iowa there rests a sign: “Warning: Reflections in this mirror may be distorted by socially constructed ideas of beauty.” Our photo expert […]
Read moreA Twist To Grow On
By Gillian Pieper | Published:“Yeah round ‘n around ‘n up ‘n down we go again.” – Chubby Checker A twist in real life can be furiously difficult. We’ve seen a great deal of the unexpected these last few years in natural disasters. Certainly the great measure of a person is how one endures such twists. Our range of motion […]
Read moreA Televsion Revolution
By Gillian Pieper | Published:The Emmy’s were on last night and it came to our attention that there is a lot of great television being made. The first rub is that the average adult watches between 3-5 hours a day (Bureau of Labor and Statistics quotes 2.7 hrs or half of our leisure time activities; The Nielsen Corporation quotes 4.7 […]
Read moreVicarious Resiliency
By Gillian Pieper | Published:“Coming together is the beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is success.” ~ Henry Ford Picture this… A new teacher is in her first classroom a week before school starts. Between in-service trainings, new employee meetings, and all the other pre-season duties, she tacks up posters, arranges furniture, neatly places resources and lovingly prepares […]
Read moreFor What Reason Do You Crunch?
By Gillian Pieper | Published:We discovered a confusing study last week that is getting a lot of air time. The study said you can’t increase your athletic performance by focusing extra energy on your core (your abdominal muscles in particular). When these headlines hit our local health club it felt as though an act of heresy had been committed. […]
Read moreEmotions are Infectious
By Gillian Pieper | Published:Duh. We’ve been saying that for years but now we’ve got proof. It’s also nice when science gives us permission to do what comes naturally. Mark Twain said, “There are people who can do all fine and heroic things but one – keep from telling their happiness to the unhappy.” I wonder, is that really […]
Read moreRide Sally Ride
By Gillian Pieper | Published:It seemed as though the countryside was absolutely teeming with bicycle riders this past week. Come to find out, the National Triathlon Championships were held in Burlington Vermont this weekend. It’s so exciting to see norms shift on a dime when a whole group of people are inspired by great athletes. We see it every […]
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