Wellness Archives | Page 10 of 14

In Metal Health

Managing Your Persistent Fears, Anxieties and Stress

March 25, 2014 In Metal Health 4 Mins Read

Hamptons Wellness: Managing Your Persistent Fears, Anxieties and Stress

Everybody deals with anxiety and depression, however some people have a difficult time in managing it. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their most persistent fears and every day anxieties.

When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, the first thing you can do is to divide the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.

Additionally, marijuana is celebrated in various parts of the world as a remedy for stress relief for its ability to improve your mood. Consequently, if you prefer to take a natural approach to managing your mental health, you might want to consider giving cannabis products a try for yourself. There is a huge variety of different cannabis strains out there such as strawberry kush that can all have potentially unique impacts on your wellbeing.

Correspondingly, if you are tempted to introduce cannabis products into your mental health toolkit, then knowing as much as possible about your chosen strain is crucial. For instance, you might find that sun rocks weed is a particularly good fit for helping you to relax and unwind if your worries are stopping you from getting to sleep. Above all, insomnia can be highly overwhelming but there are strains of cannabis out there that can be incredibly useful.

However, that being said, it is important to note that there are also different levels of marijuana quality. They are rated on a A-AAAA scale in Canada, with A being the lowest quality. Obviously you want high-quality marijuana to get the best effects. You can find out more about this on www.budexpressnow.net.

Furthermore, once you have chosen a strain that meets your expectations, you might also want to try out a few different types of accessories to find a way of using cannabis products that suits your lifestyle. For example, in recent years, dry herb pens have soared in popularity. You can learn more about dry herb pens by taking a look at this evolve-d dry herb pen manual. Needless to say, finding ways to cope is essential, even if herbal remedies are not for you.

Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed or frustrated, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking. Upset Crying Woman By The Ocean

Managing Your Persistent Fears, Anxieties and Stress

Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your depression and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help.

In Fitness

Get Fit with Zumba Hamptons

March 3, 2014 In Fitness 4 Mins Read

Hamptons Fitness…Get Fit with Zumba Hamptons, Lets Zumba with Oscar Gonzalez.

Wow, I have seen the videos, heard all the hoopla about ZUMBA but I have never taken a class. I had a feeling that I would like it, but for whatever reason I have never made the time to take a class. My friend Katherine asked me if I was up for traveling to WestHampton to take a Zumba Class with Oscar Gonzalez of Zumba Hamptons and to be truthful if she had not picked me up I may have reverted to my incredibly lazy ways and stayed home. Katherine was not allowing me to back out this morning and she picked me up at 745am promptly. I was nervous because I have not worked out in weeks and laziness was taking over my body, I guess I just thought by some insane miracle the pounds would miraculously disappear. I actually convinced myself that I was loosing weight sitting on my couch, but then reality sunk in and I knew that there was no avoiding the truth, the pounds were presenting themselves and it wasn’t pretty, it was time to take the plunge and do something. We arrived at the class early, it was a 45 minute drive to Westhampton from Sag Harbor, no traffic, not bad.

We walked in to what I am told is a new place for Zumba Hamptons, a nice large space with full mirrors, ahhh no hiding from the truth. I was greeted by Oscar and Denise his manager. Oscar was dressed is some vibrant, energetic colors and I had a feeling that this class was going to be fun. FUN IT WAS…I was tired, my legs hurt and I truly thought I would pass out, but the music was great and his energy was contagious. Oscar had me doing some moves that I did not think my body could do. I started to really get into the groove of the class 20 minutes in and mentally told myself you can do this. Feeling relaxed and comfortable moving my body, I felt sexy as I was shaking my booty, moving my hips and attempting to twerk…I have to say that did not look sexy….Katherine however is an expert at twerking…

Overall, this is by far one of the BEST workouts I have participated in. It was engaging, even-though it was a hard class but it was easy to follow. Oscar was in my face but not in an aggressive or intrusive way, rather a fun and hilarious way. Once I relaxed and stopped over thinking the movements, I was able to enjoy myself and realized these were dance steps I knew. This was a total body workout and many of my muscles were focused on. I thought for sure my muscles would be sore, but they were not, I was very energetic after the class. Oscar offers Zumba Fitness Parties, so this might be something to do with my friends here in Sag Harbor…

I totally recommend Zumba with Oscar, it really is an experience. Attending every Saturday will be a challenge but possibly 2x a month is doable. Oscar also teaches the INSANITY CLASS, he invited me to stay for that class at 130pm, but I asked him if he was trying to kill me? Not there yet Oscar, let me do a couple more Zumba classes then I will be able to do that class, everything in moderation for me. Contact Oscar to reserve your space at one of his very popular classes…516-521-7256 or visit his Website…click here

Check out this video one of Oscar’s Zumba classes, amazing how someone has this much energy……He is even better in person.

In Healthy Snacks

The easiest, healthiest, most delicious snack

February 24, 2014 In Healthy Snacks 1 Min Read

Hamptons Wellness: The easiest, healthiest, most delicious snack

When I lived in Russia, there were times when we had no fresh fruit and vegetables all winter, so our moms and grandmas used to give us this mixture of raisins, apricots, walnuts, lemon and honey. They mashed it in a meat grinder and we were supposed to take 1 tablespoon per day as vitamins. 1922595_3916619769944_29322312_n

Best tasting vitamins I ever had! I adapted it a little, keeping the proportions basically the same. My kids loved it and so will yours! Lemon granola bites

1 cup oats
1 cup nuts of your choice
1 cup dried fruit
1 whole lemon with skin
a shake of sea salt
a little raw honey – enough to hold it all together
Process all the ingredients in a food processor.
By hand, form little balls and roll them in flaxseed meal

In Health

Drink more water: it’s the best thing you can do for your health!

January 22, 2014 In Health 3 Mins Read

Hamptons Wellness: Drink more water: it’s the best thing you can do for your health!

Do you want to have more energy, clearer skin and fewer colds? Drink more water! Our bodies are 60% water. We are losing fluids constantly through sweat and urine. We need to continuously replenish the lost fluids in order for our organs to be working properly. Are you always tired? Is it hard to focus? You might be dehydrated: our brain is mostly water! You could just drink water, but if you are at the point of dehydration then you may need something else, such as the electrolyte formula from Magnak. This is because the symptoms of dehydration are experienced due to a loss of both water and electrolytes, as when you lose water you also lose electrolytes. Also, if possible, try and drink hydrogen water. Hydrogen water is great for the body which is why so many people drink it! If you don’t know much about it, you can get more information here. Water is so important for a healthy body and there are lots of reasons why.

Just from the top of my head, the benefits of drinking enough water are:

It increases energy and relieves fatigue
It helps you lose weight
It flushes out toxins and reduces the risk of kidney stones and urinary tract infections
It moisturizes your skin and improves your complexion
It boosts immune system, helps prevent headaches and leg cramps
It helps you perform better in sports, build more muscle and prevent injury

Enough? Because I could go on! But I think that I convinced you…Drink more water: it’s the best thing you can do for your health!

Now, how much water do you need to drink to be adequately hydrated? I am sure you heard about 8X8 rule – 8 8-ounce glasses per day. Lately, I have been seeing this rule: divide your weight in pounds by 2 and drink that many ounces. If you weigh 140 lb, you should drink 70 oz of water per day. If you hate keeping track of ounces, just drink water every hour on the hour. Program your phone if you have to!

If drinking plain water is hard for you – and it is for some people – try making flavored homemade “Vitamin Water”. Alternatively, you could make use of a product like the one reviewed at https://waterfilterway.com/aquasana-reviews/ in order to improve the taste of your water. Here is a recipe for “Vitamin Water”:

take a nice large glass jar, add some sliced fruit (lemon, lime, orange, strawberries, watermelon etc in any combination)
some herbs (I like mint and basil) and even vegetables (cucumber is delicious).
Fill it with water, let steep for an hour and enjoy!

It is gorgeous and delicious. Another trick is to drink it through a straw – it involves different muscles and water bypasses the tongue this way; some people find it easier.

Drinking water is the easiest, cheapest and surest way to dramatically improve your health. I’ll drink to that!

In Fitness

Injury Prevention in Young Athletes..The core is the key

January 16, 2014 In Fitness 5 Mins Read

Hamptons Wellness: Injury Prevention in Young Athletes..The core is the key

Young athletes are at great risk for injury. All parents, coaches and the young athletes themselves must become aware of these facts. Our children are very competitive. Some of them will become involved in team sports and excel. Kids that take part in one sport are more at risk for repetitive motion injuries as well as kids who engage in many sports who do not rest sufficiently between sporting events and training routines. Putting a proper routine of care into place, such as by having sports cryotherapy or other forms of physio, is vital. Appropriate nutrition is a key to injury prevention too. Unfortunately, some will get injured early and never be able to participate in sports again. This is a missed opportunity that does not have to happen.

However, it’s important to remain positive even if your child is injured in sports. An injury does not always mean they can’t return to what they love. Often, things like back injuries such as spondylolisthesis can be incredibly daunting and seemingly the possible end to participation in sports. This particular back injury is very common for the competitive kids out there who are putting maximum effort into their sports. Nevertheless, places like Medical City Kids Orthopedics are able to treat such injuries and hopefully, have them back doing the things they love in the minimum recovery time possible.

This discussion is not only about the best young athletes. The risk of injury is present in everyone who participates in sports no matter his or her age so having knowledge of a podiatrist kansas city, or somewhere more local to you, in the back of your mind can only reassure you that help is available should you ever need it. However, it is important to recommend sports participation early in our lives because it sets us up to remain healthy throughout our lives. Improved cardiovascular and muscular-skeletal development and maintenance, leads to sustained cognitive function, as we get older. So participation in sports when we are young is a leading indicator of a healthy life.

This begs the question; how do we prevent injury? We are all familiar with the terms Rehab or rehabilitation. This is usually the course of action after an injury has occurred. As such, many athletes tend to seek out a professional who specializes in the area of Sports Rehabilitation. Some of these therapists can be found at somewhere like Luna, and can be contacted when you want to get your recovery back on track. And when an injury is concerned, the timing of their rehabilitation has to be right. I suggest that for our young athletes, we become familiar with PREHAB. Why not prepare the body for the rigors of exercise and sports by specifically targeting the training and exercise routines necessary to prevent injury?

Many of our young athletes train improperly. This is not an indictment of our team coaches or trainers but recognition of the limited time and resources they have to address the needs of all the athletes they have to manage, especially at the Middle and High School levels. It is well known in the area of sports medicine that the development of the core and core training, exercise and strengthening is very important to the prevention of injury in young athletes.

I have a daughter who is an athlete and has aspirations of becoming an elite athlete in track. She has been injured before with a strained Achilles tendon. This injury impaired her ability to run and she lost time on the field as a result. This year, we sought to help reduce her risk of injury by investigating where we could get her trained and strengthened and we discovered IET, Integrated Exercise Therapy in Bridgehampton. We learned that some of her field hockey teammates had been participating at this facility and were excelling in their sport and we figured, what the heck, lets give it a try.

When we got there, Andrew and Molly greeted us and then very quickly started an evaluation of Allura’s flexibility, strength and core weaknesses. The video that we are presenting shows one segment of that evaluation. We were amazed at how quickly IET identified risks for injury and developed a structured, progressive PREHAB routine for Allura to follow.

We can only suggest that any parent of a young athlete pay close attention to the risks of injury in their kids. It is amazing how frequently injury occurs with young athletes and the costs associated with health care and rehabilitation after the fact; not to mention problems that may arise as a result of growth plate abnormalities and subsequent life long impacts.

Our kids are participating in organized sports teams; football, basketball, baseball, field hockey, track, soccer and volleyball as well as skateboarding. Injuries are going to happen. We have chosen to seek additional sports therapy outside of her normal work-out routine with her team to help Allura reduce her injury risks by improving her physical strength and flexibility. Whether you choose IET or another method for reducing the risk of injury in your young athlete, do not hesitate in getting started as soon as possible. Lost time in the athlete’s sporting life as a result of injury can be prevented. The Core is the Key!

For more on this topic: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248796.php

photos and video by Kurt Leggard…