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Grateful in the mist – gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking in Uganda. Did you know? Uganda has 50% of the world’s mountain gorilla population. There are about 450 gorillas in the sanctuary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where we had the opportunity to trek to a particular family named “Mishaya” on a recent primate safari tour in Uganda, Africa. The tour also featured chimpanzee tracking. After flying into Entebbe, Uganda we made our way first to Kibale National Park to track chimpanzees, the primates with the closest DNA to us humans. But, once we caught up with the community we [...]
Laughter, it's said, is the best medicine. It's one of the best tools we have for dealing with stress and relieving discomfort. You see, when we laugh, it improves the flow of oxygen to the heart and the brain, which helps to improve our immune system and uplift our mood. Research has shown that laughter also has an anti-inflammatory effect that protects blood vessels and heart muscles from the damaging effects of cardiovascular disease. And laughter appears to burn calories, too! Vanderbilt University conducted a small study in which they measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned [...]
Endorphins can be your own private "narcotic!" They can affect us like codeine or morphine, but without the addiction. Understanding this can then help you increase a sense of euphoria in your life. Endorphins are neurotransmitters, chemicals that pass along signals from one neuron to the next. They originate in various parts of your body and interact mainly with receptors in cells found in regions of the brain responsible for blocking pain and controlling emotion. While endorphins block pain, they're also responsible for our feelings of pleasure, and these feelings of pleasure exist to let us know when we've had [...]
I'm excited to announce my new book "Fitness and Anti-Aging Secrets: Cracking the Code to Looking and Feeling Younger in Mid-Life and Beyond" In my new book, I draw on my almost 20 years of experience as a professional health and wellness coach to offer you invaluable insight into many of the daily best practices and holistic strategies myself and my most successful clients have use to look and feel young and vital. I like to think of it as a health and wellness Roadmap and Guidebook for those of us who aren't spring chickens anymore! The e-book and [...]
America’s National Parks are a unique part of our country’s identity and cultural heritage. No matter who you are, where you live, or how you live; the national parks welcome everybody as one and seem to strip away our differences and bond us together as admirers of the majestic outdoors and mother nature. Our national parks can be a force for health, healing, joy, and unity. Our group’s goal was to find a high volume of national parks within a fairly close radius of each other and do some hiking in each one over a week’s time period. We found [...]
More than half of our body is water. Our body uses water in all its cells, organs, and tissues to help regulate temperature and maintain other bodily functions. Because we lose water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, it's important to rehydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. Your skin will look healthier and you'll have more energy when you are properly hydrated. The Mayo Clinic recently came up with a nifty formula to determine how much water we should be drinking per day: Step 1: Take your weight (in pounds) and divide it by 2.2. Step 2: [...]
For thousands of years, a venerated Shinto Buddhism shrine in the Kii mountain range of Japan has been a place to visit for millions of pilgrims. All levels of society, including retired emperors and aristocrats, have made the walking journey to this shrine. The walk itself was an integral part of the pilgrimage process as they undertook rigorous religious rites of worship and purification. These pilgrims used a network of routes, now called the Kumano Kodo, which stretched across the mountainous Kii Peninsula in Western Honshu. In 2004, the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes were registered as UNESCO World Heritage, and a twinning program [...]
Many of us are well aware of the spiritual and psychological benefits of fasting. But modern science is now confirming that fasting is beneficial to our physical health in many remarkable ways. HERE ARE 11 REMARKABLE HEALTH BENEFITS OF FASTING: 1. FASTING CAN BE A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. Studies show that fasting increases your resting energy expenditure- how quickly you burn calories at rest. It has been shown to be a more effective way to lose weight than dieting. 2. FASTING IMPROVES HEART HEALTH. Studies show that fasting decreases triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure. 3. FASTING IMPROVES [...]
You don't have to lift weights like you're preparing for the Olympics to reap all of the benefits of weight bearing exercise. And you don't even have to have weights, you can use your own body weight as resistance. While cardio training does burn more calories per hour, with resistance and weight bearing exercise, your metabolism is about 20% higher for the following 48 hours after resistance training. What that means is that it's kind of an "after-burn" effect from weight bearing exercises, so your body will be burning more calories for you while you are watching TV, sleeping, at [...]
Still one of my favorite national parks in the United States, Joshua Tree sits just about a 90 minute drive from Los Angeles, and is truly "other-wordly" feeling when you're there. Joshua Tree National Park is characterized by rugged rock formations and stark desert landscapes. Named for the region’s twisted, bristled Joshua trees, the park straddles the cactus-dotted Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert, which is higher and cooler. Keys View looks out over the Coachella Valley. Hiking trails weave through the boulders of Hidden Valley. The park offers visitors endless opportunities for exploration and discovery. Depending on the number of hours you [...]