News
and Travel…
This
weekend my daughter and I were supposed to be in Amsterdam visiting my son and
his family. We would have been on our way to a genealogy conference in London.
Of course, the trip was cancelled in March, in light of the pandemic, as was
the conference shortly afterward. Life has changed since then! The talks I was
scheduled to give at the conference have now been turned into videos which will
be posted online by the conference host. So, all is not lost in terms of spreading
ideas and making contacts.
Now
our families are at home, all of us keeping our distance from friends and
neighbours, as those people are as well.
One
of the things that gets me out of the house is walking my dogs. They still need
to get out to do their business. But I have noticed that there are many more
dogs (with owners attached) out at the same times. These people are at home,
too, so they take their dogs for many more walks than they used to. We all keep
our distance, whether the dogs want to or not.
The
ongoing news is getting to be the same – 24/7 broadcasts of what is going on
all over the world with the pandemics. While it started out to be interesting
to see what was happening, it has now become depressing and, dare I say,
boring!
Many
friends are sending cartoons (a large number about toilet paper), stories,
advice (see below) and videos to entertain us. Some are quite hilarious. A few
have been posted here. Those are the ones I pass along to other friends also
trapped at home (A recurring theme is it not?). They do take the edge off the
news each day at least.
I
get to do a great deal more work on family history projects – research and
writing. Of course, I was doing a lot of that anyway, being retired and all. It
is getting to the point that I have to push myself a bit. I’d rather be sitting
on the patio some days, but winter has not yet given up its grip on us yet. The
days are getting longer, though, so there is hope.
Diet
Tips for Daily Living…
A
friend of mine, who is also a nutritionist recently sent me some tips on
keeping healthy while at home self-isolating. They, of course, also apply other
situations. I thought they were worth sharing.
TIP #1- Eat a
high vegetable and berry diet.
-
One of the easiest ways to boost your immune system and maintain it is to add a
variety of fruits and veggies to your day. Produce is full of fibre, vitamins,
minerals, and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are only attainable from
eating plants! They are what gives the plant its colour, taste, and smell! They
are the primary reason why plants are so nourishing! There are over 5000
phytonutrients, so eat a variety of fruits and veggies to get in a range of
them! They stimulate our immune system and help protect us from disease. In
truth, this is just a small part of what they do.
- Try adding
two different veggies to you daily dinner. i.e. roasted cauliflower and
Brussel sprouts
- Make a
smoothie each day to pack in plenty of nutrition. i.e. banana, avocado,
frozen berries, plain yogurt and water. Boost it with a TBSP of hemp
hearts or chia seeds.
TIP #2- Drink
plenty of water!
Without
enough water in our body, we cannot flush out toxins, our digestion struggles,
our muscles don’t move as easily, we feel stiff and sore. Water makes up our
lymph, which is a primary mover of our immune system. Lymph is what moves
viruses, bacteria and toxins out of our body for excretion. To make sure you’r
drinking enough, weigh yourself in pounds, divide that in half, and that number
is how many ounces of water you should be drinking each day.
*
Warm or hot water is wonderful for the body.
TIP #3- Keep
moving!
Motion
is lotion. The more we can move daily, the smoother our muscles will glide over
each other, reducing stiffness and pain. It improves overall circulation, AND
keeps that lymph moving! Movement also helps with reducing our stress levels,
calming the mind, and ridding the body of excess tension.
TIP #4- BREATHE!
I
know you’re thinking ‘but I breathe everyday, all day!” yes, you do, but slow,
deep belly breathing is what I’m referring to here. When slowing your
breath down below 10/minute (for a healthy adult), the body will feel
calmer, often within 5 minutes, or even 5 breaths. I quite like the box
breathing exercise, where you breathe in for a count of 4 Mississippi,
hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4: and repeat at least 5 times. I also
liked paced breathing, especially for when the holding part of boxed breath
feels restrictive. Here you only need remember to breathe in for 4, out
for 4.
This
stimulates your “rest and digest” nervous system, boosts the lymphatic system
function, calms the mind, calms digestion, and instills a feeling of peace.
Practice this in the morning and right before bed.
Stay
well, stay home and stay safe…
No comments:
Post a Comment