If you want to have more energy and vitality, keep reading. This article could change your life for the better and help you to reach your health and fitness goals.
Just a short note to tell everyone that I wrote a short article on HubPages today about coping with the
Solitude in nature often lowers stress levels.
emotional and psychological stresses of keeping up with the current events happening all around us.
This article is about coping when the news is reporting crisis and disaster.
In the article are tips for keeping up with what is going on without increasing your levels of stress and fear.
Here is where you can find it: How to Process Troubling News Events
I am pretty sure the data trackers will agree that the snowfall day before yesterday holds the 2016 / 2017 record for consecutive hours of snowfall and total inches accumulated this winter. My good neighbor, Brandon— whom as many of you know, protected our area by putting out fires and going on the ambulance runs for many years—measured the snow in front of his garage door, and came up with 8 inches.
I measured by jabbing my snow shovel blade straight down in several areas of my driveway, and came up with the scientific depth of “It’s a little deeper than my shovel blade is tall”. I don’t want to sound as though I’m trying to out-do Brandon, but I figure that the snow must have sort of flew up and over his garage, or diverted side to side. My snow shovel blade is about 11 and three quarters inches tall.
So my best guesstimate is that we got a foot of snow, and thank the Lord, not all of it stuck!
My sister lives over on Road 20, and she never gets as much snow as we do over here in Lakeview. Still, she got piled on pretty good.
Yesterday morning I started shoveling around 9:30 a.m. I could see people all over the neighborhood doing the same, and Wally got out his backhoe and cleared Clyde and Noreen’s driveway for them. I thought that was really nice of him to do.
And talk about a great workout! Some of you saw my post that I started an exercise group with the goal of starting easy and slowly getting back into shape with gentle workouts. Apparently God or Mother Nature had a different plan, because I was snowed in and the only way out was to start digging! I have a fairly large driveway area, and had to shovel myself out from the doorway to the street, which is about 40 or 50 feet. The area is like a triangle with the top cut off, and the width ranges from `15 feet by the house door, to about another 40 feet wide at the street.
I worked in 20 to 40 minute increments, with rest and water breaks when my muscles would get that noodle feeling. It took me until just after 3:00 p.m., but finally I got it all shoveled, except for the icy berm of slush from a previous snowplowing. And speaking of snowplows…
Thank you so much for plowing my street yesterday morning while the snow was fresh and not compacted. Being able to shovel the snow while it is fresh is so much easier on my body than trying to shovel the slush berms, because they often freeze into a huge ridge of ice and then shoveling is all but impossible.
Photo Credit Above: By Sgt. Karla Elliott [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Today is the first class. So far it is just me, Cathy, and Irati. We are planning to do this every
By Earl McGehee (own work) {CCBY-SA 3.0(http://creativecommons.org / licenses / by-sa/3.01 }, Via Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, so if you live in and around Soap Lake or Ephrata and want to join up, let me know via the comments section. Right now, we are doing it at my house, and space is limited. If there is a lot of interest, we can move outdoors in a few weeks.
Even if you enjoy working out and getting exercise, joining a class or group workout can help add structure and commitment to your routine. When life gets busy, often the first thing we cut back on is going to the club, or making time for exercise in general. When you have joined a group or class, you know people are counting on you to be there and and be a part of the support system.
The focus of our particular group is centered on individual capabilities and fitness goals.For example, one person might want to focus on balance and core strength, while another focuses on aerobic improvement, or flexibility.
By selecting fitness workouts that are easily modified to suit each person, we think we will experience the greatest benefit.
Increasing strength, flexibility, and aerobic stamina even just a little can reap great health rewards, such as the reduction in daily stress levels. Being able to move freely to do daily activities such as bringing in the groceries and chasing after the kids, and even just getting in and out of the car brightens your outlook on everything. Being able to move around with a feeling of muscle control, strength, balance, and increased energy levels helps you to get things accomplished in a timely manner, which also reduces stress.
Why not live well and in wellness today. Breathe deeply, get some fresh air and sunshine, eat some healthy food, and enjoy life more than ever before.