I came across this blog post, “athletic body diversity reference for artists” via the Facebook page of my friend, Bodhi Haraldsson, Register Massage Therapist and author of the blog, MTABC – Evidence-based massage therapy resources.
The blog post. “athletic body diversity reference for artists” is written by an artist but it shows all the different types of healthy fit bodies the Olympic athletes have.  It’s a great example of how we all have different genetics and this manifests in different body types. being fit doe snot mean we all look the same or have the same types of muscle development. A long distance runner and a football player may both be fit and strong, but their muscles will develop differently.  Check out the blog post and view the pictures for yourself! Photos  are from “The Athlete” by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein.

A sample photo is shown below. Click this link to see the blog post and all the other photos!

Photo from “The Athlete” by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein

Related posts:

• The Athlete by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein
• Athletic Body Diversity – Photo-shoot of various Olympic-level athletes by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein titled

• “The Athlete” – Understanding body type diversity

People ask me, “Sue where did you hear about all these great adventure travel locations?” One way is through my clients of course! Another way is from the Annual Adventure Travel Show that will be at The Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont this weekend (January 28 and 29).

Tickets are only $15 and the vent is well worth the price of admission. (Only $7 if you book online!)

Here is what you can expect (from their website):

• Interact and comparison shop with hundreds of destination travel experts and tour operators representing thousands of vacation options all under one roof.
• Take advantage of free scuba lessons from a certified diving instructor.  Wetsuits, masks, air tanks – even hairdryers – are provided. Visitors 10 and older can dive into the 4-feet-deep, 18,000- gallon scuba pool and even play with an underwater scooter and MP3 Players. Bring your swimsuit and you are ready to go!

• Wake up your senses at the Fiery Foods Stage! Experiencing a destination’s cuisine is a big part of every travel experience you have, so we’ve developed a stage that showcases unique flavors from around the world – with a twist (and a little heat)!

• Photo Clinic–Travel photographer and author Ralph Velasco will be
offering a Photo Clinic at the Calumet Photographic Booth 1006

Saturday, January 28 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Sunday, January 29 11:00am – 12:00pm

He’ll be discussing his best travel gear tips and recommendations for anyone interested in embarking on a trip that has photography at its core. Ralph will also be available for small group and one-on-one questions during this time. Bring your camera!

For more info on parking, directions and more click here.

Related articles

• Travel show promotes adventure (travelnews.britishairways.com)
• Travel and Adventure shows offer expert help, inspiration (gadling.com)
• How to get ready for your next dive adventure…. (aquasub.wordpress.com)
• How to Choose a Tour Operator for the Inca Trail (anamericangirlintransit.com)
• Why rent dive gear when you can travel light? (twofishdiversblog.wordpress.com)
• Adventurous? (notlostjustweird.com)

Two weeks ago we ventured to Maui for a week of fitness and photography. Then this weekend, we headed out to the cool crisp air of Palos Forest Preserves for some winter hiking in the new fallen snow. It’s surreal to go from green mountains and blue oceans to white snow and brown branches. Both are visually striking in their own way.  Enjoy the pics from both trips below. Hopefully viewing them will either relax you, inspire you to get outdoors yourself, or just give your mind a break from staring at words or numbers on the computer screen!

Ocean waves mimic deep breathing...or is it vice versa. Image by J. Porys.

Palm trees and vibrant colored flowers are Maui standards. This photo was taken in front of a church. Image by J. Porys.

Driving up towards Haleakala Crater is like driving off the Earth into the sky.

The Road up to Haleakala Crater, Maui. Image by Sue Shekut

Hiking into the Crater we were enchanted by the floating mist as it rolled over the hills, wrapping itself around bushes, rocks and two young men with a jambox playing “I Shot the Sheriff,” reggae style, that passed us earlier in our hike. They were hiking the whole 27-mile path from one side of the Crater to the other side of the National park on the Hana side of the island.

Side of Haleakala Crator interier. Image by Sue Shekut

Of all the beautiful places in Maui, this was one view I could not get enough of! At this point were getting a little altitude sickness so we did not venture beyond this 8000 mile high vista. The actual crater goes up to 10,000 feet above sea level. But even at this altitude, we were able to fill our eyes with great natural beauty to savor for months and years to come!

Haleakala Crater, Maui. Image by Sue Shekut

But Maui isn’t all mountains and fog!

I love these trees and all the green! Image by Sue Shekut

Asian gardens in Iao Valley, Maui. Image by Sue Shekut

And of course, what is a Hawaiian adventure without the underwater sea explorations!

An underwater adventure starts....with big mounds of coral! Image by J Porys.

Maui Immersed. Image by J Porys.

Tied of Maui pics? It’s time to see the raw visual delights of a Northern Winter in Palos Forest Preserves.

Bare trees in Winter in the Chicago area have their own beauty. A stark contrast from the ocean. Image by Sue Shekut

The air was cold but clear and fresh this weekend. The sunlight in Palos casts its own warm glow through the trees.

Palos sunset in Chicagoland. Image by Sue Shekut

If you are really quiet and listen, you may be able to coax a dear to come nearby…or hear the a squirrel chattering up a tree.

This old tree has a lot of stories to tell...Image by Sue Shekut

Palos Forest Preserves are hikeable and mountain-bikeable year round!

Related articles

• The Sparkler Guide to Hawaii: Maui, We Love You! (weddingbee.com)
• Missouri Woman Dies after Falling off Maui Waterfall (beyondhonolulu.com)
• Maui Adventures (bewitchingkitchen.com)

This last week, the web has been a  buzz about an article in new York Times Magazine about “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.” The article is well worth the read. In it, the author, William J. Broad, explores some of the recent news about serious injuries than can occur from doing yoga.

As a long-time yoga practitioner and as a person that has been injured doing yoga, I found this article welcome and extremely helpful. I admit, part of my own ego is stroked when I read others finally voicing the same “radical” opinion I’ve had for years, namely that yoga, like all exercises, is not 100% benign. Yoga can hurt you. When doing yoga, you really need to be mindful of your own body and not blindly following directions of your teacher or others.

I first tried yoga in grade school in grade school when my art teacher gave a series of extra curricular classes and told us she used yoga to help her stretch on breaks during long car rides.  Years later I turned back to yoga as an adult to help combat my muscular tension from sitting at a computer all day. It was amazing–I felt better, stronger and, since I was already flexible, doing yoga only increased my flexibility. Which was great…at first.

When I came to Chicago about 20 years ago, I was taking advanced Iyengar classes (BKS Iyengar is a yoga guru of sorts, teaching in India for years and with a  book out used by many Chicago yogis, Light on Yoga). Many of the classes I took where taught by Iyengar devotees, who tried to not only emulate Iyengar’s structural approach, but also his militant and almost fanatical demeanor. This teacher said that, according to Iyengar, “The pose is more important than the person.” I don’t know if Iyengar actually said that, but since this teacher did, I was not surprised when I soon got injured in his class. Along the way I met other experienced yoga students that told me to be careful and not overdo it as they had also experienced injuries doing yoga. Yoga, like all forms of exercise is not without some risk.

The Expert About Your Body is You

One of the biggest lessons I learned from my yoga teachers me was not so much how to do each pose perfectly. Instead, after experiencing a few injuries, I learned that I know my body better than any teacher, personal trainer or guru. And if something hurts, no matter what the teacher says, I won’t do it. In fact, I am rather picky about which yoga teachers I will take classes with. I let them know at the start of class that I do not want them to touch me or “adjust me,” a common practice in yoga classes I have taken. Adjustments are meant to be settle touches to a limb or your back to show you how to get in better posture and alignment. But many teachers I’ve taken classes with tend to push too much or too aggressively. It becomes an ego thing. “How far can I push my students?” And for students it can become, “how flexible can I be” or “I must work very hard even if it hurts just to be a good student and do it “right.” It’s yoga, not Mathelethes!

Know Your Experience Level and Don’t Over Do It

Yoga is supposed to be relaxing and allow you to really focus on your body, your breathe and connect with your body, not contort or injure your body (although injury does make you connect with your body pretty quickly!). When I do yoga now or recommend yoga to my clients, I show basic standing poses, some side bends and simple forward bends. AND to make sure they have a doctors clearance to do even those poses. I don’t advocate shoulder stand or headstands or even back bends for beginners. For some, these posts may be OK. But they are fairly advanced and, as the New York Times article shows, these poses can cause SERIOUS damage and injury, not just to your spine but to your brain. Who wants a stoke?

Yoga is Not a Rapid Fix–It’s Meant to be a Lifelong Practice

Another problem with yoga is the Western approach to it. We want to get rapid results, so we use maximal effort, as though yoga is a hammer and our body is the nail. Fitness isn’t about cramming in maximal effort into a short period of time to check that exercise off out list of goals. Fitness is an overall body balance of cardio, strength and flexibility. We can improve our cardiovascular fitness, we can improve our strength, we can improve our flexibility. But we can’t get the body we want by trying really hard. Our natural frames and muscles are made the way they are made. A man’s hips will not open as much as a woman’s because he is not made to birth babies. When men say they are not flexible, I say of course not! Stretching and yoga can help improve your flexibility, but you don’t need to be able to turn your body into a pretzel. Yoga can help increase flexibility but not beyond what is natural for your body type, frame and gender. It’s about improvement and feeling better, not about getting a gold star for most flexible!

Yoga is Meditative, A Way to Calm and Focus Your Mind

If you practice yoga, approach it as a time to relax and unwind. Treat each class as thigh you have never done yoga before (beginner’s mind). Really watch your teacher and tell him or her if you are not comfortable doing a particular pose. Modifications may be suggested or you may need to sit that pose out. That’s perfectly OK! Enjoy the rest between poses and be happy you are spending a few minutes away from your phone, email and workplace!

Practice yoga gently, not while hyped up on caffeine and adrenaline. A yoga session is meant to CALM your nervous system–it’s not Grand Theft Auto on Xbox. Some of my clients and many people I’ve spoken to don’t like yoga precisely for this reason–they can’t relax enough to benefit from gentle yoga because it makes them nervous to be that calm and focus on their breath and bodies. They need constant stimulation and the idea of “just laying around” or breathing actually stresses them out. But a really good yoga class, in my experience, is both gentle on your body (not easy or lame–yoga is a workout!) and so mentally active that you don’t have time to be bored. By mentally active I mean that during a good yoga class, teachers I’ve had are constantly calling your attention to an area of your body and having you focus on that. For example, in downward dog, a teacher may tell you to really open your fingers wide, put your pressure on the palm or heel of your hand, move your shoulders away from your head, attempt to pull your ankles away from your body towards the wall (not trying to put your heels on the floor though). Along with other directions. To avoid boredom and get a good yoga practice in, focus on these instructions, try to follow them and pay attention to your body. How does each movement feel? Are you breathing or holding your breath? All these details serve to not only make your yoga practice more physically comfortable, and give your body a good workout, but they also serve to give your active mind something to focus on beyond the next task on your  do list.

Lastly, I don’t think that yoga is evil or that you should not do yoga. But when doing yoga, use your brain! Make sure the spots are comfortable for you–not easy, just not damaging your body!) Then, you can relax and enjoy the positive benefits of yoga…without causing damage to your body or your mind!

Related articles

• Yoga – At Home and Classes – a Balancing Act (joyofspa.com)
• Should You Give Up Yoga? Experts Respond to the New York Times’ “Yoga-Can-Wreck-You” Controversy (alternet.org)
• How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body (nytimes.com)

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions because I don’t think they work and often make people feel guilty about taking a stand without really having a concrete plan to back up lifestyle changes. Changing habits takes a lot more than just making a statement. it takes a lot of planning and effort. And often, support from a coach, a personal trainer or other wellness support staff. I am more into planning and goal setting (which is natural from my coaching background!). The first day of a new year is always a good time for reflection and planning for me.

2011 in review

This past year has been a great year for Working Well Massage. We’d added some new team members to our happy group of professional therapeutic massage therapists: Aaron, Jennifer and Allison. And we bid a fond farewell to Janice, one of our chair massage team members, on her way as she travels to India for four months. We added a new Assistant Manager, David McClinton, to our chair massage stations in the Fall of 2011. David has done a fantastic job of sprucing up our booths and keeping things running smoothing for both our massage therapists and our clients.

In 2011, our corporate chair massage team has continued to provide many stressed out and sore office workers with relaxing chair and table massages in their office. This arm of our business has continued to grow and we are both grateful for the business and happy that our many corporate office worker clients have management teams that are progressive enough to know that providing in-house massages to their staff can mean more productive, less tense employees. (Note: I don’t mention the names of our corporate clients to preserve their anonymity. We enjoy our relationship with our clients and don’t want to exploit those relationships for promotional purposes.)

In 2011, we tried out a new business venture with Whole Foods Market’s new Wellness Clubs in Lincoln Park.  Sadly, the idea of adding a table massage location to our already successful chair massage business in the store proved to be less desirable for clients than we had anticipated. Most of our chair massage clients appreciate the convenience and location of our chair massage stations. Few people wanted to venture upstairs to the Mezzanine level of the Lincoln Park Whole Foods Market to get a table massage so, rather than scatter our resources further, we quickly closed the table location and let the Wellness Club focus on the nutritional counseling and fitness needs of shoppers upstairs while we do what we do best, walk in chair massage, on the main floor.

On this blog, Working Well Resources, in 2011, I wrote 94 new posts, growing the total archive of my blog to 395 posts. I uploaded 194 pictures in 2011.. The tops posts accessed in 2011 were as follows:

• 1 Find the Top Tweeters on Nutrition
• 2 Learn Tai Chi on Wii Fit? Or from “Kung Fu Master,” David Carradine
• 3 NASA’s Top Ten Plants to Remove Formaldehyde, Benzene and Carbon Monoxide from Indoor Air
• 4 Legal issues for Massage and Chiropractic
• 5 Massage Yourself with the Miracle Ball Method

My most commented on post in 2011 was Helping Chicago Get and Stay Calm-Calm Chicago. My blog was viewed about 39,000 times in 2011.

The busiest day of the year was April 12th with 230 views. The most popular post that day was Find the Top Tweeters on Nutrition.

What’s Ahead for 2012?

In 2012, we at Working Well Massage plan on continuing to grow our corporate chair massage business, providing quality massage professionals with access to corporate office clients and providing office workers with much-needed (and much appreciated) stress relieving massage sessions. We are also looking to add some yoga classes and other fitness options to some of our corporate client sites.

In 2012, we are going to continue to improve our WWM chair massage stations inside both the Lincoln Park and Gold Coast Whole Foods Markets in Chicago, Illinois. We will be changing the carpeting, adding some new art and stretching posters and incorporating some of our new team members into the lineup at the two stores. I will personally be offering some new training and advising opportunities to my WWM team, to keep us all up to date on the latest research on massage therapy and best ways to help our chair massage clients enjoy our chair massages in the stores.

At Working Well Massage, we aim to not only give our clients the most relaxing and enjoyable chair massages and corporate massage experiences, but to help our highly skilled,  professional team of massage therapists connect with great clients!

As far as the blog goes, this year I plan on providing some new video content to give our readers visual tips on workstation ergonomics, relaxing videos of amazing nature scenes, and some helpful illustrations of how to use the Miracle balls as well as tennis balls and the yoga bolster to stretch muscles and relax your nervous system. I will also aim to provide new info on the latest massage and fitness research.

In 2012, I will personally continue to work towards my master’s degree in Clinical Professional Psychology, to give me more tools to help my clients relax and deal with stress and to help make me an even better coach for my current clients, massage therapy team and potential new coaching clients. I will also make the extreme sacrifice (wink) to continue hiking and taking photos of wonderful natural forest preserves and other nature spots to share with you in this blog!

Happy New Year to our team, our clients and of course, to all our loyal readers of our Working Well Resources blog!

Related articles

• Top Tweeters About Massage Therapy (workingwellresources.com)
• Happy Holidays From Working Well Massage and Working Well Resources! (workingwellresources.com)

Image by sibhusky2 via Flickr

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

At this time of year, many of our clients and Working Well Massage team members are celebrating holidays. Regardless of your faith or religious beliefs, most people feel extra stress during the holidays. There are more people on the road driving to stores and to holiday events. There is more time spent traveling in general. More time spent eating more and exercising less. Many of us spend time with friends and family. Others feel the grief of previously lost loved ones more intensely this time of year. And for families with loved ones that are physically ill or psychologically troubles, the holidays can bring extra stress.

For these reasons, I offer you a few pointers on getting through the holidays with the least amount of trouble possible:

1. Make sure you plan extra time for travel. I know this sounds cliché and obvious, but many of us try to pack so much into each day and the holidays are no exception. My solution, do less. Slow down. Enjoy the time you spend on the road or in a plane, bus or train. Bring a good book or magazines to read. Play word games with family members and small children. Crossword puzzles, sudoku and the game of “hangman” help us keep our brains strong and our memories sharp while helping us enjoy, not merely pass the time, while we travel.

2. Feel free to sample the various snacks, and holiday treats but use a smorgasbord mentality. Try a little of everything, but don’t over do. And if you are sensitive to salt,  fats or sugar, make sure you bring your own snacks or treats to holiday events so you don’t feel left out or tempted when others eat foods that cause you health problems. I can’t eat refined sugars and I like to bring some fruit or Larabar treats to events so I have my own snack while others are chomping down on  baklava and chocolate turtles!

3. Be kind to yourself and others.  And enjoy the moments you have with loved ones.  And,

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Recently I found out that a fellow student in the graduate psychology program at Roosevelt University has a company, Personalized Relaxation, that provides personalized relaxation CD’s. As a fellow personal trainer and master’s level psychology student, Jason Klinowski, , founder of Personalized Relaxation,  knows stress–and relaxation techniques–to help you combat the damaging effects of stress. In addition to his normal training in the master’s program, Jason also completed an additional Stress Management certification program at Roosevelt.

Here is what Personalized Relaxation  CD’s offer (from his website):

Jason offer two types of relaxation CD’s, a standard and a personalized. The standard CD includes progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, autogenic training, sound meditation, mindfulness meditation, yogaform stretching, and imagery. All are proven forms of effective relaxation exercises and can be done anywhere.

Mini Personalized Relaxation Workshop in a client's private home

The personalized relaxation CD includes 5 personalized spot relaxations (© Johnathan Smith 2009), or ‘Stress Stoppers’ tailored for individual lifestyles. Stress Stoppers are quick simple exercises that utilize certain aspects of relaxation exercises for use in highly stressful and inconvenient situations. These exercises can be used quickly and suddenly to help stop the negative effects of stress before they start.

Personalized relaxation offers you the following options:

• A standard CD with 8 basic exercises that are great for all experience levels – (Order the download version and save on shipping costs!) The standard CD will help you to discover what forms of relaxation work best for you.

• A personalized CD with up to 120 minutes or 10 tracks of exercises based on experience and preference -
  (CD’s Available Upon Request.) Each personalized CD will have different and unique tracks and scenarios. New personalized CD’s can be made for increasing experience levels and different themes/scenarios. Jason also gives you an added bonus with  every personalized CD order– A free stress ball!
• Workshops tailored to fit the needs of your company or organization (church group, not-for-profit, spa party)
  

To learn more about Personalized Relaxation, click on the website here.  Or call Jason directly at  708-574-9298.

Note: Other than attending classes with Jason, I have no affiliation with Personalized Relaxation and receive no compensation for recommending his company. I am simply sharing the information in case any of my loyal readers is looking for stress management assistance beyond massage and exercise!

Related articles

• Exercises For Stress Management (stressrecoveryfitness.wordpress.com)
• Dealing with stress and its symptoms (cleanfit.wordpress.com)
• Do-Anywhere Anxiety Busters (everydayhealth.com)

I like to give my nephews gifts that are not only fun but also educational. (Yes, I am THAT Aunt.) But educational toys don’t have to be lame.  Some toys can not only be exciting, but they can open a new world to a child that he or she might not even have know about. Depending on a child’s interests, Fat Brain Toys can teach children about chemistry, electronics, history, geography, Erector sets, how to build your own catapult for Medieval lore lovers, solar power and how to use their imagination.

According to their website, “Fat Brain Toys® is a retailer and developer of unique specialty toys, games, and gifts. They stock over 6,000 high-quality products, most shipped the same day, including: Erector Sets, Melissa & Doug, Science Projects, Games, Puzzles.”

The website is super helpful for those looking to find the perfect gift for a child (or for an adult. A lot of the toys  appeal to adults as well). I also like that I can search toys by intended age groups.

Here are some of the toys I found intriguing:

Solar Deluxe Educational Kit

Solar Deluxe Educational Kit for about $20.00

• Everything needed to see solar power in action!
• Increase awareness of solar energy & energy-conversion
• A wonderful introduction to the basic concepts of electricity
• Several different avenues for exploring how solar energy works
• Understand voltage, amperage, circuits in series and parallel
• Includes a fan, light bulb, solar panel, sound box with connecting wires
• Well made and well configured; Easy to assemble
• Ideal for a science fair project, classroom demonstrations, or home use
• Comprehensive instructions
• Durable solar energy kit

The Ultimate Spa and Perfume kit

The Ultimate Spa and Perfume kit for about $27-30. Using natural ingredients, kids create bath oils, oatmeal soap, foaming baths, bath balms, and more. Kids can learn about aromatherapy as they blend five different kids of perfume. For use by up to 8 kids–fun for parties and sleep overs!

Spa Science

Spa Science for about $18.00. Make colorful, fragrant bath gels, bath fizzers, spa lotion, bath balm, a face mask, and shampoo. Mix colors and fragrances to create your own product line with secret and exclusive mixtures. Explore the science of gels, fragrance, and fizzers.

Physics Workshop

Physics Workshop, for about $50.00. This toy is the recipient of the Parent’s Choice Silver Award in 2006.  Like chemistry, physics is an essential science for everyone to study, and Physics Workshop is the essential introduction to physics. The kit allows kids to build 36 models and 37 experiments (with 305 building pieces) to learn the principles of physics.

Why does a brick feel heavier than a pencil? At what angle should you throw a ball into the air to get the greatest distance? How is a screw like a ramp? Why can you balance more easily on a bicycle when you are moving than when you are stopped? How does a car transfer power from the engine to the wheels? What is power anyway? Gravity, force, simple machines, acceleration, momentum, work, and power are all demonstrated right in front of you–a hands-on approach that is fun and effective.

Snap Circuits

Snap Circuits 300-in-1 for about $56.00 is a Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products Winner

The kit allows a child to engineer over 300 exciting, useful electronic gadgets & play lively electronic games with Electronic Snap Circuits. This kit includes colorful and easy-to-follow format of the instruction manual makes circuit assembly stress-free and fun. All parts are mounted on plastic modules and snap together with ease. 

Here are just a few projects your kids can make with the 300-in-1 kit: Lamp & Fan, Musical Doorbell, Laser Gun, Police Car Symphony, Reflection Detector, Spinning Rings, Pencil Alarm, Race Game, Photosensitive Electronic Organ, Space War Music Combo, The Lie Detector, Mosquito, Musical Motion Detector, Fire Fan Symphony, Water Detector, Screaming Fan, Daylight Music Radio, Blow off a Space War, Red & Green Control, Touch Buzzer, Laser Light, Flooding Alarm, Make Your Own Battery, Hissing Foghorn, Blow On a Candle, Mosquito, Voice-Controlled Rays of Light, Spacey Fan, Old-Style Typewriter, Blinking Double Flashlight, Hummer, Motor That Won’t Start, Steamship, Pressure Alarm, Feedback Kazoo, Race Car Engine

Check out the FatBrainToys website for ideas for your children, nieces, nephews, grandkids or that adult in your life that still has a passion for learning and the wonder of a child inside!

Toy Categories
Stocking Stuffers
Active Play
Arts & Crafts
Baby Toys
Bath Toys
Books
Brainteasers
Building & Construction
Classic & Retro Toys
Dolls & Dollhouses
Early Learning Toys
Games
Gear & Apparel
Gift Certificates
History & Geography
Imaginative Play
Kids Furniture
Kites, Planes & Rockets
Magnets & Magnetism
Music
Office & Desk Toys
Organic & Green Toys
Outdoor Toys
Playroom Furnishings
Plush
Puzzles
RC & Electronics
Room Decor
Science & Nature
Trains & Vehicles
Travel Toys
Wooden Toys

Related articles

• Fat Brain Toys Launches Holiday Toy Catalog on Google Catalogs (prweb.com)
• 31 Specialty Toys Recognized by Unique Toy Awards Program (prweb.com)
• ‘Terrible 2′ Toy Guide – Toddler gifts that will stop the tantrums (theinsider.retailmenot.com)
• Toy Industry Association Unveils Top Holiday Toys (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Want great Christmas & Hanukkah Gift ideas for kids? (momwhoknows.wordpress.com)
• The Best Gifts For Kids (familymatterswithamber.com)

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who works in the addictions field. She told me about a book to help people stop smoking. In my view, smoking is one of the hardest addictions to quit. I quit smoking cigarettes about 20 years ago and I know how important positive thinking and a good support-network can be to help quit! This new book, “I Don’t Smoke” looks like an excellent tool for those either looking to quit smoking cigarettes or for those with loved ones they want to help quit smoking. What I like about the approach is that it centers on the addiction, not the substance. Our brains pleasure centers get addicted and it’s the pleasure centers in our brains that we need to work with to stop the addiction. Hammering home the future potential hazards of smoking (lung cancer, emphysema, heart attack), don’t help smokers quit. A fear based approach makes smokers want to avoid the informer…and go have a cigarette to deal with the anxiety of hearing about potential future health issues.

Some of the main points covered in the book (from the author’s website):

• The importance of self worth
• Addiction theory and brain function
• A method to change that function
• The importance of our emotions in recovering from addictions
• Receiving help and helping others remain free from an addiction to nicotine.

To order the book (for the 2011 price of a pack of cigarettes, about $11), click here.

Who is the Author of I Don’t Smoke and Why Should We Listen to Him?

Joseph R. Cruse, M.D, wrote the book I Don’t Smoke.

Joseph R. Cruse, M.D.

Dr. Cruse is an oncologist-surgeon, an addiction medicine specialist, author, and lecturer. He is the Founding Medical Director of The Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower Medical Center. He served as President of the Medical Staff at Eisenhower. He served 8 yrs. on the Governor’s state alcoholism advisory board for the State of California and 12 years on the California Medical Association’s Impaired Physicians Help Committee. He was Medical Director of Onsite Workshops for 12 years. He has served as consultant to industry, school systems, hospitals, and universities.

He has been a guest on “60 Minutes”, “Good Morning America” and the “Late Night Show”. He has been featured in magazines in the U.S- and Australia.

Joe has written books and several booklets and teaching videos:

Books Published

“I Don’t Smoke!” 2008*
Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul, contributor 2004
The Pharmer’s Almanac II, co author, 1993
Understanding Co-Dependency, co author, 1993
Painful Affairs: Loving Drugs and Alcohol, 1992
Experiential Therapy for Co-Dependency, co-author 1990

Related articles

• When You Slip Up While Quitting Smoking (everydayhealth.com)

Fresh fruit

After eating a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving meal, I was inspired to look for some new healthy eating tips. I came across one that I think we should all check out: Healthy Dining. It is an all-volunteer community education and outreach program in Chicago devoted to providing simple, healthy lifestyle options for Chicago diners. By subscribing to the newsletter (free), you have access to “a steady diet of bite-size, easy-to-digest morsels of practical information, valuable resources, easy recipes, time and money-saving ideas, conservation tips and special subscriber-only invitations and offers that support good clean living.”

Who Started Healthy Dining in Chicago?

Laura Bruzas

In 2003, Laura Bruzas founded Healthy Dining to help teach Chicagoans that good nutrition and an eco-friendly lifestyle can aid in to disease prevention and management. Bruzas’ holds a degree in Marketing, has 15 years in HR/Recruiting and spent five years working with Whole Foods Market. When Laura was in college, a friend gave her a copy of Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and she has been on that path ever since.  Laura is also the author of Eat Well for Less, a collection of 50 simple tips and fast recipes to save time and cut your natural food bill in half.

For ten years, Laura has been an adult education instructor at the Latin School. She received a grant for developing and delivering a series of community wellness workshops, has taught healthy cooking classes at Whole Foods Market, Gildas Club of Chicago and the Discovery Center, presented a motivational lecture series on wellness and personal effectiveness for Chicago Public Library patrons and has spoken to audiences at the Chicago Women in Publishing Conference, Chicago Green Drinks, and FamilyFarmed.org EXPO.  Prior to publishing Healthy Dining Chicago, she was the editor of Living Well from 1998 to 2002.

60 Second Desserts and a variety of Four-Course Dinners in Under an Hour.

Laura has a full list of Q&A’s about healthy dining. Check out the questions and answers here.

Bruzas also teaches classes at the Moraine Valley Environmental Institute, as well as hosting corporate Lunch & Learns on the topic of Healthy Dining on a Dime and offering home parties with menu options that include 60 Second Desserts and a variety of Four-Course Dinners in Under an Hour.

For More Information or to Schedule a Lunch & Learn or Home Party
Please contact Laura at 312.666.9979 or via e-mail Laura@HealthyDining.org.

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