In a surprising turn, at least for me, there have been reports that kids in the UK are actually more obese than kids here in the US.  This is surprising because it has been the US that has been in the spotlight for so long with increasing childhood obesity, and of course the skyrocketing cases of adult obesity as well. This is all in the wake of numerous government and privately sponsored programs that are meant to decrease the incidence of childhood obesity and increase their exercise and dieting awareness.

Gym classes in elementary schools are even being revamped to include more actual activity time for the kids, so that they get their exercise in every day at school, rather than sit like lumps on logs all day. If you ask me, this one is long overdue. I remember sitting in class all day and not being able to focus just because I had SO much energy to burn off as a kid and sitting their all day made me nervous and anxious, not to mention tired!

Kids need to run around, and with the advent of video games, I think we really started to see a drastic decrease in kids physical activity and a subsequent increase in obesity. Kids need to move around – period. Not only for their physical health, but also for their mental health.  We need to have kids on structure fitness programs when they are in school, as this should be part of the learning process and helping them to develop good habits, and how to actually enjoy physical fitness. If you ask me, it’s more important than half the classes they have kids taking now!

If we start with kids when they’re young teaching them things that they will love to do that gets them plenty of cardio exercise and getting their heart rate up, chances are that the rest of the healthy lifestyle like eating well and being mindful of other things will follow. If we make this part of their school regimen, then we are not just strictly putting it in the hands of parents who may or may not know how to teach their children the healthiest habits they can be teaching them.

This is the job of the schools, not just to teach the kids about math, but also to teach them how to live longer, happier and healthier lives. In the end, it would benefit kids in the UK and here in the US, and they would pass these same habits on to their kids, and so on and so forth.

When my husband and I got home, we were both wiped out from work, but I forced us to do a half hour workout, and lo and behold we both felt a hundred times better. Just from doing that efficient yet intense workout, our mood, our energy level, and our complexions looked and felt a hundred times better.

There are several reasons that exercise is excellent for your complexion. First of all, your skin is the largest organ on your body, covering every square inch of your body.  It needs to be revived and get a lot of oxygen, which helps it to repair any damage that has been done to it.  Working out boosts your feel good hormones, and lessens skin-ruining hormones and accelerate the aging process and even lend to skin problems like acne that are circulating in the body because of it’s therapeutic benefits.

Exercise really helps your skin get that revived, fresh, dewy look, and it also helps with the underlying color and tone of the skin as well. Plus, when you exercise, you are burning calories which helps with any sagging, extra facial or chine skin, so your face looks youthful, more “lifted” because this excess fat doesn’t have many places to store itself on your face or your neck.

They are looking to treat martial arts and yoga as something like what it is, which is a self improvement measure. It’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t require a degree. Some people have been doing these trades their whole lives, and their experience and passion alone make up for any lack of a silly license of formal education in the matter.

I’ve been to good and bad instructors in the past, and let me tell you, either you have the God given talent to passionately teach people how to empower themselves through physical activity modalities, or you don’t. Some people just have that gift to teach others their passion and talent for some sort of practice. Martial arts has been around forever, and people take these sorts of classes for everything from self defense to physical exercise and learning how to empower themselves and feel strong.

Many times, yoga and martial arts can have the same effects of building one’s self esteem, and both are really seen as both a form of exercise, and a means for self improvement and learning self discipline and self respect. For whatever reason, being able to command our bodies in these ways is extremely fulfilling, and both of these practices really should be as openly available to everyone as they possibly can be.

The bill to take the restrictions away and allow for health freedom is being sent for passing this week and no one is expecting anyone to object to it, which is great news for those in the health and self improvement industry, setting the bar for further freedoms when it comes to your personal choices and health decisions.

I’ve already noticed since we’ve had somewhat of an indian summer here in Northeaster Ohio lately, that I feel bouncier, more alive, more happy – just naturally. What is it about warm weather – and more importantly sunshine – that does that to people? I’m not really sure!  What I do know is that I feel like I could run a marathon, and running is what I do. I like to go on a few side roads by our house and jog.

I love to breathe in the fresh air, look at what people are doing with their yards and their gardens, to hear the bees buzzing, the birds singing, and the general orchestra of life around me as I indulge in a little “me time” for myself and my body. You just feel so at one with nature I suppose, and that is so opposite of what you feel like in the winter, when you are at odds with old man winter, fighting tooth and nail to stay warm.

Not to mention the fact that good, healthy food becomes more sparse in the winter, and it’s hard to find a good fresh fruit of veggie that doesn’t taste grainy and tasteless. Let’s face it. Winter is good for one thing, the holiday season and the snow covered landscapes. Other than that, it pretty much stinks!

I personally try to get one at least once a month, and I actually belong to a membership where I get one once a month for a fixed cost, and I love it In general, I get excellent massages and excellent service from this place of business, and have nothing but nice things to say about the establishment.

Of course, they can’t help all the massage therapists that you get, and of course, you may happen to get one once that just isn’t your style or generally does a really crappy job at manipulating your muscles and at relaxing you, which is the whole point of it. Their style may fit someone else’s taste, but it may not be for you at all. I had one such massage the other day. I booked double appointments, one for me and one for my sister, who was in from out of town.

Since I was booking them fairly last minute, and booking for two people, I wasn’t able to get any of the girls that I normally use. I actually, for the first time there, was assigned to a male therapist. Now, nothing against guys, I’m sure there are tons of very talented male massage therapists out there, but this massage experience was not good. First of all, he started the massage late, and also let me out early, ripping me off of about ten total minutes, which I wasn’t happy about since I like to enjoy every last second of my experience.

Second, he used way too much lubricant to massage. I’ve never had someone pause so much to re-oil or cream their hands. This made it so there wasn’t enough grip, and it ended up being more like one of those generic swedish massages where you don’t even feel like you’re getting any therapeutic benefit from it because it doesn’t cause any sort of releasing of pressure, which can border on pain and pleasure, it’s just a constant, boring, light massage.

I was glad that my sister got a therapist that worked for her, but I had to admit, a little peeved that mine was a total waste of time. For once I actually tipped the minimum, and I’m usually a really generous tipper, I just felt like he didn’t really try and he also cut my experience short, so I felt that deserved less “recognition” in the form of a gratuity.

Oh, and the best part of course since my little sister and I were waterbugs, was the awesome outdoor pool and lounge area. Man, we used to go there all the time and just swim for hours and come home with golden brown skin. It was great. Then, when I was about eight, my mom, dad, sister and I were taking a walk there, and I was coming up a hill. I remember there was a lot of Queen Anne’s Lace growing at the time, and who knows, that may have even been what set off my attack.

I remember becoming extremely out of breath, and wheezing for the first time from the exertion of physical activity. It was actually quite distressing. I think that my mom thought I might have been faking it a bit, she said I was always a bit of a “Camille” when I was sick when I was younger, but I really was distressed and having a hard time breathing. I was taken to the doctors office and diagnosed promptly with asthma.

I was given a prescription inhaler, and at the time, I was also given some sort of oral medication, which I cannot remember the name of. I was told to stay away from certain triggers, but I was also told to keep on exercising, which I am grateful for. In fact, even today as an adult, I notice that my asthma only gets aggravated most during periods of sendentary lifestyle changes for me.

When I’m exercising and healthy, that’s when my asthma is kept at bay. So, it may seem like a bit of a dichotomy, but exercising can actually set off an asthma attack, but if you never exercise, this is even more likely to happen. In short, exercising is GOOD for asthma in the long term, and you will find you are actually more resistant to asthma when you are active.