Greetings from LIFESTYLE CHOICES!
Goals and Contemplations
Last autumn a friend of mine invited my husband and me to travel with him and his wife this spring back to his homeland,Vietnam. We try to take one good trip every year and it was my time to choose the destination. My husband gamely went along with the idea although he was not his typical exuberant, adventurous self. I hit upon the idea of incorporating some travel to Thailand while we were in that part of the world and vacationing for maybe a week at one of the islands there in hopes this might entice him with our trip. My husband is a REAL WATER LOVER. I mean he’s sailed for years, has taken numerous vacations in the Caribbean, and even has to get in the hot tub every day we’re at our house in San Leon. When he discovered the islands we were considering were at the same latitude as most of his beloved Caribbean islands, he perked up BIG time! Just a couple of months prior to our vacation, some friends of ours told us we should also consider Siem Reap in Cambodia so we added that country to our itinerary as well.
Talk about an adventure from start to finish with emotions running the gamut: my first communist country, the Vietnam War Memorial Museum ( I literally sobbed), so many people with birth defects and extreme poverty, the Mekong River and Delta, my friend’s village where he grew up and finished high school, the tropical, lush countryside, many warm, loving people, interesting, different cuisines (Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer), golden Buddhas and temples, sky trains, tuk tuks, wonderful markets, Thai massages, beautiful Thai sunsets, etc. Oh and the thousands of “red shirts” in Bangkok who were and are in the midst of a political turmoil, etc. I’m telling you, it was exciting!
In January I wrote about setting goals and said I was a work in progress; at the end of the year I would be a better person. As I’ve been back, I have contemplated all of these sad, wonderful, glorious, experiences and I can say our trip was indeed a life-altering experience and I am and will be a better person because of it.
I’m glad to be home.
John Kirk… 6 Heart Attacks Later!
John is a 57 year old male with reversed congestive heart failure and reversed diabetes type 2. John has had 6 heart attacks, five angioplasties, and a double CABG bypass. John’s cardiologist introduced him to HeartMath® and John learned how to use HeartMath’s Freeze Frame® technique to stop any stressful emotions that would otherwise exacerbate his physical challenges. He uses the emWave PSR frequently and says that this has played a great part in his ability to change his unhealthy habits and keep him focused. John says he never would have believed the effects possible had he not tried it. John is now free of his air tank most of the time. He has also lost over 70 pounds and continues to lose. He now walks 2 miles a day on his treadmill, and he does 4 miles a day on a recumbent bike, 100 sit-ups, 60 squats, and 50 calf extensions. John is a walking miracle.
You can catch his story @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh6RCWQ52vA
To learn more about HeartMath and emWave products, call me @ Lifestyle Choices, 713.443.9400 or email me @ lifestyle_choices@yahoo.com
Jamie’s Food Revolution
I hardly ever watch television so how am I to know who Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef is? Maybe because he won the 2010 TED Prize! This is due to his “food revolution” project where he’s trying to change the way we feed our children. That speaks directly to my heart! He addresses obesity and diet-related diseases which occur due to poor nutrition in the home and at school and he’s actively recruiting people to help his cause. Go to www.jamieoliver.com to see how he’s accomplishing this huge endeavor.
You can see him talk enthusiastically about this @ http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/765
So What is TED and the TED Prize?
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three industries and today it also includes science, business, the arts and current world global issues. TED is a small non-profit devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” They believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately the world. On their web site, it states they are “building a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers.”
The heart of TED is their annual spring conference in which over 4 days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and then the organizers intersperse the conference with music, performance, and comedy. The prize is “designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources and is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and ‘One Wish to Change the World.’ “
Jamie Oliver’s wish: “I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”
How Healthy is Your County?
On Feb 17, the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released their first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all 50 states. These findings help public health and community leaders, policy-makers, consumers and others to see how healthy their county is, how their county compares to others and find ways to improve the health of their community. Each county is ranked within the state on the following factors:
Longevity
Smoking
Obesity
Binge drinking
Access to primary care providers
Rates of high school graduation
Rates of violent crime
Air pollution levels
Liquor store density
Unemployment rates
Number of children living in poverty
This is the first time researchers have studied the multiple health factors in each county in all 50 states. Look up your county’s rankings @ www.countyhealthrankings.org