Salt Your Watermelon!

A mouthwatering hydration suggestion during this Extreme Heat 

Salt your watermelon!

Can I just say YUM!!

My mother prompted me to try this. Truly I thought she ruined a perfectly good slice of watermelon ~ that is until I bit into heaven! Talk about an explosion of flavors. 

Adding salt took the sweet, sour and bitter usual, and morphed it into monumental sweetness. (Apparently salt knocks down any bitterness.) 

This has become a staple in my house. With today’s dangerously high heat index, I cannot think of a more yummy way to stay hydrated. 

In case you need more reasons to try this tasty treat:

1 cup of watermelon offers many nutrients, including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Potassium, Magnesium, Vitamin B1, B5, and B6  

Even though watermelon has a high water content, fluids need the presence of sodium to cause water to be absorbed into the cells of the body. Natural salts - Celtic Sea Salt and Himalayan Salt - are loaded with mineral nutrition that the body needs. (Stay away from iodized or bleached processed salt.) (Of course, keep your personal health requirements in mind. If you have high blood pressure, this may not be the treat for you.) 

Salted watermelon is actually a great post-workout snack. 

Kids may fight you when it comes to drinking water to stay hydrated... But they won’t when it comes to eating salted watermelon! 

(Ok... maybe they’ll still fight... but this time it will be for another piece!)

Dr.'s Writing Prescriptions for Art!

"We've been fostering a culture that's popping pills and Prozac, when what we should be doing is more prevention and perspiration." - British Health Secretary, Matt Hancock

I could not agree more!! Creativity, Art, Music, Dance, Singing... and form of authentic expression is essential for health and well-being. Mental, emotional AND physical. (Physical, because given that stress is the #1 modern killer, we need to be proactive. If we wait until we have pain, it's too late. Any method you have that reduces stress, is a step towards positivity.)

How perfect is this!! -> British Doctors May Soon Prescribe Art, Music, Dance, Singing Lessons

Lift Heavy Boxes with Your Brain

Before setting out to lift a heavy box, a piece of equipment, etc., lift it with your brain. Size it up and ask yourself if lifting this object by yourself is worth an aching back. 

If you decide you can manage a heavy object by yourself, follow these back saving guidelines:

1.  Stand as close to the object as possible. 

2.  Bend your knees (don't bend your waist). 

3.  Concentrate on lifting with your thigh muscles (not your back muscles). If your thigh muscles aren't up to the job, get someone to help you lift the thing. 

4.  While you're lifting, keep the object as close to your body as possible. 

5.  Don't twist your waist while you're carrying the object; if you must turn, turn with your feet. 

Remember that pushing a heavy object is easier on your back than pulling.

Q: How's the Water?

A: Wet.

Q: How do you make Holy water?

A: You boil the Hell out of it.

Q: What did the ocean say to the other ocean?

A: Nothing, they just waved.

Q: What do you call an old Snowman?

A: Water.

They say that the body is made up of 90% water. 

So... I'm not fat. I'm just Water Logged!

Okay... I'm officially tapped out of water jokes. 😉 Time for a little seriousness. Proper hydration is no joke.

Drink Water to Improve: 

Joint Lubrication

The maintenance of Body Temperature

How cells manage Energy 

Mental function: clarity, concentration, depression, temper

Migraines

More info. can be found here ~  To Help Stay Mentally Sharp, Don't Forget Water & Why We Need To Drink Plenty Of Water

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Located in the same place things are temporarily forgotten and almost remembered.

What is this?

The tip of your tongue! Awesome microscopic image of taste buds.

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Cool Facts

Our tongue allows us to taste, eat, swallow, spit, talk, sing, and even kiss.

Taste buds test food - we can tell if the apple might be bad or rotting, as opposed to nutrient rich and yummy.

When you gain weight, so does your tongue. A larger tongue, lends a higher risk towards sleep apnea. The tongue is more likely to block air passages during sleep. 

The tongue is the only muscle that works without any skeletal support - much like an elephant trunk, or octopus tentacle. 

Chameleons, frogs, and anteaters, catch insects with their tongues. 

Cats have backward facing barbs on their tongues, which helps to hold their prey, and clean their fur. 

The Blue Whale’s tongue weighs about 5,400 pounds - thats about the size of an elephant. 

(More - http://www.amazingfacts4u.com/tongue/)

The Importance of Hydration

Our body is 60% water and our brain 80%

A few obvious indicators of dehydration: Constipation, dry skin, kidney infections, hangovers...

A few not so obvious: Tiredness and fatigued, lack of nutrients, a weak immune system, constant hunger, weight gain, joint pain...

Head over to Ten warning signs you're not drinking enough water for more.

Our Body Stores Memories

“The marriage of body and mind happens through emotion. Emotional illness results when emotions don’t move and remain frozen within the body”  

~ Alexander Lowen, an American psychotherapist and father of Bioenergetics

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the science that investigates the mind/body/immune system connection. Our bodies remember - good, bad, or indifferent - experiences, and tag the significant with deep feeling. The body is the mind. (specifically the deeper mind)

Explained a bit more medically, neuropeptides are the electrochemical component physically encoded into molecules which exist on cell walls throughout our tissues. These messenger molecules, are biological carriers of emotionally charged memories and information, a.k.a. the “molecule of emotion.” Hence, memories live throughout our body, soft tissue, and immune system. 

The body follows what is in the heart and mind

Bodywork can trigger neuropeptide sites, bringing imprinted experiences into consciousness, thereby eliciting an emotional response.

A benefit of bodywork: it can quell trigger sensations while working with qualified professionals (social workers, therapists, mental health practitioners, etc.) on issues. This way it is possible to get closer to the root causes – instead of having physical sensations causing us to guard, avoid, or protect.

“People base actions on avoidance of pain rather than pursuit of pleasure.” - Anthony Robins

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Louise L. Hay has done extensive study on the Mind/Body Connection.
A few examples, as gathered from Heal Your Body A-Z by Louise L. Hay:

Pain Areas and Probable Causes: 

Neck  - Refusing to see other sides of the question. Stubbornness, inflexibility. 

Spine - Upper/Lack of emotional support. Feeling unloved. Holding back love.

             Lower/Fear of money. Lack of financial support. 

Other Connections:

Arthritis - Feeling unloved. Criticism. Resentment. 

Stiffness - Rigid, stiff thinking

Weakness - A need for mental rest

Click here to view the full Emotional Pain Chart 

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Check this out:

A Heart transplant recipient started to experience the memories and food cravings of her deceased heart donor.

A murderer is caught based on a heart transplant recipients precise recollections and dreams.

Read more here...

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Studies by researchers have found that rats pass memories down through genes. 

"Prof Marcus Pembrey, from University College London, said the findings were "highly relevant to phobias, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders" and provided "compelling evidence" that a form of memory could be passed between generations. He commented: "It is high time public health researchers took human transgenerational responses seriously."

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Interesting snippet from 'Why do we remember pain?'

"Medical professionals are finding that analgesics -- drugs that prevent pain in the nervous system -- given to patients before surgery prevent chronic formation of pain memory, which diminshes the development of chronic pain later on."

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People who are emotionally impacted often have rounded shoulders, forward bending neck, and a concave chest. Our posture gears towards protecting the emotional center – the heart. We feel vulnerable. Not as strong and confident. 

Yet if we sit and/or stand straight hold our head high – our brain follows. 

We can fake it, till we make it.

Try it:  Assume the Supergirl stance 

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It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 42 to frown. The mere act of smiling lifts our mood, we feel more energetic.

Try it:  Smile

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Words render a direct response in the body. 

(What are you exposing your Self to? What is your internal dialogue? Are you kind to YOU?) 

The body follows what is in the heart and mind.

Emotions trigger an on-going cascade of endorphins and/or stress hormones. Our emotional tone directly influences the sum of biochemical processes.  

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More to come....

Combat Addiction with Alternative Medicines

Chronic Pain. Ugh. 

Opioids. UGH!

“...as many as 1-in-4 people who receive prescription opioids long term for non-cancer pain subsequently struggle with addiction...”

“Over the counter acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, topical medications and injections are just some of the medications increasingly being used by patients to manage chronic pain without opiates, but the medical treatment that's perhaps shown the most promise in treating chronic pain is cannabis.”

A few quotes from “Taking a look at alternative treatments for chronic pain”

Options listed in the article: Acupuncture, Dry Needling, Chiropractic, Electrotherapy, Electroacupuncture, are all excellent... but to list massage under relaxation therapies, as almost a side note, made me chuckle - especially when thinking of my clients. (They may beg to differ - my treatments tend to be a functional, therapeutic workout for both of us. 😊)

Yes, the opioid epidemic seems far from over. Every one of us has a responsibility to our Self to search out Healthy Self-Care options. What works for one individual, may not for another. 

I would like to add to this list - aka urge you to look into Myofascial Release, and Sports Massage. (life is a sport!) So many ailments can be successfully treated with bodywork. This is not to skip over necessary management of pain. Working hand in hand - pun intended - with a qualified practitioner, while managing pain, could make all the difference. 

Our bodies hold memories from experiences - both physical and emotional. Pain rears its head in sometimes surprising and ‘unnoticed’ ways - then wreaks havoc. There is much information on this as well. (Psychoneuroimmunology - the mind/body/immune systems connection) (This is my current study - absolutely amazing. I’ve shared many links on my site www.humankneads.com)

Change your DNA

The Mind/Body/Immune System (a.k.a. Psychoneuroimmunology) connection is deep. Literally and figuratively!

What we subject our Self to, impacts us to core levels. I've listed many links on this topic on my massage website. (www.humankneads.com)

Self-care is essential. In 'Meditation and Yoga Change DNA' it states that "the behavior of human genes is impacted by different mind-body interventions including yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation. Mind-body interventions, commonly referred to with the acronym of MBI, do much more than relax people. They also reverse molecular reactions within DNA that spur the onset of depression and health maladies."

In today's world we seem to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight. Anything we can do to balance, reduce, or reverse the effects, is beneficial short term - and long term.

Yes, Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation... but also positive self-talk, time in nature, journaling, time with loved ones... and Massage. (Let's not leave out massage. 😉 )

Posture is key to proper flow - circulation, nerve functioning, muscles, etc. Our bodies react based on messages from our tissue. A smile releases feel good hormones... a frown, not so feel good... (try it)
If we are in a state of poor posture, blocked 'flow,' our mind/body/immune system follows. 

We have the ability to make healthy choices. There are many options to positively impact our Self. The important thing is to actually pick something that resonates, and not only continually inspires you, but prods you towards consistency. 

What actually happens to muscle when it’s massaged?

11 brave (a.k.a. crazy) men agreed to exercise to exhaustion, then allow biopsies of their quadriceps * muscles for analysis, just so we could find out. (Yikes!)

* Quadriceps - a.k.a. Vastus Lateralis - a.k.a. thigh muscles

The first biopsy was taken at rest. 

After exercising till exhaustion (an hour +) a 10 minute massage was provided for only one leg. A second biopsy was then taken on both quadriceps. 

The men then rested for a 2-1/2 hour period of recovery, at which point a third biopsy was taken - again from both legs.

As you probably know, when we exercise, small microscopic tears occur in muscle fibers. The repair of those tears is actually what forms thickness and growth. However, before that happens, those tiny micro tears cause inflammation, soreness and/or pain. It takes time for the healing process to happen. 

That said, based on this study, it takes less time when you incorporate Massage!

“Massage can suppress inflammation and enhance cell recovery”

Massage was found to reduce inflammation by reducing the production of pain-related pro-inflammatory cytokines.  The repair of cells was also assisted due to the stimulation of mitochondria  - which convert glucose into the energy essential for cell function and repair. 

Side Note: Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce swelling, but may actually retard healing. 

Bottom line ~

Massage Promotes Overall Good Health 😀

Visit Nancy at www.humankneads.com for more Massage Therapy info. 

Mind Control Miracles

Confidence is the best placebo, one we have access to at all times. 

No surprise - our thoughts, our own beliefs are powerful and can, literally, empower us. They can enhance overall abilities, athletic performance, aid with pain relief, ease anxiety, depression, and various diseases. (Particularly those susceptible to the influence of placebo.) 

Read more about it here -> The Science Behind Miracles. 

It sounds almost too good to be true, and gives me pause when thinking about faith healers, prayer, suggestibility and the power of positivity, miracles, hypnosis, sugar pills... all of which have huge placebo effects.

As Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right.”

"The brain influences the rest of the body"

Are you harnessing your Jedi mind power?

What suggestions are you feeding your brain?

Do they help create and support the reality you want?

“I don’t think the power of the mind is limitless. But I do think we don’t yet know where those limits are.” ~ Alia Crum (As stated in ‘Suggestible You’)

What do you believe? 

We Are All Being Replaced

My, my, my.... give each of us enough time and we will all be replaced! 

Well, at least our cells will. 

Thankfully, what I'm referring to, is the fact that our body continually replaces worn out cells with fresh cells. Head over to "Here's how often your body parts get replaced in your lifetime" to learn more.

PIG PROTEINS HELP RE-GROW HUMAN SKELETAL MUSCLE

Wow!
"A new tissue regeneration technique has been developed to re-grow large amounts of skeletal tissue.   The method could give new hope to people who face amputation."  

"Proteins taken from pig intestines are inserted into the damaged human tissue.  The proteins attract human stem cells to migrate to the limb and start creating matching bone and tissue cells."

Talk about human guinea pigs... :)

This will bring hope for so many people!  The human body is so AMAZING!

Click here for the article ->  PIG PROTEINS HELP RE-GROW HUMAN SKELETAL MUSCLE