Health & Wellness

It’s not that my mind isn’t teeming with important thoughts. It is. I read literature. I watch documentaries. I bandy about intellectual ideas with my Ph.D.-waving friends.

But that doesn’t seem to stop my mind from obsessing about the little things.

For example, just this morning I was picking up a few things at the market. I noticed a bottle – from an eco-conscious company – of fruit and veggie wash.

I love the section some magazines have where they list interesting and fun statistics, like … 48:  Number of bugs eaten per year in your sleep.  3,154:  Number of texts sent by the average teenager (per month).  14:  Number of states visited in an average lifetime.

I have some statistics for you, and I assure you, nobody’s laughing.

It’s January and the gyms are packed.

I have written many times over the years about correcting poor form or bad habits at the gym. It’s not a new subject, but I have been “moved” to write about it one more time after last Saturday morning when I was at the gym and was compelled to offer some free advice to the woman next to me.  Here was the scenario:  I like to exercise on the Stairmaster Stepmill…you know the machine with the revolving stack of stairs. I usually mind my own business, but last Saturday the woman next to me was so slumped I couldn’t keep my blinders on.

by The FIRM nutrition expert Sara Ryba, R.D., C.D.N.

Let’s start 2010 with a clean nutrition slate by giving up some of the most unhealthy and addictive foods on the market. Below you will find a list of eight foods that are, in my opinion, the biggest roadblocks to you and your nutrition goals. After each offending food you’ll find a delicious, healthier substitute. So never fear, your new improved 2010 menu will be delectable, satisfying and slimming!

Happy New Year! Are you ready to have the best year of your life? If not now, when? One of the best ways to start is to shift your attitude this year from “what can I get?” to “what can I give?”

Being a yogini and very health-conscious individual, I have trusted the natural resilience of my immune system for years. Despite the annual suggestion of my doctor­-father to get a seasonal flu shot, I’ve never had one, and I’m happy to report that I have not been sick for over 4 years. In fact, while my anti-flu-shot husband suffered through a week-long bout with the flu a couple of years ago, I slept soundly next to him with no problem.

By The FIRM Master Instructor Mindy Fenske

The new year is a time to reflect on what we have done, to make plans for the future, and to celebrate with friends and family. It is also a time for resolutions. How many of you have made resolutions in past years that have somehow been, well, less than achieved? Let that all change this year. This will not be the year that a goal has been set and not met. This will be your year of success, and here are the eight simple ways to make that happen.

To celebrate the release of her new book Yoga for Pain Relief, Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is getting the message out about how yoga can help you improve your health and happiness. Below, she shares some of the most exciting findings on the benefits of yoga from the growing field of mind-body research. I wanted to share these developments with you so perhaps you can use them to persuade the people in your life who are on the fence about yoga and meditation to give it a try.

Holidays are a time for family, friends and — let’s not kid ourselves — food. I love to go away for a few days and eat things I normally don’t in amounts that would shock a Sumo wrestler. Hence, it may be the season to be jolly, but it’s also a time when it’s all too easy to pack on the pounds along with the cheer.

“Autism is caused by poor mothering.” That was the belief of the medical community until the late 1960s.

“Autism is a genetic brain disorder.” That is what most people — and most of the medical community — believe today.