Lake Anna is the second largest lake in Virginia located entirely in Virginia. Lake Anna State Park is located in Spotsylvania, Virginia. My husband and I had attempted to look for it in the pre-GPS, pre-Mapquest days and never found it. So Lake Anna State Park has remained on my local bucket list … until last Saturday when we found the park!

Old Pond, Lake Anna State Park

Since it is my goal to walk at least 7K steps a day, 50K steps a week, I like to look for interesting places to walk. Lake Anna State Park also gave my husband a chance to check out a potential fishing hole. Unfortunately, no one was catching anything in the Old Pond or Lake Anna itself, but they certainly make it comfortable for fishermen by providing a wooden platform and stool. In the upper left of the picture on the right, you can also see shelter provided for the fishermen. The building on the right is the Visitor Center.

There are 11 trails at the park and they are all marked as “easy,” except for three of them.     We took the Railroad Ford Trail (1.5 miles) and the Old Pond Trail (0.3 miles).  The latter is very easy — a totally paved path and excellent for a wheelchair. Over half of the Railroad Ford Trail bordered Lake Anna. It was a lovely walk and it reminded me of Eckhart Tolle and being in the moment.

Being aware of each moment sharpened the senses. The sound of the little waves on the shore, jet skis and motor boats, crickets, birds, children having fun, and other sounds I could not identify. Scenes of fishermen along the shoreline, people sitting and enjoying the peace of the lake, gnats coming up to annoy me and spiderwebs in my way were some of my views in the forest. It was a hot and humid summer day, but not overly so.

Although it was a relatively easy trail, there were still several inclines and many roots of trees to walk over. It was a great senior activity, but I was still thankful that being in good shape paid off and could really enjoy the walk. (Several previous posts talk about the benefits of being in shape. Click here for Exercise is a 4 Letter Word, click here for Fitness Required, click here for Heart Palpitations and Stroke).

Recently, Medical News Today reported that stress in middle age could lead to late life dementia. In this study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, almost 1,500 women were followed for 35 years and this is the first research in Sweden to indicate a link between stress and dementia. Stress has numerous definitions, but in this study, stress was defined as a sense of irritation, tension, nervousness, anxiety, fear, or sleeping problems lasting a month or more due to work, health, family or other problems.

Stress can be good or bad and the way you respond to a situation could also be a form of stress. We are constantly making choices and we can choose to stress ourselves or we can choose not to. For example, you can choose to get angry over something like catching all the red lights on the way to work when you’re already late or you can choose to ignore it or embrace and acknowledge it and move on. Many people like to blame others for their stresses, but only you can make that choice to be angry. I don’t know about you, but I know it’s not worth being angry. Life’s too short.

One of the things we know about dementia is that keeping your immune system strong is extremely important. Current Alzheimer’s disease research is targeting the immune system. What happens when you’re stressed?

• Blood pressure rises
• Breathing becomes more rapid
• Digestive system slows down
• Heart rate (pulse) rises
• Immune system goes down
• Muscles become tense

Over time, diseases may develop — diabetes, depression, obesity, tooth & gum disease, cancer, ulcers, etc. It’s been estimated that 90% of visits to doctors are stress-related! There are many Web sites devoted to stress and stress management. Click here or here for some ideas.

As you can tell from previous posts, I love new experiences. Not heart-stopping ones like riding a roller coaster or sky-jumping (not on my bucket list to do either of those), but those that allow me to remain grounded or at least close to the ground. Since becoming a Cellular Response energy healing practitioner, I am now very interested in other energy healing modalities. My previous posts have talked about Quantum-Touch, Reiki, Hypnotherapy, Polarity Therapy and now my latest experience, CranioSacral Therapy (CST).

I was the fortunate recipient of a gift card to Massage Envy. I checked out their Web site and noticed that they offered CST. I was very excited because it is something that I wanted to experience. I had heard from CranioSacral therapists that CST was similar to Cellular Response. However, the one I experienced at Massage Envy was not anything like Cellular Response which is light-touch healing. What I experienced was definitely much like a massage.

According to Kelly Price in an ezine.com article, craniosacral massage is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the function of the craniosacral system and this type of massage involves a very light touch. The goal is for the body to heal itself, similar to Cellular Response. Other similarities included breathing and holding two points, but overall, it was just a massage. Perhaps I will get to experience it again from someone who specializes in it.

Susie Thomas

Last week I talked about the fun I’m having in senior aerobics. How about doubling the fun? It’s line dancing for seniors. I’ve always wanted to take line dancing lessons, but now that I’m retired and have the freedom to travel, dance lessons would be difficult because each week would build on the previous week and I would be totally lost were I to miss a week or two. Enter line dancing for seniors in Fairfax County, Virginia — a huge class with an enrollment of over 100. However, each week perhaps two-thirds of the enrolled show up, according to an enthusiast in my aerobics class.

A light goes off in my head … even if I were to miss some classes, I could hide in the back and still try to follow someone and have fun. The tuition: a whopping $5 for for eight sessions!

The Washington Post recently had a small article that said …

Who’s getting a better workout in a step class: the gym junkie who knows the moves and fluidly mirrors the instructor, or the klutz who’s frantically jumping all over the place in a desperate attempt to keep up? If you said the klutz, you are right.

Quite an apt description of me because I definitely feel like a klutz amongst the mostly experienced students, but who cares. It is so much fun and I know my brain is getting a workout as well! The enthusiasm and smiles you see in the group are contagious. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend that you check to see if it’s available in your community or recreation center.

The program I’m enrolled in is part of the Fairfax County Senior Center Without Walls. It is a public-private partnership amongst the residents, local businesses, places of worship, and the County Government. It is an innovative program initiated by determined volunteers and the classes are held mostly in churches in the community. In addition to line dancing, yoga, tai chi, running-walking club, and karate are also offered.

I will miss it very much in the fall when my yoga class resumes. So line dancing will be a wonderful summer activity I can look forward to.

My classmates

Check out this video from a former class and see if you agree that it looks like a lot of fun and excellent exercise as well. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTh-VL1S9Q&feature=channel

Stretching in Senior Aerobics

In my last post, I told you about my very close friend, my pedometer. Getting the recommended 10K steps is now easier — at least 3 times each week — because I found a new love: a light aerobics class for seniors. I have never taken aerobics, so I did not know how invigorating and uplifting it is. I stumbled upon this class as I was looking for a substitute for my Friday morning yoga class which is on summer vacation.

Aerobics is not exactly a substitute for yoga, but we do stretches and balance exercises that we do in yoga. This particular class has been going on for well over 10 years and is run by volunteers. One session was even led by an  89-year old gentleman. The most difficult part of this class is ringing the alarm clock to be present for an 8:30 a.m. class! But you’ll definitely be awake by the end of class and the music will have you humming for the rest of the day.

So, if you’ve never tried aerobics, I encourage you to do so. It will work your brain and your body — what a great anti-aging formula. For those in the Washington, DC Metro area, the class meets in West Springfield, VA and you can send me an e-mail (info@noranagatani.com) if you are interested. There is no charge, but we make a $1 donation to the church for the use of their facility. What a deal!

And now, I’m going to use this class as a warm-up before my yoga class when it resumes in September. What an unexpected bonus in my life!

I have a very close friend. I wear it very close to my body. It’s my pedometer — a Yamax SW-200 Digiwalker Pedometer. It’s very small and it has only one function — to count steps. Nothing else. There’s only one button to push to reset which I press every day. Extremely simple.

I had read the excellent reviews a few years ago and I loved the first one that I had. Unfortunately, the battery died and when I priced the battery, it was almost as expensive as buying a new one. I’d forgotten where I had bought it from, so I did some comparison shopping on the Internet and bought one. However, I found that it was not to my satisfaction — it seemed “looser” and counted more steps than I had actually walked.

So I went on another hunt and found one at Amazon that was more like the first one that I had — closer in accuracy in counting steps. I will keep the first one in case I find a reasonably priced battery for it.

This particular model is not for you if you’re into counting calories or other things like speed and distance. But I only care about steps. My goal is 50K each week. Experts tell us that we should walk 10K steps each day, but for me that’s somewhat unrealistic and I don’t want to feel bad about not accomplishing my goal. So for the most part, walking 50K each week is an attainable goal.

To order the same model I use, click here. Happy walking!

Last week the Washington Post had an article in its Wellness section — Choosing the right painkiller doesn’t have to be such a headache. Since I had just talked about natural alternatives in my last post, I thought this was a good follow-up. Notice the row, Be careful if. Yes, there are side effects even with common over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. If the chart is not clear, please click on it and it will open in a new window.

It is important to understand your own body. Take control. Research natural alternatives. For example, the other day I twisted my knee slightly and was uncomfortable. So I gave my knee a Cellular Response energy healing treatment and doubled up on my glucosamine/chondroitan/msm (click here). I also used an all-natural topical analgesic (click here). The next day I was back at the gym.

Remember, there are side effects to even over-the-counter medications. Before you reach for one, see if there are any natural alternatives that might help.

Last week I was on a panel at the luncheon of the Women’s Network of Springfield. The title of the panel was: Smart Women Make Smart Choices. The other two panelists  were Elaine Gibson of B/B Envirosystems and Lynne Porzel of The Intuitive Healing Center. I talked about natural alternatives to health and healing.

Here is my part of the discussion:

I want to talk about two areas of  your health: Medications and Healing Naturally. Last month a distant relative a couple of years younger than I, died. She had been having sleeping problems and taking sleeping pills. We thought she had overdosed on the pills, but she actually committed suicide by jumping off a balcony. Thoughts of suicide is a side effect of sleeping pills.

All drugs have side effects. Have you ever noticed TV and radio commercials have a long section on possible side effects where they ramble them very quickly? The effect might be minor or they might be major. If there are side effects from the first medication, doctors sometimes prescribe a second medication to counteract the side effects of the first medication. The doctor won’t tell you this, but the side effect might be that the medication is depleting  you of nutrients. Click here.

You are in charge of your own body: You can take the illness path or the wellness path. I believe smart women will take the wellness path.

I encourage you to take charge of your body and not fill your body with medicines. I have an 82-year old neighbor with Parkinson’s disease. He is always complaining about being tired and having no energy. He does not give his body any nutritional supplements; only a half dozen prescription medications. No wonder he’s tired.

Acid reflux is a common problem and many doctors prescribe Nexium, the purple pill. Well, it’s habit forming. There are natural alternatives. You can drink alkaline water or sleep on a wedge pillow.

You’re a smart woman. Make smart choices about your health and what you will put in your body.

Second, I want to talk about healing naturally. I want to announce that I will be starting an energy healing practice later this year and together with my nutritional supplement business, I will be practicing my passion of making people well naturally.

I thought energy healing would be something I’d like to do after hearing about some amazing results, but to be sure (since I’d never worked on anyone before), I had my hands analyzed by Peggie Arvidson and she confirmed that I am a gifted healer. Hence, I took the plunge started training in Cellular Response — light touch energy healing where the body heals itself. It has been the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done. Recently, I “saved” someone from having surgery for stomach problems. Just before going into the operating room, the doctor checked her stomach and declared that she did not need the surgery. She was elated. The only thing that had changed was that she had the Cellular Response energy healing.

I have been practicing on volunteers since November and I am looking for more volunteers. I may or may not be able to help. (If you are in the Washington, DC Metro Area, you can contact me at 703.825.8384 or e-mail me at info@noranagatani.com).

In conclusion, I hope this panel will make you realize that you have to make your health your top priority. If you don’t make the time to take care of yourself now, you can be sure that illness will steal your time later.

For the past three weeks, I have covered different aspects of water — alkaline water (click here), how much water you should drink (click here), and signs of dehydration (click here). It goes without saying that water is extremely important. Obviously, we can’t live without it. But what could happen if the dehydration is chronic?

I found an interesting Web site, http://dehydrationsymptoms.org, that covered the symptoms of chronic dehydration. Chronic dehydration has no acute symptoms, but affects everyone who does not consume adequate fluids. Most people believe that these symptoms have nothing to do with dehydration. It’s an interesting array of problems. They include the following:

Exhaustion, lack of energy. Dehydration reduces tissue enzymatic activity.

Constipation. Normally the food getting to the intestinal tract contains much water. The intestine walls absorb the water and also absorb the nutrients dissolved in the water to supply the body with the both. The rest of the food that was not absorbed turns into the stool. If you don’t drink water enough the intestine takes too much water from the stool that leads to constipation.

Eating disorders. Chronic dehydration reduces the digestive juices secretion as digestive juiced contain water.

Low or high blood pressure. The blood volume is insufficient to fill all the arteries, veins and capillaries of the body. It results in low pressure or if the body reacts by constricting the arteries than in high pressure.

Gastritis, gastric ulcer. To protect the stomach wall from injury by gastric acid, the stomach is lined with mucous membrane which contains 98% water. Its structure is deteriorated in the case of dehydration leading to poor protective action.

Problems with the respiratory system. Mucous membranes of respiratory system should be slightly humidified in order to protect the respiratory system from harmful substances contained in the inhaled air.

Improper acid-alkaline balance. Dehydration slows down excretion of water with the unnecessary substances away from the body.

Extra weight and obesity. We often overeat because we need water contained in food. Thirst is often confused with hunger.

Eczema. Your body requires minimum one liter of water daily to dilute the toxins, skin irritants.

Cholesterol. When the cells are losing water, the body tries to stop this loss by producing more cholesterol.

Cystitis, infections of the urinary canal. If toxins in the urine are not sufficiently diluted with water, they destroy the mucous membrane of urinary channel.

Rheumatism. Because dehydration increases the concentration of toxins in the blood and cellular fluid, the more toxins, the stronger the pain.

For more information, click here.

The last two posts talked about water — alkaline water and how much water you should drink. Dehydration can lead to serious problems and as mentioned previously, the older we get, our nerves that tell us we’re thirsty decline so we might not be aware that we are actually dehydrated. There are several signs of dehydration. Here is a list provided by the Mayo Clinic:

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

• Dry, sticky mouth
• Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
• Thirst
• Decreased urine output — fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens
• Few or no tears when crying
• Muscle weakness
• Headache
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

• Extreme thirst
• Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
• Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
• Lack of sweating
• Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
• Sunken eyes
• Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn’t “bounce back” when pinched into a fold
• In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby’s head
• Low blood pressure
• Rapid heartbeat
• Fever
• In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

Since thirst is not a dependable indication of the body’s need for water, especially in children and older adults, a  better barometer is the color of your urine — clear or light-colored urine means you’re well hydrated; a dark yellow or amber color usually indicates dehydration.

When to see a doctor
Healthy adults can simply drink more fluids if dehydrated. However, older adults and children need immediate medical  attention if the following occur:

• Severe diarrhea, with or without vomiting or fever
• Episodes of vomiting for more than eight hours
• Moderate diarrhea for three days or more
• Fluids don’t stay down
• Irritable or disoriented and much sleepier or less active than usual
• Any of the signs or symptoms of mild or moderate dehydration

One of my friends was recently taken to the hospital by ambulance and they could find nothing wrong. He had two symptoms of severe dehydration — low blood pressure and rapid heart beat. He’s in his early 60′s. After doing this research, I believe that it does not take much to become dehydrated.