Move on up

Have you noticed this in the past few years? That your health is moving up on the to-do list?

People who were 55-90 years old were surveyed about their beliefs about their health and what contributed to a healthy lifestyle in a new study by AARP and National Geographic.

It was noted that participants recognized that good health is no longer a given and it’s a critical time to stabilize health and engage in activities that will improve wellbeing.

These last few weeks, I’ve been part of a teaching lab of my own making as I recover from Covid.

The three days of fever were debilitating and the lingering lung issues were worrisome and troubling.

I’ve known several people with long-haul Covid symptoms and wanted to avoid dealing, at all costs, with the ongoing effects of this insidious virus.

Keep this list handy

That’s when I created the list of alternative therapies that I repeated until I had that moment…you know...

June 2022 Blog

When the world seems overwhelming, what do you do to help refocus?

One of my favorite songs is “Seasons of Love” from “Rent”. 

The lyrics remind us to pay attention to what really counts. 

The melody is uplifting. 

And it’s a reminder that there are 525,600 minutes in a year. 

I invite you to embrace a few of these life hacks and create space for events and days where there is more patience, kindness, love, and understanding in your world. 

Time Chunk 

You have items on your daily to-do list. 

Studies show that when there’s a time limit associated with a task, the chances of it getting done in the allotted time increases. 

How do you know if you’ve reached your goal if you haven’t set one? 

Accomplish what you set out to do and befriend the feeling of a timely success. 

You’ve just created space, now fill it with something that feels good to...

Walking in springtime. Sounds like a song title. 

Ready to get out and release the winter dust that may have descended during the chilly months? 

Let’s go for a walk. Maybe even more than once a day. 

Even 15 minutes a day of moderate-intensity walking can increase life expectancy by three years and lowers your risk of death by 14 percent, according to Health magazine. 

Ever since I was diagnosed with sciatica back in July and was advised to not do forward bends, I took to the sidewalks, and trails. I love a challenge. I had relied on my beloved yoga community to supply me with mindful movement strategies for years. Could I meet my same exercise quota through walks and weights? 

FITT is good to follow to ensure a successful workout. 

Frequency reminds one to move often.  

Intensity brings to mind the idea that for moderate exercise, you can carry on a conversation, and for intense movement, it would be difficult to sing...

Signs of Spring

Which ones have you seen lately? 

My first harbingers of spring are usually the birds. On February 12, I saw and heard my first red-wing blackbirds. These songbirds are so apparent with their call (“come-for-tea”) and bright red wings. They usually arrive in a flock so it’s hard to miss them. 

The most important factor in noticing them is to be out in nature. Got a bird feeder? They’ll arrive there. Live near water? Blackbirds or other newly-arriving flocks can be found in a tree overlooking a stream, river, or lake. 

Call to them. Repeat their song and they’ll respond to you. I love doing this as I walk past a tree that they’re sitting in. I feel as though we’re friends. 

Another sign I noticed is magpies with twigs or grasses in their beaks. I don’t see where they’re landing and yet I know there will be squawking in a few months from babies demanding (in no...

January 2022 Blog  What's More Important than Your Optimal Health?

We have so much to focus on, so much to learn and witness. 

Let’s get set up for this year’s success. 

What’s more important than your optimal health? 

Use your energy as wisely as possible. 

Make a difference, as you live a balanced life. 

What will your next purposeful health chapter look like?  

How vital is it to Nourish Your Vitality? 

This is the byline of ARAY Wellness Coaching. What does that mean to you? 

Especially as we move more comfortably into the seat of the elder, we need ways to boost our balance on body, mind, and soul levels. 

Know how to switch from the fear of falling, to embracing empowerment. 

To silence the food gremlins and be the boss of your food and drink. 

How many of you wish you could keep your cool more often when the situation starts to heat up? 

This awareness of your vitality...

Isn’t it funny how our taste buds change over the years? 

Then, Skippy peanut butter was the cat’s meow. 

Now, it’s freshly ground nut butter from the coop. 

A frequent treat had always been stopping at the bakery on the way home from school for a cruller.

Now, the Left-over Oatmeal Muffins with fruit and nuts are the sweet of choice. 

Then and now….how things evolve. 

I’m in the middle of my fourth fast of the year. 

Three days with only liquids and three days on either side to wean off and back onto food.

What are the benefits? 

• The golden hues of autumn are glorious. 
• It’s easier to hear the jewels of wisdom from within.
• There’s a reset with food, especially salty and sweet. 
• A calm descends and stays for weeks. 
• During a silent fast, sinking into the quiet is even easier. And, it’s fun to talk again.
• Breaking the fast, each bite of food is...

Sept 2020

Winter Wellness Begins in Autumn

Use these strategies to be well all winter. We’re in this together – I’ll pass on what I know and you do the same. Winter Wellness begins now. Stay healthy all year. Don’t let an illness in the autumn send you down a slippery slope this winter. Last week we finished a 4-day Winter Wellness Begins in Autumn Retreat. You can check out the recordings in the A RAY of Wellness Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARAYofWellnessGroup/?source_id=532370877266699

How many paths are there for good health? Do you ever feel as though you were born in the wrong time period? When I learned about how easy it was to make extracts, shrubs (an herbal syrup made with vinegar), and elixirs, I felt as though I had discovered the secrets of the ancestors. It’s possible to go back in time and rest in the wisdom of those who have gone before. Good health doesn’t have to be complicated.

Do you have...

August 2020

Wow, we are still going through this together. Thank goodness we have each other. To know I can rest in to our community of like-minded, wellness-oriented kindred spirits helps me stay calm through these scary and uncertain times.

In my 3-day training in August, we discussed how to keep your wellness, and that of your loved ones, at the top of your to-do list, even, or especially, during the pandemic. Over one thousand years ago, Avicenna, the father of early modern medicine recommended that in order to maintain optimal health, we pay attention to nutrition, exercise, and sleep. We’re still figuring this out today, a millennium later! Focus on wellness in an understanding manner, one that spurs us to lead more meaningful lives, reduce suffering, and increase the amount of love in the world. We can create a microcosm of our optimal world in each of our lives. This mentality can change the world.

Boosting our brain strength can help us remain...

July 2020

   “A well-spent day brings happy sleep.” Leonardo da Vinci

It can be difficult to wake refreshed when we feel out of control of our destiny. So much of our psyche is reeling with the effects of the pandemic, not to mention other events that happen in people’s lives that are troubling. The not knowing tends to creep up on us, trying to steal our peace. We need to be vigilant, as exhausting as that is. Do we want one more thing to deal with? No, and yet if we don’t pay attention, the effects of living in these uncertain times will have their way with us. Focus. Be present with what is, what comes up.

If you’ve been dealing with life and it’s hard, harder than you’ve ever known, notice this and be gentler with yourself. Sleep is the great equalizer. Look at sleep as having the same positive impact on you as if you’re going out with friends-it’s restorative, can make you happy, and can make...

June 2020

Wildflowers!

*A salve, made in the early 1600s by John Gerard, was “the most precious remedy for deep wounds”.

“The arbutus is now open everywhere in the woods and groves. How pleasant it is to meet the same flowers year after year! …. We admire the strange and brilliant plant of the green-house, but we love most the simple flowers we have loved of old, which have bloomed many a spring, through rain and sunshine, on our native soil.”

― Susan Fenimore Cooper

In the world of wildflowers, the magic and power of wildflowers create health and vitality, if we only know enough to search there.

Let’s discuss the importance of wildflowers, especially native ones, the dangers of invasive species, how to sustainably harvest them, and the top 2 for health and vitality.

Who has a childhood memory of blowing a wish out into the wind on a dandelion seedhead? Food, shelter, pollen, nectar, and nesting materials are...