Tag: mental health napa

Exercise and Enhancing the Journey as we Age

As the Earth circles the sun, it adds another year to its portfolio of time in its resume of existing in the universe.  Humans on Earth enjoy the ride, experiencing everyday interactions with friends, family, and co-workers.  Every year, we observe the weather becoming cooler or warmer, the sun rising earlier or setting later, and …

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Staying Active During the Less Sunny Months

As the Napa Valley enters October, we see a few leaves on the trees beginning to transition to shades of amber, brown, and yellow, and fall to the ground.  Sounds of leaf blowers and rakes start to fill the air.  The hills begin to morph into a darker green and brownish hue as the trees …

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Shoulder Health and the SITS Muscles

The body’s connective tissue has structurally significant properties, enabling humans to function effectively throughout their everyday lives.  Ligaments hold bones together.  Tendons attach muscles to bones.  Muscles act as motor units to move bones closer or further away from each other.  Bones act as the internal framework that allows our body to move through various …

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Managing Arthritis and Osteoporosis- Strong Muscles Lead to Strong Bones

“My joints make some exciting noises when I get out of bed in the morning,” commented one of our personal training clients, Natalia.  “See?  Watch this,”  Natalia added as if demonstrating a magic trick.  Natalia bent down to pick her exercise mat off the ground, and a few grinding and popping sounds could be heard …

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Finding Time to Exercise when Time is at a Premium

Acquiring a membership to a local gym, attending small group fitness classes, or signing up for personal training has proven time and time again to aid in refining an individual’s health and fitness.  Building muscular strength, redistributing fat mass to lean muscle, enhancing mood, staving off risk factors for metabolic disease, managing stress, and contributing …

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Consistent Exercise and Pain Management Keeps the Spine Strong

Generalized “wear and tear” from enduring the stress of life for over fifty years elicits repercussions to our joints.  The articular surface of joints can get scuffed after being used for manual labor, the stresses of an athletic career, or recovering from a traumatic injury.  As the surface of joints wears down, they become rough …

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Optimal Posture While Sitting

Imagine living without tables, desks, or work benches.  Throw in the twist of removing an automobile that we sit down in to take us to our desired location in minutes.  Just for fun, put yourself in a fantasy world where the revolution of cell phones never crossed the mind of the brilliant inventors who created …

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Consistent Practice for Strong Knees

“Are the first few minutes of getting out of bed just absolute hell?” my friend Kaus asked me while we were enjoying one of Model Bakery’s finest English muffins, which had been toasted and smothered in strawberry jam.  Kaus and I take leisurely walks every few weeks, discussing our hobbies, traveling adventures, and current events.  …

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Exercise is the Natural High

“It doesn’t get much better than this,”  I commented after sitting on a bench at Crane Park in St. Helena and peering out into the vineyard-laced countryside with a few of my pickleball companions.  We concluded a three-hour session of playing pickleball matches, switching partners every game.  For me, this was just what the doctor …

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Choosing the Best Foods at the Right Times

Eating decisions can create resolutions to circumstances that make us feel better and more productive.  Weight loss, gaining lean muscle mass, and fending off illness are commonly sought-after purposes of adhering to healthy eating habits.  Maintaining an optimal weight for our body type assists in managing a healthy fat mass to lean muscle mass ratio.  …

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