http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog A Balanced Approach to Better Health and Fitness Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:31:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Modern society seems to constantly pull us in different directions.  There is always something, or someone, demanding more and more of your time and attention.  So if you are married, when exactly do you have time for your spouse? The following post is not one of mine and you can probably ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/426/time-for-each-other/ I'm halfway through an interesting book titled "Footprints in the Snow,"  the autobiography of a Chinese Buddhist monk who grew up during World War II and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  It's a story of how he struggled to keep his inner peace while the world around him was losing theirs. One ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/412/meditation/ Ever bend down to pick up something off of the floor and had your knees pop and crack?  Do they feel stiff in the morning?  Do they seem to have lost some of their strength and flexibility? Yeah.  Me too.  As we get older, our joints, especially our knees, tend to ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/399/getting-knees-into-shape/ Although Teri and I love to go camping, there are a couple of things that can turn a great weekend outing into the Camping Trip from Hell.  As a companion piece to an earlier post ("10 Reasons to Love Camping"), here are 10 things that can make you hate camping: Boom ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/367/10-reasons-hate-camping/ Teri and I love to camp. We attended our annual Martial Arts training camp at Wolf Creek Park next to Lake Livingston last week and spent this past weekend at Tyler State Park right outside Tyler, TX. What is it about camping that makes us want to go so often?  ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/359/reasons-love-camping/ When I was growing up, the only time we went out to eat at a restaurant was on special occasions like birthdays.  The whole family would dress up, pile into the old Ford station wagon with the wood side panels and then drive down to where you could order whatever ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/354/smart-fast-food-tips/ I've been getting a lot of questions from friends and neighbors since I mentioned that I've been using the PureSleep anti-snoring device (www.PureSleep.com) so I decided to post what I see as the pros and cons of the device.  Hopefully, any questions you might have will be answered here as ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/339/pros-cons-puresleep/ Well, here we go again!  Another hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico headed right my way! I had just posted an article on how to handle stressful situations - like hurricanes, for example - right after Hurricane Gustav brushed by 2 weeks ago.  Now Hurricane Ike looks like it's going to ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/334/hurricane-stress-again/ Hurricane Gustav really made this a stressful week.  Since I live in the Houston, TX area, there's the whole "should I leave or should I stay" decision. Then, whether you decide to go or whether you decide to stay, there's the preparations that have to be made getting your home ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/322/coping-stress/ Ever since I did a review on the PureSleep anti-snoring device (see Reviews section), I've been getting asked whether or not the thing actually works.  Well, to answer that question, I performed an informal test to see whether or not using the device would have any affect on my blood ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/308/puresleep-work/ I usually try to spend most of my time promoting my own website instead of someone elses but this site is such a neat resource that I just had to tell you about it. Ever gone down to the bookstore and been overwhelmed at the shear volume of books on health, ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/297/great-resource-health/ Couple of months ago, my wife started complaining that I had begun snoring pretty loudly at times.  No big deal, I thought.  Lot's of people start to snore later in life, especially men. However, things started getting worse.  I obviously wasn't sleeping well and was waking up repeatedly during the night ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/260/review-of-puresleep-antisnore-device/ After a long and busy day, there’s nothing that refreshes the body more than 8 hours of restful sleep. Unfortunately, as many as 1 in 4 of us have trouble getting a good night’s sleep. That’s over 70 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/111/getting-a-good-nights-sleep/ Here's a quick exercise routine I found on YouTube. Although they make it look easy, there are a couple of points to keep in mind: Don't use weights that are too heavy.  When it comes to fat burning, it's better to use lighter weights and do more repetitions. Make sure to ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/142/fat-burning-exercise-with-weights/ This is a short, 5 minute animated video on how to meditate.  Now, I know that there are many people that believe that meditation is anti-Christian or an "instrument of the Devil" but that's not true. Meditation is simply a way to reduce the "mental noise" created by all of the ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/148/learning-how-to-meditate/ In this video, popular author Eckhart Tolle discusses the importance of being present in a relationship. What does he mean - be present?  Of course I'm present.  I'm physically there, right? Well, there's more to it than that.  Being present means being there, right there and no where else.  It means not ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/152/being-present-in-a-relationship/ I got a shock the last time I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. It's part of their practice to take a quick blood pressure reading before they begin. I never gave it that much thought. This time however, as the Dental Hygienist was writing down ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/75/coping-with-high-blood-pressure/ Ever wonder why most diet and fitness programs just don't work? Know why they're so difficult to follow, and even if you do follow them to the letter, know why you still don't get the results they promise? It's because they focus on only one part of your overall ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/72/balance-in-health/ I usually prefer to write my own articles but this one was so good, that I decided to post a link to it so that all of you could read it directly on the author's site. Want to know the Top 10 diet mistakes that prevent women from losing weight? ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/68/what-prevents-women-from-losing-weight/ Learn the top 10 absolutely worst foods to eat in this entertaining video by nutritionist Natalie Butler at www.nutritionbynatalie.com. Once you've watched this 10 minute video, do what I did: Count up how many of these foods you've had in the past week.  Come on, how many? I'll 'fess up to the fried ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/146/top-10-worst-foods-to-eat/ I'm a nature lover and consider myself an environmentalist.  There's nothing I enjoy more than the peace and serenity I feel when I'm out hiking or camping in the wilderness.  I want my grand kids to be able to enjoy that same experience. I was convinced that industry is the main ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/73/the-real-story-of-greenlan/ On a recent cross-country trip, I listened to one of Barnes & Noble's Portable Professor CD series titled, "Sailing to the Edge of the World - Journeys of the Great Explorers." It's a fascinating (although somewhat dry) lecture series about the early explorers, their challenges, their motivations, and ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/67/fitness-experts-and-ancient-mariners/ We just got back from a vacation trip to Niagara Falls in upstate New York. Although no picture can ever completely capture the power and majesty of the falls, I've posted a picture to the right of the American Falls. You can see part of the horseshoe shaped, ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/66/relaxation-and-waterfalls/ One of the things I preach is the importance of taking some time off for mental, as well as physical, relaxation.  Rest is an important part of a balanced health program. Well, for the next 10 days, I'm taking my own advice and will be on summer vacation.  I'll be working ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/65/vacation-time/ So if you want to lose weight, is it better to diet or to exercise? Will you get faster results if you do both? The answer might surprise you, especially with all the ads for "overnight weight loss" and "increased metabolism" that are out there. Read what ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/64/weight-loss-diet-or-exercise/ My company has been performing Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) assessments for mold in homes and public buildings for several years. During that time, we have encountered people with a number of health problems living or working in environments that contain mold. It's only natural to wonder whether or not the ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/63/mold-and-depression/ One of my favorite things to do after a hard workout at the gym is to sit in the wet sauna for 10-15 minutes. The warm steam seems to just melt away all my aches and pains. I usually follow this by walking around the indoor pool 4 ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/62/the-sauna-and-russian-roulette/ You probably saw the headlines: "New Hints that Red Wine May Slow Aging" said the NY Times; "Red Wine Stops Effects of High-Fat Diet" said the UK Telegraph. Since the study was released today (June 4, 2008), it's only a matter of time before your local news channel ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/58/new-study-on-red-wine-not/ I received a lot of questions about my last post - Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and it's link to cardiovascular disease, that primary link being airborne particulates. One of the suggestions I made was to reduce the amount of airborne particulates in your house by, among other things, purchasing ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/57/air-purifiers-and-allergies-no-magic-bullet/ It's a modern world and we're all connected to it in one form or another. We're online and have instant messaging. Text messaging and cell phones are a constant part of our day. Most of us have gotten used to getting all of our news - work, national, and family ... http://www.balance-your-health.com/blog/53/is-staying-connected-stressing-you-out/