My Interview with The Happy Healthy Librarian, Debby Kastner

Debby Kastner’s blog and now FB page is one of my favorite and most reliable sources for information on healthy living.  I discovered Debby Kastner’s blog, Happy Healthy Long Life about seven years ago, just a few years after I started transitioning to a plant based diet. Debby is a medical librarian at a leading US medical center who's been in the…


Tags: Breakfast, Fitness, Inspiration, Main Course, Recipes, Salads

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Squat Lunge Variations

Hip strength is super important. Strong hips support your back, help keep your knees track properly,  keeps you moving well, especially as we age and  and key for getting you up if you fall. I am a big fan of doing single leg work.  Single leg work is  great for  developing balance, core strength and hip strength.  When we walk or run at least 50%…


Tags: Fitness

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My Interview with Olympic Athlete Dotsie Bausch

 Olympic athlete, Dotsie Bausch is on my list of “People Who Really Inspire Me.” I am very excited to share her story.  I first learned about Dotsie Bausch after watching her TED Talk “Olympic Level Compassion.” You can see her TED talk here. She has overcome so much and turned adversity into victory for herself, her country and for animals.  Before…


Tags: Fitness, Inspiration

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The Best Way to Beat Back Pain is to Keep Moving and Wait It Out

  About 25% of Americans say that they have had back pain within the past three months.  Treatment of back pain with opioids has been a contributing factor to the crisis of drug addiction in this country.   New guidelines recommended by the American College of Physicians say that non drug therapies such as massage, superficial heat, spinal manipulation,…


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My Talk with Dr. Eric Goodman, Creator of Foundation Training

 A few years ago my friend Dave, who was dealing with back pain, asked me if I had heard about Foundation Training.  I said, I think so, but let me take a look.” So I looked.  Foundation Training is a strengthening and movement program designed to help people get out of back pain.   After reading Eric’s first book, Foundation, I decided to take a deep…


Tags: Fitness, Inspiration

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The Best Stretch for Tight Hip Flexors

 Foundation Training Lunge Decompression   Extensive sitting creates havoc on our physiology and our architecture.  When we sit, our hip flexors tighten and shorten, which causes a whole lot of trouble for our body – lower back pain, knee joint discomfort; imbalance of muscle strength, posture problems, and even a difference in leg length. The Hip…


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Exercise Technique- Dead Bug

I love dead-bugs, not the insect kind but the core exercise kind. Dead-bug progressions are not flashy or sexy like a TRX atomic push-up, but I still really like them like them because they can teach you a lot.  This is one of my favorite intermediate variations of the exercise. Having contact with the floor provides some feedback so you are more…


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Telomeres, The Secret to Healthy Ageing

Telomeres are a hot right now.  Ok, maybe not with everyone, but  telomere talk is big within  groups interested in longevity and healthy ageing. What are telomeres? Telomeres are caps on the strands of our DNA and sort of look like the plastic tips on the end of your shoelaces.  Shorter telomeres are associated with a shorter life span and chronic…


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Exercise Technique- The Push-UP

  Exercise Technique- The Push Up  Push-ups are one of my favorite exercises because you can accomplish so many things with this one simple exercise.  It is a wonderful core exercise; it also strengthens the pushing muscles of the upper body.  As basic as this exercise may seem, I often see mistakes like, Head dropped; you want to keep your head…


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Exercise Technique: Foundation Training Founder

  The Founder is an excellent exercise for strengthening the back of your body, especially the underused and imbalanced muscles of the lower back.  This exercise also teaches you how to stabilize your spine properly while it increases the mobility and stability of your hips.  I can’t think of anyone who won't benefit from this exercise!  Hold this…


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