The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed -Nicholas Chamfort”
Did you know that children giggle an average of 400 times a day? NO??
Well, did you know that adults laugh about 15 times a day? Didn’t know that either? Continue reading
Today is World Hepatitis day!!!
Did you know that Viral Hepatitis kills 1.5 million people each year worldwide? That’s as many people as HIV/AIDS! Hepatitis is the 8th biggest killer worldwide.
Here’s a little information about Hepatitis: Continue reading
Do you ever have feel so much stress and pressure that you look up and realize that you aren’t breathing? It happens all the time. If you pay attention to your normal breathing pattern you’ll realize that you are probably doing little more than a slow pant than a deep inhale. Add a bit of stress to the equation and you may just outright hold your breath for minutes at a time!
Here are two easy techniques that you can use anytime and anywhere to help you breathe easier and reduce some of the harmful effects of stress to your body and mind. Continue reading
In this time of high stress and little rest, it’s almost a must to learn ways to break away from our daily routines in order to have happier, healthier lives. Breaking the cycle of stress is important because high levels of constant stress (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) can lead to a breakdown of our health. Some of the conditions that consistent stress can cause include obesity, asthma, heart disease, cancers, depression & anxiety, GI problems, accelerated aging (sagging skin, grey hair, body fat redistribution, fatigue, etc), and death!! That’s quite a list, don’t you think?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want ANY of that. I know it may be difficult at times, but if we can just practice simple ways to decrease stress on a regular basis, we can eventually learn how to handle the stress in our lives much better. This can then lead to less overall stress and a much happier future.
Here are some easy-breezy ways to decrease the stress in your day Continue reading
In the movie, “Collateral,” Jamie Foxx plays a cab driver. In one scene, he has a passenger that is a stressed out lawyer. In that scene, Jamie’s character tells the lawyer that she needs to go on a vacation (don’t we ALL!!). He then goes on to tell her that he goes on vacation all the time, at least 12 times a day. That’s when he opens his visor and reveals a picture of a Maldives Island. He says that when he gets stressed out, he puts down his visor and goes there for about 5 minutes.
That scene taught me a valuable lesson. The lesson was that you don’t need to take off work, get on a plane and travel in order to go on vacation and rest/relax/reset. You can do that at any time and in any place. Continue reading
Let’s face it, these a
re stressful times that we live in. With bills, traffic, financial uncertainty, deadlines, tests, family, etc how can our lives NOT be full of stress? The problem with having constant stress though is that it is not very conducive to having a healthy life and vibrant health. Because of this, we have to figure out ways to reduce stress, even in the midst of our sometimes chaotic lives.
Internal stress reactions cause many different responses within the body. When were are under attack (by some stressor) our bodies respond by making our pupils bigger to better see what is happening, increased breathing to take in more oxygen, increased heart rate to pump blood and oxygen to the muscles, and increased adrenaline to make muscles move faster and stronger. These are the reactions for the fight-or-flight response (sympathetic response) within the body. This is what’s supposed to happen when we are in eminent danger and need to either run away from it or fight our way through it.
The thing is that internally our bodies don’t know the difference between running from the neighbor’s dog and getting through morning traffic or paying bills when money is tight. Even though these are very different situations, your body reacts the same way in each situation. Because of that, we are constantly ‘running from the bear.’ This can lead to organs and tissues inside the body to become worn out or insensitive to the chemicals that are being released. That’s where disease and breakdown starts to occur.
The goal is to begin to break the cycle of stress, even if it’s only for a short amount of time in the beginning. By breaking up the stress, you give your body a chance to reset and heal. This way, you are less likely to wear yourself out over time.
One way you can do this is by going on vacation several times a day. That’s right… SEVERAL times a day. A vacation to some distant, exotic place is great, but that usually only happens occasionally for most of us. In the meantime, you can still learn to go on vacation and still get benefits that can make a huge impact on your overall health.
Find a picture of some place that you’ve already gone, or to some place that is a dream destination for you. Print that out and put it in a location that you can see it regularly. That might be the visor of your car, the wall of your cubical at work, or your purse. Wherever you need to put it in order to get to it as soon as you need it, put it there.
When you feel stressed, overwhelmed, or less than optimistic, look at your vacation spot and go there. Imagine how the air feels on your skin. Think about how cold or warm the water is on your feet. Smell the food and the flowers. Hear the birds singing. Taste the fruit fresh off the tree. Just 
be completely engrossed in that place for 5 minutes or so. Just by doing this several times a day, you can help to improve your health and create a happier, healthier life for yourself (and the people that have to deal with you each day!!!)
I’ve attached a couple pictures of places that I will go to on vacation today. You are welcomed to come along with me… or find your own vacation oasis! Please be sure to share with us where you went and how it felt when you got there. Have a great trip…. and relax 🙂
Bon Voyage!!!
Dr. Tursha’
For more information on ways that you can relax, check out my newly released book, “Practically Healthy: Step-by-Step Guide to Better Health” at http://www.DrTursha.com, http://www.Amazon.com, or http://www.BarnsAndNobel.com.
DrTursha 