What are your biggest challenges? At least once or twice a year I put myself on a fasting detox as part of my health and fitness programme. It always provides me with many challenges but it has to be done. Yesterday I returned from one of the most fantastic weddings that I have ever been to. I met many good friends that I haven't seen for a while and many new friends. I went away a few days earlier and had a few days in Barcelona before driving over to France for the wedding with my dad and two friends, Mike and David. During this period I have had plenty of food and drink that would not be deemed entirely healthy from a purist perspective. However, I have laughed more in the past week than I have in a good while - and I laugh a lo...

http://gomestic.com/do-it-yourself/make-your-own-coffee-table/ The article above demonstrates how I save the material from wind damaged trees and build something good from it. I have salvaged over 1,000 trees in the last eight years. I have to admit, not every tree will be worth $1,600 because of the way the wind blows it down splitting it or cracking it badly and not all trees are suitable for the projects shown in the link above. For eco conscientious  people this is a pleasant way to use your hobby time with a very small outlay of tools. All of my tools were bought on sale and one or two projects paid for my entire shop. Take a look, if you like what you read in the link, click the I Like button. Dr Robert E McGinnis http://w...

Several years ago, I wrote a book for my children. this is but one out of hundreds. Beyond our genetic limitations, we may have a lot of say so over our aging process. This process started long before we were born and, physically, will terminate about the same time we do. However, what happens during the time between your birth and demise may have a lot to do with how long you live. There are many who espouse the principal of exercise, hard work, etc, and then we have those who depend on a good and steady diet of healthy foods. Is this enough? Is this necessary, or is something missing? What if, and I only suggest, what if, it is our outlook, attitude and relationships that give us the greatest strength in a long and very happy li...

Yesterday I finished a 7 day fast. I had done a 10 day fast last year so knew what I was in store for – at least I though I did. My memories had become very different from the true experience over time! Detoxing is something that I do occasionally to give my system a flush and raise my energy levels. The outcomes are increased energy, motivation and drive. Not to mention extra time, where I would have been eating. The experience also comes with challenges. Not eating is not natural to most human beings. Changing the habits of a lifetime are never going to be an easy task. I have seen my will power stretched and undergone numerous trials and tribulations in the past week. I have also listened to numerous opinions on...

Are you doing what you love? Think about what you did naturally as a child and you will often find the answers to what you life purpose is. From a very young age, I have always been upside down, climbing trees, doing handstands, cartwheels and contorting myself into different positions.  I remember starting off doing gymnastics when I got into the infants and really enjoyed that.  Then at the age of twelve, I got into yoga.  This was very unusual back in the early eighties as yoga was seen a weird thing for aging hippies.  I just remember being given a yoga book from my Aunty that she picked up form a jumble sale and thought it might interested me. The lady in the book had a number of brown and green all in one leotards, whic...

What is Punk Health? Just as Punk Rock rejected the establishment with a rebellious, do-it-yourself ethic, Punk Health is a new attitude towards wellbeing that encourages us to take responsibility for our own vitality and look beyond the ‘givens’ of modern medicine and pharmaceutical marketing. The spirit of punk – the “harder, louder, faster” mindset – may well be a useful analogy for those of us in the noughties who want to max’ our health, making the most of life, living it to the absolute fullest. According to nostalgic Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone, “what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll." In these times of epidemic chronic illness, obesity and depression (not to mention recession...

Yoga helps to gain good health & meditation creates positive effects & vibration both physically and mentally.The body’s natural relaxation response is a powerful antidote to stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and yoga can help you activate this relaxation response. When practiced regularly, these activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels and a boost in your feelings of joy and serenity. What’s more, they also serve a protective quality by teaching you how to stay calm and collected in the face of life’s curveballs.                             It is basically not getting rid of stress but also getting rid of health problems. ...

When you think of self-harming what comes to mind? Usually for me it’s an image of a young woman cutting her skin with a razor blade enough to draw blood but not enough to kill. However last night I got a completely different sense of self –harming; it’s actually what I’ve been doing to myself for years and I can assure you I’ve never wielded a razor blade except against unwanted hair!I’ve been on a journey of personal discovery for over twenty years and often wonder if I’ve achieved much in that time. I do know I’ve had many aha moments, which are absolute food for my soul. I love those dazzling moments of pure clarity when the underlying structure is revealed to me about my behaviour, thought patterns, expectations etc. Last weeke...

The Obesity Crisis   The obesity crisis is now reaching epidemic proportions.  I have been working in the health service for the past twenty years and have seen a rise in weight related illnesses and the problems that it courses.  Back in the 1970s, there were only a few people who where over weight.  People used to consume more calories back then, but did more manual labour, such as washing by hand, walking to the shops and walking back with heavy shopping.  More people cycled to work and children would walk to school.  Many people had their own allotments and gardens and would grow their own vegetable.  We would eat food that was fresh and in season.  Now food is transported thousands of miles around the world, which lo...

I am a little over five feet. The little is really little -- equal to a grain of rice -- but it is better than five feet and nothing. Belonging to a family where women hovered around five feet and men around five feet five inches maximum, I blamed it on my genes. If others were taller, well they were luckier with their genes. I would have happily continued blaming factors beyond my control till I noticed something. My cousins were visiting India after a four year stint in the UK. This coincided with their 10-14 year growth period. They talked about the wonders of the developed world and meat sandwiches supplied daily by the school for school lunch. (this was early 1980s). They were tall -- taller than even the adults in the family! ...