Author: Pia Miranda

Why do some think of being a part of the “50+ crowd” as off-putting, when maybe we should relish the glory? I hope to have figured out all that eludes me in the next ten years, but I’ll settle for growing to a point where I don’t care about the unimportant problems! Maybe I’ll have time to “ponder” again; a fragile privilege taken for granted by the careless under 30s. Ten years from now, my parenting obligations will be “legally” optional and I can opt to join this coveted, almost mythical group which revels in being infinitely wiser than the 40-somethings. Joining the ranks of the 50+ crowd means attaining a status of enjoying the fruits of a life well-lived. With blueprint rules satisfied, the party is now planned, starting, and paid for. So, what’s the problem?

It’s that time of year, and hiring a personal trainer can be a minefield! Not all personal trainers are created equally. While their style needs to suit you and they must genuinely care and communicate well, that doesn’t guarantee expertise. Try asking your candidates the following “trick” questions. More than one wrong, I suggest you move on.

“What About Me?” is my summertime inner-self mantra! But rather than speak for anyone else (although surely many empathize), I will reflect on my own experiences. Summer is coming to a close – that’s a Season, not a three-month vacation. I realize now, the grass always appears greener, irrespective of the Season. Schools get out, life appears easier, but before I know it, I am salivating as the count-down to Fall matriculation starts with visions of the heavens parting as the school doors open.

We all endeavor to carry a positive life view where stress, emotional anxieties, and fears don’t dictate our mental health. While we know breathing is an instinctual activity for the sake of oxygenation, breathing also serves as an indicator and regulator of our emotional well-being. How we breathe, and what breathing exercises we engage in, determine much of how our body manages emotional and mental health.

Our bodies simply weren’t designed to contend with the daily barrage of toxins and stress, seen and unseen, that our go-go lifestyles tend to encompass. And the connection between diet and lifestyle, and chronic inflammation and disease, is very real. Our daily choices – what you eat, drink, and think – all have either a pro- or anti-inflammatory effect. When your body hits an inflammatory overload, your defense system gets so overwhelmed and confused that your well-meaning immune system turns on itself, destroying healthy cells, tissue, and, well, everything else too.

If  your all-or-nothing resolutions have failed, try ‘crowding out’ in the Next New Year. We’ve all made those grandiose New Year's promises, even knowing their fateful doom from the outset. Notwithstanding, most of us start the year off with genuine...