Saving Lives Every Day
If someone had told me a year ago that I would be helping to save the lives of Canadians on a daily basis, I would have never believed them. Yet, here I am a year later, and that is exactly what I do. Three months ago, I became the Vancouver Island Volunteer Resources Coordinator at Canadian Blood Services. I am responsible for recruiting and training new volunteers, as well as managing the nearly 500 existing volunteers on Vancouver Island. It’s a tall order, but completely worth it. Every day I get to go home knowing that my contribution helped get the gift of blood to patients in need....
Read MoreShame On You?
Growing up, I didn’t have much. My parents did the best they could, but I had second-hand clothing that never fit and was not in style. I wasn’t permitted to wear makeup or have my ears pierced as most girls did. Children and teenagers can be really mean – I was often made fun of and as a defense mechanism, I developed a keen sense of humour and often pointed the humour away from myself. Thankfully, it worked for me, but not everyone has coping mechanisms in place. Lately there seems to be a rampant use of shaming (sexual, pets, drought, wealth, poverty and affiliation). Why on earth is...
Read MoreDemystifying Fear
It is the middle of the night and I am awake – again. Like many people, I have a thousand thoughts rolling around in my mind and most of them are fear based. What is fear anyway? 1. to be afraid of something or someone. 2. to expect or worry about something bad or unpleasant. 3. to be afraid and worried. Hmmm … I think I’ll take door #3. Fear, like any other negatively perceived emotion such as anger, cannot be defined without referencing the more pleasant or positive emotions such as bliss or happiness. So why do we run from it? I have decided to run towards it and dig in. What...
Read MoreSexuality and Aging
I see so much in magazines and online about the linkages between aging and sexuality that I feel compelled to write about it. But it’s my first attempt, so forgive me if I’m not very good at it. Remember when sexuality was thought to become extinct as we age? Well, that’s done. The Baby Boomer generation is once again changing the face of aging through another sexual revolution. Check this out … a National Council on Aging survey reports that among people age 60 and over who have regular intercourse, 74 percent of the men and 70 percent of the women find their sex lives more...
Read MoreSpring Fever
I don’t know about you, but love is certainly in the air for me … Spring evokes a freshness, a newness, and reminds us that we are alive. Have you noticed all the buds popping on the trees? The flowers in the garden are just waiting to burst open, giving us the joy of their color and scent. There are certain elements that definitely give us joy on this earth, reminding us of life. They are, in no particular order, love, essential oils, happiness and sex. Sex can be an expression of love; it can smell great and it definitely makes us happy! Interesting … that is all encompassing!...
Read More‘Younger’ Is A State Of Mind
I came across a study recently that found a strong relationship between people’s self-perceived age and their cardiovascular health. This study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association – Internal Medicine in December 2014, basically says that older people who reported feeling younger had a far lower death rate than those who said they felt older. That’s very interesting! Simplifying this one more step – this study basically says that if you believe you are younger (than your age), then you will be! How did the researchers determine this? They started by...
Read MoreWhat Matters?
Take a moment before you read on; close your eyes or keep them open, fix your stare on something and ask yourself: “ What matters? “ Last week, a co-worker asked me this exact question. I was stumped, time stopped and for minutes I was just staring at my desk. Nicole, my friend and co-worker laughed as if she knew exactly what was going on in my head. It’s a loaded question and all my thoughts were jumbled searching for an answer as I thought about poverty, world peace, our current state of government, women’s rights, gender equality, educational institutions, family values, my...
Read MoreKeeping Your Cup Filled
You’ve just had a great holistic treatment and you are feeling restored and like a glorious puff of smoke. Now, you are back to work for a day, a week, two weeks and feeling that subtle creeping in of tension and stress. But, it’s not THAT bad. You can stand it a little longer and cash is still tight after the holidays. Don’t I know it. But can you really? Studies show that daily massage can decrease stress by 24% – wouldn’t that be wonderful to have? However, even monthly massage can significantly decrease the high cortisol levels in the body that significantly contribute...
Read MoreIt’s Time to Save My Life!
I want to talk about something important, but I didn’t want to write about it in January. January is a time of endless promises to ourselves to make changes, improve our lives, and become wonderful human beings. While they are all great New Year’s resolutions, we all know the statistics … most of us fall off the resolution wagon very quickly. Hop to site to know more. I want to deliver my message at a time when there is less chance that folks are into ‘resolution’ mode, because I want you to listen to me well and take me seriously. Here it is: we HAVE to start...
Read MoreHeart Centred Reflexology
February is a month often associated with the heart, for so many reasons. Two of the most prominent that come to mind are Valentine’s Day and the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s national monthly drive to raise funds for research. Leading up to Valentines Day, we are reminded of celebrating new love or of being in a partnership, and we focus on the value of sharing our lives with others. We are called upon to open our hearts to one another in kind and generous ways. The heart is more than the source of our loving feelings though. What happens when our heart isn’t functioning...
Read MoreReduce the Risk of Falls
For anyone with aging or elderly parents, fall prevention is one of the most important topics to learn a little about. Our nation’s Public Health Agency released it’s second “Seniors Falls in Canada Report” this year and a summary of some of the very helpful information follows. First, let’s look at some staggering statistics: Falls are the leading cause of hospital admission for seniors Falls cause a longer hospital stay than any other ailments or injuries, an average of three weeks Falls are the #1 cause of a senior being forced to move into a nursing home Falls cause 95%...
Read MoreCanada’s First Seniors Advocate
Recently, Nurse Next Door Home Care Services sponsored a local event that brought British Columbia’s Seniors Advocate to Duncan to present on the most important and relevant issues facing seniors in our communities. On March 19, 2014, the Government of British Columbia announced the appointment of Isobel Mackenzie as Canada’s first Seniors Advocate. With nearly 20 years of experience working on behalf of seniors at local, provincial and national levels, Ms. McKenzie has the appropriate credentials. Watching her speak, it was clearly evident that she has seen many sides of seniors care...
Read MoreAlison Strom’s Yoga Bliss
If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are — if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time. (The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell, author and scholar of mythology and comparative religion) I am sinking down into the mat, all muscle has let go and my bones are heavy on the earth; my breathing has slowed. This is peace; this is rest: my body has stopped, and I have separated...
Read MoreAromas From Ancient Egypt
Aromatherapy is a healing art which utilizes essential oils extracted from aromatic plant materials to treat many conditions holistically. This includes physical, mental and emotional conditions. There are many uses for aromatherapy including: headache and migraine relief, muscle tension/pain release, immune stimulant, hormone balancing, dealing with grief and loss, stress relief, regulating digestion, treating infections/wounds and enhancing sensuality. The word “aromatherapy” originates from the Greek word “aroma” meaning fragrance, and “therapy” meaning...
Read MoreYour Dance With Disarray
A home full of clutter can affect your health. Do you sometimes look at your storage room, desk, closet or kitchen countertop and feel absolutely overwhelmed at the ‘stuff’ that needs to be sorted, filed, paid or disposed of? The reason you may feel overwhelmed is because you are reacting to negative life force energy – or Chi – and you are weighed down by the depressing impact of clutter. Clutter comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be stacked on tables, crammed in closets, stuffed in file cabinets or packed under the stairs. Wherever it finds a home, there will be an invisible...
Read MoreStimulate Your Immune System
The weather is changing, and staying well becomes of greater importance as our bodies may become susceptible to illness. Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle. According to Harvard Health Publications, “Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies”. Stimulating the immune system and other reflex points that are often...
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