It’s been about 6 weeks now since I’ve started my Circus School classes and I’m really loving being able to jump around, test my physical limits and re-learn old tumbling skills. Like I mentioned in my post about about “Never Going to the Gym Again!“, after being away from any sort of gymnastics training for over 10 years (am I really that old?!), I decided to stick with something that I was familiar with.
I didn’t think it was such a bad strategy as we all know that when you have been away from physical activity for some time, it’s always best to start slowly.
After noticing that some skills were coming back more quickly than expected, my coach pulled me aside last week and asked me “What do you want to get out of this?”. I quickly responded with a blank stare and a shrug of my shoulders.
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Lots of people have been talking about the Wii Fit, which came out at the end of May in North America. While the popularity has been great for Nintendo, it’s certainly made it difficult for any Wii fans to get the newest Wii peripheral.
That hasn’t stopped people from using the Wii Fit to some creative ends however. Injured athletes, for example, are getting rehabilitated by using the balance board. Doing the tedious and repetitive exercises required by rehab is a bit more fun when you can make it a game.
Other people have tried using the Wii Fit as an exercise tool — with varying success. Others have even wondered if the Wii Fit could be used to retrain the balance systems of people suffering from balance disorders.
I just hope I can get one soon to try it out!
Yes, you read it correctly. I’ve decided never to go to the gym again…sort of.
After paying monthly membership fees for a year to one of the larger exercises facilities in Toronto, I decided to cancel my membership when I realised that I could count the number of times I actually went to the gym over the past year on one hand. Not a very good track record and I think rather hypocritical of me to not practice what I preach.
In any case, I decided that I needed to find something that I actually enjoyed. I remember being a kid and really loving to move around. I took all sorts of dance and gymnastics classes, not to mention loving school gym class and joining just about every school sports team that I could. When did exercise become such a chore?
Well, I recently decided to go back to what I love and sign up for some adult programs in Toronto. Let me tell you, it was the best exercise-related decision I have ever made!
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While working on a new design for Healthy Simplicity, I’ve decided to implement Do Follow, a plugin that removes the ‘nofollow’ attribute from the URL a commenter provides.
While there’s quite a bit of debate about the ‘nofollow’ attribut, and whether it’s effective or not, I wanted to provide a small thank you for those commenter’s that take the time to write an insightful comment here — and that thank you is a link back to your site.
Don’t worry, this won’t change your experience on Healthy Simplicity whatsoever, except in the background where you’ll now get a nice link back to your site for taking the time to comment.
I know there haven’t been too many updates recently, but that’s mainly due to the work that’s being put into the new design. After the design is completed, I should be back to a more regular posting schedule.
Just a quick note to let you know that Healthy Simplicity has been upgraded to WordPress 2.5. The newest version provides a few new great features (the management interface has been dramatically redesigned to give the administrator a much better dashboard, where you can see everything at a glance).
Another great feature of WordPress 2.5 is the one-click plugin upgrade (no more having to download plugins and then upload them to your webhost in order to upgrade). This one feature has already saved me time!
If you want to know more about the latest version of WordPress, you can read about the latest version, or download the latest version. If you notice anything odd happening on the site since the upgrade, please feel free to get in touch with me through the contact form. Thanks for reading!
This time of year is not always filled with laughter and cheer, and can instead be a stress-filled, financially and emotionally draining time. Remember that the word “No” can be a friend and ally when you feel like you need to re-establish your boundaries and regroup. This is a time for family, but it’s also a time for yourself. Enjoy yourself, relax and do what you need to do to come back rested and refreshed.
Here’s wishing everyone a happy holiday season!
I came across an article yesterday about parents of students at an elementary school in Toronto who have complained to the Ontario Human Rights Commission that the failure of the school to screen children’s lunches for known allergens is a form of discrimination against those with a disability.
I have to wonder where the line between protecting children’s health and making it everyone else’s problem will be drawn. As someone who has unfortunately been afflicted by the “disability” of severe nut allergies, this issue is one that hits close to home.
I will agree that the incidence of food allergies in children seems to have exploded in recent years. I never knew of another child in grade school who also had any kind of food allergy. I alone, had to look out for myself and make sure that I did not trade snacks with classmates or eat baked goods at the school bake sale.
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I had heard about this vegetarian restaurant a little while ago from a friend who couldn’t stop raving about the great food. I’m always up for trying something new (bonus if it’s healthy!), and so decided to give it a try.
I’m not sure if my friend was just a great salesman, or if I just happened to have a bad experience, but I have to say that I was not impressed. No wonder people don’t like to eat their veggies!
My unhappy tastebuds also had a buddy in my unhappy wallet.
Taste aside, why is it that to go out to a supposedly “healthy” restaurant is significantly more expensive than going to the local pub? Shouldn’t we be trying to make it easier for people to grab a quick and healthy meal at an affordable price?
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A couple of days ago there was a news story describing how elementary schools in the UK are considering sending warning letters home to the parents of overweight children about the health-related dangers of being overweight or obese.
Nobody is denying that obesity has become a significant health crisis in the western world; and one that needs to be addressed in short course, no less.
However, I can’t help thinking that a letter home to parents is a pathetic attempt at addressing the real issue. Let’s see how well it goes over when parents read a letter essentially saying “You’re child is fat!”.
We have all heard the ever increasing percentages of obesity rates in the western world. Click here to see an estimate of worldwide obesity rates based on BMI in 2005 and a prediction of rates in 2015, courtesy of WHO.
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So I realise that the HPV debate has been raging in Canada for quite some time, but I feel like I’ve only just come to some of my own realizations and conclusions.
I think I have been reading up diligently on the news updates that are released about Gardasil, the new HPV vaccine that has been released by Merck that is supposed to prevent the majority of HPV related cervical cancers. Despite my efforts, I still feel that I am missing a large part of the picture.
Thank goodness I am not a parent who has been forced into the position of needing to make a decision about having my pre-pubescent daughter vaccinated from potentially contracting this virus; and all before the government decides to stop funding the vaccine or before my daughter becomes too old to be eligible for the government-funded vaccines.
We are suddenly being told that we have an epidemic of cervical cancer on our hands. And while I do not want to minimize the seriousness and life-altering changes that occur with such a diagnosis, I feel as though the powers that be may be witholding valuable information from me.
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