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Showing posts from February, 2019

Week 9: Feel For Your Heart

When I was in junior high, I really wanted to get straight "A's" one semester. The previous term, the only class I didn't receive an "A" in was science. As a result, I decided I was really going to study hard for this big test we were having in science over the cardiovascular system. I really focused and read the textbook, read over my notes, and answered the questions at the end of the chapter. Two things happened as a result. First, I learned that I had an incredible memory and could practically memorize chapters in the book (which I later used to my advantage in college), and I learned how amazing the human body, the cardiovascular system, and the heart truly are. It's not a mistake that our hearts are at our core, almost at the center of who we really are as people. The heart helps us feel relaxed through the autonomic nervous system, it tells us to feel excited through sympathetic responses and allows us to focus and feel relaxed through the paras

Week 8: Give Your Heart A Rest

A natural born klutz, when I was in my late 20s, I tripped down the stairs in my apartment building and broke my three middle toes. Not the pinky toe, not the big toe, the middle toes. I decided it took some real talent to do that. I scheduled a doctor's appointment and had my foot examined. My regular doctor wasn't in, so I went to see another doctor in the practice. I had worked for this group practice previously, so the physicians were well known to me, as I was to them. This physician examined me, looked at me, and said, "Huh. Your blood pressure is a little high. Let's keep an eye on it. It might just be because of your broken toe." I went on my merry way back to my go to school full-time during the day in a traditional university program and work full-time at night plus overtime life. I felt like I had to maintain an active social life, volunteer, have some semblance of a relationship with someone, and...study. My mantra at the time was "Rest when you

Week 6: Walk For Your Heart

February is American Heart Month, so I decided to find a way to connect my walking to heart disease awareness. I thought back to the days when I first started walking for exercise (not walking from A to B or because I didn't have a ride somewhere). I can still see the Iowa sunset over the hospital across the street from my Grandma's house, and see my Grandma walking in her light blue cotton trousers and a light, short-sleeved shirt. Her doctor had told her she needed to exercise to help with her heart condition. My sister and I were staying with her. We and our Great Aunt, joined my Grandma on one of her evening walks. Four women walked down the street in my hometown enjoying the evening air and the company of each other. When I walk, I like to dedicate my walks some days to different causes. This month, I am going to dedicate my walks every week to heart disease. This week, I am walking 6,000 steps a day. Even when I am walking around my living room or basement in circles or