Down to Earth

I am loving the series "Down to Earth" with Zac Efron. He goes around the world with an expert Darin Orlien and they visit extraordinary places with a view to learning something.  That is refreshing - Let's be quiet and listen.

We watched the show about Sardinia.  It is one of the Blue Zones.  Sites around the world where people age well and live for a long time, a very long time. This episode featured people in their 90's who were still active and involved in the community. 

We have been to Sardinia, it is not easy country, very hilly, very harsh. 

There are fantastic lessons for us all in this show.  

It is on Netflix.  

Habit of the Week - HOW - Keep the shoulders out of the ears

 We carry around such unnecessary tension when we bunch our shoulder upwards. It is a lot of work, that contributes nothing. 

I catch myself, bunched up, when I am tired, sore, or stressed.  Tight shoulders can contribute to a "neck headache" - you know the one, it starts off as a little kink in the neck, and left unattended, becomes  a nasty headache. 

So, this week, let's pull our shoulders down away from our ears.  Someone suggested have a mirror side-on to the computer desk to check on your posture.

Whoops sorry, I really must read the comments more often

 Hi folks,

I have received some wonderful comments and feedback, too.  Thanks for taking the time to contribute. 

For me, it is great to be part of a discussion.  I do need to review the comments more often.  

Meanwhile, I am undertaking another training course next week. Stick Mobility. Exercise training with sticks. Sounds tricky, but it is easy and very effective.

Falls aren't Funny

 A close family member has had a fall, and now, has decided to curtail her walking. Needless to say, I don't agree.

Here is a link to an article from AARP regarding what we can do to improve our balance.

Just click:-

advice about falls

Planting

 I am planting Mini-Cauliflower Garant.  There are two big advantages with this cultivar:- 

    Firstly, it requires far less room.  only 15cm x 15cm, whereas a regular variety requires 75 x75 cm

    Secondly, each plant supplies many, many small florets of cauliflower, instead of a big "bowling ball".  So it is very family friendly.  It is "cut and come again"

I will keep you posted.

I subscribe to Brain Pickings newsletter

 Here is a lovely quote by Annie Dillard, that I found in Brain Pickings. 

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,”

It was the start of an article which highlighted Alan Watts. "An antidote to the age of anxiety"

This is a beautiful newsletter filled with gems of poetry and literature and thoughts from clever people.

Search for Brain Pickings, the editor is Maria Popova. 

It is free to subscribe, but you can donate if you wish.

Great Documentary - Ultra Processed Foods

I have been enjoying the BBC documentary - "What happened when I ate ultra-processed food for a month"

By using budgetary data, the UK have been able to track peoples' spending on food. They have taken an interesting tack.  They looked at Ultra Processed food, instead of looking at the usual food groups or calories or sugar. In other words, they looked at "raw" ingredients of cooking and compared it with processed food. They mapped this since 1980. The results are very revealing. This method show a strong link between ultra processed foods and obesity and illness.

Of particular interest is how the brain is affected.

If you click the link, you will see the whole documentary.  However, there are much shorter excerpts be be seen by searching for 

 "What happened when I ate ultra-processed food for a month"

And here is the main link:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken