Well, it's just how we roll.

Yes Virginia, doctors still DO make house calls... and more. Here's the text you'll find under the link:
January 13, 2012, Morgan Messenger

Dear Editor:

I would like to let everyone know about an act of Christmas kindness by one of your neighbors.

I’m from Arizona and recently spent the holidays at my sister-in-law’s farm in southern Morgan County. Just before Christmas, recurrent kidney stone pain caused me to plan an emergency return to Tucson to get treatment from my doctors.

As I was making flight reservations, Dr. Matt Hahn, a friend who was visiting my brother-and sister-in-law, interrupted and offered to arrange local treatment. Not only did he go out of his way to arrange an ER visit, he took several hours out of his Christmas Day to drive us to the hospital and stay with my wife and I during the visit. Afterward, he lined up an appointment with a local urologist to have the stone removed the following day.

I was blown away by the amount of time and effort that Dr. Hahn put out. He and his wife, Bibi, who was especially gracious even though we occupied much of her husband’s Christmas Day, are incredibly generous people. You’re very lucky to have such people active in your community.

Jim Delaune
Tucson, Arizona

Yoga in Berkeley Springs

Winter is a great time to start or re-start your yoga practice. We tend to sit a lot more in the winter time, whether it's because we don't like the cold, or there just isn't as much going on this time of year. Yoga is a wonderful way to get back in touch with your body, and to still the mind. I've been trying to fit a few more Yoga workouts into my week lately. It feels good, and anybody who thinks Yoga is for sissies hasn't done it. Plank pose alone strengthens your core, your back, and of course, your arms. Downward facing dog and pigeon pose feel like heaven after you've been sitting all day.
For those of you who haven't been exercising regularly, yoga would be a good place to start. Yoga naturally makes you aware of your body, and helps you remember to breathe while you move. A good instructor will make gentle corrections to assure that your poses are good for you.
And for those of you who already have an exercise routine going, good for you! But don't forget, cross training is key to a strong, healthy body. Yoga will help you stretch your muscles and further strengthen them.
In Berkeley Springs, we are blessed with several really great instructors, all offering different techniques. A good instructor will be able to teach most levels of yoga to one class, but you should always let your instructor know if you're a beginner. Here's a list of all the Yoga classes I was able to find out about in our area:

Joyce Morningstar  and Lee Barrons Classes are held at their home studio. Call 304-258-6247 for information. Individual classes $10 / 8 classes $55

• Tues                      Gentle Yoga       7:00-8:15
• Thursday             Vigorous Yoga   7:00-8:15
• Friday                    partner yoga      7:00-8:15
• Sat                          Gentle Yoga       9:00-10:15

Marcie Fleeharty   Classes are held at the Board Office Annex Building. Must sign up by registering with Morgan County Adult and Community Education. Contact Laura Hovermale at 304-258-2430 ext 19 or 20. Classes are $50 for 10 weeks beginning  January 23.

• Monday               Basic Yoga           4:30-5:45
• Monday               Yoga Fusion        6:00-7:15

               

Christina Page Classes are held at the inMotion Dance Center. Call (540)535-6188 for more information. Classes are $15 for drop ins, or multiple class cards are available at a discount. Private classes available as well.

• Thursday             Alignment based Yoga   9:00-10:30          

Evelyn Garcia Classes are held at the  Presbyterian Church Social Hall. Please call  (304)258-9069 before attending.  Classes are $8 in advance  or $10 at the door. Evelyn is also available for private classes.

• Monday               5:30-7:00

Rankin Fitness Center now offers Yoga classes. Each class is 45 minutes in length and each class costs $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

• Wednesdays and Fridays 9:00 am Senior Yoga
• Mondays 7:00 pm Yoga for Stress
• Wednesdays 7:00 pm Workout Yoga

You can also find tons of Yoga workouts on DVDs, and on Youtube. Personally, I wouldn't use these until I had taken Yoga from an instructor and got confident with the poses. I do have a few that I like. I'll post these later on. If you have some favorites, please let me know! I might want to give yours a try.

Namaste!

E-Reading for your health

We could open our own medical library at our house. Medical journals are piled up on the coffee table, brochures for health products languish on the kitchen counter with the rest of the mail, and yes, health magazines are stacked in the bathroom too. Maybe that's what happens when you're married to a doctor.

As most of you know by now, I love technology. Those journals and magazines? They're my husband's. I prefer to read current events, including health and fitness news, online. I love how I can use links in an article to explore a topic in more depth... or open a new browser window and Google an author to find out what else they've written.

I make sure I read at least little bit of health news every day as I scan all the international and national news, entertainment gossip, the weather, and politics. Being in the know about new health and fitness developments and discoveries is exciting and useful.

There are many ways you can make any kind of reading more available on the web. Of course you can always bookmark your favorite news sites, blogs, and other sources.

Google and Yahoo both use widgets to make information appear automatically on your personalized Google or Yahoo page. I've added a "widget" to my Google page called The World's Healthiest Foods. (If you don't use iGoogle, you can also just read The World's Healthiest Foods by itself.) Every week this widget focuses on a healthy food (this week's is broccoli), and usually includes at least one recipe for that food.

Many news sites allow you to customize what kind of news you see once you've created a (usually free) account. Today while reading the news on the MSNBC website, because I've added the Health section to my customized page, I found an article on getting the starch out of my dinners.

In addition to links found on web pages, there are lots of websites that will email  free subscription newsletters. Shape Magazine, a mainstay of the fitness reader, has many email newsletters to help you stay motivated and smart: Just go to this website, check the boxes for the newsletters you want, and fill in your email address.

If you got an iPad or other tablet for a gift this holiday season, there are so many apps out there that it'll require a whole new article to explore just a few of the health and fitness-related. But here are some links to get your started:
iFit: 50 Coolest Fitness and Health Apps for the iPhone (most of these can also be used on an iPad as well)
Top Ten iTunes Health Apps of 2011
For example, I was excited to find a Yoga app that lets me design my own routines. The tablets open a whole new exciting dimension and lots of possibilities.

I think keeping health and fitness news in my digital life can't help but be a reminder to stay on a healthy track. If you're reading this blog, chances are you like to get your information online, too. Please share with us if you find something interesting!