Asthma |

June 7, 2010

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What Do Stiff Necks and Asthma Have To Do With Heart Failure?

Springtime stiff neck
Image by Paco CT via Flickr

Are asthma and stiff necks related?

What the heck do either of them have to do with heart failure?

Asthma is considered to be a disease that inflames and narrows the airways.  When your airways are inflamed and narrow, you usually wheeze.

However, it is good to know that some people don’t really “wheeze”, they just stop moving air through their lungs.

When your health care provider listens to your lungs they may assume that your lungs are “clear” (or “good to go”), when in fact they are hearing an absence of air flow.

NO AIR FLOW IS MUCH WORSE THAN NOISY AIR FLOW!

Your lungs must move air or you are sunk!

Are you aware that your stiff neck is caused by the same type of inflammatory process that causes wheezing? Continue reading article →

Ideal Weight |

June 6, 2010

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Have You Asked Yourself: How Much Am I Supposed To Weigh?

How much am I supposed to weigh?

Eighty percent of 10 year old girls in the USA go on a diet.

Why?

When you look in the mirror do you like what you see?

Unfortunately, if you are like most people, that is an uncomfortable question to answer.

I mean, even if you like what you see, does it make you feel arrogant to say … “yes, I like what I see in the mirror”?

Or perhaps if you are unhappy about being over weight, when you look at someone else who “looks good”, you feel unpleasant feelings of envy arise within you.

Jill was very unhappy when I met her.  She was the new licensed practical nurse hired to cared for Mr. Mendes, a heart failure patient that I had been taking care of for many years.

One afternoon while Mr. Mendes was sleeping I stopped by to check up on the two of them.  Since Jill had some time on her hands we decided to enjoy a cup of tea together.

During our conversation, she expressed how frustrating it was for her to understand the diet restrictions that Mr. Mendes’ daughter had instructed her to adhere to when planning his meals.

4“I think it is cruel to deprive him of foods that the rest of the family is eating”, she said. Continue reading article →

Social Connection |

June 5, 2010

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Can You Trust Your Community For Help With Symptoms of Depression?

Recently I had the opportunity to reflect on a very difficult health crisis and how it effected my family.

I was sorting paper work, getting rid of clutter and cherishing wonderful memories and keep sakes as I discovered them among the chaos.

One tattered piece of paper I opened as I was filing, was a writing exercise that my oldest daughter had written  several months after my recovery.

Looking back, I realize that I was unaware how deeply the incident had effected her.  Briana is usually very good at expressing her emotions, but I’m sure she was trying to “take care of mom”, and didn’t want to worry me with her anxiety.

The whole ordeal took a lot out of me.   Life was kinda foggy for me at the time.  I was doing all I could just to get back on my feet, and I wasn’t even recognizing my own symptoms of depression.

It makes me a little sad that I wasn’t there for her, but I’m so glad that she was able to express those feelings right there in her creative writing class almost a year later.

In 2005, at the end of March, my baby brother was born.

Just a bundle of velvet skin.

I was so anxious that something might happen to my mom, but everything was fine.

A few months later, I was alarmed and frightened to see my mother’s neck slowly blow up like a balloon.

Soon it looked like a red rock sticking out of her neck.

It was scary.

She went to the doctor, and they put her in the hospital.  When that happened, Continue reading article →

Mind Set |

June 4, 2010

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How Can a Goal Setting Worksheet Heal Your Symptoms of Depression?

A stretch of the Mayall Rd, in New Gloucester.
Image via Wikipedia

Can you be depressed and not know it?

We talked yesterday about how setting goals is the best way to recognize your greatness, and how meeting with like minds is the best way to ensure consistent action toward your goals.

Sometimes you can’t see what is getting in your way!

The Mastermind Team can “hear what you really want” and they can see what you can’t.

One of my very first mastermind team mates changed her life after the mastermind group helped her shine a light on her symptoms of depression!

I used to mastermind with a group of ladies at the gym, way back before I called it Masterminding.  We would sit on the floor in the aerobics room, surrounded by mirrors and stretch ourselves from head to toe.

(Of course today I would ONLY stretch like that AFTER a workout, but that’s another story.)

It was so encouraging to see their familiar faces each Monday, Wednesday and Friday … same time, same place.  The wonderful life lessons shared and heart warming stories enjoyed by the group have stayed with me over the years.

Joy was a beautiful woman who was always sharing  fitness resources.  She would bring the group the newest lifting techniques and philosophies, which would often spark debate.  Joy was a walking talking advertisement for the nutritional supplement that she swore by.

Yet Joy didn’t have much Joy.

One morning as the ladies gathered, Joy began sharing her heartache over losing her mother. Continue reading article →

Mind Set |

June 3, 2010

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Why Do You Need A Goal Setting Worksheet?

Charlie Chaplin Hollywood

Do you recognize your greatness?

Erica Jong, an American author and teacher said,

“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place it leads.”

I’m not exactly sure what she means by that, but I have an idea.

What’s your passion?  Have you found something that drives you past your normal limits?  Something that makes the hours seem like minutes?  When you live with purpose you are possessed with drive and inspiration that will definitely push you past your limits towards your full potential!

When you set goals and work towards achieving them, you access your ideals.  When that conflicts with what you see in your life now …

it causes all those limiting beliefs that are holding you back to rise to the surface.

  • Do you believe that you have it in you to succeed in life?
  • Do you believe it is within your power to beat heart disease?
  • Do you believe you can survive grief and loss?
  • Can you finally lose weight even though you have tried a thousand times?
  • Is physical fitness still within your grasp? Can you enjoy playing with your grand-children?
  • Will you leave a legacy when you are gone?
  • Do you believe you deserve happiness?

Realizing your greatness starts by setting goals and gathering with like minded people to over come obstacles.  The secret is Continue reading article →

Mind Set |

June 2, 2010

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Looking For Easy Stress Management Techniques?

Did you know that there is a very simple way to make yourself healthier and happier?

I’m talking easy!

Isn’t the thought of feeling better without making big changes encouraging?  Compared to other stress management techniques, this one is as easy as they come.

If you spend anytime reading here at Heart Failure Solutions, you know that I talk a lot about making better food choices and getting active.  Those are very important steps that you can take to feel better!  That is for sure!

However, it is really hard to create lasting change in your life!  You get so attached to your habits!  Switching up is just plain hard to do.

The tip I’m about to share with you can help you feel better without doing much of anything differently.  In fact, before I wrap this post up and send you off with many blessings, I’ll give you a link to a product that will allow you to incorporate this healing into your life without making ANY change!

When you take simple action to make yourself feel better daily, it is MUCH easier to make better food choices and to find the motivation to get up and MOVE!

The small change that you can make to improve your health for the better ….

Take Off Your Shoes!

Yes, I’m very serious.

Take your shoes off and walk on your front lawn for 15 minutes every morning or evening, or when you feel tired or uncomfortable, or even in pain.  The more time you spend strolling around bare foot, the better you will feel!  A bare foot game of kickball on the front lawn can be a great stress reducer game!

Now just because this remarkable healing tool is SO simple, don’t underestimate the power of bare-footing!

Electrons from the earth have natural anti-inflammatory effects, reducing inflammation anywhere in the body.  We talk a lot about inflammation around here, so you are probably already aware that inflammation is the cause of most chronic illness.

Stress management techniques only help you when you apply them.  This method is so easy, even a child could implement it daily!

Ready to feel better?

What will walking on the earth barefoot do for you?

  • Improve energy
  • Reduce Inflammation
  • Improve Sleep
  • Relieve Muscle Tension
  • Reduce Stress
  • Restore Normal Biological Rhythms

Touching your feet to the earth will synchronize your electrical frequency to the earth’s.  This wondering grounding effect is measurable.  You WILL notice the difference immediately!

As The Life Breath Coach I teach my students to cultivate stillness in nature as often as possible.  It’s an extremely healing thing to do for a lot of reason.

Join The Life Breath Club and be a part of the conversation every week that will remind you to remember how powerfully healing nature is!

Click on the link to learn about the benefits of membership.

Join The Life Breath Club

This is a private membership to protect your medical privacy.

It’s free!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter