5 Ways To Help Stay Healthy This Fall

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This is my first fall in Nevada since I moved away from Seattle in July. It certainly is different, and I can't believe I'm wearing a tank top in October. I've had a bit of a rough adjustment to the weather, but it's really started to cool down, and I'm so happy about that.

I tried to really think about how I can keep myself healthy this fall, and I came up with 5 ways that should help me do that. They are all simple things that will pay off now and in the long run, and anyone can do them. Since I live with my daughter and her family, my three grandchildren's return to school means they will undoubtedly bring home the usual colds and flu bugs.

So hopefully by paying more attention to the way I take care of myself, I can avoid getting sick. I think it's definitely harder to be ill and takes longer to recover as we get older.

The first thing that is so important is to keep physically active. One of the things I do love about our new neighborhood is that it's so walker friendly. If you take a daily walk, even if it's just ten minutes, it will make a big difference in how you feel and think. I'm walking up to 45 minutes a day now, and it's wonderful.

There's nothing I love better than to drink a hot cup of tea with honey at the first sign of a scratchy throat. It's a very old remedy that my mother always gave me and it somehow seemed to work it's magic.

Of course, all liquids are good for you when you're not feeling well, and keeping yourself well hydrated is important to stay healthy. I drink tea all the time and I'm convinced that hot tea and honey can ward off feeling miserable when you drink it when your throat starts to hurt.

I love trying different teas and flavors of honey, and I always have plenty on hand in the cupboard.

As I get older, I'm even more aware of how important it is to maintain strong bones and flexible joints in order to remain active and feel good everyday. I'm lucky to have found a simple answer to my growing concern about this.

 Caltrate® Bone & Joint Health* lets me get  the bone health benefits of Calcium, Vitamin D3 and Magnesium, plus Vitamin C, Zinc and More† to support joint health in just one tablet per day.

I've seen so many of my friends who are my age that have become inactive and complain about joint pain, and pain when they move around. As I'm about to turn 60 this year, I'm determined not to let this happen to me. I love being active, and so taking Caltrate® Bone & Joint Health* will help me to keep walking and moving this fall, and beyond.

And did you know that as people age the amount of cartilage in joints decreases? Cartilage acts as a cushion in between bones. The more I learn about bone and joint health, the more I understand how I can play a part in helping myself remain active and confident as I age.

† Refers to Copper, Manganese and UC-II®.

When the cooler weather starts, I always crave good old comfort food. There's just something about delicious stews, soups, and chilies that satisfies my soul. Comfort is the perfect word to use for these dinners that I love cooking for my family.

But when we think of comfort food, it's often heavy, calorie laden meals that come to mind. It doesn't have to be that way, and using lots of vegetables, beans, and spices lets you create dishes that are just as tasty but better for you.

I understand how busy we all are, especially during the fall. But sitting down to eat a hot nourishing meal in the evening with family or friends is so important to our health in so many ways.  



I've been doing yoga on and off for about ten years. Let me say that when I do maintain my practice, I almost never get sick during the fall and winter. Studies show that doing yoga gives us amazing health benefits, and I feel like I'm living proof of that.

Yoga also lifts my mood and helps to ward off negative feelings that I may be experiencing. Every time I stop doing it, when I come back to my practice, I always feel so much better.

Taking Caltrate® Bone & Joint Health* and doing yoga on a regular basis is all a part of maintaining joint and bone health. I want to stay fit and active for years and years to come so that I can share a happy and healthy life with my children and grandchildren.

Caltrate® Bone & Joint Health*is exclusively available in-store at Walgreens. I found it in the section for Joint Care.

Be sure to look in your Sunday newspaper for a $4.00 coupon that will be available on 10/2/16.

And you may also find a temporary price reduction ($11.99) in the month of October.

Have you ever tried Caltrate® Bone & Joint Health*? Please leave me a comment below and let me know how it has helped you stay active. And if you haven't tried using it, why not?

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

-Post by Patricia 

Inspiration For Creating A Yoga Practice With Yoga At Home Book

I started doing yoga about eight years ago, around the time I turned fifty. I had thought about trying it for many years but had always felt too intimidated to walk into a yoga studio, where I was sure everyone was young and skinny, and able to do all the poses with ease.

My first class was truly amazing and most of my preconceived notions turned out to not be true. Sure, mainstream media shows us the gorgeous yoga models and movie stars coming out of yoga studios with their mats, but yoga really is for everyone who makes the commitment to practice it.

Last year when I had a physical I was very surprised to learn how healthy I was. I was totally grateful in every way, but surprised none the less. My blood pressure was normal, my cholesterol just fine, and all my tests came back normal. Now for someone who is my age, has some extra weight I'm carrying, doesn't eat healthy all the time, and feels stressed out every single day, this was downright amazing!! And when I talk about being stressed out, I mean really stressed, about money, how am I going to find my own place to live, how my kids are doing, and so much more that I don't even talk about.

So you can see why I was so surprised to learn how healthy I am. It's a great blessing to have your health, and one I don't take for granted, especially when I know of so many people who are sick. So I had to ask myself, why am I in good health, when my circumstances wouldn't indicate that that should be the case?

And then I thought about my yoga practice, something that I do usually three times a week, for about forty minutes. I truly do believe this is the answer.

Now don't for a minute think I'm some super yogi who can twist myself into a pretzel and does headstands all day long. Not at all. It's not about how far I can stretch, or what poses I can do. What yoga does for me is that I am more flexible, more balanced, more in tune with my body and my mind.  And that's a lot, that's everything.

I don't have the money or the time to go to yoga classes, so from the very beginning, I started a home yoga practice. At the time I was still married and had two kids at home, and was busy running a household. But I made it a point to take my yoga mat in the bedroom when no one was home, lit a candle, and just started doing poses. It took awhile to make it a routine, but I stuck with it, and eventually it became something I needed, and something that brought me great emotional comfort, especially after I separated from my husband. Those were very dark days, and I cried a lot on my mat, and yoga was one of the things that helped pull me out of that hole.

Both physically and emotionally, I believe yoga has the power to make us stronger, happier, and healthier people. But like anything worthwhile in life, it takes effort and commitment to make it happen. If I can do it, I know anyone can.

I know a lot of people struggle to practice yoga at home. It's great to go to a yoga studio and be surrounded with other students and a caring teacher to guide you during class. But in reality, very few people can go to classes a few times a week, so an at practice becomes essential if you want yoga to become a real part of your life. It's hard to find the motivation sometimes, this is so very true about a home practice, but the reward is so worth it.

Last week I picked up this very inspirational book about starting and maintaining a home practice called Yoga At Home by Linda Sparrowe. It's filled with great stories and photographs from students and internationally recognized yoga teachers. It gives an intimate look at well-known teachers practice spaces and what motivates them to share their love of yoga with others.

I found the book to be very motivating and insightful, and made me grateful for this look into other people's yoga practices and lives. It reinforces my belief that yoga is for everyone, that yoga can bring something special and sacred into our lives if we let it.

Namaste.