By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Guest Blogger

Recently, I called a friend to commiserate about “gardening back.” She and I had both overdone our yard work sessions, now that the sun is out on some days in the Pacific Northwest.

As I soaked in the tub, I wondered what else you can do to ease back pain when you done too much yard work.

The article “How to Use Home Remedies to Relieve Back Pain or a Backache” on eHow.com offers these suggestions:

• Stretch during and immediately after taking a bath or shower.

• Take an over-the-counter pain reliever.

• Get a back massage.

• Rest to speed the healing process.

• Apply a heating pad or hot compress.

For an earlier bout of gardening back, I received help from my chiropractor. He uses techniques to help the muscles as well as working on the spine.

Recent studies also show that acupuncture is helpful for back pain.

To avoid problems with back strain the article “Gardening Chores and Your Back – Avoid Back Pain While Gardening” on About.com offers these suggestions:

• Bend at the hips and knees when lifting a shovel full of dirt rather than bending your back.

• Sit on a bucket or stool when you pull weeds.

• Kneel on one knee, using a pad on the ground to support it.

• Sit on the ground with your legs bent, putting one in front and the other in back and keeping your back straight.

• Weed on your hands and knees, keeping your back straigjt.

• Bend from the hips and knees when you lift a bag of dirt.

• Position yourself when you’re emptying a wheel barrel so that you are lifting from underneath, including using an underhanded grip.

Additional tips from “Gardening and Your Health: Protecting Your Knees and Back” on Virginia Cooperative Extension.com include:

• Mow grass regularly so the grass doesn’t get too tall and is more difficult to mow.

• Use groundcovers and mulch to reduce mowing time, weeding, and watering.

• Use raised beds in your garden to reduce bending.

• Buy light-weight bags of gardening supplies.

• Take frequent breaks and switch jobs to reduce strain on the knees and back.

I hope these tips will save you some back strain as you tackle weeds and other projects in your yard this spring and summer.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
Guest Blogger

Yesterday, when I wrote a post on “Top 10 Earth Day Top 10 Lists,” I read dozens of blog posts and Web articles about Earth Day activities and what needs to be done to restore the health of the planet.

Many of the lists of needed actions were similar: recycle, reduce consumption, buy green, use CF light bulbs, turn off the lights you’re not using, reduce heating and cooling, drive less, and buy at Farmers’ Markets.

These are useful suggestions. But baby boomers, more than half of whom consider themselves “green boomers,” are already carrying out these strategies.

It’s time for boomers to move to the next level and take green practices a step further. Here are some suggestions:

• Join a statewide environmental organization and take part in the action alerts in support of important new state laws and policies. An example: In my state the Washington Environmental Council is an advocacy organization that works to protect the land, air, and water in the state. People For Puget Sound, the Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club also carry out activities here.

• Find a local green project that interests you and take part in hands-on projects to protect the environment. An example: In Olympia, Wash., Stream Team is an education-to-action program for people interested in protecting and enhancing streams, rivers, lakes, and Puget Sound.

• Support local organic farmers by signing up for a community supported agriculture program. Typically, members or “share-holders” of the farm pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s food throughout the growing season. See the US. Department of Agriculture’s Web page on Community Supported Agriculture for information and a listing of CSA farms in your area.

• Downsize and move to a neighborhood where you can walk to work or walk to a shopping center. If you don’t have many neighborhoods that are walkable in your community, work with your local government to make this a priority for new development.

These are some of my ideas on Earth Day. What do you think? Are you moving to a new level of green involvement due to climate change and other environmental issues?

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Still a Diva at Sixty!

OK, we all have birthdays – but this is a special one for me – today I turned 60. I remember turning 50 and how very difficult that was for me. But 60 – well, it feels OK. I actually waited until my 60th birthday to write this because I wanted to be 60 when I wrote it. I wanted to see if I would feel anything different than what I was feeling, which has been and still is OK!

I believe that 60 is OK because I am happy – and I am happy because I made a choice to BE HAPPY! And yes, it is a choice – a choice we make everyday. I could choose to be disappointed, or sad, or old or numerous other things – but I have made a personal choice to be happy – happy with life, happy with who I am, happy with the things I am doing, happy with friends and family.

So, what happens when we make a choice to be something or to see something in a certain way? It happens! It is that simple. Our mind is a powerful tool that we can use to create happiness or sadness. If we only truly understood what a powerful tool our brain is – how are thoughts can literally create change – we would think a lot more about – dare I say – what we think.

We know that when someone is miserable, angry, or sad and they walk into the room – we can feel that energy around them. Our body and nervous system immediately respond. Now, what happens when someone enters a room filled with joy and happiness – we respond to that as well?

We really do have super powers – we have the power – each one of us – to bring joy or sadness into a room. How will you use your super powers?

And here is the fun part, if you walk into the world with joy, the more joy will come to you. Just as the reverse is true – if you walk into the world with anger, hatred, or self-pity – you will attract more of that. What do you want to attract?

In my case, I made a conscious decision about 4 years ago to change my thoughts, to change my way of looking at my life and the world. I decided to go toward the light and away from the darkness. I am not going to say that it was immediate – but I will say that like any habit, that the more I practice it – the more natural it seems – and thus the more the opposite just no longer works.

So, how do you walk out into the world? Make it a choice.

My birthday gift is that I wish each of you Blessings and more Blessings!

Judith Auslander,
Wise Heart Coaching

http://www.WiseHeartCoaching.com

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Guest Blogger

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Many of us question why go Organic and how much of my food really needs to be organic when prices are going up? Consider this when seeking your answers. When we eat, food goes into our mouth, into our stomach and as it gets digested, our blood absorbs it; and our blood is what creates our cells, our tissues, our organs and some even believe our thoughts. So what you eat can not only affect how you feel physically but it can also affect your thoughts, behavior and even feelings. 

Originally, all food was organic; grown and prepared without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, or irradiation. Much of our food today, be it meat or vegetable is not only grown in nutrient deficient soil, therefore providing us less nutrients, but also contains many pollutants, farming chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Buying organic meat, dairy, fruits and veggies assures you that you are keeping chemicals off your plate, giving your body more nourishment, saving energy, supporting local farmers and eating more ethically.

If you have choose, here are the top 10 produce items you should always to buy organic according to the CHEC.

Your first choices should always be foods that have a skin that you eat, as the skin is what collects the most toxins and chemicals. 

1- Peaches

2- Apples

3- Pears

4- Winter Squash

5- Green Beans

6- Grapes

7- Strawberries

8- Raspberries

9- Spinach

10- Potatoes

Photo Credit: Hamron at Flickr for Creative Commons.

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