Watch 6-minute video of hand exercises that you can incorporate at any time of your day when hands feel stiff and tired.

Look and Feel Your Best No Matter What Life Throws at You. During the past year with COVID-19, physical and mental health for many people has taken a hit. But no matter the obstacles in your life, you can look and feel your best by taking care of yourself. Even though you may not always have much energy, taking care of yourself now will make you healthier and happier in the long term.

If you have been following what’s going on in the wellness or preventive health measures movement, you most likely noticed the popularity and momentum gained by any type of mindfulness practices. Many of the practices moved totally in the virtual and app space. I have been exploring them for some time now.

This weekend I tuned into Rhode Island’s BrainWeek Conference that just came to the end, but is available on the website. There is even virtual theater performance with topic, brain of course. The YouTube videos of events will be available as well.

One of the most potent weapons we have against aging of our brains and improving its function comes from exercise and the most compelling evidence about it comes from animal research, and few human-based studies.

I want to celebrate love, dedication and trust that comes with those feelings by getting rid of one day love holiday or 3-day expiration date on Valentine’s Day flowers.

I however could not call myself a New Englander if I did not take to this and other winter exercises with at least a healthy degree of curiosity. I love brisk walk, snowshoe walk, cross-country hike on trails.

I recorded the audio with my recent adventure in trying to find a great yoga bolster. Bolster can be used during meditation practice as well. I contemplate on winter meditation and how to find motivation to keep practicing.

Remote yoga brings peace to busy mind in times when we need it most. Follow link to interview with yoga instructor and naturopath.

Why do we come back to yoga practice? Find out more in this morning pre-yoga self-awareness observation on what yoga means to me.

If you want to find the best what there is in wellness and be kind to yourself do not hesitate and learn to meditate. It may be good to start with a video or an app, but after a while you will realize that there is so many ways to meditate, whether it’s a walk away from busy traffic, closing your eyes at your desk for few minutes, creating an art and getting lost in that project or reading a poem and contemplating its meaning and textures. Go for a walk and listen to the religious service or music. With time it will become such a natural state of being for which you will reach again and again because it feels so good.

I did subscribe to Headspace meditation app this summer as American Medical Association offered it for its members for free. There is so much emphasis on wellness these days, almost like we realized just yesterday that physicians are humans too, prone to stress, breakout, despair and doubt. I admit that the app helped me to dedicate 10 minutes of my time few times a week to a session designed for beginners. I was advised to sit down, look for solitude, close my eyes, take refreshing breaths and the rest of meditation followed. Each session felt very good. At first I was a little frustrated that I keep unfocusing and being distracted, but with practice that becomes a secondary issue and something not to stress about so not to contradict what you try to accomplish with meditation. One session described this sensation as seeing the picture of big blue sky and clouds passing, but not being taken away or overwhelmed by the clouds which will be there, like life events, no matter what and same can be said about thoughts in our heads, let them pass, but do not allow them to control you. Easier said than done, but the moderator of the sessions explains the concept of practice very well and the sessions are simple enough to follow.

This spring and summer something fantastic happened. Despite the dark days of pandemic and national terror induced by the tiny living organism with a pretty name Covid19 folks wanted to get out of isolations, physical distance locations, garages and basements, tiny houses in backyards and newly built tree houses. Enough is enough and live has to go on, but when you get out for some fresh air what do you do? This is the thing, we took to biking. We bike in dozens, trails are squeaking from amount of wheels hitting them, they are so overloaded. I have never seen that many bikers on famous Cape Cod Rail Trail. The bike shops have seen revival and sustainability of their business as they offered something that gyms could not do: promise of physical activity in fresh air, relative safety and safe distance from others at the same time.

If like me you type on computer all day, or have awkward positions of fingers and hands in relation to your laptop, or even smart phone, you will understand while I reached out to my colleague Michael Nula, founder of Elite physical therapy office in lovely Rhode Island, to converse about the stress to our hands. We talk specifically about condition that is referred to as De Quervaine’s tenosynovitis or radial styloid tenosynovitis, the disorder that is degenerative and possibly inflammatory in nature, and that all of us may suffer from due to overuse of thumb and forearm tendons.

Universal masking made my skin more problematic this spring and summer, but since I started loading on cucumber juices and salads I noticed a visible effect of more clear and plump skin.

Cucumbers are water-rich and have a large amount of vitamins and minerals in their skin, which I do not remove when I eat them.

The cucumber seeds have a diuretic effect, the green skin color has its intensity from chlorophyll and you will also find cholesterol decreasing sterols right in the outside layer which as I grow in my garden I consume with relative safety.

There is a renewed interest in vitamin C (ascorbic acid), but in reality the “C” never goes out of style. You hear more about it in cold and flu season, or in relation to treatment of wounds, cold sores and other herpetic infections, protocols to treat urinary tract infections (UTI) among others. It is hard not to mention vitamin C containing skin products, tonics, creams, serums. They promise refreshed and healthier skin by boosting collagen production and cell renewal. In the time of pandemic there is constant talk and ongoing debates (at times supported by science)about possible treatments, supplements and other methods to improve immunity and survival success of those afflicted with Covid19 virus, or those trying to fend it off. The science and clinicians looked again at the vitamin C and ascorbic acid infusions were utilized to treat Covid19, mostly based on prior data of administration in severe infections.

It seems more vital than ever to stay active. Pandemic changed work habits of many from unhealthy long commutes to unhealthy sit at your desk habit. We replaced one terrible sedentary activity (longer commute has been associated with weight gain with actual minutes spent behind wheel making a difference) with even less appealing routine of sitting still for 8 hours a day in front of laptops and computers. Unfortunately the same applies to school children who continue remote learning with hours behind the screens.