Why I walk
After learning about the Blue Zone project this week I decided to start walking to work again. So for the last couple of days I've made the trip down Maple Street, thoroughly enjoying the crisp air, the fall colors and sounds of the leaves dancing in the wind.
 A couple years ago I walked to work almost every day during the fall and even the winter. In the summer I rode my bike. Last year, for some reason, I started driving more.  I guess there were meetings to attend, places to be, and driving once or twice a week started to became easier each day.
But this mornings walk reminded me of what I had been missing. I don't do it for the exercise, my office is only a 1/3 of mile from my home and my pace is more amble than power-walk. So it's not really much of a calorie burner.
What it does is remind me of the days when life was lived outside. As a kid we would head out the door in the morning and not come home for hours. Somehow, without the benefit of video games, Ipods or smart phones, the hours still managed to slip away unnoticed in the unbridled freedom of youth. Playing games that seem old fashioned now, hide and seek, baseball at the elementary school or just riding bikes around town. Do kids still do those things or has childhood become so organized that play requires a registration form and entry fee?
Grass stained pants and the feel of the wind in your face when running full speed ahead to nowhere, that's what I remember.
The 10 or 15 minutes it takes me to make the walk down Maple street let me reconnect with that. The wind still bites my face, though my pace is slower and more deliberate. But the echos of those days remain and sometimes I hear them in the leaves that rustle in the breeze.

Are You Blue?

Denise Coder visited the Rotary Club Tuesday to talk about the Atlantic Blue Zone Project. If you don't know much about this project, and I didn't, it really is a worthwhile project with the goal to create a healthier and happier community. I really liked the "Power 9" behaviors (reprinted below). Straightforward, commonsense advice. And I get to drink more wine!
Below is information from the website, http://www.bluezonesproject.com/.  

 

Please visit the site today and register. The community needs 25% percent of the population to signup to qualify. 

On Aug. 10, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad announced a plan to make Iowa the Healthiest State by the year 2016 as measured by the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index®. The Healthiest State Initiative is a privately- led, publicly endorsed effort that will engage citizens throughout the state to improve their overall health and well-being.
According to the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®, Iowa currently ranks as the 19th healthiest state in the nation. Although that puts Iowa in the top half, there is room for improvement. Today, Iowa scores well on emotional health, physical health and access to basics such as safe surroundings, financial resources, strong community and health care services. Progress needs to be made on healthy behaviors such as exercise and eating habits, as well as improving overall work environments.
Go to the Healthiest State Initiative website for more information. An exciting component of this initiative is the vision to transform 10 Iowa communities into Blue Zones Communities. What are Blue Zones®? They are the healthiest, happiest, longest-living cultures on earth. Additionally, all Iowans will have access to tools and information to help them take action regardless if their community is selected or not.

Power 9™

2011-08-04 by admin

There are places in the world where people live healthy, happy lives well into their 90′s and 100′s.  Dubbed “Blue Zones” by National Geographic researcher Dan Buettner, these longevity hotspots share nine traits—Power 9—responsible for their remarkable results.

Power 9 behaviors can be organized into four categories, Move Naturally, Eat Wisely, Right Outlook and Belong

1. Move Naturally
We can get more physical activity naturally if we live in walkable communities, de-convenience our homes and grow gardens.
2.  Know your Purpose
People who know why they wake up in the morning live up to seven years longer than those who don’t.
3. Down Shift
To reverse inflammation related to every major age-related disease, find time each day to meditate, nap, pray or enjoy a happy hour.
4. 80% Rule
It takes your stomach 20 minutes to tell your brain it is full causing most people to accidentally overeat; so stop when you feel 80% full.
5. Plant Slant
Eat mostly a plant-based diet that is heavy on beans, nuts, and green plants. This is consistent with the USDA’s MyPlate recommendations to make fruits, vegetables and grains the majority of your intake.
6. Wine at 5
If you have a healthy relationship to alcohol, one to two glasses of wine daily could help add years to your life, especially when consumed with a healthy diet.
7. Family First
Living in a thriving family is worth a half a dozen extra years of life expectancy.   Invest time in your kids, nurture a monogamous relationship and keep your aging parents nearby.
8. Belong
Recommit, reconnect or explore a new faith-based community. No matter which faith, studies found that people who show up to their faith community four times a month live an extra 4-14 years.
9. Right Tribe
Your friends have a long-term impact on your well-being.  Expanding your social circle to include healthy-minded, supportive people might be the most powerful thing you can do to add years to your life.
Print this list and refer to it daily to help you adopt behaviors that will improve your well-being and extend your longevity.
©Copyright 2009 by Blue Zones, LLC.  All rights reserved.