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Warm Weather Wellness: Your Guide to Staying Healthy and Balanced as the Seasons Change

Blenda Cooper — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:28:25 +0000

The season has changed and it’s almost summer in the Mile High City. So what can we expect? We can expect warmer weather with a mix of crazy weather – rain, hail, high winds. But we can also expect to receive more energy from the sun which we will use to move around more and fill our schedules with heavy “TO DO..” lists.

The change in season has us strapped for time and the economy has us strapped for money. For a person with a busy schedule, this makes balancing life with healthy living more challenging.

Here are some ways to stay healthy as the seasons change and your schedule fills up:

1. Seek out seasonal deals and discounts on healthy products and services. There are plenty of holiday sales coming up (i.e.: Mother’s Day, Memorial Day) and most stores will be looking to get rid of lasts season’s inventory. Now is the time to save.

2. Restore yourself more often. A busier schedule usually brings on more stress to your body. An affordable way to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit so to take advantage of the many free fitness programs & classes across the city. Im’Unique hosts free yoga classes at the Museum Of Nature and Science every Tuesday 6:30pm – 7:30pm from April 17th – June 5th. Visit www.imuniqueunited.com. The Stapleton Foundation, WOOT (War On Obesity Today) and other community organizations are partnering to offer Be Well Centers – which include free 6-week fitness, nutrition and wellness programs, health screens, and much more at Denver Recreation Centers starting in June. Visit www.bewellconnect.org to register.

3. Drink more water and get more active outdoors. Warmer weather provides great opportunities for outdoor activities such as walking, jogging, biking, tennis, and hiking. If you cannot travel up to the foothills during the week, visit Bluff Lake Nature Center on Stapleton for a get-away with nature. It’s what I call “Denver’s Oasis in the City” and there you will find a 1 mile dirt trail surrounding Bluff Lake with a few hills, a canopy of trees, stairs and ramp to walk or jog, plenty of information on nature, and a beautiful scenery. Visit www.blufflakenaturecenter.org. Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Fit. ♦

Shit Girls In Denver Say

303live.com — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:46:36 +0000

Health & Fitness: 5 Ways to Shed the Winter Weight in Denver

Blenda Cooper — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:06:08 +0000

It’s that time! It’s time to keep your New Year Resolution-promise to yourself to begin your exercise program or to be more consistent with the program you’ve just started with. At the beginning of every year I meet a lot of people who are “gung-ho” about getting in shape but then by February, they lose motivation until the next New Year. It’s a shame because Denver offers the best environment to keep in shape year-round. So if you’re still slacking off, here are 5 ways to shed the winter weight and keep your motivation throughout the year:

1. Visit your doctor.

If you haven’t had a physical check up in the past 12 months and/or haven’t exercised since last May or even last January then now is the time to check your physical condition. This is important because the body changes over the years and you may respond to exercise differently than you did before. For example, if you don’t eat at least 3 meals every day or you eat sweets, chips, soda or junk food your blood sugar may drop to an unsafe level when you begin exercising. Knowing about your health prior to exercise could save your life. Free or low-priced health screens are given throughout the year in Denver – Coming up: April 21 – May 15: 9HealthFair Events; Visit: http://www.9HealthFair.org

2. Write Down Your Goals And Get Moving.

Once you know your goals, choose an activity you like that burns calories and will help you to reach them. Next, find a group of people who meet up weekly to do the activity. For example, if you like to dance and your friends won’t go with you, try signing up for a dance class. With this move, you’ll be able to do what you like, meet new people and get in shape! On the hot list: Zumba – a popular “Latin-inspired dance-fitness” class that is sweeping the nation. You can find Zumba classes in the Denver area by visiting http://www.Zumba.com for more information.

3. Get Connected.

Choose a workout partner who has similar fitness goals as you and set a workout schedule or get your friends together and create a group class with a personal trainer. Getting in shape can be challenging if you’re attempting to do it alone. You are less likely to miss your workout if you are accountable to a schedule and to someone else. For more information find personal training and group fitness information at the bottom of this article.

4. Drink At Least 8 Cups of Water.

Studies show that just a 2% drop in body water can disrupt cognitive function, mental focus, and visual focus and can even cause muscle cramps. Studies also show that most people mistake the thirst sensation for hunger and eat when they are actually thirsty. But it is important to know that once you notice you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Helpful tip: Drinking a glass of water prior to every meal can correct the senses and promote weight loss.

5. Eat Your Fruits And Veggies And Take A Multivitamin.

Most American’s diets lack in fruits and vegetables. Additionally, most foods grown in America don’t have the high nutrient value they did 50 years ago and stress, lifestyle and environment suck the nutrients from our bodies. If you consistently catch a cold or flu every winter, chances are you don’t get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet. Getting your nutrients in is a healthy way to ward off disease, keep quality vision, lose weight, build stamina and endurance, and the list goes on. Helpful tip: After drinking water prior to ever meal, eating fruits or vegetables first, before the main course can decrease the tendency to over-eat starchy and fattening foods.

Reflect on All of The Progression Made – (Black History Month)

Drob — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:15:26 +0000

WOW! Where does time go? We are already in Black History Month! As we enter this month we should reflect on all of the progression made in the USA. We, as a people, now have the power to vote, apply for jobs, speak freely, buy a car, buy a house, get an education and even run for president. I still can’t believe we have a Black president.

During this time I always think it is important to take a look at the Willie Lynch Letter. Though we have overcame many of the obstacles in this letter there are still some items in the letter that needs to be overcome.

Willie Lynch Letter 1772:

Greetings,

Gentlemen. I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies, where I have experimented with some of the newest, and still the oldest, methods for control of slaves. Ancient Rome would envy us if my program is implemented. As our boat sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King (King James), whose version of the Bible we cherish, I saw enough to know that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of wood as crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great numbers, you are here using the tree and the rope on occasions. I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree, a couple miles back. You are not only losing valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit, you suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed. Gentlemen, you know what your problems are; I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here, I HAVE A FULL PROOF METHOD FOR CONTROLLING YOUR BLACK SLAVES. I guarantee every one of you that, if installed correctly, IT WILL CONTROL THE SLAVES FOR AT LEAST 300 HUNDREDS YEARS. My method is simple. Any member of your family or your overseer can use it. I HAVE OUTLINED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES AMONG THE SLAVES; AND I TAKE THESE DIFFERENCES AND MAKE THEM BIGGER. I USE FEAR, DISTRUST AND ENVY FOR CONTROL PURPOSES. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them. On top of my list is “AGE,” but it’s there only because it starts with an “a.” The second is “COLOR” or shade. There is INTELLIGENCE, SIZE, SEX, SIZES OF PLANTATIONS, STATUS on plantations, ATTITUDE of owners, whether the slaves live in the valley, on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, course hair, or is tall or short. Now that you have a list of differences, I shall give you an outline of action, but before that, I shall assure you that DISTRUST IS STRONGER THAN TRUST AND ENVY STRONGER THAN ADULATION, RESPECT OR ADMIRATION. The Black slaves after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self-refueling and self-generating for HUNDREDS of years, maybe THOUSANDS. Don’t forget, you must pitch the OLD black male vs. the YOUNG black male, and the YOUNG black male against the OLD black male. You must use the DARK skin slaves vs. the LIGHT skin slaves, and the LIGHT skin slaves vs. the DARK skin slaves. You must use the FEMALE vs. the MALE, and the MALE vs. the FEMALE. You must also have white servants and overseers [who] distrust all Blacks. But it is NECESSARY THAT YOUR SLAVES TRUST AND DEPEND ON US. THEY MUST LOVE, RESPECT AND TRUST ONLY US. Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss an opportunity. IF USED INTENSELY FOR ONE YEAR, THE SLAVES THEMSELVES WILL REMAIN PERPETUALLY DISTRUSTFUL. Thank you gentlemen.”

I wish you nothing but the best and hope that you will reflect on our progression and the people who made it possible this month.

God Bless,

David Robinson

Reverend King Was A Representation of Unity

Drob — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:04:29 +0000

A couple of weeks ago a customer came up to me and said, “Happy Martin Luther King Day!” I know she said it to me cause I was Black, which is not a problem. However, I think that people forget that Reverend King was a representation of unity. Not just of Blacks but of all cultures. His “I Have A Dream” speech is one of the most profound speech to be given in the US. During Black History Month I think it is important to reflect on those who lived before us and who had to struggle and fight for the world that we see today. Though I do not believe that his work is finished (after all Blacks are still on the bottom of the poles in a good amount of stats) he definitely did a lot for Blacks, Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, really anyone who is considered a minority in this country.

Rev Martin Luther King Jr “I Have A Dream“:

“… I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today…

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

I hope you have a great day. And whatever you do please do it BIG! I love to see my people succeed.

God Bless,