Archive for February 2008
Meditation Helps Rheumatoid Arthritis
Adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who participated regularly in a 6-month meditation program experienced less emotional distress and a higher quality of well-being than their counterparts who did not meditate. This finding, from a small study published in the October 2007 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, adds to the growing body of evidence that body-mind practices can help peo…
Read MoreIs Exercise a Fountain of Youth?
Good news for your clients: Individuals who are physically active during their leisure time appear to be biologically younger than those with sedentary lifestyles, according to a report in the January 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lynn F. Cherkas, PhD, of King's College London, and colleagues studied 2,4…
Read MoreDrop Down and Give Me More Than She’s Doing
JOE DUFFY, a cross-country skier who skis marathons, considers himself fit and motivated. About three years ago he decided to focus on strength, balance and endurance. He knew his workouts would be more interesting if he had people to compete against. So instead of visiting the gym on his own, Mr. Duffy and his wife, a former marathoner, a href=”http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialt…
Read MoreCircuit for Short Attention Spans
A circuit-style format is very effective with kids. They can always look ahead to the next station to remind themselves what comes next, and if they don’t like a particular station they know it’s over in a minute. This will keep their attention and focus on the task at hand. By having activities that switch every minute, the class is quicker than a music video and almost as fast as the Internet! …
Read MoreObese Kids Show Early Signs of Heart Disease
A study published in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Cardiometabolic Syndrome suggests that obese children often show the same symptoms of early heart disease (HD)
as their heavy adult counterparts.
Researchers studied 168 kids (ages 10–18) with early HD symptoms ranging from heart murmurs to chest pain. Based on body mass index (BMI), 33 of the children were cl…
Horticultural Therapy
“It’s not about how to take care of plants; it’s about how plants can be used to take care of people.” That’s how Tennessee Tech University agriculture professor Douglas Airhart defines horticultural therapy, a medical practice that uses nature, plants and gardening processes as vehicles for providing a wide range of therapy and rehabilitation programs.
Read MoreRetaining Members, Creating Community
Many studio and small facility owners focus predominantly on recruitment. While this is important, retaining current members is equally essential. Profits from a single customer can increase dramatically over time. A 5-year member can be up to 377% more profitable than a
Read MoreFeedback From the Field: Yoga Sequencing
In a previous issue of Inner IDEA Body-Mind-Spirit Review, we asked: Do you have your own “secret formula” for creating yoga sequences? Do you prepare your lesson plans before class or do you improvise depending on the collective tone?
Read MoreFood and Mood
People feeling sad tend to eat more of less-healthy comfort foods than when they feel happy, finds a new study co-authored by a Cornell food marketing expert. However, when nutritional information is available, those same sad people curb their
Read MoreGuided Relaxation Script: Breathing the Body
Whether you teach a group or one-on-one, the following guided relaxation script is a great way to lead a full-body awareness exercise.
Read MoreGo Ahead and Laugh!
“Laughter is the best medicine.” We’ve heard the expression time and again. For decades, researchers have explored how humor helps patients relieve stress and heal. Melissa B. Wanzer, EdD, professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, has taken it one step further with
Read MoreStress and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Offering body-mind techniques to help cope with stress may be particularly beneficial for clients who have chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Unmanaged stress is detrimental to the health of all people. However, new research suggests that for those with neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stress may have an even greater negative impact, causing their disease to worsen.
Read MoreHearty, Healthy Turkey Meatloaf
Turkey meatloaf may be healthier than traditional meatloaf made with beef or veal, but it also tends to be drier and less tasty. This turkey meatloaf recipe is guaranteed to be moist and delicious served hot or in cold sandwiches.
1 tablespoon (tbs) olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon (tsp) salt (divided use)
1/2 tsp pepper (…
MVP: Mission, Values and Purpose
What does it mean to have a mission in today’s business environment? You may hear that creating your mission statement is one of the most important things you can do for your business, but if you don’t also know what your values and purpose are, then you may struggle with important business decisions when push comes to shove.
Read MoreHow Online Referrals Can Permanently Boost Your Web Traffic
The Internet has fast become a means for personal fitness trainers to generate new fitness clients. One of the most reliable ways to increase traffic on your website is to join forces with and pay other businesses that refer their online clients to your site. That simple practice, known as affiliate marketing, simply means you pay another website a small fee every time its link to your site generates a sale or a new client.
Read MoreTraining Revenues: Creating Opportunities
In the first four articles of this five-part series, I introduced the success ingredients integral to quality growth. In this final Best Practices article I will discuss ways you can increase your income, whether you wish to remain strictly a trainer or prefer to expand into management/ownership.
Read MoreChoosing Effective Materials and Tools
We have covered a lot of territory in the three previous installments of this series, from identifying your target clientele to creating a lesson plan to organizing a client’s first experience with coaching. Now that you have established these sound practices, it’s time to pick materials and tools to make your coaching efficient. Investing the time now to select what you want to use in your sessions will make your job quicker and easier. First prepare, and then deliver great coaching.
Read More