JustWrite

Well, it's fitting I am starting this week with gratitude as the first step in my heart health recovery (you know, because it's thanksgiving). It might seem like an unlikely step in a healthy emotionally stable heart but it's quite essential. Gratitude puts life in a positive perspective and it does it quickly . It has the capability of shifting moods and mindsets. That's a big deal! Our mindset and perspective on circumstances are crucial for an emotionally stable life. For me, a grateful heart was taught at an early age. My parents knew we didn't have much and instead of ignoring that fact they would lend a different perspective through gratefulness and service.  When me and my siblings were younger, my parents would take us to feed the homeless. We did not have much but what we had we used to serve others. "No, we don't have a lot but we do have able bodies and food on the table. Others don't have food and so with our able bodies we are going to pro...

Do you like science? I don't know why I asked...of course you don't. Well, if you're anything like me you LOVE science- specifically Biology. Now let's be clear; I do not have a love for physics or chemistry or even ecology (still have nightmares about that college course). While in my beloved biology courses the heart was always the most fascinating to me. Ugh, just the thought of it makes me all warm inside- is that weird? Anyways, I learned that one way we can measure cardiovascular (heart-lung) health is to look at heart recovery time. Let me explain.  During our sports and exercise lab we would run on a treadmill for a set amount of time...let's say two minutes. After, we would hop off and immediately begin to time how long it took for our heartbeat to get to the baseline beat... let's say 55bpm for me. Some people it took less than 30 seconds (the athletes), others a minute (the in-shape folk), for people totally out of shape, 2+ minutes (me...and only me)...