Celebrate National Senior Health & Fitness Day

tai chi man by Hren Design

Always set for the last Wednesday in May, National Senior Health & Fitness Day. The common goal for this day: to help keep older Americans healthy and fit. 

Here's a tip! Try singing and chanting for your health!

Singing, laughing and chanting make the sternum (the breast bone) vibrate which stimulates the immune system as the oscillations boost the Thymus, a small gland in the chest behind the sternum which controls the production of the body’s key defense cells called T lymphocytes. When you sing or shout, pray or chant, or listen to music, whether it be recorded or played live by many musicians, the Thymus is stimulated.

Unfortunately, the thymus becomes smaller and smaller with age and almost disappears in old age. Some researchers believe that different infections and cancers in old people are closely linked to the decline in T lymphocyte production. So stimulating the thymus in some way either through laughing, chanting or singing can be helpful in maintaining or improving health as we age.

Vibrations in the throat also stimulate the thyroid, the gland which produces hormones that regulate metabolism which affects the body’s energy consumption and body weight.

Read more about the Thymus, health and sound at my Cultivating Balance Blog

So now you know! The Fountain of Youth was inside YOU all the time. Keep laughing and singing for a long and healthy life!

Here's a video that will keep you seniors singing! Remember this?

The Song That Never Ends

What are you doing to stay young and healthy? Please leave a comment.

I use Anti-Aging products from NuSkin. Want to see a more youthful you? NuSkin is committed to helping you achieve the best version of you. - click here

Learn more about them here: 
Learn more about Chanting  

Check out these links for Health and Fitness   

Green Tea for Health   

Qigong For Health  

Staying Young With Okinawan Longevity

Read more about National Senior Health & Fitness Day Click Here

edited 5/22/16

Memorial Day in Hawaii

Originally created after the Civil War to honor the fallen Union soldiers, Memorial Day has now evolved to commemorate every American soldier and service member. FoxNews.com recently listed the top 10 destinations to celebrate and honor America’s heroes in the "Top 10 moving Memorial Day Getaways."  The article listed Honolulu and Waikiki as #1 for a deeply memorable Memorial Day Weekend with a trip over to Waikiki to check out Oahu's most visually breathtaking annual event The Lantern Floating Hawaii ceremony at Ala Moana Beach Park that honors ancestors and those who have sacrificed their lives in war.

Lantern floating is an Asian spiritual tradition, part of a traditional Buddhist rite which originated in Japan, that beautifully symbolizes the wish for all beings to live in peaceful coexistence...in remembrance of loved ones, or as symbolic prayer for a harmonious future. Those who cast afloat lanterns hope that Lantern Floating Hawai`i brings you a sense of peace and warm remembrance of your departed loved ones. The ceremony also features live music and speeches.

Live streaming of the ceremony will be available here on May 27, 2013, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Hawai‘i-Aleutian Standard Time.

Lantern Floating Hawaii in 2010
at Ala Moana Beach Park, Honolulu, HI

Watch this video for a brief history of the journey of lantern floating ceremony to Hawaii.

Visit Lantern Floating Hawaii on Facebook
More Info Lantern Floating Hawaii
See the photos from last year Here

Celebrating Scotland With Tartan Day

Scottish Board of Highland Dancing

Everyone knows about St. Patrick's Day when people all over the world celebrate their Irish Heritage. But do you know about Tartan Day when people all over the world celebrate their Scottish Heritage?

Every year people with Scottish heritage celebrate Tartan Week during March and April with Tartan Day falling on April 6, Throughout this week festivals are dedicated to celebrating the full, rich culture of Scotland.

In the United States there are more than 20 million people who can claim descent from Scotland, most of whom take immense pride in their Scottish heritage.

Woodrow Wilson said: "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood."

Learn more about Tartan Day at Celebrating Scotland With Tartan Week

Facebook Page Celebration Everyday

Image by Jim.Henderson used under Creative Commons 
CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

International Children's Book Day

My grandson eating his first book!

Today we are celebrating International Children's Book Day, a yearly event sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People. This day is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

Instilling a love of reading promotes a lifetime of learning and enjoyment. I have created a page Best Children's Books For The Early Years that promotes the books that I enjoyed reading to my children and my grandchildren.
 
 "There is a whole host of fabulous children's books out there waiting to be discovered - not just by children but by adults who are young at heart too!"

To find out more about the day and events happening near you, visit International Childrens Book Day website.

What is your favorite children's book? (or 2 or 3)

Click here for More April Holidays and Celebrations

Happy Saint David's Day For My Welsh Friends

St David. Late 19th Century.

Happy Saint David's Day 

(Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi) to all of the Welsh people who celebrate.

March 1 is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, in remembrance of the death of Saint David in 569. The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century, and a public holiday in 2000.

Public celebrations of Saint David's Day are held in Wales with an annual parade, concerts are held in pubs, clubs, and other venues, and food festivals.

The Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival - National Day of Wales is the largest annual event of its kind in the United States. 

For more celebrations see:

March Holidays and Celebrations
Celebrate Everyday

Update 3/3/15
I found a lovely site that I want to share with you here. 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea, St. David's Day, 
Shelley Daffodil Time Teacup, Things Welsh


Image: Stained glass window in Jesus College Chapel, Oxford, showing St David. Late 19th century.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic