Balance

Healthy Living Expo

February 1st by Kris Urquhart

Healthy Living ExpoCentral Florida’s largest and most anticipated natural health and green living expo will host their 6th annual show on March 8th at the Florida Tech Clemente Center in Melbourne. Healthy Living Expo attracts over 2000 visitors interested in products and services for a naturally healthy lifestyle.

The expo boasts hundreds of door prizes, free product samples, free admission, and offers opportunities for massages, free chiropractic screenings, energy treatments and much more. “Each year it is a full day of fun,” explains Kris Urquhart, Natural Awakenings publisher and expo co-producer. “The workshops are intriguing and the exhibit hall is filled with fascinating products to try and services to experience.”

The Power of Verse

June 19th by Eric Needle

Favorite Poem ProjectI stumbled onto a site, looking for the lyrics of a Sixpence None the Richer song. Whenever it comes up in my iTunes shuffle, I sing along, whether I know the words or not. Since Puedo Escribir is in Espanol, even my abilities to butcher the real lyrics were hard pressed to make sense of it. What is this haunting melody singing about? An epic story of love lost, words of praise or teen angst amid a storm of grief.

The first website I found indeed gave me the lyrics. The words only alluded to something deeper.

Remote Control Children or Developmental Programming?

August 23rd by Eric Needle

Cartoon Network Logo

Cartoon Network recently announced a new 2 hour block of programming targeted at 2 to 5 year olds. In response, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CFCC) publicly lambasted the channel for being,

“The latest attempt to get young children in front of screens — which is exactly where marketers want them.”

This raises several important questions on both ethical and parental sides of the issue. Is this another ploy to plop children in front of a tv and endear them to colorful characters and their merchandise? Can television programming actually be beneficial to a child’s development, or more importantly – is it even needed for wholesome development? Read on for the major arguments from both sides, and contribute your own answers to these vital questions.

Forever Florida

June 30th by Lee Rosenkranz

Florida ForeverA visit to Forever Florida and the Crescent J Ranch is like a romp through the terrain that once dominated this State. The unfortunate part is trying to figure out where we will show our children this amount of unspoiled land in the future?

The Art of Storytelling

June 3rd by Richard Stone

Healing Art of StorytellingOf all the challenges facing organizational leaders today, the biggest may be engaging and motivating people to embrace the organization’s mission and vision of the future. We all know the difference between staff who are punching the clock and biding their time and those who come prepared to be part of a team that is building something great. How do we get people to see that future and want to be a part of it? It comes down to communication.

Third Time is a Charm

May 3rd by Joe Rowlette

Central Florida YMCAWith our busy schedules we often lose sight of how often we “work out”. If it is not a late meeting on Monday it is a school play on Wednesday that keeps us from exercising.

Our intentions are always good. We really, really want to exercise but something always seems to interfere. Friday comes and we ask ourselves “how many days did I exercise this week?”

Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

April 3rd by Jill Bond

Central Florida YMCAWhen Exercising Remember: Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
The old saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Make this your mantra as you step on the scale or grab your sneakers after a long winter hiatus. There is a very good chance that you did not put on those extra 10 (even 20 pounds, YIKES!) overnight. Rather, a pound at Thanksgiving, one more over the holidays, and now after just finishing the last of the Valentine candy, your favorite Easter treat is on the store aisles calling your name.

Low Carb vs. Low Fat

April 3rd by Lealyn Wiggins

Low carbWho wins the food fight? You might be right if you said that low fat dieting is outdated and low carb dieting is just a fad. Most of us are waiting for the final answer. Don’t be surprised if your doctor doesn’t even know which direction you should turn for healthy weight loss.

Cutting back on dietary fat has helped millions of people shed unwanted body fat for as long as we can remember. I myself have said no to butter and cheese and reaped the benefits of a slimmer figure. So why have we turned our backs on this proven method in lieu of the new carb controlled craze? I’ll tell you why I did.

Coping with Autism

April 3rd by Kris Urquhart

Coping with AutismCoping with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Through tears running down his face, Andrew tells his mom, “I can’t think when I’m angry, it is just like a big rocket blasting off!” His mom’s heart breaks for her child as he struggles to make sense of the world around him. Andrew, like an overwhelming number of children today, has Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder sometimes called High Functioning Autism.

Plus-ing Up Your Life

April 3rd by Marlene Abbott

Plus-ing Up Your LifeLast month you were introduced to Plus-ing up your life with Emotional Intelligence. This article will focus on the ‘me, my’ aspects of the model. The crux of this part of the model is the ability to recognize the “what” and “why” behind our feelings.

Plus-ing Up Your Life With Emotional Intelligence, Part II
How many times do we go through life out of touch with our emotions only to have a sudden rush of emotion? When we have the rushes, it’s usually a generic “mad” or “happy.” To understand the “what” of our emotions we need to start by increasing our emotional vocabulary!