This week marked a significant passing for me, a date and time that won't be easily forgotten.

It was May 8, 1982. Twenty five years ago this past week. And what made this date so important?

It was the day that Gilles Villeneuve died.

So the next question I'm sure is "Who is Gilles Villeneuve?", yes?

In 1982, I was a 16 year old that had a fascination with Formula One racing. Actually, in all reality, I had a fascination with almost any type of auto racing - excluding NASCAR (which to me, is a whole different issue). It was a time when I was pondering the possibility of becoming an automotive engineer. But I didn't want to be just any automotive engineer - I wanted to design Formula One racing cars for Ferrari.

Read more...

"First, do no harm -
Second, revere the healing powers of nature"

The phrase above has historically been attributed to Hippocrates, the 'Father of Medicine' who is credited with revolutionizing medicine in Ancient Greece. Fielding Garrison, an authority on medical history, states in his landmark text An Introduction to the History of Medicine, "He is, above all, the exemplar of that flexible, critical, well-poised attitude of mind, ever on the lookout for sources of error, which is the very essence of the scientific spirit". Hippocrates believed that the body must be treated as a whole and not a series of parts, and that   "natural forces within us are the true healers of disease".

Read more...

Photojournalists are an amazing breed. The ability to catch a moment in time - perfectly - on film - is an incredible skill. For the photographer, it's all about being in the right place at the right time - and yes, timing (and location!) IS everything. Photojournalism - or photography in general - is always something I have held in very high esteem. The ability to compose an image in the space of the viewfinder, and to do it "on the fly" (or perhaps under intense pressure or extreme circumstances) - now that is a skill to behold.

This was almost my chosen profession.

I had a camera in my hands from my earliest memories. My father was a photographer - a hobbyist, and certainly not a photojournalist - but he exposed me to the world of photography at an early age. I can remember my first Instamatic ... and then my first 35mm camera (an Olympus OM-10 that my father had won in a contest). I was hooked. Eventually, I took photos for the school yearbook. I developed an admiration of the skill required to take a good photo ... and the difference between a good photo and a great one.

Read more...

"Core training". Now there is a buzz phrase in the fitness and medical worlds these days. Apparently, everyone's got a core strength issue. You have a sore back? Must be caused by your weak core. Lousy golf game? Make your core stronger. Pain with sitting? Must be your weak abdominals. If you're involved with an active population - you've heard it a thousand times. Now you're hearing it with the sedentary population. Before long, core strengthening will be introduced as a solution to heart disease, stroke, and world hunger.

Well, maybe not heart disease - but I digress.

Read more...

If you were to ask any of the people I've known over the years, they would probably tell you that I am goal-oriented. I enjoy the focus that comes with having a task, setting a plan, being passionate about the process, and heading towards the goal. Sometimes that may be a totally single-minded flurry of activity to get there ... and in others, it's a methodical stepwise process to inch steadily towards the destination.

I used to think it was all about the goal - and attaining it.

In recent times, I have discovered that it is truly all about the process ... and though goals do help to define the road we're on, they are not the "be all and end all" in the mix. Life involves growth, and within that growth lies the opportunity for evolving focus, process, perspective, and how we define ourselves.

Read more...

Politics. A topic that will always instill debate, discussion, and perhaps even social revolt. It seems like there is a political slant to everything these days. Health care and fitness ... aren't any different. There is always a lobbyist pushing for the rights of some special interest group - regardless of the point of contention or discussion. It seems we're becoming more fragmented in the way we live - and think - in our world today.

If we all truly believed that self-care and "wellness" were the way to go forward with our health "care" system (and I use this phrase loosely), then we'd have to admit some deep-seated issues and incongruities in our professional lives.

Read more...

This would have to be my word for the week:

"Incomprehensible:
–adjective: impossible to understand or comprehend; unintelligible; impossible to know or fathom.
-synonyms: baffling, bewildering, obscure."

I guess it all started off with the slayings at Virginia Tech. An event like this is simply not within our comprehension. There aren't many people that can say that they truly understand the magnitude of the suffering, anguish, or horror. As I've heard said before - "not until you've walked a day in my mocassins".

Read more...

A "mentor" is defined as "a wise and trusted guide and advisor". Perhaps this sounds like a crazy idea - but if we have sports coaches and life coaches, what about health coaches? Or better yet, let's put the right slant on it - because, as they say, perception is everything - and call them health mentors. Is this not what we need in the world of health to foster competent self care?

Yes, there is a need for health "care" - and health care providers. That will always be the case. But examine the medical problems faced by our society today. Obesity. Heart disease. Diabetes. All are issues that would benefit significantly from a different approach to health. These are conditions that either have a significant "preventative" aspect or that benefit tremendously from straightforward education and lifestyle changes. They are also conditions that are putting a tremendous strain on the health care system - and that strain doesn't look to be getting better any time soon, especially with an aging populace.

Read more...