|
|
Latest News at YoManTra - Petra's Weekly
Newsletters from 2026
5/3/26 I signed up for a workshop, only
to receive an email a little while later announcing that it was cancelled.
It was a Longevity workshop. Considering that my classes at the gym are called
Yoga for Longevity, I thought it prudent to get a bit more informed on this
topic, not just from a movement perspective.
While the workshop is not happening, I have been doing a little bit of research
on my own on what may
help with longevity, from a food perspective.
Here I am listing what I learned from reading books from the recommended book
list, including two by William W. Li, MD.
Food can help restore your body to health. We are all prone to sickness, developing
cancer cells, attacks to our DNA. The bodily systems that keep us from withering
away and dying prematurely are:
- Angiogenesis can create little blood vessels where they are needed, eg after
any injury. When Angiogenesis is not working perfectly, the body may become
vulnerable to things like psoriasis, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, various
cancers.
- Regeneration means that your body rebuilds itself constantly. Imagine that
your small intestine regenerates itself twice a week. All parts of the body
regrow constantly, as long as stem cells are generated to replace worn our
cells. When the stem cell bank is depleted, conditions can surface like chronic
wounds, diabetes, osteoarthritis, macular degeneration.
- Your microbiome is virtually all over your body, especially on the skin and
in body cavities and inside the gut. Its functions are heavily influenced
by diet. Dysbiosis of the microbiome can lead to asthma, celiac disease, diabetes,
food allergies, IBS, obesity, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis, and various
cancers.
- Your DNA sustains thousands of naturally occurring damaging events every
day. Trillions of cells replicate non-stop, so some errors are prone to happen.
Other errors can be due to inflammation or infection, toxins, and sun damage.
When DNA defenses are breached, conditions like Alzheimer's, depression, diabetes,
obesity, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis could take a foothold.
- A strong immune system keeps not only a cold at bay but can also squish cancers.
It is the best health defense system we have. When the immune system is weak,
the following conditions and many more can take hold: Cancers, asthma, allergies,
MS, obesity.
The below recommended food list that supports these processes aiding longevity
and health is not complete. It however will give some ideas:
1. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi,
radishes, kale
2. Veggies and legumes esp onion, garlic, carrots, spicy peppers, tomatoes,
mushrooms, beans, soy, lentils, chickpeas
3. Fruit esp. all berries, kiwi, mangoes, watermelon, apples, plums, oranges,
cherries
4. Dark chocolate at >80% cocoa content
5. The only recommended fat is cold pressed olive oil
6. Nuts and seeds
7. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and other brined veggies
8. Herbs, spices and tea
9. All fish
10. When it comes to animal products, the only ones recommended are yogurt,
cheeses like Gouda, Emmental, Stilton, Parmesan, Camembert, and only the dark
meat in chicken thighs. That's it.
11. Sugar, artificial sweeteners, and white flours do not support longevity
and health, same as all highly processed products with ingredients you would
not use in home cooking.
12. Red wine may be ok but the downsides from the alcohol mostly outweigh
the rather small resveratol content. Beer has some good bacteria and is recommended
in small-ish amounts.
13. Vitamin D, Omega 3s, Resveratol may be very good supplements to research
and consider taking
Visceral fat that is crammed into crevices inside the abdomen squeezes inner
organs like a bear hug. Too much of it can release chemicals that cause inflammation
and increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and
cancer. Losing just a few pounds lowers blood pressure and the chance to get
any diseases related to visceral fat. A study found that losing 5 pounds means
an 18% lower risk of death from any cause. Losing 12 pounds means a 36% reduced
death risk. Mortality increased by 14% for every 5% weight gain in this THOP
study at Harvard of slightly overweight people in their 30ies and 40ies.
I look at this list, and I know that I could be making better choices. I could
stop slathering butter on bread for one. I could lose 10 pounds and fit better
into my clothes and get rid of the muffin top. I will be thinking about this
the next time I reach into the cabinet for a snack.
There is always something to learn, and I am grateful to all scientists who
dedicate their careers to making our lives better and to making me think about
what I do habitually, as not all habits serve me well.
4/26/26 I have spent the day painting out a room that I cut in yesterday,
then went on to cleaning out dead branches from bushes, turning a mulch pile,
and now spent the past couple of hours weeding. I love being outdoors in gorgeous
weather like today, but I am utterly exhausted. Weekends are tough! One highlight
was steaming the sizable amount of asparagus we had harvested from our asparagus
bed and then tasting it. Best asparagus ever! I will also get salad and radishes
from the cold frame and ramps from the ramps bed to prepare meals for tomorrow.
Having our own garden and putting in the effort to plant, to care for, and
to prepare what we harvest is a wonderful thing and also a very intense workout.
The other day we had lunch on the porch after we went on a hike, and when
I pointed out all the things I was serving that came from our own garden our
friend called it 'farm to table'. I chuckled - but she is right. Our little
farm. How much better does it get?
4/19/26 The daffodils were showy this year, and I cut some and put them on
the kitchen island, so I could adore them while I was hiding indoors from the
heat. Only a handful are left now, white ones with frilly centers, some a
little yellow, some a little pink. Amazing, how nature manages to create the
most beautiful flowers. And also very fleeting. A couple more days, and they
will also be turning into mush. The tulips sure did, they all opened their
petals for a day and then they wilted again in the unseasonable heat. The
ones I cut lasted longer than the ones in the yard.
Most things in life are like this. They come and they go. We can watch not
only the changes around
us but also within us, if we are mindful. When I got out of bed I realized
I got poison ivy yesterday when walking to the opossum's hiding place to bring
him a couple of chicken legs. I know it will be a few days of annoyance at
some intervals, mostly of waking up in the middle of the night scratching my
ankles, and then it will be over. There was a brief moment of annoyance with
myself, and then the reach into the cabinet for steroid cream. This too shall
pass.
Since then, sitting in the kitchen, I have felt good in my body, and I have
savored the absence of bodily sensations or tension from stress. A quiet morning
with some pitter patter of welcome rain, cats that are more or less patiently
waiting for more food to arrive, and the smell of coffee in the air. I know
it will not be like this forever, and I truly enjoy and feel what it feels
like being relaxed and at peace.
Funny enough, just a minute after I typed the above, I was asked to teach at
the gym this morning. I better go and contact people affected by the rearrangement
of my schedule. I am glad I had a wonderfully relaxing hour earlier as that's
not going to come back for a while now.
4/12/26 The blooms are gorgeous. The garden is popping, and so are many blooming
trees. We walk outdoors, enjoying how nature is coming back to life. The
cats don't even want to come back indoors now that they can lie in the sun
and suck up the heat of the rays and play with whatever moves outdoors. We
all just love it.
How to enjoy oneself but be safe as the same time... Of course, there are
pitfalls to all the loveliness, like it is with everything.
It's allergy season.
My eyes itch and once I start to rub, I can hardly take my hands from them.
My nose drips especially at night when I want to go to sleep. Once there
is an effect on my sleep it is time to take action. Similasan homeopathic
eye drops help me. They won't cause cataracts and they are effectively just
salt water - how much better does it get than zero side effects. I also started
to use a neti pot twice a day. A recent article in the New York Times confirms
what I have experienced: It is amazingly simple, cheap, fast and it has a
lot of positive benefits. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/well/live/neti-pot.html
Once I am ready for some real meds, I go with Flonase before I swallow any
pills, which do have side effects.
3/29/26 Something on my mind is a birthday
party we went to yesterday. Joe, the birthday
child, turned 100. He is a WWII vet
and lives in his home with his wife, who is 96. We went to their house, which
is beautiful, large, and spanking clean with old kitchen appliances and an
intercom that allowed them to summon their kids when they overslept.
We were there for 7 hours, and during this time, I took in what I saw, as considering
that I teach Yoga for Longevity, it seems prudent to watch and learn.
Joe looks his age. I saw a lot of muscle loss. I saw a large curve in his
spine. But I did not see a hearing aid and I did not see glasses on his nose,
although he was watching sports on the silenced TV. He opened and read his
birthday cards out loud. He has a cell phone that one of his kids gifted him
a speaker for so he can hear his podcasts and Spotify music better. He is
an avid sports fan and it seems that he remembers recent events just as well
as distant ones.
Dinner was supposed to be served early but there was a delay due to the traffic
situation yesterday afternoon, so we asked him all kinds of things about the
war and about how he met his wife and how he is not allowed to drive any longer
but still gets behind the wheel every day to take his wife down the short driveway
to the mail box where she gets out to collect the mail, he turns the car around,
and then he drives back up the driveway and parks the car there. The neighbors
are mostly retired as well and they all look out for each other. They have
help in the form of a cleaner that comes once a week.
During most of our visit Joe sat on the couch, which is not a very high couch
at all, but has 2 hand rests on either side of him that allow him to use his
arms to get to standing. He uses a rollator. Nobody helped him get around,
as it was clear he did not need help. I saw him park the rollator in front
of the bathroom and walk in to use it.
Dinner being several hours later than expected was clearly no issue at all
for either Joe or his wife. Neither of them went to take a nap. Neither of
them ever complained. They both ate every offered food, participated in conversations
across the table, laughed, and obviously enjoyed the day with relatives and
friends of their kids.
What I saw is a very loving couple, who must push themselves hard, and it is
not at all obvious to the observer that they do but what one sees speaks for
itself. They both navigate the day with what they have. They have loving
relationships. They have a supportive community of neighbors, church friends,
and their family. They still uphold a standard of care and integration into
society that seem befitting for people several decades younger. There was
also an acceptance that seems hard to find, where most people complain about
this and that all the time. Oh, dinner is not ready until 8 and we will finish
dessert by 10, no problem at all. Joe even made a joke about things being
later than expected and that did not seem to bother him. I felt like their
lives probably have not changed in a massive way in decades. 'Use it or lose
it' and 'Go with the flow' come to mind.
And so I learned some things yesterday about aging gracefully by watching this
lovely couple navigate their day. I am grateful to have been there to observe.
Hopefully this is not the last 100th birthday celebration that I will be
happy to attend. I look forward to participating in yours, if I am able and
if you will have me.
3/22/26 I already cried this morning. Initially tears of sorrow, then they
turned into tears of joy. We have not seen the opossum in a couple of weeks
and the raccoons have come to wipe out the plentiful food I put out every night.
I realize this is mating season, so I thought maybe our opossum left its winter
home and went on a walkabout trying to find a partner. I stopped putting food
out in the forest and that was that.
Last weekend, Brad and I started to put the havaheart
traps out each morning to capture and
relocate squirrels, since they are a real garden pest. Our chosen relocation
home offers plentiful food and shelter and we believe we are not doing them
a major disservice. Last night we forgot to close the larger of the traps.
This morning it was closed and I was shocked to see the opossum sitting in
it. I carried the trap to the forest and watched as it dashed straight back
to the horse stables. My initial reaction was anguish as will this opossum
ever come back into our yard if it experienced hours sitting inside the trap.
But then I lightened up as there was a bunch of good food inside the trap,
which it ate, and it is not sunny this morning, which was hopefully not too
bad for its eyes. Best of all, I now know that our opossum is alive and well
and still around! The opossum did not act scared and did not snarl - it clearly
recognized us - so maybe it was not all that bad an experience after all.
3/15/26 The snow has only been gone for a week. My body however knows that
I am in the middle of the gardening season. Yesterday I spent 6 hours working
outdoors, bending down to the ground an estimated 500 times, cleaning up the
yard and then spreading wood chips and dirt. My body can really feel it.
Last weekend, I managed to fall over the much too long handle of a gardening
tool and face planted. It felt like a great start to the annual chores for
sure. Yesterday, a much too heavy wheel barrow fell over as I was trying to
empty it, and I made deep ruts in the soft ground as I was trying to fully
empty it and then to get it upright again. Every year I fight the fact that
most tools a gardener uses are made
by men for men. They are too long,
too heavy, and they require way too much strength.
What does this have to do with yoga? Well, yoga makes me feel the same way.
Some women may fare all right with Vinyasa Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and how they
are all called, my body however called quits. The omnipresent warrior postures
require movement in the hips, low back, and knees that my body is not willing
to give. The constant pushups, cobras, and downward dogs are intense on my
delicate wrists and shoulders. If I take a yoga class taught by someone else
today, I modify almost every posture as what is offered is just not for me.
Who came up with Western yoga postures and flows? That it's all about Asana,
the postures, is a phenomenon of our society today, as originally, yoga was
not about postures at all but rather about the mind. Indian Sages would bottle
up so much prana energy from the yoga they did sitting around all day, that
their bodies would flow from posture to posture, without any blue print, called
Mediation in Motion. It wasn't called yoga at all, more a side effect of it.
At some point, someone watched and wrote down key postures, like taking a
snap shot during every couple of seconds. Then someone gave those postures
Sanskrit names. Then someone strung them together with the breath and called
it Vinyasa Flow. The postures, which got Sanskrit names are all pretty flashy.
Things like a wall sit did not get included. Not flashy enough I guess, or
maybe sages had no walls closeby.
Anyway, this system that originated with men and was propelled by men into
the West has little concern for women. I assume that I am not the only one
struggling with it, as I shaped my classes not just for my own body but also
with the feedback that I have gotten from my yoga peeps (Thank You!). I was
able to do this as I am in control of the content of my yoga sessions. Gardening,
not so, as it needs tools one buys in stores. Show me the wheel barrow that
is made for women at our local stores, light and easy to maneuver, and such
that someone my size can empty the whole thing without leaving an armful behind.
Or buckets that can be carried without having to bend the arm, or the pitchfork
that is not super heavy and comes with a handle not designed for Big Foot's
arms.
I will be out there again shortly, and I will try to remember that the men
who came up with something like 100 Sun Salutations or the common wheel barrow
design are not inhabitants of my body or my home. I will stay mindful and
I will scream in frustration as I see fit. What will you be spending this
beautiful Spring day with?
3/8/26 A recent TIME magazine article caught my attention: Why
you should warm up your feet before bed.
I know this one very well, as if my feet are cold when I attempt to climb
into bed, they will never warm and sleep will never come. I can wear thick
socks on cold feet and tuck the duvet around my feet all I want, the night
is doomed if I don't get up and actively warm my feet up first.
The article explains that body temperature leads our sleep cycle. Sleep comes
when the central area is cooler, signaling it is time to rest. Blood flows
more easily to the skin and extremities when they are already warm, allowing
excess heat to escape the bodily core. Cold hands and feet make this process
harder, and with that it becomes hard to drift off.
Ideas for how to warm hands and feet effectively: taking a hot shower or bath,
which heats the skin, or using a heating pad and a timer, especially under
the cervical spine (you read that right). Wearing warm socks before turning
in to ensure feet do not cool down in the first place is recommended as well.
I usually revert to a hot foot bath before bed if my feet are not toasty.
Sometimes I fill a hot bottle and sit at my desk, feet firmly on the heat,
until my feet warm. Taking the hot bottle to bed has in some cases led to
a wet disaster, due to their bad ability to seal, so I don't do that any more.
The striking surprise of the article, which offers an explanation to what I've
known and felt all my life, is the idea of warming the neck, not the feet or
hands. I will have to give that a shot.
3/1/26 If you come to yoga you probably know that I think the feet
are of great importance for the rest of the body, and that they are often not
given the care and attention they are due. If something is going on in a foot
it could cause detrimental effects somewhere higher up in the body. We stand
on tennis balls, we stretch the toes, we even wring them out, and we sometimes
do a mini foot reflexology massage. We lift our legs while lying on the back
not only to strengthen abdominal muscles, but also to help with circulation
in the legs.
A recent TIME magazine contained a health brief on feet and what to watch out
for.
1. Hair that stop growing on your toes: just like grass that needs water to
grow, hair requires good nutrient supply in order not to fall out. If you
toe hair disappears it is likely because of vascular insufficiency, meaning
the blood flow back to the heart is hampered.
2. Sudden onset of big toe pain: Gout may require a change in diet.
3. Numbness and tingling in the feet: Some people become aware of such issues
at night when the lack of stimulation amps awareness. Such symptoms are most
commonly related to diabetes. I personally would also suggest to find a good
orthopedic doctor who can check the various reflexes in the foot.
4. A dark streak under a toe nail: Subungual melanoma develops under a nail
bed. Color changes in a line in or around the nail should thus not be ignored.
If caught too late it could lead to loss of the nail or even amputation of
the toe.
5. Injury: If you twist your ankle, sometimes the foot regenerates by itself.
But if pain is still there 3 days later see a doctor. It could be the sign
of a fracture or dislocation.
Your feet take you thousands of steps every day. When is the last time you
sent them some love?
2/22/26 Just a month ago, right before 'the big storm', I wrote about the
opossum.
For the ones of you who let me know you loved that story, here is what has
happened since:
A day before said storm, we got a couple of inches of snow. The camera next
to the feeding spot in our yard showed that the opossum was the only animal
that came to the yard that day, so I traced the steps in the snow to where
it ventured to. I found the steps disappearing under planks of wood stacked
in the the ruin of ancient horse stables in the forest on the other side of
our fence. I dumped a loosened bale of straw there and then forgot about it
for a couple of days, dealing with the snow.
Opossums in our area only live for about 2 years due to the harsh winters,
since they do not hibernate. I was determined to ensure that this lone opossum
was due help to up its chances of survival. After the big storm, I took my
shovel and I shoveled a path to the gate in the back of the yard and then stomped
a trail through the 18" deep snow all the way to horse stables. Anybody
who had to shovel knows how much work that was. Every evening before dark,
I have made my way down that trail to deposit a pound of walnuts and peanuts,
and a cut apple and a banana in several spots at the horse stable. Those foods
are not known to attract predators like dogs but would sustain an opossum as
well as act as a snack for deer and other critters in dire search of food.
In the morning, the food would always be gone. Since temperatures have come
up I have added a big bowl of fresh water.
Meanwhile, I have continued to also put food out inside our yard every night
although it has been clear that the opossum would be unable to make it there,
since its legs are way too short to be able to walk through thick snow. A
raccoon, which has longer legs and apparently no difficulties with thick snow,
comes every night and eats the nuts and fruit and chicken pieces, which I add
as our fence does not allow predators like dogs to enter. Whatever that racoon
eats in our yard it's not eating at the horse stables. First thing in the
morning I would check our yard camera to see if there was signs of the opossum.
Just the racoon came and stuffed itself, night after night, for the past 3.5
weeks, while thick snow cover was on the ground.
And then, this past Thursday, a night with barely below freezing temperatures,
finally: the opossum made it back to our yard and was captured by our camera.
It snapped up a big piece of chicken, clearly super excited about having found
meat. It does not look starved. It looks like it's getting ready for mating
season.
I am happy to keep feeding it through the storm that is about to land. How
much better does it get, helping beings that rely on something as simple as
a bowl of water and a bit of food. Caring for it gives me purpose, it does
not cost much, it adds some outdoors exercise, and it will make me so happy
when we will be seeing it on our camera next.
2/15/26 The Week contained a Health briefing that struck me as very interesting.
A Spanish man picked
up running after he retired as a car
mechanic, at age 66. He increased his distance and pace steadily over the
years. Now, at 82, he runs marathons and ultra-marathons. Scientists have
tested him and have found that his aerobic fitness is better than any octagenarian's
studied in history, and comparable with a 20 to 30-year old. His muscles are
unusually effective at using oxygen, allowing the sustained exercise. Other
body markers are similar to those of a 60, some for a 80-year old man. The
article closes with a call to exercise in older age, since it is not only possible
but should probably be recommended.
I am not prone to pick up running as that has never been my thing. A picture
shows the man, Juan Lopez Garcia, as lean, wiry person, which I am not either.
Most people who have not been avid runners in their younger years may not
find picking up running in old age all that accessible. It's probably not
about marathons won or making it into newspapers, it is about achieving a high
quality of life in old age. Life is so much easier when one has the stamina,
strength and flexibility for anything from tying shoe laces to getting up from
a chair or floor without major issues. I personally find yoga or pilates to
be very suitable for older people, even ones new to exercise in decades.
There are virtually no downsides to yoga and pilates I can think of - aside
from having to pick an adequate style and backing off on exercises one's unique
body does not cope well with. We took a class recently and I did only about
50% of the offered exercises as they were shown by the instructor. The rest
I either modified or did something else altogether. If I don't, for days or
weeks after I will probably feel off in my neck, shoulders, hip joints, or
low back. It is so important in all areas of life and especially exercise
to say No when it is adequate to do so. Take what works, leave the rest.
But do not skip it altogether.
If you come to the yoga classes I lead you will not end up in the newspaper,
but hopefully overall, you get a tad more joy out of your days.
2/8/26 "I looked a hundred times
and all I saw was dust.
The sun broke through
and flecks of gold filled the air."
- Mark Nepo
I met a lot of lovely people assisting over the years at Kripalu. This poem
was posted last night by one of them, a gentleman who has been taking care
of his parents. I have been reading his updates on Facebook, once he started
to overflow and started to write again. But it is gut wrenching to read his
plight, the days and nights filled with cleaning and feeding and talking to
insurance companies and giving rides, sometimes calling 911 and days later
welcoming one of his parents back to their house for more care.
Since I know him it is not like watching a TV show or reading a book, it is
like a piece of me is there with him. There is so much difficulty
and frustration. He always finds something
positive to say, but one has to read on to find the nugget. After days without
water the water is finally flowing again, and 'thanks to kitty litter' during
those days, that sort of thing. And then there is a moment he so beautifully
describes, where he looks at the sun, standing on the deck, and tiny snow flecks
are swirling around him like glitter. He finds the flecks of gold every day,
in the deep love for his parents and the care giving that consumes 100% of
his time.
Roger makes me aware that despite the annoyances in my life, the frustrations,
the uncertainties the country is going through, my life is very sheltered and
I can make choices that won't mean someone will suffer or die. I am grateful.
What are you grateful for today?
2/4/26 A recent Consumer Reports had an
article on pain.
Chronic pain means pain sticks around longer than 3 months, and about 25% of
US adults have chronic pain. Pain that is so severe that it impacts normal
activities on most days is is experienced by about 8% of US adults. My below
very, very brief summary does not do service to the many myriads of pain that
one can encounter, and it most certainly does not replace seeing a doctor.
I am also not even trying to summarize the Medications chapter due to potential
medication interactions. Ping me and I will happily let you borrow the magazine
if you are interested.
Fear of movement is something to overcome for pains as a result of some sort
of injury. It is important to continue low impact activities like walking or
yoga or swimming or physical therapy. Consider applying topical ointments.
The RICE method may be of use, rest - ice - compression - elevation. Acupuncture
could also help.
Nerve pain can be caused by pinched nerves or nerve damage. The usual over
the counter medications don't tend to help here. Cognitive behavioral therapy
and mindfulness meditation are recommended: One review of 33 studies with 1,453
participants found that these techniques can significantly reduce pain and
distress. The director of the Health and Mindfulness Laboratory of UCSD is
quoted in saying that mindfulness is very effective in immediately assuaging
the experience of pain flare-ups.
I have had my own experience with pain. A devastating head on car collision
made me take a time out from work for over 2 years, with pain felt daily for
almost a decade after. I did hundreds of hours of physical therapy for almost
every body part, and have worked on rearranging my bodily posture since.
Not everything recommended in the article works for me. I found that TENS units
do the opposite for me of what they are supposed to do: they cause even more
tension. So does acupuncture. I also found that topical ointments only help
if I use them over an extended amount of time, weeks rather than days.
Anything that relaxes my mind and my body is very important to keep pain at
bay. I do yoga and pilates very regularly to stay strong and limber at the
same time, and to remind myself of being mindful. I strengthen specific parts
of my body while trying to not aggravate others. I take half hour to hour long
walks almost every day. A homeopathic cream for nerve pain managed to recently
shut down lingering pain in my right thumb and around my sacrum. I have been
taking glucosamine sulfate and collagen supplements off and on for a year now
and seem to think that they help quiet down recurring joint pains in those
same joints that I have been dealing with since said car accident. When tension
does strike, a 20 to 25 minute stay in a hot tub does wonders for me, prior
to the onset of any real pain. So does everything that causes joy: hanging
out with friends, being outdoors, gardening, cooking, caring for our pets.
It took a long time for me to find a recipe to cope, and I hope that the drive
to find comfort and ease will keep me on my toes, able to help myself and others
who join me for yoga and mindfulness.
1/25/26 This weekend, aside from all the grave stuff in the news and the snow
that is coming down now, I became aware of some really lovely things.
First, a cow in Austria has used sticks and a broom for years to scratch herself.
Here is a video showing her do so,
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&p=austrian+cow+scratches+itself#id=1&vid=aeb108a3867635ea134d60db66145f76&action=click
Cows may not have the opposable thumbs to enable them to do any of the myriad
things that people do all day long, but within their means, they can clearly
be quite creative.
Then, I read about a musician having saved an octopus from a fish market and
teaching it how to play music. This video is on the longer side but really
heart warming and worth the time to watch it,
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&p=octopus+plays+piano#id=2&vid=a3f2ecd28a0eb7fea79763bd97a647b0&action=click
I just love how the octopus appears to get all antsy to get to this makeshift
instrument. Aside from the sad size of the aquarium it is in, it may be better
than the land on someone's dinner plate.
Both news stories tell me that I should never
underestimate another being. Our cats
open full size doors by putting their paws underneath them and literally lifting
and pulling them open, just to get to their favorite hiding spots. They get
all antsy and upset when their kitty beds and sun shades aren't the way they
want them to be, although it is of course them who mess things up all the time
- we are mostly house keepers and providers of petting and food to them. Who
is the superior animal in this relationship? They have trained us well.
Relationships have potential for the beings in them to become something bigger,
something unexpected. The cow would not have started to scratch itself if the
owners would not have allowed her to roam freely and to have access to some
tools. The octopus would not have fallen in love with the keyboard without
the right learning environment being provided and lots of patience on the side
of its teacher. Some animals one day may save someone's life or make someone's
day because they do something we in our limited thinking did not think possible.
I do not want to limit the animals around me to limited possibilities just
because my mind cannot perceive them. I try to keep an open mind all the time,
and I try to have reverence to the intelligence in all beings big and small,
even if I do not understand it. Namaste to all animals and all beings, as they
all can teach me something.
Best wishes that we all stay safe and warm in the coming days and weeks, when
not just our but wildlife's abilities to cope will get tested. If you have
a bale of straw and a baggie full of nuts you can spare please do so as it
may save a critter's life. Your act of kindness may reward you in the future.
1/18/26 A little over a year ago, I started to feed
the critters that come to our yard during
the night. I have seen the foot steps in snow since I moved here, but never
did I have the interest to get to know them, until one evening we saw one of
our cats interact with an opossum in the backyard. I find opossums very cute
and know that they are very useful to have around, so I wanted to attract it
so it would come back. Food has gone into a dedicated outdoors bowl every evening
since. The bowl gets stuffed with left over chicken and chicken bones, bananas,
walnuts, peanuts. I tried various delicious veggies and fruit from broccoli
to sweet potatoes to quinoa and neither appears to tickle their taste buds.
So, I stock bags of nuts, browning bananas, and we get a whole chicken once
a week not just for us but also for both our cats and the opossums.
I wanted to attract opossums only. We would sit on the steps of our porch after
dark and wait for the opossums to show up. When we noticed a raccoon, Brad
got a long wooden stick. When the raccoon came closer, Brad walked down the
steps to shoo it away. Instead of running, it sat back on its hind legs and
put its hands together in front of its chest, looking up at Brad with doggy
eyes and begging hands. I watched Brad pause for several seconds, clearly uncertain
what to do, then he turned around, put away the stick, and came back to where
I sat. The raccoon had made its way into Brad's heart. Since then we have accepted
that other animals come feed also.
Fortunately, we are not the only house in the neighborhood that feeds them,
as I know at least one neighbor who also puts food out every night. Several
animals live underneath her stone foundation, which is wonderful, as how else
would they survive in the bitter cold months. Right before a cold snap or a
snow event, they really fill up. Friday night was such a night. We may not
have visitors for several nights because it is dangerous for them to venture
out in the snow and very low temperatures.
Fun facts about these critters, which probably live close to your home also:
Opossum jills, jacks, and joeys are great to have roam your yard as they eat
ticks, tick nests, and other pests. We see them use their hands to hold the
food and take a bite. They need a lot of calcium in their diet so we feed them
all the bones that come with a whole chicken.
Scared skunks spray only if there is enough room for them to erect their tail.
They look back past their butt when they spray so they can aim. The stink can
apparently be washed off by soaking and scrubbing with hydrogen peroxide or
baking soda. Tomato juice does not do the trick.
Raccoons use their hands to eat and make sense of the world, and they have
whiskers on their paws. They have made it through the cat flap into our sun
room, so it now gets blocked off every night.
Today, we have outdoors wildlife cameras to help us know who comes and when.
Our first visitor Friday night got all the berries and chicken pieces:
The opossum had to do with leftovers:
She came too late and only got to sniff the crumbs:
First thing each morning we check the camera to see who came. It brightens
our day. What brightens your day?
1/4/26 As every year, The Week had a couple of pages of year end health and science briefs,
and I would like to summarize some of them here for you:
- playing a conch shell until it sounds like a horn strengthens the lungs much
more effectively than any breathing exercise. Conch blowing reduces fatigue
and increases blood oxygen levels at night. It even appears to reduce sleep
apnea, all without any medications or machines.
This sounds like something fun to give a shot and likely very hard to accomplish.
If you receive this message and you have mastered conch shell playing please
be in touch as I would be interested in hearing about it.
- company appears to make everything more enjoyable. Group meals provide the
biggest happiness boost, but playing games and any other activities done with
company have a similar effect. The exception: doing dishes and food cleanup,
which appear to be more enjoyable when done by oneself.
Indeed, I also like to do the dishes on my own, and we try and have people
over for games or lunch as often as we manage to, which is not as often as
I would like because work keeps us very busy.
- the shingles vaccine appears to reduce the risk of getting dementia by about
20%, which is huge.
I myself got shot #1 this fall and had a very achy arm for a few days, but
that seems very minor in comparison.
- Diquat, the main chemical in the new Roundup, is even worse than the prior
version. It's been banned in the EU and even China. It allows toxins to leak
from the gut into the blood stream, can damage a range of organs, and is a
neurotoxin and a carcinogen.
Considering this, it is amazing that Roundup is pushed so hard by a range of
local stores. Bayer and those stores must be making a lot of money and not
at all care about the health impacts imposed. I try to frequent stores that
do not push such products.
- edible pot products are as bad for heart health as smoking it. A study of
200 million people across 24 studies found that marijuana consumption doubles
the risk of dying from heart disease and increases the risk of heart attack
and stroke much higher than for people who don't consume. Especially people
over 60 are strongly encouraged to abstain from any pot products.
I personally do not require pot to feel happy and relaxed, but I know people
who rely on it, and one just hopes that such studies can serve as a wake-up
call.
Who can follow all advice that comes across from scientific studies? Not me.
I take a bit here and I take a bit there when I see fit and I then I try to
make it into a habit. The above all seem pretty straightforward to me, and
maybe one or the other resonates.
Have a great 2026!
NEWSLETTERS FROM
2010 through 2023 are stored in another location.
|
|
