Total Care PT: Staying Active and Becoming Better Balanced

How Is Your Balance?

also being active and engaging with the people you care about. Part of becoming a more balanced person means finding ways to spend your time more wisely and taking more time for yourself as needed. It’s Never Too Late You don’t need to grow up as an athlete to enjoy exercise as an adult. There is no point in your life where it is too late to start being more active than you currently are. There are plenty of ways to incorporate light activity into your lifestyle, such as: • Taking a walk in the evening with your family • Wearing a pedometer and trying to take more steps every day • Joining your local community center and using the pool to swim laps several times a week • Engaging in light weight training at home before work • Taking a yoga class These are just several examples of how you could incorporate more activity into your lifestyle without making many large changes to your way of life. If you feel that your physical health or an old injury is holding you back from being active, contact us. Working with a physical therapist can help you achieve improved balance and a healthy lifestyle. www.totalcarept.net

Alongside with the task of becoming more mentally balanced with the things that you spend time with in your life is the challenge of becoming more physically balanced. There are certain markers that typically indicate trouble with maintaining balance, such as frequently tripping and falling or feeling dizzy when standing too long. But even if you are not having fundamental issues with your ability to stay balanced in this way, you may still have difficulty with whole-body balance. Yoga is a great form of exercise to use to improve your ability to balance, as yoga helps to strengthen core muscles and improve coordination.

You can improve your physical balance by: • Increasing muscle strength • Improving stamina • Improving core strength • Practicing balancing techniques

In addition, taking steps to ensure that you are getting a full night of rest, that you are exercising regularly, and that you are eating a healthy diet are all strong components to ensuring you are well-balanced. Think about the percentage of time that you spend working during the week. For most people this number is well over 40 hours per week! Then consider how much time is spent driving to and from work and around town on errands, and then consider the time spent doing things you have to do at home, like the dishes or the laundry. Then really think about how much time you are spending doing the things that make you feel better — including those hobbies that you love, but

Healthy Recipe

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies • 1 ripe banana mashed • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree • 2 large eggs • 1/2 cup peanut butter • 3 tbsp coconut oil melted • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats • 1/2 cup oat flour ground • 1/2 cup almond meal • 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp baking soda • 1/8 tsp salt • 2 tsp Vietnamese 5% Oil • 2 tsp vanilla extract • 3 tbsp maple syrup

• Cinnamon • 1/4 tsp Frontier allspice • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips • 1/2 cup dried cranberries & cherries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. In a mixing bowl stir together mashed banana, pumpkin, eggs, peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla and maple syrup until well combined. Add in oats, oat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, chocolate chips and dried fruit; stir to combine. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to harden. Drop cookies by spoonfuls on prepared baking sheet. They won’t expand much, so feel free to press them down, slightly, and make them as uniform as possible to ensure even baking. Bake for about 12 minutes until lightly browned.

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