Written by Kevin Schneider Health Happenings
Alamogordo Daily News
With the New Year upon us, many of us start with resolutions to improve ourselves and our lives. And of course, year after year, the most popular New Year's resolution for many people is to lose weight and get fit. Getting outside and enjoying outdoor recreational activities are a perfect way to lose weight, stay fit, relieve stress and actually generate more energy. Just think back to the last time you went out for a hike in the woods, a bike ride along a back road or a paddle on a lake. Like many people, you probably felt many of your worries ebb away for that time. You came home in a better mood and you felt better physically, mentally and spiritually.
Perhaps conservationist John Muir said it best: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." Scientific studies have shown that getting outdoors inspires us, refreshes us and relieves stress.
Outdoor recreation is great for the family, too. Spending time with your children outdoors helps keep people healthy, relieves anxiety and hypertension, and builds confidence and self-esteem. By taking your children outdoors, you'll be laying a positive foundation about the importance of exercise and the outdoors for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, children today aren't spending as much time in the outdoors as their parents did. Why not?
A study in 2005 found that the average American child spends more than six hours per day in front of electronic screens. Amazingly, that is more than one-third of their waking hours. Some experts have called this "Nature Deficit Disorder." As a result, obesity rates for adolescents in America have tripled compared to two decades ago.
Luckily, those of us at The Natural Gait are in a great position to enjoy outdoor recreation and reap its health benefits. Here are some top active outdoor recreation ideas right in our own backyard:
*Hike the four-mile Yellow River Hill and Valley trail at The Natural Gait. If that sounds like more than you're ready for, try the one-mile Black Forest Trail. Watch and identify scores of song birds as this is one of the greatest places in the U.S. for bird watching. The Natural Gait Birding
*Have some fun by bringing your horses to ride miles of trails with 4 river crossings. You will have covered stalls right outside your log cabin.
The Natural Gait-Horses
* Bring your children to The Natural Gait for a picnic and let them wade and swim in the Yellow River. Also, many children play for hours searching for crawdads under rocks in the clear water.
*Hike the trails at Effigy Mounds National Monument and observe the bear and eagle mounds close up.
*Hike up to the old Indian Shelter at night and build a fire just as the natives did when they lived here.
* Breathe the fresh morning air as you stare out over a fog laden valley and ponder your day’s fun activities while sitting on the porch of your log cabin, The Grand View.
*Bring your own canoe or kayak and float the Yellow River with the whole family where you shoot through rapids and watch Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons fly along with you.
The Natural Gait-Canoeing
*Don’t forget to bring you fly rod or spinning gear to catch some of those trout or small mouth bass in the Yellow River. The Natural Gait Fishing
Active outdoor recreation can play a crucial role in leading a happy, healthy lifestyle. With our beautiful bluffs, valleys and the Yellow River, we live in a perfect setting for enjoying America's great outdoors.
Make your resolution in 2010 to get outside and be healthy.
http://www.alsearsmd.com/shop.php?Clk=3491491
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
The Natural Gait: Northeast Iowa's rustic retreat
Taken from Radish Magazine
by Rich Patterson
The view from Grandview Cabin is startling at The Natural Gait in Allamakee County, Iowa.
The notebook in a rustic cabin overlooking Northeast Iowa's Yellow River captured the essence of The Natural Gait.
"We enjoyed being away from television and telephones for a few days to just let the natural beauty of the area sink in," reads one longhand entry. Others mention the cozy joy of curling up with a book by the wood stove as snow enveloped the cabin. Another entry relates a long day riding horses through the woods and prairies of this unusual Iowa location.
The Natural Gait and its sister, Ion Exchange, aren't just businesses. They are places to connect with natural Iowa. In a way, they are a state of mind as well as a beautiful and interesting place.
"These are creations from the heart and passion of two people in love with each other and the land and a desire for everyone to get connected to the natural world," says Howard Bright
, who with his wife, Donna, started The Natural Gait.
Back in 1980, the Brights were working in Burlington, Iowa. Howard was a district conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service and Donna served as an agent for the Extension Service.
"Our jobs were good, but we started to question spending 10 hours a day apart doing separate things. We wanted to live in the country and own a piece of land that had trees, water, hills and valleys that faced in all directions. So we started to actively look." It took a while. Four years later, they found 160 acres of rugged hills, forests and river bottom in Allamakee County.
In what they describe as a magical moment along the Yellow River, they decided to buy the place. Their Realtor/banker tried to dissuade them by pointing out that the property had few visible financial assets. There was only about 35 acres of cropland and the forest had been logged.
"We had an idea to collect native plant seeds from remnant prairies and wetlands and sell them to people wishing to restore native ecosystems. Back then this was a novel concept, especially to rural bankers who wondered why anyone would want to grow what most folks considered weeds. But we bought the place and started collecting," Bright says.
Their native plant business was named Ion Exchange in honor of a chemical exchange that takes place in the soil and for a nearby ghost town named Ion that had flooded and washed away in 1916.
In the early 1980s, anyone wishing to reestablish a prairie faced an immediate problem: finding a seed source. There simply weren't many nurseries that sold native plant materials. The Brights' timing was good. Interest in prairies was blossoming, and they soon found a ready market in the growing number of people interested in restoration. Ion Exchange gradually has grown and today offers dozens of different species of seeds and plugs. They've expanded beyond prairies and also sell wetland and woodland seeds and plants. The business includes fields where seed plants thrive and a cluster of buildings where plants are allowed to dry, seeds are cleaned, and plugs are produced.
In 1999 the Brights created another business associated with the land. "We called it the Natural Gait because it was our intention of helping others find their own 'gait,' or direction in life," says Bright.
The Gait is a place where people wanting to enjoy natural Iowa can stay. Its bunk houses, cabins and apartments attract people wishing to spiritually connect with nature, hold family reunions and business retreats, and hike or horseback ride. Some of the buildings are near Ion Exchange's seed business. Other cabins and a campground are on the steep river bluff. They're within sight of Ion Exchange, but it's a six mile drive to reach them.
Our weekend at the Natural Gait started on a cold, windy October night. We found Grandview Cabin and soon had a fire crackling in the woodstove. Most of Iowa is so settled that it's hard to get away from lights and towns and we were pleased to see a mostly dark sky and horizon.
Just four of us stayed in the cabin, although it easily could hold ten. Phones and televisions were blissfully absent, but the cabin is set up for wireless Internet, an interesting combination of rustic and modern.
Shortly after dawn Saturday, we were amazed to look out the front porch and see the land drop to the river. No slope in Wyoming could match the dizzying steepness of the Yellow River bluff. In the distance below us, we could see the fuzzy growth of Ion Exchange's recently harvested prairie plants. The field's texture was surprisingly different from that of Iowa's common corn and bean fields.
That Saturday we toured the seed processing buildings and hiked above them to a large cave in a limestone outcropping where Native Americans once lived. Today the Brights sponsor concerts in this massive rock cavity high above the river. That afternoon we headed for nearby Marquette and Prairie du Chien for shopping and a coffee-shop lunch. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we grilled steaks behind the cabin and enjoyed total silence, broken only by the haunting call of a barred owl.
Following a brisk walk Sunday morning we packed and headed back to the busy world, but the quiet weekend at the Natural Gait remains a pleasant memory.
For more information, visit thenaturalgait.com or call
(877) 776-2208
.
Rich and Marion Patterson of Cedar Rapids are freelance writers.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=77318c33-5a56-41d6-b993-4dc038488a31)
by Rich Patterson
The view from Grandview Cabin is startling at The Natural Gait in Allamakee County, Iowa.
The notebook in a rustic cabin overlooking Northeast Iowa's Yellow River captured the essence of The Natural Gait.
"We enjoyed being away from television and telephones for a few days to just let the natural beauty of the area sink in," reads one longhand entry. Others mention the cozy joy of curling up with a book by the wood stove as snow enveloped the cabin. Another entry relates a long day riding horses through the woods and prairies of this unusual Iowa location.
The Natural Gait and its sister, Ion Exchange, aren't just businesses. They are places to connect with natural Iowa. In a way, they are a state of mind as well as a beautiful and interesting place.
"These are creations from the heart and passion of two people in love with each other and the land and a desire for everyone to get connected to the natural world," says Howard Bright
, who with his wife, Donna, started The Natural Gait.Back in 1980, the Brights were working in Burlington, Iowa. Howard was a district conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service and Donna served as an agent for the Extension Service.
"Our jobs were good, but we started to question spending 10 hours a day apart doing separate things. We wanted to live in the country and own a piece of land that had trees, water, hills and valleys that faced in all directions. So we started to actively look." It took a while. Four years later, they found 160 acres of rugged hills, forests and river bottom in Allamakee County.
In what they describe as a magical moment along the Yellow River, they decided to buy the place. Their Realtor/banker tried to dissuade them by pointing out that the property had few visible financial assets. There was only about 35 acres of cropland and the forest had been logged.
"We had an idea to collect native plant seeds from remnant prairies and wetlands and sell them to people wishing to restore native ecosystems. Back then this was a novel concept, especially to rural bankers who wondered why anyone would want to grow what most folks considered weeds. But we bought the place and started collecting," Bright says.
Their native plant business was named Ion Exchange in honor of a chemical exchange that takes place in the soil and for a nearby ghost town named Ion that had flooded and washed away in 1916.
In the early 1980s, anyone wishing to reestablish a prairie faced an immediate problem: finding a seed source. There simply weren't many nurseries that sold native plant materials. The Brights' timing was good. Interest in prairies was blossoming, and they soon found a ready market in the growing number of people interested in restoration. Ion Exchange gradually has grown and today offers dozens of different species of seeds and plugs. They've expanded beyond prairies and also sell wetland and woodland seeds and plants. The business includes fields where seed plants thrive and a cluster of buildings where plants are allowed to dry, seeds are cleaned, and plugs are produced.
In 1999 the Brights created another business associated with the land. "We called it the Natural Gait because it was our intention of helping others find their own 'gait,' or direction in life," says Bright.
The Gait is a place where people wanting to enjoy natural Iowa can stay. Its bunk houses, cabins and apartments attract people wishing to spiritually connect with nature, hold family reunions and business retreats, and hike or horseback ride. Some of the buildings are near Ion Exchange's seed business. Other cabins and a campground are on the steep river bluff. They're within sight of Ion Exchange, but it's a six mile drive to reach them.
Our weekend at the Natural Gait started on a cold, windy October night. We found Grandview Cabin and soon had a fire crackling in the woodstove. Most of Iowa is so settled that it's hard to get away from lights and towns and we were pleased to see a mostly dark sky and horizon.
Just four of us stayed in the cabin, although it easily could hold ten. Phones and televisions were blissfully absent, but the cabin is set up for wireless Internet, an interesting combination of rustic and modern.
Shortly after dawn Saturday, we were amazed to look out the front porch and see the land drop to the river. No slope in Wyoming could match the dizzying steepness of the Yellow River bluff. In the distance below us, we could see the fuzzy growth of Ion Exchange's recently harvested prairie plants. The field's texture was surprisingly different from that of Iowa's common corn and bean fields.
That Saturday we toured the seed processing buildings and hiked above them to a large cave in a limestone outcropping where Native Americans once lived. Today the Brights sponsor concerts in this massive rock cavity high above the river. That afternoon we headed for nearby Marquette and Prairie du Chien for shopping and a coffee-shop lunch. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we grilled steaks behind the cabin and enjoyed total silence, broken only by the haunting call of a barred owl.
Following a brisk walk Sunday morning we packed and headed back to the busy world, but the quiet weekend at the Natural Gait remains a pleasant memory.
For more information, visit thenaturalgait.com or call
(877) 776-2208.Rich and Marion Patterson of Cedar Rapids are freelance writers.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
A Holistic View Of Life Essential For Survival
Taken from an article on The Speaking Tree
17 December 2009
There are two limits to knowledge. One set by the intellect and the
other set by experience. The comprehensive way to meditation and
penance is experience, not intellectualisation. Intellectuals might argue
against this, for the nature of the intellect is to argue. Those who practice meditation > and restraint do not use only logic and intellect as the touchstone.
Their path is paved with experience. The one who has tasted the
sweetness of experience will know there can be no other viable route.
This is an optimistic perspective. It is possible that one who prefers
going the intellect way might find this perspective pessimistic. Logic
has its own path, which can become complicated but the path of
experience is less complicated.
A head clerk told the other clerks, "During office hours you go for a
shave and that takes a long time. Do not shave during office hours."
One clerk replied, "When hair can grow during office hours, why can't
they be cut also at that time. If you find a way of stopping hair
growth during office hours, we will also not cut it during office
hours." This is the language of logic. Those who live within the
limits of the intellect and logic speak this language. There are three
limits. One is that set by the consciousness of the senses. The other
is set by the consciousness of the mind. The third is set by the
consciousness of the intellect. We have experienced the limits of all
these three. Till experience does not enter the limits of the
conscious, everything seems as above.
One who has not experienced meditation cannot enter the field of experience.
Those who have sat down for meditation for the first time say this
after 10 days - that they could never have imagined such an experience was possible.
When there was no question of imagination, how could they have imagined?
How can a man sitting on the shores of an ocean estimate its depth?
Only the one who has dived into the ocean can describe its depths.
Many spend their lives knowing just their outer self. They never get
an opportunity to go within. Are they able to see all that is within?
They do not know what lies within. Many of those who see the body get
scared on seeing its vibrations. Where have they come from? Are they
something new? They are not new. They were all within. They are
constantly working. The energy of the body is also working. But as we
concentrate we get to know of them and get scared. We are faced with a
new world. The vibrations were on even earlier but we were not aware
of them. As soon as the mind gets more stabilised, the inner self emerges clearer.
We need to engage more with the inner world. We should be less
obsessed with what others do and pay more attention to our selves.
Only then will there be opportunities for major changes in our
consciousness that will enhance our personality. If the transformation
were to continue, then there is the further possibility that we could
reach the final point. Our perspective should become more and more
gentle and the perspective of anekanta should always be with us. We
need to work towards promoting a balanced and mutually connected
individual, local and global perspective with equanimity, taking into
account every possible view. That is, giving equal consideration to all things, howsoever small or big.
Put together by Lalit Garg![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cb196c71-e6ec-4543-b2fe-109eb7c27e60)
17 December 2009
There are two limits to knowledge. One set by the intellect and the
other set by experience. The comprehensive way to meditation and
penance is experience, not intellectualisation. Intellectuals might argue
against this, for the nature of the intellect is to argue. Those who practice meditation > and restraint do not use only logic and intellect as the touchstone.
Their path is paved with experience. The one who has tasted the
sweetness of experience will know there can be no other viable route.
This is an optimistic perspective. It is possible that one who prefers
going the intellect way might find this perspective pessimistic. Logic
has its own path, which can become complicated but the path of
experience is less complicated.
A head clerk told the other clerks, "During office hours you go for a
shave and that takes a long time. Do not shave during office hours."
One clerk replied, "When hair can grow during office hours, why can't
they be cut also at that time. If you find a way of stopping hair
growth during office hours, we will also not cut it during office
hours." This is the language of logic. Those who live within the
limits of the intellect and logic speak this language. There are three
limits. One is that set by the consciousness of the senses. The other
is set by the consciousness of the mind. The third is set by the
consciousness of the intellect. We have experienced the limits of all
these three. Till experience does not enter the limits of the
conscious, everything seems as above.
One who has not experienced meditation cannot enter the field of experience.
Those who have sat down for meditation for the first time say this
after 10 days - that they could never have imagined such an experience was possible.
When there was no question of imagination, how could they have imagined?
How can a man sitting on the shores of an ocean estimate its depth?
Only the one who has dived into the ocean can describe its depths.
Many spend their lives knowing just their outer self. They never get
an opportunity to go within. Are they able to see all that is within?
They do not know what lies within. Many of those who see the body get
scared on seeing its vibrations. Where have they come from? Are they
something new? They are not new. They were all within. They are
constantly working. The energy of the body is also working. But as we
concentrate we get to know of them and get scared. We are faced with a
new world. The vibrations were on even earlier but we were not aware
of them. As soon as the mind gets more stabilised, the inner self emerges clearer.
We need to engage more with the inner world. We should be less
obsessed with what others do and pay more attention to our selves.
Only then will there be opportunities for major changes in our
consciousness that will enhance our personality. If the transformation
were to continue, then there is the further possibility that we could
reach the final point. Our perspective should become more and more
gentle and the perspective of anekanta should always be with us. We
need to work towards promoting a balanced and mutually connected
individual, local and global perspective with equanimity, taking into
account every possible view. That is, giving equal consideration to all things, howsoever small or big.
Put together by Lalit Garg
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