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Maria Beck is a licensed fitness instructor and an author who has published multiple articles on fitness, spirituality, life changes, and other subjects revolving around centered and healthy lifestyles. She has owned and operated businesses for over 15 years, primarily focused on health and fitness programs. Ms. Beck is certified in Pilates and Gyrotonic. In her Studio in Ridgefield, Ct. she and her staff offer a variety of personal training options and beauty techniques. The ... [More]

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Self Awareness For a Gentler Menopause
[Womens-Interests:Menopause-HRT] Today there are 45 million American women who are postmenopausal. This number is expected to increase by another 3.5 million by the middle of the next decade. The average woman lives to the age of 77 now-a-days.

The Grit To Commit Fitness Regimen
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] Do you want to start a rewarding fitness regimen? Do you have the "Grit to Commit?" Here is how to plan a successful program.

Say Ahhh, and Then Adios to Sore Throats
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] A sore throat can signal that you have a bacterial or viral infection, especially when there is inflammation.. Sometimes a red esophageal inflammation is due to acid reflux, which is stomach acid that creeps up into your esophagus.

Contrology, Pilates Bequeathed to the World With Love
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] Invented by German born Joseph Pilates( pronounced Pi-la-tees) some 70 years ago, the original total body conditioning program was defined as "Contrology". Contrology was the basic fundamental of the Pilates' Method consisting of 34 mat work exercises.

Bad Breath Bandits Outmatched
[Health-and-Fitness:Dental-Care] "The Bad Breath Syndrome"-- 90 million people suffer from acute bad breath or chronic halitosis. There are many causes of these conditions, but what you eat is one of the major impacts.

Stop Teeter-Tottering With Your Health
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] In order to develop a healthy lifestyle you must examine your relationship with your bad habits. Then you must have the will and determination to make changes. Consistency is key. Going one way and then another, as if on a seesaw is not the path to a healthy lifestyle. There is no question that a healthy lifestyle will improve the quality and length of a person's life. Therefore, it is time to accept fitness and wellness as a permanent lifestyle change.

Tidal Wave of Fatalism
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] Last year approximately 40 million people read "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Many who read Byrne's book said they were "reborn" with the knowledge to manifest prosperity, love, happiness, good health and life fulfillment. Just one year later we seem to be on a tidal-wave of fatalism.

The Factualism of Fat
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] Most women, and even some men, have tried everything to hide the fat. Products that are offered to make you look thinner, but we are still constantly plagued with nasty fat cells. These products promising body sculpting do nothing to get rid of or shrink fat cells, but you can take measures to control fat.

Sparse on Cash and Credit, Fitness Studio Plan
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] You want to start your own fitness business, but you are sparse on cash and have limited access to credit. Then this plan is for you. You CAN start your own fitness business with little or no cash or credit.

Muscle Up Ubiquitous Heart Energy
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Heart disease and stroke are the number one and number three killers of Americans. We will review natural treatments, lifestyle recommendations, spiritual views and modalities, and finally exercise.

Encapsulate Yourself in Healthy Tanning DHA
[Health-and-Fitness:Environmental-Issues] Since the skin is the body's largest organ it is exposed to everything in our in our environment, especially a potential enemy--the sun! If you use a sunless tan misting treatment or booth, tanning becomes healthy and sensible.

Unrealistic - 15 Minutes to Muscle Up Abs
[Health-and-Fitness:Build-Muscle] Recently on a cover of a fitness magazine it read "Get Great Abs in 15 minutes." But to be honest, we have to take into account our current body fat levels. We then have to combine abdominal targeting exercises, cardiovascular exercise, and a fat reduced diet. There really is no quick fix.

Open Mouth - Insert Mushrooms
[Health-and-Fitness:Nutrition] Mushrooms are totally hot! They have potent health benefits and are widely used in a multitude of specialty foods as well as beauty products. Part of their popularity comes from their composition--they have natural fiber, high potency of the antioxidant ergothioniene, the natural mineral potassium, niacin and the antioxidant selenium. And, they taste delicious!

Raw Garlic, Allin - Balance Cholesterol
[Health-and-Fitness:Heart-Disease] Americans are known to consume high fat diets, to have high levels of blood cholesterol, and to experience a high rate of heart attacks. In other countries such as Japan, they have a low-fat diet and are not prone to coronary artery disease. Raw garlic and Allin, a garlic supplement, can help balance the detrimental effects of our higher fat diet.

Solving the Severe Commitment Phobia Trap
[Relationships:Singles] Let's face it girls we have all been there; when you first meet the guy he can not get enough of you. Then before you know it you are moving in with him. Gee, how did that happen so quickly? But how do you find out if he is every going to marry you?

Get Out of Your Funk and Create a Fun-Filled Breakup
[Relationships:Dating] No matter how long you have been dating someone--one month, two years, five years---breaking up usually throws you for a loop. We have all gone through the tears, lies, insecurities, pain, and suffering. It does take time to move through each of these.

Healing Heat-Wave of Far-Infrared Innovation
[Health-and-Fitness:Healing-Arts] Remember the days of lying on the beach, feeling the heat of the sun shining right through you as if the sun's rays were massaging your skin until you felt as if the warmth of those rays was seeping right into your bones...you felt so relaxed and content. Sometimes it felt as if you were suspended in the healing power of soothing warmth.

Outwit Your Horse With a Flavorful Bit
[Pets:Horses] How do we get our horses to do what we want them to? Some people think that horses are dumb animals. Think again! Even though a horse's brain is only 0.1% of his/her mass compared to a man or woman's brain, which comprises approximately 2.0% of our body weight, horses are far from dumb. They just use their brains as animals do instead of the way humans think.

Perk Up, Jump on the Wellness Train
[Health-and-Fitness] Embarking on a fitness program will improve the quality of your life. This article lays out the specific results you can expect.

Whittling Massage That Really Works
[Health-and-Fitness:Massage] What if you could lose inches without major diet changes or extensive exercise programs? Believe me it has been done!

Ridgefield, CT - An Historic Town Known For Its Diverse Fitness Options
[Health-and-Fitness:Exercise] Ridgefield, Connecticut, is a little town with a huge colonial heritage, to be more precise, 300 years of magnificent history. You can walk forever and back again. Yes, Ridgefielders are basically very health-oriented and fit. Personal training is very popular in the town. You can find excellent weight training, Pilates or Gyrotonic® programs.

Living the Fruitful Life of Single-Hood
[Relationships:Singles] Single life can be complex, especially when you are newly divorced or widowed. The new single community in the United States consists of millions of people. In fact, statistics in the United States today are that there are currently 14 million single parents. This article offers survival tips for singles.

Nip and Tuck Versus American Native Folklore
[Health-and-Fitness:Beauty] Today beauty standards for women are sky-high. Sometimes they are downright unrealistic. However with all the new physical and cosmetic enhancement surgery, women can change anything and everything about themselves. What ever happened to the natural beauty we were born with?

Astrological - No-Fail System
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Astrology] Human beings are not meant to be alone, it is just not our fate. Our lives are continually shaped by interactions with other people. Most of our relationships are due to a greater force.

Sea-Derived Mud, Please
[Health-and-Fitness:Beauty] Who would have thought that a body of water named the Dead Sea would contain so many healing elements? After all, the "Dead Sea" sounds pretty dreadful. But within its splendid waters are secret powers--it is full of the highest concentration of minerals in the world.

Ageless Journey of Ponce De Leon
[Health-and-Fitness:Anti-Aging] Our average life expectancy is 75 calendar years these days. In order to increase life expectancy we must reduce premature death due to life threatening diseases such as cancer and the number one killer of Americans, the heart disease atherosclerosis. Americans, however, want more than just an extended life, they want to stay young and vibrant.

Non-Drug Blood Pressure - Worth a Try!
[Health-and-Fitness:Hypertension] Over ten billion dollars a year are spent on blood pressure medications. There is quite a bit of skepticism about, as well as articles against, these drugs because of increasing evidence indicating that current blood pressure prescription drugs may be causing more harm than good. In some cases they are believed to have caused heart attacks or perhaps to have increased a person's risk of having a heart attack.

Harmoniously Reconnect With Gyrotonic
[Health-and-Fitness:Healing-Arts] Gyrotonic is a totally new exercise system created by Juliu Horvath; his personal struggle with chronic pain and injuries led to the development of this method. In the fast pace of today's world with all of the computer technology, and scientific advancements, there is a build up of stress and pressure. Juliu Horvath designed the Gyrotonic Expansion System because people of today are searching for exercise which is more interesting, holistic, and healing than the standard gym workout.

Worrisome Bladder Blues
[Health-and-Fitness:Womens-Issues] Most urinary bladder infections are caused by bacteria. More than fifty percent of these infections stem from the kidneys which are part of the upper urinary system. Once you have been diagnosed with a bladder infection, most people develop a recurrent urinary infection every so often.

Learning Lymphatic System Lingo
[Health-and-Fitness:Massage] Aesthetic massage is a unique vacuum massage technology; it actually helps the lymphatic system to stimulate itself. Aesthetic massage works by breaking down and loosening up the cells and their underlying structures.

Exercise - The Mind-Healing Antidepressant
[Health-and-Fitness:Depression] There are all different kinds of depression. A good way to think about depression is "losing one's heart." With the suicide rate on the up rise, this is a topic all Americans should be concerned about.

Twenty-Four Million People Struggle With Gallstones
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] An estimated 24 million people in the United State have gallstones. In fact, according to autopsy studies, gallstones are found in 25 percent of North American women whose postmortem gall bladders were examined. This past year approximately 325,000 gall bladders were removed (in otherwise healthy adults) in the United States due to the presence of gallstones. No surgery is risk-free, so learn about gallstones and what you can do about them.

Housemaid's Knee - Starts With a Bursa
[Health-and-Fitness:Arthritis] The cause of bursitis can be arthritis, trauma, infection or strain. The role of a bursa is to provide a cushion between moving tissues and bones thus allowing friction-free movement. Sometimes the bursae can become a chronic problem if calcified deposits develop around them.

Self-Enlightenment For Your Facial Canvas
[Health-and-Fitness:Anti-Aging] Have you been looking in the mirror and thinking "My, my has my face aged recently?!" It has been proven that your skin is one of the best indicators that you are experiencing stress.

Never Over-Do Sport's Injuries
[Health-and-Fitness:Pain-Management] Stress fractures are a major set back for an athlete because the remedy is usually several weeks of rest. Stress fractures are caused by excessive strain or force on bone structures.

Sleep Parasomnias Are Ruining My Sleep
[Health-and-Fitness:Sleep-Snoring] Impaired sleep, sleep deprivation and altered sleep patterns are a huge problem in today's society. Over Ten Million Americans use prescribed sedatives in the course of a year.

Jesus & Buddha - The Divine Riverbed
[Self-Improvement:Spirituality] Jesus and Buddha are completely different, yet their philosophies and teachings are very similar and in some cases identical. This article is based on the belief that Jesus and Buddha may have indeed started their journeys on separate paths, but somewhere their paths merged and they walked together.

Balancing Yin and Yang With Pilates Or Gyrotonic
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] What are the concepts of Yin and Yang? Yin is feminine and considered to be heavy, dark, cold and still. Yang is masculine considered to be mobile, free moving and lightweight. Yin, therefore, is said to be passive energy and Yang is active energy. Tao, the process of nature by which all things change and which is to be followed for a life of harmony, originated as being absolute stillness. Then it split in two giving rise to Yin and Yang, balancing opposing forces and creating harmony!

Embracing Creator Energy Through Forgiveness
[Self-Improvement:Spirituality] The way to release and prevent these negative patterns from creating pain and illness is to embrace and practice forgiveness! This is a very difficult thing for human beings to accomplish since our egos are so strong, the ego is constantly creating defense mechanism to protect us from anxiety or danger.

Gyrotonic is the Answer to Relieving Chronic Fatigue
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] In 1988, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention formally defined Chronic Fatigue Syndrome(CFS). Some of the symptoms of CFS are tender lymph nodes, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, sore throat, loss of concentration, intestinal discomfort and anxiety.

Borrowing Power Bruises Baby Boomers
[Finance:Personal-Finance] In September of 2008, financial crises brought about an abrupt closure to a seemingly stable and resilient American economy. The stock market indices are at levels of the recession of the 1980's. Banks have tightened up on their lending. Baby Boomers are trapped in this credit crunch because research has proven that they didn't take saving as seriously as their parents did.

Keyboard Inflicted Carpal Tunnel on the Rise
[Health-and-Fitness:Hand-Wrist-Pain] Ever since the modern innovation of computer technology Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has been on the rise. Punching the keys of a computer terminal day after day has proven to be risky business. Computer keyboards have such a rapid action that our fingers can not keep up with it. Eventually the wear and tear of this repetitive action leads to inflammation in the hands and wrist. When stricken by carpal tunnel there are dietary changes that will eliminate inflammation in the body.

Hot Flash - The Fever That Creates Havoc
[Health-and-Fitness:Womens-Issues] Hot flashes are known to be the trademark sign for menopause. During these moments blood vessels dilate reacting to a change in estrogen levels. Symptoms are an overwhelming sensation of warmth due to a rise in skin temperature. Women may also feel a strong sense of anxiety due to the extreme skin flush and reddening of the face that accompanies these hot flashes. Even a change of heart rate can occur during these menopausal moments.

Cold Alert - Don't Drink Liquids With Meals
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] It's that time of the year; the dreaded cold season. Some people are plagued with colds and others never even get a sniffle. Let's get to the bottom of the cold...how it attacks our system and then some preventative measures.

Pilates - The Gentle Healer For Ulcers
[Health-and-Fitness:Alternative] Peptic ulcer is a crater-like hole in the stomach or the beginning of the small intestine. The gastric ulcers form in the stomach while the duodenal ulcers form in the beginning of the small intestine. Duodenal ulcers occur in twelve to fifteen percent of adults in the United States.

Intricate Nervous System Requires Mental Stamina
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] The nervous system is the body's control and interaction center. The "peripheral system" contains the nerves outside the spinal cord and brain. The "central nervous system" consists of the brain and spinal cord. This extraordinary complex system controls responses to stimuli, conscious movement and it also conditions behavior.

Lyme Disease Vaccine Pulled Off the Market
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] When Lyme disease was formally defined in 1975 several cases occurred in Lyme, Connecticut. Rapidly it became the most common insect born infectious disease in the United States; affecting more than 16,000 people a year in 47 different states. It has also been reported in Australia, Japan, China and Europe.

Fibroid Hype is Usually Overrated
[Health-and-Fitness:Womens-Issues] Fibroids are benign tumors in the uterine wall. Being obsessed with the diagnosis of fibroids especially if they have grown is making a mountain out of a mole hill. For the record... fibroids practically never become malignant! Twenty five to thirty percent of all women over thirty years of age have fibroids. Fibroids can grow from age thirty to age forty but that does not mean they will become problematic; or that a hysterectomy should be performed. Once a woman has completed menopause reduction in the level of estrogen will usually cause fibroids to shrink.

Six Isometric Exercises For Long-Lasting Fitness
[Health-and-Fitness:Exercise] Some people are just too busy to pay attention to their health especially when it comes down to time for exercise. We all have different responsibilities such as jobs, families, aging parents, aging children, making time for friends and finally relaxation. There are probably one hundred other things that keep us on the go, on the road and running!

2012 Umbilical-Cord Detached From Earth
[Self-Improvement:Spirituality] Oddly enough, Native American calendars note the 2012 end date. The Q'ero Indians of Peru believe according to tribal lore 2012 is the END of which time will cease.

Deadly Ramifications From Secondhand Smoke
[Health-and-Fitness:Diseases] Secondhand smoke is more toxic to bystanders because it hasn't been inhaled and "cleared" by the smoker's lungs. The innocent non-smoker is subjected to side stream smoke which is emitted from the smoker's tobacco.

Rejuvenate Jaded Joints With Spa Mind-Set
[Health-and-Fitness:Arthritis] What is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and how do we take care of ourselves after we are diagnosed with it? RA is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the joints, the membranes and synovial fluid that cushions them. The onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis is usually morning stiffness that lasts throughout the day. About seventy percent of people affected with RA have a specific genetic marker (HLA-D). Numerous clinical studies strongly suggest that Rheumatoid Arthritis is attributed to genetic factors. Even though there is a genetic predisposition for RA it doesn't mean that a person will automatically inherit it. In most cases what adds to this genetic predisposition are environmental factors. Scientists believe that viruses and bacteria increase our auto immune susceptibility. There have been studies that women taking birth control pills are protected against Rheumatoid Arthritis. It is documented that this may be one of the reasons whey RA disease has decreased among American women since 1965.

Therapeutic Detox Cleanses Ravaged Bodies
[Health-and-Fitness:Detoxification] Some people think fasting is just a diet for fanatics or superstars that have to lose weight quickly. The truth of the matter is that we can all benefit from going on a one to three day fast three times a year. A properly adhered to fast for up to three days will cleanse our systems and eliminate toxins. Over twenty-five percent of Americans suffer from chronic heavy-metal toxicity. These heavy-metals build up in our immune systems, brains and kidneys. Symptoms attributed to heavy-metal poisoning are loss of coordination, anemia, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, pain, constipation and tremors.

Caught Up in the Frazzle of Panic Disorder
[Health-and-Fitness:Anxiety] What is panic disorder and how can we tell if we ourselves, a loved one or an acquaintance are experiencing it? Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that produces suddenly unexpected episodes of straightforward fear and panic.

Tune Into Bonafide Bone Sense
[Health-and-Fitness:Womens-Issues] Osteoporosis is a common condition which is usually diagnosed when women are post-menopausal. It all comes down to realizing that we are the keeper of our bones. And this is something we have to address now for our personal well being and the future of our economy.

The Unwoven Tapestry of Dreams, Visions
[Health-and-Fitness:Mind-Body-Spirit] What do dreams mean and where do they come from? Some beliefs are that dreams are the mind's way of working through worry and stress.

Creating the World Within Ourselves
[Self-Improvement:Spirituality] Spirituality begins with awareness. We cannot be good, compassionate, loving human beings unless we live in awareness. Living in awareness means we have to remember to step back, to breathe, and to evaluate little things in life.

Elongate to Avoid Headaches
[Health-and-Fitness:Headaches-Migraines] Headaches are differentiated by two types of pain. Tension headaches are characterized by persistent dull pain that starts in the forehead or in the rear of the head then spreads over the entire head. With a tension headache you will feel an extreme amount of pressure. However, if you have very sharp pain, a throbbing feeling or extreme sensitivity to light you probably have a vascular headache, known as a migraine.

Vamoose to Varicose Veins
[Health-and-Fitness] I remember when I was young, sitting on a blanket at the beach with my sister, both of us looking at our mother, who was sitting on a towel nearby. We were staring at the varicose veins on her legs and whispering to each other "how did she get those?"