August 19, 2011

Lazy Links: Now, With Extra Enlightenment!


What's with the enlightenment? Well, in addition to the usual odd assortment of health news, links, and miscellaneous ramblings, Crabby announces a radical upcoming experiment in which she attempts to force-feed zen-style enlightenment into her stubborn, rusty, twisted neurotic neural circuits.

And let's see what else we've got this week...


Re-wiring Crabby's brain:

So a while back  I checked out a fascinating book from the library by Rick Hanson called Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom.  It's a well-researched blend of western neuroscience and psychology as well as pragmatic and spiritual Eastern Zen-style practices.  It was great! It had me totally convinced that ONCE and FOR ALL I was going to take stress reduction seriously, start meditating, look at life differently. There was all kinds of encouraging research about how we easily-stressed types can rewire our brains to be all calm, happy, and peaceful.  But then I took the book back to the library, forgot most of what was in there, remembered I suck at meditating and... Well, it was another self-help FAIL.  After all, Crabby's Epic and Unsuccessful Struggle with Relaxation and Meditation has been well documented here at Cranky Fitness.

So I'm trying a different approach this time. I'm taking Rick Hansons' six week "The Enlightened Brain" Online Course.  Check it out, it's pretty nifty! I've only just started but I'm liking it a lot so far. Rick is warm and personable like Mr. Rogers... well, a really brainy Mr. Rogers with a ginormous vocabulary and a fondness for research. In short: my kinda guy. And the course promises to help you learn to change your brain so it's not so f#*ked up, so, what's not to like?  I'll be doing a review once it's over and reporting back.   (Hmm, by then will I be needing to change the blog's name to "Mellow Fitness?")


We got other news around the web:

Is eating red meat linked to a higher risk of diabetes?  The primal folks at Mark's Daily Apple don't sound too worried.

Got slothful self-indulgent friends and wonder whether you should dump 'em? Scientist bicker over the question: are bad habits contagious?

Is "runners high" just an urban legend?  (Well, Crabby certainly thinks it's real, and in this vintage post, concocted her very own recipe for runner's high).

Should you buy your 6-year-old a diet book for girls?

Health Stuff Crabby Covered on Twitter:

MRI Techniques Can Detect Early Osteoarthritis: http://t.co/G0j1cXq  Thanks, MRI, but my knees are already shouting it loud & clear.

Caffeine lowers risk of skin cancer. Scientists working on a java-sunscreen, but in the meantime, mmm, coffee! http://t.co/f6cRJHE

Protein supplementation lowers systolic blood pressure! But don't get too excited, only by a couple of points: http://t.co/QV8RNG0

Who knew? Girls with low vitamin D levels start menstruating earlier--which is linked to social & health problems: http://t.co/Xh1mrY8

Coffee and tea drinkers less likely to carry MSRA: http://bit.ly/qDXpuv. Maybe we're too hyper to sit still and get exposed?

Like it spicy? Adding 2 tbs of antioxidant spices per serving can help mitigate evil effects of a high fat meal. http://bit.ly/qQ4nHw

What kind of dietary fiber fights colon polyps? All-stars: brown rice, legumes, dried fruit, cooked veggies. http://on-msn.com/o7UXII

Wow. Tucked in article about teens who FB too much is this stat: Average teen sends out over 2000 texts a month. http://lat.ms/mUCE2B

Even mild traumatic brain injuries double risk of dementia. http://bit.ly/oetL60  I'm clumsy enough, I should probably wear a crash helmet all day.

350: Number of extra calories a day fidgety people burn compared to people who sit still. http://ow.ly/5QAgX

Odd trick to control cravings: eat a bit of favorite Evil Treat WITHIN a meal, not before or after. http://bit.ly/oXUbxF 

Southeastern states: no longer just the "stroke belt," now they're also the "sepsis belt." http://on-msn.com/o4KCFl Wow, jump on that, travel marketers!

More weird ways people find Cranky Fitness on Google: "fat men in spandex," "do koreans have nude coed saunas?" and "yoga pants cameltoe."

Did you enter the Jungle Gym XT giveaway yet?  It's not too late; winner announced on Wednesday!

So how 'bout you guys, learn anything interesting this week? Got fun plans for the weekend? Random thoughts or gripes?  It's all good!



14 comments:

  1. "her stubborn, rusty, twisted neurotic..."

    I half expected that sentence to end with the word "readers.' ;)

    Lots of interesting links and snippets of info here. Thanks for that.

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  2. Great stuff, Crabby. I couldn't cope with "Mellow Fitness" though I do hope the course works for you.

    I add spices to my morning coffee. I get double the good for absolutely no effort. Yay!

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  3. naked coed korean saunas....

    they're not exactly coed because they have different doors to enter..

    and since I don't read Korean, my friend and I almost walked into the male side.... HAHA there was some very angry yelling by the staff ! great memories !!

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  4. Hilary, you crack me up!

    Hey, spices in my morning coffee, brilliant idea Leah!

    OMG, supergirljimmy, I'm picturing being in a nude Korean sauna getting yelled at for being in the wrong place... a shy person's ultimate nightmare! You sound quite adventurous!

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  5. Coffee and spices - two of my favorite things!

    The one about controlling cravings makes sense to me. I have found in the past that if I cut out junk food I don't crave it - though for the most part I don't lose my taste for it either. :) And I also find that if we've been away for a weekend and eating out a lot, eating crappy foods, I crave salad. It's weird, but it can happen. :)

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  6. "Mellow Fitness"? That sounds way too much like a flashback to the 70s.
    I gotta warn you, if you start doing macrame and wearing bell-bottoms, we are going to have to Stage An Intervention.

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  7. I like to meditate, when I have the time. LOL! I agree with the red meat thing, I'm a follower of Mark and his daily apple. Runners high, Hmmmmm. I can't run anymore, 2 permanently injured hamstrings. So I have to settle for hikers high. It's good too. Have an awesome weekend. Ommmmmmm

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  8. Always hold back enough to stay a bit Cranky. We like it.

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  9. I love the coffee links cause I love my coffee even though it is watered down - I still love it! Spices - love it!

    Random gripes - menopause sucks! We women have to put up with the sh*t monthly for 40++ years & then when you are happy it is gone, it creates all kinds of other prob! There ya go Crabby! ;-) AND what is with this how they find you on Google! Very interesting! :-)

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  10. "caffeine applied directly to the skin might help prevent damaging UV light from causing skin cancer" and "studies have suggested that tea and coffee have antimicrobial properties when applied topically": so it's good that I spill a lot of coffee on myself? Good news!

    And Crabby, you can be mellow on your own time; save the crankiness for here.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  11. gilda92@sympatico.caAugust 21, 2011 at 12:35 AM

    I subscribe to Rick Hanson's Just One Thing. I get the newsletter. Seems to be just enough.
    Have you tried Tricycle: The Buddhist Review? Again, not too much; just a daily reminder. [tricycle@tricycle.com]

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  12. I find it interesting that the paleo folks at Mark's love meat, hate grains, yet have never questioned the actual recent development of the apple which as far as I can tell came long after grains were cultivated :-)

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  13. Crankiness should definately be a part of every woman's life. Otherwise the men would think something was up.

    Love your blog!

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  14. Oh my! he is my dog D: and my Buddha <3

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