Therapy Dogs International Renewal: Fill & Download for Free

The older I get, the more I become aware of icky feelings such as frustration or having a strong dislike for something. When I was in my 20’s, I found that I would try to ignore many of those energy draining feelings. However, I became more mindful of my emotions and learned healthy ways to cope through therapy. Sometimes we all need a little tune-up, and that is where therapy can be beneficial. In addition, a few healthy ways to vent out frustration can be finding activities that bring your heart joy.Pick up Gardening:For example, studies show that therapeutic horticulture improves well-being through active involvement in plant-related activities such as gardening. People who garden tend to experience mood improvements, feelings of recovery, ability to concentrate, but most of all had greater peace of mind (Moeller et al., 2018).Anyone can garden; therapeutic horticulture can provide healthy ways to cope with challenging feelings and behaviors such as anxiety and aggression (Moeller et al., 2018). Be creative and create a beautiful botanical garden or even a healthy vegetable garden; there are no limits! While gardening, we can think of growth, healing, and renewal for our plants and ourselves!Journaling:There is no right or wrong way to journal. A journal is a perfect space to express all of our thoughts and feelings without judgment from anyone. One of the best ways to journal is to write what is on our minds and what ideas/thoughts are taking up the most energy. There is no need to worry about grammar, spelling, or handwriting; feel it and put it on paper.Here are a few helpful writing prompts:How have you handled or coped with difficult situations in the past?Do you think this experience brought you something positive? If so, how?What situations trigger anxiety or frustration, and what can you do to make them more comfortable?How are you practicing self-care daily?What is one small thing you can do today to take a step towards reaching your goals?What values are important to you?List three things that scare you the most and the reasons why.List 20 things that make you smile.Build a list of 10 songs that can help change your mood.Play or Care for Animals:For centuries, we have kept pets and loved animals and know the health benefits of taking care of animals. Now new medical research is demonstrating that taking care of animals, like having a dog or a cat as a pet, is not only a rewarding activity but is likely to improve the mental and physical health of those who take care of animals (Wilson, 1999).However, maybe you do not have a pet. One way to get some animal time in is to visit a local animal shelter. Here we can play or walk with the animals who desperately need attention and love. Maybe you will even decide to adopt a furry friend!Hang out with Mother Nature:Sometimes when we are frustrated, there is a good chance that it has been some time since we have allowed Mother Nature to touch our soul. Whether we know it or not, when we are more exposed to nature (plants or even parks), it will boost our immunity. Studies have found that being among plants produced lower cortisol concentrations (a stress hormone) and lower blood pressure (Moeller et al., 2018).Let’s let Nature love on us:Sit and observe birds or other animals. Most people can observe wildlife anywhere!Take a walkFind different plants to press and persevere them.Create or volunteer at a community gardenVisit a wildlife refuge.Find a great place to hike.Get out in the rain without an umbrella!Go barefootHave a picnic and lie down on the bare earth, enjoy the momentGet in Touch with Your Creative Side:Coloring is not only for children these days. Amazon has the best coloring books for adults!Take an art class (google free art classes)Finish the art project that you have been putting off (stop procrastinating hah!)Draw or doodleArt JournalCooking can be a form of art!Much Love,AshReferences:Moeller, C., King, N., Burr, V., Gibbs, G. R., & Gomersall, T. (2018). Nature-based interventions in institutional and organisational settings: a scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 28(3), 293–305.Wilson, D. (1999, March 7). The healing power of our animals // Pets can improve physical and mental health of their humans. The Austin American-Statesman (TX), K17.Images from Pinterest

This post looks better here: Gelatin Beauty Super Food: 5 Health BenefitsI took Gelatin for 4 months to discover: Is Gelatin is the new beauty super food? To my surprize, I discovered 5 other health benefits and uses.While living in Japan 10 years ago shopping for my multivitamin I would see ‘beauty supplements’ everywhere with ‘collagen’ or gelatin claiming to have skin smoothing properties. There are even gummies and marshmallows available in Japan with added collagen (gelatin) that claim to smooth wrinkles. At the time I remember thinking: what a gimmick! Little did I know the Japanese were on to something.In this article I’m going to save you money on expensive beauty creams and let you in on some vital wrinkle reducing and health and beauty benefits of gelatin.Japan: Marshmallows with added collagen/gelatin for beautyCollagen and Beauty:Let me start this post by explaining collagen and it’s formal use in beauty. We have all seen skin cream containing ‘collagen’. The molecular structure of collagen is simply too large to have any effect on the skin so essentially does not work in this preparation. Save your money and DO NOT buy any face products that contain collagen. While on this topic of skin creams and false claims let me also inform, the only ingredients that can make a difference to your skin’s collagen work to stimulate your own collagen. These ingredients are vitamin c and vitamin a in various forms- these are the only ingredients that stimulate collagen. DO NOT invest $500 in ‘marine collagen’ skin creams, remember La Mer? Every model and their dog was using this $500 marine collagen (great PR campaign!) which is as good for your skin as a jar of nivea cream (which I also no not recommend).Benefits of taking collagen (gelatin) internally:Supports skin, hair and nail growthGood for joints and can help joint recoveryCan help tighten loose skin (like the kind you get after having four babies in five years…)Can improve digestion since it naturally binds to water and helps food move more easily though the digestive tractMay help improve celluliteGreat source of dietary collagen (remember: collagen is too large to be absorbed by the skin, so those skin creams and treatments are completely useless)Source of protein in the form of amino acids so may assist with building muscle.Worried about your skin developing wrinkles, sun damage, stretch marks and other signs of aging? Here’s some good news: Consuming gelatin (and taking collagen directly) can help improve your appearance thanks to its positive effects on skin health and cellular rejuvenation.Collagen is considered a primary building block for skin and is partially what gives skin a youthful, healthy appearance.Gelatin is important for the process of renewing skin cells and can also help block your skin from UV light damage, therefore protecting you from free radical damage, wrinkles and potentially skin cancer. One of the reasons we develop signs of aging is because of collagen depletion, which for most of us usually starts when we are in our 20s or early 30s and only continues to accelerate.Collagen loss also results in the appearance of cellulite, loose skin and fine lines as a result of skin losing its firmness.Consuming more gelatin is a smart natural skin care habit because it helps stimulate new and non-fragmented collagen, not only restoring skin’s durability, but also helping you maintain strong hair, nails and teeth.I noticed the first improvements in my own skin after just 4 weeks. I stopped taking gelatin for a while and noticed my skin was not as soft and smooth. I have personally seen the benefits to my overall skin feel and appearance.*You can find links to studies relating to the beauty and health benefits of taking collagen as gelatin here.Other heath benefits of taking Gelatin: Helps with leaky gut and inflammation:Similarly to collagen, gelatin is beneficial for preventing intestinal damage and improving the lining of the digestive tract, thereby preventing permeability and leaky gut syndrome. You can think of the gut lining as one of the body’s most important lines of defense, since it keeps particles from food, bacteria and yeast inside the digestive system where they belong and prevents leakage into the bloodstream, which triggers inflammation.Gelatin can improve your ability to produce adequate gastric acid secretions that are needed for proper digestion and nutrient absorption. Glycine from gelatin is important for restoring a healthy mucosal lining in the stomach and facilitating with the balance of digestive enzymes and stomach acid. When you don’t make the proper amount of enzymes/stomach acid, you can experience common digestive problems like nutrient deficiencies, acid reflux, bloating, indigestion, as well as anemia. Older people often experience more digestive problems because vital digestive juices are lowered during the aging process and worsened by increased stress.Helps Improve Sleep Quality:Certain studies have shown that gelatin helps people who continuously experience trouble falling asleep, can’t sleep or who have general unsatisfactory sleep if they take three grams before bedtime. Researchers investigated the effects of gelatin on subjective sleep quality and found that it improved daytime sleepiness, daytime cognitive functions, sleep quality and sleep efficacy (sleep time/in-bed time), plus it shortened the time it took to fall asleep and improved slow-wave sleep without changes in the normal/healthy sleep architecture.The amino acid glycine is considered an “inhibitory neurotransmitter,” which means it acts similarly to some anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications, only without the unwanted complications and side effects. People use glycine and other forms of amino acid therapy to naturally boost mental clarity and calmness because certain amino acids help lower “stress hormones” like norepinephrine and increase “happy hormones” like GABA.How to take Gelatin daily:Hydrolyzed gelatin powder can be mixed into any type of liquid, including soups, broths and stews. Some people even use it in cold water like smoothies or juices. When looking to buy look for an organic product as the animal would not have been fed hormones.While eating parts of animals that contain collagen and consuming bone broth are both ideal ways to obtain gelatin and collagen, this isn’t always easy or possible. Celebrities like Gweneth Paltrow and celebrity chef Pete Evans are advocates of bone broths for gut health.Vegetarians and vegans are recommended, where possible to taken gelatin as a supplement as they are often missing these amino acids from their diet.Personally I take gelatin in a glass of water. 1 x tablespoon daily stirred into a glass of water. I let it ‘bloom’ then drink it. If you don’t like that idea, mixing it with an acidic juice like fresh pineapple juice will help as the acid in pineapple thins the texture and makes it easier to drink.If going in the sun wear a hat, sun stroke weakens the immune system making you more prone to catching bugsMix gelatin in a smoothie in the morning for beautiful skin and improved digestionIn summary: Collagen taken orally in the form of gelatin offers many health and beauty benefits from firmer, smoother skin, to improved digestion and even better sleep. I have personally seen the health benefits of gelatin and take it daily.After taking Gelatin for 4 months I have personally discovered that Gelatin is the new beauty super food and discovered 5 other health benefits and uses that I have personally seen the effects of.Read more DIY and free beauty and health tips here: DIY Beauty Channel

China Stringer Network / ReutersAn elderly couple attends a wedding ceremony re-created for them by local charities on their 70th wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day in Jiaxing, China, on Feb. 14.William West / Getty ImagesPeople hold up banners as thousands march to mark International Women's Day in Melbourne, Australia, on March 8.Andrzej Grygiel / EPA-EFE / ShutterstockA young patient looks at men in a super hero costumes cleaning his windows at the John Paul II Upper Silesian Child Health Centre in Katowice, Poland, on March 3.Sergei Mamontov / Sergei Mamontov/POOL/TASSNASA astronaut Anne McClain is removed from the Soyuz MS-11 descent capsule after landing near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, June 25.Pool New / ReutersBritain's CatherineAmer Alhamwe / Getty ImagesChildren watch a puppet show performed through a makeshift puppet theater set up among the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Saraqib, Syria, on March 27.Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesRichard Brown (center), a Canadian veteran of the World War II Battle of Normandy, departs with his sonMary Calvert / ReutersUlysses Watko, 7, visiting from Portland, Oregon, sits next to a sculpture of Franklin D. Roosevelt while his dad takes a picture in Washington, DC, Aug. 7.Kevin Lamarque / ReutersDouble amputee dog Cora Rose balances on her hind legs to watch Zach Skow repairing her cart on a street in Washington, DC, May 15. Cora Rose serves in a prisoner therapy program founded by SkowAPA Russian emergency worker evacuates a cat from a burning animal shelter in St. Petersburg, June 14. The Emergencies Ministry said its workers saved 300 cats and seven dogs from the fire.Dan Dennison / APOn July 22, Mauna Kea law enforcement personnel performs hongi, a traditional Maori greeting, with protesters blocking a road to the summit of Mauna Kea, a site considered sacred in Hawaii. Scientists want to build a telescope atop Mauna Kea because it is one of the best sites in the world for viewing the skies.Ueslei Marcelino / ReutersAn indigenous child of the Munduruku tribe dances during a press conference to ask authorities for protection for indigenous land and cultural rights in Brasilia, Brazil, on Nov. 21.Justin Sullivan / Getty ImagesA Miss Chinatown USA contestant holds a piglet while ushering in Chinese New Year on Feb. 5, in San36 Pictures From 2019 That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity