“Nanaimo’s Parks and Recreation fall slogan is “Take a Moment to Move”! Try a dance, fitness or yoga program, walk in our local parks and trails, or drop in for a swim or skate. There are so many opportunities to move your body in your community.

Studies are showing that active people can prolong their life by several years, and being active has countless health benefits that are above the obvious physical ones!

Need some ideas to help you get or stay active? Contact our recreation experts at recreation.nanaimo.ca.”

Selecting hearing technology and a treatment plan for an individual with hearing loss is very thorough and takes all aspects into consideration. If physical limitations such as reduced dexterity or vision loss are present, Hearing Care Professionals will find the best way to accommodate and meet your needs. They look at various options and work with hearing aid manufacturers to add and/or modify features to accomodate these limitations. In addition, they have alternate ways to manage insertion, removal and maintenance of the hearing aids. Hearing Care Professionals will work with you to solve these and any other issue in question.

Visiting your loved ones in the nursing home helps them stay emotionally engaged. Here are some things to keep in mind when visiting. Respect the resident’s privacy. Knock before you enter the room and step out into the hall when personal care is being provided. Be warm in your interactions and use a gentle touch. Keep the conversation positive and refrain from arguing, especially if visiting a person with dementia. Don’t bring food or beverages unless you check with the staff first. Don’t stay too long. Look for cues that your loved one may be getting tired or stressed.

Sitting down with your loved ones to talk about their lives can be a rich and satisfying experience. Learning about people, places and events that they find memorable, can help bring you closer to the ones you care about. Have the Talk of a Lifetime with the people you hold dear—your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, your spouse. Sometimes, using a visual prompt such as a photo album, souvenir, or memento, can be a great way to start a conversation. Your conversation can take place anywhere at any time, not just near the end of life.

Knees. We rarely think about them until they affect how we live our lives. They get bumped and scraped and bruised, and we just shrug it off. But what if the injuries are more severe? If we need surgery to repair damage knees or need to have them replaced, what happens to our lives then? We need to care for our knees so they can care for us throughout our life. Regular exercise from an early age can help. Strength training can protect the knee joint from injury and maintaining good flexibility is essential. To learn more, join us for our Knee Injury Health Night.

All of us deal with stress to some extent during our daily life. It can be due to work, driving in traffic, family, or financial worries, to name just a few. How do you manage your stress? Some of us go for a walk or read a good book, while others of us just push it down and try to ignore it. Stress can have many effects on us and can contribute to disease and illness. Want to know other ways to manage your stress? Come to our next free health night where we will be talking more about it.

Don’t have extended medical benefits? Meet Cari, a student therapist at the Naturally Healthy Clinic. Until she receives her full credentials, she is offering a 60 minute relaxation massage for the affordable price of $60.00 during the month of September. Cari’s current practice includes Swedish massage, myofascial release and deep tissue massage. These treatments can reduce muscle tension, decrease general aches and pains, increase sleep quality and improve total body comfort. Cari’s treatments will make you feel completely relaxed and rejuvenated. Book an appointment today.

It is important to wear hearing aids during all waking hours (with the exception of showering, swimming, and environments where hearing protection should be used). Hearing aids provide the brain with auditory input and the brain creates and reforms new neural networks. If the hearing aids are only used when needed, then these new networks are not formed nor strengthened. Occasional hearing aid use can also lead to auditory deprivation and can effect a person’s ability to understand speech. To find out more about what hearing aid best suits your lifestyle and budget, call for a Free hearing evaluation.