Today is your day Boomer! Actually, maybe tomorrow is your day. If you like the snow and cold, tomorrow is officially the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere....the so-called Winter Solstice, which in latin means sun stands still. It will be the shortest, darkest day of the year and the sun will be very low in the sky at noon. But as I look out my window at a minus 17 degree morning with 10 cm of new snow, I wonder if December 21 will also be the coldest day? According to an Almanac source, no: "there are a lot of factors that affect the temperature of a location on any given day, including altitude, snow cover, and large-scale weather patterns. Snow cover, for example, partially blocks solar radiation from being absorbed by the Earth, which results in less heat being released and an overall drop in temperature. Because of these factors, it’s not possible to point to the same date year after year and call it the coldest day." Okay.....got it. But it still means we are officially three long months away from Spring; on the positive side, every day will get longer and every night shorter! Oh joy, oh joy Boomers. Cheers and cuddle-up for the winter!
Today is your day Boomer! Baby Boomers, another health benefit is back! It is backward walking and the trend-often associated with the 1980s-is making a return as grey-haired wonders, like you and I, look for new-or-newish ideas to help keep us fit! According to cbc.ca, "walking backwards has shown that there's less impact on the joints by using these different muscles — and it can increase flexibility and even help alleviate back pain." One 62-year-old Boomer says "Every time I walk, I just do a little twirl and walk backwards for a bit, and I'll do it just a few times during my walk." It may look a little unusual and may get a few laughs from passersby....by consider the actual benefits. Clinical exercise specialist André Noël Potvin says "When you start to walk backwards, you actually start to rebalance the forces around the ankle, knee, hip and lower back." This really helps Boomers recovering from knee surgery and older Boomers who are havi...

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