Joe Pilates said, "We retire too early and we die too young. Our prime of life should be in the 70's and old age should not come until we are almost 100."  Joe would be pleased with the lifestyles in South Florida, some might even refer to the area as a "Blue Zone," or a region of the world where people live longer than average. Some factors that contribute to a blue zone include eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, getting enough sleep, and having strong spiritual, family and social networks.  Ironically, except for sleeping, you can find nearly all these positive variables at Stan's Sunday Funday!

https://www.stansidlehourgoodland.com/gallery If visiting the southwest coast of Florida, you may elect to attend Stan's Sunday Funday at the Idle Hour on Goodland, Florida.  Goodland is a small community off Marco Island and part of Marco's rich history. Goodland is believed to have been founded by Johnny Roberts in the late 1800's. It featured a 40-acre shell mound left by the Calusa Indians that was ideal for growing fruits and vegetables. It was also a popular fishing destination. Today about 200 residents call the fishing community home.  According to www.goodland.com the quiet village changes dramatically on Sundays when hundreds, and even thousands, of residents and visitors make the pilgrimage to Stan's for an afternoon of outdoor music, dancing, food and fun.

Next week, (always the week before Super Bowl Sunday), is the 39th annual Mullet Festival and Buzzard Lope dance contest.  Stanley Gober, the original owner, passed away June 18th, 2012. Stan was well-known as people journeyed to his Goodland Idle Hour to hear Stan on a Sunday sing and perform. Born in Bessemer, AL, Stan was a child of the Great Depression. By the age of 12 he was working in restaurants to help support his family.  Just days before his 18th birthday, Stan joined the Navy and in 1944 was sent to the South Pacific as World War II raged. In his book, Stan: An American Story he says, "I was the lucky one," as his time in the military was tame compared to most.

Stan married Faye Campbell and they had three sons in addition to a daughter. Migrating to Miami he worked more than twenty years with the telephone company and in his spare time traversed the Tamiami Trail fishing the backwaters of Goodland and Marco Island. In 1969 he made a permanent move to Goodland and purchased the Idle Hour Motel and the following year the restaurant. The stage became an outlet for his love of entertaining and he wrote the infamous "Buzzard Lope" and created the annual Mullet Festival, a party to honor the bait fish that gave Goodland its fishing village credibility. The restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment traditions continue through his children.  According to his obituary, "Stan was a family man, a singer, a songwriter, a comedian, and a true entertainer. Stan was red, white and blue through and through. He loved his country and he loved Goodland. He was a philanthropist, constantly raising money for organizations within the community. He was also a friend to many."

Stan's Sunday Funday always begins with a special 1p.m. tribute to our nation with a traditional rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.  It is a reverent, solemn moment and you can hear a pin-drop as both stanzas of our anthem are sung in its entirety. Following thunderous applause, the band takes the stage, and the dance floor becomes packed with revelers from 20 to about 8 decades older!  And suffice it to say, it's the over-80 crowd that sets the pace for the rest of us! We were lucky to have dear Wisconsin friends with us at Stan's. They set the bar high and if I have any hope of enjoying life in similar fashion for the next 5 decades, then I must make stamina and endurance a priority!

Family, friends, faith, fun, food and music,  these attributes and more tend to combine for an incredible day at Stan's. If you arrive early, you may get a table, but if you are after 11:30a.m., don't worry, the crowd always will squish together and welcome more to their tables!  We had organized 7 of us to attend this past Sunday morning. We arrived by 10:30a.m. to ensure an ideal location. By noon we too slid together to make room for some late arrivals seeking shade and a table to relax. To my husband's good fortune, one of the women owns a fishing lodge, Birch Grove Resort, in International Falls, Minnesota! He got her card and might change his usual summer fishing destination from Canada to Minnesota. Basically, everyone makes friends very easily at Stan's, which was always Stan's ultimate objective. Create an environment where people celebrate life, our nation, and strangers become fast friends!

​This week I noted a discount on the Amazon Halo Band. ($24.99 plus free 6 month membership, normally $3.99/month). This is a simple appearing device, it looks like a velcro band around my wrist, but offers high tech insight to my daily movement, heart-rate, activity levels, fat/skeletal muscle biometrics, sleep quality, and even my tone of voice! Evidently tracking your tone of voice provides insight into your moods and how people might relate to your presence. After 25 years of marriage, we don't need a tone tracker! If this is true in your case, you can turn off the tone portion on the app to save your battery life!

​I can share more details in the days ahead as my experience with the app is still in its infancy. I ordered it Wednesday, it arrived Thursday, and I activated it for sleep tracking Thursday night. The sleep tracking function is probably the primary reason I purchased the device. Sleep has been a challenge for me over the years and I recognize quality sleep enhances every part of our physical function from metabolism to cognition and may even aid in the prevention of certain diseases like dementia. In addition, as I have shared, I am on a quest to build more muscle. A lack of sleep will short-change your body composition goals as sleep helps muscle release protein building amino acids into the bloodstream at an increased rate which helps them grow bigger and stronger over time. Sleep also aids in muscle repair, particularly during the rapid eye movement phase which is when growth hormone is released.

​The screenshots show a few features of the sleep app. Last night I used the meditation option and listened to a 10 minute guided relaxation sequence prior to falling asleep. While there was significant improvement between Thursday night versus Friday night, one thing I lack is a full 8 hours of sleep! Often I awake around 2:30a.m. then have trouble returning to sleep. At least when I awoke this morning I had experienced quality sleep over the previous 6 hours versus Thursday evening where my sleep was a mess! I can pinpoint conversations, activities, and even food/drink intake that has a positive or negative effect on my sleep habits. Over time, I hope to improve my sleep hygiene through simple strategies and overall awareness. Obviously, my first step should be removing my phone from the bedside table! The good news is the halo will continue to track sleep quality even if the phone is in a different room.
Thanks for reading! Always curious to hear what has worked for you when it comes to wearable devices, sleep habits, and overall wellness. Enjoy the day!

Here are a few brief clips demonstrating movements to enhance thoracic spine extension, mobility, and shoulder strength.  Over the years I have written a number of in-depth blogs regarding shoulder function and development so feel free and use the search tool for more details. Sometimes we simply need to move our body through a variety of planes and discover what relieves tension and enhances motion. Perhaps it is my island mind-set that encourages my less rules, more movement philosophy!  Focus on your breathwork, full, deep inhales and exhales, as well as being aware of the position of the shoulders. Are the shoulders attached to your ears or drawn lightly down your back with width of the shoulder blades? As always, I value the gentle neck ramping movement, draw the chin lightly back to create length and strength through the back of the neck.  Keep in mind though, if you just need to let your head fall through your arms in gentle flexion to relieve tension, that is fine too! Play with it!

These are gentle joint oscillations in flexion over a half foam roller.  The roller provides gentle pressure to joint segments between the thoracic vertebrae. This movement helps to lessen tension. Although it resembles a curl-up, the emphasis is on lightly curling and relaxing back toward neutral or slight thoracic extension.  Begin around the mid-ribcage and work up toward the shoulder blades.  As always, these are simply movements that have been helpful for me through the years...they may or may not be suitable for you.  Explore and question how they feel to your body.  This is a great exercise to emphasize a tummy vacuum on the exhale. Exhale as you lightly lift and sink your abdominals toward your backbone; inhale as you return to neutral.  Check that your abdominals are pulling in on your exhale and seek to avoid the "pooching" or "doming" of the abs.

After you release tension through the mid back/thoracic region, then we need to build some strength. Can you lift your face and chest sequentially away from the ball without flaring the ribs or over-using the low back?  This segmental mobility from head to tail is healthy for the spine as the spine is designed to move in both directions rather than get stuck and fixed in one position.  Move slowly and mindfully and keep thinking "reach" through the crown of the head.  Finally, if you have sustained endurance to maintain extension of the upper thoracic spine, test if you can maintain the length and add shoulder movements like Y's, T's, W's and I's. (p.s. there was a gentleman in the gym watching soap operas while walking on the treadmill. I don't think I successfully eliminated the background noise.  Just turn down your volume! This tech stuff does not come easy for me!)  Thanks for reading.

One of the best things about Florida is the abundance of year-round fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood. When the kids were here for the holiday, we tended to eat out more than usual however with their departure we find eating in to be healthy and economical.There are multiple farmer's market during the week within a 10 mile radius, but we tend to favor Wednesday's at Marco Island's Veteran's Park, a 2 mile walk from our condo. Last week we emphasized mangos, avocados, blueberries, strawberries, Honeybell oranges and onions in our bounty. Ron enjoys cooking both seafood and meat, so he often takes charge of the entree.  I like getting creative with some of the side dishes so I was happy to make a salsa to compliment his inspired shirmp recipe, one he has made for years.  This, as well as his Shrimp and Grits recipe, was a go-to favorite during the holidays.

Ron's Island Shrimp with Mango Salsa and Avocado ​www.kulinarian.com/recipes/ron-s-island-shrimp-with-mango-salsa-and-avocado?embed=link