Rosa Bialski, B.Sc.

I just spent the last hour and a half wandering around Guelph with my dog, stopping to spend time in parks and then moving on. It was sunny and beautiful and 4 degrees Celsius. And it’s February 5th. How is this even possible? We’ve had such a mild winter that it’s scaring me a bit. And it’s throwing me off somehow. My body is not happy that it’s not snowing and wintery out there. I feel strange, like I don’t belong in this world without winter. But is this the result of global warming from carbon emissions, or is it something that just happens every 30 years or so? Is there some other explanation?

I know a lot of people who hate winter. To them, winter is a season that you just have to get through and then you can be happy again, and run around outside in a tube top and short shorts. Although I’m sure not everyone who hates winter wears tube tops. But I love winter, in an isn’t-it-great-that-we-can’t-go-outside kind of way. In a bundled-up-to-the-nose-and-trekking-through-mountainous-snow-deposits kind of way. I love going for walks during those snowy days and that super bright light of the winter sun. I love the way that thick falling snow mutes all sound and makes the whole world seem like it’s asleep.

So bring me snow. At least an entire month of snow. The kind of snow that makes you love winter for the hell of it.

North Bay

An Italian company, Finceramica, has developed bone implants made of ceramic materials.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Mimicking%20natural%20bio-mineralization%20processes%3A%20a%20new%20tool%20for%20osteochondral%20scaffold%20development

IBM and GOOD have selected the company as a finalist in the GOOD Company Project. Here’s the link to their write-up: http://www.good.is/post/ibm-goodco-nominee-finceramica/.

To have bone implants that are not plastic or metal but actually bio-synthesized is incredible.

This was taken from the National Geographic website. Those guys know what they're doing.

Here’s an interesting post from National Geographic.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/12/111229-tornadoes-storms-hail-science-summer-pollution-environment/?link_tw20121203news-weather

Some interesting stuff. Makes me think that if people know what’s good for them, they will reduce air pollution after reading this. I’m even thinking of feeding my husband less cabbage!

But pollution  is a serious issue, and when I read articles like this, I am astounded that people aren’t taking more action to reduce pollution around the world, and also somehow not surprised that these things happen. Will people wake up? What can I do to stop this sort of apathy from being perpetuated?

It’s that time of year again. You know, when we get together with those we haven’t seen in a while and the majority of people get more stressed out than normal and eat unreasonable amounts of food. It’s the time of year when we look back on what this year has held for us, what we have put into it, and what we got out of it. All of those things put a strain on us physically and emotionally.

Take care of yourself this holiday. Make it a point to breathe and relax at intervals. Go to the gym, go for a walk, sleep your full 8 hours, and give yourself the gift of a healthy and relaxing holiday season.

I know it’s not easy, but there are people who can help you, including many alternative health practitioners. You don’t need to stress about trying to ease your stress. Get help. It will make the whole month that much happier.

Enjoy your holiday, and have a safe and happy new year.

Lots of Love,

Rosa

I’ve been travelling up to North Bay on a bimonthly basis in the summer. Mostly because it’s lovely there, but also because several years ago my mother turned her front yard into a vegetable garden and that means there’s lots of maintenance needed. Not much daily, but once the vegetables are in season, then it’s time. I remember spending an entire day digging potatoes last year. It’s not much time, considering you end up with enough potatoes for the whole winter.

And the flavour of these vegetables is out of this world. I think we are used to vegetables that are picked before they are ready. Ones that travel great distances to get to our table. During that travel, they lose something. I don’t know if it’s something measurable or not. What I do know is that any time I eat something fresh from someone’s garden, it is infinitely more flavourful, and brings me total happiness to eat it. It’s like my insides are smiling when I crunch a cherry tomato right off the vine, or gobble down a plate of steamed beans that I picked that morning. A carrot right out of the ground is something so wonderfully simple and still so much better than ones you buy in the store.

It may be a bit of work, but it’s work you feel good about. If you have the space, try a small garden. Plant a few of your favourite veggies. Some don’t make it every year, but the ones that do will make you glad you did it.

Happy harvest!

I’m in North Bay this week, seeing clients and helping my mom with her garden, and I’ve been thinking a lot about travel. My husband left two days ago on a three-week trip in Europe for a conference. I know he has his tones with him, but it’s hard when you’re on the road or in a new place, to take the time to listen to the tones, even if you would feel much better if you had. Even if you would have a better trip if you just took those 20 minutes to listen to your tones. It’s just the way our minds seem to work. Once in a new place, we forget our old routines and can’t seem to get into them until a few days into the trip.

I know some people who do very well with their tones while on the road. It depends on how you’re affected, but it can be easy to drive, for instance, while listening. I don’t, personally, but I’m afraid I’d be affected too much to concentrate. I do read while listening to my tones. Some people watch tv. That works perfectly. I have one client who washes dishes while listening to tones. Whatever suits you.

But when travelling, there’s so much excitement, you may get into the state of mind where you don’t want to miss a single minute, and so you don’t put headphones on and let your tones play through, helping you become more balanced and whole.

So let this be a reminder. Try. Listen to your tones whenever you can. It will help you enjoy your day more, your trip more, your life more. And you’ll be healing yourself along the way.

Here’s a pretty interesting article I found about sound and our environment by Dr. Rebecca Caines.

It may not have too much to do with Bioacoustics, but I found it interesting so I’m posting it anyway.

http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/listening-to-the-world-2817851.html

I deal with quite a number of people who have sleep problems. All of my clients who listen to their tones daily sleep well throughout the night and feel rested in the morning.

And what about you? Care to try it? http://www.rosabialski.com/contact/

If not, here’s a good link to some tips to a better sleep. And it’s free. Completely free. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/27/dr-naiman-on-sleep.aspx

And here’s something else: http://www.naturalnews.com/030760_tart_cherries_insomnia.html

I’ve been exercising a lot more lately, not as a New Year’s Resolution, but as a new habit that started in December. Instead of going 2-3 times/week, I try to hit the gym every day if I can, even if just for a short time. Now I get this article in my stack of news:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/159/19/2349

I’m finally back from Ohio and my Bioacoustic conference. It was quite something, I do have to say. Not because the content was great. Mostly, it was something for me to ponder on, and about, and over. It’s tough to find out that someone you thought was amazing is really just a flawed, weak person who happens to have great ideas about one thing in specific. If you don’t know what I mean, I’m sorry. I’m not going to bad mouth anyone specific online. I don’t think that’s right. I guess I’m just ranting because I expected more from an event like this. I wanted to learn something, perhaps be overwhelmed even.

Maybe next year.