Posted by terrepruitt on September 18, 2014
Ahh, I really wanted to have my blog post for today written yesterday. I wanted to “take the day off” today. Well, I taught a Nia Class this morning. And I have a Gentle Yoga Class to teach tonight, so I am not really taking the day off. I just didn’t want to have to think about a blog post or clean any part of the house today. I was going to take the day off from cleaning and doing chores. Ha. Well, it didn’t work out that way. But it is still a good day. We had a bit of rain. But that just made the traffic this morning very bad. My hubby was very thoughtful and called me to alert me to the chaos on the freeways this morning. So I left early than I normally do to get to class. I started to get on the freeway and got right back off. Since the traffic was not normal Thursday morning traffic I didn’t know if there were accidents that were blocking the roads so I decided to chance it and take the inner city streets. I actually made it to class RIGHT ON TIME! Which to me is not “on time” because I need to do a little set up before we start. But we still started only about five minutes late. Most of the Nia students didn’t even know we started late. So it worked out. The rain was only a very small amount, but it was moisture. That is a good thing. So there are a lot of things that can go into my Goodie Jar just today. So I am making this a check in day.
I haven’t checked in on you and your Goodie Jar for four months. I am still putting things in mine. I ALWAYS have something to put in mine. Regardless of what is going on I consider myself blessed. I hope you have at least one thing you can put into your jar.
I am doing a check in as a sort of “day off” from writing a blog post. Since I didn’t get the day off from chores and cleaning. I really don’t need a day off from teaching. Teaching is fun and I get so much good energy from my Nia and yoga students it doesn’t count as work. I can do without the extra travel time and traffic, but . . . we need the rain. Don’t know why it practically shuts our freeways down . . . but whatever.
Rain. To class on time. Birthday love. Hubby cooking dinner. These are the things that make me smile that I put in my Good Things Jar.
I have seen some people post on Facebook and others on their blog that some of you have gotten new family members . . . whether human or animal, that is a thing for the Goodie Jar. I always put notes about my family in my Goodie Jar.
So . . . what about you? Are you still putting things in your Good Things Jar? What have you added recently?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar, Misc | Tagged: birthday, blog post, California Rain, Facebook, freeway chaos, gentle yoga, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Nia class, Nia students, rain shuts down freeways, teaching Nia, Yoga class | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 16, 2014
There is a Nia Routine called Miracle. It is fun routine. Like many Nia Routines it has form and freedom. There are two songs in which the foot work is pretty much the same throughout each song (form), but within the sameness you have the freedom to switch it up and add your own style. The choreography gives you the steps, the area where your feet are to be in dancing to the music, but you can decide how to get there and how your foot will be placed into that area. Form and Freedom. There is also something in this routine that Carlos Rosas (NKA, Carlos Aya-Rosas) calls the “Nia Bundle”. It is basically where the entire class gets very close together and dances. This is not easy for people to do. Why? There are at least as many reasons why this challenges people as there are people. But there are many benefits to dancing in a “bundle” and as a group.
One benefit of dancing in a close bundle is to practice our proprioception. In close proximity to other Nia Dancers we want to be aware of where our arms are, where are feet are, where are hands are. Are our limbs close to our body or are they out as far as they can go? Are we going to step on someone’s toes? Are we going to bump into someone? While the goal is not to step on nor bump into anyone, it is understood there might be some contact . . . but not often. For those in my classes that participate in the Nia bundles we do a good job being aware and moving in a close group.
Also dancing so close to each other helps us be aware of each other. Not just the physical presence of the other students, but there is eye contact, there is giggling, there is connection and a sense of community when you are brought really close together. No one is in their own space, we are sharing space. We move as one in space. We move as individuals in a shared space. We learn to dance together.
Another benefit could be that we – as individuals are pressed into moving in different ways. Finding a new way to move our body in dance because we are so close to someone. How can we move our elbows without elbowing someone? How can we dance to the music and express our spirit in such close proximity to others? Ahh . . . yes . . . new-to-your-body-moves just might be discovered.
I always laugh at the thought of someone looking in the dance studio at the community center and seeing all of the space with 12+ of us all clumped together in the middle or in a corner. I imagine them thinking that odd. I imagine them thinking, “WHAT are they doing?” Then we throw our hands up in the air and sing. It is quite fun!
So despite some people’s misgivings about dancing really close in a Nia bundle there are those who join in with gusto and reap the benefits. Does your dance exercise class have a bundle? What would you think if you were to peek in a class and see it? Would you be a bundle dancer?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: benefits of dancing, Carlos Aya Rosas, Carlos Rosas, community center, dance class, dance exercise, Dance Workout, Dancing, foot work, Form and Freedom, fun routine, miracle, Nia Bundle, Nia choreography, Nia dancers, Nia Music, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia songs, Proprioception | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 13, 2014
Recently I woke up singing Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry. I just woke up and started singing it. It was the first thought in my head. I sang it most of the morning, then I thought, “well, yeah they do . . . and there are a lot of reasons for big girls to cry.” Then I thought of that meme you might know it. I might as well voice my opinion on it. That is what the internet is for, right? People just throwing their opinions out there? Well, if you would like to hear about mine please continue reading. I wouldn’t mind hearing your opinion on this. I have things to say about this little saying. “No boy is worth crying over. And the one who is won’t make you cry.” Yikes. I have an issue with this. I truly think this sets a very unreasonable, unhealthy, and ridiculous standard. Really? We are telling girls that a boy is not worth it if he makes you cry. Or he is not worth it if you shed tears in your dealings with him. Wow! I think I understand the POINT of this, but then again, since I understand the point of it, I don’t need a little reminder of it. I am concerned that people who might need a reminder like this might take it literally without context. Because if you think that anyone in your life that makes you cry is not worth it, then you might end up very alone.
I mean, there are as many reason that someone can “make” you cry as there are people. It could be that you are having a stressful day and your emotions are a bit wobbly so you aren’t feeling very secure and your special someone walks in and says, “Did you do something with your hair?” And since you are feeling insecure and you don’t like your hair at the moment you burst into tears. It could be that your special someone had a very stressful day and walks in and says a little harsh, “Where is dinner?” And you have been busy all day and haven’t even thought of it and you feel bad and that makes you cry. It could be that your cat just died and EVERYTHING makes you cry. It could be that you were just diagnosed with something so, again, everything makes you cry. But since it is the boy who is doing the talking you think it is him that is making you cry.
It is not reasonable to think that humans interacting with each other will never cause tears. If the boy you are interested in never makes you cry because he is so perfect you should go with him to the doctor to make sure he is not either alien or a robot. That is why love is sometime wonky. You, yourself have to be secure enough to know where the tears are coming from. Are they coming from you–something going on with you or is the person you love really being mean. And with you knowing yourself and being secure you can decide if that is something you want to put up with. To say no boy worth crying over won’t make you cry is ludicrous.
I think it would serve people better — especially if your boyfriend / fiancé / husband is a highly paid athlete (!!!!) — if it said “No boy is worth letting yourself get hit/beat/dragged around.” THAT would be a much better lesson to get out there and to preach. The crying lesson is just not realistic. People are going to hurt your feelings . . . it could be that you are being sensitive for whatever reason or it could be that he is being a jerk — it happens. But does it happen all the time? Is it something that YOU know is just him being an ass because he has something going on or does he do it all the time? There is a difference between a once-in-a-while-I-am-being-sensitive-or-he-is-having-an-off-day thing and something that happens all the time. So . . . he just might make you cry every once in a while. But it should not be all the time and it should never be because he hit you.
But people are not perfect and someone who is “worth it” might just make you cry. What do you think?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: abuse, big girls do cry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie, highly paid athlete, make you cry, worth crying over | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 11, 2014
What to make for dinner is often a tough question to answer. My husband does not understand why it is so difficult. He doesn’t understand that when he eats ground turkey and a vegetable two nights (at least) every week for months it is because I just do not have the time or mental capability to THINK of something to make for dinner. Ground turkey and whatever vegetable we have is soooooo easy. But this past year I was told I made it too much. So . . . now that I have more time and can think about something other than planning a “memorial”, I am trying to come up with something else for dinner. On Thursdays I like to have something pretty much prepared before I go to teach the evening Gentle Yoga class. My hubby has been experimenting with making deviled eggs so we ended up with a lot of eggs. So I thought why not make a Frittata? Is it still a frittata if you don’t bake it in the pan you do the initial cooking in? I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Or pan that can go in the oven. Or — perhaps more accurately, one I want to put in the oven. But I just put my “frittatas” in a casserole dish.
According to Wiki:
“Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta. The word frittata is derived from Italian and roughly translates to “egg-cake”.
History
The Italian word frittata derives from fritta and roughly translates to egg-cake. This was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish tortilla de patatas, made with fried potato. Outside Italy, frittata was seen as equivalent to “omelette” until at least the mid-1950s.”
Well, I had a small piece of chicken to use and a lot of eggs. So I bought some mushrooms and a leek.
Here is our dinner tonight.
_________________________________________
Leek and Mushroom Frittata
1 leek, chopped up into little pieces
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced
6 eggs
1/3 C milk (I use 1%)
1/2 C cooked chicken (optional)
1 C Cheddar cheese (I used mild)
salt
pepper
butter
(I used a 7.5 in X 11 in casserole dish)
Put about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Heat the oil. Then add the leeks. Salt them a little while cooking. When they look as if they are getting cooked add the mushrooms to the pan. Add a little more salt. Add the rosemary. Add the garlic. Cook the leeks and mushrooms until they are almost done.
While the vegetables are cooking beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk. If you feel you need more salt and pepper you can put it in the egg mixture.
Once the veggies are cooked add them to the eggs in the large bowl. Butter the casserole dish. Then pour the veggie-egg mixture into the casserole dish. Then add the chicken, use a fork to spread the chicken around in the vegetable-egg mixture. Then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. With the fork sink the cheese into the vegetable-egg-chicken mixture.
Bake on 350° F for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes check it to see if it is done to your liking. Usually you want eggs to be cooked thoroughly. But everyone likes their eggs done differently so cook it to the way YOU like it.
_________________________________________
Of course this can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, dinner, a snack . . . . whatever you want. I am sure you can adapt it to one pan cooking like a “real” frittata, but . . . it works in a casserole dish too.
Do you like frittatas? Do you ever eat them for dinner?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: breakfast lunch dinner, casserole dish, cast iron skillet, City of San Jose exercise classes, crustless quiche, deviled eggs, egg-based Italian, egg-cake, Eggcellent Dinner, fritta, frittata, garlic, Gentle Yoga class, ground turkey and a vegetable, leek, minced, mushrooms, omelette, rosemary, THINK of something to make for dinner, Wiki | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 9, 2014
I am not sure many websites have Site Maps any longer. Websites now-a-days are so full of bells and whistles not many have site maps. Not many just have a place where you can go to one page to see a list of everything that is on the site. I find sometimes when I am on a website, I am just going in circles trying to find the information I want and I think it would be nice if there was that one page . . . that site map . . . that showed me the list of pages so that I could click on the page I want instead of getting dizzy clicking around. I think I have a lot of information on my site so I know that one might get a little overwhelmed. I know that some of my pages repeat information on other pages. I do that because when I am on a website sometimes I don’t see the information if it is only on one page, but the more it is repeated the better chance that I will see it. But I do have a site map for my site. I have a lot of information so I wanted to have a list that people can look at in case they wanted an idea of what the whole site contained.
Since I teach at several different places and I have both a FIXED (on-going) schedule and one that changes all the time it can be a bit much for people to keep track of. In addition to my teaching schedule, I have information regarding Nia on the site because I want to educate people on the classes they can take from me. So, yeah, there is a lot on there. So here is what I have created to help.
What’s on www.HelpYouWell.com at a glance! The BOLD indicates the links you see at the left, the others are in the drop down menu if you put your mouse over the links at the left. And, you can just click the link from this site map.
Hopefully this helps people navigate the site. The site map is a list of all the pages on the site with hot links so you can click on the page you want to visit. What do you think? Do you ever get “lost” on a website? It seems as if you are just going in circles? Do you find many websites with site maps?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: dance exercise classes, gentle yoga, Group Ex, Group Exercise classes, Helen Terry, ia Class Cycles, Nia, Nia 5 Stages, Nia at the YMCA, Nia Belts, Nia Classes, Nia for the City of San Jose, Nia FreeDance, Nia in San Jose, Nia in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nia schedule of classes, San Jose Nia Clases, Site maps, teaching Nia, Terre Pruitt, The Nia Technique book, www.HelpYouWell.com, YMCA Silicon Valley Classes, Zumba | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 6, 2014
I like this pose, Utthita Hasta Padasana (Extended Hands and Feet Pose). It is an easy pose. It is one of those asanas that can be used in so many places in a yoga routine. It can be used in the beginning to allow you to “come into your body” and start the process of concentration. It can be used in between other poses, either to rest or reset, or to allow for an easy transition. It can be used at the end. It can be used to help practice awareness and learning sensations in your body. I often use it as part of the cooldown in my Nia classes. It is basically something almost everyone can do. Sometimes it might present an initial challenge for some needing help with balance, but after a bit it becomes easy. I like it. It is very versatile.
Generally no matter when or where in the routine this pose is placed in my current yoga classes we do not hop into it. We step into the wide stance. The feet are beyond the width of the shoulders. If we have come from a mountain pose then we continue with our reaching, lengthening, relaxing, and lifting, but if we are stepping into this from another pose then we check our posture. We want to reach with the crown of the head to the sky, lengthening the neck – creating space between the ears and the shoulders, we allow our shoulders to relax and our shoulder blades to “drip” down our back, we lift the ribs off of the hips, and lift the knee caps by activating our thigh muscles. The feet – in the wide stance – are parallel to the edges of the mat and each other. The chest is open. Arms are stretched out to the side, elbows and hands are at an even height with the shoulders. We are reaching for the opposite walls.
Standing there you open your chest and create space in the joints. Reach up to be taller and reach out to be longer. The head reaching up, the arms reaching out. Feet are firmly planted, weight is evenly distributed over the entire foot (both feet), toes are spread. Here is where you sense the strength and stability while opening.
This pose is traditionally done from the mountain pose with hands at chest level, finger tips touching in front of the heart center. Then when you hop your legs into your wide stance you put your arms out at the same time. In order to be “gentle” we step into our Utthita Hasta Padasana.
Many yoga poses are challenging. Many test strength, many test balance, many test flexibility. The ones, like this one might be very easy so the possibility that they are over looked and not practice in many yoga classes could be very high. But it is the easy asanas where sometimes we learn the most. We learn to take a moment to sense the body. What does it feel like to stand wide, reaching and lengthening? What is the sensation in my bones? What is the sensation in my muscles? Can I open my chest any further? Can I make my arms longer? Check into these sensations. Allow yourself to learn and become familiar so that you can do more challenging poses with the body knowledge you have gained from the easier poses.
Do you do this pose as part of your practice? Do you do this pose in the yoga class you attend?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asana, body sensations, chest open, Extended Hands and Feet Pose, gentle yoga, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia cool down, shoulder width apart, stability, strength, Utthita Hasta Padasana, yoga classes, yoga poses, Yoga Practice | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 4, 2014
You may have read my post regarding my Home Gym Machine (click here to go there). It is great, but it takes up a lot of room. When our cat died this year I decided to use some of the space that was hers for my machine. You may also know, if you have read a few of my blog posts that my mom died this year. You may have figured out that she was sick for a bit. She had a couple of cancers and with the second one that took over a year to diagnose, her prescribed treatment was chemotherapy. She opted to do it. One of her first shared thoughts was that she would lose her hair. She had very thin hair, but she did all she could to make it pretty. And she succeed. She wasn’t much to discuss things like dying and how she really felt about her illness so I don’t know for certain, but I think her focus on her hair was a way of distracting herself. In addition to her looking at wigs and we looked at things that could cover her head. What does that have to do with they BodyShop . . . the name of the Total Gym like machine? Well, I learned a valuable lesson. Even though my hair is short, cover it up because the pulleys will do exactly that —- PULL. My hair, that is. The pulleys pull my hair. So I have to cover it.
My mom didn’t lose all her hair. It started to fall out and get more thin, but she died before she lost all of it. But she never used her Buffs that we bought her. Now I use them. I keep one hanging over the foot board of my machine (you may have seen it in the picture on the Home Gym Machine post. So I just slip it on when before I get on. It makes me hot. I don’t like things on my head. But I like my hair getting ripped out of my head even less.
I am glad I am getting use out of the hair cover ups. And I am happy I am not getting my hair pulled out by the pulleys. Weird things that come from death.
I keep my hair short because it looks better drying on its own after a Nia class, than if I had long hair. (My hair gets very wet when I teach). My hair isn’t really long enough to “put up”. As you can see from the little picture. I certainly didn’t think it was long enough to be pulled. It could be that it is not really getting caught up in the pulleys as the pulleys are pulling it. Whether it be against the bar or the back rest. I don’t know because I am unable to see, but I certainly feel the pull and, “No thanks.”
So the point of this post is to share with you before you pull your hair out. Cover up your hair.
Have you ever had your hair pulled by a machine? Do you put your hair up? Do you cover your hair?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: BodyShop, Buff, cat died, chemotherapy, hair cover up, Home Gym Machine, lung cancer, mom died, Nia class, short hair, throat cancers, Total Gym | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 2, 2014
If you have read more than one post on my blog you know (probably) that I teach a movement class called Nia. Nia is very much about “dancing” and moving to the music. The training required in order to teach is called the Nia White Belt Intensive. The training is over 50 hours long. Believe it or not there is hardly anytime in that 50 hours learning a routine. In fact, I don’t remember learning any part of a routine in my White Belt. But I know people who have taken the training more recently and they said they did review a song. I remember when I first arrived at the training I literally had NO IDEA what it was going to be like. I signed up rather late and if there was any pre-training at that time, I didn’t get it. I had thought I would walk out of the training ready to teach. Ha. Nope. I was given tools to help me be ready to teach. There might be people who are ready to teach when they walk out of the first training . . . but I wasn’t. I wasn’t that familiar with Nia to begin with so the way we were taught to learn a routine was very new to me. As you may know we were taught to map our music by “barring” the music.
I know that Nia is making an effort to make things easier on teachers. Nia Headquarters actually documents the choreography on the bars now. So, I feel that the focus has shifted a bit away from barring the music the way I was taught. I think the way I was taught was very cool. I love the way Nia had at one time had us learning the music. But I also understand the need to learn quickly or to have tools available to allow people to do things faster. That is just the way our society is. Things need to be done fast.
I also understand that we all learn differently. We all have our own ways of doing things. I honestly don’t do EVERY step that I was taught to do. I also mix it up and I don’t always do each routine EXACTLY the same. But pretty much.
For all the routines so far, I do bar the music myself. Sometimes I have trouble with some of the songs so I might rely on the bars from HQ a little more than with other songs. But I bar the music and I document the choreography myself. I “fix” any discrepancies I might see on the DVD. But I do this in steps. First I bar the music. I count the music and I dress my bars. I have found the more detailed I am with the dressing the better it is for me. I put as much detail as I want on there. I don’t just put the sound I hear for the cue for the Nia routine. I put the music on the page. Then I scan the paper into my computer. Now I have barred music. So what I can do with that the barred page — without the Nia choreography on it — is use it for whatever I want. I can add my own choreography. I don’t just have the places marked where I would do or cue the already-created-Nia kata, I have sounds that I am familiar with document. So noting my own choreography to the page is easy.
Then, on my paper I just scanned, I add the Nia choreography. Once I do that then I scan my sheet again. So now I have an electronic image of my complete and final bars. I always know where it is. I admit to taking my sheets of barred music with me either to teach or around the house, then I misplace them. Or I mixed routines up so I have one song in with another routine. Then after a year when I go to do a routine, I am missing a song. I am pretty particular so I will look for it, but sometimes I let go and just look at my electronic copy. I know that eventually I will find the hard copy so I just use the one I know where it is.
I am so happy though because I finally got a HANGING file system. So much easier to file my routines that way. I used to have them in a pile on a shelf in a cabinet. So in order to get to them I had to take out the entire pile and go through it to find the routine I wanted. Or to put one away . . . that is why I would end up with “lost” songs because I didn’t always want to take the time to take out the stack and deal with it. But now, it is so much easier with them hanging! Yay.
So, if you teach a dance class, how do you document your moves? How do you note your choreography? How do you store your notes?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: barring music, dance class, dance exercise, mapping music, movement class, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia Music, Nia Teacher, Nia training, Nia White Belt Intensive, scanning your bars | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 30, 2014
I was looking in a catalog of supplements . . . one of my Nia students gave it to me after class. We didn’t even have a chance to discuss it because she handed it to me as she was leaving, so I didn’t even realize it was a catalog of supplements until I flipped through it and saw every other page was an advertisement for a supplement. Anyway . . . it had an article in it about the flavonoid, quercetin. It reminded me of the information stating that it has been proven to be an anti-inflammatory and an antihistamine. Since I primarily mention eating onions, apples, and citrus fruit in my two posts, An Apple a Day and Allergy Relief, I thought I would look up some information regarding what other foods contain this interesting plant component. I found two sites with the same list. I went through the list and found the things that I eat or would eat. Some of the foods listed I didn’t even know what they were, such as Bog wortleberries, dock leaves, and lovage leaves. Some I wouldn’t eat because they are peppers, such as ancho peppers and hot green chili peppers. But I would eat some of the items listed. I DO eat some of the items listed. I could increase my consumption of some of them.
Here is my list.
Food Chart
This is a food chart showing fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains rich in quercetin.
mg/100 g.
Apple, raw with skin 4.42
Apricot, raw 2.55
Blueberries, raw 3.11
Broccoli, cooked 1.06
Broccoli, raw 3.21
Butterhead lettuce 1.19
Cherries, raw 1.25
Cherry tomatoes, raw 2.77
Green beans, raw 2.73
Kale, raw 7.71
Plums, raw 1.20
Red grapes 3.54
Red onion, raw 19.93
Spinach, raw 4.86
Tea, black brewed 2.07
Tea, decaf brewed 2.84
Tea, decaf green brewed 2.77
Tea, green brewed 2.69
White sweet onion, raw 5.19
I love apples. I could easily eat more of those. I don’t experience apricots that much, but I like them ok. I think you know how I feel about blueberries, but I did discover I like them in a green smoothie. I LOVE cherries! Not so sure about eating green beans raw, but I just had kale in a green smoothie this past week. I have received plums and grapes in my produce box. But I don’t eat them often. I eat onions pretty much every day in a green salad. It is good to know that quercetin is in tea.
So what about you? Do you know what a Bog wortleberry is? It has a lot of quercetin in it but not as much as canned capers or dock leaves. Since I don’t know what dock leaves are I don’t know if you would eat a 100 grams of them, but I can’t imagine someone eating 100 grams of capers. So, I guess it is good that they have so much quercetin in them. You can still get some from a smaller amount.
I am sure there are a lot of people who eat a lot more than is on my list. The peppers alone. I know many people who love peppers. Anything on my list that you eat? Anything you might think of increasing consumption of? What about the full list?
Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: allergy relief, an apple a day, anti-inflammtory, antihistamine, black tea, broccoli, flavanoid, green smoothie, green tea, list of foods, Nia class, Nia students, onions, peppers, quercetin, supplement catalog | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 28, 2014
One of my Nia students gave me a catalog today after Nia class that had information in it about a new device. I have been saying for a while we need something like this. I am not saying this is it, but I am saying this is very interesting. I think this is really the start of something. This is something that — if used properly — could really help people be more in control of their health and wellness. Now, I know a lot of people who can practically do this on their own, without a fancy machine. But not everyone is THAT in tune with their body. Not everyone knows what little signs the body gives means. This is something that fascinates me because it COULD be very helpful. Unfortunately with everything, I am certain the information will be used as a marketing tool and therefore take away from the good (in my opinion) it could do, but we will see. I would also imagine different/additional tests to be helpful. It is very interesting and it is a start. It is a device called Cue.
Cue is a little cube that takes a biological sample using specific cartridges and processes it into information you can use to make decisions about your diet and what actions you can take to adjust the readings. It looks as if right now the information it can give feedback on is “Vitamin D”, “Inflammation”, “Influenza”, “Testosterone”, and “Fertility”.
I noticed that on the video, it showed the woman was deficient in Vitamin D. That makes sense, it can test for that. The flu virus is another one I understand along with testosterone, the device can detect the virus as it can detect levels of testosterone. It tests for the luteinizing hormone with the “Fertility” cartridge. It does not say how they determine the body’s level of inflammation. I would imagine they are testing for a specific level of protein with a blood test. But I cannot find information on the site that explains exactly how this thing works and what exactly they are testing for.
I find it very interesting.
I know there are presently at home tests where you can test for fertility, but I think the thing with the Cue would be tracking and documenting. And possibly even alerting you with reminders and things. “Hey, don’t forget tonight is the night . . . ” for the female (who cares to do so) “better shave your legs” and for the male who wants to be romantic “stop at the flower shop”. Ok, so I am going off of commercials I see regarding other devices . . . but I would bet there are alerts, probably not so detailed, but who knows?
I don’t care for the information being sent wirelessly, but that is because I wouldn’t want my information floating about. 🙂 I am also not crazy about the Flumap . . . again, some of the aspects of this could be abused . . . basically like anything.
The cartridges are all single use and they come in packs of five. A five pack of ONE test. So you would get five of the vitamin D test. And not one of each. The packs are presently priced at $20.00. Oh, except the flu, that is a THREE pack for $30.00. The tests (per the website) are as follows:
For an Inflammation test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
For a Vitamin D test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
For an Influenza test, Cue requires cellular material from the nostril.
For a Testosterone test, Cue requires a few droplets of saliva.
For a Fertility test, Cue requires a droplet of blood.
So, what do you think? Do you think this sounds interesting? Would you be interesting in use something like this? Would you be interested in one of the present tests? What would you like it to test for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: and Fertility, biological sample, Cue, health tracking device, home tests, Inflammation, Influenza, luteinizing hormone, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Nia students, San Jose Nia, testing cartridges, Testosterone, vitamin D | Leave a Comment »
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