Category Music

Building Healthier Communities: Your Guide to Leading Advocacy Efforts

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Image: Freepik

By Julia Merrill of Befriendyourdoc.org
julia@befriendyourdoc.org

Your passion for health and wellness can serve as a powerful agent of change, impacting not just your own life but also enriching your community. By directing this enthusiasm toward advocacy and educational efforts, you transform it into actionable initiatives that can significantly improve communal health. Embrace this role wholeheartedly, and you’ll find yourself at the forefront of promoting healthful changes.

Initiate Community Health Sessions

Consider launching small group sessions in your community to discuss crucial health topics like nutrition, exercise, and mental health. These gatherings offer a platform to share valuable knowledge and strategies for healthy living, providing a foundation for community members to make informed choices about their well-being. As these sessions grow in popularity, they can foster a supportive network, encouraging ongoing participation and commitment to health.

Advocate for Health Policy Changes

Dive into the complexities of local health policies to understand how they impact your community. Use your insights to advocate for enhancements or the development of new initiatives that promote better health outcomes. By engaging with policymakers and stakeholders, you can influence decisions that lead to substantial improvements in public health infrastructure and services.

Launch a Health-Focused Business

Launching your own health and wellness business not only aligns with your passion but also taps into a burgeoning market for health services. To start a business, identify your niche, create a solid business plan, secure financing, register your business, and establish your brand and online presence. Opting to establish a limited liability company (LLC) provides you with perks such as limited liability protection, potential tax benefits, and the flexibility to adapt operations with minimal bureaucratic overhead. To streamline the process and save on legal fees, consider using services like ZenBusiness to handle your LLC setup.

Collaborate with NGOs

Partner with local non-governmental organizations to create impactful health campaigns and awareness drives. These collaborations can amplify your efforts, reaching a wider audience and drawing in more community engagement. Together, you can organize volunteer opportunities that promote health education and preventative measures, making a tangible difference in the health landscape of your community.

Organize Public Health Events

Help plan and execute public events such as health screenings, workshops, or informational seminars. These events provide critical health information and services to the public, often reaching individuals who are underserved or unaware of available health resources. By making these opportunities accessible, you contribute directly to the improved health of your community.

Share Your Health Journey

Utilize the power of blogging or vlogging on sites like YouTube to share your health journey and expertise. This personal touch can resonate deeply with your audience, providing them with practical advice and emotional support. Your stories and tips can inspire others to take action toward healthier lifestyles, creating a ripple effect of health consciousness across digital platforms.

Establish Support Groups

Facilitate the formation of support groups where you and others can freely share both the struggles and victories of your health journeys. In these groups, foster an environment of trust and empathy, allowing members to connect and draw strength from each other’s experiences. This sense of unity not only bolsters individual commitment to health goals but also nurtures a supportive community atmosphere that can lead to sustained well-being.

Offer Personalized Health Coaching

Offering individualized sessions, counseling, or coaching can profoundly impact someone’s health journey. By tailoring your guidance and support to their specific needs and challenges, you equip them to pursue and achieve their health objectives more effectively. This personalized touch not only enhances their ability to meet goals but also provides the encouragement and accountability crucial for lasting health transformations.

In harnessing your passion for health and channeling it into advocacy, you create a multi-faceted approach that not only enriches your life but also significantly impacts those around you. Each step you take builds upon the next, weaving a network of health empowerment that can sustain and grow with the collective effort of your community. By stepping forward, you light a path for others, proving that individual passion can indeed lead to collective health improvement.

Unlock the secrets to a healthier, fitter lifestyle with insights from Dr. Stacey Naito. Follow her blog today for expert tips on health, fitness, and living your best life!

Why Raves Are So Appealing

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Copyright: cunaplus

Back in March of this year, I attended my very first rave, a smaller event which was held indoors at a theater in downtown Los Angeles. What surprised me was how loving, accepting, and cool just about everyone was at the event and how consistent they were with PLUR, an acronym which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. It was as if all judgement, criticism, pretense and posturing had been left at the entrance to the event, and I have to admit that it was refreshing and lovely. I was so enraptured by the energy at the event and so into the music that I was left wanting more when it was time to leave.

I have to admit that I am a bit hesitant to attend the larger, outdoor festivals, for a number of reasons which are well detailed here. It just doesn’t seem like it would be very fun to sit in a Porta-Potty with a full length bodysuit gathered around my ankles, nor does it seem like fun to have a bunch of strangers sweating on me while I dance to electronic music. It was already quite stuffy and hot while I was at the indoor venue, and that was during a part of the year when the outside temperature was in the upper 40’s Fahrenheit. Bear in mind that it is customary and almost required that attendees dress scantily, primarily to offset the increased ambient temperature which develops as a result of all the human bodies gyrating and dancing together in a small space, and also as a proclamation of body awareness and acceptance.

Despite the fact that the venue was pretty packed, and the ambient temperature was pretty toasty, I had an incredible time, and can’t wait to attend another rave. There is something so liberating about dancing without a care in the world, moving with the beat of the music, and feeling absolutely no judgement from other people at the event. It was also fun to dress up, especially because it has been years since I have dressed up for Halloween or masquerade balls. Raves are a fantastic way for adults to align with their childlike energy, and let go.

Cool Radio Websites

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Copyright: popovia

I stumbled upon two very interesting radio websites which I wanted to share with you. The first is http://radio.garden/ which enables you to tune into thousands of live radio stations all over the globe. The site consists of a globe map which enables you to explore different regions of the world and listen to their local radio station offerings. You can save favorites to visit later, and you can also utilize the search bar to search by country, city, or specific station.

I also got a kick out of https://radiooooo.com/ which enables you to search for music from different eras, spanning from 1900 to present. The music featured is worldwide, so if you wanted to hear music from Italy in 1975, you could plug into that region and era, and listen to the music that Italians were grooving to in 1975. You can listen for free, but if you want to skip or rewind songs, or bookmark tracks, you would need to join their club, which is $4.99 per month.

Happy listening!

Dipping Into Indie Funk

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Image ID : 132080302
Source: 123rf.com
Copyright : skovoroda

If you were to listen to the songs which I have in my iTunes and Spotify libraries, you’d probably scratch your head in wonder over the vast assortment of genres which I enjoy. One of the reasons why I have so many different genres in my music collections is that I tend to obsess over a certain artist or genre for a while, soaking it up until I begin to get tired of it. The latest musical genre which has caught my attention is Indie Funk, and I specifically latched onto one band in particular, Magic City Hippies.

If you want to listen to music that has an easy vibe, catchy beat and tempo, and just puts you into a feel-good mood, then I would definitely recommend checking out Magic City Hippies, Cool Company, and other related groups which create this vibey, groovy music. The past several months have been pretty difficult for me, so I rely on my relaxing home space to provide consistency and comfort. This means that on most days when I find myself hanging out or working at home, I turn on the Magic City Hippies Spotify station. Friends and clients have actually commented on the station, asking about the musical artists featured. I’m not kidding when I say that indie funk can instantly put you into a great mood and cause stress to just melt away.

Here are a few YouTube videos from bands within this genre:

My Songbird Fantasy

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

source: 123rf.com
Image ID : 16616006
Copyright : Sergey Nivens

From the time I was a little girl, I fantasized about having a beautiful singing voice, but I wasn’t destined to be blessed with such talent.  Though I am not tone deaf, and can carry a tune, the quality of my singing voice is very basic and certainly not worthy of any type of showcase.  At least I was realistic at an early age (eight years old to be exact) about my utterly ordinary voice, and never attempted to delve into some delusional idea that I might someday develop pipes which would rival Mariah Carey.  Instead, I happily lived vicariously through my favorite singers, imagining what it must be like to have such sweet melodies emanate from one’s vocal cords.

Of course, like most of you, I’m not afraid to belt out a tune while driving my car or taking a shower.  There is something so cathartic about being able to let loose like that, so I allow myself to indulge in it frequently.  Why not?  It’s not like I’m going to try out for American Idol or The Voice.

It’s pretty sobering to think that the majority of singers never really get a chance to fully live out their dreams of stardom, despite having massive talent. I recently watched “Twenty Feet From Stardom” which follows several prominent backup singers from the 1960’s to present time. In one portion of the documentary, Merry Clayton describes her experience recording the vocals for the 1969 song “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones.

In an excerpt from an article on openculture.com, Merry describes the evening:

Well, I’m at home at about 12–I’d say about 11:30, almost 12 o’clock at night. And I’m hunkered down in my bed with my husband, very pregnant, and we got a call from a dear friend of mine and producer named Jack Nitzsche. Jack Nitzsche called and said you know, Merry, are you busy? I said No, I’m in bed. he says, well, you know, There are some guys in town from England. And they need someone to come and sing a duet with them, but I can’t get anybody to do it. Could you come? He said I really think this would be something good for you.

I said, Well, play the track. It’s late. I’d love to get back home. So they play the track and tell me that I’m going to sing–this is what you’re going to sing: Oh, children, it’s just a shot away. It had the lyrics for me. I said, Well, that’s cool. So  I did the first part, and we got down to the rape, murder part. And I said, Why am I singing rape, murder? …So they told me the gist of what the lyrics were, and I said Oh, okay, that’s cool. So then I had to sit on a stool because I was a little heavy in my belly. I mean, it was a sight to behold. And we got through it. And then we went in the booth to listen, and I saw them hooting and hollering while I was singing, but I didn’t know what they were hooting and hollering about. And when I got back in the booth and listened, I said, Ooh, that’s really nice. They said, well, You want to do another?  I said, well, I’ll do one more, I said and then I’m going to have to say thank you and good night. I did one more, and then I did one more. So it was three times I did it, and then I was gone. The next thing I know, that’s history.

Now listen to her raw vocals.  You’ll get the chills from her energy and passion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqXyjbgs5rU&feature=youtu.be

Now that’s magical talent!

Back In The Day…Attending Concerts

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Source: 123rf.com
Image: 46963270
erika8213

 

Among the memories from my childhood, teenhood, and early adulthood are all the incredible concerts I had the good fortune to attend.  I grew up in the 1970’s – 1980’s, and was exposed to all kinds of music during that time.  I was able to see most of my favorite artists perform live, some in front of massive coliseum-sized audiences, and others in cozy local venues like the Troubador.  Little did I know that when I was cheering Poison and Ratt that those bands were about to hit it big on the music scene.

Here is a partial list of some of the artists I was able to see live between 1976 and 1989:

Elton John (Dodger Stadium, 1976)

Rolling Stones (1981, 1989)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1980, 1981)

Pink Floyd

Mötley Crüe

Talking Heads

David Bowie

I thoroughly enjoyed being in the audience, rocking with the music, lighting my lighter (who remembers doing this?), and singing along when the lead singer would prompt the crowd to join in.  There was always a palpable energy at concerts, a buzz, and I’m not talking about the burning weed which circulated through the air.  The audiences were always so pumped, so excited to hear a favorite band play live.

I also remember wanting so badly to attend the US Festival on Labor Day weekend in 1982, but my mother staunchly refused.  Then there was another US Festival which I desperately wanted to attend on Memorial Day weekend in 1983, but my mother once again refused, pointing out that I had final exams the following week.  Some of the girls in my class threw caution to the wind and attended the festival, so I was able to live vicariously through them when they described the experience.  An estimated 570,000 people attended the 1983 Labor Day weekend US Festival, which is no surprise since tickets were a mere $20 for each day of the event.

Here’s a video of the full concert which Van Halen performed during the 1983 US Festival:

Other festivals have come to the forefront in popularity in, recent years, but now that we have spent the bulk of the year in lockdown, avoiding COVID, live concerts, with the audience standing in front of the band members, are nearly extinct.  We now rely on livestreams and virtual concerts, which don’t even come close to creating the same magic that a live concert in front of a packed audience can do.

Ventura County Fairgrounds recently hosted a drive-in setting for a live concert which apparently went pretty well.  The audience was limited to 500 cars, I wonder if this will be the new norm for concerts?  At any rate, I am thankful that I was able to see so many incredible artists live, when concerts were still fun.

 

I Miss Soul Train

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

https://youtu.be/eVoKjbzEh3c

From the time I was a kid, I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons, all the while anticipating the treat which would come after cartoons were over. The Soul Train theme song would play, and I would settle in for an hour of some of the best music around. I continued this pattern through my early 20’s, and would plan my Saturday around Soul Train, carving out time to watch like the faithful fan I always was. At the 45 minute mark, the Soul Train dance line would form, and I would be glued to the television set, watching all the moves, and looking at all the cool outfits. The Dance Line began as a couples line, then by the 1980’s, it morphed into singlets and the occasional group of dancers moving across the dance floor:

https://youtu.be/OHzuO80e1zw

The first Soul Train episode aired on October 2, 1971, and the show ran through March of 2006. That’s 35 years and 1,117 soul, dance, R and B, and funk-filled episodes. Thanks to creator and host Don Cornelius, Soul Train brought black culture into America’s homes, broke down barriers, and wowed people like me. Don Cornelius would close out every episode with a sweeping thrown kiss and a wish to the viewers for “love, peace, and SOUUUUUUUULLLL”, a uniting and loving gesture which became a signature for the show.

For those of you who loved Soul Train as much as I did, you’ll get kick out of the following video, in which former Soul Train dancers share their experiences of being on the show:

Here are two video compilations, one which features the top ten female Soul Train dancers, and the other which showcases the top ten male Soul Train dancers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_PqgJBeAfk

https://youtu.be/nMucFNGjaC8

Quit Taking My Musical Icons

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Michael Jackson’s death in June of 2009 was so shocking and painful for me that I still feel profound sadness over his passing. I grew up listening to his music, so his voice and artistic vision helped to define my entire life from childhood. David Bowie had a similar impact on my growing years, and I was so passionately moved by his musical genius that he remained a favorite artist from the time I was very little through today. Though Bowie was ill from cancer, his death was shocking as well, and my heart has been heavy from it.

When I heard that Prince was dealing with poor health, I began to worry. Surely this 57 year old multitalented musical god wasn’t near death’s door? Alarm bells went off in my head when I heard about the emergency plane landing on April 15th. Then on the morning of Thursday, April 21st, I flipped to Sirius XM’s Z100NY and thought it was very odd that a Prince song from 1984, “When Doves Cry”, was playing, since the station runs current hits. I pulled into a gas station and turned off the ignition to pump my gas. When I started up the car, “Purple Rain” was playing on Z100NY. I groaned and thought, “Oh no…”, grabbed my phone and looked up Prince. Sure enough, news of his death had hit the world.

prince

It’s been seventeen days since Prince’s death, and I still feel like I was punched in the solar plexus. I have been listening to The Groove to soak up Prince’s music, and my iPod runs Prince tunes while I am training at the gym. Admittedly, though, I already had a collection of Prince songs loaded onto my iPod for many years, so jamming to something like “Sexy M.F.” was a regular occurrence. There is no doubt that I am one of the many millions of Prince fans who are in mourning, who appreciate the enormous talent this man had. Prince was daring, controversial, brilliant, innovative, original, and charismatic, and had a profound influence on my teen years and early adulthood.

R.I.P. Prince.

What Do You Want To See On My Blog?

drstaceynaito 2 Comments

Noel Denim

Hey everyone! I wanted to check in with you to see what you would like to see on my blog. Since I have been posting every single day, it can be a real challenge to come up with content to post. For that reason, I am not as prone to write lengthy posts.

I have also decided to change my posting frequency to three days per week from now on. I will post every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday or Sunday.

Here is a list of topics which I typically cover:

Preventative health
Optimal health
Brain health
Medical conditions
Anti-aging
Nutrition
Healthy recipes
Supplements
Weightlifting
Exercise
Fitness
Bodybuilding
Sports
Cosmetic Dermatology
Skincare
Makeup
Personal grooming
Empowerment
Modeling
Branding
Fashion
Bodybuilding contests and prep
Music
Pets
Relationships
Travel
Comedy
Entertainment

I welcome suggestions from you! Please reply to this post and let me know how I can best accommodate your interests.

Thanks so much for following my blog!