Health and Physical Education:
The education that enhances life!
Health and Physical Education
is the modern equivalent of the old gym class. We have come to realize that just having children play sports in gym class is not nearly enough to fully educate them about their well-being. Schools have since broken physical education up into health and physical education. Many schools even have separate gym teachers and health teachers. ALL of us need to learn what fitness, athleticism, and health really entail. That involves reading, listening to lectures, and learning. You can be very fit and unhealthy but being unfit is not healthy.You can be very athletic, unfit, and unhealthy. You will want to be able to learn and teach others about the connection between athleticism, fitness, and health. You could be a natural athlete and have no knowledge of what it takes to be healthy and fit or you could be healthy and fit and not be very athletic. Being athletic is not necessary for your over-all well-being, but it will allow you to participate in activities both on the job and for recreation that can really help your emotional health and well-being. For those reasons all these areas should be included in health and physical education whether it is done at school, home, or on an individual basis.
Learning is the key
There are numerous books on health, healing, and nutrition as well as physical fitness. Taking the time to read is the best place to start. You can start with
American Health and Wellbeing Directory
or any of our recommended health and physical education related
books.
The plague of obesity
Obesity
is a problem affecting all of us. If you have a heart for people you can join in our effort to be sure health and physical education includes educating the masses regarding the importance of overcoming obesity. The health issues and cost to society and families for this tragic health crisis is immense. There are genetic, cultural, psychological, and behavioral components to this problem. Thorough health and physical education curriculum would teach people why the causes and the solutions for managing weight is vital for overcoming this problem. Providing our children with opportunities to play - not in front of a screen - but outdoors or in gyms by running around and being active are a very important first step. We know those who have weight control issues must learn how to modify their behavior, understand the emotional component that could be influencing the behavior, and change their family or personal culture. You can enjoy healthy eating and still get the
body you desire.
Nutrition Education
Nutrition education
is being taught in schools and more parents are demonstrating concern over their child's nutrition. Our knowledge of
nutrition
and
healing
a growing regularly and must be part of a good health and physical education curriculum. The vast majority of us have a basic understanding of our need to watch how many calories we consume and burn. We know that we are supposed to get a certain amount of vitamins and minerals. We really need to get a complete picture of how our nutrition impacts our health and how we can implement good nutrition into our everyday life.On the healing front we are discovering a great deal how nutrition impacts the healing process. We have far more knowledge today about what is going on in healthy and diseased cells. If we have healthy cells, cells that are functioning properly, we will be healthy. Cells have an intricate and complex process that allows them to repair damage and heal themselves. When this process is broken is when we have health problems. Yet most health and physical education courses don't teach about this process.
Physical Health Education
Physical Health Education
is about how health and fitness work together. Athletes have been searching for ways to have their bodies heal faster and to optimize strength, speed, and endurance. We hear about the scandals involving blood doping and the use of steroids for this purpose. There are so people, such as former baseball player Jose Canseco, who have advocated the use of steroids. There are some who say that steroids are found naturally in in the body and there is nothing wrong with them. Certainly, steroids have had tremendous medical benefits when used properly under the care of a doctor, but used improperly or for the wrong reasons can lead to many problems. There has been a tremendous breakthrough in our understanding of how cells work and what we can take to improve that. It has to do with our understanding of
redox signaling molecules.
Healthy Sleep
Healthy sleep
has been known to be important to the over-all well-being of a person for generations. "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Do you remember that old proverb? There is something to be said for a good nights sleep and more and more people are finding that very difficult to do. Healthy sleep is vital for over-all well-being. A healthy sleep includes more than just the "right" number of hours. It also involves letting go of stress so your mind can truly rest.
Well-being
Our
well-being
obviously includes health and fitness. It is much more than that. It includes the deeply personal category of spiritual well-being. Rather than shy away from this category complete health and physical education teachers, parents, grandparents, coaches, and mentors need to learn how to approach that subject when trying to educate others about well-being and our health. The mind, body, and spirit are deeply connected and the spirit has a tremendous impact on our health. It even has an impact on our level of fitness. The beliefs we have, which are at a psychological and spiritual level, can greatly influence our health and ability to reach specific levels of fitness. Our spirituality will greatly impact levels of stress and how we deal with stress. There have been studies done that show that people that are religious tend to be healthier than those that are not. Religion and spirituality are deeply connected and that connection and the impact on a person's health can be taught.
Healthy Lifestyles
Healthy lifestyles
is the area where you will put all this knowledge to good use. It is all about how to implement the ideas, programs, and or products that are designed to improve your health and well-being into your daily life so you can be healthy, fit, more athletic, and achieve a more well-rounded life.Life style issues include how we eat, exercise, worship, entertain ourselves, and how we create an environment in our homes that lead to healthy living. The key word there is our homes. It cannot be overstated the importance of making our living quarters a home and not just a dwelling place. It is that home quality that will impact our mind, body, and spirit the most. Here is a source of very simple and effective natural healthy living tips to keep you fit and active. This link provides a source with Fifty Good Health Articles. Here is one more link with valuable information and resources on high blood pressure.
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