Lifestyle Maintenance With Cathy McMillan

Lifestyle Maintenance With Cathy McMillan

A few weeks back I was assigned to film a wellness lecture on campus. It’s titled, the Jackie Thompson Wellness lecture, presented by Cathy McMillan, a Kinesiology professor here at WIU. Some the faculty and staff created the event to go along with efforts to get the Western Illinois University staff to understand better how to live well.

This year’s lecturer talked about the “Sense and Cents of a Healthy lifestyle.” It was some what centered on the idea of Lifestyle Epigenetics. It’s a scientific theory that is on the forefront in the health and wellness world. The basic premise is that most all people can change their own genetic destiny because lifestyle can affect your genetic makeup or our genes. I found the description below on a Lifestyle Epigenetics Facebook page. I also posted two links for the lecture.

Epigenetics may be defined as the study of heritable and reversible changes in genes induced by environmental entities, including nutritional factors. In layperson’s terms, this means that an experience can switch genes on or off and this modification is inherited by future offspring.
Epigenetics is a relatively new science that bridges the gap between nature and nurture.
See www.epigenetics.cc for more information

Short Lecture video: http://youtu.be/FUZxkW3oJlw

Full Lecture Video:  http://youtu.be/Vcknvp-QNJQ

I hope you keep striving to create a healthy environment around you; behave in such a way that your conscience will let you sleep at night and commit to changing or maintaining the genetics from which you came.  As Cathy attest to it in her lecture, “In the stages of change model, there is pre-contemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance and the relapse.” It is totally ok to start over. It’s actually expected to stop at some point and at least re-contemplate your future.

The foods and drinks and cigarettes and other behaviors your parents had, will only affect your health if you let it.  I never trusted in the old saying that, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. Finally now there’s scientific proof that we don’t have to settle for what our parents choose in lifestyle and wellness. “Genetics, Environment and Behavior, are the three major factors in influencing our health and longevity.” Said McMillan.

My family has always dealt with high blood pressure and heart disease so this subject had my full attention. I will be adding this idea to my lifestyle because I’m still looking for new ways to break the chain created by the worlds past generations. I want to pass more positive genes onto my children and let the sprit of good health and wellness, live in my family long after I’m gone. My behavior as a man, a spouse, a father and just a human being, are only as good as I make them. I believe I’ll only be as good as my best tool, so I hope Lifestyle Epingenetics can give me the upper hand I’m looking for.

Defining Moments for Successful Adulthood

The earth, wind, fire, sea and the sky create balance and harmony.  I came to understand how the water, wind and the sun uplifted my spirits during a golf game or while sitting on the patio having a Summer Shandy. I became a student of the elements around me after a ruptured Achilles in 2009. I had a chance to sit still for a while and learn to appreciate these things as an adult. Being a new adult learner was different at first. 

 After getting over the frustration of “learning how to learn” I was good to go. My injury had left me learning how to walk all over again at 27 years old. Golf gave me a chance to be competitive and strengthen my mind in a chaotic arena. Little did I know I had discovered a different person behind these newfound thoughts and activities.

On our honeymoon, I had the chance to see how the water can help you overcome fears of drowning and loosing control of your general direction in life. We had the option to participate in all kinds of activities on the resort.  You could take tennis lessons, salsa dancing classes, Jamaican cooking lessons, and many other activities. 

We managed to make it out for a few things here and there but we will definitely look to do more on our next trip. The glass bottom boat tour, catamaran boat cruises out to Rick’s Café, professional music entertainment, it all kept the rhythm moving. We had our eye on some water sports activities and decided on snorkeling and maybe one other activity if we had time.

I was excited about snorkeling even though I'm not a strong swimmer. I had my first set of swim lessons two years ago on our family trip to Kim’s aunts house near Pittsburgh, PA. We get to enjoy Lonnie's pool in the fresh air of the Pennsylvania countryside. Its a nice get away spot. Lonnie's partner, Jen, volunteered to give me swim lessons on our visit so I took advantage.

 I got the chance to learn a few techniques and managed to see great results in just a few days work. Even though I haven't done much swimming since, I still looked forward to the challenge of snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea. 

Being out in the middle of the ocean brought a little tension to my body so it was difficult at first. My mind was trying to relax but my body did not want any part of the activity. My mind had no fears at all but the fight within me was doing its best to make me get back in the boat. I was having no parts of that. 


The adrenaline rush I got from standing up to a childhood fear of water was so satisfying after it was over.  However, I lost most all ability to be present in that particular moment. 
The fear only comes from not knowing what exactly is happening at that given moment. You know what they say… We always fear what we don’t understand. 

As I get older that saying couldn’t been more real, so now I try to educate myself on the issue before I cast it away as blaspheme. Relationships are too precious to lose over simple misunderstandings.

I've been reading The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. A book by Eckhart Tolle. The book is intended to be a self-help guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and avoiding thoughts of the past or future. To that day I had been enjoying my new state of mind the techniques in the book had granted me. I had found a way to channel and deflect many of the stresses that daily life can bring.

So, back to how this relates to my snorkeling experience. We are out in the water and my mind and body are fighting to no end. My only clear thought the entire time was "Stay in the water the entire 30 minutes, try to breath and see a few reefs while your here the first time.” With the help of some other experienced divers in our group and my beautiful wife, I managed to slow my body down enough to make it through the dive and have some fun.

Kim looked at me like I was dying but I was just at war with myself on the inside. She said she felt anxious because she couldn’t help me but I told her the battle she saw me having normally happens within. I’m not a hyperventilate type person. The ice in my veins just won’t allow it.

In the end, not much has changed. I am still my greatest enemy. Like Lupe Fiasco says "My greatest Enemy is my inner Me". That statement rings so true for me. The only fight I need to try and win is the one inside me. 

If I can continue to win the battles for integrity, honesty, good health and wellness, intimacy, commitment and all of the other things that plague our relationships, then I can continue my life’s journey with a clean conscious. My behaviors as an adult need consistent attention and if I allow moments of fight or flight to conquer me then it is my own excuse for getting in my own way.

The point is. If I lose concentration in life, moments like these will come and go and the lessons will fall by the wayside. If I had gotten back on the boat before it was time then my next encounter may have left be on the boat without the courage to get in at all.

 Even worse, it could rear its ugly head in the way of a big decision for my future like a job or some other risk I may have to take for my family. I encourage you to go out and do something you have been deathly afraid to do. 

Seek things that will give you the courage to conquer your inner demons. If you train you mind, body and spirit beyond what is expected, then you will always be ready to look fear in the face and win. 


-Quintin Parker


"We gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face"
-Eleanor Roosevelt 

Taking The Old With The New...Apple to Adobe

Today I've been trying to catch up on some editing at work before Christmas hits. Kim and I just returned home from our Honeymoon in Jamaica so I'm a little behind. I've returned home and had to get back on the horse quickly. I had to work the Western Illinois University Graduation ceremonies when we got home but missed Friday night because 5 inches of snow followed us home. The University Television staff held it down so I wasn't worried about missing the Honors ceremony if I had to. We left Jamaica and it was 83 degrees and got home to 10 degrees and snow. Gobs of snow! Shock is the only way to describe that.

 I've spent nearly my entire TV Production career (8 years) working with the Apple Final Cut Pro editing suite and a few others here and there. The suite has every thing you need to edit a project from beginning to end and I've paid plenty of bills behind this particular platform. Which mad me kind of unhappy when we found out that Apple has been phasing the platform out. I guess their plan is to cater to the more prosumer editor market. I, nor my colleagues, have no desire to use their new platform because for a true professional, the tools are everything to your trade. It's a few steps back to say the least.

This has forced me to learn a completely new set of editing software's and a whole new workflow. Its been a challenge as of yet because loading software and waiting for updates puts a halt to any work at times.From now on I'll be using the Adobe editing suite they have on the Creative Cloud. I still have a few other pieces of software to load but it has been somewhat smooth besides their content loader freezes after you haven't used it for a few days. Adobe has provided tutorials for the products and content to go along with them, so that helps.

For me learning new things brings some anxiety so lets hope I can learn some new things and enhance my work quality at the same time. I always think back to when I first started to learn to play the guitar, golf and when I got my first Master's and how frustrated I was. I also remember that after I took a few deep breaths and pushed through, I became comfortable enough to learn. I'm sure I'll need every bit of my patience to see it through but I will keep on to the other side and hope for the best. Changing behavior is something I'm very intrigued by.:)