Body&Soul: Phluff those breasts, ladies!

Massage pioneer Cheryl Chapman's new, humorous health tome, The Happy Breast Book, preaches an everyday-touch technique to nurture our bosoms: Phluffing.

Phluff—an acronym for personal hand lymphatic undulating flow facilitation—is basically a one-minute massage that can help keep breasts healthy and happy by bringing blood and oxygen to tissue and decreasing lumps and cysts in fibrocystic breasts. Phluffing activates the lymphatic system to protect breasts from cancer and bacteria, cleaning out toxins, enhancing breastfeeding and relieving breast pain.

Find a brochure on phluffing here, order the $14.99 book from Chapman directly, and be sure to tell your girlfriends.

“If everyone who reads our book would show and tell another woman how important and easy it is to love us, we can change the world,” Chapman writes. “It happens by one lady at a time.”

Valentines: The Singelringen phenom

The Swedish Singelringen (translation: single ring?) is crossing the Atlantic and picking up celebs, it appears. More than 150,000 singles are sporting the turquoise-acrylic over sterling band, first introduced in Sweden in 2005. It's been spotted on celebs (Vivica Fox, Terrence Howard) and politicians like Texas state Rep. Dawnna Dukes.

What's the appeal? Well, according to Singelringen spokesfolks, singles gravitate toward the power in stating your status.

"Getting unstuck from a marriage on the rocks takes courage and independence. The message behind Singelringen is to embrace single life with open arms," says T. Murray, author of Stuck on Stupid: A Guide for Today's Single Woman Stuck in Yesterday's Stupid Relationships. "For women who've experienced the difficult steps of divorce, Singelringen is also a symbol of survival."

The rings are $59 from Singelringen.com. And if the idea of rings appeals to you -- don't hesitate to treat yourself for Valentine's Day. I did just that last year; bought myself a gorgeous triple aquamarine that's as shiny as any diamond.

Body&Soul: Ease their growing pains

By Lori Hall Steele

Your 4-year-old wakes up crying in the night saying his legs ache like crazy. You rub them and soothe your child, but should you give him medication? Should you call the doctor?

Chances are, your child is experiencing growing pains, a normal occurrence in children. A recent study of confirms what parents have long suspected: Bones really do grow at night.

Ninety percent of bone growth in a University of Wisconsin study of sheep happened while they rested. “When the animals were sleeping or laying down, they were growing rapidly. When they were standing, they’d stop growing,” says child orthopedic surgeon Ken Noonan, who conducted the study with Norman Wilsman.

Growing pains in children occur in the lower extremities—around knees and ankles, especially—but not in the arms and upper body, which leads researchers to believe that compression in cartilage around weight-bearing bones may halt bone growth. At night, when children are off their feet, the growth can resume.

“This might be the cause of growing pains,” Noonan says. “Kids who are really active during the day, jumping around like monkeys, may have more compression.”

This doesn’t come as news to parents like Lisa Brinkley, whose 13-year-old daughter, Nicole, would wake in agonizing pain on and off last year. The pain usually began in evening, a time when Nicole likes to read, play on the computer or watch television. She’d complain of general aches. Later that night, she’d wake up crying hard and in severe pain.

Brinkley began asking Nicole what had happened during the day, and inevitably she’d had gym class or another intense physical activity. “In the beginning I’d say ‘sweetie, you’re just probably sore from soccer or kickball,”’ Brinkley says. “But it was way too over the top. There’s a difference between sore and excruciating pain.”
Brinkley took Nicole to the doctor, who ruled out Lyme disease and advised her to give Nicole Motrin or a similar pain reliever to ease the aches.

No one yet knows why some children but not others experience growing pains. Deeper sleepers may not wake up, and children with higher tolerance of pain may snooze through aches. Pains may not be so severe on days without lots of physical, on-their-feet activity.

Growing pains are episodic—there may be one or two incidents, or a couple months of them. Pain usually begins in late afternoon or evening, and is most often localized at or below knee level.

“When Johnny’s had a soccer tournament and played 14 games, parents can take comfort in knowing that if he wakes up in pain, it’s probably growing pains,” Noonan says.

EASE THEIR PAIN
Growing pains concentrate in muscles, rather than joints. Most children report pains in the front of their thighs, in the calves, near ankles or behind the knees.
Though there’s no cure for growing pains – and no way to tell when they’ll strike, or how severely, growing pains can be comforted by:
--Ibuprofen and acetaminophen (never give aspirin to children under 12).
--Gently stretching the area
--Massaging the achy area
--Applying a heating pad
And don't forget the hugs and snuggles.

WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR
Pain that lasts through the day, that’s progressively getting worse, that’s not relieved by massage or pain relievers—all are signs something more might be going on and it’s time to see a physician. There are other conditions with similar pains — sports injuries, Lyme disease, juvenile arthritis, rheumatic disease and fibromyalgia among them.

A prime indicator that it’s growing pains is whether you child wants to be touched. With growing pains, children usually feel better if they’re massaged, held and cuddled, while with other medical conditions, kids may dislike being handled because touch and movement can increase pain. Something else might be happening if your child experiences:
--Persistent pain
--Swelling, redness, rashes
--Fever
--Weakness, fatigue
--Appetite or weight loss
--Easy bruising
--A limp
--Uncharacteristic behavior, including acting rundown

Lori Hall Steele, founder of You&Me Kid, is an award-winning journalist. Contact her here.

Paula, Patron Saint of Widows

Saturday's the official Catholic feast day for Paula, patron saint of widows, and in that spirit, here's warm tidings to all widowed parents out there. For the lowdown on Paula, check this post on the fourth-century woman by Thomas Craughwell, author of Saints Behaving Badly(Doubleday, 2006).

Bedtime tips from nanny to the stars

Celeb nanny Dee Rule, who’s wrapping up her new book The Baby Schedule Ruler, says consistent daily routines (baths especially) along with patience, persistence, love and imagination are keys to getting a little one to sleep through the night. Here, she shares her top tips for bedtime bliss:

-- Get your newborn on a routine early: This is a huge key to success. A routine schedule – say, dinner, bath, reading and lights out -- and persistence will send a clear message to the toddler or child: It's sleep time.

--Take care of yourself: Parents can feel less stress by doing what they love. The infant or child will pick up or feel if you're depressed or down. They'll communicate frustration with excessive cries.

--Swaddling: This can be a godsend for many a tiny wiggler.

Feeding the spirit: Altar your abode

By Lori Hall Steele

Since ancient times, homes have been holy havens — Mayans and Toltecs built altars to deities, Egyptians displayed household gods like ferocious-looking Taweret and Mexican altaristas (altar builders) bedecked the Virgin of Guadalupe with bright flowers. Buddhists, Hindus, and Santerians also worship at home altars.


Until recently, however, many Americans shied away from such down-home manifestations of faith. Not so anymore. Sacred spaces are being created in homes from coast to coast, with closets, corners, and bedrooms converted to prayer and meditation spaces-—places that often serve as soul-quieting antidotes to modern stress.

Make your own sacred space — even if it’s in a nook — by first clarifying your intentions, says San Diego spiritual coach Kamala Devi. What do you want? A place to pray? A safe haven for peace and quiet?

From there, you’ll need to think about a few things:

Location: Altars can be in bedrooms, attics, backyards, closets, or corners of rooms. Shy away from high-traffic and work areas.

Direction: Religious traditions like Vastu and Wicca suggest altars should be north- or east-facing, while Muslim altars, which are generally sparse, face Mecca (east-southeast for most of the United States).

Surface: Pretty much anything will work—a tabletop, dresser, or corner shelf. Often altars are covered with fabric, and some religious traditions prescribe particular colors or materials.

Objects: Candles, flowers, and images that are sacred to you—a cross, Buddha, Hindu gods—adorn altars, often along with objects that are personally symbolic. Devi brings new objects—a love letter, herbs, inspiring quotes, candles—to her altar.

Initiation: A prayer, burning sage, sprinkling salt water, or ringing bells can initiate your new sacred space.

Using your altar: Pray, meditate, daydream, write in a journal, or practice yoga.

Tell the kids what you're doing, and see if they want to participate -- this teaches them to carve out time and space for calm, quiet reflection. Tweens and teens can make their own prayer or meditation space in closets and corners in their rooms.


This story has appeared in a number of publications, including The Chicago Tribune, Utne, Yes! and Washington Times. Lori Hall Steele, publisher of You&Me Kid, is an award-winning journalist who writes for national publications.