Animal Wellness | Balanced Nutrition for Horses
With riding horses, balance is key. If a rider doesn’t have balance, it affects feel, stability, and control while in the saddle. An imbalance of the bit, reins, and weight in the saddle can all have an impact on how a horse moves and reacts, even if not noticeable to the eye. The same can be said for equine nutrition. An imbalance in feed, supplements, hay, or water can start to cause internal changes which affect ability to perform as well as overall equine health. Balance is key to a successful nutritional program for your horse. Balanced nutrition for horses seems relatively simple and it should be, as feed companies […]
In the Arms of a Dream
Sleep: A Life Sustaining Activity Dear Sleep, I know we had problems when I was younger, but I love you now. I could see my arm resting on my bed sheets. I saw the morning sunlight sneaking through the blinds landing in parallel stripes on my blanket. Trying to remember whether it was a school day or not, I tried to move my hand to sit up and peek at my clock. It would not move. I tried to move my arm. I commanded it to budge. Nothing! My head felt like stone — a heavy-not-moving-rock. I looked around my small bed; saw my bedspread at the bottom, saw my […]
Discipline + Purpose
Discipline — what a great characteristic to start off the year 2020. Discipline is having the desire and will to execute actions with vision and purpose over all other options, and it’s having the self control to overcome temptation. Discipline is self mastery, and it takes heart, effort, and will to complete. It’s matching your actions to your beliefs. Discipline makes the difference between greatness and mediocrity. Discipline is related to greatness, and lives between doing the right thing over doing what you want to do and doing what you don’t want to do because it’s the right thing. I do not know any living person on earth today who […]
Find Your Bigger Why to Maximize Your Health
If you are reading this column, I assume that you would like to eat in a healthier way. Perhaps you would like to lose some weight. I was talking to someone recently who said she lost over 20 pounds four years ago. When I asked her why, she said that she turned 55 and did not like how she looked. Now four years later she has gained all of that weight back and then some. She is not unique. Studies show that between one-third and two-thirds of people who diet regain most of the lost weight within five years, mostly because they did not make a permanent change to their […]
Key Hormones That Could Be Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts
It’s a new year and the new you wants to lose some unwanted nagging pounds, but you’re over 40 and you just can’t lose it as fast as you used to. Time spent in the gym may or may not be fruitful, depending on how your body responds to the physical stress you’re putting yourself through. As we get older, our body does not respond the same way to the routine we used to have in managing weight. Everything changes, including the hormones that helped us to stay trim and fit; they don’t work as they should or there’s just not enough of them. There are some key hormones you […]
Horsin’ Around in Aiken | A Spectator’s Primer to Equestrian Sports
So you live in or near Aiken, one of the “horsiest” towns in America, but you don’t ride and may not have any desire to do so. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying the great entertainment available year-round at many local facilities. Equestrian sports feature top athletes, both horses and their human partners, the relationship between the two being crucial to success. To enjoy equestrian competition, it is helpful to know a bit about the various types, often referred to as disciplines. For example, when two riders first meet, their initial question would most likely be, “What is your discipline?” An expected response would be, “I ride dressage,” or […]
Wellness + Creativity | Joy in the Journey
“I had no idea my husband could draw anything beyond a stick figure. Michael was a nuclear chemist, and art was the furthest thing from his mind. Everything he did was always intellectual; it was never creative,” says Nancy Dukes. Nancy was beyond amazed when she saw the stunning picture he had painted hanging in the Aiken Center for the Arts (ACA). It was a total surprise to her and clearly depicted the Isle of Palms, where they had owned a home in the past. Michael is a member of Club Thrive, a social senior activity center run by Karen Poteat, LPN and gerontology and dementia specialist. Like Michael, many […]
Find Yourself In Art and Antiques
The Aiken Antique Show is an annual fundraising event held to support the Aiken Center for the Arts’ mission — to inspire, engage, and educate. Not only does this event support the mission, it also captures the creative spirit of what the ACA does on a daily basis — enabling interactive, meaningful experiences between people. Together, we celebrate and learn from the objects and ideas created. In the 21st year of the Aiken Antique Show, the ACA invites visitors to celebrate and learn from an encounter with antiquated art and objects. These pieces have a certain character and wisdom that allow us to connect with the past, celebrate it in […]
Gallery Opening Reception | Scene Around Town
Aiken Center for the Arts. Gallery Opening Reception. December 12, 2019. Photography by Christine McKeel
Holiday Cookie Stroll
Holiday Cookie Stroll. December 15. Downtown Aiken. Photography by Christine McKeel
