Our skin covers and protects everything inside our bodies. Here are a few tips on how to protect this amazing barrier during the dog days of summer.

The sweaters and coats are packed away, and the bikinis and warm weather attire are out to stay! We all love summer when the pools fill up and the sunshine promises bright blue skies, vacations and lots of outdoor activities. However, too much sun can cause premature wrinkles, skin discoloration and even skin cancer, so it’s so important to take care of the body’s biggest organ.

Catherine Foster, Master Esthetician, and Amanda Kubin, RN/Nurse Injector from Dr. Michael J. Brown’s Loudoun Center for Plastic Surgery in Ashburn provided tips on how to keep our skin looking young and radiant – not only in the summer heat, but all year long.

The merging of mindfulness and spirtuality can bring a new perspective to one’s life and is key to the human condition. With a little hard work we can all learn to find some inner peace within our own hectic lives.

I wake up each morning to a ritual; a prayer, of sorts. I call it my Twitter prayer to the universe. It’s finding my way to gratefulness and a positive start to the day. Centering myself, I read through a few pages of Thich Nhat Hanh’s or Mary Oliver’s poems, and I choose a passage to tweet remembering only to use 140 characters…no more. Somehow, typing these words and pressing “send” is quite powerful. It’s as if when the words hit the “ether,”

I am “one” with the universe and everyone in it. By paying attention to the present moment, I begin to appreciate what I have today. It’s a quality of fullness of attention, immediacy and non-distraction. This is my version of mindfulness.

Many of your friends, family and neighbors are afflicted with a frustrating, debilitating disease called Fibromyalgia. It affects about two percent of the population, or roughly five million Americans.

iI have come to the conclusion that Fibromyalgia (FM) was designed to be a conglomeration of each and every bodily symptom that makes one feel like “crap,” but only if its attack can be wholly invisible. Seriously, it’s as if the disease was designed by some bored, omnipotent being who thought it would be funny to make people feel miserable even while they look and test completely healthy; the joke being that everyone would assume that those afflicted are simply nuts.

Planning and preparing meals can go a long way when it comes to keeping fit. Kim Miller & Shannon Dougherty offer their advice on what the whole family can do to stay healthy this summer.

Summer is here, and chances are you have a busy schedule ahead of you. Whether it’s traveling to and from summer vacation destinations, running children back and forth to camps and activities, participating in outdoor family activities or just getting caught up on all the things you’ve been putting off, you are probably on the move! One of the best things you can do to keep your energy levels up and maintain your fitness goals over the summer is to eat a well-rounded, nutrient-dense diet and incorporate exercise into your travel plans. Easier said than done, right? The following tips will help ensure you stay fit and well in the upcoming summer months.

We asked Brigid D. Herrick and Margie Brandquist, CNM, MSN, co-authors of “Birth Happy, The Savvy Woman’s Approach to a Satisfying Birth,” to give us a few tips about managing expectations, gaining realistic insights and building your confidence for the “big day.”

When should a woman start preparing for labor and delivery?

Brigid: As soon as she finds out she’s pregnant! Our book takes people from conception to right after the delivery. It’s like preparing for a marathon. You don’t just show up and expect to run your best!

Margie: Once you have “peed on the stick,” your clock has started! Make good use of your nine months.

I was standing on the precipice, looking down at the still, cold water below, ready to take the leap. I tried to imagine myself grabbing the rope with confidence and hurling myself into the air in a Tarzan-like manner. But as I had just witnessed someone grab too low and slam her shoulder into the base of the diving platform, my wide-eyed optimism was shaken...

That childhood daredevil that still resides within me took over. There was only one way down, because I certainly wouldn’t consider surrendering and slinking back down the stairs. I took a deep, hopeful breath and swung myself in the vague direction of the landing platform. Splash! The water was probably about 45 degrees, but it was frigid enough to steal my breath and leave me gasping for a moment, as I consecutively suffered the unfortunate reality that swimming in tennis shoes is incredibly awkward.

Lisa Allen & Trish Drennan, co-owners of BlackBench Fit, explained what one should be looking for when it comes to attainable and sustainable fitness programs.

Every woman has a unique journey when it comes to her weight, her fitness and her health. We’re no different. For one of us, a chubby childhood and an ongoing struggle with extra pounds was enough to kick-start a near daily running habit. For the other, too-tight clothes and a scale not budging – nearly a year after a third child’s birth – meant it was time for a “come to Jesus” meeting with herself about getting back into shape.

That was nearly six years ago, and we did what everyone else did back then: made a beeline to the nearest gym, signed up for a membership and muddled through what we thought a good workout should feel like.

Despite years of faithful attendance at said gym, no one knew our names, no one knew when we were hurt, and no one pressed us harder. Certainly no one inquired about our nutrition habits, unless you count being hawked the latest powder, pill or potion that “guaranteed” quick weight loss. And, if we didn’t show up, no one checked in with us to see why we hadn’t been there. They were content to keep billing us each month whether we showed up or not. No wonder our bodies, while a bit slimmer – mostly from guessing which nutrition strategies were right for us – weren’t reflecting all of that time we put in at the gym and the calories we counted. If Dr. Phil had been in our lives, he would have asked, “How’s that working for you?”

Fortunately for long-time fitness enthusiasts, newbies and everyone in between, the health and fitness industry is starting to wake up to consumers’ demands for a different kind of fitness experience. For those who are self-motivated enough to get to the gym, change up their routines and push themselves, there’s still a place for big gyms. Many offer impressive amenities. But increasingly, people at all stages of their health and fitness journey are searching for something akin to the “anti-gym” – smaller, more specialized fitness offerings with a strong sense of community and support.

To help consumers evaluate and compare hospital performance, HealthGrades (www.healthgrades.com/about) analyzed patient outcomes data for virtually every hospital in the country across 26 different patient cohorts. Their risk adjustment methodology considers important differences in patient demographic (e.g., age, gender) and clinical characteristics (e.g., underlying medical conditions) that could increase the patient’s risk of mortality or complications. Risk adjustment of the data is needed to make accurate and valid comparisons of clinical outcomes at different hospitals. Hospitals are then assigned one of three star ratings: 1-star (poor), 3-star (expected), or 5-star (best) for each of 26 procedures and diagnoses.

Like clearance rack shopping or a poor episode of Saturday Night Live, online dating requires patience and just enough hope to sift through the unappealing until something gives you pause. Wading against the internet ether in search of that something, clicking over endless profiles, I assured myself that at the very least I would be amused by my online dates, and I certainly wouldn’t get hurt. It turns out I was only half right.

In some ways, online dating lends itself well to love’s multi-layered screening process. First, there is the diligent analysis of profile photos. I like to think of myself as open-minded, and I responded to chat requests regardless of – and sometimes out of morbid curiosity – what I initially saw. Going off of the pictures alone, I conversed with a pirate sporting a live lizard as a facial accessory, a leg cast, a Chevy truck and a medieval knight in a homemade–and endearingly dented–chainmail outfit. And then there was the lovely gentleman who had taken a photo of himself in what appeared to be the basement from Silence of the Lambs.

Every day we are bombarded with media images of super skinny, gorgeous and often half-naked women. We are constantly barraged by society’s ideal form, and even the media recognizes what they are doing. Magazines now include in their pages how a person should be proud of their body and that one should not aspire to look like people they see on television. Recently, we have seen what some may call a “Real Girl’s Revolution,” in which bodies of all sizes are celebrated.

I have a slight problem with this. While I do advocate being proud of who you are and representing all types of bodies, I do not understand the epidemic of “Body Acceptance” that seems to be taking over. There seems to be a message declaring that everyone one is beautiful – from the 5' 4, 100-pound super model to the 5' 6, 300-pound waitress. I agree that everyone is beautiful in their own way and happy in their own skin, but what has happened to promoting a healthy body image, regardless of size or weight?