Congratulations to Christina!!!

For those of you that know her, you know how hard she worked for this one!

I'm thrilled to share that I have officially completed the Balanced Body program and am now certified as a Comprehensive Pilates Instructor!

My Pilates journey began around 2005 when I received my first Mat I certification with Power Pilates. I quickly recognized the profound benefits of Pilates and was eager to deepen my education. After extensive research, I discovered Balanced Body and their comprehensive education program. I then began working with Michele Brodsky at Coreworks in Columbia, MD, around 2010.

This journey has spanned many years and has been filled with significant life events, including raising two wonderful daughters, opening a business with a dear friend and mentor, and navigating the challenges of the pandemic.

I've now completed more then 500 hours of coursework, encompassing Mat, Reformer, and various apparatus such as Tower, Cadillac, Chair, Barrel, and Arc. This also included dedicated observation hours, student teaching, and private lessons. It has been an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience, and I am enthusiastic about continuing my education with Balanced Body to continue to provide my clients with the best Pilates instruction possible.



Thank you for all of you who have helped me on this journey!

November- ‘tis the season for stress management!

As the colder months roll in and holiday plans roll out, stress management has never been more important. Massage is an excellent way to combat stress along with aches and pains brought on by the colder months. The gift of massage is also an excellent idea for members of the family who could really use some time to unwind. Reach out to us if you would like to purchase a massage gift certificate for a loved one for the holidays.

Click here to request your massage gift certificate



Congratulations to Joanna for this awesome shout out in Naptown Scoop last month from our good friend Duffy from Groundswell!

Click here to request your appointment with Joanna

Looking for a PT that Will Meet You Where You Are?

Click here to request your session with Shannon

Fascia, What is it and Why Does it Matter?

by Jennifer Balducci, PT, MSPT, Cert MDT

We often talk about fascia to our clients, but have you ever wondered what it really is and why it is so important for our health and recovery, especially after having surgery or undergoing a trauma or a fall?

Most surgeons treat fascia as nothing more than something that they have to cut through to get to where they are going to work on you. Unfortunately, it is rarely discussed with patients as part as their aftercare as to its improtance, or why it can lead to problems potentially for the rest of their lives post surgically if not addressed appropriately.

Fascia is a superhighway, it is the largest organ in your body, it is a dense network of fibrous tissue that wraps and supports every organ, muscle, bone, nerve, and blood vessel in the body, made of collagen and water.

Here are some of it's key functions:

• It provides the scaffolding that gives the body its shape and maintains structural integrity. 
• Key functions: Support and structure: It wraps, cushions, and supports all the internal organs and structures. 
• Movement: It lubricates the body, allowing for smooth movement and preventing wear and tear. 
• Communication: It acts as a major internal communication network, as it is highly enervated and helps all cells communicate with each other. 

When your fascia is disrupted (think surgery or an acute injury), it's like putting a pothole in the middle of your body's super highway. It can gum up the works, create bottlenecks, and allow disease or dysfunction to take hold.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine:

fascial restrictions are believed to disrupt the flow of energy (Qi) and can lead to disease. This is because fascial tissue is seen as the physical structure that corresponds to the body's meridians, and restrictions can cause pain, inflammation, and dysfunction that impacts overall health. 

Fascia is made up of many different cells with a variety of functions including:

Primary cells

• Fibroblasts: These are the most abundant cells in fascia and are responsible for creating the extracellular matrix, including collagen and elastin fibers. They play a key role in maintaining structural integrity and responding to mechanical signals. 
• Fasciacytes: These cells produce hyaluronan, a major component of the ground substance in the extracellular matrix. 

Other cells in fascia

• Immune cells: Fascia is populated by immune cells like macrophages, mast cells, and lymphocytes that are involved in inflammation and repair. 
• Telocytes: These are specialized cells with long extensions that form a three-dimensional network within the fascia. They are thought to play a role in cell repair, regeneration, and communication. 
• Adipocytes: Fat cells are also found within the fascial layers, particularly in superficial fascia. 
• Myofibroblasts: These cells, which are a type of fibroblast, can increase in pathological conditions, potentially leading to tissue contractures. 

This is why it is so important to work with a provider who understands how to reduce fascial restrictions and restore normal glide and slide to your tissue to prevent pain, improve range of motion and allow the body to communicate effectively with the injured area. This can be a gamechanger for anyone who is post surgical, including post C-section, joint replacement or even carpel tunnel surgery. Very often we see clients that have never had any manual therapy post surgically which can lead to a host of problems. It is essential that clients are taught how to manage their fascia effectively, either at home or with the help of a skilled provider.

Normal glide and slide can be restored with a variety of tools including a therapist who performs myofascial release, cupping, SASTM or Graston tools, use of a foam roller, or a vibrating tool including Theragun and the vibrating peanut which can be purchased and used for home use.

The difference between stretching and using a foam roller

The surprising body change that happens when you roll your shoulders

Teddy Amenabar|Washington Post|October 14, 2025

We roll our shoulders and stretch our backs because it feels relaxing, refreshing and maybe even rejuvenating. But why is that?

In healthy adults, the stretch leads to a quick drop in blood pressure, researchers have found. And the body’s reaction to the movement may explain why we feel calmer after we stretch.

Physicians at the University of Minnesota speculate that stretching the upper back muscles triggers a reflex through the parasympathetic nervous system, which may explain the feeling of relaxation. Last month, the researchers published some of their findings in a small study for the scientific journal Physiological Reports.

It appears that the response in blood pressure and heart rate may explain “this pleasant sensation,” said Jorge L. Reyes, a cardiovascular disease fellow at the University of Minnesota and the lead author of the study.

By understanding why this simple stretch lowers blood pressure, researchers may be able to work backward and use this information to help treat stress or other health issues, said David Benditt, a professor of medicine in the cardiovascular division at the University of Minnesota and the senior author of the study.

‘Dramatic’ drop in blood pressure

In the study, researchers recruited 24 adults, average age of 34, who’d been referred to the University of Minnesota Medical Center for symptoms of lightheadedness or near-fainting episodes unrelated to stretching.

The participants sat in a chair with their arms resting on their legs. Then a physician instructed them to roll their shoulders to their ears, lean backward slightly and flex their upper back for 10 to 15 seconds without holding their breath.

When participants stretched their back, the researchers saw a “fairly dramatic” drop in blood pressure, Reyes said. Often, when our blood pressure falls, our heart rate picks up to maintain blood flow, Benditt said. (This happens when we stand up, as gravity pulls blood to the legs.)

But, as participants stretched their backs, their heart rates didn’t rise as much as expected. That combination — a drop in blood pressure without a rise in heart rate — may be because of a response in the parasympathetic nervous system and could explain why stretching feels relaxing for many people, Reyes said.

“It’s a small study, and the concept is speculative, but speculative studies may open the door to further research,” Benditt said. “I’m pretty confident, although I can’t say 100 percent, that it is a spinal reflex.”

Most of the participants in the study were young women referred to the medical center for symptoms of lightheadedness or fainting, and the results need to be replicated in a broader population, researchers said.

In some people, the abrupt cardiovascular response — the drop in blood pressure and the lack of a heart rate response — leads them to feel lightheaded, and in rare cases, a few even faint.

“In the 100 or so patients that we’ve studied, we’ve found nine or 10 others that have actually had faints,” Benditt said. “Most people just have some drop in pressure.”

Benditt said the research team is trying to confirm whether the observed cardiovascular response is because of a reflex and signals from the brain.

How this can help people with high blood pressure

Researchers in this study are thinking “creatively” about how to use a novel finding to help people with high blood pressure, said Michael Joyner, an anesthesiologist and physiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved with the study.

Next, researchers need to determine the exact mechanism that causes the apparent drop in blood pressure, Joyner said. Physicians know signals from nerves in the muscles to the brain can influence someone’s blood pressure and heart rate, he said.

Then they need to find out whether this phenomenon happens in everyone — not just young adults referred to the clinic for fainting or lightheadedness.

“The findings in these patients may provide tips for maneuvers that could be used in people with mild hypertension to help them get their blood pressure a little bit lower,” Joyner said.

Stephen Juraschek, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a hypertension specialist, said it’s striking how a seemingly benign, simple maneuver could have such an effect on a person’s blood pressure.

But there could be other mechanisms at play here — not just a potential muscular reflex — to explain why a back stretch affects the cardiovascular system, and the explanations aren’t mutually exclusive, said Juraschek, who also was not involved in the study.

“Muscles can be a repository of a fair amount of blood,” he said. “The act of muscle contraction and relaxation itself can induce blood pressure changes.”

People with hypertension are often looking for ways to lower their blood pressure on their own, Juraschek said. Meditation, breathing exercises and, possibly, stretching your upper back may lower your blood pressure in the moment, but it’s hard to control the fluctuations during a day, he said.

Click here for full article

The mysterious rise of cancer among young adults in the Corn Belt

In Iowa, young cancer patients are making the small state a bellwether of a generational reckoning.

10/27/2025

By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Dan Keating, Jahi Chikwendiu and Luis Melgar

Cancer rates among young adults in the Corn Belt, a patchwork of golden fields and straight-line highways stretching across the heart of the Midwest, are rising more rapidly than in the country as a whole, a Washington Post data analysis reveals.

The six leading states for corn production — Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Kansas — had the same cancer frequency as the rest of the nation for young adults and the overall population when state-level tracking began in 1999. In the 2000s they began to diverge, and since 2015 the states have had a significantly higher cancer rate among those ages 15 to 49. In the latest data from 2022, those states have a rate 5 percent higher for young adults and 5 percent higher for the overall population.

Young adults in those states have significantly higher rates of several cancers, the Post analysis found, especially kidney and skin cancers. The skin cancer risk for young adults in the corn-producing states is 35 percent higher for men and 66 percent higher for women than their peers in other states.

Researchers are still working to disentangle national trends from regional anomalies, and the data doesn’t yet offer a satisfying explanation for why cancer rates among the young have shot up here. The increase in cancer diagnoses among young adults may reflect broader changes: better detection, shifting environmental factors or even evolving lifestyle patterns. But the fact that some areas seem to carry a heavier burden suggests that something more specific, if still unidentified, may be at play. In this vacuum, both patients and scientists have grappled with incomplete information.

In the geography of American health, early-onset cancer paints a stark and uneven map — one that potentially reveals how environment, policy and access to medical expertise and resources influence health. Across the Appalachian corridor, states like West Virginia and Tennessee bear a disproportionate burden — with high rates of both diagnosis and mortality. In contrast, the West Coast and Mountain West have low rates of incidence and death. Then there is Iowa, where young adults are being diagnosed with cancer at high rates yet dying at a rate typical for the country.

At the turn of the century, Iowa ranked 18th in the nation for cancer rates among adults under 50. Today, it’s fifth.

But in a report last year, the University of Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center focused on the land itself, casting Iowa as a “hotspot for environmental exposures to cancer-causing agents.”

The assessment noted that the state’s soil harbors some of the nation’s highest natural radon levels, while its groundwater carries the country’s highest average nitrate pollution, largely due to decades of fertilizer use. Radon, a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas, is considered a key risk factor for lung cancer and multiple studies have linked nitrate in drinking water to cancer in the stomach area.

“We are a place where a lot of agrochemicals are used, both historically and currently,” said Hans-Joachim Lehmler, director of the center. “That raises concerns about exposures.”

Mounting scientific evidence has linked long-term exposure to fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides with heightened cancer risks — most notably non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and prostate cancer. Studies suggest these chemicals may damage DNA, disrupt hormone function, increase inflammation, suppress the immune system and trigger oxidative stress — a condition that can harm cells over time.

While the data points to dangers for farmworkers and those entering fields shortly after spraying, questions have begun to extend to nearby communities and consumers. A 2024 analysis of population-level data in the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society looked at countywide agricultural pesticide data along with cancer incidence and potentially confounding factors such as prevalence of smoking. The analysis concluded that “the impact of pesticide use on cancer incidence may rival that of smoking.” The authors noted that states with “higher agricultural productivity, such as the leading corn-producing states of the Midwest, also have increased cancer risk.”

Thousands of cancer patients have sued Bayer, which makes glyphosate-based products. Although verdicts have varied, recent massive jury awards — for example, $2.1 billion in Georgia in March and $2 billion in California in 2019 — could lead to billions in payouts. Bayer is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, asserting that federal EPA approval of Roundup’s labeling — without requiring a cancer warning — should preempt state-based failure-to-warn claims. The company eliminated glyphosate from its residential Roundup products in 2023 in the United States to reduce litigation risks, but the commercial formulation with the chemical continues to be widely used by farmers.

Click here for full article

Map of cancer incidence and mortality rates in our country below:

What We Are Reading Right Now

Local Esteemed Judge Platt's book is a must read for anyone looking to learn more about the inner workings and intersection between law and politics!

Click here to purchase

What we are loving right now



Tommie Copper Infrared Light

We have been recommending these home infrared light devices for pain and inflammation releif for months now with really fantastic feedback from our clients. (remember to charge after each use and use max 3x/day)

Get Deep Relief

Tommie Copper®’s infrared light therapy is non-invasive and works at the cellular level to enhance relief and recovery. Our red light therapy devices fit comfortably and send red and near-infrared wavelengths of light energy to the deeper layers of muscle to help reduce inflammation and swelling, improve blood flow, relieve pain, and promote recovery.

Click here to purchase - makes a great holiday gift!

Giving Back

From Sue Clements

Hi Everyone

We have been collecting food for a week or so now for our local annual food drive.

We have just discovered there is a great need in the Eastport area.

My colleague and I are taking what we have to that location this week but now need to replenish in order to disperse later.

Anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

If you can't bring it by my office, please let me know and I will gladly arrange to pick it up.



Thank you for considering to help those in need and for your generosity.

Collection is extended into November, bring items to their Jennifer Road office or to Sue's Power Stretch Class Monday mornings at 7:30 AM

Every year, The Light House collects holiday meal items to distribute to our community’s most vulnerable neighbors.

By donating a Holiday Meal Box you can ensure that our neighbors have food on their table during the season of giving.

Click here to sign up

Annapolis Middle School is seeking inexpensive but fun items that kids would feel good about selecting as a reward for good behavior:

• fidgets
• gaming & video items
• tech gadgets
• candy or snacks
• school supplies
• water bottles
• musical items
• learning & STEM toys
• gag gifts
• board games and puzzles
• art, crafting & hobby supplies
• books and reading and journals
• age-appropriate toys
• sporting supplies and outdoor gear
• gift cards to age-appropriate stores
• winter wear - hats, scarves, gloves
• anime and action figures
• posters and room decor
• soft toys and plushies
• stickers or posters
• memo pads & snarky writing stationery
• robots
• laynards, fun buttons or pins
• movie tickets or gift cards to the theater
• gardening and environmental educational items

Students also save their dollars to spend at the Dragon Dream Shop for the holidays which occurs shortly before winter break. Students shop for gently used or donated items as gifts for their family members. 

Here are additional ideas expand to the family gifts in their Christmas shop:

• candles
• all ages books, magazines or subscriptions
• kitchen gadgets
• key tags/chains
• infant items
• pillows or blankets
• hair, beauty & body supplies and gadgets
• coupons and gift cards
• recyclable shopping totes
• sweat shirts, clothing and winter wear
• cozy socks
• planters and seeds
• chocolates and candy gift sets
• knick-knacks
• coffee or tea mugs
• photo frames
• pet items
• jewelry

Items can be dropped off in November at the front office at Annapolis Middle School.

Please support!! The Annapolis Police Department's Annual Food Drive is underway. Please help us reach our goal to provide a full Thanksgiving meal to 30 local families in need. 

What we need: 5# bags of potatoes; 2# bags of onions; jars of gravy; cans of cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, or green beans; boxes of stuffing. Other pantry items are also appreciated: Boxed pastas and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, cereal, soups and other canned meals, canned vegetables, boxed macaroni and cheese, granola bars, fruit snacks, and baby food.



Please drop your items off by November 17th to the Annapolis Police Department at 199 Taylor Avenue. Thank you for helping to make Thanksgiving nutritious and bountiful for our neighbors in need!

Pinked Perspective



Do you have a loved one with a breast cancer diagnosis?

Breast Cancer Kits are a small but seemingly effective way to receive love and support as a Pink Warrior facing treatment. At your request, a care package filled with practical and useful items that are helpful for recovery from surgery and other treatment may be delivered or shipped to you or your loved one’s home … Request a Kit or Donate toward a Kit.

Click here to donate or purchase for a loved one

Helping the Helpers

New Needs:

• IMMEDIATE NEED For the Clay Street Community, Annapolis 
• 2 Queen beds for two families
• For Hope for All
• Clothes for school aged kids (4 - 18 years)
• Mens clothes
• Machine washable coats for all ages
• For Locust Lodge Assisted Living, Pasadena
• Lap blankets

Items for Hope for All and Locust Lodge can be dropped off at

Long & Foster, 541-B Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd, Severna Park

Click here to donate

SOFO

Fall Greenscape

Already signed up?    

Join us for a productive and rewarding day at the SOFO Greenscape event! The SOFO Fall Greenscape is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov 1st, at 9 AM.. Cleaning up and planting bulbs at the Bay Ridge Triangle, Robinwood garden and Pirates Alley path. It’s a great way to enhance and beautify the SOFO corridor while enjoying some time outdoors.

Click here to register

December 6th- Save the Date for the return of One.'s Jewelry and Craft Show to support our talented local craftspeople and start your holiday shopping!

SOFO HOHO Toy Collection

One. will once again be collecting toys in November for our elementary school kids in need along the Forest Drive Corridor through the December 6th SOFO HoHo event

More Happenings...



Nov 4

City Wide General Election

Don't forget to vote!

Click here for details

Oct 31-Nov 1

upcoming Book Sales

BIG holds book sales at our warehouse, located at 451 Defense Highway, Annapolis, Maryland, eight to nine times each year. Proceeds from book sales support our shipments of books to needy communities across the globe.

October 31, 3-5 p.m.

November 1, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Click here for details

Nov 1-2

Greek Festival

details

Nov 7-16

Jazz and Roots Festival

Click for details

Tug of War is coming!

Saturday, Nov 8th

at the crack o' noon!

Click for details

November 2nd

First Sunday Arts Festival

Click for details

November 8th

Illuminate Annapolis Mind-Body-Spirit-Arts Festival

Click for details

November 9th

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run/Walk

Click for details

November 20th

Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Annapolis Town Center

Click for details

November 30th

Grand Illumination at 3-5:30 p.m. downtown Annapolis

Click for details

Creamy Butternut Squash, Pear, and Ginger Soup

Ingredients

• 
  
• 1 medium butternut squash chopped into cubes
• 1 large yellow onion cut into 4 wedges
• 4 cloves garlic whole and peeled
• 2 pears Bartlett or Bosch work, sliced into 4 wedges and cored
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp ginger juice or 2 Tbsp grated ginger
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• fresh herbs seeds, etc. for garnish (I’m using fresh thyme and sesame seeds)

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400f degrees while you chop all the veggies and fruit.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and toss the squash, onions, pears, and garlic with olive oil. Sprinkle a little sea salt and black pepper all over and roast everything in the oven for approx. 30-35 minutes.
• Add water to a soup pot with roasted vegetables and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Turn off the heat, add the ginger or ginger juice, more salt, and pepper to taste and turmeric — and stir. Now add everything to a blender or use an emulsion blender.

Click here for full recipe

Did you Know?

Daylight Savings is not great for us