benefits
Through the years, one of my favorite advocacies at WaterShapes has had to do with building awareness among watershapers about the health benefits that result from what you all do for a living. We've worked with the National Swimming Pool Foundation on many occasions, for example, lining up articles that have either reported on research related to the specific benefits of swimming and/or water exercise, or told personal stories of what
Through the years, one of my favorite advocacies at WaterShapes has had to do with building awareness among watershapers about the health benefits that result from what you all do for a living. We've worked with the National Swimming Pool Foundation on many occasions, for example, lining up articles that have either reported on research related to the specific benefits of swimming and/or water exercise, or told personal stories of what
Places just below the earth’s surface have been a resource for heating and cooling basically since the planet took shape. Ever since, all sorts of creatures have taken refuge from excessive heat or extreme cold by burrowing into the soil, and it’s no accident that some of the earliest examples of human self-expression have been found in caves deep below the surface. With pools and spas, however, up until recently there’s always been a legitimate question about whether this timeless heating/cooling approach was workable on any sort of cost-effective basis. If recent projects designed by my firm, Aloha Pools Design Studio (Franklin, Tenn.) are any indication, that question has now been answered with a resounding yes. On the face of it, that answer seems obvious. After all, the U.S. Department of Energy says that geothermal heating is more cost effective than a 95-percent efficient gas heater – and that the same would be true even if 100-percent efficient gas heaters were available. Only recently, however, have the suppliers of these systems reached a point where their equipment is
Like it or not, we’re all on the front lines of the environmental sustainability movement. In fact, as shapers of water and land, few are in better positions than we are to make a difference, with many of us frequently working alongside architects, municipal officials and developers and being asked to design and implement green approaches that minimize a given project’s effects on its surrounding environs. As I see it, this offers us not only a golden opportunity to shape the future of land development and architecture, but also to rise from
Delivering the keynote address to the World Aquatic Health Conference in September 2008, Dr. Steven N. Blair asked a simple question: Does swimming reduce your risk of dying? As he stressed then and repeats in detail here, the answer is a resounding yes. Indeed, the findings he offers stand among the most compelling reasons ever offered to promote swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise to the general public. Medical science has long seen exercise as a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, there’s an enormous amount of evidence about its health benefits – so much that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recently stepped up with its first-ever guidelines for physical activity. Lots of individuals, organizations and other entities have proclaimed the positive outcomes of exercise through the years, but never before had the U.S. government published an official set of guidelines. These government recommendations were largely the result of
For centuries, human beings have turned to immersion and exercise in water as a means of healing injuries and illnesses and of promoting both physical and mental health. Researchers have investigated the hows and whys of these phenomena for years, and the benefits seem to be even more remarkable than originally thought. There's still much to learn, but there's already more than enough good news for watershapers to share with motivated clients. (Photos © Dreamstime)
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