As winter stretches on after Punxsutawney Phil was frightened by his own shadow, many can start to feel SAD or trapped. It’s no wonder so many are ready to peel off all the extra layers and escape for spring break. Dealing with snow, freezing rain, ice, school cancellations, delays, and more can become frustrating, adding complication and stressors to daily life. When you start to feel claustrophobic from being in your own home, it is time to run away, literally.

I find so much freedom in running, leaving my computer behind for at least 20 minutes and getting around on my own physical power. It is how I allow my brain to rest and renew while I engage myself physically. After being cooped up as a result of winter weather, getting active feels great!

Just released to iTunes, Authentic Yoga with Deepak Chopra, featuring yoga teacher Tara Stiles, is the newest app from Signal Patterns. Deepak Chopra, bestselling author of more than 45 books, is recognized as a leader in self-help and alternative medicine. Tara Stiles is one of New York City’s leading yoga trainers and personally trains Dr. Chopra. The combination of these two experts started when they met at an event where he was speaking and she was leading a yoga class. After becoming friends and practicing yoga together, they collaborated on this new iPhone app to bring you a tool to help “cultivate a vibrantly healthy body, a clear and focused mind, and root you firmly into your own uniqueness.”

Like Stress Free, another of Chopra’s and Signal Patterns’ iPhone apps, Dr. Chopra is featured in several videos in the Understand Yoga section of the Authentic Yoga app. Deepak briefly mentions other types of yoga in explaining that this app focuses on Raja yoga.

If you are concerned with health and what Americans are eating, you have got to check out the Food Environment Atlas. Announced by Michelle Obama, this tool can be used as part of her stand against childhood obesity. The interactive Food Environment Atlas provides data in a visual map that illustrates the environment that we have created, how we eat, and how we exercise.

I took a look at Indiana, selected different factors to explore from availability of restaurants and how much we spend on fast food to food taxes and the percentage of high schoolers who are physically active, and saw county by county how we rate and how we compare to neighboring states.

I fell off the wagon. It’s been one of those weeks. One of the weeks where everything hits all at once, when you can’t keep up, stress levels are high, you’re running on adrenaline, and I didn’t have any caffeine for a week. My mind is racing at full speed, but my body is tired. I have just been trying to keep up with e-mail and questions on social media, and hoping things slow down so I can get more work done.

It is probably a combination of comfort and necessity, making sure that I am able to eat in between appointments and rushing from one to the next across town, that instigated tonight’s stop at Arby’s. Before I had gotten halfway through my sandwich, I realized just how long it had been since I have eaten fast food. My body is not prepared for it any longer. I will likely feel ill as a result. Yes, even the experts that blog about health, run half marathons, and make weekly trips to the farmer’s market can fall of the wagon at times and be tested by the ease and comfort of fast food.

As a therapist, I know that people do not make changes in their lives based on my suggestions. Rather, it is necessary that one sees the need for a change in their own life and is personally motivated to make that change. However, not all motivation is based on personal reasons; at times, people change their behavior to impact another or find the reason for change in how they will impact another. For some the personal motivation is the benefit that another will receive as a result of their behavior. This is why people give to charity. Yes, you may get a tax deduction, but for the majority of people, the real motivation is feeling good about helping another person in need.

Do you sign up for charity run/walk events for the exercise or because you believe in the cause it is funding? For many, the initial motivation comes from raising funds for and participating in a cause. Later, they may discover that they enjoy participating in such events simply for the experience. There are run/walk events that specify a certain cause and there are groups like TEAM in Training that participate in many events and raise money for a specific cause through each event.