Health

be here now

Mindfulness is based on a Buddhist concept where we focus on our own awareness, our thoughts and feelings, and sensations in the moment with acceptance.  In today's busy world where distractions divide our attention in every direction, disengaging from all that can be a challenge. So how can we turn off disruptions and tune into mindfulness? Start by setting aside few minutes a day. It can greatly reduce our stress and allow us the space to reconnect with ourselves with how we feel and what we are doing. Practicing mindfulness is an easy thing to do if we learn techniques like focusing on our breathing, our inner thoughts, our feelings, and how our bodies are moving in our surroundings.

Focus on the breath

Calming and exhilarating. Both words that can be associated with hiking. Hiking is a fabulous hobby that can be done year round, all over the world, or close to home. Trails and paths can be anywhere from straight, narrow and rocky to wet, curvy, or steep. They can be on all sorts of terrain like sand, snow, dirt, hills, mountains or forests. Michigan is a beautiful state that offers all sorts of hiking trails for any season.  Local metroparks also have hiking opportunities as does the Michigan Trails Magazine. Hiking also offers access to activities for all ages, from senior citizens to kids.  No matter what kind of path you decide to take, hiking is great for your mind and body. So lace up your boots and dont forget to pack your water and some snacks! Head back to 62 days of summer for more ways to participate in the summer program.

Follow the trail to these library hiking books:

Nonfiction

Fiction

Kids Fiction

Kids Non-Fiction

Throughout history, humans have fought against invisible bacteria, viruses, and fungi that make us sick. There are many people who have made incredible discoveries that helped us learn about the diseases that plague us and how to vanquish them; learn about some of these people, and others involved in fighting off these public health threats.

Titles are listed with those intended for older audiences toward the bottom.

The child of immigrants who never learned to speak English, Jonas was struck by the devastation he saw when the soldiers returned from battle after WWII. Determined to help, he worked to become a doctor and eventually joined the team that created the influenza vaccine. 

This narrative follows Anthony from his Brooklyn beginnings through medical school and his challenging role working with seven US presidents to tackle some of the biggest public health challenges of the past fifty years, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walking

Walking is the oldest form of exercise. For most of us, it's an easy and effective way to maintain overall wellness and fitness. Being active and outdoors, whether you're on a walking trail or around your neighborhood, can be very meditative. One of the many ways to cultivate mindfulness is through meditative walking. Walking meditation involves focusing on the physical activity of walking and paying attention to every step. Here's some resources to get you started on the right foot!

In 35 guided mindfulness walks, Glenn Berkenkamp invites us to discover how we sense, move, think, and feel in our bodies--and engage a greater sense of presence and being in our lives. Like any contemplative practice, through walking we can quiet our minds and come to know ourselves better, both within our bodies and the greater world outside ourselves. But with limitless competing demands on our time and energy, and hours spent in cars, walking has fallen by the wayside...and we miss many profound opportunities for increased awareness and vitality.

Mental Harmony, mental health, and mental wellness/illness looks different on everyone. Finding your own mental harmony involves a multi-pronged approach of many factors, and tweaking just one small thing in your life can help you feel happier, more fulfilled, and more in harmony with your mind.

In Ellen Forney’s graphic novel bipolar survival guide Rock Steady, she outlines a concept she calls SMEDMERTS, or Sleep, Meds, Eat, Doctor, Mindfulness, Exercise, Routine, Tools, and Support System.

Sleep

 

Are you interested in getting the COVID-19 vaccine? See below for where and how to get vaccinated. Please share this information widely with family, friends, and neighbors.

Not sure if you want to get the vaccine? See below for some trusted resources we've compiled to help you make an informed decision. 

This information is current as of 5/18/2021.

Getting the vaccine in Canton Township

  • Canton residents 12 years and older may visit any of the Wayne County Health Department's walk-in vaccine clinics. The two closest walk-in locations are:
    • Schoolcraft College VisTaTech Center 18600 Haggerty Rd, Livonia OPEN: Mon-Sat 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • Wayne County Community College 9555 Haggerty Rd, Belleville OPEN: Mon-Sat 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
  • Canton residents who need help scheduling an appointment may call the Township Clerk's office at 734-394-5120 or the Township Supervisor's office at 734-394-5185 Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

  • Canton residents who are homebound may call Canton Public Safety at 734-394-5400 and dispatch will take your information. You will receive a return call 1-2 days later, go through a brief screening to verify homebound status, and schedule an appointment for a home visit. On the day of your appointment, a Canton Fire paramedic will come to your home, administer the vaccine, and schedule a follow up appointment for the second dose. Please note: this option is only available to individuals physically unable to leave their homes. 
  • What to bring to your vaccine appointment

    • A photo ID and your Vaccination Record Card if you are receiving your second dose.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues and we wait for the vaccine distribution to expand, Booklist a magazine by the American Library Association, has published a list of books focusing on the science behind vaccinations and how misinformation can spread as fast as a deadly virus. These books help separate fact from fiction. 

A smart and compelling examination of the science of immunity, the public policy implications of vaccine denial, and the real-world outcomes of failing to vaccinate. If you have a child in school, you may have heard stories of long-dormant diseases suddenly reappearing--cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough cropping up everywhere from elementary schools to Ivy League universities because a select group of parents refuse to vaccinate their children. Between Hope and Fear tells the remarkable story of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and their social and political implications. While detailing the history of vaccine invention, Kinch reveals the ominous reality that our victories against vaccine-preventable diseases are not permanent--and could easily be undone. In the tradition of John Barry's The Great Influenza and Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies, Between Hope and Fear relates the remarkable intersection of science, technology and disease that has helped eradicate many of the deadliest plagues known to man.

Unlike natural disasters, whose destruction is concentrated in a limited area over a period of days, and illnesses, which have devastating effects but are limited to individuals and their families, infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a grinding halt. In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics nearly inevitable. And as outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, MERS, and Zika have demonstrated, we are woefully underprepared to deal with the fallout. So what can -- and must -- we do in order to protect ourselves from mankind's deadliest enemy? Drawing on the latest medical science, case studies, policy research, and hard-earned epidemiological lessons, Deadliest Enemy explores the resources and programs we need to develop if we are to keep ourselves safe from infectious disease. The authors show how we could wake up to a reality in which many antibiotics no longer cure, bioterror is a certainty, and the threat of a disastrous influenza or coronavirus pandemic looms ever larger. Only by understanding the challenges we face can we prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable. 

Canton Township in cooperation with the Wayne County Health Department and Memorial Healthcare are now offering COVID-19 Testing at Heritage Park, 46202 Heritage Park Road, Canton, MI (North Pavillion Parking Lot). Testing will be available Monday - Friday from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. To pre-register go to www.memorialclarity.com

PLEASE NOTE: At this time, this is site is conducting testing only.
 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Every year, 42,000 women lose their fight against breast cancer. Breast Cancer Awareness Month raises awareness of the disease and helps provide support to those affected by breast cancer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many women have put scheduling their mammograms on hold. So is it safe to get your mammogram? Doctors and hospitals have put extra precautions in place to ensure the safety of patients. And studies have shown the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer is screening. So call your specialist today and don't delay getting your mammogram. Here's some resources to learn more about breast health!

As a health-care journalist, Kate Pickert knew the emotional highs and lows of medical treatment well -- but always from a distance, through the stories of her subjects. That is, until she was unexpectedly diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer at the age of 35. As she underwent more than a year of treatment, Pickert realized that the popular understanding of breast care in America bears little resemblance to the experiences of today's patients and the rapidly changing science designed to save their lives. After using her journalistic skills to navigate her own care, Pickert embarked on a quest to understand the cultural, scientific and historical forces shaping the lives of breast-cancer patients in the modern age. Breast cancer is one of history's most prolific killers. Despite billions spent on research and treatments, it remains one of the deadliest diseases facing women today. From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to an operating suite in Los Angeles to the epicenter of pink-ribbon advocacy in Dallas, Pickert reports on the turning points and people responsible for the progress that has been made against breast cancer and documents the challenges of defeating a disease that strikes one in eight American women and has helped shape the country's medical culture. Drawing on interviews with doctors, economists, researchers, advocates and patients, as well as on journal entries and recordings collected over the author's treatment, Radical puts the story of breast cancer into context, and shows how modern treatments represent a long overdue shift in the way doctors approach cancer -- and disease -- itself.

For a moment, close your eyes, quiet your thoughts and take a slow, deep breath. This simple breathing technique is one of the best ways to lower the stress level in your body. When your lungs take a deep inhale in and a slow exhale out, it sends a message to the brain to unwind and relax. Wherever or whenever, breathing exercises can reduce tension in your muscles, lowers the blood pressure, and calms the frayed nerves. Focusing on your breath can restore a sense of peace and positivity in your day. Google has an easy 1 Minute Breathing Exercise. Want to learn more? Check out these resources!

There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe. Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again. 

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