Yogic cure for backache, fatigue

The following asanascan help ease your backache or general fatigue. The first asana with its emphasis on a concave back extends the spine. For those with back problems, the sequence in which the back is curved, before taking the head down, is beneficial. This is specifically helpful for women during menstruation and pregnancy.

Concave back

Stand in Samasthiti, with hands on the waist.
Inhale, jump and spread the legs 4ft apart.
Exhale, extend the trunk forward from the hips, stretching the spine.
Now place the fingertips on the floor in line with the feet.
Inhale, stretch the spine further.
Lift the chest and sternum, stretch the neck and lift the head.
While spreading the legs keep the feet steady.

Head down

Stand straight and exhale. Bend elbows and take the head down. Rest the crown of the head on the floor.
Place the hands in line with the feet.
Return to starting position by lifting the head followed by the chest.
Jump and bring the feet back together. Learn these two asanas in separate stages. If you can’t align your palms and head with your feet, then take them forward and keep them aligned to each other. This second asana relieves you of pain and fatigue of in your legs and sciatic pain. It also helps in digestion and can be attempted after meal.

Virasana

Take a blanket and kneel on it with toes pointing backwards.
Lower yourself towards the floor and sit between your feet such that the thighs are parallel to the floor.
Sit straight and rest your palms on your knees. Those who have problem with their joints can take the help of blankets or pillows to sit.

Grow muscles with peaches

Study says, people who consumed this fruit had more lean muscle mass

Getting toned arms and legs sounds like a job for Mr Nautilus. But Mr Peach?
May be. Seems potassium-rich produce — like peaches — gives your muscles what they need to stay toned, healthy, and able to do their jobs.

It’s a Balance

A diet heavy
in proteins and cereal grains can cause blood to become too acidic. When this happens, muscle tissue can waste away. Fruits and vegetables, though, make your body’s pH more alkaline — mostly thanks to their high potassium content. So it makes sense that people in a recent study who loaded up on potassium-rich produce had more lean muscle mass than their produce-shirking peers.

Your Body, Years Ahead

Some other ways to shape up now and stay fit long into your retirement years:
Shape your core. These foundational muscles — hips, tummy, back — are where it all starts. Follow some easy ab-curl steps.
Do perfect pairs. Your muscles crave symmetry — so work reciprocating muscle groups (quads and hamstrings, abs and back, etc).

Peaches are high in potassium

Courtesy : Times of India

What helps you stay fit?

What helps you stay fit?
Yoga is my biggest fitness mantra. I’ve been doing yoga since I was seven years old. Yoga not only helps me stay fit but also fight stress and be relaxed. It also keeps me calm and composed. Other than that, I also do a lot of light weight exercise.

How much time do you spend on yoga and exercise?
I spend an hour doing yoga every day early in the morning. Apart from doing light weight exercises, I also go gymming five days a week.

What kind of diet do you follow?
I begin the day by drinking warm water and honey. I go for fibrous fruits like prunes instead of juice because fibre is good for the skin. I also drink skimmed milk. I have proper dinner with chapattis and vegetables. Other than that, I go for a detoxification plan twice a year in which I follow a strict diet for 10 days. During that period I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. For protein, I drink milk and fish cooked in herbal oil.

What kind of food do you indulge in?
I love fish. I can’t go a single day without having fish.

Courtesy : Times of India

Is liposuction a safe solution to lose weight?

Many people are increasingly opting for liposuction to lose weight. But it is not always a safe and proper solution to the problem of obesity. A lot of women and some men are opting for liposuction to remove excess fat from the abdomen, buttocks, breasts or chest. It involves surgery and a fairly large amount of money and post-surgery recovery period. Is this the answer for the ever increasing weight and obesity problem? Liposuction seems like an overnight remedy to obesity and is often referred to as makeover. But is it really a safe and permanent solution to the problem?

It has been noted that individuals go through certain severe experiences after liposuction. Sometimes the body experiences shock or traumatic effects. In many cases individuals have had heart attcks too following the surgery and others have developed diabetes.

Besides this, there is no guarantee that liposuction is a permanent solution to fat removal. Many a times a person gains weight in the same part of the body from where the fat had been removed in the surgery. Research shows that the location of fat deposition in a person’s body is genetically determined. If there is a family pattern of heavy arms or thighs or bulging abdomen and if the person gains weight two or three months after the surgery, fat will automatically get deposited in the exact same location of the body on which the surgery was done.

The hard fact is that anyone who puts on excess weight, even during pregnancy, it is because of some carelessness or lack of discipline in the lifestyle either in food intake or regular physical activity. It could also be due to some accident or illness when a person becomes bedridden and therefore gains weight. There is no easy solution to losing weight and even if fat is surgically removed, without any commitment to change one’s lifestyle that includes proper diet and regular exercise, one cannot fight obesity permanently.

But it takes some time to achieve results through exercise and maintaining proper food-habit. Exercising regularly, eating fat free food and consuming lots of water will surely yield wonderful and beneficial solution. No matter how old or what stage of life one is at, a proper and strict lifestyle will help everyone shed at least 2-3 kgs of weight in a month’s time. So, it is possible to lose weight by following a strict regime but one must make up his mind. We are very disciplined when it comes to work and career. It is high time we became disciplined about our body too.

Courtesy : Times of India

Its not just about looks anymore

An upcoming social event, emulating your favourite star, being able to fit into the latest fashion-wear; all used to be the main (well let’s be honest, most times the only) motivating factors that could make one exercise.

Well, not anymore it seems. In recent times, it’s becoming alarmingly common to hear of a relative, friend, colleague who has had a health breakdown as a result of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and acute depression to severe cases of collapses due to a heart attack. The really worrying factor? Many of these individuals are only in their 30s and 40s.

Our current lifestyles, more often than not, leave us feeling exhausted with tight muscles and an aching back along with a stressed state of mind. Now, compare that to the energised sensation that you are left with after a walk in the park, a swim, a game of tennis, a workout in the gym or a dance class. These activities leave you feeling good about yourself. And therein lies the underlying new-age reason to exercise.

Increasingly, people are looking towards exercise to provide them with not just the traditional benefits of weight-loss and/or muscle gain, but also as a means to de-stress and enjoy themselves. Making (any form of) exercise a part of your day can get you through the day more productively while feeling less stressed.

Even a daily short bout of 20-to-30 minutes can have a beneficial effect on your heart and help control lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. Back and neck problems can be taken care of with exercise programs such as yoga, pilates, tai chi.
There are varied dance-based fitness programmes from classical to contemporary to salsa, Bollywood and belly dancing to hip hop, that can provide a fun and interesting way to get your exercise. Unfortunately, we still manage to find excuses not to exercise.

I ENJOY THE WORKOUTS BUT JUST DON’T HAVE THE TIME:

You really don’t need to block off one or more hours to get your exercise in. Whether it’s just a 20-minute session or walking a couple of blocks, or taking the stairs at work, it all adds to your daily exercise and that’s where you can start.

I DON’T LIKE WORKING OUT IN GYMS WITH MACHINES, ETC:

If you find that you do not enjoy working out indoors or find gyms intimidating, there are various other options. Go for a
walk, swim or play a game of tennis or badminton. Try out a dance or yoga class. Pilates workouts are unlike typical gym workouts and have a strong mindbody focus.

I’VE NEVER EXERCISED BEFORE AND MAY LAND UP HURTING MYSELF:

Not having exercised before is not a reason to not start now. In fact, this is the very reason to start exercising program. Get your doctor’s approval and when you start your exercise, do so slowly and under the guidance of a trained professional who will be able to tailor a fitness program based on your needs and fitness levels while monitoring your progress.

SOME REASONS TO EXERCISE

• Helps lose weight and reduce body fat
• Increases muscular strength and tones general appearance
• Increases stamina
• De-stresses; improves sleep
• Improves functional fitness
• Reduces health risks
• Improves fitness levels
• Reduces injury
• Increases body’s immunity

The formula for high BMR

As we all try to stay fit and trim, the most important controlling factor we need to understand is within our bodies. That is, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the rate at which all the organs, tissues, cells, glands etc function inside your body while you are resting.

Ten percent of our calories are burnt everyday by digestion. 25 per cent is burnt in regular physical activities and 65 per cent is spent as basal metabolic activity in our body, which happens round-the-clock. The secret of staying trim and fit is to keep your basal metabolic rate high. Those who eat a lot and are still trim and muscular are those who have a high metabolic rate.

Let’s look at factors that contribute to keeping the BMR of our body high. The controlling factor is how much fat tissue you have deposited in your body. If the muscle mass is 45-55 per cent and the fat mass is 15-25 per cent, the remaining 30 percent is bone and fluid. However if the fat mass becomes 35-40 per cent and the muscle mass is only 30-35 per cent that means there is more fat in the body and the BMR will be low. Fat cells are inactive or sleeping cells. If you have more muscle cells, which are always active, then you will have a higher BMR and will be burning off all that you eat.

The second biggest factor is how much fatty food you eat. If your diet is mainly fatty foods then you will lower your BMR. Many people tend to eat a lot of fatty food and then skip meals to stay trim. In the long run this might convert into a weight problem because you have messed up your body composition. Eating healthy balanced meals with the right combination of carbohydrate and protein foods (carbohydrates — bread, rice, roti, plus protein, dhal, channa, milk, curd, egg, poultry, fish) is vital. Protein builds and preserves muscle tissue. For every unbalanced meal and skipped meal your body breaks and uses some muscle cells and less muscle cells means lower BMR. The same happens every time you fast or when you go on a diet.

The BMR goes down and you put on weight.

The most important factor is exercising. Regular exercise helps build muscles and keeps your BMR up. Regular walks are good for your body because walking exercises 90 per cent of the muscles in your body and helps to build muscle tissue. So the secret is to cut down on fatty food, eat balanced meals and go walking everyday.

Courtesy: The Times of India

It’s all about mixing it up

“Ionly need to do strength training since I want to build muscle.”

“To get rid of this belly and get a defined mid-section you need to focus on doing an hour of ab crunches every day.”

The above and many more such declarations are routinely heard in any gym or a fitness studio amongst a group of fitness enthusiasts. However well-intentioned these statements may be, they are based on an individual’s perception of what he or she thinks will work for them. And of course, very often even those needs and goals are based more on preferences than actual needs.

Your fitness needs are not only about your current favourite activities, but also about functional strength and comprehensive exercise programs that can help you deal with lifestyle-related illnesses and many other health concerns.

By mixing it up and introducing variety into your fitness program you not only cross-train your body and keep the mind engaged but also maximize the effort and time you put into your workouts. The idea is to keep your workouts interesting, challenging, comprehensive and result-oriented while you engage in your favorite sport or activity. Follow these tips to assure a complete workout for yourself.

Variety is the key

To see results, you need to vary your workouts. Our muscles have a memory and become used to the repetitive activities that we perform on a regular basis. To see changes in your body, try following a plan that includes varied cardio activities, strength training and flexibility exercises. Doing the same exercises or workouts also causes stress on the body that leaves you open to injuries. Something you definitely do not want. So even though you may want to focus only on your running, including a few days of rowing or cycling would actually help in your training.

Explore your options

There is no single solution that works for everyone. Just because a friend lost weight on a particular diet or workout regime, or the really muscular guy at the gym does weight training six days a week, does not mean it will work for you. Once you explore your options, you can determine what mix will work best for your body.

Go for cardio

You must do cardio, anywhere from 3-5 times a week depending on your goals. For weight loss or reduction in body fat, aim for five days a week of cardio. For strength training, two days a week of cardio is sufficient, along with 10 minutes of cardio warm up on strength training.

Check your intensity

It is important to make systematic increases in the weights you are lifting. Can you do more than 10 reps of any exercise without feeling a slight burn? Then the weights are too light. Stretch to improve quality of your workouts. Stretching will make you flexible, so you can move and lift better.

Courtesy: The Times of India

Obesity in teenagers

    Obesity has been known to be linked with a malfunction of the thyroid gland and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). It also has a strong connection with diabetes and a malfunction of the insulin production in the body. Similarly premature greying i.e. greying between 13 and 30 years of age, and a receding hair line between 18 and 30 years of age has a strong link with a malfunction of the thyroid gland. This malfunction depletes the iron and calcium stores in the body which is required for strong and healthy hair.

    It has been observed that when these conditions are left unchecked, young children reach a weight of 80-90 kgs and at times even above 100kgs. This happens mostly because children are under a lot of pressure nowadays and give up all forms of exercise and sport. Instead, they have food as a comforting factor.

    Once the children reach obesity, the thyroid function and insulin metabolism gets further damaged leading to the damage of the reproductive system in both boys and girls. Sometimes the damage is irreversible.

    The first requirement for parents is to ensure that your child is healthy and happy. Children who are obese are usually moody and depressed inside and eat as if they are addicted to food.

    Many parents pressurise their children during examinations and feel that exercise is a waste of time. They also allow them to eat anything they want. This causes an increase in cholesterol levels, blood sugar and BP.

stayfit@indiatimes.com

Lisa Sarah John

Courtesy: The Times of India