All entries tagged with “weight loss”
Inhabit Your Body Better
Who doesn’t want to be happier, healthier, sexier…? It’s a new year. That’s a tall order. Here's a standing challenge to help make it happen: Start by slimming up. Yes, up! When you stand tall, you inhabit your body better. The very act of stacking your shoulders over your hips, your hips over your knees, your knees over your ankles, makes you consciously aware that you are taking ownership of all of the space God gave you within your skin and bones. You become longer and leaner. You’ll feel sexier. If you want to look thinner, stand straighter and taller and you’ll appear to have dropped 5 pounds instantly. In yoga, standing tall is called Tadasana or Mountain Pose:
Our daily activities such as driving our cars, working at our desks, using our technological devices, lifting and holding young children, carrying items, preparing meals, washing dishes, reading, etc., all create a forward-reaching, head-tilting downward lifestyle. Before we know it, even standing is not all the way up any longer. Re-claim your body territory! Here’s a pose to help strengthen, lengthen, and straighten your spine to counteract the forward-reaching lifestyle we live, called Salabhasana or Locust Pose:
Lying on your belly, exhale all of the air in your lungs, then inhale lifting your shoulders and your heels. Keeping your head in line with your spine. Press your arms back. Fingers are ignited reaching toward your heels. Your legs are engaged and your pointed toes are reaching in opposition of your collar bone. This pose is a great one to practice to allow you to press into your spine and open your chest cavity. You strengthen all of your back-side muscles in the process. Stretching and strengthening in Locust pose also allows for better heart and lung function by creating space in the ribcage area. Building this pose into your body will allow you to stand taller and firmer as well. Take your stand, firm and tall like a mountain, for a new you in 2012, and then breathe. Fill your lungs fully, and empty your lungs completely. With your mouth closed, draw the air down your windpipe, filling your ribcage area with your lungs. Squeeze the air out using your diaphragm and ribs to empty your lungs. You should feel your upper abdominal muscles press together on your exhale. Your lungs help support your spine, easing tension and also massaging internal organs when fully inflating and deflating. Let them fully inhabit the space they’re allotted within the boney walls that house all of your internal organs. When fully extended, they can take up the space from your collar bone to your hip bone. Breathing this way allows your body to “memorize” your long, lean, straight posture. Let even your breathing become an exercise for your body. Practicing Mountain Pose will build integrity to your posture. Stand up for yourself, fully. Be all “in” to your body and you will create a firm foundation for a happier, healthier sexier you. You’re more approachable, more confident, and you’ll be “on” when you’re all “in.” Inhabit your body better simply by standing taller. You’ll even look smarter! Happy New You everyone! Be happy. Live Healthy. ~ Karen Cutrona Underwood, E-RYT, RYS Director, and Owner, Blue Moon Yoga and Fitness, Inc. 
Listen to 120,000 people tell you how to avoid obesity
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at over 120,000 people who were healthy and not obese at baseline and followed them for up to 20 years. The study participants were watched very closely with regard to what they ate, what they drank and how they spent their time. Slow and Steady: The first finding from the study is that weight gain on average is insidious. Participants added slightly less than one pound per year which makes it difficult to detect in the short term but explains how a person could add 10 or 20 pounds without noticing. Potatoes Found to Be the Worst: Of all of the foods associated with weight gain, French fry and potato chip consumption was associated with the largest weight gain (7 and 3 pounds over 4 years respectively). Sugar sweetened beverages were also found to add pounds. Additionally, processed and unprocessed meats encouraged weight gain. While sweets and desserts contributed to weight gain, their relative contribution was modest. Yogurt Best to Help Lose Weight: As expected, increased intake of fresh fruits and vegetables was associated with net weight loss as was whole grains and nuts. However, the biggest weight loss was seen in patients who ate yogurt. This was somewhat of an unexpected finding and may relate to the pro-biotic effects of yogurt. Other types of dairy products (both whole fat and low fat) were relatively weight neutral. Exercise More, Watch Less TV and Sleep Just Right: All patients who exercised enjoyed some relief from weight gain and the biggest reduction was seen in those with the most exercise. Regarding television, every hour spent watching television each day added 0.31 pounds. Interestingly, it appears that there is a “sweet spot” for sleep that is 6-8 hours per night which is associated with weight loss. People who slept more than 8 hours or less than 6 saw weight gain. What About Alcohol? There was an increase in weight of 0.41 pounds for every drink per day. This reinforces the concept that alcohol can be healthy at low levels (1-2 drinks per day) but harmful above that. So what are the take –home messages from this enormous observational study? Eat more yogurt, avoid potatoes, sleep 6-8 hours every night and only watch TV while you are on the treadmill.
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Your body is engaged and active. Your feet are rooted into the ground, your leg muscles are fixed to the bones, your fingertips are pressing downward tightening triceps, chest and back muscles, and with your head in line with your spine, the crown of your head is reaching for the sky. Grow yourself an inch by creating vertical tension this way. And, who doesn’t want another inch, especially when it’s already yours to claim?
