In existence everything lives on energy and everything is nourished by something. Have you ever wondered what feeds your heart? In this asana you can visualize it.
An awakened heart that offers clarity and deep love to oneself, to others, and to the whole existence requires time and presence to nourish.
Listening to what your heart whispers to you is a nourishing practice that favors openness and, therefore, joy.
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR HEART IS A MATTER OF CALM
To open and connect with your heart you must relax and let yourself go. In this asana I propose a mudra and a visualization that will help you achieve it.
1. SIT BACK AND REST
Sit comfortably on the floor or in a chair.
Rest your head on your upright spine and relax your shoulders, neck and jaw.
2. PLACE YOUR HANDS
Put your right hand on your thigh in Gyan mudra, bringing your index finger together with your thumb.
Bring your left hand to your heart and feel its palpitations, rhythm and presence.
3. CONNECT AND ASK QUESTIONS
Calmly visualize your heart: you can visualize its size, color, shape, connection to the lungs and diaphragm. View it in 3D from different angles, even from within.
Communicate with him, ask him about his desires and let yourself be surprised.
YOUR HEART SPEAKS TO YOU EVERY DAY
Dedicate your evenings to nourishing your mind and heart. Turn off the electronic slides, dim the lights at home, put an essential oil that favors calm, listen to music to meditate or music that you like or read something that nourishes and inspires you and that offers you tools so that you can become the best version of yourself.
If we start from the premise that everything is fed by something, we see that television programs feed on the attention and time invested in them. And in human life, is there anything more valued than time and presence? What do you do on a regular basis to feed your youthful and joyful spirit?
Calmly visualize your heart and connect with your deepest desires.
The habit of wasting hours in front of the television, in conversations focused on complaint, shortcomings and gossip, ends up consuming time and energy, which takes away vitality and joy of living.
Metaphorically, one could say that it is not that one consumes television programs, but that it is television that consumes the person.
Understanding the body not only allows us to know its needs but also opens the door to an internal space in which it is possible to find oneself.
Our body has secrets that help us to be present in life, to go through it leaving the traces of a path in which health, tranquility, freedom of movement and, ultimately, the ability to live and love are found. To discover and know them it is necessary to establish a dialogue with the body.
The first thing that this approach needs is what any conversation requires: attention. It is about listening not only to the signals sent by the body, but to spend a minimum time getting to know it, learning and receiving its support, because this listening will help us when we are in another task.
The body is so grateful: we recognize and understand it, and it continues only its work activating its mechanisms to help us, although our consciousness is already in something else.
“ATTENTIVE LISTENING IS NOT ONLY WORTHWHILE, IT IS ESSENTIAL”
There is nothing more effective to connect with the body, show respect and gain well-being than listening to it. Even sometimes problems that we experienced and that only demanded attention are solved. In any case, listening is not only worthwhile, it is essential. But doing so can be just as difficult as solving problems.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LISTEN?
First, concentrating only on the body and, if this proves difficult, accepting the thoughts that distract us to bid them a polite goodbye and continue listening.
Second, taking stock of what is heard, even if it is little.
And third, exploring with love, with the feelings and thoughts of which our body is also composed.
Then the longings that beat in its depth will appear, and flavors, aromas, textures, sounds and spaces will appear to our senses. You don’t have to prove anything but know what’s going on. We must also remember that listening is not judging; In listening, there is no need to take any action or make decisions.
This listening must also be nourished with patience and love. You pursue a goal, but you try to enjoy and not lose sight of the road.
CONNECTING WITH THE EARTH
To begin with, we accompany the body in that which is essential to it, without which we could not live. Humans can go several weeks without eating and some days without drinking, but only a few minutes without breathing. The breath is essential, it binds us to life and, when it ceases, separates us from it.
However, the body has a second essential relationship as important as the first, which is born and disappears with us: we need a surface to which to give weight, on which we can relate to the earth. If you take a baby in your arms and rise in volands to pick it up right away, the baby either laughs or cries, but does not remain indifferent.
We all have an innate sense of knowing when we lacka surface to lean on. Relating to it is another way to enter our essence, to expand and perceive it, and invites us to relate better to the environment.
PERCEIVING THE BREATH
When listening to the breath we must try not to influence it: we want to approach the breath as we approach a child who plays absorbed and whom we do not want to distract. If we judge it, we will try to manipulate it and that manipulation will never be satisfactory.
Try this exercise to become aware of your breath:
Try to feel the breath in the front of the torso, then in the back and sides.
Notice that there are parts of the trunk that move and feel invited to breathe and others that do not, and that the former make up a space.
With one hand draw that space, which can be shaped like a circle, pear, cone, cylinder, drop of water … There are many possible ways, depending on the position we have, what we have done, our emotions, etc.
Breathing is changeable and adaptable.
CREATE INTERNAL SPACE
After a first listening, we went on to take the initiative, to expand the breathing space and give it freedom and silence, remembering that wherever attention is placed, energy flows.
Another exercise that can be of great help is:
Put the palm of the right hand under the left armpit and imagine that the air we breathe in is directed to that hand.
Then imagine that when exhaling it is directed from there through the ribs to the lungs, and from these through the airways to the outside.
We repeat it over seven breaths and notice how the respiratory space expands on the left side.
First visualizing and then listening to the change.
At the end we will feel that the breathing space has become enormous and the breathing is long, silent, calm and deep, and our mood will have improved.
It can be practiced throughout the trunk: putting the hand under the right armpit, on the clavicles, on the diaphragm or below, on the kidneys …
The respiratory space is the most intimate space, which no one but oneself can enter or influence. Expanding that space expands our essence and renews us.
LISTENING TO ONE’S OWN WEIGHT
In the second part of the body dialogue, we must perceive the body from the ground to the sky in everyday moments: in the supermarket queue, waiting for the train, when driving or at the computer.
This exercise can help you:
Standing, we bring attention from head to toe, dwelling on every part of the body that comes to our mind and its impact on contact with the ground.
You should observe:
How the feet rest on the ground and whether there are differences between them.
If the knees are fully straight, slightly bent or relaxed.
Where the hip tilts and curves the spine.
In case of holding a bag, if the shoulders are relaxed or tense, if they tend to rise towards the neck or not.
Where the gaze is directed and what happens when you change it; what aromas come to us; what sound from the environment stands out; Where the breath is directed.
How much well-being comes from the body, if our mood has changed.
UNLEASHING MOVEMENT
After seeing how the body is, you can introduce a small change and observe. The body responds differently to each change and in that process not only becomes flexible, but also informs us of the positions and movements with which it feels most comfortable.
The changes should be small, because the body understands them better, and be made slowly and attentively.
Try these moves:
We pass, for example, the weight from one foot to the other, from the tips to the heels, or we stand on tiptoe.
We can also leave the body on one foot and look at how the other parts of the body change. We modify them if necessary and choose the way to place ourselves that requires less effort.
Then we cross the feet and shift the weight around the contour of the plants. Three times in one direction and three times in the other.
We reverse our feet and repeat.
We uncross our feet and observe that the plants seem to have expanded: we will have better support and even breathe better.
Our relationship with the air and the one we have with the ground influence each other: if we expand the first, we will have more freedom in the second, and vice versa. Then, we will perceive that both the body, as well as the thought, the emotions and the perception itself have been accommodated to a new situation.
FEELING UNITED TO THE UNIVERSE
Once you have heard and accompanied the body in its becoming, you can try to talk to it with images, through visualizations. The body welcomes images especially well.
At any time of the day, put a smile on your cells, for example on the soles of your feet, palms and fontanelle. Thinking that they smile will relax us, produce a sigh that will open and massage the diaphragm. It is also useful to imagine how light circulates through the body, always starting in the area between the navel and the pubis.
Connected with weight and breath, we also visualize the place where we are, the earth, the sky. And in all our movements the whole universe will accompany us in this way.
TAKING A BREAK
Sometimes the body talks to us and asks for help because it does not know how to continue. At such times the breath demands attention.
Note:
Standing, sitting or lying down, it is observed if pauses are made between breaths, or inspiration and expiration, which phase is longer and which parts of the body participate.
Then the breath is stimulated to unlock it and give a boost to the mood that allows you to continue relaxed with the daily work. To do this, the expiration is lengthened until the lungs are emptied; Count to four and let the air cascade into the body.
It is repeated four times and the breathing is allowed to continue on its own.
Breathing is observed again. We will see that we have gained breathing space, that the air flows better, that there are pauses and, what is better, that our mood has changed.
Breathing is an unconscious act, but it is convenient to look at how it is done, because it can often be improved. If you breathe through your mouth, learning to do it only through your nose will provide you with many benefits.
The consequences of mouth breathing are tremendous. Some of the immediate risks are that polyps, allergies and periodontal disease develop, as well as deformed nose and jaw.
Instead, always breathing through your nose reduces your risk of catching colds. The nose filters pathogenic viruses and bacteria and prevents them from multiplying.
In addition, inhaling and exhaling through the nose increases physical endurance. When a person who breathes through the mouth begins to do so through the nose, their respiratory rate can be reduced by half, which decreases the effort needed to perform, for example, physical exercise.
It also improves cardiovascular health. When passing through the sinuses, the air is enriched with nitrogen oxide, which favors the regulation of blood pressure. It is also involved in nerve transmission and immune response. In general, the body is designed to function well with nasal breathing.
HOW TO BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE AND NOT THROUGH YOUR MOUTH
For nasal breathing to be carried out correctly, it is advisable that the mucous membranes are hydrated. To do this, drink water and keep indoor air humidity above 40%.
Do this exercise: inhale and exhale once through your nose, hold your breath and walk as far as you can without breathing. Breathe through your nose again until you recover. Repeat six times each day and each time you will find it easier.
If you usually breathe through your mouth at night, it’s worth consulting with a good otolaryngologist tofind the cause. Sometimes the solution is as simple as putting on an anti-snoring strap or installing a purifier in the room.
He also takes care of the sleeping position, sleeps on his side, with his head elevated with pillows so thatthe cervical remains aligned with the rest of the spine. If you put a cushion between your legs, your posture will be even better.
PRACTICE DIAPHRAGMATIC CONSCIOUS BREATHING
In addition to breathing with your nose, it is important that you breathe with the diaphragm. Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly, and breathe, inhaling and exhaling through your nose regularly, so that it is the hand of the belly that moves.
Perform this exercise for 5-10 minutes, three times a day. At first you may find it tired, but with the passage of days it will be absolutely natural. In this way you will be able to reduce the respiratory rate and you will need to spend less energy for the simple fact of breathing.
Good posture that keeps the spine aligned frees muscles and joints from overloads. We explain how to get it.
A body is well aligned when the head, trunk and pelvis are placed following an imaginary vertical line that begins at the feet and exits through the crown. When this occurs, very little muscle activity is required to maintain posture and joints are not overloaded.
The balance is easy and the body sensation is lighter. Internalizing the correct alignment is just as important as strengthening the muscles that contribute to it. This alignment can be described in more detail:
The abdomen is tucked into the spine to keep the pelvis aligned.
The rib cage does not protrude in front.
The neck remains elongated, with the cervicals extended and the chin closer to the chest than prominent.
HOW TO PROPERLY ALIGN YOUR BACK STEP BY STEP
To achieve this position, stand in profile in front of a mirror. Imagine that a vertical line (you can use the edge of the mirror to draw it) joins the following points:
The earlobe
The shoulder
The center of the rib cage
The head of the femur
The knee
The ankle
In addition:
The feet must be kept in a neutral position (neither inside nor outside).
The knees are straight but not hyperextended backwards.
The pelvis, in a neutral position (without bringing it forward or backward).
The spine retains its normal curves (neither reduced nor increased).
The scapulae, in neutral position.
The shoulders are open (not forward) and the head over the shoulders (not forward).
Gradually, with the repeated activation of the muscles that allow you to maintain this posture, the body automatically begins to resort to them to organize itself in a more effective way.
HOW TO CARE FOR THE SPINE
Often the alignment problems come from an exaggerated curvature of the spine in one of its sections. It may be an excessive cervical curve (cervical lordosis) that leads to advancing the head in front of the shoulders.
Or an increase in the curve in the thoracic region (kyphosis), common with aging and that in early stages can be corrected by exercising the upper extensor muscles of the spine.
If the increase in curvature occurs in the lumbar region (lumbar lordosis and hyperlordosis), usually accompanied by a pelvis inclined forward, it can be corrected by strengthening the abdominals and making the lower extensors of the spine and the iliopsoas muscle more flexible.
However, keep in mind that alignment problems can be due to many causes and that it may be necessary to visit a professional before taking initiatives that may not be appropriate.
Once the alignment of the body in an upright position is improved, it is easier to maintain it in any other position or in motion.
BE CAREFUL HOW YOU FEEL
A frequent alignment error when sitting is to let the spine slump, flexing the lower back and bringing the pelvis back.
You have to think about raising the upper back and the head area just behind the ears to the ceiling, with the weight of the trunk on the ischia.
Another useful strategy is to think about picking up and slightly elevating the lower region of the abdominals.
POSTURE FOR GOOD BONE ALIGNMENT
The idea is widespread that you have to maintain a disciplined program of physical exercise to enjoy good muscle tone and that you have to perform constant stretching to relieve the accumulated tension in the muscles.
But strength and flexibility are acquired naturally when you live respecting the structure of the body, with well-aligned bones, relaxed muscles and free joints.
Our musculoskeletal system works like a system of pulleys (muscles), levers (bones) and hinges (joints), which could resemble that of a crane.
We often tend to think that muscles do the job of supporting all body weight. It is only partly true, because when the bones are placed in their rightful place, they sustain us with hardly any work.
GOOD POSTURE PREVENTS EXCESSIVE MUSCLE TENSION
The priority function of muscles is to move bones. However, at rest, when the bones are misaligned, the muscles are forced to tighten to compensate for skeletal deviations.
A healthy muscle is elastic, able to contract when asked but also to relax when its action is not needed. Overdeveloped muscles store too much tension, they never fully relax.
Maintaining a relaxed posture does not mean collapsing or panching. On the contrary, the bones have to be aligned so that the muscles can relax.
FREEING THE JOINTS: MORE FLEXIBILITY AND LESS PAIN
True flexibility is also achieved when the joints are released, not through the indiscriminate stretching of certain muscles.
Learning to respect natural bone alignment gradually returns muscles to their natural extension and elasticity.
When the joints that support more weight (ankles, knees, hips, shoulders) are aligned with a central axis, the person does not usually suffer pain or tension.
It is possible that you are suffering from some stress due to information overloading, an infoxication. With these gestures and routines, you will recover the connection with your body and with the earth, to be able to slow down and face stress. Touch the ground again!
The information we receive in a week is apparently equivalent to what a human being received in his lifetime sixty years ago. Frequently, that vertiginous flow, instead of playing in our favor, helping us to work fast and well, plays against us.
During these days the amount of information we receive is even greater and we may be suffering stress due to information overload, a certain infoxication. This excess of information causes us anxiety for fear of losing our position, our health or that of others, or for the simple fact of facing an unforeseeable future.
This opens the floodgates to the spiral of stress: the comfortable becomes arduous and we begin to feel discomfort, a discomfort presided over by nerves, uncontrollable impulses, pressure, urgency, imposition, threat, demand …
All this endangers our health. Let’s see below how it is possible to relax when stress overflows, either for a concrete and surprising cause or for an accumulation of reasons that grows little by little every day.
FROM MIND TO BODY
The loss of tranquility entails a change in the relationship with the body. The body is always there, present, stuck to the earth, with which it shares a wide series of virtues: it is generous, welcoming, solid, calm, slow, with a memory difficult to erase, and allows us relaxation.
But when we lose serenity, it seems to disintegrate from the mind. It is fast, light, aerial, useful for manufacturing ideas and communicating them. Live comfortably in the past or the future and is an essential tool to mobilize the body in our favor.
The separation of body and mind manifests itself in many ways, but here we are going to concentrate on one: the one that causes the loss of contact with the earth and with the force of gravity that allows us to be who we are.
When attention is directed to restore contact with the weight of the body, relaxation, tranquility and serenity are recovered. And body memory is also stimulated, which will be helpful in any situation of everyday life.
HOW TO RECONNECT MIND AND BODY
When stress takes hold of a person, he stops touching with his feet on the ground. It is said then: it is that it climbs the walls, or has climbed the vine. These popular expressions indicate the state of disagreement with the land.
At any moment we are interacting with the air and the ground. Thanks to the exchange with the air, we breathe. While the relationship with the earth is evidenced because we always organize our body to be able to support the weight on an external surface.
However, when we feel tense or nervous, we tend to separate ourselves from the support surface: we lift our shoulders, we stiff… If for some reason we collapse or feel dejected, then we drop into parts of the body and on the support surfaces, be it a chair, a bed or the floor.
These stiff or heavy parts end up hurting, which reduces productivity, comfort and well-being. Being aware of how we transmit weight to the earth opens the door to relaxed vitality.
AN EXERCISE TO REGAIN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND
1. FEELING YOUR OWN WEIGHT
Lying face up, we notice the surfaces of the body that touch the ground.
We feel where the ground interacts with the right leg, then with the left.
One after another, we perceive as clearly as possible how the left shoulder blade, arm and hand are supported, to move to the right shoulder blade, arm, elbow and hand.
How is the contact of the back with the ground? Where is it discontinued?
We feel the weight of the head and where we brush the ground with it.
Finally, we observe the breath and the movement of the body to its rhythm, noticing the places where the breath reaches without effort. Wherever the breath arrives, it’s fine.
We attend to the breathing rhythm and to which moment it is longer – the inspiration, the expiration or the pauses – without wishing to modify it, with an attentive and friendly attitude.
2. DIALOGUE WITH THE EARTH
We imagine that the earth does not support us, that the body tenses and we hardly touch the ground. But when we exhale, we let the weight of the body be supported by the earth. It is not a question of lifting the body, but of tensing it a little to then loosen it and abandon it suddenly.
Next, we raise the right arm and hand two centimeters from the ground, let them fall to lead and repeat it several times. Same with the left arm and hand. Then, with the right leg and with the left. We rest and notice the changes in contact with the earth.
We repeat this sequence of movements feeling what happens in the background, that is, how the back and support surfaces are organized to lift a leg or an arm. We will observe that to raise any part of the body other parts must give it support and sink more towards the ground.
So now we proceed in another way: we press first those surfaces and then lift the member or part of the body that needs them. The raised body part will become light. We do it with the limbs and the head. We rested and perceived the changes that occurred in contact with the ground.
Finally, we slowly and gradually press the ground with one leg and release the pressure in the same way. Then we repeat this procedure with the other leg, with one heel, with the other, with one arm and the other, with the head, with the hip and with the shoulder blades. We notice how to press one part of the body; other parts are slightly raised.
We rest and perceive the changes: how the breath is released and the contact with the earth is greater and sharper. Let’s look at the vital signs offered to the senses.
We repeat the previous process lying face down, from the beginning, in a comfortable position. We rest and notice the breathing in the back and how the supports have changed.
Perhaps we will feel as if we have been ironed on the floor. The earth welcomes us gently and firmly.
Then we imagine that with breathing the body is filled with light. From this position we move slowly until we sit, trying to perceive the succession of movements and supports necessary for that: how the former need the latter and vice versa.
3. A RENEWED PERCEPTION
With the same rhythm as before, we stand up. We walk slowly, we perceive the movement and the supports we need for it.
We noticed the difference between how we feel now and how we felt before. New spaces open up. The uneasiness fades. Something inside us has changed, and even if the outside hasn’t, that inner change can give us another point of view about what was the cause of our unhappiness.
We let that space and that attention paid to the body accompany us throughout the day. Body memory will remember it and we can recover it without having to lie on the floor, in any position and at any time.
Baby massage is a form of skin-to-skin contact, essential for their development. It strengthens the bond with parents and has many benefits for their health.
Baby massage is a humane and gentle way to strengthen the relationship between parents and children. The current massages are based on the “shantala”, the traditional massage that has been performed in India for centuries and that is very beneficial for the little one.
BENEFITS OF MASSAGE FOR BABIES
In baby massage it is mainly about building a relationship with the child and communicating with him in a sensory way, but it also produces a number of positive effects:
Stimulates blood circulation and breathing.
It can relieve cramps and flatulence.
It promotes the body’s immune response.
After eight weeks of labor is a good time to start with massage. The correct techniques are learned in special courses by professionals, usually doulas or midwives.
Many new parents are afraid of doing it wrong and appreciate the guidance of a specialist and the exchange with other parents. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, these courses are not taking place. The alternative is books and videos from the internet. In any case, more important than technique is building a relationship with the child through touch.
WATCH FOR YOUR BABY’S CUES DURING THE MASSAGE
By getting ready with your baby for a massage you are creating a bubble outside of time and space. Only he and you matter. There is no thought or interference from the world. Your attitude, in some ways, resembles meditation, only instead of being attentive to your breathing you are attentive to the expressions and gestures of your baby.
Do not wake the baby to do the massage or force the situation in any way.
You also don’t have to if you have a fever or are sick.
You have to feel that it’s time for both him and you. If so, take a deep breath, smile and start the massage. See if he likes it.
It is a good idea to talk to the baby calmly, without making excessive caresses or fuss. You will see that this makes him calmer and will fix his gaze on you.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MASSAGE
Preparation. Find a cozy, warm place where you can sit cross-legged or stand comfortably. It can be the changing table or the floor, where you can spread a towel on a soft surface. An ambient temperature of 24 degrees is ideal. Turn off your phone and take your time. Place the child in front of you. Warm your hands, have on hand an ecological body oil specific for babies and diapers ready (the massage is done with the naked baby).
To get started. Pour some oil on your palms, rub them in front of your baby, greet him and explain what you are going to do. Over time, your child will realize that this is the beginning of the massage ritual. It is recommended to concentrate on one part of the body and expand the massage. Let’s start with the chest.
1. HOW TO MASSAGE BABY’S BREAST
To start, rest your hands calmly on your baby’s chest and give him time to get used to the contact. Gently smear some oil on your chest and belly. Now, to “open the chest”, place both hands together at the level of the sternum and gently slide the flat hand towards the shoulders and return making a circle towards the center. Repeat this and all other movements three to five times.
He then places both hands at his sides, stroking slowly and alternately diagonally towards his shoulder and back again. Repeat rhythmically with one hand and the other.
2. MASSAGE THE BELLY
Alternatively, stroke with your flat hands from the costal arch to the groin. When one hand reaches down, the other starts at the top, so one hand must always be in contact with the body. This is a rule for all massage: when one hand is separated from the body, the other must be in contact with it, the child must always feel the contact.
This movement called the “water wheel” helps stimulate digestion.
Then comes “the sun.” To do this, massage clockwise around the navel with the palm of your hand while holding your child by the thigh with the other hand. Finish this movement by sliding your hands from her belly to her feet.
Massage the baby’s belly only clockwise and very carefully if the baby has just been fed. Always pay attention to symmetry.
3.”INDIAN MILKING” ON ARMS AND LEGS
Now the arms are “milked” according to the same principle, starting with the right. Take the child’s shoulder with your hand like a ring and stroke him towards the wrist, then touch the other arm. Remember that you repeat each gesture three to five times.
Then, carefully, “open” the hands of the little one: to do this, take the wrist with one hand and run the thumb of the other from there to the fingertips. Then extend your fingers one by one towards the tips and stretch them very gently. If your child doesn’t want to open his fists, just stroke him on the small clenched fist.
5. THE FACE IS ALSO PART OF THE MASSAGE
Place your hands on the sides of the baby’s head, the thumbs are in the middle of the forehead. With both thumbs at the same time stroke symmetrically from the middle towards the temples and then towards the ears. Allows eye contact.
6. LAST PART OF THE MASSAGE, THE BACK
Place the baby on his stomach. Let your oiled hands rest on your back. Then, place both hands on the baby’s back and slide them back and forth in opposite directions. The hands move slowly down from the shoulders to the pelvis.
Then, you “comb” your back by gently moving from your neck to your buttocks with your flat fingers extended. The other hand remains in contact with the child’s body. Finally, caress his back, to do this, slide the palm of your hand from his head through his back, buttocks, and legs until he reaches his feet. The other hand rests on the side. It is important that you omit the column or simply touch it without pressing.
Having strong muscles can extend your life: it prevents diseases, accelerates recovery and multiplies the chances of survival.
Good fitness has generally been associated with health for its beneficial effect on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
That is why the recommendations focus on aerobic exercise (running, swimming, etc.). However, strength exercises that tone muscles are equally beneficial.
GOOD MUSCLE TONE PREVENTS DISEASE AND PROMOTES RECOVERY
Muscle strength has a positive effect on life expectancy, even in patients with acute or chronic diseases. This has been demonstrated by a meta-analysis from 39 studies with data from a total of almost 40,000 patients. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.
The aim of the analysis, conducted by researchers from the University of Regensburg (Germany), Imperial College London (UK) and the Augsburg Hospital Health Science Centre (Germany), was to determine the impact of muscle power on the mortality of people receiving medical care.
As Barbara Prüller-Strasser of the University of Regensburg points out: “Poor muscle condition increases the likelihood of an earlier death. Patients with low muscle strength have a 1.8 times higher risk of dying after excluding other potential factors compared to patients with high muscle strength.”
5 KG MORE POWER REDUCES THE RISK OF MORTALITY BY ALMOST 30%
A five-kilogram above-average muscle power level has been shown to result in a 28% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality. Muscle power can be measured by muscle load tests.
PART OF PREVENTIVE OR THERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS
Therefore, Prüller-Strasser concludes that, from the point of view of prevention, “it is crucial to identify patients with muscle weakness and treat them in time effectively.” This is especially important to improve the response of elderly patients to serious illnesses.
Through food and strength training you can get these people to improve their expectations. This aspect of treatment may be as important as drug therapy, according to the researchers.
A good muscle tone not only improves the prognosis and the possibility of survival in case of illness, but also provides a higher quality of life when you are healthy: you have more energy, a sense of control and efficiency.
WHAT IS MUSCLE OR STRENGTH TRAINING LIKE?
Strengthening muscles is associated with exercises with weights and machines in the gym. It is a possibility and it is not bad, but it is not the only one.
Rubber bands, for example, have the advantage that they gradually increase the resistance and effort needed to overcome it, which is more natural than the demand made by a weight. More importantly, it decreases the risk of injury. In fact, they are used in rehabilitation therapy.
YOGA, TAI CHI AND PILATES ALSO STRENGTHEN
Yoga is popularly associated with stretching, flexibility or body awareness, but the truth is that there are many asanas whose performance requires significant muscle tone. That is why it is convenient to include these positions in the sessions.
Similarly, tai chi strengthens the musculature, especially the legs and back, and improves balance. It is one of the most recommended disciplines for the elderly, to avoid falls and keep the joints in good condition.
The Pilates method is also very appropriate to strengthen the muscles, especially the abdominal.
HOW MUCH MUSCLE TRAINING SHOULD YOU DO?
UK health authorities recommend that adults do muscle training at least twice a week. Only in this way can the decline in musculature and bone mass be avoided from the age of 50.
It is important that the diet contributes to the regeneration of the muscles with a sufficient supply of proteins, which in the vegetable diet are found in legumes, nuts and seeds, and cereals.
It is necessary to consume several servings of these foods daily: for example, one or two servings of legumes (80 g dry or 200 g cooked), one or two servings of nuts (30-50 grams) and 4-6 servings of cereals.
One study note that people who exercise early in the morning may be less likely to develop cancer than those who exercise later. The beneficial effect may be based on the regulation of estrogen and melatonin.
If you have a choice, do your workout in the morning. Research published in the International Journal of Cancer has suggested that people who exercise during the early hours of the day, immediately after waking up, have a lower risk of developing cancer compared to those who exercise in the afternoon or evening.
Scientists at ISGlobal Barcelona, led by Dr. Manolis Kogevinas, have shown that the effects of exercise depend on the time of day it is performed, that is, they are related to the circadian biological rhythms that govern many physiological processes in the body.
Before this research it was already known that daytime physical exercise serves to regulate the main circadian rhythm of wakefulness and sleep. That is why it prevents or helps to resolve disturbed sleep patterns. As detoxification and regeneration processes take place at night, exercise generally reduces the risk of cancer.
BEST TIME TO EXERCISE: 8 A.M. TO 10 A.M.
The researchers went a step further and wondered whether the hours we exercise may also have an influence on cancer risk. To prove it, they analyzed data from 2,795 participants, a subset of the MCC-MultiCaso Control Spain study, which aims to understand the factors that cause common cancers in Spain and how to prevent them.
From 2008 to 2013, researchers interviewed participants to learn about their physical activity throughout their lives. The study authors looked in particular at the 781 women with breast cancer and 504 men with prostate cancer.
Researchers found that the best time to exercise is 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. This schedule has the greatest potential to reduce the risk of developing breast and prostate cancers. The risk reduction reaches 25-27% compared to people who do not exercise.
THE ROLES OF ESTROGEN AND MELATONIN
Researchers suggest that the beneficial effects of morning exercise, in the case of breast cancer, may be related to estrogen (female hormones). High estrogen levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and exercise can reduce them, considering that estrogen production is activated around 7 am in the morning.
Melatonin may also be a factor. Researchers have shown that the hormone of darkness and sleep can protect against the risk of cancer and that if we exercise in the afternoon or evening, we could delay its production.
The coordinator of the study, Manolis Kogevinas, said that, if confirmed, “the results may improve current recommendations of physical activity for cancer prevention.”
Kogevinas added that regardless of the hour, everyone can reduce their risk of cancer with moderate physical activity of at least 150 minutes a week.
Previous research has shown that exercising can reduce a person’s risk of developing many different types of cancer, not just prostate or breast cancer. This information is important because of the large number of people who develop cancer and the large number of people who die from this disease.
IN ADDITION, DINNER BEFORE 21 PM
The scientific work being carried out at ISGlobal is shedding much light on the relationship between our habits, biological clocks and cancer. An earlier study, also led by Manolis Kogevinas, had determined that eating dinner early, before 21 p.m., also reduced the risk of cancer, and also did so by around 20%.
Thus, if you add the effect of having an early dinner and exercising with the first light of day, we will be considerably reducing the risk of developing the disease.
We can take care of visual acuity through exercises that stimulate the brain and eliminate tension from the muscles that control focus.
Over the years, visual acuity is lost. Glasses, contact lenses or surgery are the only remedies for problems such as nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism or presbyopia (or “eyestrain”, which affects near vision), but some simple and natural measures can be taken to improve perception and prevent worsening.
Factors such as tiredness, bad habits, nutritional deficiencies and even mood can influence the quality of vision.
YOU CAN TRAIN THE BRAIN TO SEE BETTER
A recent study by psychiatrists and psychologists at the University of Helsinki have been able to show in a study published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience that people with depression can see worse.
The participation of the brain allows visual gymnastics such as the one developed by ophthalmologist Rui Hiramatsu to improve acuity. Hiramatsu is the author of the book Improve Your Eyesight in 3 Minutes.
Hiramatsu exercises consist of finding pairs of equal patterns (called Gabor patches) for 3-10 minutes each day. These patches contain blurred lines that force the brain to clear them up. Daily practice involves a brain stimulus whose effectiveness has been demonstrated by studies conducted at the University of California and the University of Kansas.
Hiramatsu explains that human vision works like a digital camera: on the one hand there is the lens (the eyes) and on the other the software (the brain) responsible for processing the light that reaches the sensor. The result is the image as we see it.
In this process of creating the image, the brain acts like those artificial intelligences that enhance the image obtained by the mobile phone lens: if it is blurred, it can add information by interpreting the image. What Hiramatsu exercises do with Gabor patches is train this brain capacity.
If you suffer from any vision problem, the eyes capture blurred images that the brain recomposes to make them as clear as possible.
VISUAL EXERCISES ARE GENERALLY BENEFICIAL FOR THE BRAIN
Visual acuity exercises also have positive side effects, as they serve as mental gymnastics that prevents the onset of dementia, strengthen memory and the ability to concentrate.
In addition to Gabor’s patches, Hiratsu proposes another exercise to improve visual acuity: take a printed sheet on one side and try to read what he puts looking at the light on a blank face. You can practice three minutes once a day.
2 EXERCISES TO DO WITH THE EYES AND IMPROVE VISION
Exercises with the eyes are recommended preventively and to treat problems such as eyestrain, slightly blurred vision, sensitivity to bright light and amblyopia or “lazy eye”.
CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE
This exercise is especially effective for people who suffer from presbyopia or who spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen. It is a very simple exercise, since it only consists of looking repeatedly in the distance (more than two meters away) and close alternately.
If you have a window, you just have to look outside and then at an object that is about thirty or forty centimeters from you, such as, for example, your index finger. Repeat the focus change about ten times.
It is advisable to do it every 20 minutes of work in front of the screen and keep the focus on the distant object for 20 seconds.
This exercise causes the ciliary muscle that serves to focus to relax.
APPLY HEAT
The heat over the eyes increases blood flow and consequently the arrival of nutrients, which not only improves eyesight, but also relieves stress and headaches and shoulders.
If you can, apply heat twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If due to work you have to spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen, you must read many documents, or if your hobby is reading, thermotherapy will go very well.
You can apply heat in three ways, choose the one you like best and best suits your needs.
Wet a towel lightly with hot water and place it on the eyelids. Remove when it has cooled. Of course, it doesn’t have to be so hot that you find it annoying. You have to experience a pleasant feeling.
Rub your hands against each other about ten times. By doing so, you will warm your palms. When you notice warm hands, cuff them and put them over closed eyes, exerting a slight pressure. Keep them in that position for thirty to sixty seconds.
You can buy a mask designed to apply heat to the eyes. There are disposable, which heat up instantly when removing the protective band, and also reusable, which are heated in the microwave and can be used more than once.
People over 70 who have been exercising for 50 years show a physical condition comparable to that of a healthy person in their 40s.
The muscles of women and men over 70 who have exercised regularly for three decades are just as strong and healthy as those of 25-year-olds.
A study, conducted by researchers at Ball State University, in Indiana (United States), concludes that these people also possess much higher aerobic capacities than most people their age, which makes them biologically about 30 years younger.
WITH 70 YEARS AS IF THEY WERE 40
Other studies have found that older people who play sports have healthier muscles, brains, immune systems and hearts than people of the same age who are sedentary.
The idea we have of old age as a state of fragility, disease and dependence is given by the observation of what happens in the average of the population.
In addition, our gaze is always directed towards what represents a threat to our well-being. The elderly and healthy people go unnoticed more than the sick.
THEY STARTED DOING SPORTS WITH THE JOGGING BOOM
Dr. Scott Trappe studied the current physical state of people who began exercising in the 1970s with the jogging boom. These people maintained hobbies such as running, cycling, swimming or doing other types of exercise for the past 50 years.
Trappe selected 28 people, 7 of them women, and compared them with another group of people their age who had not exercised and with a group of active twenty-somethings. The researchers took tissue samples and examined their aerobic capacity, among other fitness variables.
MUSCLES AS HEALTHY AS IN 20-YEAR-OLDS
A priori, the scientists expected young people to show more robust muscles and greater aerobic capacity, but they found that the muscles of older athletes resembled those of young athletes, their aerobic capacity was only slightly lower and 40% higher than that of their inactive peers.
In fact, they found that the aerobic capacity of older people corresponded to that of active 40-year-old persnas.
In conclusion, Trappe argues that the physical deterioration we associate with aging is not inevitable.
