Now Thats A Stretch!

 
 

Downward Dog is a Great Stretch

 That your doctor will tell you before you get stiff and can’t touch your toes that you need to keep your flexibility as you age in order to lead a healthy life is a real stretch.  If your doctor told you before it was almost too late it would be really helpful.

 I taught fitness classes for 25 years of varying nature.  I taught from age 2 1/2 all the way to 90 years old and one thing I always did was talk about the importance of flexibility.

 Many people would ask my advist after their doctor told them that they need to work on flexibility with different stretches.  Many of those students could only reach about mid shin when they reached for the floor.

 I saw tremendous improvement in many students after attending Yoga and classes specifically designed for stretching and addressing stiffness that comes with age.

 Why is this so important?

You see, we only have 4 types of tissues in our bodies.  These tissues are made up of cells with the intelligence to know what they are needed for.

 Within each type of tissue there are different uses for instance Epithelium is our skin and it has different functions such as protecting us from the outside world, it absorbs in the stomach and intestinal lining, it filters in the kidneys and it secretes from glands.

 So let’s look at Muscle tissue and the different functions it performs.

 Muscles are responsible for body movement, muscles move blood, food, and waste through the body’s organs and it is also responsible for mechanical digestion.

 If you notice Muscles are responsible for moving blood and blood runs through veins.  The walls of your veins have the same type of tissue that your muscles are made up of.

 What we all need to understand is that when you have a tissue type in the body that is affected in a negative way all of the tissue that is similar in nature will have a similar problem.  If muscles get stiff all of the tissue that has the same make up will be affected.

 So if we have the same tissue responsible for our muscles and our veins, what do you suppose will happen to your veins when your muscles get stiff and inflexible?

 I think you got that right, your veins become stiff and hard, allowing for the sticky, gunky build up known as plaque and also allows cholesterol to block the veins due to their lack of flexibility.  The real danger though is the build up of plaque.  This Plaque can break free from the walls of your veins and arteries and actually cause blockage.  Depending on where the blockage is it can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.

 Do we want to wait until we are all stiff and “stoved” up before we start to work on our flexibility?  Certainly not and the reason for that is it can be a long road back to having some semblance of flexibility if you have lost it at an older age. 

Chances are you won’t get it back completely but there is definitely a chance of that happening with perseverance and determination and the really important ingredient would be dedication.

 Don’t let you muscles get stiff, make sure and stretch morning and evening and you will never be sorry you took the 10 minutes to get it done, it is an investment in your future.

 Make sure and join Health Pulse Magazine and they explore stretching and lengthening all of the muscles in the body in their special series, “That’s a Stretch” coming soon.

 Make sure and subscribe to Health Pulse Magazine to get all sorts of health information.  We have made it easy, just put your name and email in the box to the right and you will gain instant access to our latest issue

Share

On Taking A Handful of Vitamins and Jumping Off A Cliff

 

No Choice but To give an Interview...=D

We all are comfortable in our routines, at our homes or at work. We do certain things to keep us comfortable, healthy and happy.

But what happens when you are away from home and out of your natural routine? It can be easy to ignore all of the little things that we are used to, like for instance 8 hours of sleep. Sometimes we completely loose our routine and we find our self out of whack.

You see when you allow this to happen, not only are you heading down hill to the “outta whack” place but it also takes time to come back from that place and all of that time reduces your productivity.

It is imperative that you bring some comforts of home with you when you are away, maybe some food that you are familiar with or it could be as simple as your pillow.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a friend of mine, Wayne Allyn Root. He talks about the ways he keeps him self in top notch condition and about his “healthy addictions” and how they work positively in his life.

The key here is that he refers to what he does as a habit. He has made a habit of having healthy, affirmative, positive things in his life and because it has become a habit, he doesn’t leave his habits behind when he leaves home. He continues to exercise, watch his nutrition, take his supplements, meditate and all of the other healthy habits he talks about in the video.  Make sure and check it out.

We had a wonderful day on the zip lines in Jamaica and we were all able to do that because we were all fit enough to go and we were all below the 250 pound weight limit. Not only that but we were all willing to try something new and adventurous, with terrific friends and I have to tell you there is nothing better for your health.

I really appreciate the time that Wayne took to talk about his healthy habits because as you can tell, He is a very busy person, he is generous with his time and such fun to hang out with.

Wayne is the economic advisor to Wealth Masters International and lends his name to that organization because he believes in what we are doing collectively, in addition to what he tells you on the video which is impressive all in itself.  He has written several books, his latest is Conscious of a libertarian and I suggest you pick it up and read it, it’s an eye opener.

Wayne is someone worth following so I suggest you find him on Face book and connect, he has some great things to say and he makes it his business to find out what is going on and keep all of us informed.

Share

Sick and Eating

Too Good to leave it?

You have heard of Sick and Tired I’m sure but how about sick and Eating?

Americans are eating their way to obesity and all of the illness that comes with it.

We have heard so much recently about Health Care Reform and how all of the unecessary proceedures and tests, the greed factor and the lack of major competition are such an issue that will make reform very difficult.

Even the most thoughtful and efficient plan that Obama can come up with is going to be up against the rising tide of diet related disease.

So if the Government thinks that it’s going to be tough to get insurance to come around, how do they think they are going to go up against the agricultural quadrants?

The USA spends twice as much per person as most European countries on health care and that can be directly related to diet induced diseases such as diabetes, hypertention, high cholesterol, and the various cancers that have been linked to the western diet. We know it is because we are fatter.

one tenth of all health care spending is spent on obesity or the results of it.

The American way of eating is really the issue here. The president would like to see more healthy foods served in schools and his wife planted a garden on the white house grounds this summer.

Reform in the food system will need to be figured into the new health care plan but everyone is treating the problem like it doesn’t exist.

As long as our bad habbits are charged to the future there will be little notice. There will be lots of money made in the fast food industry coming up here and if the government takes over our health care then they will be paying for treating the diseases that the fast food caused. So in essence the government will be subsidizing both the treatment of type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high frictose corn syrup.


Insurance companies think it is more profitable to pay to treat a disease than to prevent it. When the playing field gets leveled and insurance is affordable, and “pre exisiting conditions” are not acceptable grounds for being turned down for insurance the relationsship between the medical and insurance business with the food industry will need to undergo a tremendous change.

When these new rules start, Health Insurance conpanies will soon discover they have a huge interest in reducing the rate of obesity and diseases linked to diet.

It won’t take long for the insurance company to figure out that they will spend more than $400,000 in a life time of a person who has diabetes. It would be $6,600.00 per year if they have a healthy client, so it will be in their best interest to educate and regulate (so to say)

This should be very interesting to watch as our Health Care debate heats up.

Are you one of the ones that are educated?

click here to find out why we over eat.

Share

End of life care

End of Life Care, So what’s the big deal?

I live in a state where it is widely regarded that none of us are getting out of here alive. There are two things in this life you can be sure of. One, you were born. And two, you pass away.

We have experienced quite a bit of this in the past year. Not just some distant relatives. First it was our Step Dad. Then a month later my husbands only sister.

Just about a month ago it was our Mom (my Mother in law). There are all different ways of dieing. As in the case of our step Dad. He was fine one day. The next day went to the hospital at 9 AM and had passed away by 2:30 PM. He was 83 years old. The other two weren’t as fortunate. Cancer played it’s part.

It is very hard to see a loved one die of a terrible disease. When we talk about “end of life care” it really just refers to the special needs of the senior community. That “end of life” could last years.

We had an “end of life care” discussion with Mom several times. In her doctors office, a specialists office, when Hospice got involved we had the discussion several times.

It had to be addressed. If you are any type of reasonable person you realize that the end of life is inevitable.

The important part here is the word CARE. How does a person want to be cared for at the end of his or her life?

In Oregon 78% of the population has advanced directives. Meaning they have stated what they want and in the case they are not able to express those wishes then someone is named that understands and makes the decisions for them. We are forward thinking about the subject.

Honestly, thinking that we are going to face some type of “tribunal” or something when we get into our later years is laughable. However facing life and making decisions about how you want to die is a very important topic.

It could mean the difference between being on life support for years with no quality of life maybe depending on Medicaid, Or passing away peacefully at home in an environment that is not “clinical”.

Our Mom had choices to make about the level of care she would receive. From the “whole enchelada” to just comfort and pain relief. She only had one diseased lung. She understood that this was the end of her life but none of us knew how long we were referring to. Her Doctor was very caring and concerned when we spoke of her care. It was private and she made her choice be known and we honored it to the crossing of the T’s and dotting of the I’s.

The end of our life is PART of our life. It need not be unmentionable, life needs to be celebrated no matter what the stage.

Find out about Extending Longevity by clicking here

Share