Ever since I stopped teaching ballet full time and began working in an office space, I have been bothered by not having the time in most givens days to work out, or just move around, as much as I would like.
Then a few years ago Doris Bondi, a rehabilitation trainer, came into our office to work with a patient. The patient was elderly and weak, and yet in a few months of once-a-week training on a physio ball, this patient showed marked improvement in his muscular strength.
At the time I was living in a small apartment with no room to add exercise equipment. I started training with Doris, and added a ball to my home office space, simply by replacing the chair in front of my computer with a ball. What a difference that made to my daily exercise!
Firstly, the ball gives with every breath I take, so there is no pressure moving up my spine causing my back muscles to hold a position, resulting in tension. This is not a cardio-vascular workout, but will keep the body oxygenated with better circulation, far better than merely sitting.
Secondly, while reading on the computer, or waiting for a page to load, I exercise! (I soon became able to type while I am bouncing - just takes practise!) The simplest thing to do is to simply bounce gently, with both feet flat on the floor, placed either directly below your knees, or slightly in front of. This keeps you on balance and in control of the ball. And when I say bounce, I mean a movement like a fidget. This uses your stomach muscles ALL THE TIME. Isn't that wonderful?
Posture on the ball should be a 90 degree angle at the hips. Especially, the hips should not be lower than the knees. (If you have had a hip injury of any kind, the physio ball may aggravate joint inflammation from previous strain or scar tissue. You just have to try it and see. Of course, don't continue anything that hurts.) Balls come in several sizes, and the size in relation to your height would likely be written on the packaging. If not, find a brand that does supply this information.
There are several exercises you can do sitting on a physio ball in your business or home office space. Be warned, the ball can roll and dump you on the floor. You can purchase a hoop type of frame that the ball can sit in to confine its movement, or a round pan that allows a small amount of movement but will not allow the ball to roll. Putting a large book on the floor behind the ball also restricts rolling. Wrapping a rolled up towel around the hind curve of the ball achieves the same thing. Safety first!
You can experiment with using certain muscles by moving your weight slightly forward or back. If you roll the ball forward one inch or so, you'll feel the pressure of balancing go onto your quads, or thigh muscles. If you bounce gently in this position for a few minutes, you will be engaging those muscles.
If you bounce by moving your heels up and down, you will be exercising your calf muscles, and also the muscles around your ankles and under the sole of your foot. Caution: (dancers already know this) when you are lifting and lowering your heels, look down to see that you are not leaning the foot toward the big toe, or toward the little toe. This is called 'sickling the foot' (because you are making a shape like a sickle) and you want to keep the line of motion going up and down the center of your foot.
Want to tighten up your butt muscles? Relax the thighs and focus on squeezing your buttocks up and down. Bounce for a few minutes using only your butt muscles. This is mindless and easy to do. Done several times a day while you are reading or typing, is a lot different than just sitting there with your muscles in that spread position!
While doing these exercises, or by only sitting on the ball, all your abs, hips and leg muscles will be doing tiny movements to effect your balance, without any effort on your part.
Push that chair into a corner and get a physio ball, and turn your office space into a healthy space! If you are the boss in your office space, be a leader in health and fitness. You and your employees will benefit in invisible but healthy ways.
Breathing will be deeper and more oxygen will be going to the brain! Metabolism will stay gently stimulated. Muscles will be moving with no strain instead of gripping in positions leading to spasm and pain.
This is not dramatic but it is evolutionary. Think about what a truly comfortable and supportive office chair costs. Not a little! And not that everyone shouldn't have one. But a good quality physio ball costs under $35.00, and many come with a hoop or pan to prevent rolling. Some office supply stores even sell a chair with a ball in the frame.
Just remember that you are on something that can roll, set it up for safe use, and you will change what your body does all day, every day. Think about how many hours a year you sit on a chair!
Evolutionize your office space - and have a ball!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Avoid Cancer, Infections and Immunodeficiencies With Antioxidants
A link for the brave - extremely clinical document discussing enzymes, antioxidants, and a combination of both folk medicine and modern research reports on the use of Cycas circinalis, Morinda citrifolia (the noni plant), Bridelia penangiana, Tridax Procumbens, Hibiscus tiliaceus, and Hypericum papuanun..." showed antibacterial activity".
http://www.chinaphar.com/1671-4083/23/1127.htm
This report states that scopoletin, a health promotor in Noni, inhibits the activity of E coli, commonly associated with recent outbreaks resulting in hundreds of serious infections and even death. Another section reports that a "compound isolated from Noni roots named 1-methoxy-2-formyl-3-hydroxyanthraquinone suppressed the cytopathic effect of HIV infected MT-4 cells, without inhibiting cell growth[45]".
About a thousand words later we read that "The synergistic effects of TNJ (Tahitian Noni Juice) with known anticancer drugs have been found". This long section relates that specifically, Tahitian Noni Juice enhances anticancer drugs.
Back to the "synergy" activity....."No single food or food substances can protect you against cancer, but the right combination of foods a predominantly plant-based diet can. Evidence is mounting that the minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals in many plant foods interact to provide extra cancer protection. This concept is called synergy." From the American Institute For Cancer Research home page.
"Both grapes and grape juice are rich sources of resveratrol, a specific type of natural plant chemical that belongs to a much larger group of plant chemicals called polyphenols. The skin of the grape contains the most resveratrol, and red and purple grapes contain significantly more resveratrol than green grapes. Grape jam and raisins contain much smaller amounts of this phytochemical. Wine also contains resveratrol, but alcohol has been consistently associated with increased risk for breast cancer and several other types of cancer, so wine is not a recommended source.
Several studies have found polyphenols in general and resveratrol in particular to possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Resveratrol has been able to prevent the kind of damage known to trigger the cancer process in cell, tissue and animal models.
Resveratrol has been shown to slow the growth of cancer cells and inhibit the formation of tumors in lymph, liver, stomach and breast cells. Resveratrol has also triggered the death of leukemic and colon cancer tumors.
In one series of studies, resveratrol blocked the development of skin, breast and leukemia cancers at all three stages of the disease (initiation, promotion and progression.)"
From a diet section, the American Institute For Cancer Research. Also from the diet section:
"Blueberries contain a family of phenolic compounds called anthocyanosides, which seem to be among the most potent antioxidants yet discovered." - American Institute for Cancer Research
Tahitian Noni Juice is a combination of noni juice, blueberry juice and Concord grape juice. A powerful synergistic combination. Traditionally noni juice has been used for infections, broken bones, and many kinds of "wasting" diseases, in tropical folk medicine. It has now entered the modern world. Research has been led by Tahition Noni International, and I'm saying that because their research is sited on most of the competitors' web sites.
A common criticism of Tahitian Noni Juice is that is it not "pure", and that it is "diluted" with other fruit juices. Pure noni juice is available in other brands if you specifically do not want the synergy described above. I did notice several brands of noni juice that had undefined amounts of other unnamed fruit juices in them, and the content of noni was not specified. There are many brands to choose from - but, as I said, the definitive and ongoing research that I could find was done with Tahitian Noni Juice. For additional information go here.
Other sources of antioxidants come in green chlorophyll-rich vegetables, beta-carotene rich fruits and vegetables, and many "green food" mixtures which can augment the daily diet.
http://www.chinaphar.com/1671-4083/23/1127.htm
This report states that scopoletin, a health promotor in Noni, inhibits the activity of E coli, commonly associated with recent outbreaks resulting in hundreds of serious infections and even death. Another section reports that a "compound isolated from Noni roots named 1-methoxy-2-formyl-3-hydroxyanthraquinone suppressed the cytopathic effect of HIV infected MT-4 cells, without inhibiting cell growth[45]".
About a thousand words later we read that "The synergistic effects of TNJ (Tahitian Noni Juice) with known anticancer drugs have been found". This long section relates that specifically, Tahitian Noni Juice enhances anticancer drugs.
Back to the "synergy" activity....."No single food or food substances can protect you against cancer, but the right combination of foods a predominantly plant-based diet can. Evidence is mounting that the minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals in many plant foods interact to provide extra cancer protection. This concept is called synergy." From the American Institute For Cancer Research home page.
"Both grapes and grape juice are rich sources of resveratrol, a specific type of natural plant chemical that belongs to a much larger group of plant chemicals called polyphenols. The skin of the grape contains the most resveratrol, and red and purple grapes contain significantly more resveratrol than green grapes. Grape jam and raisins contain much smaller amounts of this phytochemical. Wine also contains resveratrol, but alcohol has been consistently associated with increased risk for breast cancer and several other types of cancer, so wine is not a recommended source.
Several studies have found polyphenols in general and resveratrol in particular to possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Resveratrol has been able to prevent the kind of damage known to trigger the cancer process in cell, tissue and animal models.
Resveratrol has been shown to slow the growth of cancer cells and inhibit the formation of tumors in lymph, liver, stomach and breast cells. Resveratrol has also triggered the death of leukemic and colon cancer tumors.
In one series of studies, resveratrol blocked the development of skin, breast and leukemia cancers at all three stages of the disease (initiation, promotion and progression.)"
From a diet section, the American Institute For Cancer Research. Also from the diet section:
"Blueberries contain a family of phenolic compounds called anthocyanosides, which seem to be among the most potent antioxidants yet discovered." - American Institute for Cancer Research
Tahitian Noni Juice is a combination of noni juice, blueberry juice and Concord grape juice. A powerful synergistic combination. Traditionally noni juice has been used for infections, broken bones, and many kinds of "wasting" diseases, in tropical folk medicine. It has now entered the modern world. Research has been led by Tahition Noni International, and I'm saying that because their research is sited on most of the competitors' web sites.
A common criticism of Tahitian Noni Juice is that is it not "pure", and that it is "diluted" with other fruit juices. Pure noni juice is available in other brands if you specifically do not want the synergy described above. I did notice several brands of noni juice that had undefined amounts of other unnamed fruit juices in them, and the content of noni was not specified. There are many brands to choose from - but, as I said, the definitive and ongoing research that I could find was done with Tahitian Noni Juice. For additional information go here.
Other sources of antioxidants come in green chlorophyll-rich vegetables, beta-carotene rich fruits and vegetables, and many "green food" mixtures which can augment the daily diet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
