CARDIOLOGISTS SUGGESTED THREE(3) SUITABLE EXERCISES FOR A HEALTHIER HEART

 Cardiologists Suggested Three(3) Suitable Exercises For A Healthier Heart

 

From aerial yoga to TikTok workouts, trapeze lessons, and advanced fusion classes like Piloxing, there's plenty of fitness for anyone who wants or is motivated to move.

Researchers say it's a growing trend, in part because people are eager to discover and engage in exercises that can improve their health during pandemic quarantines. A 2022 study found that enjoyment was more likely to keep people engaged in certain types of exercise, especially if they needed to set specific goals that they could work towards improving.

Whether it's to improve bone density, muscle strength, or mental health, we all have different reasons for exercising, but it's safe to say that heart health is a very universal desire that we all share. According to leading cardiologists, incorporating exercise into your daily routine can do wonders for your heart health. It's all about practicing with the right balance.

Jessica Hennessy, MD, Ph.D., a sports cardiologist and cardiovascular specialist at New York University-Presbyterian/Columbia Irving Medical Center, is The Healthy @Reader's Digest, which helps keep your heart strong and prevent heart disease. It shows you three easy ways to get your exercise routine going. Improves recovery in the event of a cardiac event.

The Best Exercises For Heart Health

Aerobic Exercise

The heart is a muscle. Like any muscle, the more you work it, the stronger it gets, says Dr. Hennessy. The way I like to think about how aerobic exercise strengthens the heart is that it prepares the heart to deal with stress on the body,- he explains. By "training" the heart can process stress in a positive way.

In addition, aerobic exercise often referred to as aerobic exercise helps with weight management, improves circulation, and prevents arterial damage caused by high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure. Slow down... All these keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of a heart attack. Cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults get at least the following:

150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week,

or 75 minutes of intense activity,

or a combination of both.

To that end, Dr. Hennessy says that a slow and steady increase in physical activity is the best way to train the heart muscle, so use your heart rate as a guide to avoiding overexertion. I suggest.

Your maximum heart rate (the highest heart rate considered safe) is 220 minus your age. In general, we aim to:

50% to 70% maximum for moderate intensity

70% to 80% of maximum intensity.

Moderate-intensity exercise includes brisk walking (at least 2.5 miles per hour), tennis, gardening and dancing, singles, etc.,- she says. Tennis, cycling 10+ mph.

Many smartwatches monitor heart rate, but this affordable heart rate monitor has 2,000 4- or 5-star customer reviews.

Resistance training

According to Dr. Hennessy, muscle is the body's primary energy consumption, and more muscle mass means you burn more energy throughout the day. This means a higher metabolic rate, easier calorie burning, and easier maintenance of a healthy weight. Studies have also shown that increased muscle mass protects the arteries and reduces the risk of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

The AHA recommends doing moderate-to-vigorous resistance training at least twice a week in addition to aerobic exercise. But again, progress is key. Lifting too much weight too quickly can put too much strain on your heart (and increase your risk of injury). So for maximum profit, start low and work your way up. He advises that you should be able to complete 10 reps with a weight that nearly exhausts your muscles.

Stretch

Stretching is essential to prevent injury. I also don't want to hinder my progress in exercising for heart health. It also helps improve flexibility (the ability of muscles to stretch) and mobility i.e, the range of motion of joints. Both can help maximize the cost of your practice. Dr. Hennessy adds that balance exercises such as yoga moves can gradually strengthen the heart along with other muscle groups.

However, according to Healthstin exercise physiologist Dr. Rachel Sultana, recent research shows that stretching also has certain cardiovascular benefits. A 2020 study published in the Journal of Physiology found that 12 weeks of passive stretching improved blood flow, reduced atherosclerosis, and reduced the risk of cardiovascular problems.

Can Exercise Repair Heart Damage?

Dr. Hennessy says exercise can improve recovery after a heart attack, such as a heart attack or stroke. He showed less heart failure and improved survival after 30 years of follow-up.

However, it may be possible to at least partially repair damaged heart tissue. Skeletal muscle recovers after injury. Human heart tissue does not function exactly the same, but there is evidence that it can repair tissue. It is not caused by a shock such as a heart attack.

Exercise releases hormones that grow extra blood vessels, allowing you to improve blood flow to your organs and heart,- says a cardiologist at Memorial Herman in Houston. It says that exercise improves blood flow and accelerates all healing processes in the body. Dr. Long Kao.

As scar tissue forms in the heart, the remaining muscle tissue often grows larger and stronger, Dr. Cao adds.

Read More

IS YOUR HEART HEALTHY? HOW TO FIND AT HOME WITHOUT EQUIPMENT

 Is Your Heart Healthy? How To Find At Home Without Equipment

From blood pressure to cholesterol levels, maintaining a healthy heart is important in every way. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, with one person in the United States having a heart attack every 40 seconds.

Some indicators of heart health are best left to a professional, while others are easy to check at home

To be clear, it is best to have your heart checked regularly by a specialist. But in the meantime, monitor your heart health from the comfort of your own home without any special equipment. There is a way. It takes a few minutes and a little math.

Here are two easy ways to measure heart health at home without equipment. Plus, learn the most common signs and symptoms of heart disease to watch out for.

Try the staircase test

Are you short of breath when climbing stairs? A 2020 study by the European Society of Cardiology found that measuring the time it takes to climb four flights of stairs can be used to assess heart health.

If it takes you more than a minute and a half to climb four flights of stairs, your health is not optimal and it is recommended to consult a doctor," says the author of the study and cardiologist at La Coruna University Hospital. Dr. Jesus Petiro explains. Spain.

The study compared the results of the staircase test with more rigorous medical tests of heart health, such as the treadmill test. Fifty-eight percent of patients who took more than 1.5 minutes to complete the stair test had "abnormal heart function during the treadmill test," according to the study. It was associated with lower mortality.

Dr. Petiro also conducted a study in 2018 in which more than 12,000 participants climbed three flights of stairs. Those who could not do so immediately were almost three times more likely to die from heart disease within the next five years (3.2% vs. 1.7%).

Notably, both studies looked only at people with symptoms of coronary artery disease. But Dr. Petiro said the stair test should work just as well in the general population for measuring exercise capacity. Various types of step tests have also been used for a long time. by medical professionals to assess heart and lung health.

Check the heart rate

Heart rate, also called pulse, is a basic measure of heart health. It can be easily measured at home without equipment and provides useful information about your heart and overall fitness.

Your heart rate will naturally vary throughout the day depending on how much you exercise. For example, when you're stressed or exercising hard, your heart beats faster. It beats slower when you are calm or asleep.

There are two sorts of pulse you can gauge at home: resting pulse and greatest pulse. First, let me explain what each means. Now let me explain how to measure.

Resting heart rate

Your "resting heart rate" is your resting heart rate when you are calm and still. Studies have shown that a higher resting heart rate is associated with decreased physical fitness, increased blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart attack and death.

"Low" or "normal" is a little different for each person. Healthy adults usually have a heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but it also varies with age. Here are the objective resting pulse ranges for various age limits: 

Year

Aim for a resting heart rate

20 years

100 to 170 beats per minute (bpm)

30 years

95-162bpm

40 years

90-153bpm

50 years

85-145bpm

60 years

80-136bpm

70 years

75-128bpm

Maximum heart rate

Notwithstanding your resting pulse rate, you can likewise quantify your pulse during exercise. This provides you with a thought of how quickly your heart beats while it's buckling down, and that it is so near your "greatest pulse" - - the most elevated that your heart rate should ever go. To get your highest pulse rate, subtract your age from 220.

In this case, lower isn't necessarily better. During moderate-force physical workout activity, you ought to expect to get somewhere in the range of 64% and 75% of your greatest pulse, per the CDC. And during vigorous-intensity exercise, you should be between 77% and 93% of your maximum heart rate.

Your most extreme pulse has to do with the amount of vigorous limit your body possesses. Investigations have discovered that a higher high-impact limit is related to less probability of coronary failure and demise, Harvard Health reports.

How to measure your heart rate at home

There are a couple of places on your body where you can feel your heartbeat. One normal and effective open area is the spiral vein or your wrist.

Essentially put your file and center finger within the opposite wrist, and count the number of pulses you feel in 15 seconds. Duplicate that number by four to get your pulse in beats each moment. Begin the depend on a beat, which is considered zero.

The best opportunity to gauge your resting pulse is in the first part of the day when you awaken, while you're still in bed.

To measure your pulse during exercise, you'll need to stop momentarily busy practicing to quantify your heartbeat. You can likewise utilize a pulse screen or wellness tracker in the event that you have one of the most reliable estimations come from a chest-tie pulse screen.

KNOW THE SNEAKY SIGNS OF HEART DISEASE

Many cardiovascular diseases are not diagnosed until it is too late. Here are some of the most common symptoms of heart attack, heart disease, heart failure, and other urgent cardiovascular health concerns to watch out for.

Chest pain, stiffness

Difficulty breathing

Swelling of hands, feet, ankles, and feet

Back pain or back pain

Fast or irregular heartbeat (or palpitations)

Change in heart rhythm

Weakness or dizziness

Numbness in legs and arms

Lightheadedness or dizziness

Fatigue or weakness during physical activity

Heartache, nausea, or vomiting

Fainting

Read More

YOGA FOR BEGINNERS

 Yoga For Beginners

 

When you're new to yoga, it can be overwhelming and difficult to know where and how to start. Our beginner's guide to yoga is designed to give you all the tips, advice, and suggestions you need to start a successful yoga practice. To ensure your success, we recommend that you read this page before attempting any yoga.

What about Ogaoga?

Ogaoga is a set of spiritual techniques and practices designed to unite the mind, body, and spirit to achieve a state of light or union with the universe. What is commonly called "yoga" in the West is Hatha yoga, one of the paths of yoga. Different paths of yoga emphasize different approaches and methods but ultimately lead to the goal of unity and enlightenment.

Hatha Yoga achieves mind-body-spirit unity through the practice of asana (yoga postures), pranayama (yoga breathing), mudra (body movements), and shatkarma (inner cleansing). This physical exercise is used to cleanse the body and develop prana (life force energy). Modern hatha yoga de-emphasizes many of these esoteric practices and focuses more on physical yoga postures.

Regardless of what your goals or intentions are for getting started, yoga itself is a form of mind and body exercise.

Is Ogaoga right for you?

There is nothing special about yoga - practicing yoga doesn't matter how old you are, how much you weigh, what you do, where you live, or what religion you follow. Ogaoga is only available for everyone.

If you have a medical condition or a recent injury, it may be difficult or dangerous to do yoga, certain poses, or breathing techniques. There are usually alternatives or modifications that allow you to work safely, and many complaints have specific yoga treatments. If you are recovering from an injury or are in poor health, we recommend that you consult a doctor or other qualified health professional before starting yoga.

Although you may feel some tension in your abdominal muscles during yoga poses, you should not feel any pain, especially in the joints. Acute or severe pain means your body needs to stop, back off, and relax.

What is the best yoga for beginners?

If you are out of shape or very flexible, we recommend starting with gentle exercises until you build strength and flexibility for more complex sequences. If you are a fairly fit and flexible person, you should be able to jump into a regular hatha yoga class. Once you are familiar with the basic postures, you can take a vinyasa or flow class. We recommend that you avoid Ashtanga, Bikram, or hot yoga until you have built up your physical strength and endurance. It is always best to err on the side of caution and safety and approach yoga slowly and carefully. The best way to find out if yoga is for you is to try it!

How to practice Ogaoga

Ogaoga is usually done barefoot on a close yoga mat with additional yoga mats. Yoga movements and poses require clothing that can move freely with your body. You can buy clothes designed specifically for yoga practice, but you can also gather comfortable clothes from your existing wardrobe to get started.

Ogaoga threads can use additional props, the most common of which are ropes, blocks, blankets, and fasteners. You don't need to buy these things right away, because you can replace them with a scarf or tie, a set of books and a pillow. If you take a class at a yoga studio, they will provide you with everything you need.

First yoga practice

We recommend that you start with a short and straightforward yoga session and gradually build up from there. Once you feel comfortable with some beginner yoga postures, you can add them to the sequence and add more challenging poses. Make sure you learn and practice the essential parts of yoga practice: breathing, meditation, intention, asana, and relaxation.

How often should I do this?

If you can practice yoga 3 or more times a week, you will see significant improvements in your flexibility, range of motion, strength, balance, inner peace, and overall well-being. Ideally, we recommend sessions that are 20-45 minutes long and short and frequent, with a total of 3-4 hours spread over several days. Doing less than this amount of yoga will still be beneficial, but you will see smaller improvements over a longer period of time. As with most things, the more time you spend, the more you will earn.

Benefits of Yoga

The benefits of yoga are almost endless! The practice of yoga helps inculcate healthy morals and good values ​​such as discipline, honesty, loyalty, self-examination, reflection, and non-attachment. It allows you to make informed decisions for a healthier and more meaningful life. Ogaoga also helps you:

* Keep your mind healthy and strong

* Reduce stress and encourage relaxation

* Get better sleep

* Improve your immune system

* Helps treat common aches and pains, such as back pain

* Increases happiness and well-being and reduces depression

* Lose weight and change your body

* Improves and maintains the health of muscles, joints, and organs

* Prevent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders

* Improve flexibility, strength, endurance, mobility, range of motion, and balance

How to upgrade after starting

Patience, commitment, repetition, and consistency are the keys to growth and progress in your yoga practice. Once you've found the yoga style, teacher, and studio that's right for you, try these tips:

* Get a regular schedule of yoga classes or home practice

* Increase the duration of your training and the number of days you spend a week

* Attend yoga workshops that focus more on specific aspects of yoga

*Diary the impacts of normal yoga practice on your body, psyche, and heart

* Read and learn more about yoga

* Find sources of inspiration

* Make friends and join the community of yogis

* Adopt a yogic lifestyle

Read More

FOOD AND NUTRITION GUIDELINES FOR HEALTHY CHILDREN

Food And Nutrition Guidelines For Healthy Children

 

All parents are very concerned about the growth and development of their children. However, they forget that nutritious food plays an important role in child development.

Parents try to choose healthy foods with adequate nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in their children's diet. However, menu planning for children is not an easy task because their metabolism is faster and picky habits than adults. They also have special nutritional requirements for their growing bodies.

A healthy diet benefits the child's energy in many ways; stabilizes energy and elevates consciousness and mood. It also helps prevent many chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

Read this healthy kids' nutrition guide to learn more!

What are the guidelines for baby feeding?

Learning healthy eating habits in childhood will stay with your child for life. But you should follow some guidelines for better nutrition for children as it will provide them with healthy eating habits to stay away from various chronic diseases listed above.

Eat a balanced breakfast

Kids ought to begin their day by eating a nourishing and well-balanced breakfast with protein. Protein helps kids stay energized throughout the day at school. If you try to stop, you can really get wasted.

You can serve the following healthy snacks to children in the morning without much time in the morning:

* Whole grain toast with peanut butter

* Toast with an apple, a boiled or half-boiled egg, and a glass of milk.

*Wheat Bread Egg Sandwich

* Mix with almonds.

You can also offer a variety of healthy Indian food for kids. These include dhokla, ragi cookies, sule idli, surti jawar WADA, etc. can access

Mealtime should be a priority for children.

In addition to providing nutritious food for children, proper meal times play a major role in their overall health. When you sit on the couch with your kids, you help them learn healthy eating habits.

* Help the child to establish a meal routine with the family, so that they are not late.

* You can monitor whether your children are eating properly or not running out of food.

* By carefully preparing meals with adequate nutrition, children can learn healthy eating habits.

Make small changes in your child's diet to include healthy foods

Try replacing unhealthy items in your fridge with healthy baby food. You don't have to rebuild your entire meal plan; you can change it a bit:

CHANGE                   WITH

White bread             Whole-grain or wheat bread

Butter                     Olive oil

Potato chips             Nuts or baked chips

Soda                     Water     

Ice cream               Smoothies made at home.    

Whole milk                Low-fat milk

Cream-based salad dressing Oil-based salad dressing

Limit children's sugar intake

Try to reduce the amount of sugar in your child's food, because it can have a negative effect on healthy children's nutrition. Excess sugar can lead to harmful consequences, including type 2 diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, and mood disorders. Follow these tips to control your sugar intake:

Limit children's sugar intake

Try to reduce the amount of sugar in your child's food, because it can have a negative effect on healthy children's nutrition. Excess sugar can lead to harmful consequences, including type 2 diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, and mood disorders. Follow these tips to control your sugar intake:

* Instead of telling the child "no" to sweets and pastries every time, limit these tastes to special occasions only.

* Second, avoid drinks with added sugar, because one serving of soft drinks contains 10 servings of sugar, which is 7 tablespoons more than the limit.

* Give children natural sugar in the form of fruit and also prepare fruit sweets.

* Try to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipes you prepare at home.

Choose baby oil

Fat is an important part of the diet at a young age, but only healthy fats are useful in children's diets.

Healthy fats are unsaturated fats such as almonds, pumpkin seeds, omega-3 fatty acids, avocados, or olive oil. This helps children remember and improve their mood.

Try to limit trans fats, such as baked goods, margarine, snacks, packaged foods, or foods with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Develop an interest in fruits and vegetables

Try to make the food more interesting, so children like to eat it. Also, you should avoid keeping packaged foods at home, such as potato chips, which children prefer over homemade food.

* Keep the bowl of fruit in an attractive place where the child can easily see and reach it when he is hungry.

* Try to hide vegetables in other foods, for example, you can cook vegetables or carrots so that your child does not know what he is eating.

* When you take them to the grocery store, let them choose which food item they want.

* You can also use your imagination to create a scene of food on the plate because you can serve broccoli as a stick.

A healthy and nutritious diet for children should include a lot of raw vegetables and fruits.

Get your kids involved in buying and growing food

Take your kids to the grocery store when you shop for groceries. Teach them to read nutrition labels on different foods to make choices; In doing so, they learn about food nutrition. Indeed, they have the opportunity to understand what they eat at home.

Start a kitchen garden at home and encourage your children to participate in growing different vegetables and herbs in the kitchen garden. It not only teaches them but also allows them to grow and harvest their own food.

Read More

IS FUNCTIONAL FITNESS IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE?

 Is functional fitness important for everyone?

Even though the majority of us contribute the greater part of our time at home, being truly active is as yet significant.

Functional fitness can be a great way to combat instability and keep your body moving.

What is functional fitness? Exercises that help you with your daily activities include:

get off the ground

lifting heavy objects

put something on the shelf

Strengthening muscles as you use them for specific activities reduces your risk of injury and improves your quality of life.

You can go all day without worrying about leaks or leaks.

According to fitness expert Brad Schoenfeld, functional fitness is a continuum.

Almost any exercise can be used in context, he says, because getting stronger can help you do better in everyday life.

Increasing your general strength will help you feel better, and combining strength training with exercises that represent the movements of everyday life can provide a more effective exercise regimen.

It can also improve:

balance

endurance

flexibility

Who wouldn't want that, right?

Below, we have compiled 13 exercises to help improve functional fitness for adults of all ages. For optimal results, complete five to six of these exercises three to four days a week.

You can do it all safely from your home with minimal equipment.

1. Sit down

Squatting is a similar movement to sitting in a chair, so it should be included in a functional fitness regimen.

Make sure you move slowly and with control throughout the movement, and if you need more of a challenge, hold a light dumbbell in each hand. If you need to modify this movement, limit the range of motion so that your indoor space works for your body.

Direct instructions:

Place your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands down by your sides.

Bend your knees and begin to push your hips back as if you were going to sit in a chair. Raise your hands while walking.

When your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand up and push through your heels, extend your legs and return to the starting position.

Complete 2 sets of 15 reps.

2. Close the breast button

Being able to lift yourself off the ground or whatever is invaluable in terms of functional fitness, but pushing yourself can be very difficult.

The oblique chest press uses the same muscles and can be more beginner-friendly.

Direct instructions:

Place the chair at a 45-degree angle. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and squat down on a bench. Extend your arms straight with dumbbells overhead.

Bend your arms and slowly drop the weight to your chest. With your upper arms parallel to the floor, push the dumbbells back to the starting position, engaging your pectoral muscles.

Complete 2 sets of 15 reps.

3. Board

Getting on and holding the board requires movement and balance, which is useful for standing up. Plus, the exercise involves a lot of muscles, so it's great for building strength in general.

Direct instructions:

Starting on all fours, put your hands on the floor and bend your knees slightly past 90 degrees.

Push up from your arms and legs, extend your arms and legs, and keep your core tight. Your body ought to frame a straight line from head to toe.

Stay as long as you can. Repeat for 2 sets.

4. The wall

If you need a little more support than a regular bench, do it against a wall. This should keep the lower back pain out of balance.

Direct instructions:

Stand with your back to the wall and step on your feet.

Press your back against the wall and bend your legs to bend your legs.

Push back against the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Repeat for 2 sets of 15 reps.

5. Steps

Steps like getting off the treadmill or going down a set of stairs are great ways to improve balance and stability.

Direct instructions:

Stand on the side of your chair or put one foot on the floor.

Pushing up from the heel on the bench, step up to fully extend your leg, then slowly lower yourself back down to start.

Complete 2 arrangements of 15 reps on each side.

6. ranks

A row is a movement similar to lifting a heavy item from your luggage. Focusing on your back and arms will assist you with remaining strong.

The left side shows:

Place your resistance band slightly above your head. Sitting on a chair, holding the handle.

Pull your elbows down and back, hold for a second, then release from the start.

Complete 2 sets of 15 reps.

7. Vacation stay

In this split, you will see vertical movement again. Strengthening your quadriceps, as well as mobility in your knee joints, is important for daily activities.

Direct instructions:

Split your stance so your feet form a triangle with the ground.

Without moving your feet, step forward with your front foot. Start when your feet form a 90-degree angle with the ground.

Complete 2 arrangements of 15 reps on each side.

8. Step

Strengthen the muscles used to climb stairs and stairs.

Direct instructions:

Stand with a chair or step in front of you - about one step away.

Step onto the bench with your right foot, keeping your weight on your right foot only letting your left foot touch the floor.

Keeping your right foot on the bench, press your left foot down onto the floor.

Complete 2 sets of 15 on each leg.

9. Single-leg lift

Improving your balance makes everything easier, even walking. It also helps prevent falls.

Exercises that work one leg at a time engage your core and force each side of your body to work separately.

Direct instructions:

Stand with your feet and hands on your chest.

With your weight on your left leg, slowly lift your right leg until it reaches a 45-degree angle, pressing slightly forward to your chest.

Go back to start. Repeat with your right set for 2 sets of 15 reps, then switch.

10. Sideboard

Strengthening all parts of your core is key to functional fitness. Try to the sideboard to hit objects.

Direct instructions:

Start on your side, with your legs placed on top of each other, bent at a 90-degree angle, and weight on your hips. Extend your other hand to the ceiling. Your vision should be there too.

Use your object to shoot your way to the ceiling and hold until it fails.

Turn to the other side and repeat. Complete set 2.

11. Dog from below

This yoga pose requires you to support your body weight, which is a useful tool for everyday life.

Direct instructions:

Start in a high line, with weight on your hands and feet and your body forms a straight line from head to toe.

Keep your arms, legs, and neck stable, and lift your hips up so that your body forms a triangle with the ground.

Hold here for 10 seconds. Repeat 2 more times.

12. The era of two tribes

Push-ups are effective because they hit many muscles in your legs at once, helping you get your heart rate up.

The next time you go to get something off the ground, you'll be glad that Happy Athletics is part of your routine.

Direct instructions:

Rest on your thighs with a dumbbell in each hand.

Bend your right leg slightly, tuck it into your chest and lift your left leg up, keeping your back straight. The weight should slowly come down in front of you, close to your body. Stop when you can no longer maintain your balance or when your left foot is parallel to the ground.

Start and repeat for 15 reps. Complete the same on the other leg.

13. Relax with a rolling row

Connecting the remaining lines requires additional balance.

The left side shows:

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and relax.

Bend your elbows up and back to a 45-degree angle at the waist, then line them up. Release and start.

Complete 10 repetitions here, then alternate your rest and complete 10 more repetitions. Do 2 sets.

apples

Functional fitness can improve everyday life by strengthening muscles in preparation for daily tasks and activities. Using mainly your body weight, this form of strength training is simple and safe for almost anyone.

If you have an injury, consult your doctor before doing this type of exercise.

Unlike popular forms of exercise like CrossFit and bodybuilding, functional fitness is more relaxed, requiring less equipment and less intensity.

The focus is on performance, not muscle size. The risk of injury is very low, making it suitable for people of all ages and experience levels.

Read More

HOW IDENTIFYING MENTAL ILLNESS CAN REDUCE STIGMA

 How identifying mental illness can reduce stigma

COVID-19 has harmed our mental health, gaining a lot of public attention, but the dangerous shadow of mental illness - stigma - can be more devastating than the illness itself.

Four decades of public education about mental health have failed to eradicate stigma and have worsened. Only recent changes in the way we talk about mental health are starting to have a positive impact.

Stigma has always been important to me because I think it's one of the things that prevents me from helping myself,- said Annan Austin, a researcher, and lecturer at the University of British Columbia. I had PTSD after a car accident. No one wanted to talk about how I was struggling psychologically. People just said "but you're fine" because I was blue all over.

It was one of the worst and most isolating experiences. I felt that if they knew about my depression and anxiety, I would definitely not be a good candidate to make a difference in the world as a world leader. I want to do it.

Currently Chief Executive Officer of Research Canada B.C. As the founder of the Mental Health Services Research Institute and the Substance Use and Adaptation Clinic, Austin is a prominent leader who is pushing to change the way we talk about mental health.

His adaptive clinic is the first and only clinic in Canada to offer free consultations to B.C. to better understand why residents may have mental health problems and how to maintain their mental health.

What is stigma?

Austin says that stigma is difficult to define and can often be a single entity.

There is institutional abuse. If you're dealing with mental illness, you're at the bottom of the list for an organ transplant,- she said. There are many states in the US where you can't get a job if you have a mental health problem.

There is stigma at a community level where people with mental health conditions are often marginalized. For example, a 2008 Canadian population survey found that people with mental health conditions are highly stigmatized by:

  42 percent will no longer be close to a friend diagnosed with mental illness;

  55 percent will not marry someone with mental illness;

  25 percent were afraid to be around others with mental illness; and

  50 percent will not tell friends or coworkers that a family member suffers from mental illness.

There are derogatory things on different levels. When people internalize this message - You're not good enough, or 'You'll never make it, - it's the most damaging thing for people living with mental disorders,- said Austin.

Four decades wrong

According to Joel Braslow, professor of psychiatry and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, since the 1960s and 1970s psychiatrists have argued that mental health conditions are as real as any other illness. Public education campaigns have emphasized the biological aspects of mental health conditions—like "other illnesses"—and called them "brain disorders," aiming to reduce stigma through a biological understanding of illness.

There was an observation (of the campaign) and that wasn't the case,- Austin said. As society gains a more biological understanding of mental health conditions, the stigma worsens. Biological characteristics are associated with less blame, but social distance creates a feeling of being shunned and unpredictable and dangerous, leading to an us vs. them mentality that defines people with mental health conditions as different from disorders. Mental health conditions are more chronic and serious, and people living with them are less likely to recover.

At the same time, talking about mental health conditions in the context of psychological or social stress has been shown to normalize symptoms and create a healthier understanding of mental health problems in society.

What causes mental health conditions?

According to Austin and Braslow, the real causes of mental health conditions are not as simple as biological traits. According to Braslow, mental health problems actually arise from a complex dance between our biology and our social, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and historical forces. He says that to understand mental health conditions, we need to consider the complex interactions between all these factors.

Austin established the Adaptation Clinic to address the issue of domestic abuse. Research shows that when genetic counselors personalize and explain real, complex styles that lead to mental health conditions and learn how to reduce or manage these risk factors, empowerment and internalized stigma are reduced in participants with mental health conditions.

It teaches people that everyone has some degree of genetic vulnerability – that no one is immune. It's very common in the population and there's so much genetic variation, we all have some, Austin said. That can be a profound thing for people with mental disorders right away because often they think, I must be biologically disabled or different in some way, so I really am not.

Empowerment gives people a greater sense of control over their lives. Psychiatric genetic counseling, for which we have some evidence. I'd like to see more people get that.

Tell your story to reduce the stigma

Another new evidence-based strategy is “mind-based travel” – sharing the diverse, complex, and human stories of people's mental health journeys. So instead of dividing us into mentally ill and healthy, we can all relate to this experience and see that mental health issues are part of being human.

I started talking about my story when no one really did,- says Victoria Maxwell, an award-winning playwright and mental health educator who teaches workshops and performs plays that share her life story with bipolar disorder. Now, there are hundreds, thousands of people who tell their stories. It is useful to have different stories so that people can know that there are different experiences with different types of mental illness.

His keynote, Just Crazy Talk, was named one of the top anti-stigma events in the country by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

They heard I was going mental. I ran down the street naked. The police told me to run away. I was hospitalized four, or five times. I took medicine. "I've been around for 20 years,-he said.

This strategy is a snowball game with the campaign "Let's Talk" Bell. A survey of Canadians found that 83 percent said attitudes toward mental health conditions have improved since the campaign began 10 years ago.

"When I see horror, I see people's myths. So I just use them as an opportunity to explain my experience," he said.

A new opportunity

The silver lining of COVID-19 is that mental health is no longer visible. We cannot ignore the fact that many of us are struggling today. Whether we experience it ourselves or know someone close to us, we all learn that there is no health without mental health.

It's an opportunity to see how complex storms—biological threats, political oppression, social inequality, spiritual reckoning, and historical trauma—come together to create mental health symptoms.

There has never been an easier time to talk about mental health than during this pandemic because no one is a stranger to it.

It is time for us to overcome stigma.

Read More

LAUGH TILL YOU DIE:THE DANGERS OF BEING"GOOD"

 Laugh Till You Die: The Dangers Of Being "Good".

 

Being nice and liked by others - while being recognized as a social compliment and a generally positive trait - can actually harm our health,- says Gabor Mate.

Decades of research have come to the same conclusion: Suppressing our anger, putting our duties and the needs of others before our own, and trying to displease others is the main cause of chronic illness, says the New York Times writer Myth. General: Wound, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Our physiology is closely related to our social existence,- says the Vancouver doctor. Ignoring or suppressing how we feel and what we need - whether done subconsciously or unconsciously - triggers inflammation at the expense of our immune system, he says.

If we work our fingers to the bone, serving our customers all night, if we are always available, if we never rest, we will be financially rewarded and we will be rewarded with respect and admiration, and we kill ourselves for that,- he said.

When Mate reviewed more than 30 years of research on the treatment of chronic illness, he discovered a pattern of personality traits commonly found in people with chronic illness:

Automatic and compulsive concern for the emotional needs of others, regardless of one's own

Strong identification with social roles, duties, and responsibilities

Excessive responsibility is externally oriented based on the need to justify existence by doing and giving.

Healthy suppression, self-protective anger and

Hide and enforce Two Beliefs: Be responsible for others' feelings, and never let anyone down.

Whether these traits and their frightening prevalence in the personality of chronically ill patients are often overlooked or missed at all,- he said because they are among the most normalized ways in this culture ... surprising powers and potential liabilities.

These characteristics, he says, have nothing to do with free will or conscious choice.

Nobody can get up in the morning and say, Today, I'm going to put the needs of the world first, neglecting myself, or 'get rich with anger and sadness and wear happy clothes. Face it instead. However, we are not born with this Trait, instead, we use patterns, adapt, and protect our relationships with others, sometimes at the cost of our lives.

We develop this quality to be acceptable, Mateen's war between the competing needs for belonging and authenticity. As a tribal species, we need a supplement to survive, to conform to the needs and norms of others to ensure our membership in the group.

But it takes authenticity to be healthy. It is designed to feel and act on emotions, especially "negative" ones. Stay safe is our warning system. Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, the founder of Arizona State University's Center for Evolution and Medicine, explains that we evolved to survive, not to be happy or peaceful.

Anxiety, sorrow, depression, anger, grief, and shame are valuable reactions to assist us with adapting to the difficulties of our specific climate. It is not a design flaw to have a powerful and intuitive defense function, such as a sense that warns you when there is danger. This is a design success.

Nesse says our emotions are like smoke alarms in response to perceived threats around us. This warning of danger is best evidenced by emotions such as fear of screaming. But more subtle emotional experiences help us navigate the threats and rewards of survival. The lowest mood shows that there is no higher reward than the risk of being around, like napping on Netflix, which is more beneficial or encourages us to save energy in a safe place. - until the reward returns.

Anger is also a necessary response to confronting inequality, and injustice, and thwarting our needs. It is the most effective tool for taking action against injustice. The greatest obstacle to social justice is not ardent opposition, but indifference. However, society has brought many of us together to reduce our anger. Even a more subtle form of anger, resentment, helps. When our bodies and brains pick up on subtle signs that our boundaries are not being respected, the anger alarm goes off loud and clear to set those boundaries before we even have time to discuss the situation.

However, the need to maintain membership in our group has robbed us of our ability to protect ourselves by suppressing these important emotional signals. And not only do we lose signals to protect us from immediate threats, but we also can't protect ourselves from the damage of chronic stress. If you go through life without realizing you have anxiety, there's little you can do to protect yourself from the long-term physiological consequences,- says Matt.

The more difficult problem, says Mate, is that easily suppressing emotions increase our stress response and leads to poor health outcomes. We know that chronic stress, regardless of its source, puts the nervous system on edge, disrupts the hormonal system, suppresses the immune system, increases inflammation, and damages physical and mental health, Mate said. Many studies show that the body exposed to chronic stress becomes inflamed, a precursor to many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer's, depression, and more, Matt.

However, from a young age, society dominates our emotions and needs through fulfillment, cuteness, and conformity. Mate learns that a child's very angry expression often threatens his relationship with his parents. In order to survive, children will learn to hold their anger to please their parents. So there is this tension in children between being a real person who has a relationship with their parents or being touched by their authenticity and feelings.

Mate be careful not to use this research to blame people for their own illnesses. No one is a self-inflicted disease, and no one causes it alone - knowingly, intentionally, or culpably. Diseases are the result of the interaction of generations, living conditions, cultural conditions, childhood trauma, and the physiological, physical, and psychological environment in which people experience stress and emotional history. These are often manifestations of deep-rooted personality traits, yes - but the personality is not similar to the diseases we can develop.

Our personalities and coping styles, he says, reflect the needs of larger, evolving social groups. The roles we are assigned or rejected, how we fit into or exclude society, and what the culture encourages us to believe, determine our health or illness. According to him, sickness and health are expressions of our social macrocosm.

According to Mate, social inequality has a huge impact on our health, with those who are politically weak or economically disenfranchised forced to form and suppress emotions and the most necessary for survival. This underpins the ongoing shift to combat inequality and focus on social justice, improving our health, a common theme in traditional myths.

At the same time, we can work on learning these behaviors by becoming more aware of our own feelings, body signals, and needs, instead of automatically ignoring them in the service of others.

Adaptive personality,- says Matt. What we call personality often includes true traits and conditioned coping mechanisms, including things that do not reflect our true identity and are still missing.

Mate describes true healing as opening up to the reality of our lives, past, and present. Once we pay enough attention, real choices begin to appear before we betray our true desires and needs. Now I can stop for a moment and say, 'Hmm, I'm going to fill this feeling or thought — is this what I want to do? Are there other options?

The emergence of new options to replace the old pre-planned dynamics is a sign that we are actually coming back online.

Read More