MEDITATION

MEDITATION

Quietly sitting and breathing allows clarity of thought but it also provides physical changes that take place within the body and are significant as the body relaxes and begins to function more naturally. Meditation is important because it releases tension and stress and it turns attention inwards making your mind aware of your physical body. OnFitness supports meditation because it says that it allows thought to pass without becoming attached to them; meaning that you release them before you can dwell on them. When your mind must focus on your breathing, the thoughts flow and you can find a deep inner stillness. According to the article in the August edition of OnFitness it says that as the mind settles, the breathing begins to get stronger. During meditation your abdomen, torso, and chest are able to relax and allow you to take a deeper breath and increase the amount of oxygen that is brought into your lungs. A deeper breath promotes the parasympathetic nervous system, which is your relaxation response that helps decrease blood pressure, slow heart rate and aid in digestion. While meditating it is important to center your focus. Here are some general points and qualities of breathing.

1.       DEEP AND LONG: making the breath deep and long helps draw the air fully and completely within the body. Keep the chest and surrounding muscles relaxed to allow for the breath to expand within you.

2.       SILENT AND SLOW: focus on making breaths silent and slow allowing deeper relaxation. The silent breath is felt with the whole body instead of being heard. Allowing for you to feel the sensation of your lungs being filled.

3.       EVEN AND CONTINUOUS: making the breath even and continuous brings completeness to the actual breathing process. This allows thoughts to flow with the breath; inhalation creates exhalation which in turn creates inhalation (cycle). This teaches you to breathe effectively and allowing your lungs to reach their full capacity. Sit and breathe for 5 minutes a day. If you can’t seem to find five minutes for meditation try to just sit for 10 minutes without doing anything.

 

 

*For more information on meditation take a look at the August edition of OnFitness magazine.

STRESS

STRESS = INCREASED FAT?

 

            How many calories does stress have? I am sure you are thinking that this is a ridiculous question, but think about it. After reading an article in On Fitness magazine about stress and how it is associated with fat I realized that stress carries a heavy load. It along with other lifestyle factors work through complicated hormonal and metabolic mechanisms that alter not only what and how much we eat but also where we store the calories we consume and what type we burn (sugar, fat, or muscle). After reading the article, I found a few main reasons why stress can cause fat gain.

First, stress response is regulated by communication between the brain and the adrenal glands. The brain works like a central command station; when it receives a warning about a threat it sends an immediate signal to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands then release hormonal signals to the body. The major function of adrenal hormones is to raise the amount of sugar and fat in the blood in order to supply the body with energy. Therefore, the body is ready to take the appropriate actions it needs to survive. The liver is then instructed to kick out stored blood sugar as well as make some extra. Technically, stress or stressful situations burns fat, sugar, and muscle under normal circumstances, but when it becomes recurrent, fat is usually spared while muscle is broken down.

Now looking deeper into the article and the section on chronic stress I was able to uncover a second reason stress causes weight gain. Chronic or recurrent stress continually forces the body to work harder and harder to compensate for the physiological disruptions. The first thing that needs to be changed in this situation is the amount of cortisol that is secreted, which is something we really have no control over unless we control our stress level. Cortisol is in charge of our hunger and cravings, therefore high levels of cortisol can down-regulate hunger and increase the urge of sweets and fatty foods. Lastly, another hormone that may increase weight and fat gain is insulin. Insulin is interesting because it signals the body to store fat and not burn it. Therefore, if insulin and cortisol combine it can be a not so healthy combination. Cortisol is a fat burner as well as a muscle burner, but when insulin is in the picture, the body will burn muscle, not fat, since insulin places a lockdown on fat release.

Now instead of only providing you with information on how stress can increase fat I have found ways to help you decrease your stress levels and keep your hormonal levels under control.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1.      EAT BREAKFAST: by eating breakfast you slow down the secretion of cortisol that usually occur in the morning.

2.      EXERCISE INTENSELY WITH WEIGHTS: to counter the negative effects of stress you must increase the release of Human Growth Hormone and testosterone.

3.      SLEEP: if you don’t have a adequate sleep then you have created an unfavorable stress response which decreases the natural release of the anti-stress hormone Human Growth Hormone.

4.      SUBSTITUTE PROTEIN FOR SUGAR: protein allows the release of another hormone that counters the effect of insulin.

5.      USE COCOA: not chocolate with sugar; the addition of 100% unsweetened cocoa powder to the diet can decrease cravings and the excess intake of fat and sugar

6.      EAT 4-6 TIMES PER DAY INSTEAD OF 1-3: eating smaller meals more often will reduce the “fasting effect.”

 * To read more about stress and its impact on the body please take a look at the August edition of OnFitness magazine.

DANCE!

“GET IT ON THE FLOOR, GET IT, GET IT ON THE FLOOR”

READING THROUGH MY WOMENS HEALTH MAGAZINE THIS MONTH I FOUND A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT DANCING. SUPRISINGLY, THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND ON THE DANCE FLOOR, THE MORE YOU OPEN YOUR BRAIN TO THOSE FEEL GOOD SENSATIONS THAT DO WONDERS FOR YOUR WELLBEING. MANY STUDIES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED TO SUPPORT THESE FINDINGS INCLUDING A STUDY THAT INVESTIGATED HEART FAILURE. IT FOUND THAT PEOPLE WITH CARDIAC CONDITIONS WHO DANCED FOR ONLY 20 MINUTES THREE TIMES A WEEK INCREASED THEIR HEART HEALTH SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN INDIVIDUALS WHO STUCK TO TRADITIONAL CARDIO WORKOUTS.

COMPARING DANCERS VS. NONDANCERS, THE SECOND STUDY FOUND THAT DANCING STRENGTHENS YOUR SKELETON AS WELL AS YOUR OVERALL MAKEUP. THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE DANCING PRESERVES BOTH MOTOR SKILLS AND PERCEPTUAL ABILITIES THROUGH THE FLOW OF CHEMICALS THAT ARE RELEASED TO RAISE YOUR MENTAL STATE.

THE THIRD STUDY LISTED IN THE ARTICLE, BY THE ARTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, FOUND THAT DANCING DECREASES DEPRESSION MORE THAN VIGOROUS EXERCISE OR LISTENING TO UPBEAT MUSIC BECAUSE IT CAUSES LESS STRESS, INCREASES SOCIAL INTERACTION, AS WELL AS ENHANCES BOTH YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSCIAL HEALTH. DANCING TARGETS OUR BRAIN AND GIVES YOUR MEMORY, COORDINATION, AND FOCUS AREAS A WORKOUT.

LASTLY, THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE DID A STUDY ON 11 PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND SUPRISINGLY DANCERS’ BRAINS WERE FOUND TO BE SHARPER IN THE SHORT TERM AND WERE AT LOWER RISK OF ACQUIRING BRAIN DISEASE. THIS WAS CONCLUDED BECAUSE EVIDENCE FOUND THAT DANCING WAS THE ONLY ACTIVITY THAT LOWERED DEMENTIA BY 76%.

SO DON’T BE AFRAID TO BUST A MOVE AND HAVE SOME FUN! WHETHER IT IS ROCKING OUT TO YOUR FAVORITE SONG WHILE CLEANING YOUR CLOSET OR JOINING A CLASS THAT HAS ALWAYS INTERESTED YOU. YOUR BRAIN WILL GET STRONGER AND YOU WILL FEEL REVIVED WITH JUST 20 TO 30 MINUTES OF DANCING YOUR TAIL OFF!!

                                                                     DANCE

 

1.     BEST FOR NEWBIES = LINE DANCING

2.     BEST FOR BURNING CALORIES = ZUMBA

3.     BEST FOR BOOSTING YOUR MOOD = SWING DANCING

4.     BEST FOR STRENGTH = POLE DANCING

5.     BEST FOR STRESS RELIEF = DIY

*WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF DANCING TAKE A LOOK AT THE SEPTEMBER EDITION OF WOMENS HEALTH MAGAZINE