HEALTHY LIFE ISSUE NO. 1
"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver" Mahatma Gandhi
HEALTHY LIFE
The Benefits of Practicing Yoga "When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world" - B.K.S. Iyengar
minimum set of equipment, people have tried it at least once in their lifetime. If you had a neck pain at some point, you might have tried a Yoga-like pose or stretch without even knowing it. As lower back pain affects 4 out of 5 people at some point in their lifetime, and, since the professionals who work behind a desk are at higher risk due to long working hours and an incorrect posture, yoga might seem like a good alternative to a healthy body and mind. No one treatment works for all, but studies have shown that practicing yoga twice a week for a 8 weeks period makes significant gains in strength, flexibility and endurance. For back problems, it has been shown that helps relieve pain, increase strength and flexibility and teach relaxation and acceptance. A study published by the Cochrane Library found that doing yoga exercises under guidance from an instructor can effectively reduce chronic lower back pain within 6-12 months. If you are looking for reasons to give yoga a try, here are just a few: • Is a way to keep fit and stay calm amid the pressure of modern life, a true midbody workout • It’s emphasis on breathing has emotional benefits, help you get a better sleep, boosts your mood, reduces mental tension, get a sense of inner peace, improves cognitive function, cultivates self-esteem and calmness– practicing yoga 3 times a week increases levels of chemicals in the brain that combat anxiety and depression
„Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life” – B. K. S. Iyengar Yoga is a systematic practice of physical exercise, breath control, relaxation, diet control, thinking and meditation aimed at developing harmony in the body, mind and environment.
The most commonly practiced form is Hatha yoga which incorporates a series of poses called Asanas. It has been around for more than 5.000 years and it was developed in India, but it reached and influenced the lives of people from all parts of the globe. As it is a practice that can bring important benefits to beginners also and requires
• It is an incredible workout for the body that gives strength, flexibility and mindbody awareness; improves endurance and balance; it is a personal practice so you have to listen to your body as to what is good for you and what isn’t; • It relieves stress, help relieve pain and it could also be good for migraines (it reduces the frequency and intensity of migraines in sufferers)
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HEALTH NEWS
Fruits and vegetables' latest superpower? Lowering blood pressure
Journal Reference: Alicia A. McDonough, Luciana C. Veiras, Claire A. Guevara, Donna L. Ralph. Cardiovascular benefits associated with higher dietary K vs. lower dietary Na evidence from population and mechanistic studies. American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology And Metabolism, 2017; 312 (4): E348 DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00453.2016
Twice weekly yoga classes plus home practice effective in reducing symptoms of depression People who suffer from depression should participate in yoga and deep (coherent) breathing classes at least twice weekly plus practice at home to receive a significant reduction in their symptoms.
Eating potassium-rich foods like sweet potatoes, avocados, spinach, beans, bananas -- and even coffee - could be key to lowering blood pressure, according to Alicia McDonough, PhD, professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC). If you want to lower your blood pressure, decreasing the sodium intake is a must. But another method that is currently being researched is the effect of the increase in potassium intake. As the WHO estimates that hypertension is responsible for at least 51% of deaths due to stroke and 45% of deaths due to heart disease, the link between BP and dietary sodium,
potassium and the sodiumpotassium ratio was explored and published in a review article in April 2017 in the American Journal of Physiology – Endocrinology and Metabolism. The study was performed on rodent models and indicated that the body does a balancing act: “when dietary potassium is increased, kidneys excrete more salt and water, which increases the potassium excretion” as the lead researcher says. In order for our B{ to be lowered, we should consume about 4.7 grams of potassium per day from plants.
The use of yoga-based interventions as an alternative or supplement to pharmacologic treatments for depression was researched and published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Due to the fact that depression (major depressive disorder MDD) is a frequent disorder and the fact that up to 40% of individuals trated with medication do not achieve full remission, the effect of lyengar yoga was subjected to trial. The trial results were that yoga is useful for people not currently under medication and for those who have been on a stable dose of antidepressants and have not achieved a resolution of their symptoms. Yoga targets the parasympathetic and gama aminobutyric acid system, quite different from the medication used for this disorder and does not have any side effects and drug interaction. Source: Boston University medical Center and www.sciencedaily.com
Source: University of Southern California – Health Sciences & www.sciencedaily.com BUSINESSWOMENMAGAZINE| 25
HEALTH NEWS
Yoga may have health benefits for people with chronic non-specific lower back pain
A new systematic review, published in the Cochrane Library today, suggests that yoga may lead to a reduction in pain and functional ability in people with chronic nonspecific lower back pain over the short term, compared with no exercise. However, researchers advise that more studies are needed to provide information on long-term effects. Low back pain is a common health problem. For some people, it may last for three months or more and at this point it is termed 'chronic'. Yoga is sometimes used as a treatment for low back pain. Authors' conclusions There is low- to moderate-certainty evidence that yoga compared to
non-exercise controls results in small to moderate improvements in back-related function at three and six months. Yoga may also be slightly more effective for pain at three and six months, however the effect size did not meet predefined levels of minimum clinical importance. It is uncertain whether there is any difference between yoga and other exercise for back-related function or pain, or whether yoga added to exercise is more effective than exercise alone. Yoga is associated with more adverse events than non-exercise controls, but may have the same risk of adverse events as other back-focused exercise.
Journal Reference: Chris C. Streeter, Patricia L. Gerbarg, Theodore H. Whitfield, Liz Owen, Jennifer Johnston, Marisa M. Silveri, Marysia Gensler, Carol L. Faulkner, Cathy Mann, Mary Wixted, Anne Marie Hernon, Maren B. Nyer, E. Richard P. Brown, John E. Jensen. Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder with Iyengar Yoga and Coherent Breathing: A Randomized Controlled Dosing Study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2017; DOI: 10.1089/acm.2016.0140
"Yoga is not associated with serious adverse events. There is a need for additional high-quality research to improve confidence in estimates of effect, to evaluate long-term outcomes, and to provide additional information on comparisons between yoga and other exercise for chronic non-specific low back pain"
Sources: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002 /14651858.CD010671.pub2/abstract;jsessi onid=6431D0ED64A6DF2F7D2A03D24EB8 E1F5.f02t04 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 17/01/170111213238.htm
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