Why you should exercise MORE as you age, NOT less
Where do we start? Why should YOU include exercise into your daily life?
The benefits of moving your body everyday is extensive. We all know it increases well being and its “healthy” and “good for you”…….but in what way is it really? There are plenty of studies. Let's go to a small list of what some have shown.
National Cancer Institute finds exercise, anytime and level , can extend your life by up to 4.5 years. Even low intensity exercises got a life extension, although those moderate to high intensity and frequency gained the longest time.
Exercise lowers mortality in this study. It lessens mobility problems and stops tendon breakdown in older adults. It also lowers or prevents joint problems in later life.
This study found that exercise can protect against neural dysfunction, particularly the deterioration associated with aging.
HIIT and weight lifting increases mitochondria by up to 69% in older adults and in some cases actually reversing the aging of muscle mitochondria
"Sedentary aging can lead to a stiffening of the muscle in the heart's left ventricle, the chamber that pumps oxygen-rich blood back out to the body”
Exercise is very cardio protective and can even reverse damage in the heart cells, preventing future heart failure. This study showed this is particularly the case if started before the age of 65 and done 4-5 x a week for 30 mins
Now the thing with exercise is that it is a broad and vague term. Exercise is not just walking. To get the full health and longevity benefits of it you need to address the following several times a week:
Strength
Mobility
Flexibility
No Excuses
“But it hurts my back/ knees/ hands/ (insert body part) if I try to do that .."
Oh yes! Absolutely, and who wants to move and lift things and stretch the way this young 40 something (cough, cough) woman is telling me I should.
Let's think to the things you do everyday that.
Everyday you sit down and stand up …..
thats a squat,
thats a squat with a fair bit of body weight.
If you squat like this with weak muscles and let the knees and back try to perform it for you, its going to hurt. Do it several times a day with poor form and it becomes a daily chronic painful issue.…. You carry shopping bags, your own bags daily, or at least you SHOULD be able to do that. Thats 3-8 kilos right there. You may lift luggage into overhead compartments, shopping into the car, jars onto high shelves and here we have an overhead press. Shoulder muscles that should be performing their duty and not the unsupported joint which will hurt. We drop things, we should be able to pick it up with out looking at it for a while deciding whether its worth it. We want to be able to bend down and pick up kids and grandkids. Many play golf or other sports, even walking, gardening and would like to be able to do this pain free….a fair thing I think!
Most of these movements we are going to perform everyday regardless of our fitness status, so why not do some strength and mobility work and be able to breeze through those movements and not let them restrict you and take your brain power that can now be used for other more interesting things.
The thing is, most aches, pains and injuries are the result of poor posture and poor movement patterns. Add years and years of moving and lifting and carrying this way and you have chronic patterns that aren’t serving you in anyway. What is fantastic about our bodies is that it wants to be healthy and strong. Start correcting posture and rebuilding poor movement patterns and the body will almost immediately give you positive feedback with a flood of wellbeing and less pain. You sleep better, move easier and suddenly you find you have the brain space to want to do more things in life and the energy to do them. It really only takes a little bit of time out of everyday. 30 mins everyday is not a big amount of time when the payoff is so profound.
Things you can do right now
Try to do:
Grab a broomstick and use it to circle the head and open your posture up every morning (broom stick video)
30 mins of exercise everyday
10, 000 steps a day
Include big movements for your legs like squatting and step ups, for improved brain cognition, all over strength and weight control
Try a group session for the social benefit (study showing greater benefits in older adults when working out in a group)
The beauty of exercise is that it is cost free. Out you go and walk, deeply breathe in that fresh air and take a look up, see that beautiful blue sky and tree tops. Or at least I hope thats what you can see :-). In my suburb there are still trees and birds. Walk around the city, again glancing up and notice the details on the top of these buildings. This reminds me when I’m in the middle of Adelaide, Melbourne or Sydney…..Above the trendy new facades there is still the imprint of the old buildings originally built. Fascinating to see….just look down occasionally and mind the cracks!
Having a good look at the blue sky does many things, Its great for the posture and perfect to set the circadian rhythm of your body. Certain neural processes happen when we look at the sky, particularly first thing in the morning. As long as there is nothing in the way of your gaze and the sky, such as glasses and windows, the body sets up a certain sun protection for your skin and also activates melatonin production for that night. Producing melatonin is essential for sleep, glucose control and brain health.
More free things.
As you are walking, sit and stand at every bench you find, 10 times.
Set yourself a daily routine. Move while the coffee is boiling, stretch while you brush your teeth. Set yourself a squatting goal of 100 for the day and bit by bit knock it off, grab a friend and walk to and from a coffee shop.
*bonus - a 20 min walk after eating while increase your insulin sensitivity and therefore blood glucose control. Increase that = fat burning, also the glucose control has a cascading series of benefits to reduce obesity, activate our immune system, increase brain health
These are examples of things you can do when you do not have a routine and are nervous about beginning one. Just start, just do. The only exercise that works is the one you do, not the one you think about. Get a coach/trainer (let me help you. We can set a day to day routine for you.) Coaches are great. You can use us for workout sessions or if you are shy or strapped for cash, just ask for a routine that you can do on your own. Have a look at my youtube channel or website for some short easy ideas to mobilise the body.
All the very best,
Vash :-)
Making Movement a Daily Thing
Movements for the elderly or less mobile
Body tune ups for Active Owls
We are Older, Wiser and Living Stronger for a reason, and that reason is that we do something most days to make our body healthier. Now if you are not yet an Active Owl, don’t despair! The following is all you need to do to create more physical health and wellness for yourself. Commit to doing something everyday. Do as much or as little as you like. The most important thing is to just do something everyday. The habit is the true secret to success, so I don’t care at all whether you can do 20 minutes or 1 minute of the following movements, and neither will your body. Your body will be so happy you did something, that you will immediately feel a reward of wellbeing flood your body. Honest.
Go from this
To THIS!!
first thing in the morning, before or after a glass of water.
Cat/cow spinal stretch
Thread the needle
Plank ( hands or elbows)
Rolling twist
Superman
Rolling twist
Crab lift and release
Seated forward bend
Start with 3 repetitions (or 3 breaths) and work your way gradually over weeks and months to 10 of each. It won’t take long. Here is a video showing you the movements. It is on the floor and shortly I’ll attach a routine for those needing a chair and to stand. In the meantime, do check out my youtube page. I have many videos that are aimed for the less mobile person. (remember, only less mobile for now. You just wait!)
What next?
Now that you have spent a few minutes waking the body up, activating the nervous system, especially those of the spine, moving the blood and lymphatic flow, I want to give you some other options you can use to make it more specific to your needs.
You will almost definitely have sore and tight areas in your body. Maybe some old injuries or just pain that has snuck up to you and become a resident in your muscles and joints.
With the following I’d preference you to warming the body up as above and THEN adding one of the following series after. Add it whenever you like during the day. The next day, try a different one.
Always do a quick body scan during a deep breath before you start the exercises and then finish with a deep breath and another inner scan and note the differences you are feeling.
Each focus below has stretches and mobility for each area and then a strength section. All you need is some elastic bands that are light, medium and heavy resistance.
Only do the exercises that cause no pain. Aches can be ok if its stimulating an underactive area.
Consult your health professional if you are not sure. Contact me too, I can help in person and online. Use the bands as necessary to make something more challenging but don’t overdo it, that will make things worse.
Shoulder focus
Shoulder circles with stick
Twist with stick
Neck stretch looking front on and then angle upwards
With stick, elbows together and high. Hands wide
With roller, pressure under arms and on shoulder head
Pec minor stretch
Shoulder Strength
Rotator cuff against wall
Angled raises
Elbow wall press
Band around hand and wall walks with elbows. Hands remain parallel and wide.
All fours shoulder shrugs
Hip focus (this helps your back)
(try to squeeze bottom while doing. Use the bottom squeeze to open the knees and hips further)
Hip circles
Hip open hold
Lunge wide knees hold
Leg swings side
Sumo lunge hold
Windmills
Hip Strength
Standing leg pulses front, side and behind
Seated clams
Standing clams
Side walks with band
Lateral lunges
Single toe touch and up
Hip hikes on step
Core focus
Side plank
Superman
Calf/ Ankle/ Foot focus
Calf stretch
Achilles stretch
Ankle circles
Toe spread
Standing toe spread
Calf/ Ankle Foot Strength
Calf raises (feet neutral, wide and pigeon)
March wide and centre
Tap toes front, to sides and behind (standing leg bent)
Towel scrunches with feet
I hope you’ve gotten some ideas of how to start building your new stronger and more mobile body. Its easy to become overwhelmed if you are not used to it so just start with one or two moves and build only as you feel keen to. ANY movement and exercise is going to work and make you feel better.
I’m always reaffirming it but contact me for help.
I’ll happily reply.
If it requires extra time to answer, I’ll recommend a short consult via email (or Skype if you wish) to give me some personal details and I can write you up some specific exercises, and even include a video if necessary. My fees are very reasonable and I’ll always try to work in with you.
Have a wonderful day!
Vashti x
Hacks to enhance my life, brain, body, performance
A few weeks ago I was quite taken aback … in a good way ….
The owner of one of the gyms I work at asked me to sit with him and film a short video of what my day consists of. In short what do I do now, at the age of 47, to keep me fit and healthy. He knows I love bio hacking (which is just finding simple ways to live, think and move better through life), and we have spent a lot of time in the past exchanging ideas and any interesting things we come across that may help a person to perform better and more happily through life.
We chatted briefly, made a few notes and went straight to video. It’s amateur but a good first go I thought. You can see it and other videos here.
Although our chat on the video went well, due to it being impromptu, I later I realised I had missed several other interesting things that someone might find useful.
So I have decided to write a little about my daily routine with a few why’s of what I currently do and share it below.
The steps below are ones I take nearly everyday. They are things I have found through my research and experience. I try many things, some stick and some don’t . I try what appeals and keep it if it works easily into my life….. at heart I’m sure I am really very lazy. This is what I’d like you to do, pick out something interesting and doable. I think you’ll find several really easy things to action straight away, and you never know…they just might make the difference you are needing at this point in time.
I do the following roughly 80% of the week (a silly statistic meaning it may be 7 days, it may be 5 days a week).
I found being this way has allowed me to keep my figure at this current weight of **cough cough…60kg….(that was confronting to say, although I know thats very healthy, I have left over disordered thinking from being 50kg a few years back which likes me to panic if I am ‘heavy’)
…. so 60kg and approximately 19% body fat (BF)….fairly easily. Personally I would love to hit 55kg again, which with my muscle mass is around 15-16%BF, but to do that means I don’t eat out a few times a week and probably zero alcohol and a little more training…. It would make me tired and less able to cope with stress (I have a little chronic PTSD I deal with…not from the weight mentioned above …. so stress is a regular thing for me to cope with)… which reminds me…resilience training is the next thing I’ll be putting in my schedule soon!
This was a long winded way of saying I put in work, most but not all, of the time so I can still eat out and relax with friends and family and not be overly strict with my diet, and exercise constantly (I have done that in the past…and although I thought my body was great...its not the way to live a life thats happy for me and also to be good to be around).
Lets start!
First thing in the morning
I get up early.
5am weekdays, I like an early start. I try to make weekends 6am as it is best for your body’s health and circadian rhythm, to get up at the same time every morning. I haven’t mastered that, but I do the best I can, and I admit to sleeping in at least once a week most weeks.
I have half to one litre of water between now and my shower with apple cider vinegar to help the bile acids activate for the day. This aids in digestion and the natural detox system.
My sons *love :-)
I walk the dogs for 30 mins. Its easy and fairly slow which used to frustrate me but they so LOVE to fossick around and check everything out…. then I decided to use this time to stretch my body and I feel so much better ( as do my joints), that I have never looked back.
I do stretching and rotations of my :
Shoulders
Neck
Chest
Hamstring
Hips
Hip flexors
Calves
…and I do some pushups and yogic down dogs on benches at certain spots.
Nothing to strenuous. I breathe deep. The shoulder and neck stretches make me look upward to the lovely trees and I always hold and relax for a breath or two. This particular one I have given the highest importance as its the key to a straight posture - so no turtle neck!
Cortisol is high in the morning and because of this I don’t overdo morning exercise as that would create too much cortisol. Instead the dog walking and stretching increases my mobility and posture while nurturing my parasympathetic system( rest and digest).
During walk I make sure to take in the sky so my eyes can soak in the morning uv light, stop melatonin production .... terribly important for a healthy circadian rhythm, enhanced immunity, weight control, stress control, and brain health amongst other things.
It's interesting actually what looking at the sky in general does.
We have all these sensors in our eyes that absorb the uv lights and others and that initiate processes and systems in the body. If we cover up our eyes with glasses or windows then we don’t get the full benefits for our body. So it doesn’t mean don’t cover up, but just try to get some pure light to your eyes in the morning and evening at least. Shield your eyes when glare is around.
When I want to burn more fat I will go for a 20 to 30 min gentle running shuffle after the dog walk, my running is a shuffle and on my toes (to use my body’s natural suspension system) ….. my version of a jog that I hope to continue most of my life. If I don’t run I will do yoga instead.
After the run, more water and then shower time.
I am gradually acclimatising myself to cold showers. I do this by playing with the temperature. A few seconds cold and then hot. I gradually lengthen the cold time and its surprisingly bearable to do it this way and my body has taeken to it well. Its no longer quick the shock when the cold hits me and I am able to keep it cold longer than the time before generally. Trust me, I’m not brave, I LOVE my hot showers and am the last to jump into pools as everyone who knows me is well aware. I’m a complete coward. So why on earth would I add this seeming torture to my morning schedule
Health benefits of cold
Hot cold contrast showers to activate brown fat, helps body’s natural thermal regulation stimulates the vagus nerve (largest cranial nerve), slows and even prevents inflammation.
The vagus nerve has been shown to cure rheumatoid arthritis when electrically stimulated. It can also be stimulated stimulated by cold and deep breathing. Low vagus activity is associated with poor memory , inflammation, brain fog and fatigue. The higher the vagus tone the more oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) you produce. ….so a cold shower and a cuddle could be the ultimate happiness recipe maybe…hmmmm
With higher vagal tone we are less anxious, gut health is promoted and with the oxytocin produced we feel closer to people and more altruistic.
Brown fat is the metabolic beast of the body. Some of us have more, some have less. The more you have, the more white (think ugly) fat we will burn doing everyday things. So we want more. It also works a charm at allowing us to adapt to extremes in temperature more easily.
My extra hack: I will be taking bitter melon before I shower as this works synergistically with the cold to increase the brown fat activity.
Intermittent Fasting
I intermittent fast most days and everyday if possible I try not to eat for a 12 hour window. It’s a lot easier than you may think. It gives the body a chance to rid itself of old, damaged cells, and also to rest from the digestive process. Our body prioritises digestion before running other healing processes completely so allowing those to take precedence for some extra time everyday is a good thing to do for general health. It also balances blood sugar and insulin levels, which of course leads to fat loss.
Fasting is interesting, and for the health benefits I mentioned above. It can be done SO many ways. This is just one. I like the regular everyday one, or you could fast for one day a week, or a few days a month, etc…. there are plenty of ways to do it so try the one you feel will be easiest to fit into your lifestyle.
I will still have black coffee and water and then I will eat/consume any calories (like a coffee with milk) when I feel I need it between 10am to 3 pm. Because the body is so receptive at that point, I will make sure the very first thing is either vegetables or a quality protein and fat. If I put anything carby like toast, my body would go into a little spasm and over produce insulin and I’d have the blood sugar levels sky rocketing and then plunging….a recipe for ill health and fat gain.
As I have double checked all the knowledge I have on how my body works with a DNA test I know that I have a tendency to obesity, diabetes, cardiac issues. I can go into that more another time, but the upshot is I am a little more vigilant with my blood sugar response to food and drink and I supplement and choose my foods accordingly. Supplements I sweat by, especially if I eat breads, pastas, fruits, anything sugary.
Apple cider vinegar
Berberine
Bitter melon
These 3 power house supplements help my body to slowly release glucose and also for my insulin level to respond normally and immediately when these foods are eaten. The calories still count of course but my body’s response to them is sensitive now and not dulled by chronically high levels which anyone over weight, is.
Later
As the day draws on, cortisol naturally dips and even if you made sure to keep your carbs low to avoid that sleepy afternoon feeling, you may still feel flat and mentally drained. To work with this dip, I lift weights. Sometimes its quite hard to get in to the gym, but most of the time I will go their and not allow myself to start thinking about it…else I will sit my bottom back down in a chair and probably eat. Weights….or any exercise, in the afternoon will provide a lift to your energy and mood and settle the cortisol. This is even true if you are suffering unnaturally high cortisol levels which is generally due to chronic stress. In this later case the higher cortisol will be utilised more productively to enhance muscle gain and thus will lower afterwards naturally and help to reset your cortisol cycle.
Exercise is often easy to avoid later in the day. Don’t talk yourself out of a session just because its not the best time of day or you are tired. Listen to your body, do a lighter workout, do yoga, do anything, just be consistent. A little everyday ….. there’s magic in that.
The best workout is the one you do
At the end of the day
I take bitter melon with my evening meal to again deal with higher sugar levels from dinner which is often concluded by fruit (I do LOVE my sweets so fruit is a wonderful substitute to ice cream)
Sleep
Sleep is a high priority and I guard it tightly. I like to go to bed at 9pm for my 5 am start. My room is as dark as possible and I use a salt lamp as the light is not the blue of normal lights. You may remember above that you look at the sky in the morning to soak up the blue light which switches off melatonin production amongst other things, well the red light of the lamp allows the body to start producing it.
Be careful of electronics. Looking at a screen of any sort (they emit a blue light) and the body reacts by suppressing melatonin, so ideally you would wear either blue blocking glasses or turn all electronics off an hour or so before bed.
Melatonin is a wonder hormone (although aren’t all hormones wonders). It is released every evening to inform the body to shut down and wind down. It activates the healing processes and all systems needed to rejuvenate the body. It seems that as we age, we produce less and less melatonin, which could be why many older adults sleep less and less. If you go to sleep at different times then the body doesn’t know what time to release melatonin and your sleep will no doubt be quite unsatisfying. By going to sleep at a consistent time the body is able to reliably produce melatonin at the best moment for a therapeutic sleep. However one or two late nights and it takes a while to settle back down again. You can see this is why health professionals advocate sleeping at the same time everyday of the week and not just Monday to Friday. You can also imagine why jet lag takes quite a toll on the body as it has to work our gradually when on earth is the best time to release melatonin.
As a result, for many years I have cycled through supplementing melatonin.
I use either 5 HTP (5 hydroxy tryptophan, this is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, take 150-300mg) and / or melatonin ( 1+ gm, not the homeopathic stuff) to ensure that my body and circadian rhythm is consistent. I especially use this the night after a late night before. It resets my body by ensuring the release of melatonin happens when it should, it should be taken an hour before bedtime. It really is a miracle worker for jet lag.
Now, if this has caused more questions than answers please send me a message or comment below. If you agree or disagree, also please send a message. I love to get others opinions and thoughts….and if you have tried any of the above, put that down too! The above is basically what I do, and I have another list of things I PLAN to add in the future.
Do try something, any time spent improving your health will repay you back many times over, so start small.
Click the button to download your free PDF. Start with something that seems easy to do and notice how much better you feel over the coming days and weeks.
All the very best x
Mobility - Lets move and groove
Mobility is not a glamorous topic by any stretch. It doesn’t sound cool and tough like weightlifting for gainz, crossfit, marathon running for dummies, or the ultimate weightloss diet…..BUT….we sure know about it when we don’t have it, whether through injury, age, or natural selection.
Anytime our mobility is challenged….and it will be challenged at some stage….life gets hard….often a lack of mobility also has pain attached to it…and when that happens it is just natural to avoid the pain like the plague or stepping in dog poo and the local dog park….you know its there and you have no intention of going near it!
Unfortunately avoiding pain, or avoiding any motion will cause tissue fibres to build up in the area which makes subsequent movement there a bit harder, then bit harder…until…..ever noticed those people that walk with a bit of a limp or can’t turn their head around?…that may even be you….poor mobility means the body will adjust accordingly and a new style of walking or turning your head will develop as you basic motor pattern….the body’s natural, subconscious go to movement. Once learned, the only way is unlearning and reforming a new skill, which may be as simple as walking straight and tall. Very unglamorous, but if you can’t walk straight, then other patterns change that incorporate walking, shopping, sitting, standing, making dinner in the kitchen. All these moves will have adjusted to cope with the limping walking pattern, and in a few years you will be forward leaning, turtle necked with chronic neck, shoulder, hip, back, knee, foot pain……
I wonder why?…. hmmmmm …...
The Why
Our joints are contained in a fibrous tissue sac called a joint capsule. This capsule is filled with synovial fluid that provides lubrication to the tissues inside. When a joint becomes immobile the fluid can build up and the tissue inside can’t move properly. This can lead to cartilage breakdown, tears, sharp pain, swelling, inflammation and so on
Not only do the joints suffer with lack of mobility but so does the musculature. The muscles are really a fibrous tissue thats surrounded and connected to your body by a honey comb like web called the fascia (check my Fasica blog for more information).
When a joint or muscle becomes immobile the body starts to compensate and use the joints and ligaments above and below to take up the slack and perform actions they were not really created to do. Like a cyclist’s knee doing an odd in and out movement which is caused by a faulty hip pattern. They may experience knee or back pain from this and focus on fixing that over and over again, not realising the actual cause of the knee pain is from a lack of external rotation in the hip. Its interesting isn’t it. The pain you feel is probably caused by another area and not the one you think it is.
What is mobility really?
Mobility is your ability to be able to move your body and limbs freely and painlessly through your desired movement. Pain is actually a good thing. It is the body asking you to stop a motion that is dysfunctional. You weren’t born dysfunctional in this way (most of us, so its a clue
Imagine that! Painless, free movement.
Just imagine your life, for a moment, if you were able to not have to think about aches and pains and just do what you wanted to do. You move free and there is no compromise you need to make to pick up rubbish from the floor, garden, play with the kids and grandkids.
Ahhhhhh…what a dream........
......... Ever watched a dog or cat stretch?
The animal world stretches without thinking. Make it a goal today to notice a cat, dog, bird, etc. Watch it stretch effortlessly. We can learn so much from these lovely animals.
So, when you stretch…in fact, do it now. Grab the kitchen counter and stretch your arms, back, legs, or do the moves in the video below
...... Do you feel good? Do you feel looser?
As you get older, if you haven’t worked on mobility your body will tell you all about it. It not only affects your ability to move but also your mental health. Studies have shown improvement on depressive states with specific movement and patients with Parkinson’s and alzheimers have also shown marked improvement with moving their bodies in full range. Mobility also is correlated with longevity and balance control, shown here, here and here
What can you do?
Start mobilising now, even if you are young and aren’t feeling sore, stiff or in pain. Studies show physical exercise will keep any future movement disabilities at bay. Here is a study showing regular physical activity in your 40’s can lead to a decreased risk of developing issues like osteoarthritis.
Make sure you move in fullest range you are capable of in each joint, ie; ankles, knees, toes, hips, fingers, spine, shoulders, wrists, head. The human body was created to reach, extend, grab, push, pull and rotate in many ways and if we don’t work on keeping these abilities, we will lose them. Pending on your current status, this preventative or remedial measure will be one of the best investments you could ever make for your body’s health, PLUS, you KNOW how good you feel afterwards.
Obviously someone like myself can help and diagnose faulty movement patterns in a person and recommend what to do specific to your condition, but thats not always possible and affordable for people. So let me give you some ideas.
Everyday
Start while you are still in bed or just out of bed.
Either on an empty stomach or after a glass of water.
Stretch and wriggle your:
- Toes
- Feet
- ankles
- Knees
- Hips
- Lower back
- Twist your back
- Waist
- Shoulders
- Elbows
- Wrists
- Neck
- Head
- Stretch to the ceiling
I have posted several other videos to facebook and YouTube. Have a look at those for ideas. My videos are aimed at those needing help and potentially haven’t got a lot of mobility. Feedback is very welcome, they are unavoidably amateurish at the moment, but I’d love to adjust the content to suit you.
Have a wonderful and movement filled day :-)
Posture Perfect
Who here has tight shoulders?
Maybe headaches?
..... Backpain?
.............. Just plain tired?
(Who doesn't)
Now ...
FREEZE!
…….yep just hold still, don’t move for a moment. I want you to cast your mind around your body and notice where your head is relative to your neck. From there, note where your back is, shoulders forward?, spine shape maybe curled, tummy out (ooops bet it went in just then!).
So take note of these areas and lets move one.
Whether you are reading this, sitting or standing, position you are currently in is one you would be revisiting dozens and dozens of times during the day. Day in day out, month, year in and out. This is your natural, go to, learned position. Our body tis such an amazing machine that it will accept being pout in any position pretty much and try to work with that. Even if the spine is being compressed in an awkward way that stops the fluids passing through well. Even if we are hunched over and putting pressure on the internal organs that isn’t best for them to work perfectly in keeping the body alive and thriving. If stressed, and the above causes stress, the body will just focus on survival and sacrifice what it needs to to ensure that. Its pretty impressive really, but unfortunately we can cause the body angst in its normal functions and not even realise we are.
Posture affects everything:
Digestion (the organs are not squashed in a hunched seated position and are able to freely move the food through the digestion pathways)
Deeper breathing ( as the diaphragm is not squashed in)
Blood and oxygen circulation and most of us are less than optimal with it. Fortunately its a simple thing to adjust, and it all starts with the head. Place that in the right position and it will start straightening the entire body immediately.
Less wear and tear (=pain) on the muscles, ligaments and joints, when pressure is paced on them in a sub-optimal position. This doesn't just mean weight lifting poorly, this means carrying shopping, picking up kids, gardening, housework. All those things place weight strain on the body, which is fine when the body is in alignment.
Less depression and fatigue. Not only does good posture take away a huge amount of pain you may think is just normal everyday aches you suffer through but it also gives a psychological benefit. Positive, happy people stand straighter, sadder ones slump. Sit or stand straight, breathe deeply and see how you feel. Good huh!? In fact just that simple change is one of the recommendations made for people who are depressed to help alleviate their mood. It works.
You can cope with pain better. This study showed that a good posture helps cope with pain. So chin up when you are feel physical or emotional pain. It also showed that if we coddle and dominate people too much it reinforces a submissive "curled in" posture which did not help the recipient deal with their issues better, it made it worse for them. So uncurl and stand tall with a deep breath.
More energy. Because you are in a better position the body doesn't have to work as hard to support you with your everyday movements. The result is less fatigue and more energy.
You look better. You really do :-)
Do you have any weights?
Pick up a 5 kilo weight (11lbs)
Thats how much your head weighs on average. Thats how much weight this slender rod called our spine, has to hold. You can understand why the spine is curved can’t you, as a curved structure holds weight easier than a straight one. So we want curves in the spine, but not over done 🙂
Now not only is it 5 kg’s when sat directly on top, but when we lean the head forward, the angle of the lean markedly increases the load, it can from your neck feeling 5 kgs of weight to a huge 25kg (60lbs).
Wow….
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/11/this-is-what-looking-down-at-your-mobile-phone-does-to-your-spine/
Remember the old, book on the head and ruler down your back to sit and stand tall? Not so silly really….
Case Study
Have a look at my photos below. A bit amateurish but I think you can see, first with the straightened one, How the head is stacked on top of the neck, which stacks on the tailbone and the line continues down (ideally pretty straight), to my feet. Now Its still not perfect. I had hoped to show you the perfect posture but I can see my mid back is not activated properly as my shoulders are slightly forward and palms are not forward facing.
I'm still working out how to edit photos!
Now have a look at my other posture, here I feel relaxed and pretty normal, but look at how bent I am. Head is forward, the yellow lines show the angles, turtle neck is starting, shoulders forward, chest caved, belly sticking out, hands are in a forward position with the palms facing back and my back is swayed naturally, and now even more so. I was impressed that my legs were fairly well stacked under, but what you can’t see is my knees are compensating naturally by becoming more knocked. The body responds to being put in this posture daily by tightening areas and weakening others from our neck, back, hips, thighs, calves and feet
A recipe for chronic pain if I ever saw one!
Just standing straight is terrific, BUT your muscles have had to compensate for so long they don’t know what to do anymore. They need to be reminded and retrained, stretch the over tightened muscles and strengthen the postural lax ones, otherwise you have nothing solid holding you in a better position, just sheer willpower.... until you are distracted, ....... oh look, a facebook message……..
…..hmmm mmm...
…..ooops…….where was I?
A recent study of adults aged 60-89 showed poor posture correlated closely with poor balance and falls....
“This research shows, though, that posture does in fact seem to hold great significance in terms of healthy living especially for geriatrics. Increased thoracic kyphosis leads to numerous problems including a higher risk for falls.”
... and that ....
... posture correction strategies worked to stop it!
A study first, in 2016, showed a direct link to the effect poor posture had on decreased cognitive function in older adults (50-89). They found that a forward head and neck lean was associated with decreased verbal memory function and high BMI with low ‘get up and go’ was associated with poor movement and visual coordination.
“Upright posture and mobility were associated with different cognitive processes, suggesting different underlying neural mechanisms. These results provide the first evidence for a link between postural alignment and cognitive functioning in healthy older adults.”
The American Posture Institute (theres actually and institute for it!) lists the following consequences of poor posture:
- Decreased Life Span (up to 14 years).
- Headaches.
- Chronic Fatigue.
- Neck & Back Pain.
- Increased blood pressure.
- Digestive Problems.
- Problems Sleeping.
- Circulatory Problems.
- Respiratory Issues.
- Increase in Falls.
- Vertigo/dizziness.
- Attention/concentration problems.
- Muscle fatigue.
- Decrease in overall health.
- Spinal degeneration.
- Arthritis.
- Herniated discs.
- Sciatica.
- Knee and ankle problems.
- Carpal Tunnel.
- Plantar fasciitis.
- and a partridge in a pear tree
Takeaways
Try Dancing
Recently the Queensland Union Technology and Queensland Ballet did a study showing, amongst a variety of benefits that dancing greatly benefited posture. Have a look at the study here.
Incorporate Yoga and Pilates
Add yoga AND pilates moves in your everyday routine. Your body needs the strength and flexibility it will gain from these types of exercises, plus you get fantastic body awareness from any exercise.
Lift Weights
OK I'm biased but weight lifting will lock in your new posture so well and works beautifully with yoga, dancing, pilates, anything. Just please have your form checked. No point doing the weights with poor form, thats a disaster!
At Home
- Pull your chin in, not up (triple chin at least)
- Shoulders are lowered and tensed around the shoulder blades
- Chest gently elevated
- Belly button pulls into spine with the pelvic floor tightened
- Bottom is tucked under after the above
- Feel the hips open, this widens the knees
- Place each foot under the corresponding hip bone
- Take a deep breath through the abdomen
- Check yourself in the mirror
OR
Have a look at the couple of videos I have linked below, they give a few examples of what to look at and try. If you have a trainer, get them to have a look and they can advise you exactly what you need to do to align properly.
If all else fails.....
grab a thick book, pop it on your head and walk around for a while.
Is my pony tail helping me?
A little bit everyday, and reap the benefits for ever
Fascia - Your invaluable body stocking
Who’s heard of fascia? Its either a totally foreign word to you, or one you hear mentioned by trainers all the time or you massage therapist.
So what is it?
Do you really need to care?
Lets first get to know fascia a little bit more…….
Simply put, the fascia is similar to a body stocking that wraps around the body, like a single piece of material, that holds the bones, tissue, muscles….everything together and in the shape we all know and love. Not only does it wrap around the body but it also extends into the body. So imagine a honeycomb weblike structure extending from the skin through the muscles and tissues, and some even conjecture, the bones, not unlike the way the juices of an orange are held together with that web like structure of the fibrous pulp.
Fasica. Note the stringy webbing
See how stringy it looks in the picture. This stringy web protects, cushions and surrounds organs and vertebrae and permeates tissue, allowing the muscle fibres and tissues to gently slide against each other and contract and flex as we move through the day. Now if we don’t move a spot this web will deposit more of these collagen fibres through it and a build up occurs. If you move (stretch, massage, exercise) and drink plenty of water, this will break down the collagen and move it through the body for use, absorption or expulsion. If you don’t, more of this will accumulate.
Think back to an injury that you or someone else had and it pained you or them to move it properly afterwards. I’ve seen many people (and myself) not want to move properly or at all and as a result the area stays still. So a build up of this collagen occurs again and again and isn’t flushed out of the system in the usual manner. This build up gets sticky and gums whatever its attached to together. You know when someone might touch an area to rub and it hurts….thats the build up. Healthy fascia, healthy tissue won’t hurt. The more you avoid that hurt, the more the build up and more pain and so on. A nasty cycle.
So healthy fascia is juicy and hydrated, like a wet sponge, but as collagen accumulates, if our dietary intake and exercise is poor it becomes brittle. You can imagine how pliable a wet sponge is as opposed to a dried out sponge. Bending a wet sponge and it just straightens back. Bending a dried out sponge and it breaks. Water is so important to the efficiency of this system
Going back to the body stocking visual. Fascia is one piece. When you have one piece and you tighten an area, another area further along is inevitably changed. Part gets tight and it pulls and tugs other areas, that will correspondingly impact further areas. Not inconceivable to imagine tight shoulders for example, impacting further down to promote back pain, hamstring tension and so on….and of course head in the other direction to perhaps an achy head.
If you are stiff, tight, in pain, you can be proactive and do something about this right now. If you are not any of those things, then lucky you, but you will definitely benefit from a daily protocol to keep yourself healthy and keep pain away.
So what do you do?
Stretch, kneed , or roll yourself out everyday and include good hydration, 8 glasses of water a day really is the minimum. Gradually the pain will abate and over weeks of regular attention will go away.
Everyday fascia health protocol.
- Consume a couple of large glasses of water, preferably with minerals in it, like a good quality rock or sea salt, lemon is also a great additive.
- Do some form of fascial movement, like:
- Foam roll your body
- Jump on a mini trampoline
- Shaking movements
- Kettlebell swings
- Tai chi