Posts Tagged ‘Health’

Can stress make you stupid?

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

As I’ve said before, the Adrenal Glands release Cortisol during stress. High cortisol causes decreased cognitive function, meaning you can’t concentrate. You have brain “fog”, and you are unable to stay on task.

It is important for busy, stressed people to realize that if your stress continues and your adrenal glands continue to produce cortisol every day, your memory will start to fail and deteriorate. Your ability to perform intellectually and stay on task will also decline.

A report by Newcomer at al (1999, Archive of General Psychiatry, 56, 527-533) shows that high cortisol levels, the stress hormone, interferes with verbal declarative memory. The subjects were asked to listen and recall parts of a prose paragraph. The study involved three groups:

1. High-steroid group – Subjects were given 160 mg of cortisol/day for 4 days. These levels are similar to a person experiencing a major stress, such as abdominal surgery

2. Low-steroid group – Subjects were given 40 mg/day for 4 days. This is the level seen in people experiencing minor physical stress such as the removal of stitches.

3. Placebo group – sugar tablets each day for 4 days.

The subjects were asked to recall a paragraph read to them. The high steroid group was the only group unable to recite any parts of the paragraph, nor could they summarize it. They had progressive disruption and decline in memory. These effects were not permanent, their performance returned to normal after they stopped taking the hormone.

So yes, in fact, stress will make you stupid!

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Pilates Reformer Exercises

Monday, October 12th, 2009

PIlates

The Pilates reformer is by far the most well-known and popular piece of equipment in the Pilates system. In addition to the mat, the reformer exercises are a main part of the Pilates regimen in a studio setting. The reformer is extremely versatile, providing detailed resistance to help establish precision and flow.  Ultimately the reformer is intended to train and strengthen the body in preparation for mat work. Below are a just few of the fundamental movements one can do own the reformer to gain strength and flexibility.

Frog

This reformer exercise helps to develop pelvic-lumbar stabilization and to strengthen the hip adductors.  Usually performed on just 2 springs, the lighter resistance causes the smaller muscles to work to stabilize the carriage while moving. Inhale.  Lie supine with the spine in a neutral position. Place the feet in the straps and bend the knees out to the sides, with the hips externally rotated. Softly flex the feet and press the heels together.

Exhale. Straighten the legs on a diagonal line at a 45 degree angle to the carriage. Inhale.

Bend the knees and return to the starting position. Be sure to stabilize the pelvic throughout the exercise and avoid bringing the knees to close to the chest, which cause the tailbone to lift.

Arm Circles

This exercise strengthens the elbow extensors, strengthens the triceps and develops trunk and scapula stabilization. The spring setting may vary according to strength, but 2 springs are usually ideal. Inhale. Lie supine on the reformer with a neutral spine and the knees and hips in a tabletop position.  Hold the arms out to the sides in a T position, keeping the shoulders stable and placing the hands in the straps. Maintain slight tension in the straps, with the palms facing the sides of the body. Exhale. Adduct the arms and gently press them against the sides of the body. Internally rotate the arms so that the palms face the carriage. Inhale. Lift the arms up to a position perpendicular to the carriage.  Return the arms to the starting T position.

Breaststroke Prep

This exercise is performed on the Pilates long box, which is placed on the carriage of the reformer. The long box provides a wide base of support and only one spring is used for light resistance. The Breaststroke Prep strengthens the back extensors, develops scapula stabilization and abdominal control.  Inhale.  Lie prone on the long box facing the foot bar, with the sternum at the front edge. Place the hands on the foot bar, shoulder-width apart. Direct the elbows out to the side and keep the body horizontal with the back extensors and hip extensors engaged. Exhale. Straighten the arms while elongating the entire body, moving horizontally. Alternately, you can extend the trunk into a moderate arch before inhaling and returning to the starting position.

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Medicine for the mind!

Monday, October 12th, 2009
UPThinkPower Photo
Fear, worry, hate, jealousy, anger, discontent and failure are like cancer in the mind.  Imagine you are given the diagnoses of cancer.  That instant your entire life has changed. What do you do?  You find the best neurosurgeon, get a second opinion, go for tests, surgery and chemo.  You pour over books, stay up late on the internet researching.  You alter your eating habits and wish you had not neglected your health.  You would do anything in your “power” to remove the horrible cancer from your body. Your number one priority becomes survival.Yet, as you are reading at this moment you are allowing a form of cancer in your mind to grow with every negative thought and feeling you have.  If left untreated this cancer will eventually overtake the healthy part of your mind and destroy it along with your body.

Stop this from happening! You must learn how to focus your mind and thoughts. UPThink Power is the answer. UPThink Power is the healthy eating and exercise program for your mind.

UPThink Power is universal and doesn’t see gender, religion, race, age, physical or mental strength. Anyone can do it. Some know how to use it while others had no clue.?  Once you start the program and consciously use it daily, UPThink Power will becomes a way of life.  UPThinkPower.com was created to share these instructions of how to use positive thinking and see results.  It is not a new concept but a very old truth. You can apply it to any aspect of your life and get results.

If you apply it to your career, it works.

If you apply it to your faith, it works.

If you apply it to your family, it works.

If you apply it to your health, it works.

Join me on the road to health and happiness.

Your very life depends on it!

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Heart Intelligence – Thinking with your Heart

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Heart

Our heart is an organ that has intelligence. The Ancient Chinese discovered that the heart and mind have a close relationship, so close, in fact, that in Chinese Medical Diagnostics; a practitioner considers mental disturbances many times a result of imbalances in the heart. Our heart “picks up” on frequencies from other people, animals, places, objects, and so forth. If man can think, decide, reason, discern and observe with his heart, he is using the heart organ to its fully intended capacity. Naturally our heart guides us to hug people who send out high frequency vibrations that are favorable to our being. We may avoid those people with erratic or unbalanced frequencies, especially when our heart is not balanced energetically and can be influenced and affected by these less than beneficial vibrations that others are emitting.

When we think with our brain, our energy is brought up into our higher chakras, particularly the third eye (pituitary gland) and the crown chakra areas. Our energy is centered in the mind and it is easier to think in a judgmental (judge+mental) and conclusive fashion, and we may make decisions that are in our highest good, but not in the highest good of others. When we make decisions in this fashion, they affect us eventually as we are social animals and this type of thinking and acting is considered anti-social behavior and separates us from our fellow humans.  When we observe, think, and act using both our mind and our heart, we find our thoughts less “black and white”, or judgmental of what we observe, process, and think about. When our hearts and minds are integrated, we are able to make conscious decisions that serve ourselves and others in our highest capacities.

As a sense organ, when our hearts are balanced, hearts have the capacity to identify and feel emotions that others are feeling when we are in their presence or inside the auric field.  Some people such as psychics, shamans, or healers can only think or meditate on someone, known personally or unknown, near or far away, and know what they are experiencing, needing to clear, or healing from.

Our heart ultimately is an organ of creation, and through visualization of the mind and creating emotions or feelings that confirm the visualizations in our heart, we create and manifest anything and everything we are thinking and visualizing.

Emotional blockages, negative thoughts, traumatic experiences, or “old tapes” (reruns or sound bytes of judgments/abuses created by ourselves and others such as parents, friends, teachers, lovers, etc.) disrupt the creative forces within our heart.

How do we change, release, these disruptive forces and energy patterns?

I will be talking about Integrated Energy Therapy, or IET, coming up this Sept. 26th at Hill Country Fitness and would love to inform you about this empowering ray of healing that is changing people’s lives.

If you cannot come to this workshop, please check out IET facts, articles and testimonials online at www.learniet.com.

Next time as you are thinking and reasoning about anything, remember to guide your energy down into your heart. When speaking, imagine the energy, thoughts and speech coming from the mind chakras and throat chakras and moving out of your body through the heart chakra, or the center of the chest.  When we are nervous about a meeting or confrontation with someone, we can remind ourselves to think with the heart, keeping them in mind yours and their highest good. We can visualize ahead of the meeting time both parties in the discussion/confrontation with a pink or green light flowing back and forth between our hearts.

This intentional work can change the outcome of a potentially stressful situation. Using these capacities of our hearts ensures that we are evolving and growing into more intelligent beings with our spirituality intact. Our emotional IQ increases as a result of this heart centered thinking and benefits ourselves and others and allows freedom of expression, yet keeps us in check as far as judgmental behaviors that isolate us from our true nature, which is a social animal.

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Prozac, Zoloft or Vitamin D3 deficient?

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Sick all the time? Sad?Depressed? Low energy? Just don’t feel well? Hurt all over? Low motivation? Lack of Focus?

Your body may be deficient in anti-depressants, highly unlikely, or you may be deficient in vitamin D3.

“Inadequate vitamin D status is an important public health problem, which could be readily addressed by adequate vitamin D intake or sunlight exposure” (Am J Clin Nutr 1997:66:929-36)

There is an epidemic of depression in the country.Can we all be depressed? Probably not. Studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency can cause low mood and moderate depression like symptoms.Think about how depressed people in colder climates become in the winter months.Indoor tanning has become a huge industry in the Northern and Midwest states because it makes people “feel good.”

We need Vitamin D, specifically in the D3 form for multiple normal functions of the body such as:
*Normal Thyroid Function
*Normal bone and cartilage mineralization
*To absorb and maintain Calcium levels
*Normal Blood Clotting
*Normal Heart Action
*Healthy skin integrity

Vitamin D3 can be considered both a vitamin and a hormone due to where it is produced and released.Therapeutic doses of Vitamin D can help prevent such conditions as:
*Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
*Peripheral Neuropathy
*Lupus (SLE)
*Fibromyalgia
*Depression
*Autoimmune Disorders

“The significant role of Vitamin D compounds as selective immunosuppressants is illustrated by their ability to either prevent or markedly suppress animal models of autoimmune disease”. (FASEB J 2001 Dec:15(14):2579-85).

In Norway there is a high incidence of MS, an autoimmune disorder, inland. But a low to zero incidence on the coast.This could be explained by the abundance of vitamin D-rich fish on the coast and the native consumption if it.Coincidence?In Switzerland, there is a high incidence of MS at low elevation, but a low incidence at high elevation.Coincidence that in low elevation the sun exposure is close to zero?

With the fear of skin cancer and wrinkles we are in the sun less and less these days. And when we are, we a lathered up with chemical based-toxin containing sun screen, blocking vitamin D absorption.
So, how do we achieve normal and/or therapeutic levels of Vitamin D3?
Let’s start with nature.Spend 15 minutes in the sun 2-3 times per week without a sun block.As we said, low light climates can dampen Vitamin D levels.This emphasizes an important point:optimal functioning of the skin, liver, and kidney are necessary for metabolism efficiency.

Unable to swing that? Try adding it to your diet through foods high in vitamin D such as organic egg yolks, fish and liver.You will need to eat 3 to 4 servings of each per week to achieve the needed 400-600 IU per day. Most of us don’t eat, nor want to eat the foods rich in D so supplementation of D3 can be used.

Supplementation is absolutely needed when treating conditions present from depletion.But be careful where your vitamin D supplement is coming from. Unfortunately, like in anything else, you get what you pay for. Most over the counter products are in such low doses and poor content you won’t absorb it well enough to feel a difference. The D3 we carry in the office is the highest quality and purest form on the market.
So, eat more fish – play in the sun – take your Vitamin D3 and feel good!

. Tenesha Weine, Infinity Wellness Center | 512-328-0505 | 205 South Wild Basin Road 2B | Austin | TX | 78746

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Will Stress Make You Old?

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Many things can speed up aging including a diet high in fats and white sugar/carbohydrates, not getting enough exercise, lack of sleep and too much exposure to the sun, but stress is number one!
A little bit of stress is not always bad, it wakes us up and makes us alert. We learn better sometimes when we have a little bit of stress. The danger of aging comes when we have prolonged stress and don’t know how to counteract the negative stresses.

A stress response starts in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, which is called the mind-body connection, or where the brain and body intersect. When the hypothalamus and pituitary are stimulated, they activate the adrenal gland, which releases chemicals into the body that rev the body for a ”fight or flight” action. When your body gets stressed, such as in times of emotional distress, exercise, surgery, illness, or even daily living, hormones are produced by the adrenal glands called Glucocorticoids, one of them being Cortisol. Prolonged adrenal stimulation will eventually lead to adrenal fatigue, a condition I speak more in depth about on my website.

So what can you do about Stress? Life style change is by far the best antidote to stress.

#1 Breathe correctly from your diaphragm, this powerful muscle in your stomach can calm the vagus nerve which helps aid in balancing your body. This nerve sends branches to the heart, the lungs, and the intestinal tract. And what it’s saying to your system is to calm down.

#2 Practice meditation or prayer. This can strip decades, literally, off your life. If you find still meditation difficult, you can also use techniques like yoga, tai chi, or chi-gong. Just spending as little as 10 minutes alone, in silence will reset your endocrine system. You may say you don’t have time, or you can’t afford to take ten minutes. You really can’t afford not to.

#3 We’ve all been told before, eat more fruits and vegetables!!! Specifically those rich in antioxidants like tomatoes, blueberries, carrots and broccoli. They can boost your immune system and help your body fight off the negative effects of stress.

#4 Add magnesium to your diet. Magnesium is a well known anti-stress mineral. Look for it in whole grains, beets and raisins. Magnesium can also be taken as a supplement monitored by a health care practitioner.

#5 Let it go! Relax. Don’t sweat the small stuff….and it’s all small stuff. Learn to keep from letting the little things in life drive you crazy. Don’t focus on the negative and stressful. Most of us need some help with this. There are many relaxation techniques out there such as guided visualization and hypno-therapy that can help. Check out the book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” by Richard Carlson, PH.D, highly recommended!

Lastly, and this may be needed in cases of extreme prolonged stress and exhaustion, is monitored Adrenal Gland rebuilding by a certified Doctor. Each gland in your body can be rebuilt using proper herbs and supplements. Adrenal gland testing may need to be performed to see just how stressed your body is and the rebuilding starts from there!  If this sounds like you, ask me how to test your Adrenal function today.

Give the office a call to learn more about Adrenal Testing.

In the meantime, Breathe and Relax!

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How will you become GRAND?

Friday, October 9th, 2009


surreal1Be Grand

Being that every job I’ve ever had has been working with children, of course I love them. I think to be a really effective teacher it has to go far beyond that however. Everyone has heard all the rhetoric about how children are our future and inherit the Earth etc. I know some of this can become borderline cheesy but most of it holds true.

While sitting in a conference hall recently doing teacher training for my TX teaching certificate, I found it surreal that all 299 people sitting around me were writing down notes that read, “be respectful”, “be on time”, and “learn the children’s names”.

Were they kidding? This is what it takes to be a teacher? In my own time (about a decade) I figured that out. However one day in training they did mention favorite teachers. I thought back to my dreaded school career and four came to mind, what did they have about them that made them grand?

I come from a highly emotional family (on my dad’s side). Everything (I do mean everything) makes my dad, sister and I tear up! Proud, happy, sad, funny moments, you get the idea. That’s what I love so much about teaching. A shared laugh, a goal reached, a mountain climbed. Teaching truly is about the emotional awards.

My love for the arts was nourished from many different people in my life from when I was just a tot. However some teachers destroyed parts of the things I loved little by little. That is one of the reasons why I became a teacher. I truly love to pass on my love for the arts onto others. I have been told that I am sincerely gifted at that. I know I am blessed to have found my place.

For those other 299 people in the room training with me, I would love to ask: Is this your calling and how will you become grand?

For being a teacher to a group of young minds truly is a privilege. This is an honor to be taken on as a responsibility to nurture their growth and life path.

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Do you have frozen shoulder?

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Think you may have (or have experienced) frozen shoulder? Let’s find out!

  • So what is frozen shoulder? To put it simply, frozen shoulder is when the shoulder is painful and cannot move normally because of inflammation.  Often times, the pain prevents you from moving your shoulder.
  • In some cases, it follows a minor injury to the shoulder, a stroke, or over use of the shoulder with bad body mechanics (common in 40-70 year olds and more common in women than men).
  • Common sign and symptom with frozen shoulder:  decreased range of motion, stiffness, muscle weakness, and postural compensation.
  • Functional limitations: Reaching over or behind head, reaching out to the side, and behind the back.  Frozen shoulder affects common activities like getting dressed, retrieving your wallet, or reaching out of car window.
  • Frozen shoulder can be classified as the following:
    • Freezing- Characterized by intense pain even at rest and limitations of motion by 2 to 3 weeks after onset. Acute symptoms may last 10 to 36 weeks.
    • Frozen- Characterized by pain only with movement.  Atrophy of the deltoid, rotator cuff, biceps, and triceps muscles can occur. Lasts 4 to 12 months.
    • Thawing- Characterized by no pain and no inflammation.   Shoulder motion gradually returns toward normal.  Lasts 2 to 24 months or longer.

Ok we now know what frozen shoulder is, so what can you do about it?

  • Call your doctor let him diagnose your symptoms and make the conclusion that is adhesion capsules.  First he will prescribe physical therapy to see if it can be resolved manually by breaking up the adhesions.
  • Massage therapy will help the surrounding muscles of the shoulder to remain loose and healthy.
  • In conclusion frozen shoulder will disrupt you daily life and there is ways to decrease the symptoms.  This can be resolved and all you have to do is make it happen!

Thanks,

Aaron B Kropp RMT, PTA, CEP

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