Yoga or Pilates? Part I

Tags

culture, exercise, fitness, Longevity, physical therapy, wellness, yoga

If you are attempting to decide between Yoga or Pilates, the next two Blogs will give you a rundown of each and how to decide which might best suit your needs.

Part I – Yoga

It is a new year and a new decade.  If you haven’t started reflecting on the last 10 years, now is the time.  My decade was filled with learning and development.  Not only in earning my degree or becoming a better Physical Therapist, but in developing with the changing times.  The internet has changed our lives forever.

We are in the age of Facebook, Twitter, multiple E-mail accounts, and texting.  How can we maximize our time between work, social media, and exercise let alone engaging personal connection with our families and friends.

It is easy to find yourself ANXIOUS when pressured to engage in so many daily commitments.  In addition many do not participate in religious or spiritual activity.  As stated in my last post, it is proven that those who spend time with family and friends and nurture those relationships have longer life expectancy.  Those who worship, meditate, or practice relaxation in a spiritual manner also have a longer life expectancy.  This is due to the stress relief one experiences when escaping their daily duties.

Well, if we are pressured for time between exercise and incorporating spirituality to our lifestyle, we should do it at the same time.  Practicing Yoga will achieve both needs.  What most people refer to as simply “yoga” is actually Hatha Yoga.  Hatha is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage in the 15th century in India.  While Hatha is the most popular style of yoga, there are many other styles to explore.  This is a list of basic yoga styles incorporated in fitness settings today.

Types

1)  Hatha Yoga – “yoga of postures” – this includes the beginner level poses (asanas) of popular styles of yoga we see in gyms and studios today.

2)  Yinyasa or Flow Yoga– A general term used to describe yoga incorporating breath synchronized pattern of movements including sun salutations.

3)  Ashtanga or Power Yoga –  Referred to “eight limbs” in Sanskrit, it is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga.  A set series of poses is performed, always in the same order. Ashtanga practice is very physically demanding because of the constant movement from one pose to the next.  In beginners terms, this is typically advanced and should be avoided if you have never taken yoga before.

4)  Bikram or Hot Yoga- founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India.  This is a series of 26 postures performed in 105 degrees F and about 40% humidity.  His studios are located primarily in urban settings world-wide. I also do not recommend this style for beginners.  The room is kept at this temperature for the following:

Bikram "helping" a student

• Keeping the body from overheating (contrary to popular misconception)
• Protecting the muscles to allow for deeper stretching
• Detoxing the body (open pores to let toxins out)
• Thinning the blood to clear the circulatory system
• Increasing heart rate for better cardiovascular workout
• Improving strength by putting muscle tissue in optimal state for reorganization
• Reorganize the lipids (fat) in the muscular structure

5)  Iyengar – This style of practice is most concerned with bodily alignment and usually emphasizes holding poses over long periods versus moving quickly from one pose to the next (flow).  Iyengar practice also encourages use of props such as yoga blankets, blocks and straps, to bring the body into alignment.

6)  Meditation – Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Restorative Yoga emphasize meditation.   Meditation can be used for personal development, or to focus the mind on God (or an aspect of God).  Many practice meditation to achieve peace, while others practice certain physical yogas to become healthier.  Most forms of physical Yogas in the fitness setting will incorporate some meditation most often at the beginning or end of a class.  Meditation can also be practiced during other forms of exercise including Qigong and T’ai Chi.

7)  6)  A hybrid of these yogas have developed into one of my favorites styles,  Yoga for Athletes®.  Founder, Kimberly Fowler created Yoga for Athletes® containing elements of Iyengar, Ashtanga and Power Yoga.  Her mantra is “no granola, no Sanskrit,”  so not much meditation happens in her classes.  But, you still get the benefits of relaxation, stretching, and stabilization so that your body can learn proper alignment to recover from sport (running, cycling, etc.).   Her Yoga and Spin (YAS) studios are primarily in Los Angeles but you can do your own Yoga for Athletes® practice at home with her DVD’s.

8)  Yoga for Golfers –  Katherine Roberts, an avid golfer and fitness expert has put together a golf series of asanas emphasizing correction of common alignment flaws and weaknesses found in golfers.  Her practice is a hybrid of Hatha, Iyengar, and Ashtanga Yoga. Katherine also has a series of DVD’s so that you can practice at home.

Where to Start?

The best place to start is by attending your gym’s Yoga class.  If you do not have a gym membership, search for a Yoga studio in your city.  Many community centers offer Yoga or meditation for free or you can attend a class at a Yoga studio for 10-25 dollars.  In San Francisco, there are Yoga studio chains – Yoga Works (also in NY and LA), Yoga Tree, and Funky Door Yoga (Bikram).  Finding a Yoga Studio will allow you to explore the various styles of Yogas described above.

If you are a beginner, start in a beginners class or gentle Hatha class until you learn the basic poses.  Yoga is like training for a marathon…you have to let your body adapt to the changes being made or you will get injured.  In Hot Yoga they claim the heat will allow your body to be more pliable so that the tissues can elongate more effectively.  Well, if you haven’t done a lick of stretching in 10 years, this can be dangerous.  More reason to start in a basic Hatha class.  DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CLASS.  Yoga is a lifelong path to enlightenment.  Even the best Yogis in the world are still working on perfecting their form.  In other words, pace your self when going into the various poses.  It might take you months or years to achieve touching your toes.

When attending class it is important to let your instructor know that you are new to yoga and any injuries you might have.  That old back injury or ankle sprain might be talking to you after a class if you aren’t aware of some of the modifications that can be applied for each asana.

If you have not noticed I am Yoga advocate.  Most people in our society are stiff and stressed and will benefit from doing it several days a week.  Where does Pilates fit in?  In my opinion: For the stiff person, Yoga should be the first choice to improve your deficits.  Although Yoga will strengthen your “core”, Pilates was FOUNDED on principles to strengthen your “core.”  Also in my opinion:  If you are one with natural flexibility, Pilates will probably be the better choice to improve your deficits.  Of course, personal preference is the most dictating factor.  Hopefully after reading my blogs you have enough information to start deciding.  Happy New Year and Namaste!

More to come on Pilates in my next Blog.

Resources

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/info/why-practice-yoga.asp

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/whatisyoga.asp

How to Yoga Meditate

Yoga Journal

Secrets for Success in Longevity

Tags

culture, exercise, Longevity, Nutrition, physical therapy, wellness

A Review of The Blue Zone – by Dan Buettner

I recently finished reading a fantastic book about the longest living regions in the world.  Dan Beuttner visited and studied zones in Sardina, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.  He found that each region has similarities in culture, nutrition, and activity levels and used his studies to create The Blue Zone, a book and online resource to improving your chance at longevity.  The book is inspirational in that it makes you realize that doing a few things consistently can go a long way.  Many people in each of theses zones lives to be 100 years old (a centenarian). Now, many people would say they don’t want to that long because they don’t want to be old, sick, and in pain.  But, these people live to be 90-100 and are still happy, free of disease, and physically/cognitively active.

As a Physical Therapist, I am routinely surprised at how many people I see in my outpatient clinic after a hip or shoulder replacement who are 85 – 90 years old and still living alone.  As a health care provider my first instinct is to go at lengths to find out why they should not live alone due to safety concerns.  This books makes me reconsider these ideas.  Many people can live safely into their 90-100s if  they follow the Blue Zone practices.  San Francisco is known for his healthy, organic, and active lifestyles but we are still in America where people work too much, stress too much, and put exercise and personal issues on the back burner.  Somehow the folks that have walked through my door for physical therapy have found the healthy balance.

The trend I saw between all the cultures Dan studied are that they all have a genuine purpose in life as they age.  They continue to care for or live with their family and may work a job into their 80-90’s.  They also act without worry and are constantly re-inventing their ideas.

The end of the book gives multiple lessons for strategies to incorporate the characteristics of these zones into your life.  Of course after reading the book, you are tempted to begin living every strategy immediately.  I went online to Bluezones.com to calculate my life expectancy and got personalized suggestions to lead a more healthy life.  After taking the vitality compass quiz, I found that my biological age is 27 (I am really almost 32), and my life expectancy is 93 if I continue with the same habits.  Being the competitive person I am, I decided I could still make some changes in my habits.  Below is a summary of the tips I feel are easy most easy to work on and achieve.

Luckily, I was already following some of the best secrets to longevity:

1)  Drink wine – Great!  Sardinian Italians drink high vitality red wine or dark red wine up to 2 glasses / day.  It contains high levels of flavenoids to help keep arteries flowing.  No problem.

2)  Drink coffee with hard water – Coasta Rican Nicoyans drink coffee with hard water infused with high levels of Calcium.  No problem.

3)  Get at least 15 min of sun/day – Again I probably do not get my sun in moderation but I love my vitamin D infused sun rays.  Both Nicoyan Coasta Ricans and Okinawans routinely get a daily dose of sun.  Vitamin D promotes strong bones and prevents heart disease.

4)  Keep moving – Sardinian Italians hike up to 5 miles / day to their mountainside gardens.  Walking your pet or commuting by bike to work can keep your metabolism in check regardless of what your exercise habits might be.  Historically people have been able to maintain their body weights without making a trip to their gym or trainer every day.  They did not have to schedule the workout into their routine…It just happened.

Other Lessons easy to integrate into daily practice:

1)  “Hara Hachi Bu” – an Okinawan prayer meaning “eat until you are 80% full.”   The reasoning is because it takes your brain 20 min to feel that your stomach is full.  Eat slower and until satisfied and risk of overeating dramatically decreases.

2)  Take Yoga – exercise with a spiritual focus will bring more meaning to your practice.  Yoga also emphasizes breathing techniques and meditation which are both effective for stress reduction.

3)  Eat Nuts – Loma Linda Adventists make a habit out of eating some form of nuts at least 5 days/week.  This reduces the risk of heart disease by 50% and adds another 2 years to your life expectancy.

4)  Predisposition – The people studied in these regions celebrate elders, laugh a lot, have an attitude, maintain their social network of friends/family, volunteer, sleep 7-9 hours / night, keep hard a work and celebrate a common history.

5)   Other Nutritional Musts:

– Soy – Okinawans have a diet rich in tofu and miso soup which helps protect against heart disease and breast cancer.

– Goats Milk – Sardinians drink primarily goat milk and consume at lot of goat cheese.  It contains components that might help protect against inflammatory diseases of aging, Alzeimers Disease, and Heart disease

– Turmeric – Rich in Okinawan diets and contains antioxidants that may decrease inflammatory diseases.

– Capsicum – Rich in Okinawan diets and acts as natural disinfectant that kills many types of food-borne bacteria

– Goya (bitter melon) – Okinawans primarily eat a plant based diet including cucumber-like Goya which is is rich in antioxidants and is a compound that lower blood sugar.

– Oranges – Costa Rican Nicoyans routinely eat oranges which are suppliers of vitamin C, potassium, and folate and help prevent heart disease, cancer and stroke.

– Sweet Potatoes – Rich in Okinawan diet, are high in fiber, minerals, vitamin A, Potassium, Vitamin C and folic acid.

– Cooked Corn – Nicoyans heat a diet rick in maize (corn) that is cooked with calcium hydroxide which contains a higher level of calcium and antioxidants.

Most importantly:

Find inner peace with your “plan de vida” – think about what your day is meant to be and what you are going to achieve but don’t worry about the things you have not accomplished yet.  Your circle of friends, family, and good health will support you with achieving these goals in the future.  Take each of the recommendations above as goals.  Attempt in making 1-2 changes every month and you will see the changes in the long term.  This is an excellent read for the holiday break in that it will motivate you to improve your health through daily and natural processes for the New Year.  Happy holidays and happy reading.

Resources and other reviews:

The Blue Zones, Dan Beuttner, National Geographic, Washington, DC, 2008.

http://www.examiner.com/x-18534-Hartford-Health-and-Science–Examiner~y2009m9d27-Blue-Zone-Longevity-how-it-is-achieved-in-four-world-regions

Cyclists – fit, function, or lifestyle

Tags

culture, cyclists, environment, exercise, fitness, san francisco, The Mission

I have commuted by bike for three years now. I love it! It is by far the quickest mode of transportation in the city, I am enjoying the outdoors, burning energy, creating energy and saving the environment.   I have come to realize that there are three distinct categories of cyclists in San Francisco.

1. “Fitness” – those that wear bike leggings and triathlon jerseys, have the lightest and most efficient/expensive multi-speed bikes.  These cyclists count every calorie they burn and will spend a lot of money to improve their cycling efficiency as they are training for the AIDS ride.
2. “Function” – those that typically have a rack of some sort on the back of their bike to carry workout gear or food from Rainbow Grocery.  These cyclists always wear reflective gear and have lights on the front/back of their bike.  Many of them do not own a car and will promote this on their bike with stickers.  They usually ride a variety of “hybrids“:  less expensive, more comfortable (flat handlebars), more durable, and less likely to get stolen off the bike rack while at work.
3. “Lifestyle” – those that basically look cool.  They are hipsters; they wear fashionable clothing while maintaining less than 2% body fat.  Many of them are messengers on bike.  They ride fixies (one speed bikes), wear their U locks in their belt loops and skull crusher caps without a helmet.  These cyclists are less likely to follow the law of the road and like to hang out at common bars in the Mission District.

I am a “Lifestyle” cyclist “wannabe” but truly am a “Functional” cyclist.  I ride by bike to work for convenience in my PT attire, clogs, and sometimes scrubs.  I also count my calories, but I wear a cool Timbuk2 bag.  I am a hybrid (fitness, function and lifestyle) cyclist.  Here is a great link to a video of a hybrid city cyclist.  The most important thing to me and most San Franciscans is that I am helping the environment, reducing car congestion, leading a healthy lifestyle,  and contributing to the cycling way of life in San Francisco.  With the recent trial of closing Market Street for cyclists and public transportation in San Francisco, I hope the cycling community in this city explodes.  Enjoy the ride and share the road!

Links to learn more about cycling in the city:

San Francisco Bike Coalition – advocacy, education to create safe biking environment in the city

Map My Ride – post your rides to track mileage, pace, calories; interactive cycling community

Lifestyle Blog – courtesy of Box Dog Bikes!

Market Street Closure – article highlighting the benefits of the closure

BikeRadar.com – latest cycling news on equipment, blogs, fitness for all styles of cycling

Bike Commuting Tips – Blog by Paul Dorn with many more links