Healthy Life

Improving Your Posture

2010-03-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

It sounds easy to say but your posture determines other people's perceptions of you. 'Don't
slouch'. I must have heard it a thousand times as a kid but it wasn't until later in life that I
realized just how important those words were. And what is important is not just standing up
straight, but how each part of the body relates to others.

I'm sure that most people know the kid's song where the shoulder bone is connected to your
back bone, but how many of us really take the message to heart? Of course we know that as far
as the skeleton goes it's accurate; but that really isn't the point. A human body is a set of
interrelated components and a change in one part of the body will affect others. So it makes
sense that your posture will affect the way that your stomach appears, and the underlying
strength in your muscles will naturally affect the way that you stand.

Stand up and sit up straight!

So the initial step to improving the way your stomach looks is to stand and sit straight. This
stretches your back muscles and lengthens your stomach lines but it also has other effects. A
decent posture will strengthen your back, strengthen your 'girdle' - the circle of muscles around
your midriff - and improve your health. Just sitting and standing up straighter strengthens your
abdominal muscles giving a firmer, more toned appearance. And lastly, a decent posture
makes it more likely that the blood flow, to all parts of your body including your legs and back -
each of which are integral to many abdominal and stomach exercises - and can add years to
your life.

Back Extension

Done properly even a moderate amount of exercise can improve your posture, and completing
back extensions is an ideal way to achieve this. To start this you need to lie on the floor face
down, ideally on a mat or a towel. With arms by your side palms up use your back muscles to
lift your upper body from the floor until your back is arched. Hold the contraction briefly then
release and slowly lower your upper body back to the floor. Repeat this as a full set.

Then, still lying on the floor but face up this time straighten your arms above your head until they are fully extended. Then using your stomach and back muscles lift both legs off the floor at thev same time. Hold your legs a few inches from the floor for a few seconds then lower them
slowly.

Carrying out these two exercises will help you to strengthen your back muscles, enhance your
abdominal muscles and straighten your posture. They are excellent simple steps to help rid
yourself of an unwanted belly.

As with all exercise routines make sure that you consult a medical professional before you begin
and always stretch and warm up fully to avoid injury.

Targeting Stomach With Yoga

2010-03-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

Yoga is an excellent component of any health and fitness routine. It helps to reduce stress, aid
mobility and exercise al parts of the body. And, you can use yoga in such a way as to target
certain parts of the body including your stomach.

There are numerous yoga positions which can be used to exercise your stomach muscles.
Called Asanas, these exercises come in varying degrees of difficulty. It is important to assess
your skill and fitness levels and chose Asanas which you are comfortable with. Start with one
which seems easy and work up to the more complex over a period of time. Do not be led to
take on more than you are comfortable with. Be sure to seek medical advice before undertaking
any new course of exercise and make sure that you warm up to avoid injury.
Some of the Asanas to improve stomach tone;

Pavan-Muktasan

First lie on your back ideally on a yoga mat or towel to protect your spine. When first starting
yoga, this exercise can be completed one leg at a time. Bend your knees to your chest so your
thighs touch your abdomen. Hug your knees, using one hand to hold the other. Lift your head
so that your nose touches your knees then take a deep breath and hold this for thirty seconds.
Release your legs and slowly lower to the starting position.

Bhujangasan

For this exercise, lie on the floor and roll onto your stomach. Place your hands under each
shoulder as if to do a push up. Using only your back muscles, lift your upper torso from the
ground so that your head becomes upright. You need the muscles from your back to do all the
work so do not help with your hands. Although predominantly making use of your back
muscles, this asana will help with developing better muscle tone in your stomach.

The Bow

This is a more advanced asana. The stomach exercise is similar in many ways to the
Bhujangasan asana, but is more difficult. It starts from the same basic position - flat on your
stomach - but now you also curl your legs upwards in addition to lifting your upper body. In a
perfect example the soles of your feet come toward the back of your head forming a circle.
Once you can, grab your ankles, pull with your hands, push using your legs till only your
stomach touches the floor. Hold this for at least thirty seconds before releasing and returning to
the starting position.

Paad-Pashchimottanasan

This asana is also more advanced. Start lying on your back, relaxed with your legs straight,
arms extended over your head. Point your palms to the ceiling. Using only your stomach
muscles sit up, keeping your back straight and hands overhead. Your legs stay fixed to the floor
throughout. Lean forward so your head is between your arms and grab your toes with both
hands. Hold for 2 minutes before releasing and slowly returning to your starting position using
your stomach muscles to lower yourself to the floor.

Yoga like every other form of exercise or wellness routine will be more effective when combined
with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Eat Right

2010-03-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

Generally people have a wrong notion, that as consuming fewer calories helps to shed weight,
so consuming absolutely minimal calories will help them lose faster. This is in fact, sadly untrue.
Everything has to be done in moderation.

An extremely low calorie diet will not only cause harm to your body, but will also hinder your
weight loss. You don’t want that, do you? When you cut down calories too low, your body interprets that you have gone in to a starvation mode.

Thus it will try its best to maintain your current weight. Your body will slow down its metabolism and so that it can save energy and store it to the fat reserve that you already have. This in fact will make it all the more difficult to lose weight. Thus you can clearly see why cutting down calories, does the opposite of what you want it do. Not only do these low calorie starvation diets reduce your metabolism. These are also are very harmful for the body. These causes dizziness, light headiness and you will find difficult to concentrate.

These starvation diets are also very difficult to stick to, when you feel hungry; chances are that
you will not be able to resist the temptation. The end result will be that you end up gorging up
food. In most cases, Starvation diets will help you to gain weight instead of losing them.

A more sensible way to lose weight is to eat right rather than not eat at all. When you feel
hungry, it is important that you eat; your body should not feel that you are starving.
Eating does not mean that you can eat food dripping with oil, or gorge on snacks loaded with
cheese. Instead having a glass of fruit juice or a low calorie snack should do the trick.
If you feel the need to binge, then make sure you eat light on the successive days, this way you
can balance the calorie intake.

So if you want to shed weight, the simple trick is to eat! Eat, but eat right!

Burning Calories: Aerobics

2010-03-04T05:05:00.000-08:00

In case you are getting tired easily these days, probably you need to concentrate on getting
your body in shape, build some strength in your body and count the number of calories you are
consuming. Increasing strength refers to increasing the capacity of your body so that you can
stand and run for more than your usual capacity, lift weights easily ad perform better in your
everyday tasks.

In simple words, this will transform your body to a more enhanced version. You will not only look attractive physically like movie characters, but also able to complete your tasks without getting tired easily. All this can be achieved by aerobics exercises that need not necessarily be done at gym only. You can do them all at your home.

Aerobics exercises at home

Aerobics exercises are basically the exercises that provided the required oxygen to the body
that burns calories and helps your muscles to operate in your body. Your everyday activities
provided you with all the benefits of aerobic exercises, that too without wearing any of those
annoying sticky Lycra uniforms.

Benefits of household aerobics exercises

Gardening and walking are the cardiovascular activities that can provide you with needed level
of regular exercises. At the same time you complete your household work all by yourself such
as cutting your lawn, washing you dog, shopping and others. This is also an agreed fact by all
Fitness experts that aerobics exercises can help you reduce your waistline as it focuses on
abdominal area where all the belly fats accumulates normally.

Just imagine, around 15 minutes of walking twice everyday can do the trick for you, that too
without any dieting. Apart from the fat stored around the waistline, it helps to reduce calories
and overall health of an individual.

Furthermore, people who regularly perform these household aerobics exercises also have
reduced risks of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, depression, stroke, Alzheimer’s
disease diabetes and at times even cancer later in life.

Equation for healthy living

Hence, it is advisable to select any physical activity that you can perform regularly with interest,
then select another one and gradually proceed with the task for staying healthy. This way there
are fewer chances that you will quit and you will also be satisfied that you have completed so
many jobs of your house.

Now if you are motivated enough to walk that extra mile for aerobics exercises, you can go for
dancing, kickboxing, tai chi, swimming, gym or play tennis. The options available to you are just
endless. The equation of healthy living can never be completed unless you indulge into it
yourself.

Based on the above mentioned solutions, the equation can therefore be summed up as:
Aerobics + You = More Calories Burn = Increased Level of Fitness

Working The Transverse Abdominals

2010-03-04T04:59:00.000-08:00

When you are exercising it is essential that you focus on a significant muscle group which is
often neglected called the transverse abdominals. These are the central muscles and they are
often neglected by accident as much as by design.

Most stomach exercises focus on the vertical abs - the six-pack which you so often see in TV
ads and in magazines - and with the focus on these it is perhaps not surprising. Even crunches,
the most popular of abdominal exercises, do little for the transverse abdominals. But, these
muscles are among the most important and should be targeted. They provide support to all
areas of your torso including to your lower-back muscles. Any exercise routine with an aim of
flattening or shaping the stomach should focus on these important muscles.

The following exercises will assist with developing a more complete abdominal workout and
assist with that flat tummy we all crave. As with all exercise routines ensure you warm up
properly before starting on these exercises;

The Pelvic Tilt

Lie on a flat surface such as a bench or the floor using a mat or a towel to cushion yourself.
Bend you knees until your feet are flat on the floor. Keeping your upper body on the floor
throughout slowly and with a controlled movement raise your hips from the floor. Hold it at that
position for a few seconds at the top of the arc and then lower it slowly maintaining control
throughout. It is important that you do not allow your body to drop suddenly while lowering as
you will not be using your muscles adequately if you do. You should do a full set of these.

The Crunchless Crunch

This exercise sounds easy but can be difficult to do well. It uses different muscles to those
normally used and can be tough to get right at first. Essentially in involves contracting your
stomach muscles to pull your belly button back towards your spine, compressing your stomach
as you do so. You can either try this lying on your back or in a kneeling position. To start relax
your body. Then slowly contract your stomach as if you are pulling your belly button backwards.
Hold this for ten seconds then release slowly. Once you find ten seconds easy repeat it for
longer. Building this up over time will lead to a strengthening and tightening of the transverse
abdominals.

Scissor Kick

Again, lie on the floor, upper body and back tight to the ground. Place your hands under your
buttocks to raise you slightly from the floor keeping your back pressed down flat. Slowly raise
one leg to around ten inches then slowly (and I mean slowly) lower it to the floor. As you lower
one leg slowly raise the other so for a short time both are in a crossing movement. Repeat the
exercise for a complete set. using a slow, well-controlled speed throughout is essential and will
increase the effectiveness of the exercise.

These are by no means the only exercises targeting these muscles, the transverse abdominals,
but they should get you started. Stomach exercises such as this are important to any tummyflattening plan and are especially effective for pregnant and women just after pregnancy.

Cleanse And Do Body Detox

2010-03-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

If you're hearing more about body detox these days, it's no accident. Detox ain't just for drugs or
alcohol. It's for all of us. We live in a world of air pollution, water pollution, and bad habits. The
chemical revolution is still going on, and chemicals, both healthy and not, surround us
everywhere.

The US Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control,
performs a survey called NHanes that assesses the health and nutritional status of adults and
children in the United States through interviews and direct physical examinations. They found
that, in 2003-2004, two-thirds of adults in the U.S. were overweight or obese. Almost 20% of
teenagers were found to be overweight or obese.

In today's busy life, we bombard our bodies with fast food, processed food, and a mountain of
preservatives and additives every day. And now, we hear about genetically altered "designer"
foods whose impact on our bodies is still largely unknown.

Despite the popular focus on health and lifestyle choices, most of us are walking a very thin line
when it comes to our diet. The current obesity epidemic is clear evidence that our diets and our
lifestyle are out of control. Given this bleak picture, the good news is that people are becoming
more aware of the foods they eat.

When we talk about "detoxification," we're talking about the process of removing toxins from our
bodies. For our purposes in this article, body detox refers to the use of diets, herbs, and other
processes to remove toxins and achieve better health.
If you're concerned about your health and the amount of toxins you may be carrying around with you, it may be time to consider body detox. It's a healthy choice in an otherwise unhealthy
world. But don't be fooled. Body detox means a change in lifestyle. It means eating a more
balanced combination of healthy, natural foods. It means drinking more water and less coffee
and soda. It means regular exercise. It means avoiding fast food, junk food, and processed
prepared meals (including frozen dinners and canned goods). These changes will not be easy,
and you probably won't want to take it all on at once. But you can begin today to change the
way you approach food.

Changing your lifestyle and undertaking body detox also means more and more regular
exercise. You don't have to join a gym and buy a bunch of new exercise clothes. You just need
to get up and move more! Take brisk walks, go bowling, walk when you want to ride, carry your
own groceries to the car. There are a million ways to get more exercise without even noticing it.
If you're more serious about detoxing your body, you may want to investigate a detox diet. It will reduce the toxins in your body, relieve aches and pains, reduce the discomfort of allergies,
improve digestive problems, and increase your energy level. You can find many body detox
recipes on the internet. A trip to your local health food store is also a good way to learn about
body detox foods and recipes.

When you're committed to body detox, eat as many fresh fruits as you can. Favor nuts, beans,
rice, and grains over fried foods and gravy. And try to avoid sugary desserts, caffeine, alcohol,
yeast-rich dishes, and processed foods that contain many questionable preservatives and
additives.

A one- or two-day fast is a good way to transition in and out of your body detox effort. Be sure to
get plenty of liquids, especially water, during your fast. And don't push it. If hunger becomes an
obsession, have a piece of fruit or a few carrots or celery sticks. You don't have to punish
yourself during your body detox.

There are many other ways to detox and to change your lifestyle to one that promotes personal
health and happiness. Re-acquaint yourself with nature. Go outdoors and enjoy the fresh air.
Take a long walk at the beach or in your neighborhood park or nature preserve. Incorporate "me
time" into your daily schedule, and make it a family affair too. Keep active and interested in the
world around you. Get involved.

For a real body detox treat, go to the spa. Have a relaxing massage or deep-cleaning facial.
When you shower, use a brush to accelerate the detox process. Brushing your skin gently will
improve your circulation and help you shed those layers of toxin-rich dead skin.
Help your body eliminate toxins naturally. Drink at least four quarters (or liters) of water every
day. Eat fiber-rich foods like raspberries, blackberries, broccoli, apples (with the skin), spinach,
almonds or peanuts, and good old stone-ground whole wheat. And when you stop by that health