THE 7 PILLARS TO A LONGER, HEALTHIER LIFE

  1. SLEEP

Sleep more, age less…Sleep is not an optional activity. Sleep is just as important as food and water, without it your immune system will break down.

Any book dedicated to the topic of aging will cite the necessity for enough sleep, which is 7-9 hours.

There is a strong relationship between deep sleep and the release of Growth Hormone. During restful sleep, adults receive the greatest amount of HGH secretion.

Sleep disturbances usually stem from 1) deficient adrenals and kidneys (need energy to sleep), 2) high blood pressure spike at 3AM, 3) damp-obstruction in the throat (blocks airways) snoring, semi-wakefulness , 4) excess heat rising from the liver which causes alert status, head heat and headache and 5) excess urination which wakes the person thus not allowing deep REM sleep

2. STRESS REDUCTION

You cannot deny the health benefits of stress reduction.

Effective stress management strategies wards off disease and symptoms of aging.

Dr. Paul E. Lemanski (Albany Medical College( writes, ‘Stress causes the release of ‘fight or flight’ hormones which increase blood flow to our large muscles, increase our heart rate, respirations and blood pressure, and decreases blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract including the saliva glands.

Sleep disturbances usually stem from 1) high blood pressure spiking at 3AM,  2) Deficient adrenals and kidneys (need energy to sleep), 3)  

3. EXERCISE

In ’Successful Aging’ (1998) a study on aging in America, which had begin in 1987, showed that almost all healthy seniors had been physically active throughout their life.

Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known proponent of alternative or complementary medicine and the author of, ‘Healthy Aging’, supports the idea that up until modern times, humans have almost always been physically active, simply by surviving off the land. Today we work off computers. Bottom line is that we need some form of daily exercise. Yes, walking counts, if done briskly.

4. NUTRITION

We all know the importance of good nutrition and a balanced diet. But which diet? The best history of longevity is held by the Hunzakuts of the Pakastani Himalayas. Here the longevity people exceed a century of living. They practice these health pillars, exceptionally, and more. They eat 3/5 the calories as those in industrialized society, drink 40 cups of water with chunks of Himalyan mineral salt daily, work 12 hours a day then play,take long 20 mile treks or hike up the mountin side, meditate many times in the day, etc.  Their diet consists of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and a little goat or Yak meat every couple of weeks, drink home made “Pani” wine (weak) and goat milk. The secret to their health is that they are not wasteful. They put all animal and human elimination and garbage back into the soil as compared to industrial society where all all elimination goes down the drain to public works depts. and dumped in sanitation pits. Our soil is nutritionally weak while their soil, without the support of nutrients and pesticide, can fend off all microbes and insects. 

5. WATER

Like that of nutrition, lots can be said and studies can be cited all day long as to which type of water is best for us. One thing is for sure however. Drinking enough water on a daily basis is essential for proper elimination and detoxification. I have found that water in plastic containers is very acidic which results in an inflammatory state. Water from the city (Houston) is in healthy ranges but you can smell the excess chlorine. I suggest putting a filter on the tap and shower head. Less acid and chlorine.

6. SUPPLEMENTATION

With all the nutritional research, it is difficult to win an argument negating the benefits of supplementation given the deficiencies of our farming soil. However, if one were to source natural crop supplementation, they would be better off. This is hard to come by because it takes extra knowledge to provide for yourself and you need to take the time to grow your crop. But, if you are are desiring longevity then I would begin the search for an urban community garden or acquire land to produce yourself.

Our top researchers, scientists and medicial professionals know connection between food-nutrient deficiencies and the diseases which plague the human body.

Over the last century, our soil has become nutritionally deficient, making it necessary to supplement founded on easily absorbable plant nutrients. Longevity herbal is a beneficial natural source of highly mineralized, vitaminized food. Besides the health engendering alkalods contained there are dense nutrients which provides the human body the potential for correction. The key is the knowledge of the practitioner and chooser of the herbs essential for balance to be achieved. 

7. POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE

In the work called “The Secret” and many studies before, a positive belief in oneself, one’s vision, having supportive people to hold you to the task and believing in you, recognizing when you are off-course and positively course correcting will greatly minimize stress, affect others to be positive and reflect back positivity.   

There are, of course, other pillars to support a long and healthy life, but these are what we consider the most fundamental. More in-depth information can be found at “Secrets of Longevity“ 

Yoga followers have a fashion all of their own, and the styles are comfortable but attractive to look at. It is not essential for the yoga student to spend out on a variety of clothing specifically for yoga, as comfort is the most important criteria and allowing for the wide range of movements incorporated in any yoga session.

Yoga pants should be loose fitting with plenty of stretch within the fabric, the wearer must feel comfortable at all times, which means that the yoga pants should fit snugly but have plenty of room for movement. Many styles are now made out of a good quality cotton and they come in a wide range of colors to suit everybody’s height, build, weight and mood.

The importance of investing in yoga pants and specifically designed yoga tops is that it can help set the right feeling for practice. Yoga is all about concentrating, about focusing on the individual postures, being one with the movement and relaxing into the pose, and waiting for tension which may be stored up within the muscles to relax and release. This would be difficult to do if the yoga practitioner had concerns about their clothing and felt they were too tight, uncomfortable or they pinched.

Yoga pants especially should be well-fitted around the waist, be careful not to choose those which have the type of elastic waistbands which could curl or ruche up around the middle, similarly allow for freedom of movement when purchasing your outfit, as they should be loose enough to move without restriction.

Color is important as well, different colors can signal different moods and can help you to identify with how you are feeling, it will allow others in the class to intuitively sense how you are during the practice and it can make a statement about you as well.

Whatever clothes you are planning to purchase for your yoga session, remember that they have to feel comfortable on you. Yoga is all about individual progress and style and that must include the clothes you wear to practice in. It isn’t a competition with the postures and neither is it a competition as to who can wear the coveted designer yoga pants.

Having yoga clothes style is about feeling confident, being focused and feeling relaxed and best of all, they don’t just have to be worn for yoga.

Meditation can be learned by anyone, doesn’t require getting special equipment, and can be done anywhere.  Meditation and yoga for stress relief can make a big impact. Even after the first session, you may experience a reduction in stress.  It’s been found by researchers that just 20 minutes a day is all one needs to do to reap the long-term benefits.  Even meditating 10 minutes a few days a week could produce positive results.

Meditation, if practiced regularly, can improve psychological and physiological health.  The brainwave pattern can be brought into the alpha state by meditation.  This is the state of consciousness which encourages healing.  Meditation promotes relaxation, mental clarity, psychological health, healing from different diseases, and mind/body health generally.

Scientists have found that meditation encourages the release of parts of the brain that affect the autonomic nervous system, controlling involuntary bodily functions like blood pressure and digestion.  Because these functions can be inhibited by stress, the relaxation effect from meditation can definitely have a positive impact on conditions that are related to stress, like digestive problems or heart disease.

In a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, 90 cancer patients practiced mindful meditation for a period of seven weeks.  Patients found at the end of that time that they suffered from less depression, anger, confusion or anxiety.  They experienced fewer heart or gastrointestinal problems, and they reported higher levels of energy.

A group of people who had meditated for four months was studied by researchers at the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.  The people participating in this study had a lower level of cortisol, the “stress hormone” in their systems and they said they felt better prepared to meet the challenges of stress in their lives,  which includes tips on dealing with anxiety and depression.

While research findings are helpful, it’s not necessary to wait for science to validate all claims.  Meditation has many benefits to offer and there are no negative health impacts from it.

Certainly being able to discard clothing and braving your naked torso in all it’s glory to potentially a room filled with strangers seems to suggest that the yoga practitioner is someone confident and quite brazen, but this is not necessarily so. People of all shapes and sizes are casting their clothes to one side to take part in this new revolution.

Yoga has many aspects to it, hatha yoga has always traditionally focused on the physical body, the postures are designed to tone, limber, stretch even the most inflexible of bodies, so a physical connection is important even if from a health perspective. Other forms of yoga will focus much more heavily on the spiritual or meditation route but ideally; it makes sense to incorporate both spiritual and physical yoga practices.

Doing yoga nude, can have benefits. It allows the student to be able to identify areas where the posture does not look correct; perhaps the alignment is out slightly. But the yoga student would be very aware that to do yoga properly and to gain the most benefits, it is useful to have a less advanced posture but one, which is correctly executed. Doing yoga nude in front of a mirror and with a teacher can correct any problems before they become a habit.

In a class, if you have the nerve to stand, stretch and bend in a variety of postures, you do at least have the comfort of knowing that others are sharing these vulnerable positions as well. This must be another reason why teachers advocate the benefits of turning the attention inwards. By doing yoga nude, it may certainly be less embarrassing to focus purely on your own performance rather than others, but that internal focus is important as it can identify just how your body is feeling during and after each and every yoga posture.

There is a certain amount of freedom and liberation at the thought of yoga nude, there may also be a type of connection on a physical, emotional and spiritual level with others who practice without any clothes and realistically as long as those practicing are not hurting anyone else, they are probably benefiting from their efforts far greater than others who are a little less daring.

Although not particularly costly, it may be advisable for a student new to the discipline of yoga to purchase a mat initially especially if the plan is to attend a yoga class. Quite often teachers will bring yoga mats with them or there will be available mats through the gym or sports centre where the sessions are held. Although these may not be the best mats in the market place they will enable the student to practice safely and to have support on the joints in the kneeling postures.

The humble yoga mat could be deemed the latest fashion accessory as they come in a variety of colors and textures and have different densities. They also provide traction, which is essential to stop you slipping during some of the postures.

Yoga mats can be used at home or at the class and most come in handy bags and can be rolled up to avoid taking up space. They are lightweight and easy to carry too. Some mats come complete with a pillow, which can be used in some of the postures, should you wish to.

Another important factor to purchasing your own yoga mat is to choose the color, texture and style, which suits your personality and surroundings. It helps to personalize your yoga space, which is important and will help you to practice more diligently.

When your class is almost finished and you lay down for the relaxation section, your mat will protect you from a hard, cold floor so enabling you to benefit from your relaxation session.

Good yoga mats can be obtained from a variety of sources. The internet for example will have the web addresses for possibly thousands of yoga mat suppliers and they can be bought from many retail outlets these days also.

If you are seriously looking for yoga mats, you will find as you begin to look around other items such as belts, exercise balls and blocks which are also available as part of a yoga practice. Iyengar yoga often uses props to help the student achieve greater alignment when the body is not flexible enough to be able to reach the full position. These props are reasonably priced and you may find some special offers enable you to buy a yoga mat quite reasonably when you purchase some other yogic aids at the same time.

The yoga ball is not just the latest fad however, it has earned a place in many exercise systems by enhancing the workout substantially, and this also happens to include yoga. Used as part of a yoga session, it makes the student work harder to stay balanced as the yoga ball gives a feeling of instability, and this means core muscles become more finely tuned as a result.

As in any fitness regime, having core strength is important and this means working to develop strong stomach and back muscles. The yoga ball enhances these types of exercises and although it can take a while to become used to exercising this way, the benefits are quite vast.

Not only do they increase strength in the chest, arms, lower back, abdomen and buttocks, they helps the student to improve their stretching ability in specific postures by opening up the body much greater than with traditional floor work.

There are an abundance of good books and DVD’s available in stores or via the Internet which detail the benefits of using a yoga ball on a regular basis, and it is worthwhile investing in a yoga ball and supporting training products and trying it out for yourself. There are different sizes to yoga balls, so it is important that the student chooses the correct one, as it is vital for comfort and support when using it for stretching or toning work. They even come in a variety of different colors so that they can match the student’s personality and this can help to personalize the student’s training environment.

Yoga balls are even used in hospitals as part of physiotherapy routines as the medical world has recognized the benefits of aiding those with injuries to recovery. In addition to the stretching and toning benefits, yoga balls can help add variety to the training session and increase motivation within the student. It is good to mix and match postures and training aids so that interest does not begin to wane, there are also some very good classes where students can use a yoga ball as part of their on-going development and these may be a good starting point for the student who is keen to learn more.

The great thing about yoga is that there is no expensive equipment required to practice, all that is required is mental presence of the student and the desire to learn. Although there are many aids available to help them progress through the various yoga poses, an understanding of the benefits of each posture is more useful.

The spine is considered to be the central point of a healthy body; an inflexible and stiff spine greatly inhibits movement and can age a person’s appearance dramatically. All of the organs such as intestines, heart, lungs, liver etc are placed in front of the spine, so it is important that the spine is kept strong and healthy so that it can support the body sufficiently. As such there are numerous yoga poses, which focus on key important areas of the body such as:

Spine

Downward Dog-this pose is excellent for those with rounded shoulders, it is also a marvelous stretch for the backs of the legs.

The Cobra-one of the better-known yoga poses and this improves the backward extension of the spine

The Locust-this is useful for those who suffer with sciatica as it will help to ease the condition

Forward Stretch- helps to strengthen and lengthen the spine in a forward stretching moving, this really helps to protect the spinal discs if done correctly.

Heart and Circulatory System

The Complete Breath- this strengthens the muscles around the heart and improves the capacity of the lungs

The Bridge- this posture is useful for stretching the spine and improving high blood pressure

Neck Pain

The fish Pose-this lengthens the neck and spine but care should be taken with this pose as it is fairly demanding.

The Triangle- Stretches the shoulders and neck releasing tension which may be stored in the upper back. Should not be attempted if the neck area is stiff and painful or if sciatica is present.

Digestive/ Abdominal area

Abdominal lock – to help improve muscles in this region and to help correct or improve conditions such as IBS.

Boat Pose- Excellent posture for strengthening the stomach and correcting digestive conditions.

There are many yoga poses and benefits not listed here, in fact the list is just too numerous, but by incorporating regular and gentle yoga poses into your daily exercise regime, the body will respond by becoming stronger, have greater flexibility, better inward health and clearer mind and increased focus. Allow approximately thirty minutes a day to start feeling the benefits.

Yoga followers have a fashion all of their own, and the styles are comfortable but attractive to look at. It is not essential for the yoga student to spend out on a variety of clothing specifically for yoga, as comfort is the most important criteria and allowing for the wide range of movements incorporated in any yoga session.

Yoga pants should be loose fitting with plenty of stretch within the fabric, the wearer must feel comfortable at all times, which means that the yoga pants should fit snugly but have plenty of room for movement. Many styles are now made out of a good quality cotton and they come in a wide range of colors to suit everybody’s height, build, weight and mood.

The importance of investing in yoga pants and specifically designed yoga tops is that it can help set the right feeling for practice. Yoga is all about concentrating, about focusing on the individual postures, being one with the movement and relaxing into the pose, and waiting for tension which may be stored up within the muscles to relax and release. This would be difficult to do if the yoga practitioner had concerns about their clothing and felt they were too tight, uncomfortable or they pinched.

Yoga pants especially should be well-fitted around the waist, be careful not to choose those which have the type of elastic waistbands which could curl or ruche up around the middle, similarly allow for freedom of movement when purchasing your outfit, as they should be loose enough to move without restriction.

Color is important as well, different colors can signal different moods and can help you to identify with how you are feeling, it will allow others in the class to intuitively sense how you are during the practice and it can make a statement about you as well.

Whatever clothes you are planning to purchase for your yoga session, remember that they have to feel comfortable on you. Yoga is all about individual progress and style and that must include the clothes you wear to practice in. It isn’t a competition with the postures and neither is it a competition as to who can wear the coveted designer yoga pants.

Having yoga clothes style is about feeling confident, being focused and feeling relaxed and best of all, they don’t just have to be worn for yoga.

Yoga followers have a fashion all of their own, and the styles are comfortable but attractive to look at. It is not essential for the yoga student to spend out on a variety of clothing specifically for yoga, as comfort is the most important criteria and allowing for the wide range of movements incorporated in any yoga session.

Yoga pants should be loose fitting with plenty of stretch within the fabric, the wearer must feel comfortable at all times, which means that the yoga pants should fit snugly but have plenty of room for movement. Many styles are now made out of a good quality cotton and they come in a wide range of colors to suit everybody’s height, build, weight and mood.

The importance of investing in yoga pants and specifically designed yoga tops is that it can help set the right feeling for practice. Yoga is all about concentrating, about focusing on the individual postures, being one with the movement and relaxing into the pose, and waiting for tension which may be stored up within the muscles to relax and release. This would be difficult to do if the yoga practitioner had concerns about their clothing and felt they were too tight, uncomfortable or they pinched.

Yoga pants especially should be well-fitted around the waist, be careful not to choose those which have the type of elastic waistbands which could curl or ruche up around the middle, similarly allow for freedom of movement when purchasing your outfit, as they should be loose enough to move without restriction.

Color is important as well, different colors can signal different moods and can help you to identify with how you are feeling, it will allow others in the class to intuitively sense how you are during the practice and it can make a statement about you as well.

Whatever clothes you are planning to purchase for your yoga session, remember that they have to feel comfortable on you. Yoga is all about individual progress and style and that must include the clothes you wear to practice in. It isn’t a competition with the postures and neither is it a competition as to who can wear the coveted designer yoga pants.

Having yoga clothes style is about feeling confident, being focused and feeling relaxed and best of all, they don’t just have to be worn for yoga.

Hence the reason why the exercise DVD’s play such a part in the exercise scene and are so successful with a variety of celebrities showing before and after pictures of themselves as they work their way to peak fitness for our benefit.

The beauty of exercising at home is that no one has to see us if we look silly, or if we struggle to complete the routine lasting only about 20 minutes into the program before giving up. The pause button gives us a perfect opportunity to be able to catch our breath before starting over.

If the thought of aerobic exercises do not appeal then why not purchase a Yoga DVD? There are many to choose from, some work on individual areas and others, focus on a complete yoga work out in various disciplines of yoga.
Buying a yoga DVD is an inexpensive way to ensure that you exercise, become supple and strengthen up your body and ideally, sessions should be done at least three times a week although daily is preferable.

Choose a yoga DVD that gives several routines so that you can alternate them and learn different yoga postures which in turn exercises different muscle groups and organs.

If you are someone who needs variety when it comes to exercising, then purchase an additional yoga DVD, make sure that the routines and yoga postures are different as this will give you more to strive for. Practice sessions should be approximately 30-45 minutes in length but remember that yoga practice is more about turning the attention inwards rather than a cardiovascular session.

The yoga DVD should guide you through a slow and steady practice session depending on which type of yoga DVD you have purchased. It is important to spend some time learning the correct breathing and relaxation techniques. Make sure you completely understand the alignment of all of the postures before commencing and as you attempt each one, become one with the stretch, feeling the areas which are benefiting as a result.

Although there is no comparison to using a DVD against attending a yoga class, it will give you the opportunity to try yoga in the comfort of your own home before taking the plunge and signing up for class.