Massage for Osteoporosis and Arthritis

Osteoarthritis and Osteoporosis are two degenerative diseases that come with age. As such, they do not have any known cure. Aging is a natural process that cannot be reversed and there will be degenerative consequences. The main problem, where these become known as diseases is that they create a lot of pain and discomfort in the patient.

Certain experiments have shown that a person can live a painless, healthy life even with Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis if the muscles of the body are healthy enough. If you look at a car, it has shock-absorbers which not only protect the people inside it from jerks but even the car from damage if it goes on bumpy roads. Similarly, muscles act as the shock-absorbers of the body. If they are healthy and elastic, any jerks and shocks generated by any activity we do are absorbed by the muscles. But if the muscles are too tight, they can damage easily, while if they are too weak, the bones underneath them are more prone to damage.

This is why those who work out too much or participate in sports without enough warm-up and stretches have very tight muscles which are prone to injuries. And this is also why older people who have weak or under-exercised muscles, tend to easily fracture their bones with a fall. The central point here is muscle health.

The best way to keep the muscles strong and elastic is through Massage and Yoga Asanas. Yoga Asanas ensure that all the muscles of the body, external as well as internal, are used and kept healthy, like a well used and well oiled machine. Massage ensures that stressed and contracted muscles are relaxed through specific manipulating techniques and they get enough fresh blood supply to keep them healthy. Mental relaxation, which is a result of massage, help in improving body functions, including digestion and absorption of important nutrients like calcium.

Massage also helps in draining out toxins from the muscles and the body in general, which helps in better functioning of the body and has also anti-aging in property. Geriatric Massage is very important for the physical and mental health of senior citizens. However, it is important to note that degenerative diseases are a long-term process. They can start at a younger age and only show themselves through symptoms when we get older and when the condition worsens. And so, if we start taking measures at a younger age, it helps to slow down the degenerative processes and thus can even help in preventing these diseases to a certain extent.

Writer:

Mr. Pinakin Shah

Founder

Pristine Senses Academy

10 Steps to Reduce Pot Belly for Men

 'Pot belly’ or ‘beer belly’ is a very common condition that almost all men suffer from after the age of 25. Unfortunately, this condition is not taken very seriously, except in terms of aesthetics and looks. In fact, large abdomen in men is a warning sign for many diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, endocrine conditions, etc.

Why wait till it’s too late? Why not take some preventive or remedial measures from now. You do not need to go to experts to reduce the belly, unless it is an extreme case. There are some simple steps you can take to make small changes in your lifestyle that will work wonders:

1. Start Early: You may not even have a pot belly right now, but that does not mean that you will not in the future. Most diseases that occur at an older age are a result of our actions when we are younger. If you are a smoker or drink heavily, your lungs and liver will survive and struggle for a few years and so nothing will happen when you are in your 20’s. But the organs ultimately do give up in the future when they are not strong enough anymore. Cancer, liver disease, respiratory problems, all are a long-term result of the same. So do not wait until you are old. Start creating good habits from now.  

2. Food: Avoid staying hungry for long times, avoid overeating. Large meals put a lot of load on the stomach and intestine to digest. Chances are that a lot of food will be stored as fat instead of used for energy, especially if you are not physically active. Have a large amount of salad – especially cucumber and tomato just before every meal, reduce alcohol and sugar intake, processed food and fast food like soft drinks, fries and burgers. Eat more raw food like fruits. You will find that they are so much tastier and satisfying than cooked food. It de-toxifies the body, makes you feel light and healthy and, over time, you won’t even feel like polluting your body with unhealthy food.

3. Walk: Pot belly has two causes, one is high calorie intake and second is a sedentary lifestyle. A good one hour walk first thing in the morning helps improve blood circulation, improves digestion, improves stamina, prevents many diseases and is very refreshing. Try and walk amongst nature, in the park rather than in a closed environment like a gym. Spending quiet time with nature calms the mind.

(picture courtesy exercise-works.org)

4. Play: Play sports, go for a swim, cycle. Why is this important? Because overeating and weight gain are related to emotions. De-stressing can solve a lot of problems. Playing with kids is the best exercise for body and mind and it is so enjoyable that it doesn’t even feel like effort. Spend time with family and maintain good relations. Care for others. This creates positive feelings and emotions which lead to a happy and healthy life.

5. Posture: When walking and sitting, keep your back straight. This helps to tuck in the abdomen automatically and keeps it toned. Erect spine also has many health benefits. Wrong posture affects the nervous signals in the central nervous system i.e. brain and spine. Keeping the spine erect keeps the channel clear and the spine healthy, which in turn keeps the body and mind healthy.  

6. Relax: Some relaxation time, especially for the mind is essential during the day. The entire day goes in stress where the mind and body are both tense. This leads to emotions, indulgence and irritability. Some Yogic relaxation techniques like Savasana, for at least 15 minutes during the day can work wonders.

7. Body-Mind Therapies: A full Body Massage or Foot Reflexology therapy twice a month helps to improve digestion, remove toxins from the body, tone the muscles and reduce excess fat and cellulite on the body. It not only relaxes you physically but it a very important therapy for relaxing and soothing the mind.

8. Yoga: Yoga is more than physical exercise. It involves correct lifestyle, habits and attitude. All this combined prevents all kinds of problems. Apart from walking, simple Yogic stretches and Asanas for the body and some breathing techniques and attitude changes for the mind are very effective. This is more effective than gymming because exercises in the gym lead to build-up of muscle mass which turns into fat if the exercises are discontinued for a little while. Yogic exercises are scientifically designed to exercise even the internal organs which improves their tenacity and functioning.  

9. Accept yourself: No one in the world is perfect. Do not worry of what others think about you. Everyone is busy worrying about themselves anyway. Accept yourself and your body, be happy and confident and that alone will free you from a lot of problems, physical as well as mental.

10. Health Checkup: A pot belly can lead to many diseases but it can also be a symptom of an existing condition. After the age of 40, regular health check-ups are a must for every individual. Early diagnosis of a disease can lead to quick cure or prevention. Make sure you consult a doctor and start taking regular calcium and vitamins, either through diet or supplements, as advised. Remember, the most important thing in the world is your own health.

   

These changes are not at all difficult to make in life. Start with one and continue it religiously till it becomes part of your daily routine. It is not much to ask, good habits are worth the effort. Slowly, keep adding more to your routine and watch your life and health change.

Why spend money on pills and doctors when your health is in your own hands?

Stay Healthy !!

Writer: Mr. Pinakin Shah

Founder, 

Pristine Senses Academy

www.pristinesenses.net

New Year, New Changes. Are We Ready?

Every new day, every new year brings some changes with it. We are hopeful, fearful, wishful and determined of many things that lay ahead of us this year. But are we ready to handle changes- big or small?

Let’s learn two Yogic practices (taught at The Yoga Institute, Santacruz) that will help us cope with change.

Practice 1 – Reflection

When you look into a mirror, what does it show you? Unless it’s a magic mirror, it will show you exactly the way you are. It will not judge you and say you are good looking or ugly or fat or thin. It is our mind that does that analysis. The mirror just does its job of showing you what you are.

In the same way, Reflection as a practice helps you see all events of the day just the way they are, without judging them. It helps us become objective.

How to do it?

•         Sit in a meditative posture (avoid lying down).
•         Visualize every single event of that day from waking up in the morning to sleeping at night.
•         Avoid spending too much time on one event or analyzing why and how it happened.
•         Just move from event to event.
•         When you come to the end of this practice, open your eyes.
•         This practice would approximately take 15 minutes.

Note: Avoid writing the events instead of visualizing them. Writing tends to become planned as we have to think of the right words. This way, we end up evaluating things. Instead, we have to train the mind to become objective. Just watch events pass like a TV show.

Practice 2 – Anitya Bhavana (Anitya- Impermanent. Bhavana- Attitude)

After the practice of reflection, let’s concentrate on the following statement:

“What was in the morning is not at mid-day. What was at mid-day is not at midnight; for all things are transitory. Why should I be attached to anything when nothing is permanent and everything is changeful?”

When doing reflection, you must have noticed this. Nothing is the same. Your moods, the environment, the world around you; is constantly changing. Still many times, we get uncomfortable with change. When passing school and going into college, we are scared of what lies ahead of us, when passing college and going out into the big bad world, we fear if we will survive and do well. When getting married, we are scared of all the responsibilities and changes it will bring into our lives.

We know things will change, still we somehow expect the next day to be the same as today. We expect the housekeeper, milkman, everyone to be the same as always. But if one of them doesn’t show up, we get upset.

With every birthday, we get upset thinking we’re a year older. We get scared of becoming old, of losing things or people we cherish. But some day it all goes, in the same way that we’ll die one day.

So why is it that we don’t like change inspite of it being inevitable?

Fear of the unknown, fear of losing out on our comfort zone?

But we all know that the only constant thing in this world is change. Then why fight it when we know that we can’t do anything about it? Why not accept change and adjust accordingly and move on?

By accepting, we will be able to tackle it better than wishing it had never happened. If we think we can change something, go ahead and change it. But if we can’t, accept what is not in our hands.

Anitya Bhavana helps us accept and tackle all kinds of changes in life with a balanced mind.

Now keeping this in mind, let’s practice reflection again with Anitya Bhavana at the back of our mind. Let’s see if it makes any difference.

By regular practice of reflection and Anitya Bhavana, there is an automatic understanding that comes, about the impermanence of things. It is not really something we can force ourselves to do or intellectualize. It is a feeling that is generated, a kind of understanding of the changefulness of the material world. This will help us remain in a balanced state of mind always.

So here’s wishing you a Happy, Changeful and Balanced New Year !!

Pinakin & Ankita Shah

Body-Mind Therapists & Trainers

Pristine Senses Academy

                                                                                    

Image courtesy:

http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/change-architect-sign1.jpg