health and wellness Archives

Healthy Living, Mental Health, Personal Wellness

March 17, 20200

Flexible and Financially Savvy: Boosting Your Yoga Practice on a Budget

Yoga is one of those sports you just fall in love with. Equal parts physical activity and meditative practice, it’s the perfect exercise for those looking to strengthen their bodies, improve their flexibility, and increase their mind-body connection. For many, once you fall for yoga, the drive to improve your practice becomes inescapable.

For those of us on a budget, however, this drive can be a little disconcerting. After all, extra classes, equipment, and training can all cost a pretty penny. So, how can you improve your yoga practice without breaking the bank? Here’s a look at several budget-friendly yoga tips.

Set Goals and Track Progress

Having solid, achievable, trackable goals is a necessary step toward improving. It’s one of the simplest things you can do, but it will make a massive difference. There’s a straightforward reason for this: when you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve, getting there is much easier. Make your goal as specific as possible. “I want to practice three times a week” is better than “I want to practice more.” Find ways to quantify your goals so you can know for certain whether or not you’ve achieved them.

Once you’ve set your goals, you need a way to track them. You can use a journal, phone app, or another device to visualize your progress. An Apple Watch, for example, is a great device for tracking fitness goals. However, they can be pretty pricey — look for online deals and an Apple promo code on refurbished devices to save money if you decide to get one. Whichever way you track your goals, make sure you review your progress to see how far you’ve come. This will encourage you to keep moving forward.

Focus on Meditation

One of the most beneficial parts of practicing yoga is coming to develop a better understanding of your own body. Mindfulness is an essential part of yoga, and making an effort to focus on it will pay off. Not only will it improve your confidence during flows and reduce your risk of injury, but it will also have lasting effects on your mood.

Studies have shown that regular mindfulness practice reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety. It can also lower blood pressure and improve your energy levels. By learning how to focus on the moment, you can let go of stress-inducing intrusive thoughts. This is a completely free way to turn inward, improve your practice, and boost your health.

Release the Urge to Compare

In today’s social-media-driven world, we are given plenty of chances to compare ourselves to others. However, little to no good can come of this practice. When you compare yourself with others, you’re almost always going to come up short. This is because our brains are very good at finding the best in others and the worst in ourselves. This means you’ll come to conclusions that are neither fair nor a true representation of the world. Moreover, it can cost you money by driving you toward buying unnecessary stuff in pursuit of being like another person.

Even if we could see others and ourselves completely objectively, however, there’s still little to gain from comparing. After all, someone else’s success does not invalidate your progress. If your friend started yoga after you and is nailing more challenging poses, that doesn’t mean anything bad about you; they’re just progressing at a different rate.

Improving your yoga practice takes time and dedication. But yoga is about so much more than finding balance in a pose or moving confidently through a flow. The journey toward mindfulness, body awareness, and inner peace is the true benefit.

Blog post courtesy of Sheila Johnson @ Well Sheila

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Healthy Living, Technology

December 12, 20190

Technology to Reduce Back Pain and Help You Sleep

When you have back pain, falling and staying asleep can seem impossible. Lack of sleep can cause a number of complications in your life, and can negatively affect your mental and physical health. What’s more, lack of sleep can actually make your back pain worse, dropping you into a seemingly endless cycle of sleeplessness and pain. Fortunately, technology offers some useful solutions to help you break the cycle and get a good night’s rest.

Yoga and Stretching

Back pain is easily caused and exacerbated by daily activities. Whether you are doing a great deal of lifting or sitting at your office computer, a typical workday can take a toll on your back’s health. If you find that your back is tight and painful at the end of the day, focus on stretching. Doing some stretches with yoga is an excellent tool to ease back pain throughout the day.

To get a better night of sleep, be sure to do a nightly yoga or stretching routine to relax your muscles before bed. Apps such as Down Dog and Daily Yoga offer a wide range of poses for different needs, so you can loosen and relax your back before you lie down. There are poses for students at any level, and you can set and track goals to increase your skill level. For more support, you can access worldwide yoga communities with questions, to help you focus your practice where you need it most.

Yoga for Insomnia takes your evening routine a step further with soothing and relaxing yoga poses geared specifically toward quieting your mind and body before sleep, to reduce insomnia and help you find a more restful sleep. This app focuses on Hatha style yoga and breathing techniques that can help reduce tension and stress.

Meditation and Relaxation

In addition to stretching your muscles to reduce pain and spasms, mindful meditation and breathing exercises help you to relieve tension at the end of the day, making it easier to fall into a peaceful slumber. According to the Cleveland Clinic, meditation can also help to relieve back pain by redirecting your thoughts from the pain itself to focus solely on your breathing. There are numerous apps and guided meditations that you can access online to help you master your meditation and deep breathing techniques.

For example, the Headspace app is one of the most popular meditation apps on the market today. The developers of Headspace pride themselves on conducting clinical research on their techniques, to ensure that users have access to scientifically validated relaxation techniques. Their guided meditation has proven to reduce stress through the use of meditation to increase mindfulness and focus.

Restful Sleep

Once you have completed your stretching and meditation, you can drift off to sleep with the assistance of sleep apps like the Slumber or Quell Relief. These apps offer a range of guided meditations, soothing music and soundscapes, and even relaxing bedtime stories to ease you into a peaceful night of uninterrupted sleep.

For apps that run through the night, it is important to ensure that you have sufficient data on your smartphone plan, so you can be sure that your sleep apps do not lead to overage charges. Be sure to look into wireless phone plans that offer unlimited data, which you can find at a monthly rate that fits your budget.

For persistent back pain sufferers, there are many treatment options they can try aside from medications. With these up-to-date apps for sleep, meditation, and yoga, you are sure to find tools to reduce your back pain and guarantee a good night’s sleep.

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This post was submitted by Cheryl Conklin @ wellnesscentral.info.

Personal Wellness

July 18, 20180

Why You Need A Gratitude Routine

Gratitude is one of the simplest and most effective ways to practice mindfulness. And with that being said, it’s also one of the easiest things to forget about or procrastinate on a daily basis. Having a routine that you can fit in your everyday life, regardless of how big or small, can help keep you on track and focused and it can become one of the best ways to start your day.

Here are some of the easiest gratitude routines to implement to ensure you are practicing gratitude on a daily basis.

Journal.
- Option 1: Each morning make a list of five things you are grateful for. This way you remind yourself of all of the positive things in your life before you go out to start your day. (To make sure you do not feel rushed and skip over it, try setting your alarm a little earlier than normal!)
- Option 2: Create prompts for yourself to help realize different things you are grateful for. The easiest way to do this is to write “I’m grateful for 3 things…” and you could say “that are blue” or “I can smell”, “in my home.” You can take it whichever way you’d to help keep it interesting if you get tired of doing the same thing each morning.
Gratitude Jar. Find a jar (decorate it if you would like). Then each day write three things down that you realize you are grateful for as the day goes on, and then at night put whatever you wrote on in the jar. Then if you ever need a quick pick me up you can take a few out and read them to remind yourself of the positives in your life.
Gratitude letter. Pick a family member you deeply care about and write a detailed letter to them talking about how glad you are to have them in your life. (If you want to give it to them in person it can give you extra positive feelings when you see their reaction!)
Meditation. Instead of concentrating on breathing like normal meditation, concentrate on the things in your life you are grateful for.

Are there health benefits to doing a gratitude routine?

Yes! Lots of them!

It can help you feel more grounded and emotionally stable throughout the day. Constantly looking at the positives in life instead of dwelling on the negatives allows for a more consistent day emotionally.
A gratitude routine can make you more productive in a shorter amount of time. Being more positive gives you more energy which allows you to do more in a shorter period of time!
It can give you more a more confident and less fearful mindset. If you are thinking about all of the good things in your life, you will be more confident. You’ll think you already have all these good things, and you will not be afraid of going to get them. Doing things for people has shown to improve your mood due to an increased positive affect.
It can improve your relationships. Having a positive energy infects those around you, and makes others feel better as well, and a gratitude journal gives you that positive energy. It has been shown that people who gratitude journal show more support to others, and people think they are more pleasant to be around as a whole.
Being positive can help make lasting friendships. Studies have shown that people are more wanting to be in long term friendships with people who say “Thank you.” As a bonus, studies have shown that you have a lesser chance of heart disease if you have a stronger network of family and friends!
It can even improve your physical health! People have reported feeling less aches and pains, and feel better about their health as a whole when they have a gratitude routine. Gratitude routines have also been shown to lower blood pressure and improve immune function. Oxytocin, which is released when we feel emotional warmth, is released during a gratitude routine. It has been shown to reduce inflammation in the cardiovascular system, meaning it literally makes your heart healthier! Studies have also shown that grateful people exercise 33% more per week!
It also can improve your mental health! A gratitude routine gets you thinking positively, and this puts you in a better mood. If you can consistently see the positives in a situation and think about all the good things going on in your life, you will be a happier person.
Your mental strength can benefit in addition to your health! It has been shown to make for an easier time recovering from trauma, hard times, or stress. It is much harder to fall from being happy to being depressed than it is from being sad to being depressed. If you have a positive attitude it will not take you as long to bounce back to normal happiness levels.
A gratitude routine has shown to reduces aggression and increases empathy. Gratitude routines have shown to reduce the chance someone retaliates against someone, and increase the chance they react in a positive way.
Improved sleep can also be a benefit! A gratitude routine has been shown to help you fall asleep faster, and then have a longer, more relaxing sleep. Studies have also shown that grateful people on average sleep a half hour longer each night.
Lastly, a gratitude routine can enhance your self-esteem. Showing appreciation for others accomplishments allows you to be grateful. This shows you how much other people are doing things for you, big or small, and gives you a sense of you must be doing something right if everyone is being nice to you.

Sources:

http://www.theunbrokensmile.com/gratitude-exercise-in-the-morning-helps-to-develop-a-positive-mindset/

https://www.jordangrayconsulting.com/2016/04/why-you-should-have-a-morning-routine/

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/gratitude-exercises/

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-27654/gratitude-can-prevent-disease-heal-your-mind-heres-how.html

https://www.quietrev.com/6-science-backed-ways-being-kind-is-good-for-your-health/

http://drdavidhamilton.com/the-5-side-effects-of-kindness/

https://positivepsychlopedia.com/year-of-happy/benefits-of-gratitude/

Technology

June 8, 20180

10 Apps To Download to Help Keep You Happy And Healthy

Our phones play such large roles in our lives. We often find ourselves so busy that we cannot find time to relax or workout. To help you out here are 10 apps that can help you be happier and healthier.

Calm

Calm is an app that focuses on helping you relax. You can download it for free on both Android and IOS, with the option to purchase extra features in the app. The most notable free feature in Calm are the guided meditation sessions that are available with different time lengths. Other free features include bedtime stories for adults called “Sleep Stories,” and the ability to play calming nature sounds.

10% Happier

10% Happier is a meditation app. New York Times bestseller Dan Harris and other instructors wanted to simplify meditation through this app. You can download it for free on both Android and IOS. 10% Happier includes a number of free features that include a 7 session info course for mindful meditations, daily teaching videos that simplify meditation, guided audio meditation, quick meditations, and new content each month.

MyFitnessPal – Calorie Counter

MyFitnessPal – Calorie Counter is an app for nutrition tracking. You can download it for free on both Android and IOS, with the option to do the premium subscription once you download the app. MyFitnessPal – Calorie Counter has over 6 million different foods already in the system, and it allows you to create your own food as well. A few of the other free features include water tracking, a barcode scanner to scan foods, a breakdown of the nutrients you’ve ingested, and the ability to set goals for yourself.

Under Armour Record

Under Armour Record is an app for fitness tracking. It is available for free on both Android and IOS. The features for this app include step tracking, workout tracking and logging, ability to log weight, and the ability to log sleep. In addition to those, Under Armour Record syncs with MyFitnessPal – Calorie Counter to show your calorie intake for the day, and it syncs with numerous other fitness apps if you already have one.

Sworkit: Workouts & Fitness Plans

Sworkit is a home workout app that does not require any equipment. It is available for free on both Android and IOS, with the ability to purchase extra features in the app. Sworkit does have a number of free features. One such feature is custom workouts. The app takes the amount of time you say you have to workout and creates a workout for what you want to work that lasts your set amount of time. The other big feature is the 6 week workout program to get you “Leaner,” “Fitter,” or “Stronger.”

Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle is an app that tracks your sleep. It is free on both the Android and IOS app stores. Sleep Cycle uses your phone sensors to analyze your sleep, and then it wakes you up during your lightest sleep stage within the time frame you set. This allows you to wake up with more energy for the day. Like many sleep apps, you can see your “Sleep Statistics” after you wake up. The feature that sets Sleep Cycle apart from other sleep apps is that Sleep Cycle does not require you to have your phone under your pillow.

Medvoucher

Medvoucher is designed to save you money on healthcare services. They work directly with providers to guarantee the lowest price possible. You can search vouchers based on cost, location, and what service you are looking for. Their database consists of many different providers, so you can choose the one that is best for you. Medvoucher’s platform allows you to not need to pay costly insurance premiums, co-pays, or deductibles. The price of the voucher is all you pay for your service! There are no extra hidden fees!

Journey

Journey is an app that allows you to keep a digital journal. It is available for free on both the Android and IOS app stores. Journey includes a number of great features. They include syncing to Google Drive and other Google apps, a journal timeline, a private journal, it syncs across multiple platforms so you could start an entry on your phone and finish on your iPad, and you can post your entry directly to social media if you would like to share with friends.

Day One

Day One is a digital journal app. It is available on the Android, IOS, and Mac app stores for free, with the option to purchase extra features from the app. Free features include a private diary, so you can set a passcode in order to view your entries. Other prominent free features include Flashbacks where it will show you journals you had in the past, and a Memory Calendar that you can add pictures to to better remember th

e day.

Colorfy

Colorfy is a digital coloring book app. It is available on both Android and IOS app stores for free, with an option to purchase extra features from the app. Colorfy allows you to relax through coloring their numerous designs, and more are added each week. The app offers an offline mode, so you do not need to be connected to the internet in order to use it. Other features include the ability to post your art to social media, and an augmented reality function that allows you to view your art in a real-world perspective.

Medical Imaging

June 4, 20180

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About MRI’s

Odds are you’ve heard of an MRI, but may not know how it works unless you are a doctor. A MRI, which stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, is a commonly used diagnostic test in medicine. Although it is commonly used, many people do not know how it works or why they need one. This is a beginner’s guide to understanding an MRI.

What exactly is an MRI?

First and foremost, what does MRI even stand for? The answer is Magnetic Resonance Imaging. An MRI is a type of scan that doctors use to view an area such as a person’s head, chest, leg or whatever is needed. As is in the name, through the use of magnets in combination with radio waves, images of the inside of the body are created. This allows doctors to view organs, tissues, and even skeletal system all without needing to make any cuts to look inside.

How does an MRI work?

The way an MRI works is that you lie down on a moveable table, and it slides you into this tube that is open at both ends, and is surrounded by magnets. The reason this works to produce images is because humans are made primarily of water. A molecule of water consists of 2 hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. During an MRI, the radio waves cause the hydrogen atoms to realign for a short time. When the atoms begin falling back into their natural places, they give off a signal. The magnets in the machine are able to pick up these faint signals, and then a computer is able to convert the signals into images that your doctor can read.

What do doctors use an MRI for?

Doctors use MRI’s for diagnostic purposes to be able to see and recognize medical issues or healing processes in patients. An MRI is non-invasive which means the doctors do not have to actually make an incision to see what they are dealing with. Doctors can use an MRI for imaging for a lot of the human body.

Why may you need an MRI and what can it show?

You may need an MRI because it can help doctors diagnose the issue or see how progress is coming along with treatment to make sure everything is healing as it should. The primary uses of an MRI are checking the brain, spine, heart, blood vessels, bones, and joints. MRIs can also be used to check a woman’s breasts and ovaries, a man’s prostate, along with a person’s liver, kidneys and pancreas.

An MRI on your brain and spinal cord can show evidence of blood vessel damage, cancer, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and brain and/or spinal cord injuries. MRI of the heart and blood vessels can show damaged caused by a heart attack, heart disease, blocked blood vessels and even problems dealing with the heart’s structure. You can also get an MRI on your bones and joints. This can show problems with cancer, bone infections, spinal disc problems, and overall damage to joints.

How does an MRI differ from a CT scan?

Both an MRI and CT scan provides diagnostic images, but there are differences. For one, a CT scan uses x-rays whereas an MRI uses magnets and radio waves. Another difference is that a CT scan gives of a tiny amount of radiation, but an MRI does not. The x-rays for a CT scan need a tiny bit of ionizing radiation in order to get the images which is why radiation is given off. A CT scan can also be done much quicker than an MRI can, as they may only take 5 minutes.

What do you do during an MRI and how long should it take?

The time it takes to get an MRI varies due to how many images are needed, and what part of the body is being examined. That said, the process of getting an MRI usually takes between 20 minutes and 1 hour. The MRI images are also taken in sequences that last only a few seconds or minutes. This means you aren’t forced to be still for the entire length of the exam, but it is best if you do not make drastic movements. During the imaging sequences, it is important to be as still as possible while the MRI is going on. The more movement there is the more likely it is that the image is not clear and it has to be done again.

Is there a difference between an open and closed MRI?

Most MRI machines are “closed” as it has a top and bottom so it is like being inside of a tube. Being stuck in a small tube can understandably be claustrophobic. To solve this, some places offer what is called an “open” MRI. What this means is that instead of completely surround the person, the magnets are just on the top and bottom, allowing the sides to be open.

During an MRI why can’t you have any metal on you?

This is a pretty easy question. Simply, the magnets in the machine are powerful, so if you have any metal on you it will get sucked to the magnet. This can cause damage to the machine and to the person inside of it. This is why a lot of times doctors will ask you to change into a hospital gown before you get an MRI.

What should you disclose to your doctor before your MRI?

Since an MRI is using powerful magnets, there are some risks. If you have a metallic joint or joints, artificial heart valve,implantable heart defibrillator,pacemaker, aneurysm clips, cochlear implants, tattoos, piercings, a bullet, shrapnel, or any other sort of metal, let your doctor know so they can make a decision as to whether it will be affected by the MRI.

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/mri/about/pac-20384768

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-an-mri#1

https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146309.php

https://osmri.com/open-vs-closed-mri/

https://www.viaradiology.com/news/whats-difference-ct-scan-mri/