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Yoga Flows on Youtube
Below are 3 separate links to my YouTube page and in particular 3 Yoga flows. I am working to put regular content up in order to support the community during the CoronaVirus stay at home order. If you are interested in anything else content wise please.
PNF Stretch Therapy
PNF is a form of stretching designed to increase flexibility of muscles and increase range of movement. PNF is a progressive stretch involving muscle contraction and relaxation.
The progressive stretching and change between contraction and relaxation allows the muscle to adapt to its new position each time it is held in position. This allows it to stretch further the next time. If this is done on a regular basis, gains can be made in flexibility and range of movement.
PNF can be of benefit to individuals recovering from muscle damage as part of treatment. It can also help healthy individuals to increase flexibility and range of movement. This can be beneficial for sporting activities to improve the body’s ability to perform.
Research has repeatedly shown that proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching techniques provide the most gains in increasing range of motion (ROM) in the shortest amount of time. Human Kinetics
Cardiovascular Health
The importance of cardiovascular health is undeniable. Lack of cardiovascular health is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. It is something we can control and even remedy by engaging in proper cardiovascular conditioning, proper nutrition and stress management. All of these remedies/solutions are available with our guidance and expertise.
First we start with cardiovascular conditioning often better known as aerobics. A must do and something not easily understood and often poorly executed. We help you to understand what you need to do including time, heart rate aka effort and days/week. We always start with realistic goal setting but also help you to understand optimal effort.
Recommendation from the American Heart Association.
Second is proper nutrition not related to dieting but healthy eating is crucial. This area is quite crazy as it is dominated by the ‘diet industry’ and often leads to many more questions than answers. We work with you to help determine what constitutes general common sense healthy nutrition such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and protein sources.
Resources for nutrition:
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart
https://www.bluezones.com/#section-2
Third is stress management. The combination of good exercise, good nutrition and good sleep habits really helps one manage their stress. From yoga and meditation teacher, to acupuncture, to aerobic exercise, strength training, nutritional guidance and more we have to tools to help guide and support this aspect of your health which extends far beyond just cardiovascular health.
Resource:
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management
Strength Training
Strength is a fundamental quality to living a healthy life. Strength is a relative simple addition to any health and fitness program. We must understand from a bio-mechanics aspect there are 3 planes of motion including sagittal, frontal and transverse. Further we should know that by in large strength training movements come down to basic patterns including squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, rotate and gait. This is the fundamental beginning point of any general strength program. For specifics we have to dig deeper into the complexity of these planes and patterns but that’s another conversation.
Our strength programs build in mobility and flexibility as part of a well-rounded session From our warm-up to in between sets and the cool down these are key to a healthy strength session. By integrating we minimize the need for additional or separate work and better manage our time. Note: this does not mean one cannot dedicate more time and energy to their mobility and flexibility! Much of this depends on goals and needs.
So whether you need a general program or some more sport-specific goal based program we have the answers to what can be a rather complex puzzle. We teach you the proper bio-mechanics aka techniques, help set the parameters including sets, reps, weight and even time between, show you the complimentary mobility and flexibility movements and more.
To learn more about the myriad of benefits here some links for further reading.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/strength-training/art-20046670
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/strength-training-builds-more-than-muscles
Joint Health
If your joints are not healthy then pain is likely to follow and possibly worse. Therefore we need to take care of our joints on a daily basis. We need to warm-up and recovery from our exercise and some simple and practical movements can help prevent long term damage while helping with performance. It does mean you will have to tack on 5-10 minutes for a warm-up and cool down but the rewards are worth it. And with some practice you will hone in and get better at managing your time and effectiveness.
Outside of this, learning proper techniques with lifting, running, cycling, and other common movements coupled with a strong program that builds in intelligent recover will further reduce stress and load on the joints thus again making you healthier in the short and long run.
For us this is a relatively simple addition coupled with modifications on techniques and programming that will have you performing better, moving pain free and enjoying the benefits of fitness and health long term.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/exercise-and-your-joints
Mobility and flexibility for better health and movement
Mobility of the joints and flexibility of the body are essential to daily health. Whether you practice yoga, tai chi or integrate through other modalities, mobility and flexibility should be key elements in your fitness, health and wellness practice.
Mobility training can improve the range of motion of our joints and muscles. It can assist in improving our posture. Mobility training can alleviate 'everyday' aches and pains as well as improve our body awareness. By The Telegraph.Uk
Stretching can help improveflexibility, and, consequently, range of motion about your joints. By Mayo Clinic
The Importance of Mobility. Being mobile is a crucial aspect of being healthy. If a person is not able to move a joint freely through its full range of motion, then they are already putting themselves at an increased risk of injury before even attempting to pick up a weight and load that range of motion. By Spot Athletics
Athletes invariably always warm up prior to their sport with a mobility series of movements to help address the above. Further, flexibility as most often thought of regarding yoga and stretching not only helps one become more flexible across joints and through their connective tissue, helps with recovery but also helps with mobility and specifically joint mobility. A well thought out yoga program or series of movements done consistently will help a person see improvement across the board related to both flexibility and mobility.
Our methods are designed to integrate both mobility of the joints and tissues along with flexibility. The thought is around long term health and ability to do daily activities with the freedom to move pain free.
Some articles for further reading and information:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/benefits-of-flexibility-exercises
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130917161634.htm
Acupuncture Therapy
“Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.
In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body's natural painkillers.”
Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/acupuncture/about/pac-20392763
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/4767-acupuncture
Cupping Therapy
In Chinese Medicine we use fire cupping which incorporates glass cups and a vacuum seal for deeper healing and easier movement. There are essentially 2 types of cupping, one where the cup is left in place (often seen with the marks shown on athletes) and running cups where the acupuncturist moves the cup in and around the affected area. The essence, from a pain relief and performance perspective is to relief stiffness, tightness and stagnation common with pain. By bringing fluid to the area it helps to break adhesions and allow for additional therapies such as massage techniques to help decrease the pain and increase the mobility of the tissue. The results are better movement and less pain.
To Learn More please visit:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-exactly-is-cupping-2016093010402
Dexa Scan for Bone Density, Body Fat and more
DEXA is FDA-approved and quantifies your lean, fat, and bone mass (to identify osteoporosis), and visceral fat (which correlates to your risk for hormonal imbalances and disease).
Discover your bone health and risk for osteoporosis
Identify personal long-term health risks, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hormonal imbalances, and more
Learn about key factors of health including:
Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT), which is leading predictor of longevity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease
Skeletal strength, your risk for osteoporosis, and how you compare to others like you
Muscle symmetry to identify how your lean, fat, and bone mass compares in each region of your body
To Learn More about the Dexa Scan please visit.
VO2 Max, a key metric of health.
“VO2max is the metric that defines your personal cardiorespiratory/aerobic fitness level. It describes your body’s ability to bring oxygen into your body through your lungs, transport it through your blood supply to your muscles, and use it as part of your body’s most efficient energy production method. Higher VO2max scores are strongly related to health, longevity, quality of life and performance. Understanding your fitness level in terms of VO2max can inform a wide variety of important lifestyle, fitness, and performance decisions. It is also the measurement of performance capacity that holds the most value for personalizing your calorie counts, training programs and the feedback that supports you along the way.”
Learn more here….
https://www.firstbeat.com/en/consumer-feature/vo2max-fitness-level/
