Stretching And Weight Loss

Cecelia Tiemann, D.C.

If you are trying to lose weight, stretching should be part of the process. There is nothing like getting started with weight loss exercises and feeling that dull ache running through your body or feeling sluggish. If you are even slightly overweight, exercising is hard work and it is quite taxing on your body as well as your mind. One way that you can improve the way that exercise affects your body is to stretch before and after each of the workouts that you do. While stretching itself won’t allow you to actually lose weight, it prepares your body for all that is to come later. That’s what you need to take into consideration. Stretch before you get started with your workout. Work on stretching each of your muscle groups and taking all of your joints from the head down through the range of motion, if possible. Relax as you do this and allow for your body to really feel the stretching happening. When this happens, you will fully awaken your body so that it can experience the full benefit of the workout that is to come. In addition, you’ll be able to provide your body with the best protection from injury later on. Once you have safely, slowly and actively stretched each muscle in your body, you can begin your workout. After you have completed your workout, it is time to begin stretching again. Why should you stretch now? The stretching that you do before you workout allows your body to be prepared and to avoid injury. The stretching that you will be doing now helps your body to begin to repair the muscles and also helps you to be less sore tomorrow (lactic acid which can cause soreness is dispersed). By stretching now, you allow your body to cool down and to come to terms what the routine that you just did, already starting to heal. Stretching in this manner allows you to feel good before, during and after your workout. Not only do you get more from that workout because you did the stretching, but you also keep yourself from being hurt along the way. This optimizes your workout and leaves you encouraged and motivated to continue working out in the days ahead. Its a good thing since this will also optimize your weight loss program. Its a great vicious cycle, for once, the more you optimize your workout, the more weight loss you will experience, not to mention the emotional and psychological rewards! Visit our exercise DVD store at myfitness24-7.com and choose some of the fun exercise and stretching programs. You might as well have fun in the process of exercising and losing weight.

Me and Pilates, So What’s The Deal?
By C. Tiemann, D.C.

I first read about Pilates in a magazine article in 1995. What caught my attention to this form of exercise was the promise of stretching, lengthening and firming muscles. To me that meant body shaping and better posture. In those days, it was difficult to find videos
and clubs that offered the exercise. I finally found a trainer and former dancer that had just moved into the area and had learned Pilates in New York. Within six weeks my body was noticeably leaner and shapelier. What amazed me the most was the muscular strength and coordination I had also developed. I was significantly stronger, yet my muscles were leaner. I found myself doing heavy work around the house, just because I could.
It also seemed that I had become acutely aware of how my body moved, what muscles I was recruiting and best of all, whether I was moving correctly to prevent injury.
I was using correct biomechanics in all my movements throughout the day.

In 1997 I was involved in a serious auto accident which resulted in damage to all the discs in my lower back and a nerve in my right leg. I looked for a physical therapist that was trained in Pilates and could not find one. While I found one that knew about Pilates, she was not as knowledgeable as the trainer I had workout with in 1995. Since I was not successful this time at finding another Pilates trainer, I ordered videos from the Physicalmind Institute which was located in New Mexico at that time (it is now in New York). With the help of books, videos and what I had learned previously, I performed the Pilates exercises. Again, the exercises did their magic and I was able to finally rehabilitate myself from the injuries.

While Pilates is a fantastic form of exercise, I do not work up a sweat and need to add cardiovascular exercises to my exercise program such as brisk walking, Tae Bo, circuit training, etc.

If you embark on an exercise program and are thinking of Pilates, this is a great choice and I highly recommend it. However, mix in another more dynamic form of cardiovascular exercise such as aerobics, kickboxing or dancing. If you have any injuries or a physical condition, seek professional advice before beginning any exercise program.
Today’s healthcare professionals are familiar with Pilates and will often prescribe it for rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions.

There are now many Pilates DVDs where you can learn the exercises and get a good workout. These are available at myfitness24-7.com and you can click here http://www.myfitness24-7.com/category/155411 to view these.

GET ENERGIZED BY DOING NOTHING

This is not a typo. According to Paul Chek from the C.H.E.K Institute, you can actually become as strong as an oak tree by doing “nothing”. In his book, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! Paul discusses Yiquan and the Nature of Energy – The fine art of doing nothing and achieving everything as described by Master Fong Ha, famous Tai Chi and Qigong expert. Paul explains that “aging can be seen ultimately as a decline in the life force of vitality, with death the end point of this decline, and since disciplines like Yiquan (standing meditation) work directly to cultivate vitality, they might well prove to be among the most valuable resources available to us as we strive for the longest, most vital lives possible.” Yiquan or standing meditation does not require any special equipment and can be performed anywhere. It is very simple to do. Following are the instructions:

1. Stand with good posture with your knees unlocked, feet parallel to each other and about hip width apart.
2. Comfortably lengthen your spine to make yourself taller. (Do this by drawing your belly button toward your spine, tuck your chin slightly, relax the shoulders and arms and let the shoulders roll back slightly instead of forward.)
3. Check to see that you are correctly positioned with your ear, shoulder, hip joint, knee and ankle should line up when viewed from the side.
4. You should feel balanced on both feet.
5. Check to see that your tongue is resting on the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth. (You can confirm this by swallowing as the tongue will go where it belongs.) Keep the tongue relaxed at all times.
6. Let your arms hang at your side. Make sure they are completely relaxed.
7. Now, pretend that you are holding a big bubble (full of life force/energy) about the size of a basketball right in front of your lower abdomen/pelvis region. You should feel and imagine the big bubble being half in and half out of your body.
8. Change the size and location of the bubble moving it up and down the body to wherever you like, remembering to keep half the bubble in your body.
9. During this standing meditation breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth. Breathe deep, slow, rhythmical and relaxed, never forced.
10. Make sure that when breathing your belly expands as you breathe in, allowing your diaphragm room to drop down and pull air into the bottom of your lungs.

You will find that as you are doing “nothing” your mind will wander. You will find yourself thinking about many things in your life especially the stressors. Stay relaxed and simply observe these thoughts as if you were watching a movie. Each time one of these thoughts presents itself, gently guide your mind back to that quiet place. If your mind does not want to cooperate, count your breaths so you can focus on something that is not stressful. This will allow you to expand, get lighter, have deeper and more relaxed breathing and feel energized.

Should your body get tired of standing while doing “nothing”, you can sit and continue the meditation but continue to stay aligned as before. Stand up again when you feel rested. Strive to do “nothing” for 30 minutes a day. An hour a day is even better.
Most people have reported some of these changes after doing “nothing” for 100 hours (over a period of time):

o Improved sense of awareness
o Improved mental clarity
o Improved energy
o Improved athletic ability
o Disappearance of chronic ailments
o Tighter and more youthful looking skin
o Brighter eyes
o An increased ability to sense other people’s feelings and thoughts.

You might shake. When doing “nothing” correctly, your body will increase its Chi (energy) reserves. It is believed that this is life force energy and it contains all the wisdom and knowledge in the Universe. As Chi builds in your body, it will find areas where you have blockages to Chi flow and will try to work through the resistance. This is when you might experience shaking in your body. You might feel shaking in your leg, lower back, your shoulder or arm, maybe even an internal organ(s). You must not let this frighten you because this means your body is healing, getting stronger and more complete so your soul can express itself through a more perfect body. Can you believe it, all this from doing “nothing”! So, the next time you are feeling stressed, burned out and don’t feel like working out at all----do “nothing”.