Is Yoga the Exercise Program You’ve Been Looking For?...

Over the last twenty years, yoga has become a household name. Celebrities and health gurus alike have been praising it for years. Now, you may think to yourself,  “Of course I know what yoga is, but there’s no way I’m able to do any of those crazy poses at my age”. If you, like many others entering the second half of their life, think that you’ve missed the ball when it comes to reaping the benefits of yoga, you couldn’t be more wrong. More and more studies are proving the positive effect of yoga for senior citizens, even those practicing for the first time. Read on to find out more about yoga, and the benefits you could be gaining by incorporating it into your life. Why Yoga? Senior citizens can improve their mental and physical health by incorporating yoga into their daily routine. Here are some of the proven benefits: Exercise Without the Strain Yoga’s slow, gentle movements, allow you to get the exercise your body needs without putting an unnecessary strain on your body. Regular exercise decreases the risk of death by a third and cuts the chances of getting a chronic disease by 40%. Adding yoga into your daily routine could literally save your life. Keeps Your Mind Sharp and Your Heart Happy Yoga is quite meditative, helping you calm your mind and find your center. Studies show that yoga can help better the quality of your life, lifting your mood and giving you the energy you need to move through your day easily. Improve your Flexibility One study showed that yoga increased lower-body flexibility by 34% in older people. Flexibility plays a huge role in mobility and independence, and by stretching certain muscles on a daily...

Training Youth Back into Your Body...

Taking care of your fascia can bring back ‘bounce’ and ease chronic pain Say the word “fascia” a few years ago and many people would have given you a blank stare, as apt to think you were referring to a houseplant as to your body’s critical connective tissue. Fascia refers to the extensive web of connective tissue underneath the skin. Historically ignored and assumed to play a passive role in daily movement and functioning, it’s now having a renaissance. Some researchers, progressive physical therapists and fitness professionals are beginning to think of fascia as a bigger player in the human movement system — and in overall health and well-being. Clinical studies are racing to catch up with what these progressive thinkers have learned. Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence supports the idea that knowing more about your fascia and how to take care of it — especially in middle age when it begins to lose elasticity — may help alleviate chronic pain, prevent injury and “keep the body young by keeping elasticity in your tissue,” says Thomas Myers, an anatomy expert and author of Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. Says Myers: “We can train ourselves to be younger.” Here’s what you need to know about your fascia and how to care for it: What is fascia? Myers refers to fascia as “biological fabric.” If you cut away the top layer of skin, you would see fascia as a white sheath encasing your muscles. It looks a lot like the thin layer of tissue you find on chicken breasts in the supermarket. Fascia is comprised of collagen fibers and other proteins, says Dr. Partap Khalsa, deputy director of the Division of Extramural Research at NCCAM. “It’s composed of roughly...