CENTERED BODYWORK- STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION, CRANIOSACRAL AND ORTHOPEDIC MASSAGE
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Short Bursts Of Exercise May Be As Beneficial As Regular Workouts In Extending Life

3/25/2018

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Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes

One of my college classmates once decided that to focus on his studies he didn't have time to exercise. So he would sprint everywhere he went at full speed. To the bathroom. To dinner. To class. To the library. To dates (which wasn't often).

Would such several-minute bursts be the same as spending dedicated time to regular exercise? Possibly, if you are worried about death, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Yes, based on a study conducted by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (Pedro F. Saint‐Maurice, Richard P. Troiano, and Charles E. Matthews) and Duke University (William E. Kraus), the life-extending benefits of physical activity may add up, regardless of whether you do it in one concentrated session or short bursts throughout the day. The study runs over the conventional wisdom (sort of like how my classmate occasionally did to other people) that you've got to get your heart rate up for at least ten minutes for exercise to be of benefit. It also may be another reason to run to the toilet.

The study analyzed data from 4,840 adults from the U.S. who were 40 years and older and participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES).  As part of this survey, the adults wore on their waists for up to a week devices called accelerometers, which could track their movements and thus get a sense of when and how long they were exercising. This way the researchers could figure out how much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that they were getting each day. The American Heart Association gives the following examples of moderate physical activity:
  • Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking)
  • Water aerobics
  • Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
  • Tennis (doubles, assuming that your partner is not Roger Federer)
  • Ballroom dancing (in this case your partner can be Roger Federer)
  • General gardening (and also some types of very specific gardening)
(Note: Roger Federer was not part of the official American Heart Association recommendations.)
The researchers used the following measures of the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that each adult got each day: total number of minutes, the number of bouts or bursts that were at least 5‐minutes long, and the number of bursts or bouts that were at least 10 minutes long. They also reviewed available death records through 2011. During the follow‐up period of about 6.6 years, 700 deaths had occurred.
With all of this information, the researchers could determine whether there was any association between the total amount of physical activity and death and whether this association was different when you only counted bouts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that was greater than 5 minutes or 10 minutes in duration.
Indeed the study did find a correlation between getting more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a lower likelihood of death. Compared to people who got little to no regular physical activity, those who got at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day were about a third less likely to have died. Those who got 60 to 99 minutes a day were about half as likely to have died. And those who got 100 or more minutes a day were about three-quarters less likely to have died. These correlations seemed to hold regardless of whether the study participants had gotten their physical activity in short bursts throughout the day or in concentrated sessions that were at least 5 or 10 minutes in duration.
Of course, remember that this study just shows associations and does not necessarily prove cause-and-effect. Such a study can't show everything that was going on in the study participants' lives. Those who had less physical activity could also have had other behaviors and life circumstances that increased their risk of death such as living in higher crime neighborhoods, working in very stressful or dangerous jobs, having fewer friends and less of a support network, eating less healthy food, having less access to health care, and suffering from poorer health in general. The challenge is that physical activity and these other circumstances form a complex system that then, in turn, affect the likelihood of death.
Nonetheless, we already know from many other studies that regular physical activity is good for your health and can help prevent and control numerous potentially life-threatening or life-shortening conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. People have labeled sitting as the new smoking and not the new asparagus. Very few people will say that they need to stop getting so much physical activity and sit on their butts more.
However, getting exercise may seem daunting when you have to carve out a block of time each day and go through a series of steps such as traveling to the gym, changing into your tights and "No Guts, No Glory" T-shirt, and doing a repetitive activity (e.g., running on a treadmill) that you wouldn't otherwise do. Even the term "work out" sounds like having an additional job.
You don't need a beach or a class to do many exercise movements. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Instead, as this study suggests, you could integrate short bursts of physical activity into your regular activities and still get many of the benefits. Here are some examples:
  • Don't drive when you can walk or bike instead.
  • When you walk, try to walk more briskly (e.g., cross the street as quickly as you can).
  • Rather than send an email or text to the person who is within walking distance, get up and talk to him or her directly.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
  • Have social and professional meetings that involve more movement (A dancing board meeting anyone?).
  • Instead of paying others to do your household chores or errands (e.g., gardening), try doing them yourself.
  • Play with your kids.
  • Help others with their physical activities (e.g., carrying boxes)
  • Get your heart rate up (e.g., do some jumping jacks or jog in place) whenever you have a free moment or are bored. This could be when you are at work, at home, or even in an elevator (although what you do may depend on who else is in the elevator). Footloose and Broadway musicals aren't the only places where you can dance everywhere.
Think about all the times throughout the day that you could be moving around instead of sitting or lying around. Don't let a somewhat arbitrary ten minutes threshold keep you from exercising. It's not as if running on the treadmill for ten minutes and 1 second will be vastly different from running for nine minutes and 59 seconds. Be creative and find ways to integrate movement into everything that you do. Just make sure that if you sprint to your next date, watch where you are going so that you don't run over someone and find a bathroom to clean up before meeting your date. 



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When Life Gives You Beta, Massage Offers Theta

3/1/2018

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Many clients arrive at my office in a slightly or more than slightly stressed state. This state in brainwave terms is called Beta. Beta allows you to adapt to and function in the modern world. However, when you spend very little time outside of Beta, it can lead to over the long term stress sensitivity,  emotional issues, premature aging, illness, insomnia, hormonal imbalance, and increased likelihood of chronic pain.


These are your different kinds of brain waves:
  • Gamma - (30-100Hz cycles per second) this newly discovered brain wave is associated with peak concentration or “in the Zone” feeling. Other experiences in gamma include excellent memory, self-control, high concentration, heightened sensory perception, sensitivity, speed, peace, focus and bursts of insight.
  • Beta – oscillating at the highest frequencies (14 to 38 cycles per second), beta waves occur when we are most active and engaged: problem solving, multi-tasking, organizing, conversing and active thinking. Beta brain waves are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of alertness, logic and critical reasoning. As you go about your daily activities you are at Beta. Although important for effectively functioning in everyday life, higher Beta levels translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness. With the majority of adults primarily operating at Beta during their waking hours it is little wonder that stress is today's most common health problem. Beta is your monkey mind, which becomes louder and more relentless the higher you go in the range.
  • Alpha – (8 to 13 cycles per second) these waves happen when we are calm and relaxed, yet focused. Staying in this meditative yet alert state takes practice in our hectic, stressful world. Alpha brain waves are present in deep relaxation with the eyes usually closed and while day-dreaming. The relaxed detached awareness achieved during light meditation is characteristic of Alpha and is optimal for programming your mind for success. Alpha heightens your imagination, visualization, memory, learning and concentration. It lies at the base of your conscious awareness and is the gateway to your subconscious mind. The voice of Alpha is your intuition, which becomes clearer and more profound the closer you get to 7.5Hz.
  • Theta – (4 to 7 cps) during a massage, when you begin to sense the music is distant and your awareness drifts, this is known as the theta state. Most mind/body connections occur here and it is believed to be the still point where most healing happens on a deep, cellular level. Theta brain waves are present during deep meditation and light sleep, including the REM dream state. Theta is the realm of your subconscious mind. It is also known as the twilight state as it is normally only momentarily experienced as you drift off to sleep (from Alpha) and arise from deep sleep (from Delta). A sense of deep spiritual connection and oneness with the Universe can be experienced at Theta. Vivid visualizations, great inspiration, profound creativity, exceptional insight as well as your mind's most deep-seated programs are all at Theta.
  • Delta – (0.1 to 4 cycles per second) this is deep space for the mind — all sensations in the physical realm are ignored. The Delta frequency is the slowest and is present in deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep, transcendental meditation where awareness is completely detached. Delta is the realm of your unconscious mind. It is the gateway to the Universal mind and the collective unconscious whereby information received is otherwise unavailable at the conscious level. Delta is associated with deep healing and regeneration, underlining the importance of deep sleep to the healing process.

Massage is proven in studies to help move you into deeper states of consciousness. How deep depends on where the client is starting from, what type of bodywork, how its delivered, and the consciousness state of the therapist. While it may not be easy to go from Beta to Delta in an hour, even getting to Alpha or some Theta is very healing for the nervous system and the whole body. During waking life, these states are rarer and rarer these days with so much stimulation, demands and fast paced lifestyles.

I do relaxation sessions, called Restorative Bodywork, in a very slow and meditative fashion to maximize your time in Theta if possible. The slowness of the massage strokes, acupressure and craniosacral unwinding in particular facilitate more Alpha and Theta, occasionally Delta. I use a calming atmosphere, voice, and theta inducing music to help you go even deeper.

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How can you get to deeper states of consciousness on your own?
  • Slow down
  • Try not to multitask
  • Listen to relaxing music
  • Do things that relax without much stimulation like taking a nap in nature, baths, long walks, star gazing, making art, regular kite flying, surfing.
  • Meditate in silence or with a guided meditation or hypnosis
  • Do slow yin yoga or restorative yoga
  • Do slow breathing exercises
  • Some repetitive tasks can be meditative. My favorite when I was younger was shucking peas.
  • Chant mantras or sign kirtan
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    Mira

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