Categories
Healthy Living

Heart Health Month

Pump it and … rest it; Speed it up and slow it down … strong heart but flexible flowing veins & vessels comes with appropriate training, not straining.  Certain times, you may suddenly feel your heart beating fast … it can be due to anxieties, blood surge … hormonal imbalances … it can be due to any number of things – sometimes psychological such as emotions of sadness, fear, anger … They affect the heart health most definitely.  Yoga at many medical facilities are employed as part of Cardiac Rehab. for good reasons.

This month is Heart Health Awareness month.  I don’t know if it has anything to do with Valentine’s Day being in February but it’s a public awareness and education promoted by American Heart Association.  There’s nothing romantic about heart disease especially when we learn that Heart Disease is the number one killer in USA. It also may come as a surprise that Heart Disease ranks the top in killing women. Yes, women. One might imagine that type A overly hyper or intense MAN to suffer as did Bob Harper (Biggest Loser host and celebrity fitness trainer … yes, Fitness Trainer into Crossfit), but no, with heart disease, women suffer as much from this frightening disease that often becomes fatal because it may go undetected or pushed out from our consciousness in a state of denial.

When measuring heart health, often, HRV, Heart Rate Variability is spoken. Higher the HRV is considered to be good but why?  It shows a better regulated Autonomic Nervous System and what is better at regulating ANS than … YOGA.  Yes, YOGA is scientifically and medically shown to help balance the nervous system.  And the kind of yoga that induces a meditation practice as … ultimate goal of Yoga is to make our body and mind ready to tackle the practice of meditation.  When your body is tight and stiff, how easy is it to sit in Zazen to find that zen ?  Not easy.  How easy is it to find that realm of the spiritual when you mind is revved and spiriling out of control?  Not easy.

So yoga, by yoking or uniting the untamed mind, trains the mind to pave the path for well balanced, well integrated, whole Self.  Here’s another article on benefits of meditation Here.

So yes, pumping the heart, speeding up the heart rate to get more oxygen in is needed with aerobic exercise, yes the “cardio” to is good for heart health to build strength but at the level appropriate for one’s age and condition.  AND the opposite is also needed – the slowing down of the heart rate while upping the HRV to promote better rest, increase the immune system and improve digestion for a well nourished body.

Let’s have a great TGIF – some dancing is always good:)  For body, mind and the … HEART:)

Categories
Healthy Activities

Subway stairs in Tokyo

Gym is just part of getting from Pt A to Pt B:)
Caloric count shown on this old fashion “stair master”. This flight of steps
burns off my morning toast? A LOT of stairs in this country – up and down all day long where it’s your own legs that takes you everywhere. So different from stepping into a car and driving everywhere in California. Life in the city is … lots of walks, 10,000 steps a day is an easy quota to clear.

Categories
Yoga

Lost & Found

It’s about a mat, that is, a yoga mat; not about a person:)

A bit miffed that my most traveled yoga mat is missing. I have gone to lost and found and … nothing. Several places. This is the second time in … 5 years? Last one was my favorite purple one and now …

It was a wine red Jade mat that I received a 20% discount on as a teacher at a studio I taught couple of years ago. To be honest, more than the mat, I am upset about losing the mat cover – the mat, sure, it’s a loss but it’s more the mat bag that was hand made by one of my students – that’s what I am a bit sad about.

Tonight though, after teaching the Sunday evening class, I had an epiphany. Hoping now that someone is getting good use of my mat and enjoying how the color of the mat so matches the cranberry colors off the green on the bag. If it’s bringing some joy for that individual – It’s okay. I let go. As my mother used to say “it’s maybe a blessing in disguise”. Really, mom?

So now, I am researching and of course, looking for a discount. Up until now, I had lapsed renewing my Yoga Alliance registry but … I am renewing it at 200 hrs. and then adding the 300 hrs. (it’s really 400 hrs.) to upgrade to 500 hrs. Something I should have done early last year, when I first got the 500 + hrs. certificate. I hadn’t as it’s not as though I am marketing with my credentials but … it’s way past due. Hating the data entry and record keeping part, I had not really entered the needed info for hours as I have logged all these hours training and teaching but … I should. So taking stock, going over the log, doing it a bit by bit. Losing the mat prompted to do what was something way over due.

As I had no need to purchase anything, I had not cared but now …
it’s finally the time to use the 50% discounts for PrAna brand or 40% discounts for Jade and Manduka brands ! Had I not lost that mat, I never would have really explored these perks.

Only thing left is to go back to that student to see if she still has more mat bags she’s sewn and this time, I can contribute to the economy by actually paying for the bag – the least I can do to thank her for the past gift.

Will report back on which yoga mat, this time. Here are the brands being explored:

Of course –
Jade
Manduka
Gaiam
Hugger Mugger
PrAna – they sell mats too?
and I just discovered:

Bold Mats
Dragonfly Mats

Hope to go over some of the choices out there and how you may decide on which mat may best serve you.