A Guide to Better Living

Running Trails

Running provides significant benefits which can offset the effects of aging.

From the 30s onwards, a number of physical changes take place in the average person’s body. Aerobic capacity decreases, muscle mass reduces, muscle elasticity reduces, lung elasticity declines, bone density reduces, the metabolism slows, body fat increases and the immune system becomes weaker. These changes will have an adverse impact on running performance. The fall in aerobic capacity, reduced stride lengthy, reduced leg strength, and reduced ability to store energy all contribute to deterioration in performance. In general, it is thought that running speeds over any distance deteriorate by about 1% a year from a peak at some point in the 30s; and we appear to lose aerobic capacity at about 9-10% a decade.

What are the health benefits of Yoga and Meditation?

Yoga and meditation when practiced together strengthen the mind body connection, improving overall fitness and well-being. Many styles of yoga combine meditation with the physical routines, which use controlled breathing throughout the yoga poses. You can meditate without practicing yoga by simply relaxing, clearing your mind and concentrating on controlled breathing. Both yoga and meditation, when used consistently, have proven health benefits.

Stress Management

Regular yoga practice helps to reduce stress responses in your body, according to a study in the 2010 issue of “Psychosomatic Medicine.” Reducing the inflammatory response to stressors on your body will help reduce your chance of stress-related conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Meditation is also an effective stress reducer that is used to help reduce anxiety, panic disorders and agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder.
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Increased Flexibility

Western society is plagued by sedentary jobs where workers sit most of the day. This leads to reduced muscle mass, fitness and flexibility. In addition, office work increases neck and shoulder strain from hunching over in front of a computer all day. Yoga poses focus on stretching and lengthening the muscles. Increased flexibility will help you with daily movements such lifting and bending, while improving sports performance. Many athletes incorporate yoga into their workout schedules to improve or maintain flexibility.
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Emotional Boost

Both yoga and meditation improve mental focus and provide a general feeling of well-being. Many yoga disciplines are based around an upbeat theme. For example, Anusara yoga’s philosophy looks for the good in all things and is created for an uplifting experience focused on the celebration of the heart. A 2012 control study published in "Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine" found yoga participants happy, peaceful and upbeat in contrast to the control group who had a decrease in general well-being. Meditation provides an emotional boost through deep relaxation, and it can be done anywhere. You can give yourself an emotional boost by taking a 10-minute meditation break right at your desk. Just simply shut your eyes, focus on relaxing your muscles and practice deep breathing.
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Better Diet

Studies suggest that practicing yoga improves fitness and body awareness, leading to better eating habits. This in turn leads to increased self-esteem and the desire to take care of your body. Practicing meditation or yoga is a behavior modification technique that can help you improve your overall fitness.
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Improved Health

Reducing your stress level, eating healthier and getting more exercise can only lead to better health. Modern life is full of stressful situations, fatigue from long hours and little sleep, allergies, anxiety disorders and a long list of stress-related diseases. Adding yoga or meditation to your life will improve the quality and possibly the quantity of your life. Improved health means you can participate in more physical activities and just feel better in the things you do daily.
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Why should we exercise outside?

It feels less routine than working out in the same environment every day. Unpredictability is essential for the human spirit. When you exercise outside, every day the environment is a little bit different. Even if you work out at the same park, chances are the weather and surroundings will never be quite the same as they were the day before.

You breathe better air outside. There is no doubt that fresh air outside is superior to the recycled air you breathe inside of a building. Fresh air will even give you more energy. Just 20 minutes of working out outside is equivalent to drinking one cup of coffee in terms of its energy-boosting effects.

You'll burn more calories. You are pretty limited on the treadmill or elliptical. Sure you can adjust the incline, but nothing beats the complex terrain of the outdoors. Working out outside promotes "muscle confusion," which can help your body burn more calories. While outside, you will probably also work out longer than you would indoors at a gym because indoors you're probably constantly checking how much time you have left. It's easy to lose track of time and exercise longer when you're working out in a beautiful environment, like a park.

It's good to disconnect and be in nature. We spend essentially most of our days indoors using technology for work-related or personal reasons. It's way too easy for someone to spend days or weeks at a time barely going outside. It's always a good thing to stop and disconnect from our virtual worlds in order to step outside and soak up the benefits of the outdoors. Working out outside helps clear your mind while reducing stress. Being outdoors in an environment like the park also helps with focus, which will probably in turn help with your professional and personal life.

It promotes higher vitamin D levels. Vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine vitamin" has recently been proven to affect everything from cancer development to mental health. Many Americans are not getting sufficient vitamin D from spending too much time indoors. Overweight people are almost twice as likely to not get enough vitamin D. The more you absorb vitamin D through your skin from outside, the better your body is able to absorb it.

It just makes you feel good. Scottish researchers discovered that working out outside has a 50 percent greater positive effect on mental health than just going to the gym. Outdoor exercise is linked to stress reduction, a decrease in feelings of tension and anger, and less symptoms of depression.

Eat Well Live Long

Whats the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean Diet is a way of eating based on the traditional foods (and drinks) of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Diet is not a diet, as in “go on a diet,” even though it is a great way to lose weight or improve your health. Rather, it is a lifestyle – including foods, activities, meals with friends and family, and wine in moderation with meals. It has been studied and noted by scores of leading scientists as one of the healthiest in the world. Just as important, the Mediterranean Diet is full of wonderfully delicious, ﬂavor-ﬁlled dishes and meals.

The Mediterranean Diet is the best way to live many years with a high quality of life. It is also the best way to keep your body in shape, your skin clean and beautiful and your internal organs working properly. It the best diet to lead you to a proportional weight and don’t endanger your health with urgent and unbalanced malnutrition. These fad diets may allow you to lose a few pounds, for a time, a weight that you will regain later after having lost part of your health. You may not know immediately, but the aftermath will come later.