Tummy-Toning Yoga Poses Anyone Can Do

Don't miss any of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line. Add our address, HealthyWomanfromBottomLine@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. August 21, 2011  Tummy-Toning Yoga Poses Anyone Can Do The Hidden Truth About Bypass Surgery No More Yearly Gyno Visits? The Great Cholesterol Hoax Fish Oil Helps Chemo Patients Stay Strong   Tummy-Toning Yoga Poses Anyone Can Do When I was talking yoga with Carol Krucoff, a yoga therapist with Duke Integrative Medicine, she said to me, "Toning the tummy is a top concern for many of my clients—and often they are surprised to learn that the yogic approach to shaping up the abdominals has nothing to do with crunches or sit-ups." What editor could resist pursuing a story on that intriguing topic? Here’s what Krucoff shared with me... Crunches and sit-ups focus on the most visible abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis (aka the "six-pack" muscle), which runs vertically from the breastbone to the pubic bone and serves to flex the spine, folding us forward. But in fact, we have four abdominal muscle groups that work synergistically—and as a holistic practice, yoga incorporates postures that activate all four. These muscle groups include the rectus abdominis... the internal obliques and external obliques on the sides of the torso... and the deepest layer, the transversus abdominis (TA), which runs horizontally underneath these other muscles. Nicknamed "the corset muscle," the TA helps flatten the belly, support the lower back and enhance posture—all of which make us look and feel better. Yet because many people are not aware of the importance (or even existence) of the TA, they do not adequately focus on it when they exercise, Krucoff said. To find your TA: Sit tall in a chair. Place one hand on your lower belly (above the pubic bone and below the navel). Cough gently and you will feel this deep muscle contract under your hand. The common instruction you hear in yoga class to "draw your belly in toward your spine" is a cue to activate the TA. The following poses help strengthen the hard-to-target TA as well as the rectus and obliques. Do each pose three to six times. Daily practice will offer the best results, Krucoff noted. Be sure that you’re breathing in each posture—don’t hold your breath—and move slowly and mindfully throughout your practice. If you are brand new to yoga, start with the easier versions... if you are an experienced yogini, try the harder variations. (As with any new exercise routine, check with your doctor before beginning.) Tummy-trimming poses to try... Lion’s pose. Sit tall on floor (either cross-legged or with buttocks on heels), hands resting on knees. Inhale, filling lungs completely. Then exhale with a long haaaaa sound, drawing in belly for an isometric TA contraction... at the same time, open eyes wide, spread fingers and stick tongue out as far as possible (this stretches out the hands, face, jaw and tongue, which often hold a great deal of tension, Krucoff explained). At end of exhalation, relax face and fingers for a moment... then repeat. Easier: Sit in a chair. Harder: Exhale with a long, loud roaring sound, which requires more energy. (It also encourages assertiveness, which can be difficult for some people—so it is liberating as well as stress-reducing, Krucoff said.) Illustration: www.YogaJournal.com/poses/1705. Boat pose. Sit on floor with knees bent, feet flat on floor and hands holding the backs of thighs. Keeping knees bent, lengthen spine (don’t round forward) and lean back slightly... at the same time, lift feet an inch or two off floor. Balance and hold for three to five slow, deep breaths, then return to starting position. Repeat. Easier: Lift just one foot off floor at a time, alternating feet. Harder: Let go of thighs and extend arms forward as you balance. Hardest: In the balance position, straighten legs. Illustration: www.YogaJournal.com/poses/489. Spinal balance. Get down on hands and knees on floor, wrists directly under shoulders, knees under hips, head and neck aligned with spine. Inhaling, extend right arm forward and extend left leg back behind you... then exhale as you return to starting position. Repeat on opposite side, extending left arm and right leg. Easier: Extend one arm or one leg at a time, not both simultaneously. Harder: Maintain the pose through several breath cycles. Illustration: www.YogaMums.org/yoga-postures/spinal-balance-yoga-posture. Leg-lowering pose. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on floor. Place hands next to or under buttocks, palms down. Take a full breath in, then exhale and focus on drawing in your TA as you bring thighs in toward torso. Keeping TA engaged, raise and straighten legs so they are perpendicular to floor, soles of feet facing skyward... then slowly lower legs to floor (be sure to keep breath flowing). Repeat. Easier: Keep knees somewhat bent as you lower the leg... or raise and lower just one leg at a time, keeping other foot flat on floor. Harder: Begin with legs straight and extended on floor, lifting from that position and keeping legs straight throughout. Illustration: www.Strength-Training-Woman.com/ab-exercise.html. Source: Carol Krucoff, E-RYT (experienced registered yoga teacher), is a yoga therapist with Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System in Durham, North Carolina. She is the author of Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain (New Harbinger) and creator of the audio home practice CD Healing Moves Yoga (CDBB). www.HealingMoves.com The Hidden Truth About Bypass Surgery Research shows that the majority of bypass, angioplasty and stent patients don’t live a day longer than folks who skip it... Meaning that over 800,000 Americans every year are risking their lives for nothing—suffering hideous postsurgical pain and risking serious complications, for zero benefit. Even worse, according to Dr. Michael Ozner, MD, FACC, FAHA, medical director at the Center for Prevention & Wellness, Baptist Health South Florida, bypass surgery has been found to quadruple your stroke risk. What are the options? Read on... No More Yearly Gyno Visits? Q: My gynecologist told me that since my Pap and HPV tests came back negative, I did not have to see her again for three years. Is that right? No more annual gyno visits? A: Yes, those are the current cervical cancer screening recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for women age 30 and older. If a woman’s last three consecutive Paps were negative (meaning that her cervix showed no abnormal cells or potentially cancerous changes) or if her HPV tests did not detect any of the human papillomavirus types that can cause cervical cancer, she can wait three years before seeing her gynecologist again for additional cervical cancer screening. It could be argued that most women age 30 and older do not need to have both an HPV test and a Pap—and in fact, the HPV test may one day replace the Pap as the initial screening for cervical cancer. But for the time being, either the Pap alone or both the HPV test and Pap are recommended by ACOG. From the patient’s point of view, an HPV test is performed just like a Pap and both can easily be done at the same time. A gynecologist sweeps the cervix with a soft brush to collect the cells that are shedding from the cervix, then places the sample in a vial of liquid and sends it to a lab. For the Pap, the cells suspended in the liquid are examined under a microscope to analyze their shape. For the HPV test, DNA from the cells is separated from that same liquid sample and tested for the presence of the 14 high-risk types of HPV associated with cervical cancer. Insurance typically covers the Pap and may cover the HPV test. Important: If you use your gynecologist as your primary care provider, as some women do, you will still need to see him or her annually or as often as the doctor recommends for your regular checkup, even if you don’t get a Pap or HPV test at those visits. Source: Diane M. Harper, MD, MPH, is vice-chair for research and a professor in the departments of community and family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and biomedical and health informatics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine. She is one of the country’s leading cervical cancer researchers and experts on HPV. The Great Cholesterol Hoax The #1 prescription drug in America is a cholesterol drug. It rakes in about $8 billion a year. And three of the top 15 drugs are in the same category. They’re called statin drugs, but some experts call them a hoax. Did you know that... Cholesterol-reducing statin drugs are just patented knockoffs of a simple food that Asians have eaten for centuries. You can buy it in pill form in any health-food store—yet drug companies charge $1,740 a year for it! And, for those who choose to stick with their statins, they’re all pretty much the same. If you must take a prescription statin, ask for the cheapest one. There’s no proof the statin that’s #1 is any better than the generics. Learn more... Fish Oil Helps Chemo Patients Stay Strong Chemotherapy helps save the lives of cancer patients, but it also causes a host of negative side effects—including loss of muscle mass and malnourishment that can contribute to fatigue, involuntary weight loss, decreased quality of life and even poorer prognoses. Encouraging: A new study showed that supplementing with fish oil helps prevent such dangerous side effects. One group of lung cancer patients who were undergoing 10 weeks of chemotherapy took a daily dose of 2,200 mg of a fish oil supplement containing the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)... a control group underwent the same chemotherapy regimen but did not take fish oil (no placebo was given). Impressive results: 69% of the patients who took fish oil maintained or even gained muscle mass, as shown on CT scans... only 29% of those who did not take fish oil retained their muscle mass after chemotherapy. Patients whose blood tests revealed the largest increases in EPA levels gained the most muscle mass. Also: Fish oil users maintained their weight, whereas those in the control group lost weight (a sign of malnourishment). Reassuring: Patients often are cautioned against supplementing during chemotherapy for fear that supplements could interfere with their cancer treatment—but another recent study from the same researchers found that lung cancer patients who took fish oil actually had increased response rates to chemotherapy and better one-year survival rates. Fish oil’s benefits for chemo patients are especially promising given that no effective treatment for cancer-related malnutrition currently exists. Fish oil also may prove helpful to patients who have other types of cancer or other chronic diseases associated with malnutrition, as well as to seniors at risk for muscle loss, researchers said. Best: Talk to your oncologist about fish oil. If you take daily aspirin or another blood-thinning medication, be sure that your doctor is aware of this—fish oil can have a blood-thinning effect. Source: Vera Mazurak, PhD, is an associate professor of nutrition at the Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and coauthor of the two studies on fish oil, published in Cancer.    Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 26 years and three college-age children.    BOTTOMLINESECRETS.COM Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy About Us Contact US Bottom Line Publications | 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor | Stamford, CT 06901 You received this free E-letter because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Click here to easily unsubscribe. To change your e-mail address click here. To update your e-mail preferences click here. © 2011 by Boardroom Inc. All Rights Reserved.