Metabolism

Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories and expends energy. Resting metabolism or basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy the body needs to keep you alive, i.e to pump blood, to breathe, resting metabolism is the largest component (typically 60-70%) of "energy out" in the energy equation.

Increase your resting metabolism (basal metabolic rate) by increasing lean muscle mass, it drives your resting metabolism.

Age and metabolism
As a person ages, his/her metabolism naturally slows down. This is a significant factor in weight gain, because of normal muscle mass atrophy and natural tapering off of hormones such as T3, human growth hormone and Testosterone.
most people give up as they age, but you do not have to accept this slow down. Through resistance and strength training, you can offset muscle atrophy and gain lean muscle mass or tone up, even as you age! some supplement can also safely and naturally support your hormone levels and help maintain metabolism
DHEA is a hormone precursor produced by the adrenal glands that may help the body retain youthful looks, energy and libido.

Exercise is also the key to using sugar as energy rather than storing it as fat. This is especially true past age 40. Exercise directly and immediately makes us glucose-tolerant and insulin sensitive, helping to prevent adult-onset diabetes as well as many other inflammatory diseases.
Author: O.A

Yoga for Depression

                                                                       
                                       

Exercise and good nutrition is the key to a healthier you.                     PASCHIMOTTANASAN

  (Seated Forward Bend)

The number of Americans on Prozac and other anti-depressant continues to grow,($44 billion in sale). Although many others are finding relief by incorporating yoga and making lifestyle changes on their mat.

"Yoga postures can penetrate what Wilhelm Reich, the founder of the science of bio-energetics, called 'character armor', our unconsciously held patterns of physical contractions and defenses."

Pose instructions:

Sit on your mat with legs outstretched. Stretch the arms overhead and lengthen the spine. On an exhalation, reach the arms forward and rest the hands on the feet, calves, and knees, depending on your level of flexibility. Stay in pose, inhale deeply, and on each successive exhalation, let the torso sink towards the legs. After several breaths, reach the arms forward on an inhale and come up sitting.

Inverted postures works particularly well, it alters the blood flow, benefiting lymphatic drainage and the cranial sacral fluid. Increased blood flow to the head area = increased bio-availability of oxygen and glucose, and it is the two most important metabolic substrates for the brain."

Supported inversion and back bends for people suffering from a depression characterized by inertia or fatigue.

For anxiety a more active sequence is advised, modify your poses according to experience and physical energy level. Keep your eyes open wide while practicing, and move from posture to posture without pausing in between, to generate life force and focus the mind on the body.

Because there are different types of depression, some poses and sequences will work better for you than others. Listen to the needs of your body and mind and make modifications accordingly. Inevitably while you exercising you will face difficult thoughts or feelings, replace/balance these thought and feelings with positive images and thoughts- producing better feeling. As you create positive physical space within your environment as you do yoga poses, you'll create space within your consciousness.

Other recommended poses: 

Supported Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing Dog)

Viparita Dandasana (Inverted Staff Pose)

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose or Backbend)


Written by Onyinye A