The Spa on Green Street

This past Tuesday evening, we had a lively discussion at our 2^nd Fitness in the Round meeting.  As a healthcare practitioner, I always find it a privilege to be able to assist others to reach their health goals, as there are few things in life as precious as one’s health.  Every single day I find that more people are beginning to truly realize this and further understand that their health is their own responsibility and nobody else’s. A tremendous amount of power exists in that belief because it puts you back in the center, bringing with it the freedom to explore a wide variety of healing options.  That sense of empowerment alone is enough to initiate a change for the better. 

During our discussion on the topic of nutrition, a participant commented on the fact that it seemed like every 5 years or so, the common dietary advice flip-flops which had left him and his wife in a state of confusion over what to do to improve their health. And it’s true, the days of eating low-fat were replaced by eating low-carb and nowadays there just seems to be such confusion that people do not know where to start. I understood where he was coming from, because even what I learned in my education as standard nutritional theory not too long ago has ended up being quite different from the way I practice today. Research and interest in nutrition as a viable medical tool has exploded in the last few years, and I hope to contribute through my work, something valuable to the public and help smooth out the wrinkles to lessen the confusion.

For starters, we are learning that we need to treat individuals – as individuals! You have unique needs when it comes to eating right, exercising right, and developing your fitness. You have a certain genetic background and have had a certain upbringing with a unique health history; you are male or female, are of a certain age, and have a distinct personality. All of these elements – social, cultural, biological – come into play when adopting a lifestyle that is best suited to your health. There can never be a one-size-fits-all approach, simply because there is not just one size. That’s the whole idea behind our comprehensive approach here at the Spa.

We also spoke about just what health and fitness mean and how different they really are. In reading a fascinating book by Dr. Doug McDuff, MD called Body by Science, I gathered a new appreciation for these two interrelated concepts. I thought I would mention them here because this has to do with our purpose behind Fitness in the Round.

Fitness can be viewed as a state of being physically capable of handling challenges above a state of rest.  So, how fit you are depends on how far your body can be challenged without injury.  This is of course beneficial because there are many things you need to do in life that is challenging, and being fit makes you more resilient and better equips you to meet those challenges.  Symptoms like fatigue are like an injury, which means you have been pushed too far beyond a baseline state of rest.  The question is, are symptoms like these quick to appear, after even comparably small efforts?  You cannot take these signs lightly, as they are the first warning lights that come letting you know your body is out of balance and needs some care and attention.

Health is more or less the general condition of a person in all aspects.  At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as being “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.  I like that definition, as it speaks of wellness and vitality, the positive nature of life.

Now this is where exercise comes in, as exercise can be viewed as any activity that challenges the body to achieve a greater level of fitness.  So the body adapts to the stress of exercise by becoming more capable of handling that type of stress (fitness improves) and in that process, your overall health improves.   You may need to start slow, but your body will quickly adapt so that you can do more.  You will begin to notice that what would set you back before, now doesn’t bother you.  This principle works equally throughout your whole body – your muscles, your immune system, your digestive system, your lungs, your heart, even your mind.

So, simple stuff really – if you are healthy, then simply maintain your health.  If you need to improve your health in any way, then work on developing your fitness so you have a greater tolerance to meet the challenges you face every day.   Getting to know your body and what the best combination of nourishment and exercise is for you is one golden key that opens you to a life of well-being and vitality.

Thank you to all who attended last night’s Fitness in the Round! You will see some new posts from Ricardo containing tips and information from last night along with some guidelines for setting goals. It is never an easy project when it comes to changing long term habits and thought processes but the path to health and fitness can be a fun and educational journey if you let it. Please feel free to communicate with us your victories as you go along as well as your hurdles, we all face these things together. Here are the two links that I promised to put up today. I am excited about our journey together and look forward to hearing from everyone through our blog.

www.elanaspantry.com        Almond Flour Cook Book

 www.jungletreats.com           Kale treats

Thanks again and let us know if you have any quastions or just want to comment on the classes.

Teryl

Whether you are dealing with sore muscles after starting a new fitness program, challenging yourself during your workouts, or simply dealing with daily post-work muscle tension there are many ways you can help alleviate aches and pains.

• Melt pain away in our private Far Infrared Sauna. The benefits of the Far Infrared Sauna include increased circulation, whole body detoxification, pain relief, and much more! Alone or added to a massage or after a personal training session, you will feel the benefits immediately.
• Take a Calcium/Magnesium supplement such as our PhytoCal-Mag Plus. Both calcium and magnesium are essential for proper muscle function and relaxation. The body absorbs and utilizes Calcium Citrate and Magnesium Citrate at a much higher level than other forms of calcium and magnesium. 
•  Try a Topical Supplement such as our SOS Recover Acute gel (designed for acute pain relief such as that which occurs from muscle strain or sports injuries) and SOS Recover Chronic Cream (designed to relieve persistent muscle soreness and tension)
• Take a Mineral Salt Bath. Soaking in a bath rich in minerals helps the body hydrate muscle tissue and detoxify lactic acid build-up. Our SOS Soak is rich in natural Andean minerals. Try adding a few drops of a relaxing essential oil to your bath such as Lavender, Frankincense, or Chamomile for additional relief.
•  Try Yoga or Pilates! Learning proper stretching and breathing techniques can ease stress levels and muscle aches as well as improve posture. We offer group yoga classes along with private yoga and pilates instruction to best serve your individual needs.
• Massage of course! What better way to relieve pain and muscle tension than to have one of our therapists massage it away for you? Try our Peak Performance Wrap and Sports Massage for targeted relief and recovery as you work towards your fitness goals.
• Add our All-Natural Whey Protein Powder to your daily routine for faster muscle recovery and increased muscle mass. Mix a scoop or two of delicious Chocolate or Vanilla powder into a smoothie for the perfect post-workout drink to build muscle and increase metabolism. Add ground flax seeds for additional fiber, protein, and Omega fatty acids.
• Drink more water! The more hydrated your muscles are, the easier it is for them to detoxify lactic acid and function properly. Add SOS Hydrate homeopathic drops to your water bottle to increase how much water your cells absorb- make the most of the water you drink!
• Come in for a Fitness Evaluation and Postural Analysis to learn what you can do to maximize the results and decrease pain during your workouts.

In my practice, one of the main concerns people have relative to their health is that they want to “stay young”. I’ve often thought  -  what is it about getting older that people don’t like? In asking further, people will tell me that they want to have good energy and experience life as exciting as it was in their youth.  We have this idea in our culture that life peaks in our youth, and then as you age, you have to accept the gradual loss of energy and vitality that tends to characterize our advancing years.  Is it even possible to turn back the clock?  Can we actually feel younger and even be younger?

Well good news! We are beginning to realize and truly believe that being older doesn’t mean that your life has to be any less exciting or any less happy.  After all, it makes sense to think that by virtue of having gained quality life experience in our younger years, when we are older, we actually have the opportunity to live more balanced and well-rounded lives – there is the possibility that we can take the best of what each of the different phases of our lives has had to offer, and if we then had the energy of youth on top of that, well the sky’s the limit!

So, what do you need to do?  As with anything else, there are first the fundamentals and then there’s the icing on the cake. Please review http://www.spaongreenstreet.com/pdfs/anti-aging-living-longer.pdf on our website for our comprehensive approach in our Wellness Program.  You have to have the fundamentals in place for the ‘icing’ to enhance the overall experience.  We will explore the ‘icing’ in subsequent posts – the intelligent use of supplements for instance, enhancing hormones, etc., but let’s discuss these fundamentals first, for without them, we end up falling short.  In anti-aging, part of the fundamentals has to do with exercise, and here’s a bit of exciting research regarding the benefits of exercise relative to the aging process.

A new study has found that exercise actually reverses the aging process at the cellular level.  The study, published in an online journal called PLoS One, studied 25 people over the age of 65 for six months. A research team led by Dr. Simon Melov from McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, took biopsies of their thigh muscles.  Then they put the group on a strength-training regimen that included two hour-long sessions in the gym per week. At the end of the six months, they were biopsied again.

The muscle cells were compared to the cells of a control group of young people (average age 22). At the beginning of the study, the older people’s cells were genetically different from the younger people’s cells.   But at the end of six months, a third of the genes within the cells had undergone significant changes. The cells that changed were involved in the functioning of mitochondria, which transform nutrients into energy. And guess what, the study participants reported having greater energy!

“The genetic fingerprint [of the elderly participants] was reversed to that of younger people — not entirely, but enough to say that their genetic profile was more like that of young people than old people,” said Simon Melov, director of genomics at the Buck Institute in Novato, Calif.  He concludes by saying the famous words, “It’s never too late to start exercising.”

So, great news for all of you who are committing to an exercise program! You can actually change your genetic profile by engaging in consistent exercise. Like I said earlier, it takes some doing, but the efforts are well worth it, are they not? Do your level best to put the fundamentals to work and just see how they end up working for you. You can add this recent bit of news to all the things that we already know about exercise, from helping you to lose weight to enhancing your memory and thinking. 

 Fundamentally Yours! Ricardo

Please join us for an exciting presentation that brings a balanced awareness of how diet and exercise influences all aspects of your health-your weight, hormones, energy levels and immune system. Metabolism has been one of the most misunderstood aspects of our health. You will hear everything from the misleading quick- fix approaches to weightloss to the “oversimplified eat less move more” philosophy. We look forward to seeing you here!

When: February 18,2010

Time:6:00pm- 7:30pm

Presenter: Ricardo Boye,ND,CNC