How to improve balance in older people

Falling down and losing balance is one of the most common problems with old age. As age progresses, parents will complain of loss of balance and dizziness.

Falls can lead to complications that in turn can lead to disability. Hence with the help of our fitness experts we build a good foundation based on exercise that build and strengthen your muscles. Here are some interesting exercises that will help you re-gain your footing.

Strength and conditioning coach, Arnav Sarkar gives you a practical guide to boost your muscle groups. He explains, "With loss of activity the body starts losing strength, endurance and flexibility, and thus basic movements like walking become a challenge for some. The best way to combat this is to keep exercising and focus on working all the major muscle groups."

He lists basic exercises to follow, "A basic exercise that should be a staple would include squats, do half range or sit on a chair if normal full range is not possible. Besides do some lying hip extensions, light to moderate weight training, and of course do some stretching, cardiovascular activity like walking, climbing stairs to keep your body strong and not let things like balance become an issue for you."

Jordyn Steig, our fitness guru, expert columnist and founder of Wellistic Wholeness, breaks down the facts further he says, "Fit people in general fall less often than those whose muscles are weak and joints are less mobile. Almost any exercise will enhance older people's agility and keep their muscles and bones stronger than they would be if they remain sedentary."

Jordyn says, "The best way to remain light on ones feet and learn how to naturally react to being thrown off of our centers, which causes falling, is to engage in exercise which destabilises the body. Destabilising the body simply means ensuring that whatever exercise one is doing, the body needs to stabilise itself rather than letting the floor or a fixed object like a bench or a stool hold our bodies still."

He lets you in on his personal preference, "I tend to use an exercise ball to lie or sit on or a wobble board to stand on or hold straps (like the TRX Suspension Training System) to allow clients to pick one foot off the ground or stand on their tip-toes for every possible exercise during a workout.

The basic effect is to require our core muscles to stabilise our body. When these methods are practiced regularly, I see a very quick change in a person's coordination and agility, as well as an increase in mobility in their joints. This decreases the chances of falling when one is slightly knocked off their centre and also makes a person, supple, fit, and strong."    

Don't workout on an empty stomach

Gym-goers and athletes tend to push themselves on empty stomachs in the belief they'll burn up more fat.

Most believe in the theory that exercising on an empty stomach will make the body use up fat reserves and covert it into energy instead of the glucose or carbohydrates that may be readily available from a meal or a drink before the workout.

But while it seems to make sense, research now shows that exercising on an empty stomach doesn't offer any benefit and may actually work against you.

According to a recent report published this year in a fitness journal in the US, it has been established that the body burns the same amount of fat irrespective of whether you eat before or after a workout. But the problem arises in the fact that dizzy spells notwithstanding, you will lose muscle by exercising in a state of hunger.

The study also found that and without food to help the workout, the intensity of the exercise and the total calorie burn will be reduced. So, that leaves you not only exhausted, but with less muscle and no energy to burn more fat.

The studies found that when people trained with nothing in their stomachs, about 10 percent of the calories they burned came from protein, including muscle.

In an earlier study, researchers had found that eating light before a meal was beneficial. Those who consumed 45 grams of carbohydrates before their workouts ended up eating less through the rest of the day.

Experts now advise a light meal of oats or even a milkshake before a workout will go a long way in extending the benefits of the time spent in a gym. Those pushing the heavy ones in the hope of building muscle are well advised to go the Dara Singh way of egg 'n' milkshake.

How daily meditation can improve your health

Most often than not, we take for granted this simple and important ancient technique of meditation and how it can improve your health.

Since stress is the major cause of 21st century lifestyle diseases, the age-old technique of meditation comes to your rescue. Here is how you can meditate and also find out the health benefits of meditation.

Health benefits of meditation:

Stress: Meditation can help prevent stress and slowly release pent up stress.

Sensory organs: Meditation opens up your senses and makes your five senses receptive.

Reduce anger: While reducing stress, meditation also reduces anger.

Make better decision: With daily meditation, you have a calm approach and sharpened alertness and you are now better equipped to make better decisions.

Sense of completeness: With reduced anger, low stress levels and increased capacity at work, you will feel you can complete a lot more in your day. With a clear mind, you can think of ways objectively.

Happiness: All these positive traits will only heighten your sense of happiness. Daily meditation ensures to fight stress and control rage hence releases happiness hormones.

Sleep: Relaxation from daily meditation helps you fall asleep quickly and naturally. Since your mind is clear of worried thoughts you can easily fall asleep, peacefully.


Meditation is:

-Letting go of the anger from the past
-Letting go of the events of the past
-Letting go of all the planning for the future
-Accepting this moment
-Living every moment totally - with depth


Meditation technique for beginners:

1) Find a quiet and isolated place away from distractions.
2) Sit crossed legged on the floor and relax your hands on your knees.
3) Gently close your eyes and inhale slowly (short breathes). But you need to inhale from your nose and exhale from your mouth.
4) Slowly increase the capacity of oxygen; this will help rejuvenate the lungs.
5) Pay attention to every breathe you take.
6) You can also play slow instrumental music to help you focus and calm our senses.

Gymming at home

Mumbaiites are opting for the convenience of a home gym for a healthier lifestyle...

A gym at home is no longer a luxury that only the super-rich can afford. It is not a far-off dream anymore. There are many households who have incorporated a gym, however small, within their homes just for the benefits it offers. We spoke to actors Tusshar Kapoor, Jackky Bhagnani and singer Babul Supriyo about their gyms.


Tusshar Kapoor has a gym built in the front courtyard of his palatial bungalow in Juhu. "A gym at home is extremely beneficial and now I have the luxury of gymming whenever I want, for as long as I want, in the comforts of my home," smiles Tusshar. He is all body and brawn now, almost unrecognisable from his 'cute kid on the block' days of Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai.

The perfectly fit athletic body is swathed in a light gray T-shirt and we can see the rippling muscles as he pumps the irons to some fast foot-tapping music, while his trainer Pramod Dadlani guides him. The mirrors all around magnify the interiors of the gym. Tusshar reveals, "I am very much into fitness and am very regular about my training." Talking about his favourite equipment in the gym Tusshar says, "The treadmill gives me a high, a rush."
He is a very sports -oriented person. He says, "For five days I do weights and the other two days in the week I do cardio, yoga or play squash. I was under trained around two years back and Pramod changed my body type. I tease him by calling him a 'kasai' because he is very strict. I do not have a body-builder type of a body , rather, mine is athletic. The body-builder physique is just not in my genes."

All the balanced dieting and the rigorous workout the fine actor is following shows, and we will all get to see a new Tusshar in his forthcoming movies.

Many would not know that singer Babul Supriyo is a fantastic cook and they say that people who cook well, like eating well too. "I was growing fat and needed to lose weight. The success of Kaho Na Pyar Hai helped me earn money, so I enrolled myself into a posh gym in Juhu. But then just 'joining' didn't make me lose weight! A home-gym was something that became necessary to continue my workouts easily and to fulfill my desire to be healthy and slim." He bought all the equipment from Toronto. "My trainer Shyam Rahate and my interior designer Paresh Brahmbhatt helped me create this gym," says Babul. He confesses, "I still have a long way to go to reach my goal but my home-gym inspires me to keep at it."


He has a multi-gym, a treadmill, a cross-trainer, a cycle, a spinning bike that he purchased recently, weights and benches. "I also have a steam, Jacuzzi and massage shower unit that I use to reward myself whenever I manage a good hard workout," he smiles. He believes that just like everything else, gymming is not about how long you are at it but rather what all you are doing. "I try and stick to my regime," he says. Babul is looking forward to his maiden film as a hero that will be released next Friday. Five years ago Jackky Bhagnani used to be 130kgs.

How to use meditation for pain relief?

With its origins in ancient religious and spiritual traditions, meditation is a widely used mind-body practice used even today, to complement medical procedures and treatments.

Although, used mostly for relaxation and stress reduction, meditation-based therapy is increasingly offered in medical centers and clinics today to manage pain and reduce anxiety prior to surgeries. Surprised? Recent studies have shown that frequent practice of meditation can lead to significant control of pain. Read on to know how meditation alters your pain perception and quells pain even better than some of the most powerful drugs.


Meditation and common forms:
The term meditation refers to a set of techniques wherein a person minimizes the activity of the mind without altering the level of alertness. Broadly, the technique has been categorized under five basic categories:


Mantra meditation:

This comprises the Transcendental Meditation techniques, Clinically Standardized Meditation and Relaxation Response. In this process, by repeatedly using a sound or phrase, a person focuses to achieve a state of perfect consciousness.


Mindfulness meditation:

This form of meditation involves focusing on what you experience while performing the technique like the very flow of your breath.


Yoga:

Here, a person attempts to achieve a state of calmness by combining bodily postures with controlled breathing. Tai-Chi - A form of Chinese martial arts, the technique is performed using self-paced series of movements in a slow-graceful manner along with deep breathing. Qi gong - This involves a combination of meditation, breathing exercise, relaxation and physical movements.

Meditation and pain management: In the past, meditation has been explored extensively for its effects on stress reduction and other similar clinical functions. However, researchers have now identified another significant health benefit of the technique that suggests that it is actually possible to overcome debilitating pain with the help of meditation. What's more, some of these studies have also suggested that the pain-relieving effects of meditation might be even more effective than morphine.

Back in April, 2011, a study by the researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center indicated that a person can attain at least 40 per ent decrease in pain intensity and 57 per cent in pain unpleasantness merely by practicing these techniques regularly. This decrease in pain was found to be much higher than with morphine or other pain-relieving drugs. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, the brain activity of study participants after meditation demonstrated how the technique increased the activity of certain areas which are responsible for pain perception.

Despite such findings, scientists were unable to ascertain the actual mechanism of this phenomenon until now. According to a recent research published at the Brain Research Bulletin, investigators from Harvard, MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a possible answer. 

Don't workout on an empty stomach

Gym-goers and athletes tend to push themselves on empty stomachs in the belief they'll burn up more fat.


Most believe in the theory that exercising on an empty stomach will make the body use up fat reserves and covert it into energy instead of the glucose or carbohydrates that may be readily available from a meal or a drink before the workout.

But while it seems to make sense, research now shows that exercising on an empty stomach doesn't offer any benefit and may actually work against you.

According to a recent report published this year in a fitness journal in the US, it has been established that the body burns the same amount of fat irrespective of whether you eat before or after a workout.

But the problem arises in the fact that dizzy spells notwithstanding, you will lose muscle by exercising in a state of hunger.

The study also found that and without food to help the workout, the intensity of the exercise and the total calorie burn will be reduced. So, that leaves you not only exhausted, but with less muscle and no energy to burn more fat.

The studies found that when people trained with nothing in their stomachs, about 10 percent of the calories they burned came from protein, including muscle.

In an earlier study, researchers had found that eating light before a meal was beneficial. Those who consumed 45 grams of carbohydrates before their workouts ended up eating less through the rest of the day.

Experts now advise a light meal of oats or even a milkshake before a workout will go a long way in extending the benefits of the time spent in a gym. 

Those pushing the heavy ones in the hope of building muscle are well advised to go the Dara Singh way of egg 'n' milkshake.