Pregnancy yoga

March 8, 2009 in body, health | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

pregnancy yoga

pregnancy yoga

Most mums-to-be become a lot more introspective once they find out they’re pregnant: worrying more about what they eat and how they treat their bodies. This becomes even more important as pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness start to strike, in the first trimester, and also later in your pregnancy, when you might experience emotional lows and feel stressed out at the thought of going through labour and caring for a newborn.

 

 

Yoga is a great salve for the soul at times like this, and its calming effects benefit your unborn baby too. Pregnancy yoga positions are designed to boost bloodflow through the placenta, thereby ensuring your baby gets the nutrients he needs to develop and grow. They also help to gently stretch your muscles, keeping them supple for the work of labour. The controlled breathing that accompanies the moves helps to relax you and can help you cope with your contractions once you go into labour. And yoga also promotes deep relaxation and a feeling of wellbeing that will help ease any tension and anxiety you’re feeling; as well as meditative thought that concentrates your mind – a huge help when it comes to focusing on your pelvis opening up to allow your baby through to be born.

What positions can I try?

It’s always best to consult a qualified yoga tutor who can show you the positions that most suit you, depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy. It’s also a good precaution if you’ve never done yoga before. If you already regularly attend a yoga session, be sure to tell the instructor that you’re pregnant, and how far along you are, as some positions may not be suitable for you. As a rule, you should never force a yoga position to the point where it becomes uncomfortable – the idea is to stretch the muscles, not strain them. You’re particularly at risk of this when you’re pregnant because the pregnancy hormone relaxin makes the ligaments more flexible, meaning that overstretching is a possibility. Avoid doing exercises that require you to lie on your back after the first trimester, as this may put pressure on a major vein that returns blood from your legs to your heart, causing you to feel dizzy and breathless. And once your bump starts to get larger, be mindful that your centre of gravity has changed and this might make you more likely to lose your balance. As a precaution, do any standing positions with your back against the wall, or use a barre or chair for support to avoid falling. Avoid positions that incorporate deep bends and twists. Breathe deeply as you stretch and if at any time you feel uncomfortable or unwell, stop what you’re doing. Your yoga tutor might suggest these positions:

Half butterfly

This increases the range of motion in your hips and knees, which will help you try squatting positions when you’re delivering your baby. Sit with your legs outstretched. Bend your right leg and rest your foot as high up on your left thigh as you can. Rest your right hand on your bent knee and hold onto the toes of your left foot with your other hand. Use your right hand to gently raise your knee up slightly and then down towards the floor 10 times. Repeat with your left leg.

Cobbler pose

This helps open up your hips and pelvis. Sit with your knees bent and bring the soles of your feet together. Keep your spine long and firmly press the outer edges of your feet together. Full butterfly This helps loosen your hips and relieve tension in your legs. Sit with your knees bent and the soles of your feet resting together. Ease your heels as close to your body as you can. Use your hands to gently move your knees up and down. Sleeping abdominal stretch pose This can help relieve lower backache and constipation, which can be real problems in pregnancy. Lie on your back with your arms outstretched and your legs bent at the knees. Lower your knees to the right, as far down as the floor if you can. At the same time, turn your head so it’s facing in the opposite direction from your knees. Repeat with your legs and head turning in the opposite directions.

Cat stretch pose

This eases stiffness in your back, shoulders and neck and help get your baby into a good position for birth. Get down on all fours, with your back straight. While exhaling, arch your back into a cat-like curl and lower your head so it hangs down between your arms. While inhaling, return to the first position.

Paula Radcliffe’s Running Advice

January 4, 2009 in running | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Paula Radcliffe is the best female marathon runner in the world. She recently shared some of her training tips with Patrick Barkham from the Guardian.If you are planning to run a marathon next year, or are just making a new year resolution to do more exercise, then these tips may help you. For added motivation, remember that Paula is now in her mid thirties and is a mother, and has no belly fat on her. Running can be a great way to lose weight (although we actually recommend a combination of intensive interval training and resistance training).

Paula Radcliffe’s Running Advice

Firstly, if training for a marathon, you do not need to run every day. In fact, as you should be training for longer distances, daily running can lead to overtraining problems, such as muscle fatigue and injury. Also, after a long run, take a proper rest. Paula Radcliffe takes two weeks holiday after each marathon. That is two weeks with no running at all.

Paula Radcliffe prefers to break her running down into shorter runs. She runs either five 2km runs, or six one mile runs, on any particular training day. This is to ensure that she is always training to run at her marathon pace. She then does an additional long run each week. As training progresses, and the marathon is getting closer, she starts to extend the long run up to 10 miles.

Paula Radcliffe recommends knee length compression socks (similar to flight socks) to aid circulation. In her case they help to reduce stiffness in the calves.

Training for a marathon is very mentally demanding. The training itself is often a greater challenge than the race. However, when training it is vital to learn from these challenges, as they will help you cope when you hit “the wall” during a marathon. If you can overcome it in training, you should be able to overcome it in a race.

If you do feel pain and are hitting that wall, then learn to distract your mind from the pain. Paula’s advice is to count to 100 three times. Usually by the time you have finished the last 100 count, the pain has subsided.

Paula’s best tip for marathon training success is that you have to enjoy running a lot. If you love to run, then you will always find the motivation and will to succeed. For her running is a way to cope with stresses and worries of everyday life. For Paula running is in her words, more of an addiction than a job. She does not need to run everyday, just 7 days in every 8!

If you follow this plan of running mostly shorter runs at your race pace, and run every other day, then you will see great improvements. Before finalizing your running schedule read up on some more marathon training advice.

Can bra cause breast cancer?

January 4, 2009 in body, health | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

“No study exists because this is a breakthrough. However, as Dressed To Kill shows, bras have a history of causing health problems. Corsets have a history of damaging women by constriction, too, and bras are breast corsets. As for our ignoring other variables, all research ignores some variables. You cannot do research and include all variables, particularly since you never know all the variables. The ones we ignored were unnecessary for considering the effect of bras on the breasts.”

“There are no scientifically valid studies that show a correlation between wearing bras of any type and the occurrence of breast cancer. [Singer and Grismaijer's] study was not conducted according to standard principles of epidemiological research and did not take into consideration other variables, including known risk factors for breast cancer.”

Bras apply pressure to the breasts, especially to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of tiny, thin-walled vessels that drain from the breast tissue, removing toxins, cell debris, cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, and other products from the breasts. All of our tissues drain through the lymphatics, which is essentially the circulatory pathway of the immune system.

However, unlike arteries and veins, these vessels have no internal pressure. As a result, they are easily compressed by external pressure (a bra, for instance) leading to the congestion of the tissues that would otherwise have been drained. When a woman wears a tight bra, she subjects her breasts to pressure, closing off the lymphatic pathway from the breast to the nodes. This causes fluid build-up, swelling, tenderness and cyst formation. Toxins must be flushed out via the lymphatics. However, a bra-constricted breast cannot adequately perform this cleansing process, resulting in toxin accumulation in the breast.

We’ve been told that anything from shampoo to antiperspirants cause cancer. Now we’re led to believe that our clothes are trying to kill us as well. While there might be something to this one, e-mail is not the best tool for getting the word out.

Tip: A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis is often followed by a Mesothelioma Treatment recommended by your doctor.

The Mediterranean Fertility Center & Genetic Services on the beautiful Greek island ofCrete is the ideal place to realise your dream of becoming a parent

January 4, 2009 in health | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Located in Chania, on the beautiful Greek island of Crete, the Mediterranean Fertility Center & Genetic Services (MFCGS) is the perfect place in which to make your baby dreams come true. Run by the
world-renowned Dr Jacumakis Ioannis and committed to offering every patient top-level advice and treatment that is affordable and, most importantly, successful, the MFCGS uses its state-of-the-art equipment and depth of experience in assisted conception to help its visitors to become parents.

With its laidback atmosphere, sunny Mediterranean climate and beautiful beaches, Chania is a perfect choice of location. As well as realising their goal of having a child, visitors to the MFCGS – who travel to Crete from all over the world – will also feel like they’ve relaxed and had a good holiday. The city’s Old Town, considered Crete’s most beautiful urban space, and its Venetian Harbour are both enchanting, and there are no shortage of places in which to enjoy a delicious meal, with traditional Cretan specialities and foreign cuisines both well represented amongst the various outstanding local restaurants.

Since openings its doors 15 years ago, the MFCGS has become the leader in Reproductive Medicine and Assisted Reproductive Technologies. With infertility a problem affecting an increasing number of couples, particularly those waiting until their late 30s or 40s to start trying for a family, the MFCGS takes seriously its task of developing and refining the best, most innovative ways of facilitating conception. Amongst the methods used by the Center are the ever popular IVF (either with assisted hatching or IVF-ICSI or fVF-lCS1- IMSI), TESA MESA, sperm banking, embryo freezing, sperm donation, ovocyLe donation, embryo donation, PGD diagnosis and PGD screening.

The Center’s team of experienced and devoted staff will do their utmost to pinpoint the cause of couples’ infertility and then painstakingly consider each of these options with patients to find the solution which best suits each couple’s unique circumstances and gives them the best chance of success. Every member of staff is trained to the very highest level and deeply compassionate about the sensitive nature of fertility issues. The success rate of the clinic’s treatments speak for themselves – with IVF succeeding in over 50% of women under 35 and in nearly 30% of over 40s. An added benefit is that the MFCGS has made every effort to keep its cost levels as low as possible, in order to allow families of all incomes to have a chance at parenthood.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS MEET IN CRETE TO SHARE NEW RESEARCH
 The international symposium last September in Chania on Preventive Art Fertility Preservation & Preimplantation Diagnosis was a great success, with professionals from all over the world travelling to Crete to benefit from some of the Center’s most up-to-the-minute research on preventing and coping with infertility More events like this are in the pipeline for the future.
To find out more about the services provided visit www.fertilitycenter-crete.gr
Or call +30 6972247074 fora ftee phone consultation with one of the clinic’s fertility specialists.

Perfect running technique

January 2, 2009 in running | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Really good guide on how to run uphill.

He guys does a full body scan before running.