Keeping Your Hips Happy and Healthy

by Shari

Cobbler's Pose with Prop

After reading Women's Flexibility is a Liability in Yoga by William Broad and responding with Is Women's Flexibility a Liability in Yoga? Shari's Response to William Broad and Differences Between Male and Female Pelvic Structures I thought some general advice about how to keep your hips healthy and happy would be helpful for both women and men alike.

I suggest you start by finding your hips and assessing your mobility. I often ask my students to begin by locating their hip joints. They are not on the outside of your pelvis but the spot where when you lift your legs up when you are climbing stairs, you feel the muscle moving under your fingers. This is the head of your femur (thigh bone).

Hip Joint Located Behind Inguinal Ligament

Next, test your own amount of leg external and internal rotation. Lie on the floor in Savasana (Corpse pose), with your feet slightly apart. Then, moving from your hips while keeping your legs straight, turn your legs out so your feet turn away from each other. This is external rotation.  As you do this motion, make sure you are doing the movement from your hips not from your lower leg/knee. Observe how far you can turn your legs out, and whether both sides are the same. Next, moving from your hips while keeping your legs straight, turn your legs in so your feet are turning toward each other. This is internal rotation. Again, as you do this exercise, make sure the movement originates from your hips not from your lower leg/knee. Observe how far you can turn your legs in, and whether both sides are the same.

Once you can sense how much actual hip rotation you actually have (and whether you are the same on both sides), you can begin to assess your own foot placements for standing poses. Start by exploring your particular hip alignment in wide-legged, side-facing standing poses, such as Warrior 2 or Triangle pose. See whether it is easier to feel your hip position if you step into your standing pose from Mountain pose (Tadasana) by stepping back with your left leg and keeping your right leg stable, rather than stepping the right leg forward and the left leg back (the traditional Iyengar yoga cue). Then, as you take your stance in the pose, first try keeping your front heel in line with your back middle arch and notice how your back leg internal rotation feels. If you find that in order to do this alignment you have to reposition your lower leg moving from your knee to correct this alignment, try a wider front heel to back heel stance and see if this feels like less tension in your knees and back hip.

I remind my students to not square the pelvis (see Squarer's Beware) but to allow the front pelvis to be in the same plane as the front knee and the back knee to be in the same plane as the back pelvis. In these types of poses, your front leg will be in external rotation relative to your back leg, which is in internal rotation. While working with your hips, don’t forget your knee positioning—to protect your knees, please align your knee with the middle of your ankle joint and generally in line with your second toe. All these joints should be lined up. Proper alignment that is optimum for you may take some experimentation, so if in you’re doubt, use a mirror to help you check exactly which direction your knees and hips are facing.

Continue this exploration in all your wide-legged standing poses, such as Extended Side Angle pose and Warrior 1. Try not to force rotation by causing your pelvis to move more than is comfortable over your stable legs. And don’t be afraid to line up your front heel with your back heel if that gives you more a sense of freedom in your hip joints! Turning one joint surface too much in relationship to another (the femur turning in the cup of the acetabula) will put stress and strain on the hip joint capsule and the ligaments that keep the hip within the socket of the acetabula.

 Some rules of thumb for standing poses:

1. Any pain in the groin or knees need to be respected. Please back out of the position.
2. Pay attention to pain in any body part, especially when doing single leg positions (balancing poses) and try to modify to avoid reproducing the pain. It is really important to learn how to use your muscles (which need to contract on both sides of the joints ) and bones to support your weight rather than depending on the ligamentous structures inside the joints to provide stability. Pain can come from compressing the pain sensitive structures inside joints (ligaments, tendons and capsules) or from moving beyond the joints limits of mobility (see Range of Motion: Yoga's Got it Covered).
3. Try to avoid overly stretching the front of your thighs close to your hip crease in your back leg in poses like Warrior 1, Triangle pose, etc. And for lunges, avoid going into your end range with your back leg and “hanging out” there. 

Now on to seated poses! Whether you are sitting in a straight leg position like Staff pose (Dandasana) or in a bent leg position like Seated Crossed Legs (Sukasana), Cobbler’s pose (Baddha Konasana) or Lotus/Half Lotus, it is really important to sit with your knees below your hips. If you have limitations in your hip external rotation, you definitely need to sit on a prop (folded blankets or bolster). And if you can’t lift your pelvis up over the front of your hip joints (this will look like a slumped position), again pleased sit on a prop to allow some space so you can lengthen up and bring your spine back into its natural neutral curves.

Remember the spine has curves for a reason—they serve as a means to distribute weight through the spine along the vertebral bodies. If you sit in a reversed or slumped position, you change the weight-bearing forces onto the facet joints and the soft tissue structures of the back (muscles and ligaments and discs). When you sit with your bones providing the support, you will tire less and breath better!

Finally, in bent leg positions, you may need to support your outer legs to prevent the sensation of hip pain. You can place folded blankets or blocks under your knees to keep your legs from hanging in space.

Sitting in Hero pose (Virasana) is a different hip position—internal rotation. Depending on the degree of internal rotation that you have, it may or may not be possible for you to sit with your knees together. In this case, try sitting on a higher support so your pelvis can be over the heads of your femurs (thigh bones) not behind them, and allow your knees to separate but not roll out. Align your thighs with your hip joints. Try palpating your hips in Hero pose and experiment to see if changing how close together your knees are helps to make the pose more comfortable. Reclined Hero pose (Supta Virasana) is also a different hip position because internal rotation is now superimposed with a backbend and if your hips can’t move into internal rotation, then your lumbar spine and sacrum will try to compensate for the lack of movement which can also cause pain and discomfort. This is especially the case for women because our sacroiliac joints may not lock down in weight bearing in this backbend so there can be an uneven distribution of weight in the back bend position. Learning how to prop for both Hero pose and Reclined Hero pose is really important, and you may need a teacher to help you with these alignment issues.

The bony structure and joint orientation of your hips in the acetabulum of the pelvis are variables that cannot be changed. Bones can only move in certain ways due to form and function. We may try to compensate for our immobility by excessively overusing our soft tissue ligaments and joint capsules to try to gain flexibility that we lack. Or, we may inadvertently try to make our hips move beyond their anatomical possibilities by the sports that we do or the yoga that we practice because we think the goal is more flexibility. This certainly can cause excessive wear and tear of the hip joint leading to cartilage deterioration and arthritis. So the issue really is our perception of what a pose is supposed to look like. How a pose feels is very individualistic, and it is not good to struggle with a pose that always causes pain. Sometimes for some of us certain poses aren’t attainable in the classical sense, but I believe that if we can recreate the feel of the pose we can get the benefits. For example, Dancer’s pose (Natarajasana) is a challenging balancing backbend in which you raise one bent leg behind you and reach overhead with one bent arm to hold the toes of your raised foot. However, modifying this pose by reaching your straight arm back to hold your foot instead of up overhead will allow you to recreate the beauty and concentration of the classical pose.

For healthy aging, I believe that struggle may not always be the best way to go; instead, learning to be less aggressive and more adaptive is a best way to approach asana. Mental focus and alertness with concentration on using the breath to create asana is more satisfying than trying to force oneself into contortions that may not be possible for one’s innate physical structure. This is how we balance and protect ourselves from injury during the physical asana practice.

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Your Family Can Use Good Healthy Products

By Tyler Dropski

Green cleaning, the concept of merely utilizing products and services with eco-friendly ingredients that promote a healthy lifestyle, is catching on rapidly all around the nation. Making use of green products when cleaning is smart as it is not harmful and does not cause skin and respiratory issues.

Numerous chemicals in a lot of industrial-strength cleaning products could have a harmful impact on human health levels, and green cleaning is an active endeavor to permanently avoid this. These products could cause severe health issues when a person is exposed to it or whenever somebody inhales or ingests it. Absorption of chemical substances in the skin can be dangerous to the reproductive system and can cause problems relating to the eyes and respiratory system, as well as other severe allergy symptoms.

Respiratory diseases may also be obtained when air ventilation systems are filled with microorganisms. Frequent contact with chemical substances could cause cancer and brain ailments. It's also been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that there are much more toxins indoors compared to outside. This just means that people who work inside office buildings are frequently subjected to harmful chemicals. And you should always want to avoid those because it will cause health problems.

The earth is also affected by cleaning products which have chemical substances based on a number of research studies. A large number of chemicals is used by commercial buildings across the country every year. This volume is worrying as it could be bad for expecting mothers, senior citizens, kids, and people with different illnesses.

The quality of air inside structures could contain unwanted organisms, and chemicals meted out by repellents can include ingredients that prove harmful to a person's health if continually inhaled over a long time period. Unsafe chemicals could move into the circulatory system and constitute the foundation for major upset to the nervous system, resulting in dizziness, lethargy, asthma and many more.

Some of the best choices include bergamot, Roman chamomile, and spruce. As soon as you read the remainder of this informative article, you'll have a better concept of how you would like to use several of these calming oils in your travels.

This is just a small sample of the methods that people are using essential oils to de-stress while on a trip. I hope you got a few tips here and maybe you could look for new means to unwind in your travels.

Many businesses choose the traditional cleaning approaches while others are already practicing green methods. The wellness of employees are promoted by companies that implement green methods. As it's a cost-effective practice, green cleaning is being increasingly more accepted as a healthy bet for companies who want to reduce their effect on the environment.

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When you want your aromatherapy certification or learn how to make your own natural shampoo check out our video.

Cultivating Healthy Relationships Yoga to the Rescue

by Ram

Jelly Fish by Melina Meza

It is difficult to live in complete isolation. We all need the support of other people around us to survive. So we develop relationships with others whether on a personal, professional, or commercial level. Thus, interpersonal relationships have a critical role to play in our lives. In order to lead a happy, smooth life, an individual must have healthy relationships with others around him. In other words, the secret to a happy life is a healthy relationship. We all have a natural drive toward establishing relationships and in these relationships we long for acceptance. A healthy relationship is one in which all the individuals feel that they matter. A healthy relationship is characterized by:

• harmony among all individuals
• a natural desire to foster additional relationships
• an effective and harmonious communication between individuals in the relationship
• a tendency to be patient with or tolerant of the opinions or practices of others
• increased sense of belonging and worth
• increased sense of enthusiasm to nurture the growth-fostering relationship

In contrast, an unhealthy relationship is damaging to one or more individuals physically, mentally or emotionally. Unhealthy relationship is generally characterized by mistrust, emotional upheaval, arguments, jealousy and possibly cheating, among others. When these issues begin to dominate the majority of the time spent together, the relationship turns unhealthy. All the above-mentioned issues invoke a common underlying theme “himsa” or violence. Unhealthy relationship can trigger violence that appears in so many forms leading to physical and mental stress. The stress of being in an unhealthy relationship has the obvious physical and psychological impact: it often increases one’s vulnerability to illness and may cause the victim to be more susceptible to disease. Battered victims experience depression, feelings of low self-esteem and helplessness coupled with somatic complaints. Their ability to trust and form emotional attachments is severely impacted.

Empathy, trust, patience, faith and compassion are some excellent tools to help cultivate healthy relationships, as these tools allow us to accept events as they are and act with an open and loving heart. The tools also replace violent tendencies with kindness, acceptance and love. Practicing them on oneself helps to cultivate the same feelings towards others. Furthermore, establishing relationships with individuals who have access to natural inner peace and a non-harming attitude can lead to a stronger ability to give up hostilities, ill will or aggression in return. It is a natural process that everyone experiences in the presence of a truly non-violent person. Relational-cultural therapy (RCT) - established by mental health professionals - uses the above-mentioned tools to nurture and sustain healthy relationships.

Among other interventional modalities, yoga could very well be helpful in making interpersonal relationships healthy, nurturing and strong. Not surprisingly, a recent research study entitled “I am a Nice Person When I Do Yoga: A Qualitative Analysis of How Yoga Affects Relationships” concludes that yoga improves and sustains interpersonal relationships as it makes the practitioners more patient, kind, mindful, and self-aware. In the study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, Ross, et al used content analysis (data drawn from verbal, print, or electronic communications are analyzed for the purpose of condensing, describing, and ultimately categorizing specific phenomenon) on a large cross-sectional anonymous survey of yoga practitioners (N = 1,067). After using suitable inclusion and exclusion criteria, 4,300 yoga practitioners were randomly selected from all major regions of the country. All of them received an online survey asking detailed questions about their yoga practice, health status, dietary habits, illness and relationship status. In addition to attributing yoga to a healthy dietary status and perfect health, 67% of the practitioners agreed or strongly agreed that yoga improved their inter-personal relationships as well.

The major conclusions drawn from this content analysis study were:

• Yoga leads to personal transformation by cultivating several psychological traits, including insight, self-awareness, mindfulness, calmness, peacefulness, happiness, kindness, tolerance, respect, and compassion.
• Yoga increases social interaction and decreases feelings of social isolation.
• Yoga provides coping mechanisms to weather relationship difficulties and losses.
• Yoga leads to spiritual transcendence and connection.

Based on the answers and final analysis, the authors concluded, “Because social support is an important predictor of morbidity and mortality and yoga practice contributes to social support, yoga could be beneficial for populations at risk for social isolation, such as those who are elderly, bereaved, or depressed as well as individuals undergoing interpersonal crises.”

The above scientific study is definitely an eye-opener and I would encourage everyone to read this wonderful piece of science. Now if I have to heal the wounds of my relationships, I do not need to go far. My yoga mat and the practice from it will serve as the balm!!

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Advantages Of Hotel Massage Service For Healthy Living

By Lelia Hall

Massaging has been here for many years and has been used by the past generations as a healing exercise. There are different types of masseuse services, but the most important thing is that they all purpose to relax one's muscles after a day's work. The advantages you can get when you attend a hotel massage service are many, but it offers you the best-relaxed place to unwind a day. Hotels are offering massaging services to meet the growing demand of the people who want body kneading services.

If you want to get the best out of massage service, you must ensure you get it from a qualified therapist. At the hotel in Schaumburg, IL we make it our responsibility to ensure our clients are massaged by a professional. We do not take for granted your desire to relieve your day's stress and relax your body. You can always visit our spa to enjoy the evening and has a beautiful unwinding experience and release all your anxiety. We will also have the perfect massage that will stimulate your brain performance and lower your blood pressure.

Over the years that people have been using body kneading, they have had a healthier life because it stimulates the functioning of the nervous system. Massaging also helps in digestion and improving a person's body defenses. Our professional massage therapists will give the best masseuse that will unlock your nervous system giving a real inner feeling.

The action of massaging provides us with a happy feeling because it assists the body to release the hormone endorphin responsible for a good mood. It is also a natural painkiller that manages both emotion and physical pain hence giving us the right feeling. Massaging is also known to be good at assisting the circulation of blood to all parts of the body.

Scientific study shows that when you have a continuous flow of fresh blood to parts of your body you have a better supply of nutrients and oxygen to the muscles and organs. You will always have a freshened day, and hence it will improve your productivity. Massaging, as a result, helps our body to release toxins and waste products due to muscle lactic acid accumulation.

In this generation, many people are looking for masseuse services as a way of relaxing and therapy. It is because it assists in the flow of the lymphatic fluid that helps the body in fighting infections and developing body defenses. As a result the more you frequent a spa, the healthier you become. If you are suffering from arthritis, back injuries and chronic migraines attending, a hotel spa session will offer the best solution to such conditions.

In the sporting sector, people are taking masseuse as part of training sessions. It used never to be taken seriously in the past, but it is now a growing trend that has helped many develop their sporting career. When you have healthy muscles, you will always give your best at all times when sporting.

Finally, we are currently living in the days when life is very challenging, and most people get to a state of depression. Massaging session offers you the best anti depression solution. It works such that it helps the brain by releasing hormone serotonin.

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Natural And Healthy Spine Tips Offered By Redondo Beach CA Chiropractor

By Lance Thorington

The spinal column consists of vertebral joints, nerves, and soft tissues that function in combination for full range of motion, flexibility, and structural stability. Where injury has occurred or chronic conditions impact spinal strength, it can lead to a myriad of physical problems. Common complaints include back pain, neck stiffness, joint dysfunction, and nerve problems that can be prevented with tips from a Redondo Beach chiropractor.

Maintaining a well balanced spine requires supportive physical operation and the correct wellness plans. A naturally based program can aid in eliminating restricted joint function and facilitate greater range of movement. Spinal alignment will support healthy function and prevent against the damages that are associated with poor joint and soft tissue health.

Whether you stand or sit, never curve the shoulders forward. A significant bend can displace the joints in the spine and contribute to severe amounts of pressure on the surrounding nerves and tissues. After a period of time, such curvature can become permanent and will require manual solutions to improve posture to correct the abnormality.

The performance of regular exercises can aid in improving the tone and the strength of muscles. The spine can be supported by soft tissues that are strong and flexible should future accidents or musculoskeletal conditions develop. Such measures can aid in enhancing flexible function and tend to physical disorders in an effective manner.

A visit to a chiropractor can aid in detecting spinal misalignment and dysfunction. The practitioner will perform spinal adjustment techniques involving firm and safe thrusts to realign the column and to alleviate nerve pressure. Once the joints are balanced, it reduces the compression on nerves and can relieve symptoms.

A balanced spinal column requires that the joints are aligned and nerves are working in a regular manner. Chiropractic is a natural approach that aims to detect the cause for limitations in function and relief from severe symptoms. It offers long term management plans to assist individuals in working towards wellness and a fully flexible spine.

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Redondo Beach Chiropractor for great healthy spine tips, now. You can also get more information about an experienced Redondo Beach chiropractor at http://www.kadenchiropractic.com today.

Healthy Lifestyle Training Together With Diet Plan

 

Leading healthy living is vital to getting the best from a workout. There is an explanation why the ultimate way to a better body is through diet and exercise. Perfect food is needed to service fast muscle restoration and consequently growth. .

Protein and carbohydrates are just two of the basic necessities to be considered for gym activities. These are the components which boost and provide strength and energy to the body muscle. Focusing on the food intake and eating less than the usual is the method that the majority of individuals think to be effective in losing weight, which is totally wrong.

Individuals think that simply cutting back on food such as rice and pasta is the only way to weight loss. There are in fact carbs which are healthy enough which can be used as a substitute to rice yet are great weight loss choice, and individuals overlooked this simple fact.

It is essential to take note that our body needs sufficient fuel to make it through the day just before and after intense gym activities, in accordance with this, taking the needed nutrition is important. While almost all of the individuals believe that losing weight starts off at reducing carbohydrates consumption, it is also very important to take into consideration that this also indicates a decrease in energy. The same goes for protein; steering clear of meat is not the solution. Lean meat is the key that people who are interested in a healthy way of weight loss should know. Protein is greatly needed in the process of muscle development, this just implies that it really is important to include fish, meat or poultry in our meals because these are the good sources of protein and depriving the body from protein could help make the body be incapable of muscle development.

There are various healthy alternatives that one can turn to whenever interesting regarding losing weight appropriately. The quantity and quality of the food must not be the very first to be compromised as nutritionists have provided enough substitutes for the meals that people have been accustomed to. For beginners, lean meat such as chicken and turkey breasts are good substitutes for the usual red meat. Consider those foods that are great sources of omega 3 simply because they help in cutting down the fat and sustaining energy for the body. Enjoying carbs through red or brown rice can be done; if such kinds aren't available, choose wheat bread as white rice substitute.

Supplements are a different problem since there are a whole lot of supplements which are currently out in the market. It has never been secure to just take into consideration taking the supplement that's advised by your close friends. Extreme caution must be used in choosing the right supplement and if given the choice, proper consultation must be acquired. This is primarily due to the fact that every person's supplemental requirements differ from the others, and feasible effects should be significantly considered.

In addition to that, supplements shouldn't be regarded as materials in beginning a workout, this must be regarded as an additive to the fitness management that has recently been established. There is a need of seeking expert's advice and supervision in taking supplements with extreme caution because this is not a substitute for workout.

About the Author:

By Jamel Catalanotto

You can find different supplements on the market. Creatine monohydrate and protein being the hottest ones for starters. Products such as prohormones are on an entirely different level as they give you almost instant results. Although you may have been exercising for awhile, always gain sufficient information before beginning using goods like that.

Healthy Smoothie Recipes Ideal Weight Loss Recipes

By Susan Field

Did you know that healthy smoothie recipes for weight loss can be made easily by you at home and these blends of beneficial fruits and vegetables will improve digestive functions and are an aid to weight-loss?

These natural whole foods contain many special vitamins and minerals that can benefit your entire body.

Blending is a great way of releasing all the plant based nutrients that can then be easily digested.

Make sure to avoid sugary tropical fruits in your smoothies for weight loss, avoid banana, pineapple and mango.

Doing so will ensure that you lose weight quickly and safely. Fruits and vegetables also have natural fibre that will help bind the sugars and release them slowly during digestion. This helps reduce the insulin response thus making it more difficult for your body to store energy as fat.

Make sure you include more vegetables than fruit in your green smoothies if you want to maximise the weight loss effect.

To lose weight fast with a smoothie diet only incorporate 20% of fruit and make the majority of the blend with water rich green vegetables.

Keeping the fruit content low will mean that you can enjoy fuller flavours and get the maximum benefit from organic green vegetables in your diet.

One great strategy for increasing the weight loss effects of a smoothie is to consume them on an empty stomach. Following this tip will improve digestion by allowing the natural enzymes contained in the fruits to optimise absorption.

Following the meal replacement method is a clever way to incorporate more natural whole foods into your daily diet. Following a liquid diet plan that is designed for weight loss will still allow you to eat a healthy evening meal.

Taking this approach will make it easier to incorporate healthy smoothie recipes for weight loss into your normal daily routine.

Including an avocado in a green smoothie will make sure that you do not feel hungry before your next meal time. Avocado contains healthy omega 3 fats that are known to suppress hunger naturally.

When you make a green smoothie you can optionally use coconut milk instead of filtered water it does add a creamy slightly sweeter taste to the blend.

At 'the liquid diet plan' website we have prepared a range of meal replacement recipe ideas that you can use free of charge to help you lose excess weight steadily and consistently whilst improving your overall health and well being.

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