Thursday 6 March 2008

Seven Tips For A Long And Healthy Life

As good as modern medical technology is, it can never save you from the problems caused by a life style that is unhealthy. Instead of getting a modern medical fix for every problem, it is far better to live in such a way that you will hardly ever fall ill.

An ounce of prevention is certainly better than a pound of cure. Here are seven tips on how to live a long and healthy life. In addition, the same life style that helps you to avoid illness also helps you to lose weight.

1. Get Enough Exercise

In the past people had to use their physical bodies in the course of their normal work. But today someone may get up, go to work in a car, then sit down, get up to go home in the car and when arriving at home, sit down again for the rest of the day. In such a life there is no physical labor. This physical inactivity is one of the main reasons for a host of diseases. Sport, running. walking and other things must be added to our life if our normal work does not require us to exert ourselves physically. I

2. Go to sleep when you feel sleepy

This may sound simple, but many people stay up late even when their body is telling them that it is time to sleep. Yoga and Ayurvedic doctors also say that it is better to sleep in the night and be active during the day. However, people such as students will take coffee and stimulants to study late into the night. Others develop the habit of remaining active at night and sleeping during the day. While we can do this, it eventually takes a toll on health. Alternative health doctors say that this kind of unnatural living is one of the contributing factors in the causation of cancer and other diseases

3. Eat when you feel hungry

This is also a simple idea, but once again we often go against the messages of the body. If you eat out of habit or due to social pressure at certain time of the day, even when you have no real appetite, then you will not digest your food properly. Acidity and indigestion begin, and this contributes to the likelihood of other more complex diseases taking root. Having an appetite is actually a sign of good health, but if you have no appetite you should wait a bit and then eat. (If you have no appetite even after awaiting a reasonable amount of time, then you should consult a doctor because something is wrong.)

4.Fast on a Regular, Systematic Basis

If you would ask any person to work 365 days per year without any rest, they would complain and say that they must have some rest or else they will break down. But we have never bothered to ask or to think about our digestive organs which we compel to work day after day without a rest. They cannot protest the way a person would to his boss, but they do give us signals that they cannot work non-stop. When we ignore those signals and still compel them to work, those organs break down. That is why periodic fasting is necessary. Refrain from eating for one complete day. This gives a rest to your digestive organs and also helps in the elimination of wastes from your body. Regular fasting allows a person to gain extra time for intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Fasting is not for hermits in a cave, but is a sensible practice that anyone can practice.

5. Wash with cool water before going to bed

As mentioned above, proper sleep is essential for the maintenance of health. If you wash your important motor and sensory organs (hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) before sleep using cool water, this will relax you and prepare you for deep sleep.

6. Perform meditation on a regular basis

Your body is linked to your mind. Many of the diseases of this era are psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety take their toll on our physical health. Meditation is a mental exercise which, among other things, allows you to detach yourself from the worries of life. Learn a simple technique and do it regularly.

7. Get up early every day

Once again the old proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise." I don't know if it will make you wealthy, but it will certainly make you healthy. Your body needs just enough sleep, not too much and not too little.

Follow these tips and you can't go wrong.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Dada Vedaprajinananda

Seven Tips For A Long And Healthy Life

As good as modern medical technology is, it can never save you from the problems caused by a life style that is unhealthy. Instead of getting a modern medical fix for every problem, it is far better to live in such a way that you will hardly ever fall ill.

An ounce of prevention is certainly better than a pound of cure. Here are seven tips on how to live a long and healthy life. In addition, the same life style that helps you to avoid illness also helps you to lose weight.

1. Get Enough Exercise

In the past people had to use their physical bodies in the course of their normal work. But today someone may get up, go to work in a car, then sit down, get up to go home in the car and when arriving at home, sit down again for the rest of the day. In such a life there is no physical labor. This physical inactivity is one of the main reasons for a host of diseases. Sport, running. walking and other things must be added to our life if our normal work does not require us to exert ourselves physically. I

2. Go to sleep when you feel sleepy

This may sound simple, but many people stay up late even when their body is telling them that it is time to sleep. Yoga and Ayurvedic doctors also say that it is better to sleep in the night and be active during the day. However, people such as students will take coffee and stimulants to study late into the night. Others develop the habit of remaining active at night and sleeping during the day. While we can do this, it eventually takes a toll on health. Alternative health doctors say that this kind of unnatural living is one of the contributing factors in the causation of cancer and other diseases

3. Eat when you feel hungry

This is also a simple idea, but once again we often go against the messages of the body. If you eat out of habit or due to social pressure at certain time of the day, even when you have no real appetite, then you will not digest your food properly. Acidity and indigestion begin, and this contributes to the likelihood of other more complex diseases taking root. Having an appetite is actually a sign of good health, but if you have no appetite you should wait a bit and then eat. (If you have no appetite even after awaiting a reasonable amount of time, then you should consult a doctor because something is wrong.)

4.Fast on a Regular, Systematic Basis

If you would ask any person to work 365 days per year without any rest, they would complain and say that they must have some rest or else they will break down. But we have never bothered to ask or to think about our digestive organs which we compel to work day after day without a rest. They cannot protest the way a person would to his boss, but they do give us signals that they cannot work non-stop. When we ignore those signals and still compel them to work, those organs break down. That is why periodic fasting is necessary. Refrain from eating for one complete day. This gives a rest to your digestive organs and also helps in the elimination of wastes from your body. Regular fasting allows a person to gain extra time for intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Fasting is not for hermits in a cave, but is a sensible practice that anyone can practice.

5. Wash with cool water before going to bed

As mentioned above, proper sleep is essential for the maintenance of health. If you wash your important motor and sensory organs (hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) before sleep using cool water, this will relax you and prepare you for deep sleep.

6. Perform meditation on a regular basis

Your body is linked to your mind. Many of the diseases of this era are psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety take their toll on our physical health. Meditation is a mental exercise which, among other things, allows you to detach yourself from the worries of life. Learn a simple technique and do it regularly.

7. Get up early every day

Once again the old proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise." I don't know if it will make you wealthy, but it will certainly make you healthy. Your body needs just enough sleep, not too much and not too little.

Follow these tips and you can't go wrong.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Dada Vedaprajinananda

Make the Most of Your Workout Time

There are two keys to getting the most from your workouts. If you omit either one of these you might not get the benefit you want from your efforts. But if you do them both, you will have maximum results with minimum effort. And that is what we all want.

First, when you come to the gym, or when you do any workout, you need to know what it is that you intend to accomplish and how you are going to go about it. In other words, you have to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a complicated plan, but you do need to know where you are going and how you plan on getting there.

For example, if you are trying to lose weight, it is vital to know where you are now. What do you weigh? What is your body fat percentage? How much muscle do you have?

Because it is the muscle that burns up the calories, both at the gym and while you are home resting and even while you are sleeping. It is the muscle that does this. So you need to know how much muscle you have now, and you need to keep track of how much more you are developing, to see if you are making progress.

You can do this with a few simple tools. A bathroom scale or the scale at the gym will tell you how much you weigh. You can figure out the fat percentage with a simple, inexpensive caliper. Subtract the fat mass from your body weight, and that is your lean mass. As long as the lean mass is going up while the fat mass is going down, you are doing well, gaining muscle and getting into better shape.

Second, you need to know what you are doing each workout. If you are walking, you should keep track of how far you walk and how long it takes you. That way you can tell if you are doing better as time goes on. If you are not improving your times or your distance you might not be making the progress you should.

If you are using weights to gain muscle and slim down (and you should if at all possible, because this is one of the best ways to lose weight, no matter who you are, how old you are, how out of shape you are, or what you weigh) then you need to know what workout you are going to do each time you go to the gym.

Your program should be written out beforehand, and include the exercises and the number of repetitions that you are going to do. Then all you have to do is keep a log book (a simple spiral notebook works well) and make a quick note as you do each set of exercises.

It only takes a second you write down the name of the exercise, the number of repetitions, and the weight you are using on each set. This is a vital step that many people leave out. But when you do this, you are recording your progress each workout, and you will know from week to week whether you are improving or not. You can flip the page and see how you did last week, and challenge yourself to do at least one more.

If you do these two things, have a long term plan in mind and keep records of your progress, you can have maximum benefit from minimum effort. And you can truly lose the weight and at last have the body that you have always wanted.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Dan Curtis

Exercise: An Antiaging Activity

Age is a state of mind, not a number, many people believe. But to make this maxim hold true, we must do all within our power to stay healthy and keep our bodies working as long and as efficiently as possible.

One of the best things than anyone can do to maintain good health is to follow a routine exercise plan, preferably one that includes 30 to 60 minutes of a daily workout. Ideally the program should be based on both aerobic and weight training exercises. A comprehensive workout tailored to your specific physical needs and abilities can help you get in shape and maintain a healthy body. Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Check with your doctor. Get a physical examination to make sure your body is working as it should and able to support an exercise routine at this time. If you have an underlying condition, like diabetes or asthma, ask your doctor whether exercise could impact these conditions, and if so, what you should do to manage them. This is the time to report any new or changing symptoms as well, so these can be evaluated and treated, if necessary, to bring them under control. Ask your doctor to recommend an exercise program, or at least to set boundaries on what you should and should not attempt to do.

2. Choose a regular time. Some experts believe that morning exercise brings the best results, but activity at any type of day will help. Try to set aside a similar time slot each day so you can build a routine around it that will help you stay with the program and not miss sessions due to other commitments or interruptions. You may want to let family members and friends know you will be unavailable during this time, say between 6 and 7 p.m., most days of the week.

3. Start slow. Choose easy, light exercise activity to ease into a new routine. Walking around the neighborhood or on a treadmill is a terrific activity. Riding an exercise bike is another. You won’t need special clothes, either, except for comfortable tops and bottoms that will not restrict muscle movements. Swimming is another great way to have fun and burn calories while stretching muscles. Check your local YMCA or health spa for information about open pool hours or swim group programs.

4. Keep records. Write your starting weight, measurements, time, and activities, along with your resting heart rate. Each week, record updated information as well as your peak heart rate during your workout. Make sure you don’t exceed recommended limits. If you stay with your program, you should begin to see positive changes that will make you feel great, mentally as well as physically.

Continue to modify your exercise plan as you get older. In some cases you can increase activity as your body gets in better shape. At other times you may need to decrease or adjust your rate of activity. Whatever happens, your sense of well being and your overall physical health are sure to improve.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Gary Wells

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