Science of Yoga – by Ann Swanson
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There are a lot of yoga books out there to say “bend this way, hold this that way” and so forth, but few that really explain what is going on, how, and why. And understanding those things is of course key to motivation and adherence. So that’s what this book provides!
The book is divided into sections, and in the first part we have a tour of human anatomy and physiology. This may seem almost unrelated to yoga, but is valuable necessary-knowledge to get the most out of the next section:
The next few parts are given over to yoga asanas (stretches, positions, poses, call them what you will in English) and now we are given a clear idea of what it is doing: we get to understand exactly what’s being stretched, what blood flow is being increased and how, what organs are being settled into their correct place, and many other such things.
Importantly, this means we also understand why certain things are the way they are, and why they can’t be done in some other slightly different but perhaps superficially easier way.
The style of the book is like a school textbook, really, but without patronizing the reader. The illustrations, of which there are many, are simple enough to be clear while being detailed enough to be informative.
Bottom line: if you’re ever doing yoga at home and wondering if you should cut a certain corner, this is the book that will tell you why you shouldn’t.
Click here to check out Science of Yoga, and optimize your practice!
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7 Essential Devices For Hand Arthritis: Regain Control of Your Life
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Dr. Diana Girnita is a double board-certified physician in rheumatology and internal medicine. With a PhD in immunology (on top of her MD), and training at Harvard and top universities, she founded Rheumatologist OnCall, offering integrative medicine to broaden rheumatology access. Here’s what she has to say about things that make life easier:
Get your hands on these…
The seven devices that Dr. Girnita recommends are:
- Hand grip strengthener: helps build grip strength with a spring-loaded mechanism. Regular use can improve strength and reduce pain.
- Finger exerciser: different device; similar principle: it strengthens hand and finger muscles using resistance, enhancing hand function.
- Moisturizing paraffin bath: a heated paraffin wax bath that soothes hands, providing heat therapy and moisturizing the skin.
- Weighted silverware: weighted utensils (knives, forks, spoons) make gripping easier and provide stability for eating.
- Foam tubing grips: foam covers to make kitchen tools, toothbrushes, and hairbrushes easier to grip.
- Electric can-opener: reduces strain in opening cans, making meal preparation more accessible.
- Compression gloves: provide gentle compression to reduce swelling and pain, improving hand flexibility and circulation.
- Door knob cover grips: make it easier to turn doorknobs by providing a larger surface to grip.
- Wider-grip pens: ergonomically designed pens with a larger diameter and softer grip reduce hand strain while writing.
This writer, who does not have arthritis but also does not have anything like the grip strength she used to, also recommends a jar opener like this one.
As a bonus, if you spend a lot of time writing at a computer, an ergonomic split keyboard like this one goes a long way to avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome, and logically must be better for arthritis than a regular keyboard; another excellent thing to have (that again this writer uses and swears by) is an ergonomic vertical mouse like this one (aligns the wrist bones correctly; the “normal” horizontal version is woeful for the carpal bones). These things are both also excellent to help avoid worsening peripheral neuropathy (something that troubles this writer’s wrists if she’s not careful, due to old injuries there).
For more on the seven things otherwise listed above, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
- Avoiding/Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Avoiding/Managing Osteoarthritis
- Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically!)
Take care!
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100 Things Productive People Do – by Nigel Cumberland
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This is a book of a hundred small chapters (the book is 396 pages, so 2–3 pages per chapter) which makes for a feeling of quick reading, and definitely gives an option of “light bites”, dipping into the book here and there.
Cumberland offers a wide range of practical wisdom here, and while the book is (per the title) focused on productivity, it also includes all due weight to not burning out and/or breaking down. Because things productive people do does not, it turns out, include working themselves directly into an early grave.
But—despite the author’s considerable and obvious starting point of social privilege—nor is this a tome of “offer your genius leadership and otherwise just coast while everyone does your work for you”, either. This is a “brass tacks” book and highly relatable whether your to-do list most prominently features “personally manage the merger of these Fortune 500 companies” or “sort out that junk in the spare room”
Bottom line: we’d be surprised if this book with 100 pieces of advice failed to bring you enough value to more than pay for itself!
Pick up your copy of 100 Things Productive People Do from Amazon today!
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Cucumber vs Lychee – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing cucumber to lychee, we picked the lychee.
Why?
In terms of macros, the lychee has more carbs and more fiber, but both are low glycemic index foods. Functionally a tie, though we could consider it a nominal win for cucumber.
In the category of vitamins, cucumber has more of vitamins A, B1, B5, and K, while lychee has more of vitamins B2, B3, B6, B9, C, E, and choline. In particular, cucumber has a lot more vitamin K and lychee has a lot more vitamin C. Nevertheless, in terms of overall vitamin coverage, lychee is the clear winner here.
Looking at minerals, cucumber has more calcium, magnesium, manganese, and zinc, while lychee has more copper (especially rich in this), iron, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium. Another clear win for lychee.
Both have an abundance of anti-inflammatory polyphenols, but we could find no strong argument for one being better than the other in this category, just different.
In short, both are fine options, but the more nutritionally dense is the lychee, so that’s our choice!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Cucumber Extract Beats Glucosamine & Chondroitin… At 1/135th Of The Dose?!
Take care!
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Dealing With Back Acne
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small 😎
❝Lately I’ve increasingly been getting zits on my back, I don’t think my shower habits have changed at all, is this just an age thing or is there something I can do about it?❞
Well, we cannot diagnose from afar, so definitely consider seeing a dermatologist if it persists and/or it’s more than a small nuisance to you, but…
Yes and no, with regard to age.
Rather, it’s not really about age, but (in most cases, anyway) hormonal fluctuations. That’s why teenagers often get it; it’s also why acne breakouts can occur during pregnancy, and it can happen again in perimenopause, menopause, or in the postmenopause climb-down, due to imbalanced hormones during the change, and while it’s less likely for men undergoing the andropause (the noticeable drop of testosterone levels after a certain age), it can absolutely occur if taking certain androgenic supplements, including simply taking testosterone (or conversely, if taking something to dial down antagonistic hormones). It can also happen if you’re taking something that throws out your free testosterone to DHT ratio.
As for what to do in this case? The usual process is: just wait it out. At some point your hormones will become stable again (nature loves equilibrium, and the body is mostly a self-righting system if given what it needs to do that), and your skin will return to normal. To be clear: the acne occurs because of the change, not necessarily the end place. So whatever hormone levels you have, be they medicated or otherwise, you just need to keep them stable now (assuming the levels are fine; if not, get them fine, and then keep them stable—speak to an endocrinologist for that) in order to come out the other side acne-free.
However, that’s “the usual process”, and obviously we cannot guarantee it’s not something else. It can also be caused by stress:
The Impact of Pyschological Stress on Acne ← teehee, a typo made it into the publication title
…in which case, of course, simply manage your stress (we know, often easier said than done, but the point is, that’s the remedy in this case).
See also: How To Reduce Chronic Stress
Diet is not the cause (or cure), but enjoying an anti-inflammatory diet will be beneficial, and consuming inflammatory things, exacerbatory:
Effects of Diet on Acne and Its Response to Treatment
Hygiene is also rarely to blame, but it can make a difference, so: do wash gently, wear clean clothes, and wash your bedsheets more often than you think necessary. And about that showering:
Body Scrubs: Benefits, Risks, and Guidance
Take care!
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Overcoming Tendonitis – by Dr. Steven Low & Dr. Frank Skretch
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If you assumed tendonitis to be an inflammatory condition, you’re not alone. However, it’s not; the “-itis” nomenclature is a misnomer, and while one can rarely go wrong with reducing chronic/systemic inflammation, it’s not the cure for tendonitis.
What, then, is tendonitis and what does cure it? It’s a non-inflammatory proliferation disorder, meaning, something is growing (or in this case, simply being replaced) in a way it shouldn’t. As to fixing it, that’s more complex.
This book does cover 20 interventions (sorted into “major” and “minor”), ranging from exercise therapies to surgery, with many things between. It also examines popular myths that do not help, such as rest, ice, heat, and analgesics.
The style of this book is hard science, but don’t worry, it explains everything along the way. It does however mean that if you’re not very accustomed to wading through scientific material, you can’t just dip into the middle of the book and be guaranteed to understand what’s going on. Indeed, before even getting to discussing tendonitis/tendinopathy, the first chapter is very reassuringly dedicated to “understanding the levels and classification of evidence in studies”, along with the assorted scales and guidelines of the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine.
The rest, however, is about the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of tendonitis and tendinopathy more generally. One interesting thing is that, according to the abundant high-quality evidence presented in this book, what works for one body part’s tendonitis does not necessarily work for another body part, so we get quite a part-by-part rundown.
Bottom line: this book has a wealth of useful, applicable information about management of tendonitis, making it indispensable if you or a loved one suffer from such—but settle in, because it’s not a light read.
Click here to check out Overcoming Tendonitis, and overcome tendonitis!
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Building Psychological Resilience (Without Undue Hardship)
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What’s The Worst That Could Happen?
When we talk about the five lifestyle factors that make the biggest difference to health, stress management would be a worthy addition as number six. We haven’t focused explicitly on that for a while, so let’s get ready to start the New Year on a good footing…
You’re not going to have a stress-free 2024
What a tender world that would be! Hopefully your stressors will be small and manageable, but rest assured, things will stress you.
And that’s key: “rest assured”. Know it now, prepare for it, and build resilience.
Sounds grim, doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be, though.
When the forecast weather is cold and wet, you’re not afraid of it when you have a warm dry house. When the heating bill comes for that warm dry house, you’re not afraid of it when you have money to pay it. If you didn’t have the money and the warm dry house, the cold wet weather could be devastating to you.
The lesson here is: we can generally handle what we’re prepared for.
Negative visualization and the PNS
This is the opposite of what a lot of “think and grow rich”-style gurus would advise. And indeed, it’s not helpful to slide into anxious worrying.
If you do find yourself spiralling, here’s a tool for getting out of that spiral:
RAIN: an intervention for dealing with difficult emotions
For now, however, we’re going to practice Radical Acceptance.
First, some biology: you may be aware that your Central Nervous System (CNS) branches into the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).
The PNS is the part that cues our body to relax, and suppresses our fight/flight response. We’re going to activate it.
Activating the PNS is easy for most people in comfortable circumstances (e.g., you are not currently exposed to stressful stimuli). It may well be activated already, and if it’s not, a few deep breaths is usually all it takes.
If you’d like a quick and easy Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) technique, here you go:
No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness
Activating the PNS is hard for most people in difficult circumstances (e.g., you either are currently exposed to stressful stimuli, or you are in one of the emotional spirals we discussed earlier).
However, we can trick our bodies and brains by—when we are safe and unstressed—practicing imagining those stressful stimuli. Taking a moment to not just imagine it experientially, but immersively. This, in CBT and DBT, is the modern equivalent to the old samurai who simply accepted, before battle, that they were already dead—and thus went into battle with zero fear of death.
A less drastic example is the zen master who had a favorite teacup, and feared it would get broken. So he would tell himself “the cup is already broken”. One day, it actually broke, and he simply smiled ruefully and said “Of course”.
How this ties together: practice the mindfulness-based stress reduction we linked above, while imagining the things that do/would stress you the most.
Since it’s just imagination, this is a little easier than when the thing is actually happening. Practicing this way means that when and if the thing actually happens (an unfortunate diagnosis, a financial reversal, whatever it may be), our CNS is already well-trained to respond to stress with a dose of PNS-induced calm.
You can also leverage hormesis, a beneficial aspect of (in this case, optional and chosen by you) acute stress:
Dr. Elissa Epel | The Stress Prescription
Psychological resilience training
This (learned!) ability to respond to stress in an adaptive fashion (without maladaptive coping strategies such as unhelpful behavioral reactivity and/or substance use) is a key part of what in psychology is called resilience:
And yes, the CBT/DBT/MBSR methods we’ve been giving you are the evidence-based gold standard.
Only the best for 10almonds subscribers! 😎
❝That was helpful, but not cheery; can we finish the year on a cheerier note?❞
We can indeed:
How To Get Your Brain On A More Positive Track (Without Toxic Positivity)
Take care!
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Learn to Age Gracefully
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