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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Fall Special
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Some fall-themed advice…
It is now, nominally at least, fall. We’re going to talk about the other kind of “fall” though, the kind that results in broken hips and more.
If you’re thinking “not me; that happens to older more infirm people”, rest assured, it can and statistically probably will happen to you at some point. So, how to play the odds?
First, be robust!
We may not be able to make ourselves like children who bounce easily, but we also don’t have to crumble into dust at the slightest knock, either. There are two important ways we can start to make ourselves robust from the inside out, and they are simple: diet and exercise.
- Diet: The Bare-Bones Truth About Osteoporosis
- Exercise: Osteoporosis Exercises
“But I don’t have osteoporosis”—great! But osteoporosis is preceded by osteopenia, which is generally asymptomatic at first, and also if we’re not very careful about it, we will lose about 1% bone density per year from the age of about 35 onwards, with that rate of loss climbing sharply from the age of 50 onwards, and even more steeply in cases of untreated menopause.
So in other words, don’t take your bone strength for granted; there’s a first time for everything, and you don’t want to find out the hard (and yet, dare we say it, brittle) way.
Second, be dynamic!
Be able to fall and get up safely. If your later life is going to be a triathlon of things you need to train for now, then being able to fall and get up safely should be at the top of the list.
Being able to “deep squat” will help you a lot here, in being able to get up with minimal (or no) use of your hands. We shared a great instructional video about this last week.
It also means that the more your lower body can still take your weight while your torso is closer to the ground (without your legs buckling and collapsing, for instance), the softer and gentler you’ll hit the floor if you do fall, because the final “drop” will be from a lower height.
If at all possible, consider taking some classes of a martial art that involves safely falling—aikido is typically the softest and gentlest and is famously great for people of all ages, but judo or jujitsu will suffice if aikido isn’t available where you are. You don’t have to get a black belt (unless you want to), and any decent instructor will be happy to guide you through the basics of safely falling and then send you on your merry way, if that’s all you wanted.
The benefits of this are twofold:
- Obviously, if you fall, you will have better technique and thus be less likely to incur injury
- As you are falling, you will be less afraid, and thus less likely to tense up mid-fall (tensing up will exacerbate any falling injury)
Click here to find an aikido teacher near you (you can search by country, state, and city)
Third, be balanced!
Spending even just a few minutes each day working on your balance can go a long way.
Standing on one leg (and then the other) is a very good obvious starting point. Please, do so safely. The shower is not the best place to take up this practice, for instance. A nice safe grassy area is great. Your carpeted living room or bedroom is next-best.
Another great approach is the practice of bāguàzhǎng circle-walking.
Bāguà is tai chi’s lesser-known cousin, and those arts are two of the three main schools of wǔdāngquán. But, fear not, you don’t have to don orange robes and live atop the Wudang mountains to get what you need in this case.
To give a text-based summary: bāguàzhǎng circle-walking involves walking in a small circle, with a low center of gravity, moving one’s weight very purposefully from one leg to the other, keeping complete stability the whole time that one is (often!) on one leg.
Once you get good at this, you’ll see that this is essentially a super-enhanced version of the “standing on one leg” exercise, because it’s about keeping balance while on one leg, and/but while moving also.
Naturally, if you do get good at this, you’ll be very unlikely to fall in the first place.
Here’s a visual primer. This video will show the basic footwork, and the video that follows it (it’ll prompt you if you want to watch it) shows how to bring it up to a standard walking speed, without losing fluidity of movement:
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What do people mean when they say their nervous system is overloaded or needs a reset?
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You might have heard people talking about their nervous system being “overloaded” or “dysregulated” when they’re going through periods of heightened stress.
Or perhaps you’ve been offered ways to “heal” or “reset” your nervous system on social media or at expensive wellness retreats.
But how does the nervous system actually work? And can it be overloaded and reset?
MoMo Productions/Getty Images What does the nervous system do?
The autonomic nervous system influences bodily functions that aren’t in our conscious control, such as the workings of our organ systems, body temperature regulation and emotions. It’s organised into two separate branches: sympathetic and parasympathetic.
The sympathetic nervous system helps us deal with stressful situations, activating our survival responses of fight, flight, freeze and fawn.
The parasympathetic nervous system has an opposite role, bringing our automatic responses back to normal functioning after activation due to stress.
While we have evolved to be able to respond well to immediate threats, our stress-response system is terrible at helping us deal with the chronic stressors of modern life: heavy workloads, financial stress or the long-term pressures of fitting caring responsibilities into already busy lives.
“Nervous system overload” isn’t clearly defined but usually refers to the bodily effects of stress when we feel beyond our ability to cope. This might happen when we have numerous threats outside our control or when we haven’t had a chance to de-stress from one thing before another hits.
Is this the ‘nervous breakdown’ of our times?
“Nervous breakdown” is another lay term, though an outdated one, without a clear medical definition.
It was considered as a sort of collapse in the ability to fulfil one’s usual social roles. Being completely out of action – like a car broken down on the side of the road – due to a sudden and extreme mental health episode.
“Nervous system overload” is described in almost opposite terms. People may still able to go about their daily lives but feel more frazzled and sensitive, and less able to cope with the usual ups and downs.
Why is the nervous system having a moment?
Dysregulation of the nervous system has long been understood to be part of what goes wrong, biologically, in post-traumatic stress disorder.
But the nervous system – and its overload – seems to have become a mainstream self-help buzz word, particularly since the pandemic.
One reason could be rising awareness of the biological bases of emotions. There are physiological changes that are interpreted by the brain, which lead to the experience of emotions.
The recently debunked polyvagal theory has also risen in popularity. This theory posits evolutionary and neurophysiological explanations for the role of the vagus nerve in the autonomic nervous system, and is often referenced in relation to trauma.
While there aren’t many studies of therapies developed from polyvagal theory to know if they work, a recent consensus statement from 39 experts in related fields debunked the central premises of polyvagal theory.
More broadly, our fascination with the nervous system could be a move towards seeing distress as a brain or biological problem, rather than something based on our experience. Using medical-sounding term such as nervous system overload might feel easier than saying you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Using biological explanations for stress or mental ill-health can reduce stigma and shame but it also means problems can feel more long-lasting and outside our control.
There is also the risk of “concept creep”, where people extend diagnostic labels that are usually reserved for severe symptoms to relatively mild experiences. This can turn everyday problems into medical or psychiatric disorders.
Talking about “resetting the nervous system” can give the impression that something in the body is seriously wrong, even though ups and downs in our health and wellbeing are a normal part of being human.
You can’t reset the nervous system
“Nervous system resets” are described online as anything from deep breathing and time in nature to £13,000 (A$25,000) a day health retreats favoured by former British royals.
While there’s nothing wrong with any of these self-help strategies (or fancy health retreats), there’s no clear evidence that they can “reset” the nervous system or that such a thing is even possible.
So how can you actually manage stress?
Re-framing “nervous system overload” as chronic stress can help to identify some more affordable, evidence-based ways to cope.
Lifestyle interventions such as regular physical activity, adequate sleep and healthier diet patterns have all been shown to reduce chronic stress.
Mindfulness and meditation practices, which could include breathing exercises, can reduce cortisol (a stress hormone) levels in blood and saliva.
Time in nature has been shown to reduce other measures of stress such as blood pressure and self-reported stress.
Making or experiencing art – visual art, music, dance or drama – has also been shown to help with stress management and prevention.
For greater levels of distress, or for support implementing these kinds of methods, seek professional support. Psychologists are well-versed in using evidence-based therapies for helping people manage stress.
However, unlike a “reset”, sustainable change is usually gradual and requires ongoing effort. And prevention is key. If you can, reflect on how to make life more manageable over the long term before your body shows physical signs of distress.
Amy Loughman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The University of Melbourne
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Healthy Chocolate Fudge Energy Bites
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While these are quite high-calorie, they’re also high in protein, and the fiber and healthy fats flatten the blood sugar curve:
You will need
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 4 oz dark chocolate, melted (try to get dark chocolate with >80% cocoa, if you can; 85% is very respectable and 90% is perfect)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (you can safely reduce this, or even omit it, if you prefer less sweetness)
- ¼ cup hazelnuts
- ¼ cup almond milk (or your preferred milk, but we recommend almond for taste and health)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Topping: ¼ cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Combine all the ingredients (except the topping) in a food processor, and blend until smooth.
2) Line a container (5″x7″ is a good size) with baking paper and spread the mixture evenly into it, pressing down gently.
3) Sprinkle the topping onto it, press that even more gently into it.
4) Refrigerate overnight (or chill it for 2hrs in the freezer).
5) Cut into cubes to serve; they can be served frozen or thawed, per your preference:
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Eating For Energy (In Ways That Actually Work)
- “Let Them Eat Cake”, She Said…
- Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
- Plant-Based Milks—What’s Best?
- Chocolate & Health: Fact or Fiction?
Take care!
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Getting to Neutral – by Trevor Moawad
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
We all know that a pessimistic outlook is self-defeating… And yet, toxic positivity can also be a set-up for failure! At some point, reckless faith in the kindly nature of the universe will get crushed, badly. Sometimes that point is a low point in life… sometimes it’s six times a day. But one thing’s for sure: we can’t “just decide everything will go great!” because the world just doesn’t work that way.
That’s where Trevor Moawad comes in. “Getting to neutral” is not a popular selling point. Everyone wants joy, abundance, and high after high. And neutrality itself is often associated with boredom and soullessness. But, Moawad argues, it doesn’t have to be that way.
This book’s goal—which it accomplishes well—is to provide a framework for being a genuine realist. What does that mean?
“I’m not a pessimist; I’m a realist” – every pessimist ever.
^Not that. That’s not what it means. What it means instead is:
- Hope for the best
- Prepare for the worst
- Adapt as you go
…taking care to use past experiences to inform future decisions, but without falling into the trap of thinking that because something happened a certain way before, it always will in the future.
To be rational, in short. Consciously and actively rational.
Feel the highs! Feel the lows! But keep your baseline when actually making decisions.
Bottom line: this book is as much an antidote to pessimism and self-defeat, as it is to reckless optimism and resultant fragility. Highly recommendable.
Click here to check out “Getting to Neutral” and start creating your best, most reason-based life!
PS: in this book, Moawad draws heavily from his own experiences of battling adversity in the form of cancer—of which he died, before this book’s publication. A poignant reminder that he was right: we won’t always get the most positive outcome of any given situation, so what matters the most is making the best use of the time we have.
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Rebounding: Good Or Bad For Joints?
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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 😎
❝I was looking at rebounder trampolines and wondered if you know if they are appropriate to soften the impact for someone with bad joints to try to regain strength and mobility? I have slightly brittle bones due to some medications, and am hoping to find a good impact exercise to do that will strengthen my bones without breaking them❞
What an exciting plan!
Let us first bring attention to our usual medical/legal disclaimer, and also take the opportunity to note that we are not doctors, let alone your doctors, and certainly cannot speak for your specific condition. Please do speak with your osteopath, physiotherapist, and/or any other relevant medical professionals, before undertaking a new exercise routine.
What we can do, at least, is speak in some general terms, in accordance with what science is available. Let’s tackle this piece by piece:
Exercising in the context of bad joints
For people with bad joints, there’s often something of a catch-22:
- Exercise, and inflame them
- Don’t exercise, and they “seize up”
Hence, the trick is—in few words—to exercise them very gently, while taking them through a full range of motion.
That’s “in few words”, though, so if you’d like it in more words than that, we’ll refer you to our entire main feature that we did on this a little while ago:
When Bad Joints Stop You From Exercising (5 Things To Change)
If the issue with your joints is arthritis, then you might want to consider the relevant portions of:
…as applicable, and if the issue is cartilage problems (which can occur in arthritis and often does, especially osteoarthritis, but is certainly not confined to arthritis), then:
How To Rebuild Your Cartilage ← this is really critical, as it covers exactly what you are looking for; an approach to strengthen weakened joints without further damaging them in the process.
As for whether rebounding will be good for that latter… In principle it certainly can be, for exactly the reason you asked about and we’ve talked about so far (it softens the impact while allowing you to do full range of motion).
However, there are more things to consider, and since there’s overlap, let’s talk about it along with…
Exercising in the context of osteoporosis
There are two ways of looking at this:
- Pros of trampoline rebounding: indeed 80% or more of the impact is absorbed, making it gentle (and yes, the fact that it is still impact work will improve bone density)
- Cons of trampoline rebounding: if you land incorrectly, you may become a heap of broken bones (for this reason, it may be best if your bones are in at least decent condition already before starting)
This is relevant also for the issue with bad joints, independent of osteoporosis or osteopenia (the pre-stage of osteoporosis); in principle it makes the exercise gentler, but it also increases the chance of injury if anything goes wrong.
In terms of what is generally recommended when it comes to osteoporosis and exercising, exercises should be “steady” and “straight”. In other words, no unexpected movements or sudden changes of direction.
For trampoline rebounding:
- Are there unexpected movements? Not if everything goes according to plan, but one misstep may mean disaster.
- Are there sudden changes of direction? Not in the sense described, again, if and only if everything goes as planned.
You may be thinking: well that is fair, but any sporting activity comes with a risk of something going wrong, and that’s true, but there’s definitely a scale from swimming pool yoga on the light end, to horseback polo on the dangerous end, for example.
So the real question becomes: which sporting activities/exercises have the least potential for disaster? And faced with that question, one must admit that a yoga mat carries fewer risks than a trampoline.
You can read more about this topic here: Osteoporosis & Exercises: Which To Do (And Which To Avoid)
Want to learn more?
For more about rebounding on trampolines specifically, and the health claims vs the health science for them (or not, as the case may be), check out:
Putting Mini-trampolines to the Test ← this is an interesting read, mostly concerned with assorted health metrics for healthy participants, rather than with specific conditions, though.
We also shared a video about this a while ago: Rebounding Into The Best Of Health ← this does mention the bone density thing, but not from a perspective of already having low bone density
And finally, if you’d like a kind of exercise that does a lot of the “softened impact resistance work” with less throwing your body around at high heights, then you might want to consider:
What is reformer Pilates? And is it worth the cost?
Take care!
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How Useful Is The Vagus Nerve, Really?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
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!
No question/request too big or small 😎
❝I keep seeing more and more things that vagus nerve stimulation is supposed to improve but I suspect not everything can really be just hummed away, so… How much is science, and how much is more in the realm of healing crystals?❞
The short answer is that there’s a lot of both!
For example, we’ve written before about how vagus nerve stimulation has been researched and found potentially helpful for managing:
- Depression, inflammation, and heart disease
- Diabetes and glycemic issues in general
- Multiple sclerosis and autoimmune disease in general
- Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in general
- Rheumatoid arthritis (we already mentioned inflammation and autoimmune diseases, but this is an interesting paper so we included it)
You can read about these things and more, here: The Vagus Nerve (And How You Can Make Use Of It)
However, at the same time, the vagus nerve cannot necessarily be used to “reset” everything from your anxiety to your reputation at the local pot-luck.
The McGill Office for Science & Society described it thus:
❝The vagus nerve is a great example of what I would call the boogeyman/panacea myth: everything wrong with you, they claim, is due to the vagus nerve, and every cure passes through the vagus nerve as well. In an ever-complex world, believing a simple story of good and evil can bring clarity, but this lucidity is a mirage.
What the wellness community recommends for stimulating the vagus nerve—eye movements, meditation, massage, cold-water immersion, and singing and humming—, if it works, is likely to be beneficial through a very simple concept: relaxation. Taking a moment to yourself to pause a stressful situation and focus on your breathing can, indeed, temporarily help with feeling unwell. The vagus nerve trappings are just scientific dressing, meant to transform common sense into a cutting-edge, all-natural body hack.
Faced with so much vagal hype, the best response is to rouse ourselves from our parasympathetic state and fight the temptation of easy answers with a healthy dose of skepticism.❞
Read in full: Resetting the Hype Around the Vagus Nerve
There are also, hitting the market these days, a plethora of devices to do the vagus nerve stimulation for you, rather than using massaging or humming techniques. Some have already been given FDA approval, but only for certain uses (including: epilepsy, migraine, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke rehab), though wellness practitioners of various kinds may recommend them for countless “off-label” purposes.
However, research in such technology is slow and patchy, because studies use widely different stimulation settings (e.g. frequency, intensity, waveform, and location) which makes it difficult to compare results across devices or from one RCT to another.
You read more about this here: Using the vagus nerve to treat disease: Review maps today’s science, points to tomorrow’s therapies
And also here: Ethical Issues in Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Deep Brain Stimulation
Want to learn more?
For a much more comprehensive exploration of the topic than we have room for here, you might consider:
Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve – by Dr. Stanley Rosenberg ← this is a clear, easy, practical guide. Some of the benefits claimed in here are reaching a bit, so do be aware of that, but on the other hand we’d encourage you to not write the rest of the book off because of it. It’d be a bit like someone extolling the (genuine) virtues of kale and adding in a few things that might be true but science doesn’t support—the overly bold extra claims don’t mean that kale isn’t healthy and doesn’t have the other actually-proven benefits.
The Polyvagal Theory – by Dr. Stephen Porges ← this on the other hand is for if you want a really deep understanding of the topic, and are not afraid of dense, technical language (don’t worry, new terms/ideas are explained the book progresses, so a layperson can benefit just fine if you read it cover to cover, it simply means you might not be able to open it at a random page and immediately understand what’s going on).
Enjoy!
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