The article was prepared by Hannah, an certified Integral Yoga teacher and a Heartwise Exercise instructor. With more than 100 students, she is an advocate for young and old to keep moving and staying healthy.
Heart Wise Exercise Network is a partnership of community organizations which work with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute to provide heart healthy exercise for all. Visit www.Ottawaheart.ca for information.
People who exercise are less touched by chronic disease (a condition that lasts 3 months or more). Heart, Diabetes, Stroke, COPD, Arthritis, Cancer. These conditions are the major cause of disability and death globally.
Another hiccup in the drive to optimize fitness and aging with vitality is to isolate the benefits of exercise from other lifestyle choices…getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, reducing stress. Choose exercises that get your heart rate up, challenge your muscles and joints, swimming, walking, running, cycling, are good. Dancing, racket sports, yoga and tai chi are great choices. Yoga has been given a bad image. Some folks think it is a circus performance …which is a huge misconception.
Here are some of the important things I learned from a recent module and course given by the heart institute. There are over 20 individuals like myself with various programs in Eastern Ontario. Some of us have been involved for over 10 years. You may want to join for the purpose of prevention or encouragement for a healthy lifestyle, improve your balance, even your gait, or your alignment. Hopefully, this information will trigger you to dig deeper. Let’s just say, with spring coming, planting some seeds.
EXERCISE 150 minutes per week. That is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Start slow and feel the better quality of life. Energy makes energy.
BREATHE. Think full as opposed to deep. Deep connotates engaging your shoulders. Remember what your mama used to say, and breathe with every one of your 45 trillion cells in your body. Be gentle with your breath, like you breathe when you’re sleeping. Long exhales.
BONES. Bone health is a silent thief. There are no symptoms till the fracture. (I don’t understand, all I did was reach for the remote.) Keep your bones strong to avoid loss of independence. Bones are calcium reservoirs. Vitamin D absorbs calcium.
COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in adults over 40. With summer coming, Health Canada offers a health care air quality health index which could be of benefit when exposing yourself to bad quality air. www.ec.gc.ca/cas-aghi/. There is a new breathing technique which involves breathing technique out with pursed lips. Also visit www.champlainhealthline.ca
Coronary Artery Disease is a disease of arteries of the heart. It involves development of plaque within the walls of the arteries.
DIABETES. Type II can be managed and controlled with lifestyle changes. You can fix it…some scary stuff can happen with diabetes. If you enjoy your limbs, like to see well, not to mention impotence. Exercise.
Visit: diabetesottawa.ca
DEATH. The leading cause is cancer. 25% of death rate was due to cardiovascular disease.
EXERCISE: 150 minutes a week. That’s 2 hours and 30 minutes. Spread over 1 week, how hard is that? Do resistance work two or three times per week with weights or using your body. ONLY 15% of Canadians do the suggested 2 hours and 30 minutes per week.
FALL PREVENTION. Practice balancing. Keep your muscles strong. Awareness of vision and hearing. Check with your pharmacist for complications with medications. Blood pressure. Foot care. Good quality shoes. Home safety hazards. Managed eye care. 95% of hip fractures are due to falls.
FALL RISK. It is not only old people at risk. For many, your whole life can change in a heartbeat. One third of the elderly end up in long-term care after a fall. Muscles atrophy from lack of physical activity.
FAT. Good fat is not that bad for you.
GUT HEALTH. Check it out…learn about your microbiome.
INFLAMMATION. Do some research on foods and other factors which affect inflammation.
MUSCLES. A startling fact. Your lymphatic fluids only move when you move your muscles.
OSTEOPOROSIS. There are some restrictions. Be careful with rapid twists, bending forward to the end-of-range of motion. Listen to your body.
POST HEART EVENT. The hospitals have a 12-week program which can be followed up with Heart Wise Exercise in your community. We are blessed to have a venue donated by the Champlain Township, at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre. Heartwise exercise happens twice per week – one hour sessions.
SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE. Start by standing up and sitting back down till you stop smiling. Start by holding on and progress to not using your arms to help you up. Keep looking forward, we don’t want any headers. People end up in care because their muscles are not strong enough. Simple things like not being able to sit down and get up from the toilet could steal your independence from you.
STRENGTH. Better strength, better balance. Pay attention to your core. Your cough place. You could whip off a plank during the TV commercial for starters, that is, after you practice getting down on the floor.
VITAMIN D. Vitamin D absorbs calcium. Check if D3 is best for you. If you miss today, you can double tomorrow. Some take it once a week but it is best to take it daily.
Take action. Keep starting over. Plan your regime on Sunday for the following week.
