Health is Wealth
Take a âPawsâ With Downward Dog
This transitional and restorative yoga pose provides a full-body stretch
Physical therapist Dawn Lorring, PT, MPT, walks through the steps of how to do downward dog correctly and shares its many benefits.
From beginnerâs yoga to more advanced practices, downward dog is one of the most popular posesâŠwith a few common misconceptions.
Rounding your back, placing your feet too far apart or putting too much weight into your wrists can all create a deeper stretch than intended â which increases your risk of injury.
Physical therapist Dawn Lorring, PT, MPT, walks through the steps of how to do downward dog correctly and shares its many benefits.
Downward dog (also known as downward facing dog, facing dog pose or Adho Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit) is a foundational yoga pose. Itâs often used as a transition between movements, like sun salutations. Itâs also a form of active resting, active stretching and strengthening. This allows you to check in with yourself and re-evaluate your intentions during your practice.
You do downward facing dog by putting your body into an inverted V-shape (or pyramid), as if there were a straight line that runs through the top of your head up your spine and out of your butt toward the ceiling.
Facing dog pose wonât usually be your first movement when doing yoga. Before trying it, itâs best to loosen up your muscles and joints and find ways to work it into your overall yoga practice.
Once youâre warmed up and ready to go, follow these steps:
âDownward facing dog isnât about keeping your heels on the ground or holding it for long periods of time,â clarifies Lorring. âItâs really about making sure youâre going to a place thatâs comfortable for you, so you can adjust your body as often as you need in this pose.â
If you have a hard time getting down on your hands and knees, try this wall variation:
For a more challenging stretch that deeply engages your hips and hamstrings:
Downward facing dog provides a full body stretch, while also strengthening and working your:
Adho Mukha Svanasana helps improve your flexibility and control, and provides you a moment of active rest. It also increases blood flow to your head and upper body when youâre in the inverted V position. But because of this, you should talk to your yoga instructor, athletic trainer or healthcare provider before starting this position if you have:
âFacing dog pose tries to improve flexibility but also builds the strength to control that flexibility,â says Lorring. âIf youâre feeling excessive stress to a certain part of your body, then youâre probably holding the pose for too long or youâre trying to go into a range that youâre not ready for. We can help you get there.â
Take a âPawsâ With Downward Dog
This transitional and restorative yoga pose provides a full-body stretch
Physical therapist Dawn Lorring, PT, MPT, walks through the steps of how to do downward dog correctly and shares its many benefits.
From beginnerâs yoga to more advanced practices, downward dog is one of the most popular posesâŠwith a few common misconceptions.
Rounding your back, placing your feet too far apart or putting too much weight into your wrists can all create a deeper stretch than intended â which increases your risk of injury.
Physical therapist Dawn Lorring, PT, MPT, walks through the steps of how to do downward dog correctly and shares its many benefits.
Downward dog (also known as downward facing dog, facing dog pose or Adho Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit) is a foundational yoga pose. Itâs often used as a transition between movements, like sun salutations. Itâs also a form of active resting, active stretching and strengthening. This allows you to check in with yourself and re-evaluate your intentions during your practice.
You do downward facing dog by putting your body into an inverted V-shape (or pyramid), as if there were a straight line that runs through the top of your head up your spine and out of your butt toward the ceiling.
Facing dog pose wonât usually be your first movement when doing yoga. Before trying it, itâs best to loosen up your muscles and joints and find ways to work it into your overall yoga practice.
Once youâre warmed up and ready to go, follow these steps:
âDownward facing dog isnât about keeping your heels on the ground or holding it for long periods of time,â clarifies Lorring. âItâs really about making sure youâre going to a place thatâs comfortable for you, so you can adjust your body as often as you need in this pose.â
If you have a hard time getting down on your hands and knees, try this wall variation:
For a more challenging stretch that deeply engages your hips and hamstrings:
Downward facing dog provides a full body stretch, while also strengthening and working your:
Adho Mukha Svanasana helps improve your flexibility and control, and provides you a moment of active rest. It also increases blood flow to your head and upper body when youâre in the inverted V position. But because of this, you should talk to your yoga instructor, athletic trainer or healthcare provider before starting this position if you have:
âFacing dog pose tries to improve flexibility but also builds the strength to control that flexibility,â says Lorring. âIf youâre feeling excessive stress to a certain part of your body, then youâre probably holding the pose for too long or youâre trying to go into a range that youâre not ready for. We can help you get there.â
If you run regularly, whether itâs an easy jog around the block to stay fit or an intense training regimen to prepare for a marathon, you need proper nutrition.
Here are some tips to help keep runners well-nourished and ready to win.
A good diet can boost your physical health and help you meet your fitness goals. Make sure your meals emphasize the following basic components:
Individuals may have different optimal balances, but in general, people who include running or jogging as part of their fitness regimen should get 60% to 70% of their calories from carbohydrates, with lean protein and healthy fats each accounting for 15% to 20% of their remaining calories.
Although low carbohydrate diets are popular go-toâs for people wanting to lose weight, theyâre not ideal for distance runners, who thrive on carbohydrates for endurance.
That is why very low carbohydrate diets, such as the ketogenic diet, plus running is not a good idea. Experts do not recommend keto to runners unless they have been told by their doctor that this a medically safe option for them and they are being monitored while in ketosis.
Distance runners need more carbs than people who arenât training. Undereating carbohydrates can be hard on your body and affect your recovery after your run.
Hereâs why: Running uses both glucose in the blood and your stores of glycogen. Glucose is the form of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream, and glycogen is the sugar stored in your liver and muscles that acts as the primary fuel for endurance exercise.
Eating plenty of carbs helps ensure that these energy stores are ready to support your training. When those stores get too low, runners are more likely to run out of energy and âburn outâ or âhit a wallâ while training.
Running changes your body and your nutritional needs. Often when people start a running regimen, they are trying to lose weight or get in shape quickly, and they donât realize they need to adjust their diet.
Especially in women runners, dietitians report seeing a tendency to overdo the running while not eating enough, and this can have an effect on health if they do not adequately replenish lost vitamins and minerals in their diet.
For women in particular, calcium and vitamin D are essential for bone health to avoid loss of bone mineral density and the risk of stress fractures.
For more vitamin D, include these foods in your meals:
For more calcium, try:
Iron deficiency can affect women and even have an impact on their running performance. Menstruation puts people at higher risk of iron deficiency, and if iron isnât replenished in the diet, decreases in hemoglobin can occur and bring on anemia. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen throughout the body, including the muscles, so if there is a deficit, the muscles may feel the effect of insufficient oxygen during exercise.
Iron-rich foods include:
Dietitians recommend eating eating iron rich foods in combination with foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus, bell peppers or berries, since vitamin C helps increase the bodyâs absorption of iron.
The best time to eat a full meal is about two to three hours before you hit the road, track or trail. Have a good source of carbs paired with protein, making sure the meal focuses on a healthy carb source.
If itâs been more than three to four hours since youâve eaten, a carbohydrate-rich snack a half-hour before running can ensure you have adequate glucose available before you head out. Directly before a run, itâs best to stick with easy-to-digest carbohydrates to avoid gastrointestinal [GI] distress such as cramping or diarrhea.
Try these:
If you are training for a marathon or distance event and are going to be out for over an hour, you will want to bring some fuel with you. Energy drinks, gel tubes and other sources of quick blood-glucose boosters are available, but you can also use something as simple as fruit snacks.
Try practicing with these items as you train so you can pick the formulas that are best for you, and you can work on accessing and ingesting them smoothly without breaking stride.
Before a run or the night before a big race, Eidel recommends going easy on:
It might. Carb loading is the practice of eating a lot of carbohydrates â particularly those that are easily absorbed, such as white bread, pasta and rice â for 24 to 48 hours before a big race or distance run, to shore up your bodyâs stores of glycogen and lessen the risk of burnout before finishing the event.
Some studies show carb loading is beneficial for people preparing for a race, but itâs important to make sure during that time youâre also allowing your body to rest and giving it time to store what you are ingesting. The number of carbohydrate grams will be differ from person to person, but in general, evidence shows carb loading can be beneficial prior to a distance event.
In contrast, casual runners likely do not need to carb load. Ensuring that their day-to-day diets include extra carbohydrates can be sufficient.
Itâs common for people not to feel hungry after a run, but a snack or light meal of complex carbohydrates and protein within the first hour after running can help replenish glycogen stores and to support recovery and rebuild stressed muscles. For example:
If youâre interested in running as part of a weight loss plan, getting adequate nutrition is a must. Even casual running or jogging burns calories and can be hard on the body. Runners can become undernourished at first because they donât understand how much energy theyâre burning when they run and what they need to properly recover.
Eating enough is also essential to building muscles, which can aid in fat burning â a plus for people working on achieving or maintaining a healthy weight.
For optimal weight loss, your plan should not rely on running alone but also include strength training and proper nutrition.
If you run regularly, you should pay attention to the effects of what you eat and when, especially on running performance. Learning what works best for you can take some time and a little trial and error, but it is worth it, since running, jogging and other regular aerobic exercise offers so many health advantages.
Always feel free to consult a dietitian or doctor, and listen to your body if youâre not keeping up with your training goals.
How Stress Is Linked to High Blood Pressure
Daily stressors can increase BP in the moment, as well as contribute to habits that can feed long-term hypertension
Feeling stressed? If so, youâre hardly alone, given that stress has been called the health epidemic of the 21st century. But have you ever wondered what all this stress means for your blood pressure?
The answer, it turns out, is more complex than you might think. Letâs take a closer look with preventive cardiologist Luke Laffin, MD.
Stressful moments can totally send your blood pressure (BP) skyrocketing. You feel it deep in your core, too, as your heart thumps harder and your nerves jangle with a fight-or-flight response.
âIf weâre in a stressful situation, the normal physiologic response is to increase blood pressure,â explains Dr. Laffin. âBut your body can handle these sorts of acute changes in blood pressure pretty well.â
And once the immediate stressor is gone, your BP should return to its typical level.
Of course, not all stress clocks out like itâs a shift worker. Chronic stress tends to linger â and that can contribute to a long list of physical symptoms, including high blood pressure (hypertension).
Researchers donât know as much about the direct effects of long-term stress on blood pressure. But they do know that stress can impact lifestyle habits and increase your risk of heart disease and other chronic health issues.
âStress itself doesnât necessarily cause sustained elevations in blood pressure,â says Dr. Laffin. âBut it often has an impact on lifestyle factors, which can absolutely contribute to long-term elevations in blood pressure.â
When youâre chronically stressed, you can fall into habits that can lead to higher blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease. These include:
It can be difficult to see when acute stress transitions to chronic stress. But seemingly âtemporaryâ stressors that last for weeks can turn into chronic stressors that need to be addressed for the sake of your heart health.
âWhat weâre really worried about is chronically elevated blood pressure,â states Dr. Laffin.
Finding ways to better manage your stress can help keep your blood pressure from rising and staying at elevated levels, suggests Dr. Laffin. He suggests:
Medications like beta-blockers may also be an option if stress seems to be driving blood pressure into danger zones. Antihypertensives can help bring down high blood pressure, too.
âBut managing stress-related hypertension usually comes down to lifestyle,â clarifies Dr. Laffin. âDiet, exercise, sleep â those are all factors that play a big role in keeping your heart healthy.â
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When youâre pregnant, itâs important to eat a healthy diet that provides the nutrients you need. That helps keep you feeling your best and promotes healthy fetal development. But pregnancy also puts you at higher risk for foodborne illness. Some foods and drinks can increase your risk for pregnancy complications. Avoid high-mercury fish and processed meat, and go easy on salt and caffeine.
A salad combination you may not have thought of, but will now be hooked on
This salad is a perfect addition to a large dinner menu when you have guests over for dinner and have a lot of other dishes to prepare. Itâs bright and flavorful, and you can make the dressing a day or two ahead to prep!
Dressing
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
2 to 4 tablespoons orange juice (depending on thickness desired)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Salad
1 pound romaine lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 pound radicchio, washed, dried, shredded
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup mandarin oranges, drained, patted dry
20 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Calories: 107
Total fat: 0.5 g
Saturated fat: 0.1 g
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 25 g
Fiber: 5.4 g
Sodium: 37 mg
âRecipe developed and copyrighted by Kristine Napier, MPH, RD, LD.
Mayo Clinic Sportsâ @mayoclinicsport 18 hours ago
You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good? From boosting your mood to helping control your weight, find out how exercise can improve your life. 
https://mayocl.in/2CXOCRb
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