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Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

I was reading the Magazine Success from Success.com this weekend and one interesting article caught my attention. The article on Dr. Ratey about his new book called, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain".

Dr Ratey discusses a High School in Naperville, Illinois where a different approach physical education is taken. The students don’t simply play dodge ball and soccer. They wear heart monitors and are graded on the amount of time they are able to keep their heart rate within an optimal aerobic range for their body type. After PE, the kids attend classes. As a result of their targeted physical education, the standardized test scores of the entire student body has jumped.

In math, the school places sixth in the world. In sciences, Naperville shocked everyone when they outscored every other school-in the world!

Dr Ratey’s explanation of how exercises impact your brain is amazing. Dr. Ratey has proven that when you exercise, you change the physical structure of your brain! It increases processing speed and memory of your brain! In a nutshell, science has proven that exercise primes your brain for success and makes your smarter.

So if you want to think clearer, beat stress, put the damper on your depression and boost your confidence, start increasing your exercise activities - so when you're stuck and can’t figure something out, go for a run.

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

We are Made to Move

I’ve been using the mini-trampoline for over 20 years. The trampoline is an important part of my exercise routine, together with yoga, swimming and walking. It’s give me a great, well-rounded workout.

The trampoline was rated by NASA as the #1 most effective exercise that also promotes lymphatic drainage in your body.    The trampoline not only helps your lymphatic system, but it also burns calories and opens up your elimination route.  It actually massages the organs in your body too, as you go up and down.  The trampoline can:

•    Improve the body’s immune system.
•    Build muscle strength.
•    Reduce body-fat percentage.
•    Boost metabolism.
•    Align and strengthen the spine, plus make it supple.
•    Lighten menopausal symptoms.
•    Lessen premenstrual symptoms.
•    Help relieve the discomfort of arthritis and other aches and pains.

For those of you whose trampoline is hidden in the garage or basement, bring it out and set it up. During bad weather, try putting it in front of the television – be entertained and exercise all at once!

Sweat Those Toxins Out

I've tried 5 different yoga studios in the last 2 weeks before committing to one during my stay here in Albuquerque. I’ve finally decide to join Bikram Yoga!

Bikram: Also known as “yoga for the Type A personality,” Bikram Yoga is hot — literally. In a 100-degree room, students move through a series of 26 postures designed to warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons. It’s an intense full body workout that gets the hearts of even the most feted athletes pumping hard.

This is such an amazing, challenging workout.

If you've never tried yoga in a heated room, you’ve got to give this a try! Heat detoxifies your body, through the process of sweating. Sweating leads to detoxification through the skin - which is the body's largest elimination organ. 

Learn to Avoid and Better Cope with Stress

The more toxins you create and/or keep in your system, the more your body will try to park them in fat cells, leach minerals from your organs, and suffer many other adverse effects. But to get you started, here are a few quick tips to deal with stress.  I use these every single day, and trust me-they work. They may sound simple, but that's actually what makes them so effective!
READ MORE

Getting the Toxins Out

Unless you are living in a sterile bubble, your body becomes more and more toxic with everyday living. Eating cooked and processed foods, breathing unclean air and drinking less-than-pure water is the norm for most. It's a fact of our modern society. A body cleanse can eliminate addiction, bad habits and unhealthy thought patterns. During a cleanse, the brain recovers its natural sensitivity to simple foods. Salt, sugar, fats and processed foods become naturally unattractive.

Although we might think of intoxication as the result of having one too many glasses of wine at the company Christmas party, in this instance, becoming toxic, or intoxication, is the result of absorption, retention, or development of toxins in the body. These wastes and residues can weaken the proper function of your body, or even injure or damage vital organs as they build up in your system.  Intoxication can be moderate, middling, or severe, depending on the severity of the toxins, how much is being stored in your body, and how long you've been holding these toxins inside. Read More

The Five Tibetans

To make up for my regular routine, I have begun doing the Five Tibetans exercises. Some of you might remember a few years ago I shared these exercises in one of my support groups. I am on day 5 now -- it only take 10 minutes to do them all -- and already I feel a difference in my energy level.

You can download the exercise description: Five Tibetans Info Sheet 

The Five Tibetans are a great way to keep your body in shape when you have limited time for a physical workout or limited space for a complete yoga routine. You can easily do the exercises in the space at the foot of the bed in most hotel rooms. 

What the Five Tibetans do for the body:

• Stimulate the reticular activating system of the brain.
• Balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which means you think more clearly. (You should definitely do the Tibetans before an exam or an important presentation!)
• Balance the body's hormonal system.
• Strengthen bones, as the exercises are weight-bearing.
• Improve the body's immune system.
• Build muscle strength.
• Reduce body-fat percentage.
• Boost metabolism.
• Align and strengthen the spine, plus make it more supple.
• Lighten menopausal symptoms.
• Lessen premenstrual symptoms.
• Help relieve the discomfort of arthritis and other aches and pains.

 

Sexercises: Strengthening The Love Muscles

The third vital topic we'll cover during Brigitte's teleclass is
"Sexercises: Strengthening The Love Muscles."

Making love itself is a good exercise; it burns about 100 calories per
session. There are also many exercises designed specifically for boosting
sexual vitality, which we'll talk about.

Here's one example: The Kegel Exercises

"The kegel pelvic exercises have been known for thousands of years by
practioners of tantra as mool Bandha, or 'root locks.' They are named after
Dr. Arnold Kegel, who popularized them in North America in the 1950s as a
treatment for stress-related incontinence.

Kegels release tension, improve circulation, and strengthen muscles in the
pelvic area. For women, they can be used to strengthen muscles weakened by
childbirth and to increase the occurrence and intensity of orgasms. For men,
they give greater staying power and also massage the prostate. Kegels can also help men differentiate between orgasm and ejaculation.

To practice Kegels, you must tighten and then release the pubococcygeus muscles, which control the flow of urine and the anal sphincter. To find them, stop midstream the next time you are urinating. Can you feel the muscles in the pelvic area that allow you to halt the flow of urine? Then release. That tightening and then release amounts to one Kegel contraction.

When you practice Kegels, inhale while tightening and exhale while releasing. Hold each contraction for one to five seconds, and be sure to relax fully between contractions. Do the exercises three times daily,
starting with twenty-one contractions at each session and working your way up to one hundred!

This is such a great exercise; you can practice them in a room full of people, no one would ever notice."