One of the easiest and most impacting things to work on is how you breathe.

One of the easiest and most impacting things to work on is how you breathe. You may not even be aware of it but it can make a huge difference to your overall well being and your body’s ability to respond to the training you’re doing.

Breathing

If you ask correctly your body will tell you the physical substance you need more than anything else is air. You can only go a few minutes without it then you will cease to live. It is for this reason correcting your breathing pattern is so important to your health. If you’re breathing incorrectly your body will not be fully exercise responsive, and your ability to lose fat or gain muscle will be hindered.

Each breath brings oxygen into your lungs which goes to your heart, your heart then transports freshly oxygenated blood to different parts of your body. The Oxygen molecules act as a positive charge and water molecules [60-95% of your body] act as a negative charge. Because there’s positive and a negative charge in the same area and that creates potential energy [for those of you who remember year 8 science]. What science calls potential energy the eastern cultures call Chi or Prana or put simply your life force.

While you may not be consciously aware of your breathing pattern, it does effect how much oxygen you get into your body, which in turn affect the efficiency of your autonomic nervous system [ANS]. The ANS is what controls the bodily functions that you don’t consciously think about i.e. Hear rate, metabolism, detoxification system, immune system, cell regrowth (how quickly you re-grow muscle) etc. An inverted respitory pattern [bad breathing] can half the amount of oxygen you get in each breath. That’s like only half filling your car with petrol every time you go to the service station and still asking it to drive the same distance.

If you observe a baby breathe while asleep, you will see what a natural breathing pattern looks like. This is how it was for us too before we learn of mental and emotional stress, and before we are hunched a desk for 8 hours a day. When you copy this breathing pattern it will not only get more oxygen into your system, you will also bring you back to the stress free feeling of being a child. This is why focusing on your breathing is commonly associated with meditation

Recommendations

5 minutes a day of controlled deep diaphragmatic breathing
Simply lie down on your back and place one hand on your belly button and one hand over your heart. As you inhale make sure the hand on your belly button rises before the hand on your heart, this will ensure your lungs fill up from the bottom getting more oxygen in with every breath. Exhale and repeat for 5 minutes

Walking Meditative Breathing

This can be done any time you are walking, inhale for 4 steps, hold for 1 step, then exhale for 4 steps. As this becomes easier build up the amount of steps to 10 for both inhalation and exhalation. Try to make sure the breath goes firstly into the bottom of your lungs pushing your stomach out then fills up into the top of your lungs and expands your chest in the last part of the breath

As one of the most nutritious of all nuts, almonds have a myriad of health benefits.

A single serving of almonds can account for 12% of your daily protein allowance and 35% of your daily allowance of vitamin E. Almonds also contain monounsaturated fats, or "good fats", and no cholestrol, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.

The nutritious snack is packed full of vitamins and minerals; magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, calcium and folic acid. So not only do they help the heart and develop strong bones and teeth, but also potentially reduce the risk of several different cancers.

So rather than reaching for the mars bar during your afternoon break, do yourself a favour and snack on a handful of almonds!

How 8 glasses a day keeps the fat away!

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolise stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here's why: The kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When they don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolise stored fat into usable energy for the body. But if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work it can't operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolises less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops. Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cell). This shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands. Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs -- plenty of water. Only then will stored water be released.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone be giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss -- shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of -- all that metabolised fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.

How much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink 8 cups of water a day, or around 2L. The amount you drink also should be increased if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry.

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, it's fluids are perfectly balanced. So, what are you waiting for?

Article sourced from: www.highvibrations.org

Dietitian Susie Burrell outlines her nutrition tips.

For those of you not keen to commit to a detox program, here are the best nutrition tips based on the most up to date research that support the use of nutrition for disease prevention and lifelong health.

• Eat more vegetables – the brighter the better, and at least 5 different types each day
• Take a fish oil supplement – you need at least 3 each day to receive all the natural anti-inflammatory effects
• Get rid of the soft drink and cordial – even the artificially sweetened options contain a number of preservatives
• Drink green tea – 2-3 cups each day
• Avoid palm oil – found predominately in biscuits, fried foods and cakes
• Avoid white flour – white breads, Turkish toast, biscuits and 97% fat free cakes are high GI and easy to overeat
• Limit coffee – sipping on milk based coffee all day is not good for blood glucose levels
• Grab a handful of nuts – walnuts are best; remember though, you only need 10 a day
• Eat a bigger breakfast – toast and tea is not enough; you need protein rich choices to get the metabolism going
• Stop eating by 8pm – aim for 10-12 hours without food each night and see how much easier weight control is

Dynamic warm-up or static stretching before your next gym session?

There is no doubt that static stretching has its place in a conditioning program considering its ability to increase joint range of motion and mobility. However its use preceeding exercise, and more specifically strength and power exercise, has been indicated to produce a significant acute decrement in strength and power production. The use of static stretching before exercise has over the years been replaced by dynamic activities which involve progressively moving the body throughout a full range of motion whilst increasing the heart rate, body temperature, and muscle elasticity.

Try these dynamic movements before your next session;

Body weight lunge

From a standing position, take a longer than normal step forward bending at the knee to the horizontal, driving upward from the heel and engaging the glutes to stand up. Swing leg through for next step.

Body weight squat

With a shoulder width stance bend at the knee and push the hips back as if to sit on a chair, finish with thighs parallel to the floor and then drive upward through the heels, extending the knees and hips.



Climbers

In a plank position from hands and toes, reach your right leg up toward your right hand as if climbing, keeping your supporting leg out straight. Bring your leg back to the start and alternate legs.

Inchworm

Start in a plank position, walk your feet up toward your hands from your tip toes trying to keep legs straight, when you reach the end of your hamstring range (or make it all the way to your feet!) begin to walk your hands out in the opposite direction until back in the plank position.