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Thursday November 25, 2010

A combination of sitting for long periods of time, poor lifting techniques, and bad postural habits all contribute to lower back pain. Backs "go out" both because of an imbalance between the strength and flexibility of torso and abdominal muscles and also because of tight hip flexors or hamstrings. To learn stretching exercises, check out, Top 10 WF favorite Lower-Back stretches.

In fitness
Namita

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're full. So, savor your food, drink lots of water and slow down. Give your mind a chance to catch up with your body. According to experts, eating slowly, putting your fork down between bites, and tasting each mouthful is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your meal and feel satisfied with one plate full of food.

Setting Goals

The more important goals one needs to make are those that cover the broad areas of our personal lives. To begin with identify a few broad categories (i.e., career, family, health, finances, intellectual, hobbies, etc.) for laying down the goals. It might be helpful to write four or five such categories along the top of a piece of paper and make columns for each.

This sort of forethought is actually a great time saver in that it gives a framework to decide what is a primary value and what is not. And yet this sort of planning time is usually neglected. Most executives, for example, feel that the number one problem they face is a lack of planning and think time.

Next, identify three to five goals per category. For example, in the category of "family," one goal might be to make my relationship with my spouse my highest priority, or to find personal balance, or to impart values to our kids, etc.

Then, using another sheet of paper for the first category, enumerate the goals along the side of the page and make a statement for each goal in that category. These goals should be specific enough to address the real-life issues you are facing. For e.g., regarding my goal to make my relationship with my wife my top priority, I've written the statement, "If Mom ain't happy, nobody's happy! Check with her on this once a week." Regarding your career planning, you might make the statement, "Get a teaching position by next January." In other words, these statements make your goals measurable. They should also include a date (deadline), and should be achievable. You should be able to reflect your goals through scheduled activities.

Remember, a calendar can stimulate your vision, aid long-term planning, and help measure your personal planning success. Lay down your goals today and set out to achieve them step-by step.

When you find yourself in a habit pattern that is continually wasting your time, try these steps:

1. Start strong. Set a workable resolution plan that will attempt to tackle the time-waster. Then begin your plan boldly.

2. No exceptions until habit is firmly rooted. This is the key to beating the habit. You may even need the encouragement and accountability of a friend for your "weak moments."

3. Act quickly on new resolutions. The idea here is to not procrastinate once you've realized what the time waster is otherwise, it will only get more and more deeply entrenched into your daily routine.

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"You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."
Charles Bruxton

Sweet Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cleaned whole pumpkin seeds

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon white sugar

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

• Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet, and spread them out into a single layer. Roast until brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Set the seeds aside in a large bowl.

• Place the cinnamon, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a bowl, and set aside.

• Place olive oil and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, and heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar turns a light golden brown color. Watch it carefully to avoid burning.

• Pour the caramelized sugar mixture over the roasted pumpkin seeds, and stir to coat. Pour the cinnamon-chili powder mixture over the seeds, and toss to coat the seeds with the spices.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving Calories: 118 | Total Fat: 6.5g | Cholesterol: 0mg

Top 10 WF favorite Lower-Back stretches

Lower-back pain is practically an epidemic all over the world, affecting 80 percent of the population at some point, and accounting for 25 percent of all workers' compensation complaints. A combination of sitting for long periods of time, poor lifting techniques, and bad postural habits all contribute to this. Backs "go out" both because of an imbalance between the strength and flexibility of torso and abdominal muscles and also because of tight hip flexors or hamstrings.

To prevent lower-back pain, you need to do the following:

• Strengthen weak muscles.

• Stretch tight ones.

• Maintain good alignment and a vertical torso when you move.

• Avoid leaning forward without supporting the weight of your torso.

• Avoid excessively arching your spine.

• Be sure to use your legs when you lift heavy objects. Avoid rounding forward at the waist and creating a "banana back."

Even if you do all of the above diligently, lower-back pain may affect you anyway. When it does, your best bet is to move your pelvis gently ("wag" your tailbone side to side, forward and back, and/or in a circle). This warms and helps loosen muscles before you stretch.

HUG KNEES TO CHEST

Lie on your back and pull both knees up to your chest. Hold your arms under the knees, not over (that would put too much pressure on your knee joints). Slowly pull the knees toward your shoulders. This also stretches your buttocks muscles.

ERECTOR SPINAE STRETCH
This stretch lengthens the lower-and the middle-back muscles (the erectors run through the entire spine). Lying on your back, hug your knees to your chest, lift the soles of your feet toward the ceiling, grab your feet, and press your knees toward the floor. If you can't reach your feet, put your elbows inside your thighs and apply gentle pressure down. If you open your legs wide and place your elbows inside your knees, you'll also get an inner-thigh stretch.

 

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